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Rangers Select Hyeon-Jong Yang, Option Leody Tavares

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The Rangers have selected the contract of left-hander Hyeon-Jong Yang, the team announced.  In corresponding moves, Leody Taveras was optioned to the alternate training site, while infielder Ronald Guzman (who underwent season-ending knee surgery on Friday) was moved to the 60-day injured list.

After signing a minor league contract with Texas during the offseason, the 33-year-old Yang will now get his first crack at the major leagues, and also lock in a $1.3MM guarantee for reaching the Rangers’ active roster.  Beginning his career with the Kia Tigers in 2007, Yang has posted a 3.83 ERA and 19.77% strikeout rate over 1986 career innings in KBO action.

2020 wasn’t one of his finer seasons, as Yang had a 4.70 ERA over 172 1/3 frames and a spike in his walk rate.  However, at the cost of $1.3MM and a minors deal, the Rangers felt it was worth seeing what Yang could do in North American baseball, even if he can just eat some innings at the back of the rotation.  Yang has tossed at least 171 1/3 innings in each of the last seven seasons, and durability was only part of his appeal, as that seven-year stretch also included two league ERA titles, the KBO MVP Award in 2017, and a championship ring with the Tigers that same year as Yang won Korean Series MVP honors.

That said, it isn’t yet clear if the Rangers will use Yang in the rotation or if he’ll be deployed in their injury-riddled bullpen.  Texas already has several left-handers among their current relief options, though Yang could be used in a long relief or swingman role to get him accustomed to MLB hitters.

Taveras made his own Major League debut in 2020 and posted some respectable numbers over 134 plate appearances, but he hasn’t hit at all this season, with only an .087/.160/.087 slash line in 50 PA.  Taveras’ demotion should fully clear the way for more playing time for Adolis Garcia in center field.

Phillies Activate Jose Alvarado, Matt Moore; Select Odubel Herrera

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The Phillies have activated left-handers Jose Alvarado and Matt Moore from the injured list and selected the contract of center fielder Odubel Herrera, per a club announcement. The team optioned lefty Bailey Falter, righty Spencer Howard and outfielder Mickey Moniak in corresponding moves.

The Phillies went the past week without Alvarado and Moore, whom they placed on the COVID list along with infielder Ronald Torreyes on April 19. None of those players tested positive for the virus.

The most noteworthy move here is the return of Herrera, a 29-year-old who last appeared in the majors in 2019. Herrera was a standout with the Phillies earlier in his career, leading the team to sign him to a five-year, $30.5MM extension heading into the 2017 season. Two years later, though, Major League Baseball issued an 85-game suspension to Herrera for a violation of the MLB-MLBPA joint domestic violence, sexual assault, and child abuse policy. The Phillies outrighted Herrera in January 2020, and he was off their 40-man roster until today.

Philadelphia’s hope is that Herrera will provide a spark in center, which has been a problem position for the club this season. The Phillies have divided playing time among Moniak, Adam Haseley and Roman Quinn, though their production has been horrid. They’ve hit a combined .114/.213/.177, which pales in comparison to Herrera’s lifetime .276/.333/.423 mark through 2,492 plate appearances.

Twins Reinstate Andrelton Simmons From COVID List

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Andrelton Simmons is back in the Twins lineup, as the team reinstated the shortstop off of the COVID-19 injured list.  Infielder Nick Gordon was optioned in the corresponding move, and Gordon will remain on the Twins’ taxi squad.

Simmons tested positive for the coronavirus on April 14, and had “very mild” symptoms, according to manager Rocco Baldelli.  Fortunately, Simmons has been able to return in relatively short order, and will now look to continue what had been a red-hot start to the season.  After signing a one-year, $10.5MM free agent deal in the offseason, Simmons began his Minnesota tenure by hitting .355/.474/.452 over his first 38 plate appearances.  While that level of production isn’t likely to continue, an above-average hitting performance from Simmons (akin to his numbers in 2017-18 with the Angels) paired with his usual stellar glovework would make him a major addition for the Twins.

Gordon was called up from the alternate training site on Friday, but he is still looking to make his official MLB debut after not getting into any games over the weekend.  It was Gordon’s first Major League call-up since being selected with the fifth overall pick of the 2014 draft.

Orioles Select Jay Flaa’s Contract

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The Orioles have selected the contract of right-hander Jay Flaa, the team announced.  The Orioles already had an opening on their 40-man roster, and room was created on the 26-man active roster when left-hander Zac Lowther was optioned to the alternate training site.

