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Jake Marisnick To Undergo Thumb Surgery

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MAY 11: Marisnick will require a surgical procedure, the team’s director of sports medicine Todd Tomcyzk told Jason Mackey of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. A season-ending reconstruction is on the table, although Tomcyzk indicated it’s likelier Marisnick will undergo a less serious surgery that “only” sidelines him for a matter of weeks, not months.

MAY 10: The Pirates placed outfielder Jake Marisnick, who injured his left thumb after crashing into the wall while making a catch in Monday night’s game against the Dodgers, has been placed on the 10-day IL, the team announced. He’ll be replaced on the active roster by right-hander Max Kranick.

A veteran of 10 big league seasons, Marisnick signed a major league deal with the Pirates this offseason to serve as the team’s fourth outfielder. In the early going Marisnick has looked no closer to replicating his career offensive performance from 2017 in Houston, slashing .163/.196/.204 (18 OPS+) through his first 22 games.

While even modest offensive production would be nice from the longtime outfielder, he has certainly lived up to his defensive reputation thus far, racking up three defensive runs saved in the early going. This feat is all the more impressive considering Marisnick has primarily played out of his customary center field position in deference to Bryan Reynolds.

In Kranick, the Pirates are calling up a 24-year-old pitcher who had trouble keeping runs off the board through nine starts last season. Aside from last year’s freshman struggles, however, the right-hander has generally proven a steady source of solid innings in the minors. Through four appearances and nearly nine innings of work in the Pirates’ system this year Kranick has yielded just three runs and less than a baserunner per inning. He’ll serve as an extra source of bulk innings out of the Pirates bullpen for the time being.

Padres Option C.J. Abrams, Reinstate Wil Myers And Luke Voit, Designate Trayce Thompson For Assignment

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The Padres made a flurry of moves this afternoon, optioning shortstop C.J. Abrams to Triple-A El Paso, reinstating outfielder Wil Myers and first baseman Luke Voit from the 10-day IL, and designating outfielder Trayce Thompson for assignment, reports AJ Cassavell of MLB.com (Twitter link).

The demotion of Abrams, who’d been splitting time at shortstop with Ha-Seong Kim, will come as a disappointment to Padres fans, who’d hoped to see the consensus top-20 prospect (and, until today, youngest player in the NL) hit the ground running in the bigs. But while the 21-year-old has played solid defense in his first taste of the majors, his .182/.270/.273 batting line was simply too much of a drag on an already stagnant Padres offense to give him the playing time the organization will want to give him.

The long-term expectation in San Diego likely remains that Abrams will ultimately dislodge Fernando Tatis Jr. from shortstop, but it may not happen this year unless Abrams can find his stroke in Triple-A. Kim will likely take over primary duties there for the time being, with the recently claimed Sergio Alcántara as his understudy. It isn’t yet clear whether Tatis will reclaim the position upon his expected mid-season return from a fracture in his left wrist, though Abrams’ failure to lay his own claim to it certainly makes that scenario more likely.

Myers and Voit will likely reclaim their spots in the lineup (Myers in right, Voit at DH), though neither had gotten off to a blistering start to the season. Myers, who’s been out since late April with a thumb injury, owns a .218/.254/.273 line in 59 plate appearances, while Voit, also out since late April with a biceps tendon issue, has slashed a mere .143/315/.167 in 54 trips to the plate. Both have proven themselves capable of greater production than they’ve delivered so far, of course, and they should give a boost to a Padres lineup that’s posted a meager 65 wRC+ in May. Manger Bob Melvin has rotated DH duties in Voit’s absence, but Myers will likely take at-bats directly from rookie Jose Azocar (.222/.323/.259 in a 31 PA sample) and the DFAed Thompson.

Indeed, though he’s now appeared in six major league seasons (dating to his 2015 debut with the White Sox) and delivered better-than-replacement-level production on the whole in his big-league career (.205/.280/.397 in 640 plate appearances), Thompson’s departure from the 26-man roster marks another failure to find a permanent home for the 31-year-old former second-rounder. Though he’d hardly played for the Friars (sixteen trips to the plate across six games), his anemic .071/.188/.071 batting line made him a prime choice to fall victim to a roster crunch. As Thompson (the younger brother of NBA star Klay Thompson) has been outrighted before, he can opt to become a free agent, though he may also choose to accept an assignment if he thinks another big-league opportunity with the Padres could present itself.

