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Red Sox Designate Zack Short For Assignment

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May 8: The Red Sox made the official announcement today. Pivetta and Gonzalez were both activated with Short designated for assignment and Uwasawa optioned.

May 7: The Red Sox will designate infielder Zack Short for assignment, reports Julian McWilliams of the Boston Globe (X link). Boston also optioned right-hander Naoyuki Uwasawa to Triple-A Worcester. The moves clear active roster spots for Romy Gonzalez and Nick Pivetta, each of whom will return from the injured list before tomorrow’s game in Atlanta.

Short is out of minor league options, so the Sox didn’t have the ability to send him to Worcester without taking him off the 40-man roster. That out-of-options status contributed to him landing in Boston in the first place. The Mets designated Short for assignment two weeks ago. Boston acquired him for cash on May 1.

The 28-year-old appeared twice for the Sox, going hitless with four strikeouts in seven at-bats. He has only tallied 19 plate appearances all season between New York and Boston. The majority of Short’s big league playing time came with the Tigers a year ago. In 253 trips to the plate, he hit .204/.292/.339 with an elevated 26.1% strikeout rate. Short drew a decent number of walks but didn’t make much of an impact when he put the ball in play.

Teams have nevertheless been intrigued by his ability to handle multiple spots on the infield. He has nearly 600 innings of career shortstop work and more than 200 frames at both second and third base. His defensive grades are mixed. Statcast has given him average marks for his second and third base work while rating him as a below-average shortstop. Defensive Runs Saved has been more favorable, crediting him with average shortstop defense and well above-average work at the keystone.

The Sox will trade Short or place him on waivers within the next few days. He has yet to clear waivers despite being designated for assignment by each of Detroit, New York and now Boston since the end of last season.

Pivetta will take the ball tomorrow, his first MLB start in a little more than a month. The right-hander suffered a flexor strain, but the Sox expressed confidence it was a mild issue that wouldn’t necessitate a long-term absence. He’ll rejoin a rotation that has been arguably the best in the majors in 2024. Pivetta, an impending free agent, was brilliant in his first two starts. He allowed only one run in 11 innings with 13 strikeouts and one walk.

Red Sox Outright Vladimir Gutierrez, Pablo Reyes

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Red Sox righty Vladimir Gutierrez went unclaimed on outright waivers and has accepted an assignment to Triple-A Worcester, reports Francys Romero. Boston designated him for assignment last week. Also sticking with the organization following a DFA is utilityman Pablo Reyes, reports Chris Cotillo of MassLive.com. Like Gutierrez, he went unclaimed on waivers and has been assigned outright to Worcester. Either player could’ve rejected the assignment in favor of free agency, but they’ll stick with the organization and no longer require 40-man spots.

Now 28 years old, Gutierrez was a high-profile signing out of Cuba back in 2016, when the Reds gave him a $4.75MM bonus and paid a 100% tax on top of that sum. He was one of Cincinnati’s top pitching prospects for a few years but wound up giving them just 150 2/3 innings of 5.44 ERA ball while posting strikeout and walk rates of 17.3% and 10.4%, respectively — both worse than the league average.

Despite those struggles, Gutierrez would surely have received a longer look with the Reds if not for injuries. A torn ulnar collateral ligament in 2022 led to Tommy John surgery. Gutierrez returned to the mound to toss a handful of minor league innings last September but didn’t get back to the big leagues. He was removed from Cincinnati’s 40-man roster and became a free agent following the season. After a few showcases for big league scouts, he signed a minor league deal with the Marlins. He’s since bounced from Miami, to Milwaukee, to Boston via waivers and will now stay put in Worcester for the time being.

The 30-year-old Reyes has been with the Sox since 2023 but hasn’t been able to follow up on a solid .287/.339/.377 slash he posted in 185 plate appearances last season. He hit just .183/.234/.217 in his first 64 trips to the plate this season while fanning at a 29.7% clip that’s nearly triple his 11.4% mark from the prior season.

