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Cubs Select David Bote, Option Nick Madrigal

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The Cubs selected the contract of infielder David Bote this morning, as noted by Tony Andracki of Marquee Sports Network. Right-hander Adbert Alzolay was placed on the 60-day injured list to make room for Bote on the 40-man roster, while infielder Nick Madrigal was optioned to Triple-A in the corresponding active roster move.

The news marks the 31-year-old Bote’s first time on a big league roster since 2022 after he was outrighted off the Cubs roster in November of that year. Bote remained in the organization despite having more than the three years of service time necessary to reject an outright assignment because he did not have the five years of service time required to retain his salary. That was particularly significant for Bote, who was in the midst of a five-year, $15MM extension he signed with Chicago prior to the 2019 season.

That left Bote to play out the 2023 season and the beginning of the 2024 season at the Triple-A level, where he’s posted above average numbers in both seasons while splitting time between all four infield spots. In his return to the majors, the Cubs are surely hoping that Bote can offer the club decent production off the bench, as he did in his first five seasons with the club. To this point in his big league career, Bote has slashed a combined .231/.318/.393 (91 wRC+) while playing primarily second and third base.

Even that slightly below average production would constitute a major upgrade over what Madrigal has offered the Cubs so far this season. In 94 trips to the plate across 51 games with the club this year, the 27-year-old has hit a paltry .221/.280/.256 with just four walks and three extra-base hits, all of them doubles. That translates to a wRC+ of just 59, and the infielder hasn’t made up for that anemic offensive production with the glove, as his -5 Outs Above Average this year places him in the third percentile of all qualified fielders this year.

It’s been an extremely frustrating Cubs tenure for the former fourth overall pick in the 2018, who was traded across town alongside Codi Heuer in the deal that sent Craig Kimbrel to the White Sox at the 2021 trade deadline. Since making his Cubs debut in 2022, Madrigal has hit just .254/.301/.312 with a wRC+ of 75 as he’s struggled to translate his pure contact profile into production at the major league level due to lack of power and a minuscule 4.5% walk rate. The 27-year-old will now head to Triple-A in hopes of figuring things out at the level while waiting for his next big league opportunity.

Making room on the club’s 40-man roster for Bote is Alzolay, who has been sidelined since the middle of last month due to a flexor strain. While the Cubs have previously indicated that surgery is not being considered for their closer, he nonetheless already appeared poised for a lengthy absence when manager Craig Counsell indicated late last month that Alzolay would remain shut down for at the next few weeks. Now that Alzolay has been transferred to the 60-day IL, even a minimum stay would keep him out until around the All Star break. It’s a tough blow to a Cubs team that has struggled badly in the bullpen, as their relievers have combined for a 4.53 ERA that’s better than only the lowly Rockies among all NL clubs.

Red Sox Select Jamie Westbrook

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10:38am: Cora told reporters (including MassLive’s Christopher Smith) this morning that Gonzalez’s trip to the shelf figures to be close to the ten day minimum. While the injury doesn’t appear to be a particularly serious one, Cora noted that he was likely to need “a few days” and that the club was likely to need the roster spot in the wake of Grissom’s injury.

9:09am: The Red Sox announced a series of roster moves today, including their expected placement of second baseman Vaughn Grissom on the 10-day injured list with a right hamstring strain. Joining Grissom on the 10-day IL is utility infielder Romy Gonzalez, who was shelved with a left hamstring strain. Grissom and Gonzalez will be replaced on the club’s active roster by infielder Bobby Dalbec and utility man Jamie Westbrook. Making room for Westbrook on the club’s 40-man roster is Garrett Whitlock, who was transferred to the 60-day IL.

With Grissom and Gonzalez both joining Triston Casas on the injured list, the infield mix in Boston has been almost completely overhauled. Dominic Smith and Garrett Cooper figure to continue holding down first base in the absence of Casas, while superstar third baseman Rafael Devers will remain in his regular role at the hot corner with the club. Up the middle, the Red Sox now have Westbrook as a backup option at both shortstop and second base, where David Hamilton and Enmanuel Valdez figure to be the club’s primary options, respectively. Dalbec has primarily been a corner infielder throughout his career but has made brief cameos at the big league level at both second base and shortstop, making him a possible emergency backup option for the Red Sox.

