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Archives for August 2019

Yankees Claim Ryan Dull

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The Yankees announced Wednesday that they’ve claimed right-hander Ryan Dull off outright waivers from the Giants. In order to open a spot on the 40-man roster, right-hander Brady Lail was designated for assignment.

Dull, 29, was designated for assignment by both Bay Area teams in the span of nine days this month. The longtime Athletics reliever never made it to the Majors with the Giants in his extremely brief time with the organization, as San Francisco optioned him to Triple-A Sacramento immediately upon acquiring him.

Dull has been up and down with Oakland over the past five seasons, pitching to a collective 4.08 ERA with 8.7 K/9 against 2.6 BB/9 in 167 2/3 innings of work. The right-hander’s best year came with the 2016 A’s, when he logged 74 1/3 frames of 2.42 ERA ball, but he’s been hampered by knee and shoulder injuries since that time. In a total of 76 1/3 big league innings since Opening Day 2017, Dull has posted an underwhelming 5.66 ERA with a 74-to-27 K/BB ratio. He’s averaged just over 11 strikeouts and 2.3 walks per nine innings pitched throughout his minor league career.

Lail, 25, was the Yankees’ 18th-round pick back in 2012 and made his MLB debut just last week, tossing 2 2/3 innings but allowing three runs (two earned) on five hits. He’s been solid out of the bullpen across three minor league levels this year, as evidenced by a 2.79 ERA with 11.8 K/9 and 2.8 BB/9 in 42 innings of work.

Orioles Claim Ryan Eades

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The Orioles have claimed right-hander Ryan Eades off outright waivers from the Twins, Roch Kubatko of MASNsport.com reports (via Twitter). Baltimore’s 40-man roster is full, so a corresponding roster move will need to be made.

Eades, 27, was Minnesota’s second-round pick out of Louisiana State University back in 2013. He made his big league debut earlier this summer when he tossed 3 2/3 innings of shutout ball, but his minor league track record has been rather spotty. The 6’2″, 210-pound righty has never ranked among the Twins’ best pitching prospects, despite his draft status, and he was shifted to the bullpen back in 2016 after posting lackluster numbers in the rotation.

Eades showed well out of the ’pen in 2018, tossing 76 1/3 innings with a 3.54 ERA, 10.4 K/9, 2.6 BB/9, 0.6 HR/9 and a 40 percent ground-ball rate in 76 1/3 innings between Double-A and Triple-A. The bottom-line results for Eades in 2019 haven’t been as encouraging; he’s posted a 5.51 ERA in 50 1/3 innings with Minnesota’s top affiliate in Rochester. However, he’s also averaging a career-best 11.2 K/9 against 2.8 BB/9. Eades’ HR/9 mark has doubled to 1.2, but long balls throughout all of Triple-A are through the roof now in 2019 after the decision to switch over to the Major League ball (the same one that has led to record home-run paces throughout MLB).

The addition of Eades will give the Orioles some optionable depth for the foreseeable future. Because his contract was only selected this season, Eades can be optioned back and forth not only for the remainder of the 2019 season but also in two additional seasons beyond the current campaign.

Athletics Designate Beau Taylor

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The Athletics announced that they have designated catcher Beau Taylor for assignment. His 40-man spot was needed for the team to select the contract of Corban Joseph, as had previously been reported. Outfielder Nick Martini was optioned for active roster space.

Taylor, 29, has spent his entire career with the Oakland organization since being taken in the fifth round of the 2011 draft. He has seen minimal action at the MLB level in each of the past two seasons. In 240 plate appearances at Triple-A in 2019, Taylor carries a strong .257/.408/.461 slash line with eight long balls.

Rays Place Avisail Garcia On 10-Day IL, Recall Jose De Leon

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The Rays announced today that they have placed outfielder Avisail Garcia on the 10-day injured list with an oblique strain. To take his place on the active roster, the club has promoted righty Jose De Leon.

There had been hope that the oblique injury would not prove serious enough to require an IL stint at all. But it seems the club found reason to believe today that Garcia would need a substantial rest.

The opening of active roster space will facilitate the return of De Leon to the majors after a long time away. Once a top prospect, the 27-year-old made just one appearance in Tampa Bay following his acquisition in the 2016-17 offseason.

De Leon ultimately missed all of the 2018 season owing to Tommy John surgery. He has worked back to health this year. In 14 appearances at Triple-A, he carries a 3.65 ERA with 13.0 K/9 and 4.9 BB/9 — quite a nice showing in the high run-scoring environment of the International League.

