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Archives for August 2024

Orioles Sign Jean Segura To Minor League Deal

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The Orioles announced that they have signed infielder Jean Segura to a minor league deal. The veteran has been out of affiliated ball for over a year, having been released by the Guardians at the start of August last year. He could perhaps report to Triple-A Norfolk shortly but may also go to another affiliate for a tune-up after his long layoff.

It’s a surprising signing that comes completely out of the blue. Not only has Segura not played any official games in the past year, he also wasn’t featured in any substantive offseason rumors, nor does it appear that he played in any winter or foreign leagues.

The absence comes on the heels of his worst career season. He hit .219/.277/.279 for a 52 wRC+ in 85 games for the Marlins last year, the first season of a two-year, $17MM deal that he signed with the Fish. He and Kahlil Watson were flipped to the Guardians for Josh Bell at the deadline, but the Guards immediately released Segura, indicating his inclusion was simply for financial reasons. No team signed Segura for the final two months or for 2024, until now.

Prior to his awful 2023 season, he had a lengthy run as a solid player in the big leagues. From 2016 to 2022, he got into 849 games between the Diamondbacks, Mariners and Phillies. He got to double-digit home runs in every full season of that stretch and had at least nine stolen bases in all of them. Overall, he hit 84 long balls and slashed .295/.345/.434 for a wRC+ of 107 while swiping 109 bases. He was gradually moved from shortstop to second base in that stretch, playing a bit of third base as well, and produced 21.9 wins above replacement in the eyes of FanGraphs.

Whether Segura can engineer a bounceback after his rough 2023 season and long stint away from the game is anyone’s guess, but there’s no real risk for the Orioles in trying. The Guardians are still on the hook for the final year of his contract, so the O’s would only have to pay Segura the prorated league minimum for any time he ultimately spends on their roster, which would be subtracted from what Cleveland pays.

Not too long ago, the Baltimore infield was characterized by having more good players than opportunities, but the situation has changed significantly in the past few weeks. They included Connor Norby in the Trevor Rogers deal and also saw Jordan Westburg and Jorge Mateo land on the injured list.

They still have a solid infield mix though third base is perhaps a little less impressive than the other spots. Ryan O’Hearn and Ryan Mountcastle are sharing first base while Jackson Holliday and Gunnar Henderson have the middle spots covered. At the hot corner, Ramón Urías and Coby Mayo are the top options at the moment. Mayo just got called up but his first 15 major league plate appearances have resulted in a line of .000/.133/.000. Urías has a much better line of .234/.309/.364, though that still leads to a subpar 95 wRC+. Urías does have a strong defensive reputation but his numbers in that department are down this year: -3 Defensive Runs Saved and -6 Outs Above Average from the third base spot.

The O’s can take a close-up look at the veteran Segura in the coming weeks and see how it goes. Perhaps he can convince the club’s decision makers that he’s an upgrade over their current options or simply provide them with some non-roster depth in case another injury pops up in the coming weeks. He’ll be competing with guys like Terrin Vavra and Liván Soto, who are each on the 40-man roster but currently on optional assignment, as well as non-roster guys like Niko Goodrum, J.D. Davis and Nick Maton.

Twins Showing Interest In Rich Hill

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The Twins have been in contact with veteran left-hander Rich Hill, who hosted a showcase for big league scouts earlier today, reports Dan Hayes of The Athletic. The Red Sox were also in attendance for Hill’s showcase, WEEI’s Rob Bradford tweets, though it’s not clear whether they’ve spoken to Hill about a potential reunion. The Yankees and Dodgers were previously connected to Hill and thus presumably also in attendance this morning.

Minnesota’s interest comes at a time when Joe Ryan was just diagnosed with a Grade 2 strain of the teres major muscle in his right shoulder that puts the remainder of his season in jeopardy. Ryan joined righty Chris Paddack on the 15-day IL earlier today, leaving Minnesota with an inexperienced group of options — Simeon Woods Richardson, David Festa, Louie Varland — behind veterans Pablo Lopez and Bailey Ober in the starting rotation.

