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AL West Notes: Brantley, Heim, Ohtani

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It has been over a year since Michael Brantley underwent shoulder surgery and even longer (June 26, 2022) since the veteran slugger appeared in a big league game.  However, Brantley’s long recovery process may finally be nearing an end, as Astros GM Dana Brown told 790 AM’s Robert Ford in a radio interview today (hat tip to Danielle Lerner of the Houston Chronicle) that Brantley might begin a minor league rehab assignment within a week’s time.  “This was the time where we really started to grind [Brantley] a little bit where he got sore and the fact that he’s pushing through this, there’s no soreness,” Brown said.  “He’s feeling really good, this feels like a special moment to try get that left-handed bat back….So hopefully he continues to feel well.”

The Astros were confident enough in Brantley’s recovery to sign him to a one-year, $12MM free agent deal last winter, though an initial expectation of an Opening Day return was delayed a season-opening stint on the injured list.  Brantley was then expected back early in May except another setback shut down his rehab entirely, and he had to briefly shut things down again July after restarting his hitting work in June.  Brown’s comments today provide some fresh optimism, but considering Brantley has yet to face live pitching, it may still be a while before he is fully ramped up and ready for MLB competition.  Speculatively, Brantley might be on track for a September return if all goes well, which could provide the Astros with a nice boost for the stretch run and perhaps into the playoffs.

More from the AL West…

  • The Rangers activated catcher Jonah Heim from the 10-day injured list today, and optioned Sam Huff to Triple-A in the corresponding move.  After a left wrist tendon strain sent Heim to the IL on July 27, he returns within the 2-3 week recovery timeline that was initially projected at the time of his placement.  Heim’s outstanding performance in the first half earned an All-Star nod, though his absence hasn’t slowed the Rangers down at all, in part because Mitch Garver has also been hitting up a storm in a part-time catching role.  Even if Heim’s wrist problem limits him to being a left-handed batter rather than a switch-hitter, Garver’s presence should guard Texas against any sort of offensive dropoff behind the plate.
  • Shohei Ohtani will skip his next scheduled start due to arm fatigue, Angels manager Phil Nevin told the Associated Press and other media.  Ohtani was initially slated to face the Rangers on Wednesday, but due to what Nevin described as “some normal arm fatigue that happens at times,” the Halos will now hold Ohtani’s next start back until a series with the Reds that begins on August 21.  The arm issue won’t prevent Ohtani from his usual regular DH duty, and the two-way superstar underlined that point by hitting a home run (his 41st of the season) in the Angels’ 2-1 victory over the Astros today.

Joely Rodriguez’s Season In Jeopardy Due To Recurring Hip Pain

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Left-hander Joely Rodriguez has been shut down due to continued discomfort in his hip, Red Sox manager Alex Cora told MLB.com’s Ian Browne (Twitter link) and other reporters.  Rodriguez has already been on the 15-day injured list since July 29 due to his hip problem, and Cora acknowledged that the southpaw might have thrown his last pitch of the 2023 campaign.

It has been an injury-marred year for Rodriguez, who has tossed only 11 innings in his first season in Boston.  The lefty signed a one-year free agent deal last winter worth $2MM in guaranteed money, yet he suffered a Grade 2 oblique strain during Spring Training that delayed his season debut until May 17.  Rodriguez then missed another month due to shoulder inflammation, returning to action on July 8 and appearing in six games before his latest IL stint.

There was quite a gulf in Rodriguez’s performance in between IL visits, as he had an ugly 18.00 ERA over his five games and four innings prior to his shoulder-related injury absence.  In July, however, Rodriguez was much sharper, with seven scoreless innings and no walks over the six appearances before his hip injury sent him to the sidelines.  It works out to a 6.55 ERA for the season, and Rodriguez might not get a chance to improve on that total if his hip problem does indeed result in a permanent shutdown.

