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Latest On Albert Pujols

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11:38am: Heyman now reports that there’s not “much traction” on a potential Cardinals-Pujols reunion.

10:01am: Legendary slugger Albert Pujols became a free agent Thursday, one week after the Angels designated him for assignment, and the first baseman is now garnering interest from a few teams. Three to four clubs are in on Pujols, Robert Murray of FanSided reports. St. Louis is part of that group, according to Jon Heyman of MLB Network. Katie Woo of The Athletic tweeted Friday that the team has “had limited internal conversations” about a possible deal for Pujols. However, Woo added that the Cardinals had yet to contact Pujols’ camp.

While Woo suggests the Cardinals are unlikely to add Pujols, doing so would make for a compelling story. Pujols, of course, spent the first 11 seasons of his career (2001-11) in St. Louis, where he became a franchise icon and helped the team to a pair of World Series championships. On an individual level, Pujols earned nine All-Star nods, won three National League Most Valuable Player Awards and the NL Rookie of the Year, among many other accolades.

Pujols’ fruitful run with the Cardinals ended heading into the 2012 campaign, when he inked a 10-year, $254MM contract with the Angels. It was the second-largest deal in baseball history at the time, though the Angels didn’t get enough bang for their buck after taking the risk. Pujols’ production declined significantly with the Halos, and dating back to 2017, he ranks second to last among 2,278 qualified position players in fWAR (minus-3.3). During that 1,934-plate appearance span, the 41-year-old has also notched a meager 84 wRC+, which is a far cry from his exemplary lifetime mark (142).

In terms of bottom-line production, this season has been more of the same for Pujols, owner of a .198/.250/.372 line (74 wRC+) with five home runs in 92 trips to the plate. But Pujols has at least shown some encouraging signs, including a typically low strikeout rate (14.1 percent) and his highest average exit velocity since 2016 (90.5 mph). Pujols is also sporting a career-worst .176 batting average on balls in play, though that’s not necessarily shocking for someone devoid of speed. Still, if that number increases and his .270 weighted on-base average moves closer to his .347 expected wOBA, Pujols could perhaps serve as a useful bat/veteran leader for a club willing to take a chance on someone with 667 home runs on his resume.

Mets Select Jake Hager, Designate Trevor Hildenberger

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The Mets have selected the contract of infielder Jake Hager and designated right-handed reliever Trevor Hildenberger for assignment, according to Deesha Thosar of the New York Daily News. The team also optioned outfielder Khalil Lee to Triple-A Syracuse.

Hager was the 32nd overall pick of the Rays back in 2011, but he hasn’t played in the majors to this point. The 28-year-old has seen action in Triple-A ball in five seasons, including this one, and batted .243/.291/.373 with 22 home runs in 1,112 plate appearances at that level. He got off to a sizzling start in the minors this year en route to a promotion, slashing .405/.436/.703 with three home runs in 39 PA as a member of the Syracuse club.

Hildenberger, 30, joined the Mets in the offseason on a minor league contract. They promoted the former Twin in early April, but opposing offenses scored four runs off him on on three hits and three walks over 2 1/3 innings and two appearances. That continued a difficult run in the majors for Hildenberger, who has pitched to a 5.52 ERA in 133 2/3 frames. The Mets will have a week to trade, release or pass him through waivers.

Angels Acquire Hunter Strickland

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The Rays have traded right-handed reliever Hunter Strickland to the Angels, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports. Tampa Bay will receive cash considerations or a player to be named later in return, per an announcement from the Angels.

The 32-year-old Strickland joined the Rays on a minor league contract over the winter, and he wound up holding his own during his short stint with the club after it promoted him in early April. Strickland bounced back from a rough two years divided among the Mariners, Nationals and Mets to log a meager 1.69 ERA (with a less spectacular 3.76 SIERA) across 16 innings and post a 24.2 percent strikeout rate against a 9.1 percent walk rate as a Ray.

Strickland will now return to California, where he spent the first five years of his career in San Francisco. Over 226 frames as a Giant from 2014-18, Strickland recorded a 2.91 ERA/3.80 SIERA with a 22.6 percent strikeout rate and an 8.4 percent walk rate. Production along those lines (or the type of numbers he put up as a Ray) would be welcome for the Angels, whose bullpen has struggled mightily during their 16-21 start. Angels relievers own both the majors’ fourth-worst ERA (5.32) and K-BB percentage (10.7).