Angels Place Max Stassi On Injured List, Select Austin Romine

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The Angels placed catcher Max Stassi on the IL this evening, the team announced, and selected the contract of catcher Austin Romine to take his place on the active roster. As Stassi’s IL stint comes without an injury designation, it’s likely COVID-related, which would mean his time on the injured list has no minimum duration.

Signed to a three-year extension this March, Stassi has joined the rest of the league in getting off to a slow start this season. Through 19 games behind the plate, the 31-year-old has hit .200/.288/.354 (91 OPS+) with three home runs and strikeouts in more than one third of his at-bats. While Stassi is striking out in droves, he’s also walking at a career-best rate and is part of a league-best offense that’s been buoyed by otherworldly performances from outfielders Mike Trout and Taylor Ward.

With Stassi’s absence, the first-place Angels have now seen their Opening Day catching tandem hit the IL, with Kurt Suzuki hitting the IL for COVID-related reasons just a few days ago. Any lack of continuity behind the plate should be of some interest to Halos fans, as the duo has helped steer the team’s rotation into a top-10 run prevention unit this season.

The 33-year-old Romine will join the club for his 11th big league season, forming a new catching duo with recent call-up Chad Wallach. Signed to a minor league deal by the club in March, Romine is fresh off an injury-ruined season with the Cubs in which he hit .217/.242/.300. Those numbers have rebounded in a small Triple-A showing this year, but more importantly for the Angels (and their pitchers) the veteran catcher will bring a reputation as a sturdy defender to the big league club.

Rangers To Place Mitch Garver On IL, Recall Sam Huff

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The Rangers will place catcher Mitch Garver on the 10-day IL with a sprained flexor tendon, reports Kennedi Landry of MLB.com (Twitter link). They’ll recall catcher catcher Sam Huff from Triple-A Round Rock to take his place on the active roster.

It’s a tough break for the Rangers, as Garver was one of the team’s marquee acquisitions this winter in the deal that sent Isiah Kiner-Falefa to the Twins for a spell. Appearing in 22 of his team’s games, the 31-year-old Garver has yet to find a groove offensively, hitting just .205/.292/.346 (92 OPS+) with a trio of home runs.

The one-time Silver Slugger winner will need to do better than that when he returns, though he’s no stranger to rebounding from injuries, as he’s played in more than 100 games just once during his Major League career. While Garver’s hard-hit numbers are down, both his walk and strikeout rates compare favorably to his career numbers and the league average, perhaps portending improved performance when he returns from the IL.

Sam Huff returns to the big league team for the second time this season, following a one-game cameo at the end of April. Huff, a former top-100 prospect, was in the midst of another fine season in the minors, batting .260/.349/.575 with 7 home runs through 19 Triple-A games. He’ll slot in as the team’s number two catcher for the time being, behind the hot-hitting Jonah Heim, and will likely factor into the team’s DH mix as well.

Rays Option Calvin Faucher To Triple-A, Recall Vidal Bruján

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One day after calling him up, the Rays optioned right-hander Calvin Faucher to Triple-A Durham today, the team announced. Infielder/outfielder Vidal Bruján has been recalled to take his spot on the active roster and will start tonight’s game against the Angels in right field.

Faucher did pitch in his brief introduction to the bigs, covering the seventh inning of the Rays’ loss to the Angels on Monday night. His debut hardly went to plan, though, as he allowed allowed five runs — including a Shohei Ohtani grand slam — before recording an out.

Bruján, who played in ten games with the Rays last year after a July call-up and a single game earlier this season, will hope to stick in the bigs this time around after logging a .300/.400/.467 triple-slash across 70 plate appearances at Triple-A Durham. The speedy switch hitter’s versatility will likely help his case. While Wander Franco is obviously quite firmly established at shortstop, Bruján has already seen action at four positions in the majors (second base and all three outfield spots) and has played both short and third in the minors.