That makeshift infield mix has produced mixed results so far this season. Smith and Cooper have both struggled to hit much at first base, with Smith’s .202/.287/.286 slash line slightly beating out Cooper’s .182/.250/.255. Dalbec appears unlikely to help bolster that first base mix very much after he hit just .132/.207/.170 in a 22-game stint in Boston earlier this year, though his .860 OPS in 115 trips to the plate at the Triple-A level since then could provide some reason for optimism about his ability to contribute.

Things have looked a bit better for the Red Sox up the middle, where Hamilton has shown himself to be an able replacement for Trevor Story in 34 games as the club’s fill-in shortstop. In 102 trips to the plate this season, Hamilton has slashed an above-average .269/.333/.398 while playing passable defense at shortstop. Unfortunately, Valdez has struggled to hit to this point in the season at the keystone, slashing just .179/.206/.358 in 31 games with the club.

That could create a path to semi-regular playing time for Westbrook while Grissom is on the shelf, as the Massachusetts native owns a career .281/.375/.457 slash line at the Triple-A level including a .267/.364/.436 in 198 plate appearances this year. If the minor league journeyman, who will celebrate his 29th birthday later this month, can hit anything close to that in his first taste of big league action, he should have the opportunity to establish himself as a firm piece of the club’s infield mix going forward.

As for Whitlock, the right-hander’s placement on the injured list is hardly a surprise after he underwent an internal brace procedure on his right elbow that ended his season last week. Grissom and Gonzalez both figure to be back in action at some point, though specific timetables for return are not known. Grissom’s hamstring strain was described as “mild” by manager Alex Cora last night, and little is known regarding Gonzalez’s injury beyond the diagnosis provided by the Red Sox alongside his placement on the shelf.

Guardians Select Daniel Schneemann

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The Guardians announced this afternoon that they’ve selected the contract of infielder Daniel Schneemann. Outfielder Johnathan Rodriguez was optioned to Triple-A in order to make room for Schneemann on the club’s active roster. Cleveland also announced that right-hander Eli Morgan had been placed on the 15-day injured list, with veteran Carlos Carrasco activated from the IL in the corresponding move. The Guardians’ 40-man roster is now full after the addition of Schneemann, who steps into the spot vacated by Estevan Florial on Friday.

Schneemann, 27, was selected by Cleveland in the 33rd round of the 2018 draft and has been slowly climbing the minor league level ever since. After getting his first taste of Triple-A action in late 2022, Schneemann posted solid numbers for Columbus last year and has gotten off to a incredible start in his second season starting the the highest level of the minors with a .294/.428/.556 slash line in 223 trips to the plate so far this season. To this point in his career, Schneemann has primarily played shortstop and third base but has also seen at least occasional time at second base, first base, and all three infield spots.

Going forward, Schneemann figures to provide a versatile option off the bench for the Guardians who could help contribute offensively all around the diamond. Cleveland’s offense has been a surprising success story this season, although Brayan Rocchio’s work at shortstop, where he’s slashed just .200/.308/.258 in 50 games this year, has left something to be desired. It’s also possible Schneemann could serve as a right-handed complement to the club’s outfield mix alongside Gabriel Arias as the Guardians run out lefties Steven Kwan and Will Brennan in the outfield corners. Brennan, in particular, has slashed just .200/.200/.350 in limited opportunities against southpaws this year.

Making room for Schneemann on the active roster is Rodriguez, a rookie who made his big league debut last month. He’s appeared in just eight games for the Guardians since being promoted to the majors, and went 3-for-23 with five walks and nine strikeouts during his brief cup of coffee in the majors. The youngster figures to return to the Triple-A level, where he’s slashed a much more impressive .276/.389/.449 this year, to wait for his next opportunity.

Also departing the club’s roster is Morgan, who has been placed on the shelf due to right elbow inflammation. It’s a concerning diagnosis for the 28-year-old, particularly given the fact that he’s in the midst of what has been the best start to a season he’s had in his career to this point. Since transitioning to the bullpen full-time in 2022, Morgan had posted a solid pair of seasons in middle relief for the Guardians with a combined 3.69 ERA (108 ERA+) and 3.73 FIP in 134 innings of work. In ten appearances this season, however, Morgan has pitched to a dazzling 1.64 ERA with a 3.24 FIP. Those excellent numbers belie some concerning peripherals, however, as Morgan has struck out just 15.6% of batters faced while walking an elevated 11.1%. That’s a far cry from his numbers the past two years, when he struck out a combined 26.5% of opponents while walking 6.7%.