Hill, 44, has said since last year that his plan for the 2024 season was to pitch — but only in the season’s second half. The southpaw signed a one-year deal with the Pirates in the 2022-23 offseason and pitched well early before beginning to show signs of fatigue. He still managed to eat up 146 1/3 innings between Pittsburgh and San Diego (who acquired him at last year’s trade deadline), but it was generally a tale of two seasons for Hill. The lefty notched a respectable 4.34 ERA and matching FIP through his first 15 starts, punching out 21.1% of his opponents against an 8.6% walk rate. In his final 63 1/3 innings, he was torched for a 6.82 ERA with a 17.7% strikeout rate, 9% walk rate and 1.71 HR/9.

Waiting until later in the season affords MLB’s elder statesmen some perks beyond potentially keeping him fresh. Most importantly, Hill has spoken on record before about the additional time he was able to spend with his family, coaching his son’s team (link via MLB.com’s Ian Browne). Signing in August also ensures that he’s able to land with a club that has a good shot at making the postseason.

Minnesota would fit that bill. The Twins have been in second place in the AL Central and holding onto an AL Wild Card spot for most of the season. At 63-50, the Twins are 3.5 games behind Cleveland in the division, but they’re also hosting the Guardians for a four-game set this weekend that would shake up the top of the division if Minnesota can manage a sweep. (They’re currently leading the Guards in Game 1 of today’s doubleheader.)

Hill is no stranger to the Twins organization, having pitched there during the shortened 2020 season. Injuries limited him to eight starts, but he posted a 3.03 ERA in 38 2/3 innings as a Twin and reached the postseason that year. Bradford spoke to a scout who was at Hill’s showcase this morning, noting that the lefty threw more than 100 pitches and looked “impressive” (X link). Hill himself tells Bradford that he believes he’s built up to the point where he’s ready to go throw five or six innings in a start right now (video link).

Hill isn’t the only reinforcement the Twins are pondering, though second alternative is nearly half Hill’s age. Top prospect Zebby Matthews has skyrocketed up prospect rankings this season on the back of a dominant showing in High-A and Double-A. He was recently bumped up to Triple-A St. Paul, and president of baseball operations Derek Falvey confirmed to the Twins beat that Matthews is under consideration for a promotion to the majors.

“I think Zebby’s definitely in the conversation,” Falvey said this afternoon (X link via KSTP’s Darren Wolfson). “Obviously, he’s pitched exceptionally well for the whole year all the way through levels he’s been at. He’s now at Triple-A and knocking on the door. With the injuries we have, he’s certainly in the conversation. As we think about the needs for next week, he’s certainly a name that we’re talking about.”

Matthews, the Twins’ eighth-round pick in 2022, already looks like a nice find for the organization. The right-hander posted sub-2.00 ERAs in both High-A and Double-A before his recent promotion to Triple-A. He’s had two solid starts and two rough starts at the top minor league level. Collectively, he’s posted a 2.60 ERA with an impressive 30.5% strikeout rate and a staggering 1.8% walk rate. Matthews has fanned a hefty 114 opponents and issued just seven walks all season.

Matthews has ridden that breakout season all the way to the No. 61 spot on Baseball America’s recent update to their top 100 prospects, where they note that Matthews has perhaps the best command in minor league baseball. The Athletic’s Keith Law ranks Matthews 60th in the sport, and MLB.com has him as their No. 100 prospect.

Falvey also added that the aforementioned Paddack is still expected back this season. He’s “tracking really well,” per the Twins’ baseball ops leader (X link via The Athletic’s Aaron Gleeman) and could begin a throwing program in the near future. Paddack has had a Jekyll-and-Hyde season, at times looking dominant and others looking fatigued in his first full season back from the second Tommy John procedure of his career. He’s twice punched out 10 hitters in a game and allowed two or fewer runs in 10 of his 17 starts. However, he’s also had starts where he’s been rocked for seven runs and nine runs, leading to a 4.99 ERA on the season.

Paddack’s 88 1/3 innings this season are already more than his combined total from 2022-23 while he underwent and rehabbed from that Tommy John procedure. Nevertheless, the Twins plan to use him as a starter when he’s ready to return, per Falvey. There’s no clear timetable for that yet, but if he can begin a throwing progression soon, a return sometime next month seems feasible. Paddack last pitched on July 14 and has been out since with a forearm strain.