A sixth-round pick out of North Dakota State in the 2015 draft, Flaa has a 3.41 ERA and 26.75% strikeout rate over 258 2/3 minor league innings.  Working as a reliever in all but three of his 165 professional games, Flaa has been able to miss some bats but he has also had some control issues, posting a below-average 11.25% walk rate.  As the Orioles continue to explore and audition multiple pitchers during their rebuild, Flaa will get a chance in the team’s bullpen, and is on track to make his Major League debut at age 28.

Lowther made his own debut just yesterday, tossing an inning of scoreless relief in Baltimore’s 8-1 victory over the Athletics.  Lowther will now head back to the alternate site after his cup of coffee in the bigs, as the southpaw was only called up prior to Sunday’s game.

NL East Notes: Fried, Maton, Duvall

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Sunday was a day to forget for the Braves, as the team had only one hit in the first game of a doubleheader against the Diamondbacks, and then had zero hits against Madison Bumgarner in the nightcap.  As per the official record, Major League Baseball is not recognizing Bumgarner’s feat as a no-hitter since the game was only a seven-inning contest, so the Braves avoided being no-hit for the 18th time in their franchise history.  (Though there has already been enough controversy over the league’s ruling that one wonders if Bumgarner could be retroactively awarded a no-hitter in time.)  The Braves did achieve one infamous distinction, however, as they now hold the record for fewest hits by any team in a doubleheader.

More from the NL East…

  • Max Fried’s stay on the injured list has already gone beyond the minimum 10 days, though MLB.com’s Mark Bowman tweets that there’s a chance Fried could be available to pitch in this weekend’s series between the Braves and the Blue Jays.  Bowman wrote last Friday that there wasn’t yet a timeline on Fried’s recovery from a hamstring strain, though the southpaw was taking part in fielding drills and he threw a side session.  Facing the Jays in an AL ballpark would also keep Fried from having to take any at-bats — he suffered his hamstring injury while running the bases.  It has been a very rough start to the season for Fried, between the IL stint and the 11.45 ERA he has posted over his first 11 innings.
  • Nick Maton’s MLB career has gotten off to a dream start, as the 24-year-old has hit .500/.542/.636 over his first 24 plate appearances as a big leaguer.  Maton was initially called up to fill in for Didi Gregorius and then Jean Segura while the two were nursing injuries, though the Phillies are now looking for ways to get Maton into the lineup whenever possible.  “I told him to take flyballs everywhere.  You never know in the National League game what’s going to happen,” manager Joe Girardi told NBC Sports Philadelphia’s Corey Seidman and other reporters.  A seventh-round draft pick for the Phils in 2017, Maton mostly played shortstop in the minors and saw some action at second and third base, though he has never played the outfield as a professional.  Maton has been working out at all three outfield spots, though Seidman notes that center field has been the biggest problem area for the Phillies, as Adam Haseley, Roman Quinn, and Mickey Moniak have all struggled at the plate.
  • Speaking of new center fielders, Adam Duvall got his first-ever start at the position in yesterday’s 4-3 Marlins loss to the Giants.  Duvall played the first seven innings up the middle before moving over to right field for the bottom of the eighth.  Miami skipper Don Mattingly told MLB.com’s Christina De Nicola and other reporters that the move was made to add more offense, since “obviously we’re having a battle trying to put some runs on the board,” though Mattingly admitted that “it’s a catch-22 that we make ourselves a little different defensively in center.”  With Starling Marte on the injured list due to a rib fracture, the Marlins have mostly gone with Lewis Brinson as the center field replacement, but Brinson hasn’t been hitting.  Duvall has been mostly a corner outfielder and first baseman over his eight-year MLB career, though he did make one other appearance as a center fielder; Duvall played an inning at the position on August 11, 2020 when he was a member of the Braves.

Minor MLB Transactions: 4/26/21

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The latest minor moves from around baseball…

  • The Tigers have outrighted Renato Nunez to their alternate training site, the team announced.  Nunez cleared waivers after being designated for assignment earlier this week.  Nunez inked a minor league deal with the Tigers after being released by the Orioles prior to December’s non-tender deadline, and Nunez has hit .148/.207/.444 with two home runs over his first 29 plate appearances for Detroit.  As noted by Evan Woodbery of MLive.com, Nunez had the right to reject the outright assignment, but he decided to stick with the Tigers rather than return to the free agent market.

