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Angels Place Kurt Suzuki On Injured List; Select Chad Wallach, Kyle Barraclough

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The Angels announced some roster moves, including the news that catcher Kurt Suzuki has been placed on the injured list.  Left-hander Jhonathan Diaz has also been optioned to Triple-A.  To fill the two roster spots, the Halos have selected the contracts of catcher Chad Wallach and right-hander Kyle Barraclough from Triple-A Salt Lake.

Since no designation was given for Suzuki’s injury, it would seem like his absence is related to COVID-19, whether a positive test, or possibly Suzuki just has symptoms or a close contact.  Suzuki has hit .179/.273/.282 over 44 plate appearances, splitting time behind the plate with Max Stassi for the second consecutive season in Anaheim.

Wallach will now fill that role for the time being, and after nine months in the Angels organization, Wallach is now on the verge of his first official game in a Halos uniform.  The Angels selected Wallach off waivers from the Dodgers last August but he didn’t receive any big league action; he also elected to forego free agency after the Angels outrighted him off their 40-man roster back in November.

Appearing in each of the last five seasons at the MLB level, Wallach has carved out a niche for himself as a solid defensive catcher, but his lack of hitting (.207/.271/.303 over 231 career PA) has limited his playing time.  Much of Wallace’s Major League career has come in a Marlins uniform, as Wallach played 72 of his 78 career games with Miami from 2018-21.

Wallach and Barraclough were teammates on that 2018 Marlins team, in what was Barrraclough’s final season in South Beach.  The righty posted a 3.21 ERA over 218 2/3 innings with the Marlins from 2015-18, despite some control problems that have plagued Barraclough throughout his career.  Since leaving Miami, Barraclough has also been hit hard by the home run ball, allowing 13 homers and posting a 5.59 ERA over 46 2/3 total frames with the Nationals, Giants, and Twins.  Los Angeles signed Barraclough to a minors contract in January.

Angels Option Jo Adell

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The Angels announced this afternoon they’ve optioned outfielder Jo Adell to Triple-A Salt Lake. Utilityman Jose Rojas has been recalled to take his spot on the active roster.

Adell has been considered one of the sport’s most talented young players for some time. Baseball America slotted him among the top two prospects in the Angels’ system every year between 2018 (his first season after being selected 10th overall in the previous draft) and 2021, when he exhausted his prospect eligibility. Heading into last year, BA ranked him the game’s 13th-best prospect. Evaluators raved about his combination of power and speed, but the 23-year-old has yet to establish himself at the major league level.

During the shortened 2020 season, Adell broke into the majors and played 38 games. He hit just .161/.212/.266, and he spent the first half of last year on optional assignment. After beginning the season at the alternate training site, he was sent to Salt Lake. Through the end of July, he hit .289/.342/.592 in 339 plate appearances. That was above-average overall output highlighted by a massive 23 homers in 73 games, but Adell also struck out in 29.2% of his trips to the plate against a subpar 6.5% walk rate.

Upon being recalled to the big leagues in early August, Adell hit .246/.295/.408 in 35 contests. That marked a notable improvement over his 2020 production but was still ten percentage points below the league average, by measure of wRC+. He broke camp with the big league club this year but has gotten off to a disappointing start. Through 66 plate appearances, he’s hitting .231/.242/.431. Adell’s three homers and four doubles have led to a respectable slugging output — particularly in the context of a brutal offensive month leaguewide — but he’s punched out 24 times while drawing just a single walk.

In addition to those worrisome strikeout and walk numbers, Adell has had a rough go defensively. Statcast has pegged him as four outs below average to this point, tied for the second-worst mark among outfielders. The Angels will send him back to Salt Lake for further work on both sides of the ball in hopes that his next promotion to the big leagues can be permanent.

Adell entered this season with one year and 44 days of MLB service time. He has spent about 26 days on the active roster this year, bringing him up to around one year and 70 days altogether. Players are credited with a full year of service upon reaching 172 days on an active roster (or MLB injured list). If Adell is recalled before the last week of June and sticks in the majors from that point forward, he’d still remain on track to reach free agency after the 2026 season, as currently scheduled.