Rodriguez’s contract contains a 2024 club option worth $4.25MM, or the Red Sox can buy out that option for $500K.  Given the string of injuries, it certainly doesn’t seem like Boston will exercise that option, so Rodriguez is likely to be headed back to free agency.  Entering his age-32 season and with an injury-riddled 2023 behind him, Rodriguez may have to settle for a minor league deal or another low-guarantee MLB contract on the open market this winter, even if he can make it back for a few more innings near the end of Boston’s season.

The Sox have been looking for left-handed relief options for much of the year due to Rodriguez’s frequent absences, but it seems as though they have landed on a pair of solid lefties in Brennan Bernardino and Chris Murphy.  The bullpen as a whole got another boost today when Garrett Whitlock was activated from the 15-day IL, and Whitlock threw two scoreless innings and picked up the win in Boston’s 6-3 victory over the Tigers.

It was Whitlock’s first outing since July 3 due to a bout of right elbow inflammation, and the Sox plan to use him as a multi-inning reliever rather than a starter.  Whitlock has been much more effective as a reliever than as a starter over the last three seasons, plus the Red Sox also have Tanner Houck lined up for starting duty when Houck returns from his own IL stint.  Cora told Browne and company that Houck is slated to make one more minor league rehab start before being activated from the IL next week.

Tigers Release Chasen Shreve

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TODAY: The Tigers announced that they have requested release waivers on Shreve.

AUGUST 11: The Tigers announced they’ve designated veteran reliever Chasen Shreve for assignment. The move clears a spot in the big league bullpen for Will Vest, who has been reinstated from the 15-day injured list. Detroit’s 40-man roster count drops to 39.

As first reported by Evan Petzold of the Detroit Free-Press (on Twitter), Shreve has already gone unclaimed on waivers. Whether by rejection of an outright assignment or a release, he’s highly likely to become a free agent.

Shreve signed a minor league pact with Detroit over the offseason. The well-travelled southpaw cracked the Opening Day roster and would go on to make 47 appearances. While he posted only a 4.79 ERA through 41 1/3 innings, he had solid underlying marks.

The 33-year-old fanned an average 23.3% of opponents against a lower than average 6.7% walk rate. He kept the ball on the ground at a 46.8% clip and induced swinging strikes on an above-average 12.6% of his offerings. While it seemed that’d lead Detroit to trade him at the deadline, they apparently didn’t find sufficient interest to make a deal. Once the deadline passed, the non-competitive Tigers have decided to move on from Shreve entirely. He was an impending free agent, and the Tigers clearly felt the marginal dip in their bullpen quality over the season’s final seven weeks is a worthwhile trade-off for getting more reps to controllable arms.

Detroit is paying Shreve a $1.25MM salary. Just under $350K is yet to be paid out. Because Shreve was unclaimed on waivers, the Tigers will remain responsible for that sum. The organization could pull in some moderate savings from the release, however. Shreve had already unlocked $300K in innings-based incentives. He’d have triggered an additional $100K at reaching 45 and 50 innings, respectively (with $125K available at 55 and 60 frames). That’ll no longer be in play.

Once he officially returns to free agency, Shreve can pursue other opportunities. The incentives wouldn’t be available on any new contract, though perhaps he’ll find an immediate spot in a contending club’s bullpen. Another team would only owe Shreve the prorated amount of the $720K minimum for time spent on the MLB roster through season’s end. If he signs elsewhere by the end of the month, he’d be eligible for postseason play with his next team.

Dodgers Place Joe Kelly On 15-Day Injured List

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The Dodgers announced that right-hander Joe Kelly has been placed on the 15-day injured list due to inflammation in his right forearm.  The placement is retroactive to August 10, a day after Kelly’s last outing — a scoreless inning of work against the Diamondbacks during a 2-0 Dodgers victory.

Acquired in a big pre-deadline deal with the White Sox, Kelly has yet to allow a run over his four appearances and 3 2/3 innings in Dodger Blue, with huge strikeout (50%) and walk (21.7%) rates over this limited sample size.  It has been an early reversal of his pre-trade numbers with the Sox, as Kelly had a rather unlucky 4.97 ERA despite some impressive peripheral numbers.

