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Archives for August 2021
Jimmy Herget Elects Free Agency
TODAY: Herget elected to become a free agent rather than accept an outright assignment to the Rangers’ Triple-A affiliate, the team announced.
AUGUST 13: The Rangers announced they’ve activated starter Dane Dunning from the 10-day injured list and selected the contract of catcher Yohel Pozo. Left-hander Wes Benjamin and first baseman Curtis Terry were optioned to Triple-A Round Rock in corresponding moves. To create space on the 40-man roster for Pozo, Texas designated reliever Jimmy Herget for assignment.
Dunning is back after a minimal absence due to a right ankle impingement. He’s getting the start tonight against the A’s. Acquired from the White Sox in exchange for Lance Lynn over the offseason, Dunning has had a solid year working out of the Texas rotation. The 26-year-old has pitched to a 4.07 ERA over 95 innings. His 23% strikeout rate and 8.2% walk percentage are essentially league average, and Dunning has racked up grounders at a massive 55.7% clip. He looks to be a solid middle or back of the rotation piece over the long-term for the rebuilding Rangers.
Pozo is getting the start at designated hitter tonight in what’ll be his major league debut. Signed as an amateur free agent out of Venezuela during the 2013-14 international period, the right-handed hitting backstop has appeared in parts of seven minor league seasons in the Texas organization. Pozo actually signed with the Padres as a minor league free agent last offseason, but the Rangers almost immediately selected him back in the minor league portion of the Rule 5 draft.
Entering the 2021 season, Eric Longenhagen of FanGraphs ranked Pozo the #56 prospect in the Rangers system, suggesting he could be a reserve catcher in the Willians Astudillo mold. Indeed, Pozo has almost never struck out or walked in his minor league career. His first promotion to Triple-A brought with it a huge uptick in power production, as Pozo has popped 19 home runs in 280 plate appearances after entering the season with 25 long balls in 1733 trips to the dish.
Herget has appeared in the big leagues with the Reds and Rangers, working thirty innings of relief over the past three years. His 4.20 ERA is fine, but the right-hander has only punched out 14.5% of opponents against an elevated 13% walk rate. That said, he’s had a very strong season in Round Rock, tossing 37 2/3 frames of 2.63 ERA ball with much better strikeout and walk numbers (30.6% and 7.6%, respectively). It’s the continuation of a long track record of good minor league work for Herget, who was once a fairly well-regarded relief prospect in the Cincinnati system.
The Rangers will place Herget on waivers in the coming days. Given his solid work in the minors, he could pique the interest of a club looking for some extra bullpen depth. Herget still has a minor league option remaining beyond this season, so any claiming team could shuttle him between the majors and Triple-A through the end of 2022 if he sticks on a 40-man roster.
Injury Notes: Winker, Lindor, Phillies, Brewers
Jesse Winker’s return to the Reds lineup was short-lived, as the outfielder left today’s game prior to the bottom of the third inning. Winker went 0-for-2 with two flyouts in his first two plate appearances before re-aggravating the mild intercostal strain that sidelined him for Cincinnati’s previous two games. A previous MRI didn’t reveal any damage, though manager David Bell told reporters (including The Athletic’s C. Trent Rosecrans) that Winker will be re-evaluated prior to tomorrow’s game against the Cubs.
While the Reds are in the thick of the wild card race, the team will surely be careful with one of their top bats to prevent a longer-term injury. Winker has hit .307/.395/.560 with 24 home runs over 481 plate appearances this season, and he entered today’s action as the NL leader in doubles (32) and total bases (235). The Reds are in the midst of a grueling stretch of 29 games over 30 days, so there isn’t any built-in time for Winker to really get a break, and a trip to the injured list might be necessary to fully correct the issue.
More on other injury situations from around baseball…
- Francisco Lindor participated in just about a full range of baseball activities prior to today’s game against the Dodgers, and Mets manager Luis Rojas told reporters (including MLB.com’s Bill Ladson) that Lindor could potentially be activated off the injured list when New York begins its next homestand on August 24. Lindor will travel with the Mets on their road trip and continue to work out, so the club will monitor his progress and then determine whether a minor league rehab assignment is necessary, or if Lindor could return to the active roster without the benefit of any minor league tuneup games. A Grade 2 oblique strain sent Lindor to the IL on July 17, so even a return by that Mets homestand would be a pretty decent turn-around time for the shortstop, given how more severe oblique problems can sometimes linger.