Latest On White Sox Rotation

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Lucas Giolito suffered a “freak minor injury,” pushing his start back from yesterday to Tuesday and allowing the White Sox to keep Michael Kopech in the rotation for one more go. He delivered with his longest and most-impressive outing of the season, using 87 pitches to get through five innings, striking out ten, giving up four hits, zero walks and one run in a win against the Rangers.

White Sox manager Tony La Russa believes in Kopech’s long-term potential as a rotation arm, but he’ll go back to a hybrid role out of the bullpen for now. Per the Athletic’s James Fegan, La Russa said, “This is definitely not the time to think about moving Michael into the rotation. Michael Kopech is going to be a top-line starting pitcher. But right now it made sense to get him in condition and add more and more pitches. More importantly, the fact that he has competed so well shows that he has guts when he goes out there; he keeps his cool and concentration. I don’t have a crystal ball, but if he pitched — and I use the (Adam) Wainwright experience from ’06 — he can pitch in the bullpen all year long and maybe next year win 20 (games), or maybe later on he pitches this year as a starter.”

Kopech has made a pair of spot starts this year in his first game action since 2018. He’s also come out of the bullpen four times for a total of 15 2/3 innings – already a big-league career-high – with a sparkling 1.72 ERA/1.25 FIP. He’s striking out batters at an elite 46.6 percent rate while allowing a very strong 6.9 percent walk. It’s early, of course, but even out of the pen, the lanky 24-year-old with electric stuff is proving to be a weapon for the White Sox.

Kopech has come a long way since being a centerpiece of the Chris Sale trade back in 2016. It’s somewhat amazing that he’ll turn just 25 years old this upcoming Friday. Fegan detailed Kopech’s journey back to the Majors for a piece well worth a read here in the Athletic.

MLBTR Poll: Do You Believe In The Giants?

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The Padres beat the Dodgers in extras last night in yet another affirmation of baseball’s hottest rivalry, but there’s another team that sits between the Padres and the division-leading Dodgers out west: the San Francisco Giants.

At 14-8, the San Francisco Giants somewhat surprisingly sit tied with their partners across the bay in Oakland for the second-best winning percentage in baseball. It seems like every year we expect the Giants to bottom out, but under President of Baseball Operations Farhan Zaidi, the Giants put out competitive squads. And yet, they haven’t finished above .500 since 2016. They were 29-31 in 2020, just barely missing out on the final playoff spot in an expanded field.

They’re off to a fantastic start in 2021. Despite a lack of star power, the Giants pitching staff boasts a 2.94 ERA, second only to the Padres league-wide. By fielding independent pitching, the Giants allow 3.59 runs per nine innings, and while that suggests the ball may be bouncing in their favor early on, that’s still the seventh-best mark in the Majors. They’re a top-10 team in limiting free passes with a 7.9 percent walk rate and striking out an above-average 24.9 percent of hitters. Better yet, they’re keeping the ball on the ground at a league-best 49.9 percent groundball rate.

Coming into the season, a rotation pool of Kevin Gausman, Johnny Cueto, Anthony DeSclafani, Alex Wood, Aaron Sanchez, and Logan Webb wasn’t likely first on Pitching Ninja’s teams to watch, especially not in a division with the star-powered rotations in San Diego and Los Angeles. The Giants’ group, by comparison, had former stars, late-developers, and injury perennials. Four turns through the five-man cycle, however, the Giants starters are second overall with a 2.46 ERA, fifth with a 3.16 FIP, and second by volume with 127 2/3 innings. They’re also limiting hard contact with a 28.6 percent hard hit percentage, tied for second overall.

Is regression coming to Oracle Park? They’ve benefited from the seventh-best batting average on balls in play (.256 BABIP), they’ve been best in the game at stranding runners with a 85.2 percent left on base rate, and they’re tied for third with a 9.7 percent home-run-to-fly-ball rate. It’s pretty early to know how “earned” those rankings are.

While the pitching has been about as good as they might have hoped, the offense actually has some room to grow. As a group, their 89 wRC+ is a bottom-10 mark overall, despite a top-10 .176 team ISO. Like the pitching staff, the offense shares a .256 BABIP mark, fourth-lowest among offenses. Mike Yastrzemski’s potential oblique injury could be a blow, and while it’s been great seeing Buster Posey and Evan Longoria turn back the clock to the tune of 150 wRC+ and 160 wRC+, respectively, they are going to slow down.