Los Angeles traded for Kelly to add some veteran experience and depth to a bullpen that has been heavily utilized this season, as the Dodgers rank eighth in the league in reliever innings.  Injuries to the rotation have put an extra strain on the relief corps, which is why L.A. obtained Kelly and Lance Lynn from Chicago to help bolster both sides of the pitching staff.  Kelly is now the 12th pitcher currently on the Dodgers’ IL, though the club has been able to weather the storm, winning 11 of its last 12 games.

This is Kelly’s eighth IL trip since the start of the 2020 campaign, and the third of this season —he previously had minimal 15-day absences with a groin strain and elbow inflammation while with the White Sox.  Any forearm or elbow injury will be treated with particular caution, though if it is just inflammation rather than anything more serious (and Kelly and the Dodgers have had a few days to evaluate the issue), it is possible Kelly might again only miss a minimal amount of time.

Red Sox Outright Dinelson Lamet

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On Saturday, August 12, the Boston Red Sox sent Dinelson Lamet outright to Triple-A Worcester, according to the transaction log at MLB.com. This comes four days after the right-hander was designated for assignment. He will have the right to reject this assignment and elect free agency, though it’s not yet clear if he’s chosen to do so.

Lamet began the 2023 season in the Colorado Rockies organization, appearing in 16 games for the big league club. He posted a 12.66 ERA in 12 appearances out of the bullpen, and despite his struggles, the Rockies tried to transition him into a starting role. He put together a 10.80 ERA across four starts, and he was ultimately released after a four-inning, eight-run blow-up against the Braves.

Following his release, Lamet signed a minor league contract with the Red Sox and was assigned to Triple-A. The 31-year-old made five appearances (four starts) for Worcester, pitching to a 3.72 ERA in 19 1/3 innings. The Red Sox selected his contract on August 7, and he appeared in one game for the club, giving up four hits and three runs in two innings of work. He was DFA’d on Wednesday to make room for on the 40-man roster for Kyle Barraclough, another veteran right-handed arm and Lamet’s teammate from Triple-A.

It’s been a difficult few years for Lamet, who once looked like a promising member of the San Diego Padres’ core. He made his MLB debut in 2017, making 21 starts for the Padres. He threw 114 1/3 innings with a 4.57 ERA and 4.03 SIERA. He lost his 2018 season recovering from Tommy John surgery but came back strong in the second half of 2019, making 14 starts with a 4.07 ERA and 3.61 SIERA. He was even better during the shortened 2020 season, posting a 2.09 ERA in 12 starts. His ERA ranked third among qualified NL starters and finished fourth in voting for the NL Cy Young.

Unfortunately, things went south in 2021. An elbow injury that popped up at the end of the 2020 season kept him on the injured list for most of April, and forearm injuries plagued him as the year went on. The Padres eventually moved him to the bullpen, keeping him there in 2022. He continued to struggle with injury and inconsistency, and San Diego eventually flipped him to the Brewers at the trade deadline as a small piece in the Josh Hader deal. Milwaukee would designate him for assignment days later.

The Rockies scooped up Lamet for their own bullpen, where he had considerably more success. In 19 appearances, he pitched to a 4.05 ERA and 2.94 SIERA. After the season, he agreed to a one-year, $5 million deal with Colorado to avoid his final year of arbitration. The Rockies are still on the hook for that since they released Lamet earlier in the year.  Lamet has more than enough service time to reject an outright assignment while retaining his remaining salary, meaning it’s possible he’ll return to the open market in the coming days.

Reds Option Nick Senzel, Select Henry Ramos, Outright Eduardo Salazar

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TODAY: Salazar cleared waivers and was outrighted to Triple-A, according to Gordon Wittenmyer of the Cincinnati Enquirer (via Twitter).