In the interim, the Angels will rely on Brandon Marsh, Mike Trout and Taylor Ward as their primary outfield. That group was the most productive in the majors through the season’s first month, with all three players off to fabulous starts. Rojas joins Jack Mayfield and Tyler Wade as infield/outfield hybrids who can over some depth on the grass.

Angels Notes: Ohtani, Suarez, Syndergaard

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Naturally, any injury to Ohtani impacts the Angels on two fronts, as he is also scheduled to start Wednesday’s game against the Red Sox.  With Los Angeles optioning Jose Suarez to Triple-A today, it could provide an opportunity for Jaime Barria or Kenny Rosenberg to pick up a spot in the Halos’ six-man rotation.

Reigning AL MVP Shohei Ohtani was removed from today’s game due to right groin tightness, as he suffered the injury while trying to beat out a double play during the seventh inning.  Jack Mayfield pinch-hit for Ohtani in the ninth inning, when the DH spot was next up at the plate.  Ohtani told MLB.com’s Rhett Bollinger and other reporters that it was something of a precautionary removal and that he intended to play tomorrow, though Angels manager Joe Maddon took a more wait-and-see approach.

Naturally, any injury to Ohtani impacts the Angels on two fronts, as he is also scheduled to start Wednesday’s game against the Red Sox.  With Los Angeles optioning Jose Suarez to Triple-A today, it could provide an opportunity for Jaime Barria or Kenny Rosenberg to pick up a spot in the Halos’ six-man rotation.

The Angels at least know who will be starting Tuesday’s series opener, as Maddon said that Noah Syndergaard will take the ball.  Syndergaard was scratched from a planned start last Friday due to illness, but it appears as though the right-hander is back in good health, and he tossed a bullpen session today with no issues.

Angels Place Matt Duffy On Injured List, Recall Jack Mayfield

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The Angels announced that they have placed infielder Matt Duffy on the injured list. No injury designation was given, indicating Duffy is going on the Covid-related IL. Fellow infielder Jack Mayfield has been recalled to take his place on the active roster.

After slumping in 2019, Duffy had to settle for minor league deals in 2020, ultimately missing out on playing any official games when the pandemic wiped out the minor league seasons that year. He had a nice bounceback with the Cubs in 2021, getting into 97 games and hitting .287/.357/.381, 102 wRC+. He’s carried that over into 2021 so far, playing 14 games and hitting .278/.366/.306, wRC+ of 108.

With Duffy on the shelf, Mayfield will take over his role as the 31-year-old utility infielder off the bench. He’s already gotten into 10 games this year and played well, hitting .281/.343/.469, for a wRC+ of 142. With Duffy on the Covid-IL, the club will have an open spot on their 40-man roster. However, should they use that slot, they will need to make room for him once he’s eligible to return.

Several Veterans On Minor League Deals Have Sunday Opt-Outs

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The latest collective bargaining agreement between Major League Baseball and the MLB Players Association is rife with contractual intricacies, as one would expect. MLBTR has confirmed that one of the new wrinkles set forth in this latest agreement stipulates that any Article XX(B) free agent — that is, a player with at least six years of service time who finished the prior season on a big league roster or injured list — who signs a minor league contract will have three uniform opt-out dates in his contract, so long as that minor league deal is signed 10 days prior to Opening Day. Those opt-out dates are five days before the start of the regular season, May 1 and June 1.

As the MLBPA announced at the onset of the most recent offseason, there were 188 players who became Article XX(B) free agents. The majority of those players signed Major League contracts. A handful retired, and some have yet to sign a contract at all. There were still more than two dozen players who signed minor league contracts, however, which makes them subject to the new uniform opt-out dates. Several of those players — Marwin Gonzalez, Matt Moore and Wily Peralta, to name a few — have already had their contracts selected to the Major League roster. Others signed their minor league deal after March 28, meaning they’re not covered under the uniform opt-out provision.