Reyes has appeared in six straight big league seasons, but last year’s 185 plate appearances were the most he’s accrued in a single season. Overall, he’s taken 572 turns at the plate in the majors and produced a .248/.309/.349 batting line between the Pirates, Brewers and BoSox. The versatile Reyes has appeared at every position on the diamond except for catcher. His career numbers at third base are particularly solid, though he made a few costly errors there earlier this season.

Red Sox Notes: Grissom, Pivetta, Bello, Yoshida

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Vaughn Grissom will make his Red Sox debut tonight against the Twins. Boston reinstated the young infielder from the 10-day injured list, optioning Bobby Dalbec to Triple-A Worcester in a corresponding move. Grissom gets the nod at the keystone and is hitting seventh against Chris Paddack.

Acquired from the Braves for Chris Sale, Grissom entered camp as Boston’s expected second baseman. Groin and hamstring issues (plus a recent bout with the flu) kept him off the field for the first five weeks. That paired with a season-ending injury to Trevor Story to leave the Sox very shorthanded in the middle infield. They moved Ceddanne Rafaela in to handle shortstop.

It’s been more of a revolving door at second base, where no one has produced. Boston second basemen are hitting an MLB-worst .179/.202/.299 over 125 plate appearances. Enmanuel Valdez and Pablo Reyes took the majority of those reps. Valdez was recently optioned, while Reyes has been designated for assignment.

Grissom, 23, brings quite a bit more offensive upside. He’s coming off a .330/.419/.501 line in Triple-A in the Atlanta system. The Braves’ loaded infield limited him to 64 big league contests over the past two seasons, but he turned in a solid .287/.339/.407 showing. Grissom collected 10 hits (eight singles and two doubles) over nine games on his minor league rehab stint.

Manager Alex Cora provided positive updates on a handful of injured pitchers this evening (link via MassLive’s Christopher Smith). Nick Pivetta is expected to return to the rotation during next week’s series in Atlanta. The righty tossed three innings in a rehab start with Worcester yesterday. While the results weren’t good — he allowed four runs on three hits and four walks — the Sox don’t feel he needs another minor league appearance. Pivetta dominated through two starts before a mild flexor strain sent him to the IL on April 9.

Brayan Bello and Garrett Whitlock are a bit further behind, but both are set to take steps in their respective recoveries. Bello, who went on the shelf on April 21 with lat tightness, will make one rehab start at Double-A Portland and could return to Boston by the end of next week. Whitlock is set to throw a bullpen session tomorrow, his first mound work since an oblique strain knocked him out on April 17.

Despite the injuries, the Red Sox’s rotation has been fantastic. Boston starters enter play Friday with an MLB-best 2.03 ERA. They’re ninth in strikeout rate and sixth in strikeout/walk rate differential. Kutter Crawford and Tanner Houck have each logged around 40 innings of sub-2.00 ERA ball. Bello, Whitlock and Pivetta were each performing well before going on the IL. Depth arms Cooper Criswell and Josh Winckowski have stepped in effectively in their respective trio of starts.

The news wasn’t universally positive for Boston, however. Designated hitter Masataka Yoshida is heading for a second opinion after his recent IL placement, tweets the Boston Globe’s Pete Abraham. The Sox initially announced his injury as a left thumb sprain. It’s not entirely clear what the initial evaluation suggested, but news of a second opinion is at least somewhat alarming.

Yoshida started the season slowly but had begun to find his form before the injury. He’s hitting .275/.348/.388 over 89 plate appearances for the year. Injuries to Yoshida and Triston Casas led the Sox to go outside the organization for Garrett Cooper and Dominic Smith to split playing time between first base and DH.

Red Sox Outright Joely Rodriguez

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The Red Sox have sent reliever Joely Rodríguez outright to Triple-A Worcester, tweets MassLive’s Chris Cotillo. Boston had designated the left-hander for assignment over the weekend.

Rodríguez signed a minor league deal with the Sox over the offseason. Boston carried him on the Opening Day roster to keep him from opting out and retesting free agency. That didn’t work as the team hoped, as he surrendered 12 runs (eight earned) over 11 innings. Rodríguez ran an 11:2 strikeout-to-walk ratio and induced grounders on over 55% of batted balls, but the Red Sox clearly weren’t overly bullish on his chance to get back on track.