Marlins Designate Kyle Tyler For Assignment

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The Marlins announced Friday that they’ve designated right-hander Kyle Tyler for assignment. His spot on the roster will go to lefty Kent Emanuel, whose contract has again been selected from Triple-A Jacksonville. Miami also optioned righties Darren McCaughan and Emmanuel Ramirez to Jacksonville and added recent waiver claims Brett de Geus and John McMillon to the active roster. Isaac Azout of Fish On First reported earlier today that McMillon, de Geus and Emanuel would be joining the Marlins’ big league roster.

Tyler, 27, has pitched 31 2/3 innings for the Fish this season and limped to a 5.40 ERA. His 17.6% strikeout rate is nearly five percentage points shy of average, and he’s walked an unpalatable 12.7% of his opponents as well. It’s the third season of big league experience for Tyler, a 17th-round pick of the Angels back in 2018. He’s also suited up more briefly for both the Halos and Padres. In 48 career innings, he has a 4.31 ERA, 15.9% strikeout rate and 12% walk rate. The right-hander sits in the low 90s with a four-seamer and cutter, and he also works in a roughly 82 mph slider and 77 mph curveball to round out his arsenal.

While Tyler hasn’t pitched well in the big leagues, he sports a decent Triple-A track record and has been doing his best work at that level in 2024. He’s tossed 50 innings with Jacksonville and logged a 3.06 earned run average with a 21.6% strikeout rate and 10.3% walk rate. The Oklahoma native is in the second of three minor league option years and has experience working as both a starter and reliever. He’s been starting recently for the Marlins and is stretched out to the point where he tossed 84 pitches in his last outing and has recently climbed as high as 94 pitches. A team seeking rotation depth could place a claim. The Marlins will place him on outright waivers or release him by next week.

As for Emanuel, this will be the fifth time Miami has selected the left-hander’s contract in 2024 alone. He’s been designated for assignment and outrighted a remarkable four times already this season but has accepted the assignment to Jacksonville each time.

Emanuel signed a minor league deal over the winter and in four previous stints this season has combined to allow seven earned runs in 9 1/3 innings. He’s struggled in Triple-A as well, working to a 6.15 ERA in 45 1/3 innings. Given the Marlins’ prior usage of the lefty, it could very well be another brief stay on the roster. It’s probably not the way he’d have preferred to go about it, but Emanuel has picked up more than three weeks of big league service time and big league pay this year while ping-ponging back and forth between Jacksonville and Miami.

Cubs, Josh Staumont Agree To Deal

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The Cubs have agreed to a deal with free-agent righty Josh Staumont, reports Darren Wolfson of KSTP and SKOR North Radio. The Twins released Staumont recently after designating him for assignment. He’s headed to the Cubs’ Triple-A affiliate in Iowa.

Staumont, 30, pitched to a solid 3.70 ERA in 24 1/3 frames with Minnesota prior to being cut loose, but his velocity was down considerably from peak levels and he managed that run-prevention mark in spite of a rough strikeout and walk rates. The now-former Twins and Royals right-hander fanned just 17.6% of his opponents — well below league-average and well below the 26.2% mark he carried into the season. The dip in strikeouts didn’t come with improved command, either. Staumont, who walked 13% of his opponents with the Royals between 2019-23, issued a free pass to 13.7% of his opponents with the Twins. His 5.06 SIERA casts a far less encouraging picture than his baseline ERA.

Even with sub-par command, Staumont at one point looked to be breaking out as a solid member of the Kansas City bullpen in 2020-21. The 2015 second-rounder pitched 91 1/3 innings out of the Royals’ bullpen between those two seasons and turned in a sharp 2.76 ERA with an impressive 29% strikeout rate and 11.4% walk rate. Staumont averaged better than 98 mph in 2020 and just shy of 97 mph in 2021. Injuries have since taken their toll, however. He’s missed time with biceps, knee, calf and a pair of neck injuries all since 2021, and his 2023 season ended when he underwent thoracic outlet surgery last summer.

The Twins inked Staumont to a one-year, $950K contract in free agency over the winter. They’re on the hook for the remainder of that sum, minus the prorated league minimum for any time spent on the Cubs’ big league roster (which would be paid by Chicago). If Staumont makes it up to the majors with the Cubs and impresses them, he’ll be eligible for arbitration once more this winter and could thus be retained through the 2025 season.