AUGUST 11: The Reds announced a series of roster moves today, selecting the contract of outfielder Henry Ramos. In corresponding moves, infielder/outfielder Nick Senzel has been optioned to Triple-A Louisville while right-hander Eduardo Salazar has been designated for assignment.

Ramos returns to the majors for a second stint this season. The 31-year-old cracked the MLB roster in late April after signing a minor league pact last offseason. He appeared in 18 games, hitting .242/.356/.306 over a career-high 73 trips to the plate. Cincinnati outrighted him off the 40-man roster last month.

A 12-year minor league veteran, Ramos has only 36 games of big league experience. He’s having a strong year in Triple-A, putting up a .315/.399/.522 line through 54 contests with Louisville. He has walked at a strong 12% clip against a lower than average 19.2% strikeout rate while connecting on nine homers. A switch-hitter, Ramos has shredded left-handed pitching at a .367/.430/.556 clip between Triple-A and the big leagues this year.

The righty-hitting Senzel has also mashed against southpaws, putting up a .305/.367/.537 line with the platoon advantage. He’s a .175/.251/.281 hitter when up against right-handed pitching, however. Senzel hasn’t been effective against pitchers of either handedness of late, posting a .138/.206/.309 mark since the start of June. The former #2 overall pick now has a .219/.290/.368 batting line in 269 trips to the plate on the season.

It has been another underwhelming year for the former top prospect. Cincinnati has graduated plenty of top position player prospects over the past few months, pushing Senzel into a utility role. He’s now off the active roster entirely, optioned for his first minor league stint (excluding injury rehab assignments) since the Reds first promoted him in May 2019.

Senzel is playing this season on a $1.95MM arbitration salary. He is eligible for that process twice more after surpassing the four-year service threshold this spring. It seems increasingly likely he could be non-tendered, though. In just over 1300 major league plate appearances, the 28-year-old owns a .236/.300/.361 slash.

While Senzel remains in the organization and could yet get another look in the next six weeks, the Reds will place Salazar on waivers. The 25-year-old has made his first eight big league appearances this season, allowing 11 runs in 12 2/3 innings. He’d allowed only two runs (one earned) through 13 2/3 Double-A frames this year but has been tagged for an 8.24 ERA over 19 2/3 innings with Louisville.

Salazar has posted huge ground-ball numbers throughout his professional career. He has rarely generated big strikeout tallies, though he did fan upwards of 40% of opponents in his brief but dominant Double-A stint earlier this year. Salazar has ample starting experience in his career but has come out of the bullpen for all 33 appearances this season.

Royals Claim Bubba Thompson, Option Edward Olivares

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The Kansas City Royals announced that they have claimed Bubba Thompson off waivers from the Texas Rangers. He has been optioned to Triple-A Omaha. In other roster news, the Royals reinstated Drew Waters from the bereavement list, optioning Edward Olivares to Triple-A in a corresponding move.

The Rangers DFA’d Thompson on Friday to make room for J.P. Martínez on the 40-man roster. Thompson, a first-round pick in the 2017 draft, had been playing for the Triple-A Round Rock Express following a poor start to the season at the MLB level. In 37 games with Texas, he hit .170 with a 41 wRC+ and -0.1 FanGraphs WAR. He was demoted at the end of May.

Thompson has yet to live up to his former top prospect status, but still just 25 years old, he is far from a bust. He looked like a legitimate bench piece last season, batting .265, stealing 18 bases, and finishing with a 77 wRC+. Moreover, despite his disappointing slash line this year, he increased his walk rate, decreased his strikeout rate, and showed off a little more power. He continued to demonstrate his improved plate discipline at Round Rock, compiling 19 walks (and two HBP) compared to only 28 strikeouts in 149 trips to the plate.

Thompson should have a better chance to make his way back to the majors in Kansas City, but he’ll need to continue to show improvement at Triple-A. If he’s able to take steps forward at the plate, he could be a useful contributor since his speed and defense give him a solid floor. The Royals already have two young, right-handed-hitting outfielders on the big league roster, Samad Taylor and Nelson Velázquez, in addition to the switch-hitting Waters. Olivares and Nate Eaton are also waiting in the wings at Omaha.