MLBPA Files Grievance Against MLB

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The Major League Baseball Players Association has filed a grievance against the league, claiming that MLB did not negotiate in good faith to play as many games as possible in the shortened 2020 season, Joel Sherman of the New York Post reports. The MLBPA grievance seeks as much as $500MM, which Sherman suggests is the equivalent of roughly 20 games of additional pay.

At this point, the timeline for a potential resolution isn’t fully clear. Evan Drellich and Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic report that the grievance was actually filed two weeks ago, adding that the league has argued in response that 60 games was the maximum possible due to health and safety reasons. Of course, the league itself submitted proposals for larger numbers of games, although it did so with additional salary cuts which MLB knew to be a nonstarter in talks with the union.

Both the Post and the Athletic note that the league has asked the union to fast-track this grievance so that a resolution may be reached in advance of the looming expiration of the collective bargaining agreement on Dec. 1, 2021. However, it also seems viable that the union could drag out the process so that an eventual concession to drop the grievance can be used as a negotiating ploy in those CBA talks.

The crux of the grievance seems to stem from the language in the March 26 agreement reached between MLB and the MLBPA last year. That agreement stipulated that the league would make its “best efforts to play as many games as possible.” Less than a month after striking that accord, the two sides were embroiled in a new debate, once it had become clear that it would not be possible to have fans in attendance. The union left open a window for owners to pull back on their commitment to prorated salaries, as language within the March agreement stated that the two sides would “discuss in good faith the economic feasibility of playing games in the absence of spectators.”

The result was an ugly, months-long debate that played out in the public eye. A new agreement was never reached, and commissioner Rob Manfred eventually implemented a 60-game schedule under the terms of that March agreement. Players were paid the prorated version of their salaries — roughly 37 percent of what they initially stood to earn with a full, 162-game slate. Service time was also prorated, such that one day on the MLB roster in the shortened schedule amounted to roughly 2.77 days of service time. Incentive clauses and the conditions to trigger vesting options in player contracts were prorated as well.

Now, it seems the two sides are set to spar once again over the vague and nebulous language in that March agreement — this time against a more immediate backdrop of collective bargaining negotiations. If the two sides can’t agree on some form of settlement, the grievance will eventually be heard by a three-person arbitration panel. Because one member of that panel represents the union and another represents the league, the outcome will effectively boil down to the ruling of the lone, mutually agreed-upon third party.

Braves Sign Jonathan Lucroy

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The Braves have signed catcher Jonathan Lucroy to a minor league contract, according to David O’Brien and Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic. Lucroy will report to Triple-A Gwinnett.

The 34-year-old Lucroy had been looking for a team since the Nationals designated him for assignment April 12, though he was choosy in selecting a club. Lucroy reportedly turned down multiple minor league offers in hopes of scoring a guaranteed deal, but that was a tough sell when considering how the former star’s career has gone since his 2010-16 heyday with the Brewers and Rangers.

Lucroy spent parts of 2017-19 with five different teams – the Rangers, Rockies, Athletics, Angels and Cubs – but didn’t experience much success outside of Colorado during that span. He combined to hit .248/.315/.350 with 18 home runs and minus-0.1 fWAR across 1,263 plate appearances in those three seasons, and his once-ballyhooed pitch-framing ability eroded at the same time. As a result, he has appeared in just six games since last year (one with the Red Sox and five with the Nationals).

Lucroy will now lend some depth to a Braves team in need of it behind the plate. Starter Travis d’Arnaud underwent surgery on a torn thumb ligament earlier this month and won’t return until at least July. Likewise, Alex Jackson has been out all month with a strained hamstring. And Tyler Flowers, whom the Braves re-signed to a minors pact May 6, decided to retire Friday. Atlanta is now down to William Contreras and Jeff Mathis as its top two options at the big league level.

Athletics Activate Chad Pinder

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The Athletics announced before their game against the Twins on Friday that they reinstated infielder/outfielder Chad Pinder from the 10-day injured list. He’s taking the roster spot of infielder Vimael Machin, whom the team optioned to Triple-A Las Vegas.

The Athletics have gone since April 4 without Pinder after he suffered a sprained left knee, robbing them of a versatile defender and useful offensive contributor. Dating back to his major league debut in 2016, the 29-year-old has lined up at every position but pitcher and catcher and hit .245/.302/.432 (99 wRC+) with 45 home runs in 1,138 plate appearances.

Pinder carries little experience at shortstop, though he could eventually be an option for an Oakland team that’s in serious need of a boost at the position. A’s shortstops entered Friday dead last in the majors in wRC+ (22) and fWAR (minus-0.8) across 156 PA, all of which have been taken by Machin and starter Elvis Andrus. Machin hit a miserable .050/.136/.050 without a home run in 22 trips to the plate before the A’s demoted him. Andrus, meanwhile, went into the day with a woeful .177/.224/.234 line and no home runs of his own in 134 PA.