Marlins Claim Xzavion Curry, Designate Shaun Anderson

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The Marlins have claimed right-hander Xzavion Curry off waivers from the Guardians, the teams announced Friday. Cleveland designated Curry for assignment earlier in the week. In order to open space on the 40-man roster, Miami designated righty Shaun Anderson for assignment.

Curry, who recently turned 26, was the organization’s seventh-round pick back in 2019. He made his big league debut in 2022 and has ranked as highly as No. 22 in the Guardians’ farm system on Baseball America’s prospect rankings. Despite that, however, he’s yet to find much success in the majors. He’s logged 129 innings and yielded a 4.53 ERA, including a particularly tough 5.84 mark in this year’s 24 2/3 innings. Curry has a strong 7.3% walk rate in the majors but a lackluster 15.2% strikeout rate. He’s seen both his 92-93 mph fastball and his curveball hit hard by big leaguers — particularly the latter (.321/.355/.607).

He hasn’t fared particularly well in Triple-A either, but Curry had solid numbers up through Double-A, has good command of the strike zone and is in the second of three minor league option years. He’ll give Miami some length in the bullpen or an option to step into a rotation that’s been depleted by myriad injuries and the deadline trade of southpaw Trevor Rogers.

Miami acquired the 29-year-old Anderson in a cash swap with the Rangers back in May. He’s been up and down a couple times with the Fish but been tagged for an ugly 13 runs in just 10 2/3 innings. The well-traveled righty has fared far better in Triple-A this season, with a 2.42 ERA and 45-to-11 K/BB ratio in 48 1/3 frames. The Marlins are Anderson’s seventh big league club. He’s pitched 149 2/3 innings in the majors but struggled to a 6.19 ERA in that time. Anderson has a nice Triple-A track record (3.66 ERA, 20.7 K%, 7.4 BB% in six seasons) but hasn’t managed to carry that over to the big leagues yet.

Now that the trade deadline has passed, Anderson will be placed on outright waivers or release waivers by next week.

Yankees Acquire Cam Eden From Blue Jays

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The Yankees announced Friday that they’ve acquired outfielder Cam Eden in a trade sending cash back to the Blue Jays. He’s been assigned to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre for the time being.

Eden, 26, was Toronto’s sixth-round pick back in 2019. He briefly made his big league debut late last season, appearing in five games and going 1-for-6 with a pair of strikeouts. The Jays removed him from the 40-man roster after the season, outrighting him to Triple-A Buffalo. Because Eden was not on the Jays’ 40-man roster at any point this season, he’s eligible to be traded even after the major league trade deadline.

[Related: How to Acquire Players After the MLB Trade Deadline]

While Eden isn’t likely to factor heavily into the Yankees’ plans down the stretch, he’s a Triple-A piece at a time when Everson Pereira is out for the season and Jasson Dominguez could soon get a call to the big leagues. Eden is also a potential bench/pinch-running option in September or even in the postseason, if the Yankees choose to dedicate a roster spot to someone with that type of specialized skill set. He’s hitting just .198/.299/.322 with a 27.4% strikeout rate this season, but he’s also swiped 26 bags in 33 tries. This is his second run through the Triple-A level; Eden hit .257/.354/.333 there last year and stole 53 bases in 57 attempts.

Eden has played all three outfield spots in his pro career. The Cal product has spent the bulk of his time in center field. FanGraphs Eric Longenhagen ranked him at the back of the Jays’ top-34 prospects back in 2022, touting Eden’s plus speed, quick first step in center and baserunning acumen — while also noting that lack of offensive upside that limits his ceiling.

Athletics Outright Gerardo Reyes

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Aug. 9: The A’s announced that Reyes went unclaimed on waivers and has been assigned outright to Triple-A Las Vegas. He’s been outrighted in the past and thus has the option to reject the assignment in favor of free agency.

Aug. 7: The Athletics announced that they have reinstated right-hander Mason Miller from the 15-day injured list and recalled infielder Armando Alvarez from Triple-A Las Vegas. In corresponding moves, they placed outfielder/first baseman Seth Brown on the paternity list and designated righty Gerardo Reyes for assignment.