By my count, there are a dozen players who qualified as Article XX(B) free agents, signed minor league deals on or before March 28, and remain with those organizations but not on the 40-man roster. Each of the following veterans, then, will have the opportunity to become a free agent Sunday if they’re not called up to the current organization’s big league roster:

  • Tyler Clippard, RHP, Nationals: The 37-year-old Clippard had a strong 2019 season in Cleveland and pitched brilliantly with Minnesota in 2020. His 2021 campaign with the D-backs was solid but truncated by a strained capsule in his right shoulder. He missed nearly four months to begin the year but pitched to a 3.20 ERA in 25 1/3 innings upon activation — albeit with subpar strikeout and walk rates (19.8% and 9.9%, respectively). He’s had a rough go in Triple-A Rochester so far, yielding seven runs on six hits and a whopping 11 walks in 8 1/3 innings. He’s also picked up a dozen strikeouts.
  • Austin Romine, C, Angels: Romine is 2-for-15 with a pair of singles so far in Triple-A Salt Lake. He’s never provided much with the bat, but the longtime Yankees backup is regarded as a quality defender and receiver. He spent the 2021 season with the Cubs but only logged 62 plate appearances thanks to a sprained left wrist that landed him on the 60-day injured list for a significant portion of the season. Romine hit .217/.242/.300 when healthy last year and is a lifetime .238/.277/.358 hitter in 1313 Major League plate appearances.
  • Billy Hamilton, CF, Mariners: At 31 years old, the former top prospect is what he is now: an elite defender and baserunner who’s never been able to get on base consistently enough to capitalize on his 80-grade speed. Hamilton slashed .220/.242/.378 in 135 plate appearances with the White Sox last season and is out to a 7-for-32 start with one walk and 11 strikeouts so far with the Mariners’ top affiliate. Hamilton has four seasons of 55-plus stolen bases under his belt, but he also has a career .293 OBP  that’s gotten even worse (.269) over the past three seasons (524 plaste appearances).
  • Blake Parker, RHP, Cardinals: Parker, 36, has yielded three runs in 7 1/3 Triple-A frames but is brandishing a far more impressive 11-to-1 K/BB ratio. He split the past two seasons between Philadelphia and Cleveland, pitching to a combined 3.02 ERA with a 24.4% strikeout rate against a 9.1% walk rate. Parker has had an up-and-down career since debuting with the Cubs as a 27-year-old rookie in 2012, but the cumulative results are solid. He carries a career 3.47 ERA with 34 saves and 47 holds. When Parker’s splitter is working well, he can be a very effective late-inning option.
  • Derek Holland, LHP, Red Sox: The veteran southpaw has provided innings, but not necessarily at quality since transitioning into a bullpen role in 2019. Last season he appeared in 39 games for the Tigers, tossing 49 2/3 innings with a 5.07 ERA/3.96 FIP. Holland’s time with Triple-A Worcester hasn’t been smooth, as he has a 5.79 ERA and six walks over 9 1/3 innings.
  • Steven Souza Jr., OF, Mariners: Due to an ugly knee injury and some struggles at the plate, Souza hasn’t been a truly productive big leaguer since 2017. Looking to revive his career with the Mariners, Souza has hit .200/.383/.333 over 60 PA with Triple-A Tacoma.
  • Kevin Pillar, OF, Dodgers: This season marks Pillar’s first taste of Triple-A ball since 2014, and the veteran outfielder is overmatching pitchers to the tune of a .313/.415/.627 slash line over 82 plate appearances. One would imagine this performance will earn Pillar a look in Los Angeles or perhaps another team if the Dodgers don’t select his contract. Pillar’s minor league deal guarantees him a $2.5MM salary if he receives a big league call-up, which could be a factor for a Dodgers club that may be trying to stay under the third tier ($270MM) of the luxury tax threshold.
  • Cam Bedrosian, RHP, Phillies: After signing a minor league deal with Philadelphia last July, Bedrosian posted a 4.35 ERA over 10 1/3 innings with the club despite recording almost as many walks (seven) as strikeouts (eight). The righty inked a new minors deal with the Phillies over the winter but has yet to pitch this season due to injury.
  • Shelby Miller, RHP, Yankees: The former All-Star pitched well with the Cubs’ and Pirates’ Triple-A affiliates in 2021, and he has kept up that strong Triple-A performance now working as a full-time reliever.  Over eight innings for Scranton/Wilkes-Barres, Miller has a 2.25 ERA with outstanding strikeout (31.3%) and walk (3.1%) rates. He also hasn’t allowed any homers, a notable stat for a pitcher who has had great trouble containing the long ball over the last few seasons.
  • Matt Carpenter, INF, Rangers: Carpenter got a late start to Spring Training, and upon Opening Day, he expressed a desire to take the necessary time to get himself up to speed. Through 52 plate appearances in Triple-A, Carpenter has slashed an improved .239/.327/.457 with a pair of home runs. While not standout numbers, they are an improvement over the .203/.235/.346 slash line Carpenter posted in 901 PA from 2019-21 with the Cardinals.
  • Carlos Martinez, RHP, Giants: Another former Cardinal looking for a fresh start, Martinez has yet to pitch for Triple-A Sacramento, as he is still rehabbing from the thumb surgery he underwent last July. With injuries and a nasty bout of COVID-19 factoring into matters, Martinez has only a 6.95 ERA over 102 1/3 big league innings since the start of the 2020 season.
  • Keone Kela, RHP, Diamondbacks: Kela has also been ravaged by injuries over the last two seasons, including Tommy John surgery last May. Given the usual TJ recovery timeline, Kela isn’t likely to be a factor for the D’Backs until at least midseason.