The Rays originally signed Bruján out of the Dominican Republic for a paltry $15K. While his speed is his carrying tool (he’s stolen 201 bases in 518 minor league games), he also possesses excellent bat-to-ball skills and solid plate discipline; his walk rate in the minors (10.7%) is only barely eclipsed by his strikeout rate (11.9%). Given manager Kevin Cash’s proven penchant for players capable of covering multiple positions, should Bruján prove himself capable of replicating those numbers in the majors, he could quickly begin challenging 2022 under-performers Taylor Walls, Brett Phillips, Brandon Lowe, and perhaps even Randy Arozarena and Kevin Kiermaier for at-bats.

Tigers Option Akil Baddoo To Triple-A, Recall Rony Garcia

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The Tigers optioned struggling outfielder Akil Baddoo to Triple-A today, the team announced. In a corresponding move, they recalled RHP Rony Garcia to take his spot on the roster.

While the demotion hardly writes the 23-year-old Baddoo out of GM Al Avila’s long-term plans, it does speak to the marked contrast between the outfielder’s start to the 2022 season, in which he’s slashed a meager .140/.218/.220, and the hot start to his 2021 rookie campaign, during which he logged a .271/.352/.462 triple-slash before fading down the stretch. Advanced statistics do suggest there’s at least some bad luck involved in his slow start, though that likely isn’t the whole picture. Baddoo has seen only a minor increase in his strikeout rate (from 26.5% in 2021 to 27.3 % in 2022) and a minor dip in his walk rate (from 9.8% to 9.1%), but his BABIP has fallen from .335 (against an MLB average of .290) to a mere .176. While some of this variance can likely be explained by his hard-hit rate (the percentage of balls in play with an exit velocity of 95 mph or higher) falling from 32.3% to 22.9%, he’s also probably fallen victim to some poor batted-ball luck this year — and was perhaps the beneficiary of some good luck last year.

2014 first-rounder Derek Hill, who’s slashed .250/.273/.281 this year in limited action, is the likeliest candidate to take Baddoo’s spot in center, at least in the short term. Cody Stavenhagen of The Athletic notes that utility-man Willi Castro is also likely to see time there, though he’s only logged a handful of big-league innings as an outfielder — and all of them in left.

Though Baddoo is hardly the only culprit, he and second baseman Jonathan Schoop have been particularly unproductive for a Detroit squad that’s clearly underperforming expectations. After doling out $238MM in guaranteed money in free agency (to shortstop Javier Baez, starters Eduardo Rodriguez and Michael Pineda, and reliever Andrew Chafin) and acquiring catcher Tucker Barnhart and outfielder Austin Meadows via trade (from the Reds and Rays, respectively), the Tigers have limped along to a collective 80 wRC+ (ahead of only the Royals, Red Sox, A’s, and Reds) that’s seen them fall nine games off the pace in AL Central.

Given the lack of outfield depth in Detroit — and particularly the shortage of options in center — it’s unlikely Baddoo will remain in the minors for long if he can regain his stroke in Toledo. Should he fail to find his form, however, he does run the risk of being overtaken by consensus top-ten prospect Riley Greene, who’s been sidelined by a fractured right foot but is expected to return to action around the end of May — and could well prove himself ready for the majors not long thereafter.

In what will be his second stint with the club this season, Garcia, owner of a career 6.39 ERA (6.42 FIP) across 31 big-league innings, will slot in at the back end of the Detroit bullpen. The righty was effective in limited action before he was optioned to Triple-A ahead of the late-April return of Chafin from injury, notching 6 1/3 innings of 2.84 ERA ball.

Cubs Make Series Of Roster Moves

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The Cubs made a flurry of roster moves today. Per Meghan Montemurro of the Chicago Tribune, the club optioned right-hander Adrian Sampson to Triple-A Iowa, recalled Frank Schwindel from Triple-A Iowa, selected left-hander Conner Menez onto the major league roster, and placed right-hander David Robertson on the IL without an injury distinction — generally a sign that the move is COVID-related. Presuming Robertson’s IL stint is indeed COVID-related, the Cubs would not have been required to add Menez to the 40-man roster in order to add him to the active roster, though Montemurro later clarified that the club has added him to the 40-man.