- Zach Eflin (right knee tendinitis) threw a live batting practice session today, while Vince Velasquez (right middle finger blister) and Sam Coonrod (forearm tendinitis) threw live BP sessions yesterday. The Phillies pitchers are at different stages in their recoveries, and Velasquez and Coonrod will each begin minor league rehab assignments on Tuesday. Eflin’s next step could be another simulated session before he starts his own rehab assignment, though the right-hander told NBC Sports’ Jim Salisbury and other reporters that he “felt great” during today’s 28-pitch session.
- The Brewers are almost all the way out of a COVID-19 outbreak on their roster, and two of the remaining sidelined players (Adrian Houser and Jandel Gustave) are nearing returns. As Brewers manager Craig Counsell told The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel’s Todd Rosiak and other reporters, Gustave is working out with the team and Houser is expected to join the club when the Brew Crew begin a series with the Cardinals on Tuesday.
Giants Claim Luis Gonzalez From White Sox
TODAY: The Giants recalled Gonzalez from Triple-A today and placed him on the Major League version of the 60-day IL.
AUGUST 12: The Giants officially announced González has been claimed off waivers. He has been optioned to Triple-A Sacramento. With third baseman Evan Longoria expected to return from the 60-day injured list in the coming days, it seems likely González will wind up on the 60-day IL whenever Longoria’s ready for reinstatement.
AUGUST 11: The Giants are claiming outfielder Luis González off release waivers from the White Sox, reports Kiley McDaniel of ESPN (Twitter link). González was released on Monday when the Sox reinstated Luis Robert from the 60-day injured list.
The move was a cost savings measure on Chicago’s part. González suffered a season-ending shoulder injury during an optional assignment to Triple-A Charlotte. Players on the minor league IL remain on the 40-man roster and can’t be outrighted. To remove González from the 40-man, the ChiSox had to either place him on the major league 60-day IL — where he’d receive MLB pay and service time — or release him.
Chicago elected for the latter course of action, presumably with the intent of re-signing González to a minor league deal if he cleared waivers. Doing so saved the White Sox from paying the 25-year-old the major league minimum salary for the remainder of the year. (They’re not unique in this regard, as the Tigers and Diamondbacks did the same thing with Franklin Pérez and Jon Duplantier, respectively, this season). Releasing the player instead of adding him to the major league IL comes with the risk of losing him, however — either via claim or the player signing elsewhere after clearing waivers.
The Giants intervened to add an interesting young player with an eye towards 2022 and beyond. Baseball America ranked González the #19 prospect in the White Sox system midseason, writing that he projects as an average hitter with gap power and the ability to play some center field. He had a decent season with Charlotte, hitting .241/.352/.423 with seven homers over 163 plate appearances.
San Francisco figures to immediately place González on the 60-day IL. He’ll make the major league minimum for the remainder of the year and won’t cost the team a 40-man roster spot during the season. González will have to be reinstated from the IL at the start of the offseason. If he sticks on the 40-man roster all winter, he’ll offer the Giants a lefty-hitting depth option for the outfield. González has one minor league option year remaining beyond this season.
Yankees Notes: Cole, Montgomery, Sanchez, Rizzo, German
In the wake of another COVID-19 outbreak in the Yankees clubhouse, some of the impacted players are preparing to return to the field. Manager Aaron Boone told reporters (including Kristie Ackert of The New York Daily News) that Gerrit Cole and Jordan Montgomery will be activated from the COVID-related injury list to start the Yankees’ next two games. Cole will face the Angels on Monday, while Montgomery will face the Red Sox on Tuesday in one half of a doubleheader.
Additionally, catcher Gary Sanchez started a Double-A rehab assignment today, and could potentially be activated for one of those games against the Red Sox. “We’ll see if we want to do another rehab game with them, potentially on Tuesday, but the idea would be he plays [today] and then come be with us tomorrow and work out, have a full day with us and then we’ll kind of evaluate the next step,” Boone said.
Six players are currently on the COVID list, which only added to roster issues for the injury-riddled Yankees. Despite all these absences, however, the Yankees have been one of baseball’s hottest teams, with a 19-9 record since the All-Star break.
Anthony Rizzo was a big part of that hot streak, batting .281/.400/.563 in his first 40 plate appearances in the pinstripes since being acquired by the Cubs at the trade deadline. Rizzo was also hit by a positive COVID test, and after over a week away, will begin to take steps towards returning to the field by undergoing cardiac testing on Monday.
Domingo German has been sidelined by right shoulder inflammation since August 1, and the right-hander tossed a bullpen session yesterday to continue his recovery process. Boone said German threw all fastballs yesterday and will add more pitches in his next bullpen, which could take place as early as Monday.