Miller has been one of the best relievers on the planet this year with a 2.21 earned run average in 40 2/3 innings. He has struck out a massive 45.8% of batters faced while keeping his walks to a reasonable 9.2% level and also getting grounders on 40.6% of balls in play. He has secured 15 saves in 17 opportunities on the year.

He’s been on the IL for a couple of weeks now due to a fractured pinkie finger in his left hand. There was some initial confusion about how the injury came about, but manager Mark Kotsay confirmed that Miller had struck a padded table in frustration, in video relayed on X by A’s on NBCS. Though it’s disappointing when injuries come about in such fashion, Miller has thankfully returned after a minimal absence. Since the injury was to his non-throwing hand, he initially wasn’t able to squeeze his glove but was able to throw while on the shelf.

While Miller was out of action, the club traded Lucas Erceg to the Royals and selected Reyes to take his spot on the roster. Reyes has since tossed four innings for the A’s, only allowing two earned runs despite issuing three walks and only punching out two opponents. It seems he wasn’t part of the club’s long-term plans and has been nudged off the 40-man roster since he’s out of options.

Since the trade deadline has passed, the A’s will place him on waivers in the coming days. He now has a 7.13 ERA in 41 2/3 major league innings but has generally been better in the minors. That includes 33 Triple-A innings prior to his call-up this year with a 3.82 ERA. His 12.1% walk rate in that time was high but he punched out 36.4% of batters faced. If any club puts in a claim, Reyes has less than a year of service time and can therefore be cheaply retained beyond the current campaign.

Giants Option Camilo Doval

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The Giants have optioned right-hander Camilo Doval, per Maria I. Guardado of MLB.com on X. Earlier, Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle had reported on X that Doval appeared to be headed out. The club also optioned catcher Jakson Reetz, per Guardado on X. To take the two roster spots, catcher Curt Casali was reinstated from the paternity list and Landen Roupp was recalled.

The move highlights what a struggle the 2024 campaign has been for Doval, especially lately. He spent the 2022 and 2023 seasons as a lights-out closer for the club, tossing 135 1/3 innings with a 2.73 earned run average. He struck out 29.5% of batters faced and got ground balls at a 54.4% clip. His 9.9% walk rate was a tad high, but not egregiously so. For reference, MLB relievers had a combined 9.5% walk rate last year. Doval saved 27 games in 2022 and 39 last year, the latter number leading the National League.

That performance put him on the map as one of the better closers in the game. He was selected to the 2023 National League All-Star team and the Giants had some extension talks with him last year. But 2024 has been a different story. Doval has racked up another 22 saves but that’s in spite of his 4.70 ERA on the year. His strikeout and ground ball rates are still strong but he’s walked 14.3% of batters faced.

Things have been trending in the wrong direction as well. Since the start of June, Doval has a 6.75 ERA in his 21 1/3 innings pitched and blown four saves in that time. Clearly, the Giants feel he needs some kind of reset. Rather than simply moving him to a lower leverage role, they’ll send him to the minors to try to get him back on track.

The Giants will now have to figure out who will close games. Manager Bob Melvin said that they will have one guy for the job but he hasn’t told that guy yet, per Slusser on X. He did say that Jordan Hicks could be an option later but not at the moment.

Perhaps that will point to Ryan Walker stepping in and taking the job. The righty debuted last year with a 3.23 ERA in 61 1/3 innings. He’s been even better this year, with a 2.24 ERA in his 60 1/3 innings. He has struck out 30.5% of batters faced while only giving out walks at a 5.6% clip and opposing batters have put the ball on the ground at a 47.5% rate. He has moved into a leverage role with 21 holds on the year so far.

Turning to Doval and his contract status, the move isn’t likely to have a massive impact on him unless this turns into an exceptionally long stint in the minors. He came into this season with two years and 71 days of service time, putting him 101 days shy of the three-year mark. Since we’re over 130 days into the season at this point, he’s already gone past that line. That means he’ll qualify for arbitration this winter and is still on track for free agency after 2027.

Optional assignments in future seasons could impact that timeline, however. He currently has two option years. A player needs to spend at least 20 days on optional assignment in a given season for that to count as one of their options. Even if Doval does stay down to use one here in 2024, he’ll have another that could be used in an upcoming season.