Sampson’s demotion and Schwindel’s return to the majors mark something of an abrupt about-face for the Cubs, who’d selected Sampson’s contract (to replace Marcus Stroman, who also went on the IL without an injury designation) and optioned Schwindel to Triple-A only yesterday. Sampson did pitch in his one game with the big-league club, covering the ninth inning of a blowout loss to the Dodgers, while Schwindel did not enter a game during his (extremely) brief stint in the minors. Both players had success for the Cubs in 2021: Sampson, who’s also pitched for the Mariners, Rangers, and the KBO’s Lotte Giants in his career, posted a 2.80 ERA over 35 1/3 innings for Chicago (albeit with a 5.72 FIP), and Schwindel posted a world-beating .342/.389/.613 across 239 plate appearances (albeit with an unsustainable .364 BABIP). In 2022, Sampson has served as minor league depth outside his single inning on Sunday, while Schwindel has posted a far more pedestrian 209/.250/.308 batting line in 96 trips to the plate.

The 37-year-old Robertson, who signed with the Cubs in March for a $3.5MM guarantee, was off to a strong start to what’s been an otherwise disappointing first month on Chicago’s north side. In 12 innings, he’s notched a 1.50 ERA while striking out 37.8% of the batters he’s faced and converting all five of his save opportunities. Presuming his trip to the IL is COVID-related, he’s unlikely to be out for more than a week or so, though his absence in the bullpen could well prove costly for a club hoping to contend but already nine games adrift in the NL Central.

Menez, who arrived in Chicago via the minor league phase of the 2021 Rule 5 draft, has actually had some success in the majors in a limited sample, notching a serviceable 4.04 ERA (if a less sightly 5.01 FIP) across 42 1/3 innings in parts of the 2019, 2020, and 2021 seasons, all spent with the Giants. He’s primarily been a starter in the minors (and has started four games in the majors) and was off to a strong start in Triple-A, pitching 16 2/3 innings of 2.16 ERA ball while striking out better than a batter an inning. His time in the majors may be short (perhaps only until either Robertson or Stroman returns from the IL), but he could also slot in as a long relief/swingman option if he can continue to miss bats in the majors. The fact he’s been added to the 40-man roster when he could have been selected without the addition could signal that GM Carter Hawkins hopes to see him stick around for a while.

Rays Recall Calvin Faucher, Option Ralph Garza Jr. To Triple-A

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The Rays have recalled right-hander Calvin Faucher from Triple-A Durham, the team announced today. In a corresponding move, they optioned fellow righty Ralph Garza Jr. — who’d been recalled only two days prior — back to Durham.

It’ll be the first taste of the bigs for Faucher, whom the Rays acquired last July in the deal that also brought Nelson Cruz to Tampa. After pitching well last year in 25 innings between Double-A Montgomery and Triple-A Durham following the trade, Faucher has hardly lit Triple-A on fire this season, posting a 5.02 ERA (and 1.535 WHIP) in 14 1/3 innings. Garza, who spent time in the majors with both the Astros and the Twins in 2021, has a career 3.96 ERA in 36 1/3 big-league innings — six of them this season.

The corresponding moves likely come less as a result of either player’s performance than the need for a fresh arm. Garza had pitched in both games the Rays had played since his Saturday activation, including two innings in Saturday’s victory over the Mariners, while Faucher hasn’t pitched since Friday. The Rays three-game set against the Angels, which begins tonight, marks the end of a stretch of sixteen consecutive games without an off-day.

Padres Claim Sergio Alcántara

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The Padres have claimed infielder Sergio Alcántara off waivers from the Diamondbacks, both teams announced this afternoon. Though he’s still only 25, the Friars will be Alcántara’s fourth big-league team. Arizona had designated him for assignment on Friday to make room for the return of Josh Rojas from injury. To clear 40-man roster space, San Diego placed Pierce Johnson on the 60-day injured list.

Though Alcántara doesn’t pack a ton of punch at the plate — he’s slashed at just a .197/.280/.330 clip in 335 trips to the plate across three seasons in the majors — his defensive versatility has significant value. He’s spent most of brief career at shortstop (including 44 starts there for the Cubs in 2021), but he’s also logged significant time at both second and third. He had served as the D-backs primary third baseman prior to Rojas’ return.