It is the second straight season in which Rodríguez struggled over an 11-inning stint for Boston. Oblique, shoulder and hip injuries kept him to just 11 appearances a year ago. Rodríguez also allowed eight earned runs in that season, which came on the heels of a $2MM major league free agent deal. He divided the 2021-22 seasons between the Rangers and the two New York franchises, combining for a 4.56 ERA across 107 appearances.

Rodríguez has the requisite three years of major league service to decline an outright assignment, but he has not crossed the five-year threshold necessary to retain his salary if he does so. If Rodríguez accepts the assignment, he’ll join Lucas Luetge as a veteran non-roster southpaw in Worcester. Boston has Brennan Bernardino and Cam Booser in the big league bullpen. They acquired Bailey Horn from the White Sox earlier this week. He’s on the 40-man but was immediately optioned to Worcester and hasn’t yet pitched in the big leagues.

Red Sox Designate Vladimir Gutierrez For Assignment

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The Red Sox announced that they have signed first baseman Dominic Smith to a one-year contract. He’ll take the roster spot of outfielder/designated hitter Masataka Yoshida, who has been placed on the 10-day injured list due to a left thumb sprain, retroactive to April 29. To open a 40-man spot for Smith, right-hander Vladimir Gutierrez has been designated for assignment. Prior to the official announcement, manager Álex Cora announced that Yoshida was heading to the IL on Jones & Mego. Hat tip to Rob Bradford of WEEI. The Sox adding Smith was reported on earlier today.

Yoshida, 30, has hit .275/.348/.388 so far this year. That’s fairly comparable to last year’s production, when he hit .289/.338/.445 in his first season after coming over from Japan. He departed Sunday’s game after jamming his hand during an at-bat, per Christopher Smith of MassLive. Smith relayed yesterday that Yoshida would be getting an MRI, which seems to have revealed this injury.

Though the Sox won’t be happy to lose Yoshida’s bat, his absence will give them a bit of lineup flexibility. He has primarily been serving as the designated hitter this year, with just one inning in left field. They can now use that DH spot to rotate various players through based on health and matchups.

With Triston Casas on the injured list and unlikely to return any time soon, the Sox have been looking outside the organization for help at first base. They acquired Garrett Cooper from the Cubs but he himself is banged up after getting hit by a pitch last night on his arm last night. Chris Cotillo of MassLive relayed that Cooper is just bruised and is going to be okay but it’s possible he may need a day or two to rest up.

With Smith now on the roster, he can perhaps cover for Cooper as he is on the mend. With Yoshida out, the Sox could have both Smith and Cooper in the lineup via the DH slot, if they so choose. Both players have a bit of outfield experience but neither of them are considered strong defenders on the grass.

To get Smith onto the roster, the Sox have cut Gutierrez. The 28-year-old was acquired from the Brewers in a cash deal a couple of weeks ago. The Red Sox have kept him down in Triple-A on optional assignment since then, where he has pitched six innings over three appearances, allowing four earned runs while striking out seven but walking eight.

The Sox will now have a week to trade him or pass him through waivers. He’s been bouncing around the league quite a bit this year. He signed a minor league deal with the Marlins in February and was selected to their roster in the first few days of the season. He was designated for assignment and went to the Brewers on a waiver claim, before being DFA’d again and getting flipped to the Red Sox. That makes today his third DFA in roughly a month.

The Cuban righty joined affiliated ball by signing with the Reds as a 21-year-old, earning a bonus of $4.75MM. He made his major league debut in 2021 with 114 innings over 22 starts, posting a 4.74 earned run average that year while striking out just 17.7% of batters faced. He struggled in 2022 before requiring Tommy John surgery in June of that year, wiping out the remainder of that season and most of his 2023. The Reds outrighted him off their roster at the end of last year, which led to his minor league deal with Miami.

Dominic Smith Opts Out Of Rays Deal, Will Sign With Red Sox

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11:54am: Smith is indeed set to join the Red Sox’ big league roster, per the Globe’s Julian McWilliams. The Sox will need to make a corresponding 40-man roster move to make his signing official.