Replacing Morgan on the club’s active roster is Carrasco. The veteran righty has been on the shelf since mid-May due to an acute neck spasm, but now returns to Cleveland after only a minimum stay on the injured list. The 37-year-old righty returned to the club on a minor league deal this offseason after three seasons in New York and managed to earn a spot on the club’s Opening Day roster in Spring Training as their fifth starter. The righty has struggled through nine starts with the club this year, pitching to a 5.16 ERA and 5.33 FIP in 45 1/3 innings, but nonetheless figures to slot back into the club’s rotation mix alongside Logan Allen, Tanner Bibee, Triston McKenzie, and Ben Lively.

A’s Designate Aaron Brooks For Assignment

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The A’s announced this morning that they’ve activated right-hander Luis Medina from the 60-day injured list. To make room for Medina on both the club’s active and 40-man rosters, right-hander Aaron Brooks was designated for assignment.

Brooks, 34, signed with the A’s on a minor league deal over the winter and was called up last month to help fill out the club’s rotation mix amid a number of injuries to key veterans such as Alex Wood, Ross Stripling, and Paul Blackburn. He ultimately made four starts for the A’s, pitching to a 5.82 ERA with a 5.59 FIP in 21 2/3 innings of work with a strikeout rate of just 10% against a 6% walk rate. With potential long-term pieces like JP Sears and Mitch Spence currently filling out the rest of the club’s rotation mix, Brooks’s mediocre performance wasn’t enough to justify a rotation spot for the righty now that Medina is healthy enough to take the mound.

Going forward, the A’s will have one week to either trade Brooks or attempt to pass the veteran righty through waivers. Should he clear waivers, the veteran would have the opportunity to reject an outright assignment in favor of free agency should he wish to do so. Despite his lackluster results this year, it’s feasible that a club in need of starting pitching depth could have interest in the righty. After all, he’s a veteran of six major league seasons who has compiled 56 appearances and 32 starts in the majors during that time as a back-end starter and long reliever who enjoyed some success overseas while pitching in the Korea Baseball Organization from 2020-21.

Brooks’s spot both on the 40-man roster and in the starting rotation will be taken by Medina, who the A’s acquired alongside Sears and Ken Waldichuk in the Frankie Montas trade at the 2022 trade deadline. The 25-year-old made his big league debut with the A’s last year and struggled to a 5.42 ERA in 23 appearances, 17 of which were starts. Medina’s difficulties at the big league level were primarily attributable to his unsightly 11.5% walk rate, which clocked in less than ten points below his 21.4% strikeout rate.

Despite those ugly peripheral marks, Medina’s 96.1 mph average velocity on his fastball offers plenty of reason for excitement about his abilities if he figure out his command, and his performance improved as the 2023 season continued with a 4.22 ERA and 4.04 FIP in his final 70 1/3 innings of work last year. Medina’s tantalizing upside made him a strong candidate for the fifth starter role in Oakland entering the season until he found himself sidelined by a grade 2 MCL sprain in early March. Medina has been shelved ever since, but now is healthy enough for the A’s to once again offer him the opportunity to join their rotation alongside Sears, Spence, Joey Estes, and Hogan Harris.

Dodgers Notes: Miller, Snell, Kershaw

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Dodgers youngster Bobby Miller made his second rehab start last night as he works his way back from a bout of shoulder inflammation that has kept him out of action since mid-April. As noted by Mike DiGiovanna of the Los Angeles Times, manager Dave Roberts told reporters that Miller experienced “a little velocity drop” during the start. While a drop in velocity can often be a sign of a physical issue of some sort, Roberts suggested that the club does not believe Miller to have been dealt any sort of physical setback in his recovery process.