Of course, players remain free to negotiate additional out clauses into their minor league contracts. Chandler Rome of the Houston Chronicle reports, for instance, that lefty Adam Morgan has an opt-out provision in his contract with the Astros today. Morgan doesn’t have enough service time to qualify as an Article XX(B) free agent, but he’ll nevertheless have the opportunity to become a free agent Sunday if he doesn’t like his chances of eventually being added to Houston’s roster.

Angels Place Archie Bradley On 10-Day Injured List

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The Angels placed reliever Archie Bradley on the 10-day injured list with a left abdominal strain, per Jeff Fletcher of the SoCal News Group (via Twitter). Elvis Peguero has been recalled to take his roster spot.

Bradley signed a one-year, $3.75MM contract to join the Angels bullpen this season. The 29-year-old is off to a rough start, yielding seven earned runs on eight hits and two walks while striking out seven over 8 2/3 innings. The Angels would be fair to expect quite a bit more from Bradley, who posted a 3.71 ERA/4.35 FIP over 51 frames last season for the Phillies.

Peguero, 25, has impressed in Triple-A this season with a 1.74 ERA in six appearances covering 10 1/3 innings with an impressive 13-to-3 strikeout-to-walk ratio. Peguero joined the Angels organization from the Yankees as part of the Andrew Heaney deal.

Angels Notes: Maddon, Fletcher, Ward

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Angels manager Joe Maddon signed a three-year, $12MM contract when hired over the 2019-20 offseason. Headed into year three, the longtime big league skipper is in a lame duck situation. Jon Heyman of the New York Post reports, however, that the contract also contains a $4MM option for next season that would vest if the Angels reach the World Series.

That may not wind up being an especially meaningful provision. After all, if the Angels win the American League pennant, it’d stand to reason owner Arte Moreno and general manager Perry Minasian would want to keep Maddon around on a long-term deal anyhow. Nevertheless, Heyman writes that the team “deferred discussion” on a possible contract extension over this past offseason. The Angels finished below .500 in each of Maddon’s first two seasons at the helm, but they’ve gotten off to an excellent 14-7 start in 2022. The 68-year-old Maddon is amidst his 17th consecutive season as an MLB manager; he has overseen eight playoff teams, including a 2008 AL pennant winner in Tampa Bay and the Cubs’ 2016 World Series team.