11:32am: The Rays granted first baseman Dominic Smith his release after he triggered an opt-out in his minor league deal, reports Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times. A big league opportunity with another club arose for Smith, per Topkin. Pete Abraham of the Boston Globe further reports that the Red Sox “look like the next destination” for Smith after he opted out of that deal with Tampa Bay. He’ll be the second addition to the big league roster for the Sox, who acquired infielder Zack Short from the Mets in exchange for cash less than one hour ago.

Boston recently lost first baseman Triston Casas to a rib fracture that’s expected to sideline him for a considerable period of time. The Sox acquired veteran Garrett Cooper in the aftermath of that injury, but he took a 95 mph fastball off his wrist/forearm last night and exited the game. MassLive.com’s Chris Cotillo tweets that Cooper is thankfully only bruised and does not have any fractures following that incident. Smith will give Boston some additional depth and a potential platoon partner for the righty-swinging Cooper.

Through 29 games and 81 plate appearances with the Rays’ Triple-A affiliate in Durham, Smith had posted a .263/.337/.375 batting line with a pair of homers and three doubles. He’s fanned in an uncharacteristic 29.2% of his plate appearances, but strikeouts typically haven’t been a glaring concern for the veteran, who’s fanned in 21.7% of his nearly 2000 MLB plate appearances.

Smith, 28, was a first-round pick, longtime top prospect and (more briefly) a quality run producer for the Mets prior to being non-tendered in the 2022-23 offseason. From 2019-20, Smith treated the Mets to a stellar .299/.366/.571 batting line in 396 trips to the plate. He swatted 21 homers and connected on 31 doubles in that time before stumbling to a .643 OPS over his next two seasons and being cut loose. He signed with the Nationals in the 2022-23 offseason but posted a middling .254/.326/.366 batting line with a dozen homers in his lone year in the nation’s capitol.

Mets Trade Zack Short To Red Sox

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The Mets have traded infielder Zack Short to the Red Sox in exchange for cash, the teams announced Wednesday. Boston had an open spot on the 40-man roster and didn’t need to make a corresponding move. New York designated Short for assignment five days ago when adding veteran designated hitter J.D. Martinez to the roster. Short is out of minor league options, so he’ll head right to the Red Sox’ big league roster.

Short, 28, was a 17th-round pick by the Cubs back in 2016 and has played in parts of four big league seasons: 2021-23 with the Tigers and 2024 with the Mets. He’s a career .172/.266/.304 hitter in the big leagues and carries a .224/.357/.400 slash in 1017 plate appearances at the Triple-A level. Short is regarded as a sound defender at all three infield positions to the left of first base and has also had brief looks in the outfield in his professional career — mostly coming in the minors.

Boston’s infield situation has been in flux for much of the season after shortstop Trevor Story required season-ending shoulder surgery following an injury sustained on a diving stop in the field. Center fielder Ceddanne Rafaela has shifted into the infield and is taking on the everyday shortstop role. The Sox have given the lion’s share of playing time at second base to Enmanuel Valdez, but he’s hitting just .151/.183/.256 in 94 trips to the plate.

Utilityman Pablo Reyes has seen time at both middle infield spots but was recently designated for assignment after turning in a meager .183/.234/.217 slash in 64 plate appearances. Offseason acquisition Vaughn Grissom was expected to be reinstated from the injured list yesterday and take the reins at second base, but an illness has extended his season-long IL stint a bit further.

Short will take up a utility role, perhaps platooning with the left-handed-hitting Valdez at second base if Grissom needs to miss much more time. He doesn’t have especially strong numbers against southpaws but did hit .273/.406/.352 against them in 2022 and .236/.323/.382 in 2023.

Seven Veterans With Opt-Out Opportunities Tomorrow

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As part of the 2022 collective bargaining agreement, MLB and the Players Association agreed to a few automatic opt-out dates for some veteran players on minor league contracts. Article XX(B) free agents — generally, players with over six years of MLB service who finished the preceding season on a big league roster — who sign minor league contracts more than ten days before Opening Day receive three uniform chances to retest free agency if they’re not promoted.