Lower velocity could help to explain Miller’s rough final line last night, as he allowed four runs on five hits and a walk in 3 1/3 innings of work without recording a strikeout. That shaky performance doesn’t seem to have altered the club’s plans for Miller, however, as MLB.com’s Injury Tracker notes that Miller is scheduled to make his next rehab start at the Triple-A level before the Dodgers decide on whether or not he’s ready to rejoin the big league club. A fully healthy return from Miller would surely be a shot in the arm for the club, as the 25-year-old looked good in 22 starts during his rookie season last year with a 3.76 ERA and 3.51 FIP in 124 1/3 innings of work.

More notes from L.A….

  • A recent report from Jon Heyman of the New York Post suggests that the Dodgers “made a late play” to land left-hander Blake Snell before he ultimately signed with the Giants on a two-year, $62MM deal. That the Dodgers had interest in Snell prior to his deal with San Francisco comes as something of a surprise given reporting from Heyman back in December that indicated the Dodgers had no interest in the reigning NL Cy Young award winner. Of course, in the months between those reports the market for Snell dried up considerably and he began to entertain short-term offers. Given Snell’s 10.42 ERA in five starts this year with the Giants, L.A. may have ended up better off by entering the season with a rotation of Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Tyler Glasnow, Bobby Miller, James Paxton, and Gavin Stone. With Paxton and Walker Buehler both scheduled to hit free agency following the 2024 campaign, it’s possible the Dodgers could once again be a suitor for Snell’s services this winter should he rebound enough to opt out of year two of his deal with the Giants.
  • DiGiovanna also relays that the club’s longtime franchise face is making progress as he looks to work his way back from shoulder surgery. Lefty Clayton Kershaw faced six hitters in a live bullpen session yesterday, and in conversation with reporters (including DiGiovanna) compared to outing to an outing that would happen in the early stages of Spring Training during a normal year. The plan for Kershaw is currently for him to work his way towards a rehab stint after bumping up to two innings during his next bullpen session. As the Injury Tracker at MLB.com notes, the veteran lefty appears to be around six weeks away from a return to the big leagues, a timeline which would put him on track to return around the All Star break next month. Kershaw pitched through shoulder troubles last year, posting a 2.46 ERA in 24 starts for the Dodgers during the regular season, but ultimately opted to undergo surgery after a disastrous postseason start against the Diamondbacks where he allowed six runs while recording just one out.

Angels Option Reid Detmers

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The Angels announced tonight that they have optioned struggling left-hander Reid Detmers to Triple-A Salt Lake following tonight’s loss to the Mariners. No corresponding move to replace Detmers on the active roster was announced.  [UPDATE: Right-hander Ben Joyce was called up from Triple-A today to take Detmers’ spot, the team announced.]

The move comes on the heels of a difficult start for Detmers against Seattle this evening, where he surrendered five runs on four hits and four walks while striking out three in 3 2/3 innings of work. Tonight’s blowup start is the eighth consecutive difficult start for Detmers, who entered tonight with a brutal 8.59 ERA across 36 2/3 innings of work in his last seven appearances. During that time, the lefty has struck out just 21.5% of batters faced, a significant step down from the 26.1% figure he posted during his 2023 campaign. Perhaps more disconcertingly, Detmers allowed a whopping nine home runs over those seven starts, lifting his home run/fly ball rate this year to a hefty 13.2%.

Given the lefty’s deep struggles over the course of nearly two months of work, it’s hardly a surprise that the Halos would option him to the minors in hopes he can right the ship. After all, the lefty is only in his age-24 season and has flashed the upside of a potential front-end starter at points in his career, including when he punched out a whopping 34.9% of batters faced in his first four starts this season while posting a 1.19 ERA and 1.54 FIP in 22 2/3 innings of work. That inconsistency has been a hallmark of Detmers’s performances since the Angels selected him tenth overall in the 2020 draft. Of the lefty’s 70 career starts in the majors, he’s posted a game score of 60 or higher in 23 of them while posting a game score below 40 in 20 of them. That frustrating combination of clunkers and gems has left Detmers with the career numbers of a slightly below-average major league pitcher (4.60 ERA, 93 ERA+, 4.13 FIP) for his career despite his obvious talent.