This is our third season of Zaidi’s Giants. He can claim a number of savvy, low-key development wins like the star turns from Yaz and Gausman, but while they’ve sniffed around the edges of some significant free agents, they’ve largely let the big-ticket names head elsewhere. With the Giants off to the races in what’s sure to be a competitive division, will Zaidi be more aggressive on the trade market if they stay in the playoff picture?

Will they stay in the playoff picture? Are you bullish or bearish on the Giants’ hot start? April is a time for belief in baseball, so let’s see what y’all believe about the Giants.

(Poll link for app users)

Latest On Christian Yelich

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TODAY: The Brewers are hopeful that Yelich may be able to return to the roster before the end of the week, per Jon Morosi of the MLB Network (via Twitter). That would be a pretty sizable pickup for the Brewers, who sit atop the NL Central despite numerous injuries on the offensive side of the ball.

APRIL 25: Yelich’s MRI didn’t reveal any structural damage, Counsell told Tom Haudricourt (Twitter link) and other reporters.  The MRI “was to rule out anything and get another piece of information.  We ruled out anything significant,” Counsell said.

APRIL 24: Christian Yelich hasn’t played since April 11 due to a lower back strain that eventually led to an injured list placement on April 17.  Since that placement was backdated to April 14, Yelich was eligible to be activated today, though Brewers manager Craig Counsell said yesterday that Yelich wouldn’t make an immediate return.

Counsell’s latest update today is a little more concerning, as the skipper told Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel (Twitter links) and other reporters that Yelich would receive an MRI on his ailing back.  Yelich has “hit a plateau” in his recovery process, as Counsell put it, and the MRI will allow all parties “to get more information” on the outfielder’s condition.

Yelich has been dealing with lingering back issues for a few years, including a minor bout of soreness during Spring Training that caused him to miss a few Cactus League games.  The fact that Yelich’s back is still bothering him after close to two weeks is certainly cause for further examination, and the hope is that the MRI won’t reveal a more longer-term problem.

Plagued by minor injuries and just a lack of timing in 2020, even the “off-year” version of Yelich was still good enough to contribute a 111 OPS+/113 wRC+ and a .205/.356/.430 slash line over 247 plate appearances last season.  While not back to his MVP-level form of the 2018-19 seasons, Yelich was showing some improvement (though a lack of power) over 2020’s numbers in his first few games this year, hitting .333/.459/.367 over his first 37 PA.

Avisail Garcia also isn’t playing today due to a sore back, adding to the Brewers’ injury woes in the outfield with Yelich, Lorenzo Cain, Derek Fisher, and utilitymen Jace Peterson and Tim Lopes all on the 10-day IL.  Jackie Bradley Jr. is the only regular left for Milwaukee, with Billy McKinney and Tyrone Taylor picking up the slack for their sidelined teammates.

Hyun Jin Ryu Leaves Game With Right Glute Strain

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Blue Jays starter Hyun Jin Ryu left today’s game because of a minor right glute strain, the team announced. Toronto took the contest 1-0 from the Rays, but a potential Ryu injury looms larger for the Jays’ future. Their ace threw 3 2/3 scoreless before his departure today allowing three hits, one walk, zero runs, while striking out five. After the game, Ryu appeared confident that he would be ready to make his next start, per Gregor Chisholm of the Toronto Star (via Twitter).

Before today’s game, Ryu had done his part with a 3.00 ERA/3.22 FIP in four starts covering 24 innings. His 48.6 groundball rate is down a touch from his norm, but within range for a small sample. His strikeouts were down just a little as well to a 21.9 percent strikeout rate, while he had been particularly stingy with free passes (2.1 percent walk rate).

Ryu might be the most irreplaceable arm on a Toronto roster that’s dealt with its fair share of injuries, especially on the pitching side. Closer Kirby Yates, of course, was lost for the year, while both Julian Merryweather and Jordan Romano – two potential replacements late in games – have also spent time on the injured list. In the rotation, highly-touted prospect Nate Pearson has yet to make his season debut, and he’s been joined on the IL by Ross Stripling and T.J. Zeuch. Somewhat surprisingly, the Blue Jays have been kept afloat by Steven Matz, who is 4-0 in four starts with a 2.31 ERA/3.22 FIP.

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