Jeff McNeil Diagnosed With Mild Hamstring Strain

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The Mets seem to have caught a big break, as the club learned today that second baseman/outfielder Jeff McNeil has only a mild hamstring strain, MLB.com’s Anthony DiComo tweets. It is anticipated that McNeil will miss about ten days of action; unsurprisingly, he will go on the IL, per Jon Heyman of MLB Network (via Twitter).

There had been concern that McNeil may have suffered a more significant injury when he departed last night’s contest. Losing him for a lengthy stretch would’ve been devastating to the team’s chances in a tightly contested postseason race.

Placing McNeil on the 10-day injured list will free an active roster spot for Ruben Tejada. As expected, he will be selected to the 40-man and be ready for duty today, Andy Martino of SNY.tv tweets. It’ll be Tejada’s first MLB action in a Mets uniform since he broke his leg in the 2015 NLDS.

Latest On Yankees Pitching Plans

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The Yankees rotation has long been a source of worry for fans of the club. While the concerns haven’t stopped the Yanks from dominating the AL East, the staff isn’t without question marks. MLB.com’s Bryan Hoch is among the reporters to pass along the latest from the team (in this report and these tweets).

Of most immediate concern was the news that veteran southpaw CC Sabathia will return to the active roster on Sunday. He’ll return following a brief respite for his problematic knee and look to improve upon his 4.78 ERA.

Even if Sabathia is able to get some positive momentum going, he doesn’t seem like an optimal postseason starter. The same holds for the club’s other aging lefty rotation piece, J.A. Happ, whose season-long struggles are well-documented. He’ll be looking for a turnaround outing today.

It’s interesting to think about the possible ways the Yankees could best utilize these veteran southpaws. Perhaps the most intriguing concept is some kind of piggyback arrangement involving a pair of high-octane young righties who may not quite be capable of handling full starter’s duties this season. Jonathan Loaisiga is just returning from injury and hasn’t yet established himself in the bigs, while Luis Severino is still working back. There’s optimism Severino will be a factor next month, though even a minor setback could end his season and he may not be able to ramp up fully so late in the year.

There are also at least some questions involving the late-season handling of the emergent Domingo German. As Hoch explains, German did not reach 100 frames last year and has never thrown more than 123 1/3 in a professional season (a high-water mark he reached in 2014). The club is not going to let him throw an unrestrained volume of innings this year, but also has decided not to publicize the limits.

Indeed, skipper Aaron Boone says that the organization has not “even honestly gotten deep into those conversations yet” as to when and how to pull back on German’s usage. Boone suggests that the return of other hurlers will help the club manage the 27-year-old’s workload. Fortunately, with a big division lead to work with, it seems the Yanks aren’t worried that they’ll miss out on any key innings. “[W]e feel like he’s strong right now and still has a lot left in the tank,” says Boone.

There is still one other intriguing possibility to keep an eye on as well. Tommy John rehabber Jordan Montgomery has thrown a two-inning sim game. Could he be an option late in the year and into the postseason? “We’ll see,” says Boone.

Indians Promote Logan Allen

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The Indians have called up lefty Logan Allen, per a team announcement (h/t MLB.com’s Mandy Bell, on Twitter). He’ll take the active roster spot of southpaw reliever Josh Smith, who was optioned down.

Though Allen debuted in the majors earlier this year, this’ll be his first action in Cleveland. The 22-year-old, who was widely considered a top-100 prospect entering the season, landed with the Indians in this summer’s three-team Trevor Bauer blockbuster.

The expectation is that Allen will open his tenure with his new organization in a relief capacity, according to MLB.com’s Jon Morosi (via Twitter). While the Indians will surely hope to utilize their new hurler as a starter in the long run, he’ll be tasked with contributing right away while cutting his teeth from the bullpen.

Allen didn’t exactly thrive in his first taste of the bigs, working to a 6.75 ERA with 14 strikeouts and 13 walks over 25 1/3 frames in San Diego. And he hasn’t excelled this year at Triple-A, before or after the swap. But Allen was a quality performer in the upper minors and the Indians evidently feel he can be a useful piece right now. If nothing else, he’ll help the club cover some innings for the time being.