In other news out of Anaheim:

  • The Angels activated David Fletcher from the injured list prior to this evening’s win over the White Sox. He returned to the starting lineup, getting the nod at shortstop and hitting a pair of doubles. Fletcher went on the IL on April 12 with a left hip strain and spent a little less than three weeks on the shelf. The 27-year-old was the Angels’ primary second baseman last season, but all five of his starts this year have come at shortstop. Matt Duffy and Tyler Wade have been the top options at the keystone, and both players have gotten off to nice starts. Andrew Velazquez, who saw the bulk of the shortstop time while Fletcher was out, has struggled. The Halos optioned Jack Mayfield to Triple-A Salt Lake to create active roster space for Fletcher, seemingly leaving Duffy and Wade as the second base tandem with Velazquez as utility depth.
  • Taylor Ward has been one of the league’s most surprising performers in the early going. After opening the season on the injured list due to a groin strain, the 28-year-old returned to action on April 16. Ward has tallied 58 plate appearances in the two weeks since then and has gotten off to a blistering .404/.517/.830 start. He’s connected on five home runs and has a massive 19% walk rate, and the Halos have responded by pushing him to the top of the lineup. Ward discussed his hot start with Sam Blum of the Athletic this week, pointing to a more deliberate and selective approach in the batter’s box for his excellent results. Obviously, Ward isn’t going to continue to produce at this otherworldly level, but he quietly had an above-average .250/.332/.438 showing in 65 games last season. Even before his early-season tear, Maddon had declared Ward his primary right fielder. Each of Ward, Mike Trout and Brandon Marsh have hit the ground running, and the Angels have gotten by far the best outfield production of any team in MLB through the season’s first month.

Jon Jay Announces Retirement

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Veteran outfielder Jon Jay took to Twitter earlier today to announce his retirement after over a decade in the big leagues.

“As a kid I remember watching SportsCenter highlights and imitating my favorite MLB players,” Jay wrote. “It is still surreal to me that I played Major League Baseball. As I officially retire from the game that changed my life, I want to thank everyone who has played a role in getting me here.”

Jon JayJay, 37, was a second round pick of the Cardinals in 2006 and then made his MLB debut in 2010. He immediately hit the ground running with the contact-oriented approach that would be a trademark of his career. He hit .300/.359/.422, walking in 7.4% of his plate appearances and striking out just 15.5% of the time. That production amounted to a 116 wRC+, or 16% above league average. The next year, he put up a similar line of .297/.344/.424, 115 wRC+, helping the Cardinals qualify for the postseason and eventually win the 2011 World Series.

Jay stuck with the Cardinals for the next four seasons, with the team making the postseason in each of them. His production stayed largely consistent until wrist issues started hampering him in 2015. He underwent surgery prior to that season and then struggled at the plate, hitting .210/.306/.257. After that campaign, he was traded to the Padres for Jedd Gyorko.

He was able to bounce back somewhat in 2016, hitting .291/.339/.389 as a Padre, good enough for a wRC+ of 99. He signed with the Cubs for the 2017 season and had another solid season, hitting .296/.374/.375, 101 wRC+. He went into journeyman mode for the next few years, spending time with the Royals, Diamondbacks, White Sox, D-Backs again, and then the Angels last year, with none of those stints lasting more than 84 games.

In all, Jay played in 1201 games in 12 MLB seasons from 2010 to 2021. He will head into retirement with a lifetime .283/.348/.373 batting line, 37 home runs, 185 doubles, 25 triples, 1,087 total hits, 532 runs scored, 341 runs batted in and 55 stolen bases. He was a solid contributor to an excellent run of Cardinals baseball, earning a World Series ring in the process. MLBTR congratulates him on a fine career and wishes him all the best in his future endeavors.

Angels Select Kenny Rosenberg, Outright Brian Moran

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Apr. 21: The Angels announced that Moran has cleared waivers and was outrighted to Triple-A Salt Lake.

Apr. 18: The Angels announced this evening they’ve selected left-hander Kenny Rosenberg onto the major league roster. Fellow southpaw Brian Moran has been designated for assignment in a corresponding move.

It’s the first major league call for the 26-year-old Rosenberg. Selected by the Rays in the eighth round of the 2016 draft out of Cal State Northridge, he spent five seasons in the Tampa Bay farm system. The 6’1″ hurler pitched his way as high as Triple-A Durham, where he tossed 30 2/3 innings across 14 relief appearances last season. Rosenberg posted a 2.35 ERA with an excellent 35% strikeout rate against the minors’ top hitters, but the Rays didn’t give him a big league look.