The first comes five days before the start of the season. For players who pass on that initial opt-out, they have additional windows to explore the open market on both May 1 and June 1 if they’ve yet to secure a spot on the 40-man roster. There were 31 players who initially had that option in Spring Training.

Eleven of them — Carlos Carrasco, Garrett Cooper, Chase Anderson, Tyler Duffey, Dominic Leone, Matt Barnes, Eddie Rosario, Jesse Winker, Jesse Chavez, Brad Keller and José Ureña — are now on major league rosters. Kevin Pillar, Bryan Shaw and Joely Rodríguez also landed MLB jobs but were subsequently designated for assignment. Rodríguez remains in DFA limbo with the Red Sox. Shaw cleared waivers and signed a minor league deal with the Angels. Pillar elected free agency over the weekend.

Five of these players — Matt Duffy, Kolten Wong, Carl Edwards Jr., Drew Pomeranz and Curt Casali — triggered their first opt-out and have since signed new minor league contracts, either with their previous organization or a different club. They presumably secured some kind of opt-out provision in their new deals, but they no longer have an automatic May 1 out date. Five others — Elvis Andrus, Eduardo Escobar, Mike Moustakas, C.J. Cron and Jake Odorizzi — were let go and have yet to sign elsewhere.

The other seven players have the option to retest free agency tomorrow. None of the group has played well enough to likely leverage their opt-out right into an immediate MLB job, but two or three could decide to hit the market and look for a better minor league opportunity elsewhere.

Angels: OF Jake Marisnick

Marisnick has spent most of his career as a glove-first outfielder off the bench. He’s a right-handed hitter with some pop against lefty pitching but subpar on-base skills. Marisnick had appeared in 46 MLB games between three teams a season ago, but he hasn’t been on the field much in 2024. He made just five appearances for the Halos’ top affiliate in Salt Lake before going on the minor league injured list on April 17.

Blue Jays: 1B Joey Votto

Votto inked a minor league deal with his hometown team early in Spring Training. The former MVP indicated at the time he was prepared to open the season in Triple-A. Votto suffered an ankle injury during his first exhibition game and has spent the entire season on the minor league IL. Sportsnet’s Ben Nicholson-Smith tweeted last week that Votto was running but had yet to resume hitting live pitching. It feels safe to assume he’ll pass on this opt-out chance and continue working back to health with the Jays. Daniel Vogelbach, who is on the MLB roster as a lefty bench bat, hasn’t produced (.111/.304/.167) over his first 23 plate appearances. That could open a path for Votto to get to Rogers Centre once he’s healthy.

Cubs: OF David Peralta

Peralta opened the season on the injured list with Triple-A Iowa. He was reinstated on April 10 and has appeared in 13 contests. The left-handed hitter has drawn nine walks with only seven strikeouts through his first 55 plate appearances, but he hasn’t done any kind of damage on contact. Peralta has just two extra-base hits (both doubles) and an overall .214/.364/.262 line through the season’s first month. The former Gold Glove left fielder played in 133 games for the Dodgers a year ago, hitting .259/.294/.381 over 422 plate appearances. He underwent surgery to repair a flexor tear in his throwing arm last October but has been able to play the outfield this season.

Mets: 1B Jiman Choi

Choi lost a camp battle with DJ Stewart this spring. He reported to Triple-A Syracuse but hasn’t made much of an impact. The left-handed hitter is out to a .191/.333/.340 start with a near-27% strikeout rate over 60 plate appearances. The Mets probably wouldn’t add him to the MLB roster, but Choi could take the opportunity to look for another minor league deal with a team that has a clearer path to first base/DH time. Pete Alonso and J.D. Martinez have those spots secured in Queens, while Stewart and Mark Vientos are above him on the depth chart as bench bats. Choi struggled with injuries in 2023 but was an above-average offensive performer with the Rays between 2019-22.