Mets Preparing To Call Up Ruben Tejada If Jeff McNeil Requires IL Stint

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The Mets are bringing infielder Ruben Tejada to meet the team on its road trip in Atlanta, according to Jon Heyman of MLB Network (via Twitter). Whether he’ll formally be added to the MLB roster will depend upon the still-pending medical review of Jeff McNeil, who was injured last night.

Regardless of how this situation plays out, it’s interesting to see Tejada tabbed as the McNeil replacement option. For one thing, it’s a homecoming for the former New York stalwart, whose original tenure in Queens ended in memorably blunt fashion. Of more immediate concern, it’s a bit of a curious choice from a roster fit.

Tejada and McNeil are both infielders by trade. But the Mets have utilized McNeil frequently in a corner outfield role of late, and that is the area of the roster that seems most in need of supplementation if he requires an IL stint.

As things stand, the Mets can utilize the recently-acquired Joe Panik at second while deploying Luis Guillorme as a utility infielder. But the outfield sans McNeil would feature Michael Conforto, J.D. Davis, Juan Lagares, and Aaron Altherr. The latter two players have turned in miserable offensive efforts to this point of the season.

Tejada has been swinging the bat well at Triple-A, where he owns a .332/.411/.477 batting line over 299 plate appearances. Even allowing for International League offensive inflation, that’s a strong 132 wRC+. But the 29-year-old has never appeared in the outfield as a professional. Neither has Guillorme. Ditto Panik.

That said, there is logic in going to Tejada right now. With opponents scheduling lefty starters in two of the next three games, he’ll be a nice compliment to the left-handed-hitting Panik. Meanwhile, the club will feel better about leaning on Lagares, a strong up-the-middle defender who has historically fared much better when facing southpaws.

Ultimately, if McNeil is down for a while, it seems some kind of outfield supplementation will be preferable — even if that means going outside the organization (tough as that may be this time of the year). Whether Tejada would have a shot at sticking on the roster for the duration of the season remains to be seen.

Latest On Nathan Eovaldi

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WEDNESDAY: Not so fast. Eovaldi came out of Boston’s bullpen Tuesday. Having only thrown six pitches, he will be available today, but will not get the start, Cora told reporters including Chris Cotillo of MassLive.com (via Twitter). Brian Johnson will instead take the ball to open today’s contest. Where things go from this point remains to be seen.

TUESDAY: After a short run as a reliever, the Red Sox are returning right-hander Nathan Eovaldi to a starting role. Eovaldi will start Wednesday and then spend the rest of the season in the Red Sox’s rotation, Pete Abraham of the Boston Globe reports. He’ll only throw around 55 pitches Wednesday, according to manager Alex Cora (via Julian McWilliams of the Boston Globe).

Eovaldi has been a starter for almost all of his career, but after he sat out from late April toward the end of July while recovering from elbow surgery, reliever-needy Boston planned to give him a shot as its closer. The decision came in part because the Red Sox weren’t sure if Eovaldi would have the time to build his arm up enough to go back to his typical job as a starter. Eovaldi did not acquit himself well out of the Red Sox’s bullpen, though, as he has allowed eight earned runs in 10 2/3 innings since coming off the injured list. The 29-year-old didn’t even rack up a save attempt, with the club instead using Brandon Workman as its closer.

The hard-throwing Eovaldi also had a tough time as a starter this year before going under the knife, which isn’t what the Red Sox envisioned when they splurged on him last winter. After coming over in a midsummer trade with the Rays and then establishing himself as one of the Red Sox’s many playoff heroes during their championship run in 2018, they re-signed him to a four-year, $67.5MM contract in free agency. Eovaldi has since logged a 6.25 ERA/5.74 FIP with 8.81 K/9 and 4.26 BB/9 across 31 2/3 innings. He’s one of many Boston pitchers who have gone through less-than-ideal seasons.

Thanks largely to the struggles of their pitching staff, the Red Sox are on track to begin their offseason far earlier than expected this year. The club’s 62-59, placing it a whopping 17 1/2 games behind the Yankees in the American League East and 8 1/2 back of a wild-card spot. Realistically, it’s time to start looking ahead to 2020, when Eovaldi, Chris Sale, the currently injured David Price and Eduardo Rodriguez figure to comprise 80 percent of the team’s rotation.

Who Else Could Hit Outright Waivers In August?