Pirates, T.J. Rivera Agree To Minor League Deal

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Infielder T.J. Rivera has agreed to a minor league contract with the Pirates, Jon Heyman of MLB Network reports. The deal is pending a physical.

Rivera signed with the Long Island Ducks of the independent Atlantic League just four days ago, but he’ll instead attempt to work his way back to the majors with the Pirates. Now 32 years old, Rivera appeared in the bigs with the Mets from 2016-17 and batted an effective .304/.335/.445 across 231 plate appearances. The Mets looked as if they had a quality piece in Rivera, but injuries helped to at least temporarily end his time in the majors during his last year with the club. He underwent Tommy John surgery then and dealt with an elbow sprain while recovering in 2018, after which the Mets released him.

On the heels of his Mets tenure, Rivera inked minors deals with the Nationals and Phillies, but he didn’t return to MLB with either team. Now, as long as Rivera passes his physical, he’ll have an opportunity to stage a comeback with Pittsburgh.

Matt Wieters Expected To Play For Team USA

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Free-agent catcher Matt Wieters is expected to play for Team USA at this summer’s Olympics in Tokyo, Mark Feinsand of MLB.com tweets. He could join several other notable veterans on the roster.

This is the first report centering on Wieters since he became a free agent at the end of last season. The 34-year-old spent the previous two seasons as a member of the Cardinals, with whom he backed up Yadier Molina and hit .212/.274/.399 with 11 home runs in 224 plate appearances. Defensively, the Cardinals’ version of Wieters threw out 8 of 20 would-be base thieves – good for a 40 percent rate that checks in above his solid career mark of 32 percent.

Wieters is also a former National, but he’s best known for his run with the Orioles from 2009-16. The fifth overall pick in the 2007 draft, Wieters was an uber-prospect (Baseball America’s ranked him No. 1 twice) who was dubbed “Mauer with Power.” He may not have lived up to that hype consistently, but he did make four All-Star appearances with the Orioles and hit between 22 and 23 home runs in three different seasons. Overall, Wieters has batted .249/.313/.409 (92 wRC+) with 146 home runs in 4,428 plate appearances as a major leaguer. Whether Wieters will resurface in the bigs remains to be seen, but it appears he’ll at least play competitively again this summer.

Mariners Place Evan White, Ty France On 10-Day IL

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The Mariners announced that they have placed first baseman Evan White (strained left hip flexor) and infielder Ty France (left wrist inflammation) on the 10-day injured list. They recalled infielders Donovan Walton and Jack Mayfield in corresponding moves.

White struggled as a rookie in 2020 after signing a six-year, $24MM contract, and his offensive production has gotten even worse this season. Although White has slashed his strikeout rate by almost 12 percent since last year, he has still only mustered a .144/.202/.237 line with two home runs in 104 plate appearances. The 25-year-old’s wRC+ (29) ranks last in the majors among hitters who have amassed 100-plus PA, and though White’s .241 expected weighted on-base average paints a better picture than his .200 real wOBA, it’s still a dreary figure.

When White hasn’t started at first base this year, the Mariners have turned to France and Jose Marmolejos. They’re now also without France, who has been mired in a slump this month after a highly productive April. However, France still owns an above-average line of .229/.333/.366 (108 wRC+) with three home runs in 153 trips to the plate, and he has been versatile. Most of his work has come at designated hitter, but along with lining up there and at first base, he has logged 15 starts at second and another at third.

David Phelps Has “Significant” Lat Strain

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Blue Jays right-handed reliever David Phelps is dealing with a “significant” lat strain, manager Charlie Montoyo said Friday (via Scott Mitchell of TSN). Montoyo was unable to offer a timeline for Phelps’ return.

Lat strains often lead to lengthy absences for pitchers, and it sounds as if that will be the case for Phelps. The 34-year-old has already gone almost two full weeks without pitching, having most recently taken the mound on May 2.

Phelps, whom the Blue Jays signed for $1.75MM in free agency, delivered outstanding results prior to his placement on the 10-day injured list. Now in his second stint with Toronto (he previously spent time with the club in 2019), Phelps has thrown 8 1/3 innings of two-run ball (one earned) with 15 strikeouts, four walks, eight hits allowed, and four holds. He’s one of seven Blue Jays relievers on the IL, yet the team has still found a way to a 20-16 record.

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