After a promising cup of coffee last season, Waters got off to a slow start in 2023. An oblique injury kept him on the shelf until late May, and he was hitting .239/.293/.354 with a 76 wRC+ entering the All-Star break. Since then, however, he has a 107 wRC+ in 23 games. His 11 RBI in that time are tied for fourth on the Royals, while his 12 runs scored are tied for fifth. He returns to the team after missing the minimum of three days on the bereavement list.

Olivares had a mini breakout in 2022, finishing with a 110 wRC+ in 53 games. However, he pulled that off thanks to a career-high .344 batting average on balls in play. His BABIP has fallen below league average this season, and his triple slash line numbers have dropped in accordance – despite the fact that he’s striking out less often and hitting for a little more power. Meanwhile, Velázquez, whom the Royals promoted on Thursday to replace Waters on the roster, has hit a home run in each of his last two games. He’ll get the chance to stick with the big league club for at least a little longer.

Diamondbacks Select Bryce Jarvis, Designate Carson Kelly for Assignment

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The Arizona Diamondbacks announced several roster moves on Sunday morning, headlined by the promotion of pitching prospect Bryce Jarvis. The Diamondbacks selected his contract from Triple-A Reno, designating catcher Carson Kelly for assignment in a corresponding move. They also reinstated catcher Gabriel Moreno from the 10-day injured list and optioned starting pitcher Ryne Nelson to Triple-A.

Jarvis, Arizona’s first-round pick in the 2020 draft, will be making his MLB debut. He is a top-30 prospect in the D-backs’ system, according to Baseball America (18th) and MLB Pipeline (29th).

The Duke University product made a solid first impression in 2021, tossing 75 1/3 innings across three levels. He had particular success at High-A Hillsboro, posting a 3.62 ERA in seven starts. However, he struggled following his promotion to Double-A Amarillo: his walk rate rose, his home run rate doubled, and his ERA ballooned to 5.66. He remained in Double-A the following season, where his struggles only intensified. Walks and home runs continued to cause him trouble, and his opponents were having more success on balls in play. He finished with a ghastly 8.27 ERA in 25 starts.

Nevertheless, Jarvis earned a promotion to Triple-A in April 2023. Free passes remained a problem for him at Reno, where he walked more than 11% of the batters he faced, but he got his home run rate in check, and his ERA came down to a more respectable 5.40 in 16 starts.

In late July, Jarvis transitioned to a bullpen role, a temporary change to address an area of need within the organization. The 25-year-old told Michael McDermott of Inside the Diamondbacks that there are still “long-term plans” for him to be a starter, but “for the rest of this year,” the team needed him more in the bullpen.

That being that case, it’s unlikely Jarvis will be taking Nelson’s spot in the rotation. With Nelson at Triple-A, the Diamondbacks only have three starting pitchers on the 26-man roster: Zac Gallen, Merrill Kelly, and Brandon Pfaadt. However, Zach Davies is expected to return from the IL shortly, and Slade Cecconi could rejoin the rotation as well. Cecconi, the team’s No. 14 prospect according to MLB Pipeline, made a start on August 2 before moving to the bullpen. He has only made a single appearance out of the ’pen in that time. Prior to his call-up, he made 20 starts at Triple-A Reno, pitching to a 6.38 ERA.

Nelson has been sturdy for Arizona this season; he is tied for third in the National League in starts and 21st in innings pitched. That said, he has a 7.60 ERA and 5.49 SIERA in his last seven starts, and the Diamondbacks have lost five of those seven games. Neither Cecconi nor Jarvis is a surefire upgrade over Nelson, but the D-backs certainly needed to shake things up. Before yesterday’s victory over the Padres, they had lost their last nine games. Their pitching staff has a 4.93 ERA in August, and they have been outscored 46-23.