Detmers’ demotion could have implications on the lefty’s service time if he spends most of the remainder of the 2024 campaign in the minor leagues. The lefty entered the 2024 season with two years and 64 days worth of service time and has currently accrued 65 days worth of service time to this point in the season. Players accrue 172 days worth of service time across a full season in the majors, meaning Detmers will need to spend at least 43 more days on the major league roster or injured list this season in order to finish the year with three years of service time. If he spends less than 43 days in the big leagues throughout the rest of the 2024 season, the lefty’s first opportunity to reach free agency will be pushed back from after the 2027 campaign until after the 2028 campaign. Fortunately for Detmers, manager Ron Washington told reporters (including Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register) after the game that his move to the minors isn’t expected to be a “permanent” one.

“The whole idea is we just want to get him in an environment where it’s not results that you’re going to be worrying about, and find your stuff,” Washington said, as relayed by Fletcher. “This is not something that’s going to be permanent… We just feel like he needs to be in an environment where he can refind who he is.”

While the lefty attempts to work his way back onto the big league roster in Anaheim, the Angels will need to find a fifth starter to complement their current rotation mix of Tyler Anderson, Patrick Sandoval, Griffin Canning, and Jose Soriano. Right-hander Zach Plesac is the hurler with the most big league experience the Angels have available in the minors, but he’s not on the club’s 40-man roster and has struggled to a 6.52 ERA in eleven starts at the Triple-A level this year. That could leave the Angels to turn to lefty Kenny Rosenberg, who sports a 3.92 ERA and 4.16 FIP in 43 2/3 innings of work at the big league level since he made his debut in 2022 and sports a 3.86 ERA in eleven starts at Triple-A this season.

Another option, as noted by Fletcher, could be injured right-hander Chase Silseth. Silseth posted a 3.96 ERA in sixteen appearances swinging between the rotation and bullpen for the Angels last year but was shelved after just two starts this season due to a bout of elbow inflammation. Since then, however, he’s begun a rehab assignment that saw him throw three innings during his first rehab start yesterday. While Silseth will surely need more time rehabbing in the minors before he’s ready to start in the majors, Fletcher points out that the Angels could postpone their fifth starter decision for nearly two weeks thanks to upcoming days off on June 6 and June 10.

Brewers Had Offseason Extension Talks With Willy Adames

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Brewers owner Mark Attanasio spoke to reporters, including Curt Hogg of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, about a variety of topics prior to last night’s game in Milwaukee. Perhaps most noteworthy of those topics was the future of shortstop Willy Adames, who is currently slated to hit free agency following the 2024 campaign. Attanasio was candid about the fact that the club made “plenty of offers” to Adames throughout the offseason in hopes of retaining him on a long-term deal. While Attanasio did not provide further details on those offers, his comments appeared to suggest that he does not have confidence in his ability to keep Adames in Milwaukee long term at this point.

“He’s the best,” Attanasio said of Adames, as relayed by Hogg. “…Willy’s performance got to a point where it would be – we’ll see what happens after the season – but he’s going to command quite a significant package as a free agent.”

Attanasio certainly isn’t wrong to suggest that Adames has increased his stock with his play so far this season. The 28-year-old had generally established himself as an above-average shortstop on both sides of the ball entering the 2023 campaign, with a .255/.322/.448 slash line (110 wRC+) to go with a whopping 10 Outs Above Average during the 2022 campaign. While 2023 saw Adames maintain those top-of-the-scale defensive metrics at shortstop, his offense took a significant step back.

Despite career best strikeout (25.9%) and walk (11.1%) rates last season, Adames posted a career-worst 94 wRC+ while slashing a paltry .217/.310/.407 in 638 trips to the plate last year. That lackluster production was primarily due to Adames suffering a bit of a power outage. While his 64 home runs and 78 doubles between the 2020-22 campaigns gave him a healthy .220 isolated slugging across those three campaigns, 2023 saw that figure drop to just .190 as he slugged just 24 homers and 29 doubles. That combined with a career-worst .259 batting average on balls in play left Adames as a below average bat overall last year, raising some questions about his ability to command a significant deal this winter.

Fortunately for Adames, he’s largely put those concerns to bed with his performance in the first third of the 2024 campaign. He’s maintained the positive trends in terms of plate discipline from last year, sporting a healthy 10.4% walk rate while cutting his strikeouts down to just 20.7% of the time. On top of that, his .197 ISO suggests his power production is trending in the right direction, as does his hard-hit rate rebounding from just 36.1% last year to 40.7% so far this season. All that has left Adames with a solid .256/.335/.453 slash line (125 wRC+) to go with his best wOBA (.346) since 2021.