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The Reds have made a pair of claims already, nabbing Kevin Gausman from the Braves and Freddy Galvis from the Blue Jays. While the Cincinnati organization still hasn’t manage to make a run into clear postseason contention, it’s in shouting distance and obviously wants to send a message to its fanbase. With a marginal place in the standings, the Reds also have waiver priority over all other contenders. (Current rules do not distinguish between league status, except in cases where two teams with the same record each put in a claim.) The claims are relatively low-cost since there’s not much time left in the regular season (around $4MM in total) and both players can be controlled for 2020 (Gausman via arbitration, Galvis via club option). It’s also possible the Reds could pass along the contracts via the waiver wire later this month.

[RELATED: So, What Can Teams Do In August?]

It stands to reason that players in similar positions will be exposed to waivers as well. Those likeliest to hit the wire — beyond younger, fringe 40-man members — are arbitration-eligible players who are obvious non-tender candidates and impending free agents who no longer fit onto their current club. Gausman and Kyle Barraclough, whom the Giants recently claimed from the Nationals, represent recent examples of the first group. In such cases, teams stand to save a nice chunk of money if another team places a claim; if not, they only lose a player whose days in the organization were clearly numbered. Certain veterans on expiring contracts may also be allowed to leave, even if their non-contending current team would happily pay their salary down the stretch, in order to generate goodwill in pursuing future free agents. (That possibility explains why we’ve listed, say, Hunter Pence as a conceivable waiver candidate.)

It should be noted that players with guaranteed salaries beyond the 2019 season aren’t as likely to be waived in this manner. There’s little incentive for the Mariners to waive Dee Gordon, for instance. He’s owed more than $16MM and would surely go unclaimed as a result. At that point, he’d reject an outright assignment in favor of free agency, leaving the Mariners on the hook for the entirety of his contract. At best, Seattle would save the prorated league minimum if Gordon signed with another team. It makes more sense to hold him and try to move him in the offseason or even next year.

There ought to be demand on the claiming side. Plenty of needs remain unmet even on competitive rosters. It’s notable that the Nats and Braves saved money with their above-cited waiver placements; that could leave some addition free cash to utilize in adding other players. Some clear non-contenders will even work the wire, as the Blue Jays did with Zack Godley. It would seem there’s nothing to stop teams from discussing their intentions in advance — “hey, we’d claim him if you cut him loose” — to assuage any concerns about a player going unclaimed, which could perhaps even open the door to a surprising late-month claim or two.

With that in mind, it’s worth taking a look around the league to see which other players could land on waivers, focusing on contract status and other factors. Rebuilding and/or clearly non-contending clubs will obviously be contemplating ways to save some cash with moves of this nature. Some players on contending teams may be candidates to be cut loose regardless of their organization’s place in the standings — hence, the prior moves on Gausman and Barraclough — but we’ll focus here on organizations with sub-.500 records.

Just because a player lands on the list doesn’t mean we think it’s especially likely he’ll move by way of waivers; it just indicates we can see a path to such an outcome. Without further ado (teams listed by inverse order of record):

Tigers: Jordy Mercer, Gordon Beckham, Edwin Jackson

Orioles: Jace Peterson, Jonathan Villar

Royals: Billy Hamilton, Mike Montgomery

Marlins: Curtis Granderson, Neil Walker, Starlin Castro, Martin Prado, Adam Conley

Mariners: Cory Gearrin, Anthony Bass

Blue Jays: Zack Godley, Neil Ramirez, Justin Smoak

Pirates: Francisco Liriano, Melky Cabrera

Rockies: Chris Iannetta (DFA limbo), Chad Bettis

White Sox: Ivan Nova, Welington Castillo, Jon Jay, Yolmer Sanchez

Padres: Craig Stammen, Ian Kinsler

Reds: Jose Iglesias, Freddy Galvis, Alex Wood, Kevin Gausman, Jared Hughes

Angels: Justin Bour, Trevor Cahill

Rangers: Hunter Pence, Logan Forsythe, Delino DeShields, Shawn Kelley, David Carpenter

Additional Possibilities: Adeiny Hechavarria (Mets; DFA limbo), Addison Russell (Cubs), Travis Shaw (Brewers), Michael Taylor (Nationals), Michael Wacha (Cardinals)

(It’s possible that the win/loss outcomes over the next two weeks will push some other organizations to consider dropping short-term veterans, but we won’t guess here as to how that’ll shake out. The players on contending teams just listed could be pushed out due to performance/roster considerations, regardless of their teams’ place in the standings.)

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