Moreno’s return should give the pitching staff another much-needed boost. His offensive performance has been underwhelming in his first season with the Diamondbacks, but he has done well behind the dish. His 9 Defensive Runs Saved are tied for fifth among catchers. Meanwhile, his pitch framing doesn’t grade out particularly well (33rd percentile, per Baseball Savant), but he has still been a more valuable framer than Kelly (22nd percentile) and Jose Herrera (3rd percentile), who have covered behind the dish since Moreno hit the IL on July 23.

As for Kelly, 29, it’s not a shock to see him cut from the roster based on his recent results but it’s a significant development from a wider lens. He was once a top 100 prospect with the Cardinals and was one of the prospects that came to Arizona in the Paul Goldschmidt trade, along with Luke Weaver and Andrew Young. The former was flipped to the Royals last year for Emmanuel Rivera, who was optioned to the minors yesterday, while Young was lost to the Nationals in the minor league portion of the 2021 Rule 5 draft.

Kelly was once hoped to be the club’s catcher of the future and he showed well in his first season in the desert. He hit 18 home runs in 2019 and walked in 13.2% of his plate appearances, leading to a .245/.348/.478 batting line and 107 wRC+. But since then, he’s hit just .225/.303/.366, including a line of .226/.283/.298 this year. He could have been retained for one more season via arbitration, owed a raise on this year’s $4.275M M salary, but the D’Backs have decided to move on instead.

Today’s move means that none of the three players from the Goldschmidt trade remain on the roster. The transaction tree is technically still alive thanks to the presence of Rivera, but the deal looks unquestionably disappointing in retrospect. The club will put Kelly on waivers in coming days and he will almost certainly clear, given his salary and recent performance. Since he has over five years of service time, he will have the ability to reject an outright assignment while retaining all of his salary. The Diamondbacks will remain on the hook for that, allowing another club to sign him and pay him only the prorated league minimum, with that amount subtracted from what the Diamondbacks pay.

Mid-August Trade Deadline Has Been Discussed By GMs

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For many years now, the major league trade deadline has been at the end of July or early August. John Shea of the San Francisco Chronicle laid out a case for moving it back a couple of weeks to the middle of August, adding that general managers have discussed the possibility for years, including at the annual general managers meetings.

It’s unclear how popular the idea is or how much urgency there is towards making it a reality, but the case is an interesting one and the fact that it has been brought up by front office people is noteworthy. As Shea points out, the late July deadline was implemented in 1986, before the Wild Card era. At that time, there were 26 teams but only four playoff spots, meaning 15.4% of clubs would eventually crack the postseason. The playoff field has repeatedly expanded since then and there are now 12 spots for 30 teams, allowing 40% of clubs to play beyond the regular season.

The most recent trade deadline provided an example of the difficult this presents. Very few teams were firmly out of contention by the end of July and some clubs were fairly quiet or did nothing at all in terms of deadline deals. Some decision makers commented after the fact about the low availability of impact players. Even some players that were long thought to be available, such as Shohei Ohtani and Cody Bellinger, were retained as their respective clubs stayed close enough to contention to justify taking them off the market.

Another point made by Shea is that, up until recently, there was a second trade deadline. It used to be possible to make trades in the month of August via revocable waivers, a process that was complicated to the point that explaining the byzantine rules was an annual tradition at MLBTR. But despite the convoluted details, notable players such as Justin Verlander, Josh Donaldson, Jeff Bagwell, David Cone and John Smoltz were traded via this method over the years, as well as a huge nine-player deal that saw Adrián González, Carl Crawford and Josh Beckett go from the Red Sox to the Dodgers. But the August waiver trade system was eliminated in 2019, and there has just been a single deadline since then without much clamoring for the waiver system to come back.

The expanded playoffs and the lack of ability to make deals in August means that most teams have to make difficult decisions in the end of July about whether they are in or out or how aggressive to be. On top of that, Shea highlights that the draft has been moved from June to July in recent years, with MLB tying it into All-Star festivities. That leaves front offices with a short window of time to pivot from the draft to the deadline. Pushing the deadline back a couple of weeks would allow a bit more time for the chips to fall and decisions to be made, which would have franchise-altering implications.