What’s more, it’s possible there’s even more offensive potential in Adames’s performance he has yet to tap into as indicated by his career-best .362 xwOBA. That figure is tied with Bryce Harper for 33rd among all qualified hitters this year, placing Adames’s expected production in the same stratosphere as elite infielders like Matt Olson and Rafael Devers. Even if Adames doesn’t end up reaching those heights this year, his current production at the plate in conjunction with defense at shortstop that has ranked in the 96th percentile or better of qualified fielders in each of the past three seasons is sure to make him among the most enticing infielders available this winter.

In the meantime, Adames has helped lead the Brewers to a command 6.5 game lead over the field in the NL Central as they’ve posted a 35-23 record to this point in the season. With such a solid lead in the division, one would be forgiven for assuming that Adames will remain in Milwaukee at least through the end of the 2024 campaign as the club continues to push towards its sixth playoff appearance in seven seasons. GM Matt Arnold indicated to reporters (including Hogg) during the conversation with Attanasio that nothing is guaranteed ahead of the trade deadline this summer, however, as he declined to say that the club’s star shortstop would be off the table this July.

“From my perspective you can never close the door on anything, but he is the heartbeat of our team in a lot of ways,” Arnold said, as relayed by Hogg. “Always want to stay open minded but also recognize the value that he brings to us everyday.”

If the Brewers were to collapse over the next two months, it would hardly be a surprise to see a budget-conscious club that prefers to avoid rebuilding and attempt to contend in perpetuity shop Adames around in hopes of finding longer term assets who could help the club win in the future. It’s much trickier to decipher whether they would seriously consider parting ways with Adames at the deadline if they remain firmly in the playoff picture, however. The Brewers famously dealt Josh Hader to the Padres at the trade deadline while in contention back in 2022, and the loss of the club’s closer surely helped to contribute to the 29-31 record from August 1 onward that left them on the outside looking in during the postseason that year.

On the other hand, the two prospects Milwaukee acquired in the deal, outfielder Esteury Ruiz and lefty Robert Gasser, have both gone on to contribute to the big league club in big ways this season. The Brewers flipped Ruiz during the 2022-23 offseason in order to land catcher William Contreras in a three-team deal with the Braves and A’s, and Contreras has since broken out as one of the league’s very best catchers. As for Gasser, the 25-year-old rookie has looked nothing short of dominant in four starts with the Brewers this season, posting a sterling 1.96 ERA and 2.52 FIP in 23 innings of work.

Given the major success the club has enjoyed in turning the prospects from that deal into production at the big league level less than two years later, it stands to reason that Milwaukee brass would at least consider parting ways with Adames if they felt they could reasonably replace his production down the stretch and come out ahead in the long term. On the other hand, the club’s struggles in 2022 following the Hader trade highlight the risks involved in such a maneuver and could leave Arnold’s front office reluctant to run the same risk just two seasons after it potentially cost the Brewers a postseason berth.

Brian Anderson, Michael Chavis Opt Out Of Minors Deals With Mariners

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Infielders Brian Anderson and Michael Chavis have both opted out of their minor league deals with the Mariners, according to Tacoma Rainiers broadcaster Mike Curto on X. Both players now figure to return to the open market as free agents.

Anderson, 31, is the more established big leaguer of the two. The Marlins’s third-round pick in the 2014 draft, Anderson made his big league debut with the club back in 2017 and hit a decent .262/.337/.369 in 25 games for the club that year. That cup of coffee was enough to earn Anderson a more regular role in Miami, and he quickly established himself as one of the more reliable bats in a Marlins lineup lacking in thump. From 2018 to 2020, Anderson slashed .266/.350/.436 with 42 home runs and 74 doubles in 341 games while splitting time between third base and right field with the Marlins. That performance was worth a wRC+ of 115, which was good for 11th among all qualified third baseman during that three year period while his 7.2 fWAR ranked 12th.

Unfortunately, Anderson would find his career derailed by injuries in 2021 as he missed nearly four month with oblique and shoulder issues. While he managed to appear in 67 games in between stints on the injured list, Anderson posted pedestrian numbers when he was healthy enough to take the field, hitting .249/.337/.378 with just 7 home runs and 9 doubles in 264 trips to the plate. His injuries woes continued in 2022, as he missed two months of time across three trips to the injured list for shoulder and back issues while posting a career-worst .222/.311/.346 slash line in 98 games with the club.