Of course, all parties involved will be hoping that these are concerns that will become moot. Ideally, Doval can quickly regain his control and return to the Giants in short order and boost their bullpen for the stretch run. The club is 59-58 and just three games away from a playoff spot at the moment. They feel that optioning Doval to the minors is the best thing for the club at the moment but him returning to form would obviously be best for the future.

Joe Ryan Diagnosed With Grade 2 Teres Major Strain

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The Twins received bad news following right-hander Joe Ryan’s MRI, as he’s been diagnosed with a Grade 2 teres major strain that’ll threaten the remainder of his season, manager Rocco Baldelli announced to the Twins beat this morning (X link via Do-Hyoung Park of MLB.com). It’s a more serious injury than the Twins initially anticipated, and while Baldelli didn’t entirely rule Ryan out for the remainder of the season, he acknowledged that it’ll take “weeks to months” for the right-hander to recover.

Ryan is headed to the 15-day IL for now, and the Twins have also selected the contract of right-hander Scott Blewett from Triple-A St. Paul in his place. Right-hander Brock Stewart, who is headed for season-ending shoulder surgery, was placed on the 60-day IL to open a spot for Blewett. Minnesota also reinstated infielder Kyle Farmer from the injured list, placed infielder Brooks Lee on the 15-day IL due to biceps tendinitis, and called up right-hander Louie Varland as the 27th man for their pivotal doubleheader against the division-leading Guardians.

The injury for Ryan is a gut-punch to a Twins club that was unable to acquire a starting pitcher prior to the trade deadline and has already seen its rotation depth stretched thin. The 28-year-old Ryan has been perhaps their steadiest starter in 2024, logging 135 innings of 3.60 ERA ball with a strong 27.3% strikeout rate against an outstanding 4.3% walk rate. He’s been a fixture in the Twins’ rotation since being acquired from the Rays in exchange for Nelson Cruz at the 2021 trade deadline, making 84 starts with a 3.92 ERA and consistently strong strikeout and walk rates.

With Ryan joining Chris Paddack and Anthony DeSclafani — who required season-ending surgery back in spring training — on the injured list, Minnesota will be forced to lean on a rookie-heavy rotation while trying to overtake Cleveland and fight off Kansas City in the AL Central race. Pablo Lopez and Bailey Ober provide plenty of big league experience, but they’ll be followed by Simeon Woods Richardson, David Festa and likely Varland in the season’s final seven weeks or so. Right-hander Zebby Matthews, who has rocketed up prospect rankings in 2024 while dominating High-A and Double-A, could be called to the big leagues sooner than he otherwise would have with a healthier staff. Veteran righty Adam Plutko is also in Triple-A with the Twins and has pitched to a respectable 4.35 ERA there — including a 3.38 mark over his past seven starts.

Given the increased level of strain on the pitching depth, it wouldn’t be all that surprising to see the Twins pursue some additional depth. Their avenues to doing so are limited now that the deadline has passed, but they still have some options. Rich Hill, who pitched for the Twins in 2020, is planning to sign for the stretch run and showcased for teams just today. Some depth options like Xzavion Curry (Guardians) and Jackson Wolf (Padres) were designated for assignment within the past week and could hold appeal — if they make it to the Twins on waivers. As MLBTR’s Darragh McDonald recently laid out for MLBTR Front Office subscribers, we could see a handful of notable veterans hit waivers later this month if their teams falter, although the Twins slashed payroll considerably this past offseason and ownership might balk at the notion of absorbing additional payroll for the stretch run.

In the short-term, the Twins will give Varland the first start and slot Blewett, who pitched for the 2020-21 Royals, into the bullpen. Varland opened the season in the rotation after an encouraging run late last year, but the Twin Cities native was hit hard early this season, optioned to Triple-A and eventually leapfrogged by Woods Richardson and Festa on the depth chart. He’s struggled in Triple-A overall but had rattled off a 1.48 ERA with 35 strikeouts and 14 walks in his past six starts there (30 1/3 innings).