Shea uses the example of the Angels, who decided to hang onto Ohtani this year. When they took him off the market on July 26, they had a 16.7% chance of making the playoffs, according to FanGraphs. Despite trading multiple prospects for players like Lucas Giolito, Randal Grichuk and C.J. Cron, they have gone cold and now have just a 1.3% chance. In an alternate universe where the deadline was in the middle of August, the Angels may have held onto their prospects and added more via an Ohtani trade, completely changing the future course of the club. At the same time, one of the 29 other clubs would have acquired Ohtani for a postseason push, which would have had massive implications for them as well.

The Angels are just one example. The Padres have continued to scuffle and may have given more thought to moving Josh Hader or Blake Snell as their window for a late-season surge narrowed. The Mariners have played extremely well of late and perhaps would have acted differently with more time to take this hot streak into account. There are many tantalizing scenarios to imagine.

Taken as a whole, it’s a compelling case that it would be good for the game to push it back, though it’s unclear if there’s any dialogue between MLB and the MLB Players Association on the matter. Although Shea lists August 15 as the proposed date for a new deadline, it likely wouldn’t settle on a specific spot like that. The new CBA allows the commissioner to set the deadline date somewhere between July 28 and August 3 each year. This allows the league to place it on a weekday with no day games, which eliminates the chances of a “hug watch” situation where a player is traded in the middle of a game. If the deadline were to be pushed back, it would likely be a similar window with some leeway to be moved.

Rays Promote Osleivis Basabe

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August 13: The Rays have now officially recalled Basabe, with left-hander Josh Fleming optioned in a corresponding move.

August 12: The Rays will promote infield prospect Osleivis Basabe to the majors prior to tomorrow’s game with the Guardians, according to Daniel Alvarez-Montes of El ExtraBase (Twitter link).  Basabe is already on Tampa’s 40-man roster, and his first in-game appearance will mark the 22-year-old’s Major League debut.

The Rangers signed Basabe during the 2017-18 international signing period, but then dealt Basabe to Tampa Bay as part of the five-player swap that saw Nathaniel Lowe end up in Arlington.  While Lowe has gone onto become a fixture in the Rangers lineup, it’s rare to see the Rays ever come up short in a trade, and now Basabe looks like an interesting candidate for big-league infield work after a solid season at Triple-A Durham.

Basabe’s hitting took a step up during his 2022 minor league campaign at the high-A and Double-A levels, which earned him his first trip to Triple-A in 2023.  His season at Durham has resulted in a .297/.350/.427 slash line and four homers over 424 plate appearances, with 16 steals as well as 24 doubles and seven triples.  This performance has boosted his prospect stock, as MLB Pipeline (6th) and Baseball America (7th) each rank Basabe within the top seven minor leaguers in the deep Rays farm system.

Both outlets view Basabe as a 60-grade hitter with 55-grade speed, able to beat out some of the many balls that he puts into play with his excellent contact skills.  The power is a question mark, but Basabe’s approach at the plate and ability to draw walks makes him a decent offensive threat even if he might need a bit more pop to stick as a big league regular.  Defensively, Basabe is yet another Rays versatile infield prospect, as he has gotten a lot of time at shortstop, second base, and third base and played solidly well at all three spots.

Speculatively, it could be that Basabe might replace Curtis Mead on the active roster, as Mead hasn’t done much at the plate since making his own MLB debut last week.  The Rays might prefer to give Mead more regular playing time at Triple-A to get his groove back, whereas Basabe might fit more smoothly into a right-handed hitting, part-time infield role.  While the Rays are known for juggling lineups, they’ve gotten into a somewhat regular alignment of Wander Franco at shortstop, Yandy Diaz at first base, Brandon Lowe at second base, and Isaac Paredes at third, leaving little room for Mead, Basabe or anyone to really clock regular at-bats behind these established starters.

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