The back-to-back campaigns filled with injuries and ineffectiveness were enough for the Marlins to decide to non-tender Anderson during the 2022-23 offseason, making him a free agent for the first time in his career. The infielder landed on his feet with a one-year deal with the Brewers that winter, though a .226/.310/.368 slash line in 361 trips to the plate with the club last year did little to re-establish him as a big league regular. Anderson found himself designated for assignment before the 2023 season came to a close and lingered on the free agent market into Spring Training before eventually joining the Mariners.

As for Chavis, the 28-year-old was once a first-round pick by the Red Sox back in 2014 and was a consensus top-100 prospect in baseball prior to his big league debut. His career hasn’t lived up to that potential to this point, however, as after a decent rookie season where he slashed a roughly league average .254/.322/.444 in 95 games, he’s posted a slash line of just .231/.265/.382 over the past four seasons split between the Red Sox, Pirates, and Nationals. Chavis was outrighted off of Washington’s 40-man roster back in October and elected free agency as a result, eventually landing with the Mariners on a minor league deal in January.

Since joining the Mariners, both Anderson and Chavis have posted solid numbers at the Triple-A level for the club. Anderson has slashed .270/.358/.439 in 176 trips to the plate, while Chavis has impressed with a .290/.367/.485 line in 191 trips to the plate. Unfortunately for the pair, an excellent performance from Dylan Moore as the club’s right-handed utility infielder has left either without an obvious path to big league playing time with the Mariners, particularly after Luis Urias was optioned to the minors to act as depth already on the 40-man roster.

In addition to their solid slash lines at the Triple-A level this year, both veterans can offer solid versatility. The duo split time at both first and third base for the Rainiers during their time in Tacoma, and Anderson has past experience in right field while Chavis has played not only the outfield corners but also second base throughout his career. Looking ahead, it’s fairly easy to imagine in need of infield depth jumping at the chance to sign either player on a minor league deal. Even so, it seems unlikely that interested clubs would be confident enough in the 2024 performances of either player to offer a big league pact given the inflated offensive environment of the Pacific Coast League.

Red Sox To Place Vaughn Grissom On 10-Day Injured List

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Red Sox manager Alex Cora told reporters, including Ian Browne of MLB.com, following today’s win over the Tigers that second baseman Vaughn Grissom will need to be placed on the 10-day injured list due to what he termed a “mild” hamstring strain. Grissom exited the game after pulling up while running out a groundout earlier in the game, leading to catcher Connor Wong replacing Grissom at the keystone. According to Jen McCaffrey of The Athletic, Cora indicated to reporters that Wong’s surprise appearance at second base today was due to utility infielder Romy Gonzalez not being available, although he did not specify what was ailing Gonzalez or if he would be available tomorrow afternoon.

The news about Grissom constitutes another brutal injury blow for a Red Sox club that has struggled to stay healthy this year, particularly on the positional side. Grissom himself has appeared in just 23 games this season after being sidelined into May by a hamstring strain during Spring Training. Fortunately, as noted by Browne, that strain impacted his left hamstring, while today’s injury was a right hamstring strain. That Grissom’s injury is a new one should allow him to return to action more quickly than if he had re-injured the same hamstring as before, but he’ll nonetheless miss at least the next ten days without a clear timetable for his return to action.

When he’s been healthy enough to take the field, the start to Grissom’s Red Sox tenure has been a difficult one. He’s hit just .159/.209/.163 in 86 trips to the plate for Boston so far this season. That’s a particularly difficult pill to swallow for Red Sox fans given the fact that veteran southpaw Chris Sale, who the club swapped to Atlanta in order to acquire Grissom, has dominanted to a 2.12 ERA and NL-best 2.11 FIP in his first ten starts with the club, helping to anchor the club’s rotation alongside Max Fried in the absence of ace Spencer Strider.