As for Blewett, he inked a minor league deal in the offseason. The 28-year-old righty was a second-round pick by the Royals back in 2014 and has bounced around pro ball, also spending time in the White Sox and Braves systems in addition to a nice stint with the Uni-President Lions in Taiwan’s Chinese Professional Baseball League last year. He’s pitched 56 1/3 innings for the Saints this season and notched a solid 3.66 ERA with a 23.2% strikeout rate and 7.6% walk rate in that time.

The injury to Lee, 23, will open the door for Farmer’s return. Lee was the No. 8 overall pick in 2022 and currently stands as a consensus top-50 prospect in the sport. He missed the beginning of the season with a stress reaction in his back but returned to light fire to Triple-A pitching, hitting opponents at a .329/.394/.635 clip with seven homers in just 94 plate appearances before being summoned to the majors amid other injuries in Minnesota’s infield. He’ll head to the shelf himself now, leaving the Twins with Farmer and Willi Castro at second and short, Royce Lewis at third base and Carlos Santana at first base (in addition to Jose Miranda mixing in at the infield corners).

Guardians Place Carlos Carrasco On Injured List

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The Guardians placed right-hander Carlos Carrasco on the 15-day injured list Friday with a left hip strain and optioned infielder/outfielder Angel Martinez to Triple-A Columbus, per a team announcement. In their places, Cleveland recalled outfielder Will Brennan and reliever Peter Strzelecki from Columbus. The Guards also called up left-hander Joey Cantillo as the 27th man for today’s doubleheader against the Twins.

Cantillo will start Game 1 of today’s twin bill. Zack Meisel of The Athletic tweets that righty Alex Cobb, acquired from the Giants at the trade deadline, will start Game 2 for Cleveland. He’s on the 60-day injured list, so they’ll need to make a corresponding 40-man roster move between games one and two today.

It’s the second IL stint of the season for Carrasco, who opened the year on the 15-day injured list due to neck spasms. He signed a minor league deal to return to Cleveland over the winter, made the rotation in spring training, and is currently second on the team in games started, trailing only right-hander Tanner Bibee.

While Carrasco has been a consistent presence in Cleveland’s rotation this year, his results have paled in comparison to his peak years. The now-37-year-old righty has eaten up 103 2/3 innings but been clobbered for a 5.64 ERA. His 19.9% strikeout rate is a couple percentage points shy of league-average, while his 7.4% walk rate is better than average. However, Carrasco is working with a career-worst 91.8 mph average fastball velocity and has been extremely homer prone, yielding an average of 1.65 long balls per nine frames. A bloated 17% of the fly-balls he yields have left the park. He’s hit a particularly rough patch of late, surrendering 17 runs (on the strength of five homers) in his past 17 2/3 innings.

Carrasco clearly isn’t performing well at the moment, but his placement on the IL further tests the depth for a Guardians club that lost Shane Bieber for the season (Tommy John surgery) back in April and has seen young pitchers Logan Allen and Triston McKenzie struggle to the point that they’ve been optioned to Columbus. The Guards acquired Cobb prior to the deadline and signed veteran left-hander Matthew Boyd to a big league deal as he wrapped up his rehab from 2023 Tommy John surgery. Cobb will make his Guardians debut tonight, and Boyd isn’t expected to be too far behind him.

That could potentially give Cleveland a rotation of Bibee, Cobb, Boyd, Gavin Williams and journeyman Ben Lively down the stretch. There’s potential for a solid group there, but it’s anyone’s guess right now how Cobb will perform coming off hip surgery and how Boyd will perform on the back of last season’s ligament replacement procedure. It’s not the dominant Cleveland rotation we’re used to seeing, but the Guardians boast one of the best bullpens in baseball, which helps to offset some of the uncertainty.

As for Cantillo, today will mark his third big league start. He’s been tagged for six runs in 7 1/3 innings thus far and will face a tough task in squaring off against a Twins team that has thrived against left-handed pitching this year. A former third-round pick, Cantillo has ranked among the Guardians’ more promising young arms since being acquired from the Padres back in the 2020 Mike Clevinger trade. He’s had some command troubles in the upper minors and missed a significant portion of the current season on the injured list, but Cantillo has a 4.21 ERA and 27.1% strikeout rate in 124 career Triple-A frames — albeit against a 13.4% walk rate that’ll need to improve if he’s to sustain success in the majors.

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