Given the presence of high-end glove-man Ha-Seong Kim in San Diego, the acquisition of another versatile infielder is at least a bit curious. It could signal an as-yet unannounced injury (or player in COVID protocol) requiring time on the IL, of course, but it could also may spell the end of top prospect C.J. Abrams’ first taste of the majors. Currently the youngest player in the NL (among active players, only Wander Franco and Julio Rodriguez are younger), Abrams has struggled a bit in his first taste of The Show, playing solid defense at short but slashing only .182/.270/.273 in 65 plate appearances.

Twins To Promote Royce Lewis

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Per a report from Jon Morosi of MLB Network, the Twins will promote top prospect (and top overall pick in the 2017 draft) Royce Lewis today. He’ll likely take the roster spot of offseason signing Carlos Correa, who’s set to undergo a CT scan after clubhouse X-rays indicated a likely non-displaced fracture of his right middle finger — an injury not likely to keep him out for several months but that will likely require an IL stint. Should Lewis find his way into bench coach Jayce Tingler’s lineup (manager Rocco Baldelli is currently away from the team after testing positive for COVID), the Twins will be replacing one 1-1 (the Astros selected Correa first overall in the 2012 draft, one spot ahead of teammate Byron Buxton) with another.

It isn’t clear whether Baldelli, Tingler, and Twins’ front-office duo Thad Levine and Derek Falvey intend to keep Lewis in the majors after Correa returns — or, indeed, exactly how long Correa will be out — but it’s unlikely they’d have promoted him if they didn’t expect him to play every day, at least until their $105.3MM man returns. While he’s unlikely to maintain the same level of production in his first taste of the big leagues, Lewis’ red-hot start to the year in the International League may well indicate that he’s ready to meet the challenge. Through 107 plate appearances at Triple-A St. Paul, the 22-year-old is slashing a robust .310/.430/.563 with nearly as many walks (17) as strikeouts (20).

How he’ll react to the promotion remains to be seen, of course, but Twins fans will have high hopes for the club’s first top overall pick since Joe Mauer. While Correa ultimately landing in Minnesota was surprising for a number of reasons, Lewis’ presence wasn’t near the top of the list. Correa was and is widely expected to opt out of the final two years of his three-year guarantee to test the market again this winter (though that could change should his finger injury prove more serious than initial reports suggest), and Lewis hadn’t played an official game since 2019 after the cancellation of the 2020 minor league season due to the COVID pandemic and a February 2021 ACL tear that held him out of action for another full season. Indeed, that Lewis even opened the season in Triple-A was a bit surprising given he’d played only 33 games above High-A heading into the season.

Between the time missed and his relatively pedestrian numbers prior to the ACL injury (he slashed a combined .236/.290/.371 in 566 trips to the plate between High-A Fort Myers and Double-A Pensacola in 2019 before raking in the Arizona Fall League), Lewis had fallen somewhat precipitously down prospect lists. Baseball America, for instance, had ranked him the 9th-best prospect in the game ahead of the 2019 season, but he’d fallen to number 82 heading into 2022. The talent that led the Twins to take him first overall in 2017 clearly remains, though, and the toolsy shortstop will shortly get his first chance to prove he can hack it in the bigs — albeit a fair bit earlier than anyone would have expected as recently as a day ago.

Should Lewis prove himself capable of producing in the majors, it isn’t clear how the Twins will handle the infield logjam upon Correa’s return, though this would, of course, be something of an enviable problem to have. Lewis is unlikely to unseat Correa (by some metrics, including the 2021 Fielding Bible Awards, the best defensive shortstop in baseball) on a permanent basis, but he could likely shift to either second or third with relative ease, perhaps pushing Gio Urshela to first base (at least while Miguel Sanó recovers from recent meniscus surgery) or moving around the infield while others rotate in and out of the DH role. Regardless of how Lewis’ first taste of the majors pans out, though, Twins fans will surely be excited to get their first look at their likely shortstop of the future. But with their team holding an early lead in the AL Central, they’ll also hope to see him produce — particularly if Correa’s IL stint proves at all lengthy.

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