While Grissom’s production to this point won’t exactly be difficult for the Red Sox to replace, his absence will only serve to further compound the club’s other positional injuries. Trevor Story, Triston Casas, Tyler O’Neill, and Masataka Yoshida are all already on the injured list, with Story out for the season and Casas also facing a lengthy absence. Fortunately, the club’s situation is not without silver linings. Cora told reporters (including MassLive’s Christopher Smith) earlier today that O’Neill’s ailing knee has responded well to a cortisone shot and the club figures to be without the outfielder for only the ten day minimum, a timeline which should allow him to return to action early next week.

Pete Abraham of the Boston Globe relayed similarly optimistic news regarding Yoshida, who told reporters that he’s no longer feeling any negative effects from the thumb injury that sidelined him last month. That won’t help the Red Sox in the short term, as Yoshida will still need to build up after a month of time rehabbing the injury before he can return to the big league club, but it’s still an encouraging sign for a team that figures to be without Grissom for at least a couple of weeks. Both Yoshida and O’Neill were hitting at an above-average clip overall at the time of their injuries, and if healthy should be able to step into the club’s outfield mix as key pieces alongside Jarren Duran and Wilyer Abreu.

The impending return of O’Neill, in particular, should be a relief for the Red Sox as it can provide the club with the opportunity to utilize versatile rookie Ceddanne Rafaela, who has mainly played center field for the club this year, on the infield dirt while Grissom is unavailable. In the meantime, the club figures to turn to Enmanuel Valdez and David Hamilton up the middle, with Gonzalez also a potential contributor at the keystone should he return to action in the coming days.

Julio Teheran To Opt Out Of Minors Deal With Cubs

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Veteran right-hander Julio Teheran is opting out of his minor league deal with the Cubs, according to Jon Heyman of the New York Post. Teheran signed with the Cubs back in April after a brief stint with the Mets earlier this year but now appears poised to return to the open market as a free agent.

Teheran, 33, has pitched in parts of 13 big league seasons since he made his debut with the Braves back in 2011. The right-hander first stepped into a full time role with the club as a member of their rotation back in 2013 and spent the next seven seasons in a mid-rotation role with the club, making at least 30 starts in each of those seasons and pitching to a 3.64 ERA (111 ERA+) with a 4.22 FIP overall during that time. That impressive durability allowed him to post the ninth-most innings among all big league pitchers across those seven seasons while making less starts than only Jon Lester, Jose Quintana, and Max Scherzer during that timeframe.

Teheran’s time with the Braves came to an end following the 2019 campaign, however, and he’s bounced between several MLB organizations in the five years since then. He’s pitched for the Angels, Tigers, Brewers, and Mets at the big league level during that time and spent the 2022 campaign out of affiliated ball, instead pitching in the Atlantic League and Mexican League that year. The right-hander’s results at the big league level have left something to be desired since he departed Atlanta; in 110 2/3 big league innings since the start of the 2020 season, Teheran has posted a 6.10 ERA with a nearly matching 6.11 FIP while striking out just 16.1% of batters faced.

While those results certainly leave something to be desired, Teheran’s 14-appearance stint with the Brewers last year, where he posted a league average 4.40 ERA with a 4.93 FIP in 71 2/3 innings, provided some reason for optimism that he could still be a useful arm at the big league level. That was enough to earn Teheran a one-year big league deal with the Mets in early April, although he only made one start for the club before being designated for assignment and returning to the open market. That’s when Teheran landed with the Cubs, who at the time were dealing with injuries to Justin Steele and Jameson Taillon in the rotation while veteran starter Kyle Hendricks was struggling badly.

Since then, however, Steele and Taillon have returned from the shelf to join Shota Imanaga in the club’s rotation and youngsters Ben Brown and Javier Assad have impressed in starting roles of their own, clouding Teheran’s path back to the big leagues in the Cubs organization. With the aforementioned quintet, Hayden Wesneski, and perhaps even Hendricks all ahead of him on the organizational depth chart, it’s understandable that Teheran would prefer to return to the open market in hopes of finding a club that can offer him a clearer path to the big leagues.

Teheran’s performance at Triple-A Iowa during his time with Chicago is unlikely to help him in that endeavor, as he struggled badly with an 8.82 ERA in 32 2/3 innings of work. Still, it’s certainly feasible to imagine a club in need of starting depth offering Teheran a spot in their minor league system, where an injury or two could create an opportunity for the 33-year-old to make his way back to the majors.

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