Rangers: Shane Greene

Greene has made three MLB appearances in each of the last two seasons. The right-hander was excellent in a limited look in Triple-A with the Cubs last year but has had a terrible start to 2024. Greene has walked 14 of the first 49 batters he’s faced for Round Rock, allowing 15 runs in eight innings. The Express placed him on the IL last week. Texas certainly can’t give him a spot in the MLB bullpen at this point. There’s a good chance Greene elects to stay in Round Rock as he tries to get healthy and find his command.

Red Sox: Michael Fulmer, Roberto Pérez

Neither Fulmer nor Pérez has played this season. Fulmer will miss the entire year after undergoing elbow surgery last fall. His contract is a two-year deal; he almost certainly won’t be exercising any of his three opt-out chances.

Pérez missed most of 2023 after undergoing a rotator cuff repair on his right shoulder. He played in seven games this spring but has spent the regular season on the minor league IL with an undisclosed injury. The Sox have gotten excellent play from their catching tandem of Connor Wong and Reese McGuire in the season’s first month. Perhaps Pérez feels there’s a better path to playing time if he signs a minor league deal with another team, but it seems likelier he’ll stick in the organization.

Red Sox Acquire Bailey Horn From White Sox

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The Red Sox have acquired left-hander Bailey Horn from the White Sox, per announcements from both clubs. The White Sox, who designated him for assignment in recent days, will receive cash considerations. The southpaw has been optioned to Triple-A Worcester.

Horn was a fifth-round pick by the ChiSox in the shortened 2020 draft. The Sox dealt the Auburn product to the Cubs the following season in exchange for veteran reliever Ryan Tepera. Horn pitched his way to Triple-A in the Cubs system and was added to the 40-man roster last offseason. While the Cubs were wary about losing Horn in the Rule 5 draft, they pushed him off the 40-man before Opening Day.

The Sox reacquired their one-time draftee in a deal that sent minor league pitcher Matt Thompson to the Cubs. Horn spent a couple weeks on optional assignment to Triple-A Charlotte. He got out to a rough start, allowing 13 runs over 10 1/3 innings. The 26-year-old surrendered four homers and issued 10 free passes, although he did record 15 strikeouts. The White Sox never called him up before last week’s DFA.

Boston has a few openings on the 40-man roster after recent DFAs of Pablo Reyes and Joely Rodríguez. They’ve recently subtracted Rodríguez and Joe Jacques (who was claimed off waivers by the Diamondbacks) from their left-handed relief depth. They’ll partially backfill the depth with Horn, who has a full slate of options and has missed plenty of bats in the minor leagues. Boston chief baseball officer Craig Breslow is certainly familiar with Horn, as Breslow had spent the past few seasons as an assistant general manager with the Cubs.

Red Sox Designate Pablo Reyes For Assignment

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The Red Sox announced Monday morning that they’ve designated infielder Pablo Reyes for assignment. His spot on the roster will go to newly acquired first baseman/outfielder Garrett Cooper, whom the Sox added in a cash deal with the Cubs over the weekend.

Reyes has been with the Sox dating back to last season but is out to a brutal start at the plate, hitting just .183/.234/.217 with a 29.7% strikeout rate in his first 64 plate appearances. It’s a far cry from the .287/.339/.377 slash he posted through 185 trips to the plate with the ’23 Sox, when he punched out in only 11.4% of his turns at the plate. Reyes’ 19 strikeouts on the season are already just two fewer than the 21 he posted in nearly three times as much action last year.

The 30-year-old Reyes has appeared in parts of six big league seasons but never topped last year’s 185 plate appearances. He’s a lifetime .248/.309/.349 hitter in 572 plate appearances between the Pirates, Brewers and Sox. He’s played every position on the diamond with the exception of catcher, including a four-inning cameo on the mound. Reyes has drawn solid ratings at third base, in particular, though his versatility has in a way prevented him from picking up a meaningful sample at any single position; his 289 career frames at the hot corner are the most he’s tallied at any one spot.

Reyes is out of minor league options, so the Sox didn’t have the ability to simply send him down to Triple-A Worcester without first exposing him to waivers. They’ll have a week to trade Reyes, attempt to pass him through outright waivers or release him. He’s previously been outrighted in his career (twice, in fact), which gives him the right to reject a minor league assignment in the event that he does clear waivers.

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