Tampa Bay also declined to protect Rosenberg from the minor league phase of last winter’s Rule 5 draft. The Angels selected him with the eighth pick in that process, and he impressed the front office enough this spring to put himself on the radar for a quick big league call. He has made just one appearance with Triple-A Salt Lake this season, working four innings of one-run ball with five strikeouts and two walks.

Rosenberg worked as starting pitcher up through Double-A in 2019. He spent most of last season in the bullpen but started his aforementioned lone appearance with the Bees thus far in 2022. Presumably, he’ll step into a multi-inning relief role for manager Joe Maddon, pairing with offseason signee Aaron Loup as the left-handed options in the middle innings.

Moran occupied that second lefty relief spot last week, heading to the majors eight days ago when the Halos lost José Quijada to an oblique strain. The 33-year-old made just one appearance, though, allowing four of five Rangers’ hitters he faced to reach base on Thursday. That was his first MLB appearance since he came out of the bullpen seven times between the Marlins and Blue Jays in 2020. The Angels have a week to trade Moran or place him on waivers.

Tony Watson Announces Retirement

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Veteran left-handed reliever Tony Watson is retiring after 11 seasons at the Major League level, he tells Stephen J. Nesbitt of The Athletic. Watson issued a statement thanking his teammates, peers, coaches and support staff members, as well as the four teams for which he pitched — Pirates, Dodgers, Giants, Angels — and his family and friends for their support throughout his career. Nesbitt further tweets that Watson originally hoped to continue on for at least a 12th season, but shoulder issues led him to call it a career.

As Nesbitt points out, Watson will step away from baseball as the all-time leader in holds (a statistic which has been recorded since 1999), having racked up 246 of them throughout his big league tenure. That’s a testament to the southpaw’s consistency and effectiveness. Not only did his reliability convince managers to give Watson the ball with small leads year-after-year, he frequently passed them along into the later innings by keeping runs off the board.

Watson exceeded 40 innings in ten of the the past eleven seasons, with only the shortened 2020 schedule keeping him from hitting that mark every year of his career. Only once did he post an ERA north of 4.00, and he allowed fewer than three earned runs per nine innings on four separate occasions. That included three straight excellent campaigns with the Pirates in 2013-15, during which time the University of Nebraska product tossed 224 1/3 innings of 1.97 ERA ball, stifling opposing hitters to a .212/.265/.297 slash line.

Amidst that run, Watson earned a deserved selection to the 2014 All-Star game. He struck out 26.6% of opposing hitters that year — the second-highest rate of his career — while posting a 1.63 ERA and leading the National League with 78 appearances. Watson remained eminently productive throughout his tenure in Pittsburgh, which concluded at the 2017 trade deadline when the non-contending Bucs shipped the impending free agent to the Dodgers. (That deal looks as if it’ll be a meaningful one for years to come in Pittsburgh, as now-top prospect Oneil Cruz went from L.A. in return).

As he was throughout his career, Watson proved an effective late-season addition for the Dodgers. He then signed a three-year deal with the division-rival Giants, where he remained a solid bullpen option. Between 2018-20, Watson posted a 3.20 ERA in 138 frames. He signed with the Angels in free agency last winter, but San Francisco brought him back via a deadline trade. Watson had run into some uncharacteristic struggles in Orange County, but he righted the ship for what’ll prove to be his final run in the Bay Area.

Even as he neared his 37th birthday, the Iowa native was one of the better left-handed relievers in this year’s free agent class. He reportedly drew some interest from the Mets last month, but his shoulder will prevent him from giving it another go. Nevertheless, Watson steps away from the game as one of the more quietly effective relievers of the past decade. He posted a 2.90 ERA in 648 1/3 innings across 11 major league campaigns. In addition to his aforementioned holds record, he saved 32 games and struck out 570 batters. MLBTR congratulates Watson on his long, successful run and wishes him all the best in retirement.

Image courtesy of USA Today Sports.

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