AL Central Notes: Garcia, Rodon, Mondesi, Bieber, Civale, Teheran
The White Sox placed utilityman Leury Garcia on the seven-day concussion injured list today, retroactive to August 13. Infielder Danny Mendick was called up from Triple-A in the corresponding move. The versatile Garcia has received multiple starts at six different positions this season, including 28 games at second base and 46 games spread across all three outfield spots. Now in his ninth season with the White Sox, Garcia’s super-utility status has made him a valuable bench piece and a semi-regular starter, even though he hasn’t contributed much at the plate.
Due to the nature of concussion symptoms, it isn’t known how much time Garcia could miss. The Sox do have a bit more of a timeline lightly sketched out for Carlos Rodon, however, as manager Tony La Russa suggested to reporters (including MLB.com’s Scott Merkin) that Rodon might pitch during Chicago’s four-game series against the Blue Jays that runs from August 23-26. Rodon’s 10-day IL placement due to shoulder fatigue retroactively began on August 8, and though La Russa said at the time that Rodon would likely be out of action beyond the 10-day minimum, a return against Toronto would still represent a relatively quick comeback for the left-hander.
More from around the AL Central…
- Adalberto Mondesi will visit with the Royals medical team after feeling tightness in his left oblique. Mondesi has been out of action since June 21 due to an oblique strain, and due to a right oblique strain and a hamstring strain earlier in the season, Mondesi has played in just 10 games in 2021. Royals manager Mike Matheny told MLB.com’s Anne Rogers and other reporters that the idea of shutting Mondesi down for the season “hasn’t been talked about,” and the team is for now seeing this issue as just “a little bit of a setback” until more information is known. Mondesi had already been on a Triple-A rehab assignment for much of August.
- Both Shane Bieber and Aaron Civale are set to throw on Tuesday as the two Indians starters continue to work their way back from injury. Paul Hoynes of the Cleveland Plain-Dealer (Twitter link) was among those to report that Bieber tossed a bullpen session yesterday and will throw another bullpen on Tuesday. Civale’s outing Tuesday will be a two-inning simulated game, and if all goes well, Civale could begin a rehab assignment.
- Tigers right-hander Julio Teheran was throwing with low velocity while tossing a live batting practice session, and was shut down. As Tigers manager A.J. Hinch told reporters (including Evan Petzold of The Detroit Free Press), Teheran “hasn’t been able to generate the arm speed that’s going to be needed for him to step into a rehab assignment.” The veteran righty made just one start for Detroit before a shoulder strain put him on the 60-day IL back in April, so multiple rehab starts will be necessary for Teheran to ramp back up. Since it is already mid-August, however, “we’re running out of time,” Hinch said. “We’re going to have to determine what’s the next step for him if he’s going to make any part of the rest of the season.”
Diamondbacks Place Merrill Kelly, Joe Mantiply On COVID List
3:03PM: Joe Mantiply has also been placed on the COVID-related IL, with The Athletic’s Zach Buchanan noting that Mantiply was sidelined due to being a close contact of Kelly. Pitching coach Matt Herges is also away from the team due to contact tracing. Left-hander Miguel Aguilar and right-hander Sean Poppen were called up from Triple-A to replace Kelly and Mantiply on the active roster.
8:00AM: Diamondbacks starter Merrill Kelly has tested positive for COVID-19, per Zach Buchanan of The Athletic. He will now have to go on the IL and quarantine for at least 10 days.
The Diamondbacks have been one of the teams hardest hit by the pandemic, with multiple players going onto the COVID IL since early July. The club currently has the worst record in baseball at 38-80, and the lost of Kelly certainly won’t help, as he’s been one of the few bright spots for the team during this trying season.
Kelly has logged 142 1/3 innings this year, the seventh-most in all of baseball, with an ERA of 4.30. His strikeout rate is below average at 19.8%, but his walk rate is an excellent 5.5%. All told, he has accrued 2.5 fWAR on the year thus far, good enough for the team lead.
The Snakes have Zac Gallen starting today and then on off-day on Monday. Kelly was in line to start Tuesday’s game. So, the club has a couple of days to figure out how to juggle their rotation in his absence. Speculatively speaking, Humberto Castellanos could be an option. He was called up a few days ago and hasn’t seen action since. Prior to that, he’d been stretched out and starting in the minors.
Pirates Place Bryse Wilson, Anthony Alford On IL
The Pirates placed Bryse Wilson and Anthony Alford on the IL today, per a team announcement. Ben Gamel has come off the IL to take one of the roster spots, with the other going to Dillon Peters, who was recalled from Triple-A. Mike Persak of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette spoke to Pirates general manager Ben Cherington, who said that Alford is dealing with back spasms, while Wilson’s IL placement is mostly about rest from fatigue.
Wilson, the 23-year-old righty, was just recently acquired from Atlanta in the Richard Rodriguez trade. In 48 2/3 innings this year between the two clubs, he has an ERA of 5.55. His strikeout rate is well below average, at 14.5%, but he has a decent walk rate of 7%. The Pirates can afford to be cautious with his workload, given that they’re nowhere near competing for the postseason. Their .359 winning percentage is better than only three teams in the majors.
For Alford, this is another frustrating hurdle in a challenging season. He struggled out of the gate and was designated for assignment by Pittsburgh in April. However, after being assigned to the minors, he completely turned things around and was nothing short of magnificent. His line through 226 plate appearances at Triple-A this year was .307/.420/.593, producing a wRC+ of 167. This performance forced Pittsburgh to give him another shot at the big leagues, which they did August 7th. Now, after just five games since having his contract selected, he will have to go on the shelf for at least 10 days.
For Peters, this will be his first time in the majors since coming to the Pirates from the Angels in July. He had been designated for assignment when the Angels signed Adam Eaton, heading to Pittsburgh in exchange for cash considerations. The 28-year-old lefty has logged 53 1/3 innings at Triple-A this year, between the two organizations, with an ERA of 3.71, a strikeout rate of 27.8% and a walk rate of 8.4%.
Angels Designate Adam Eaton For Assignment
The Angels have designated Adam Eaton for assignment, per a team announcement. His roster spot will go to righty James Hoyt, who has been recalled.
This will be Eaton’s second time being designated for assignment this season, after being let go by the White Sox in July. The club and the outfielder had reunited in the offseason, agreeing to a one-year, $8MM contract. Unfortunately, the lefty wasn’t able to produce enough to hold onto a roster spot with the Pale Hose, hitting .201/.298/.344 over 219 plate appearances, a wRC+ of 82.
A few days after being released, he signed on with the Angels, who tried to use Eaton to patch over the holes in their outfield created by injuries to Dexter Fowler, Mike Trout and Justin Upton. But Eaton’s numbers have only trended downward, a line of .200/.232/.277, producing a wRC+ of 39 since coming to Los Angeles. With the return of Upton and the team giving more playing time to up-and-coming prospects like Brandon Marsh and Jo Adell, Eaton has no found himself squeezed out.
With the White Sox still on the hook for the bulk of his salary, some other club could give Eaton a chance with no financial risk, only having to pay him the prorated league minimum.
Red Sox Claim Travis Shaw Off Waivers From Brewers
The Red Sox have claimed Travis Shaw off waivers from the Brewers, according to Alex Speier of The Boston Globe. Shaw was placed on waivers by the Brewers yesterday. Rob Bradford of WEEI notes that the Red Sox plan to have Shaw with the team by Tuesday’s game. A spot on the 40-man roster was opened earlier in the day when Josh Taylor was placed on the COVID IL.
This will be a homecoming for Shaw, returning to the organization that drafted him and gave him his first MLB experience. In 2015 and 2016, he played 210 games for the Red Sox, slashing .251/.312/.442, producing a wRC+ of 97. In December 2016, the Sox traded Shaw to Milwaukee, along with Mauricio Dubon and Josh Pennington, for Tyler Thornburg.
Shaw was excellent in his first two season for Milwaukee, slashing .258/.347/.497 for a wRC+ of 120 over that span. Unfortunately, it’s been up-and-down since then. 2019 was a disastrous campaign, producing a meager .157/.281/.270 line, wRC+ of 48, leading to Shaw being non-tendered that offseason. The Blue Jays gave him a shot and saw him rebound slightly to a line of .239/.306/.411, wRC+ of 92. Unfortunately, after re-signing with the Brewers, his numbers tailed off again. His 2021 production so far has been .191/.279/.337, a wRC+ of 68.
Shaw will now presumably be a candidate for some time at first base for Boston. There had been plans to get Kyle Schwarber some work at first, but he has been at designated hitter in both his games since being activated off the IL, with J.D. Martinez taking some time in the outfield. Bobby Dalbec has been the primary first baseman for Boston this year. Although he has struggled at times this year, he has been red hot lately, slashing .286/.357/.571 over the past month.
