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Phillies Claim Tayler Scott From Padres

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The Phillies announced that they have claimed right-hander Tayler Scott off waivers from the Padres and optioned him to Triple-A. To create room on their 40-man roster, the Phillies recalled left-hander Kent Emanuel from Lehigh Valley and placed him on the 60-day IL with a shoulder strain.

Scott, 30, spent 2020 and 2021 with the Hiroshima Carp of Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball. He came back to North America for 2022, signing a minor league deal with the Padres. He had his contract selected in July and has thrown 12 innings for the big league club, though with a disappointing 6.75 ERA. He’s been much better in Triple-A, however, with a 3.76 ERA through 40 2/3 innings. That’s come with strong strikeout and walk rates of 30.4% and 6.4%, respectively. He’ll provide the Phils with an optionable depth arm, though he won’t be eligible for the postseason since he wasn’t in the organization prior to September 1.

In order to clear a roster spot for Scott, the Phillies have officially ended the season of Emanuel, who hasn’t pitched since the end of August. By recalling him and placing him on the 60-day IL, the club opens up a roster spot for Scott, though they will now be paying Emanuel a major league salary for the final three weeks of the season. Emanuel will also collect service time during that stretch. Claimed from the Astros in November, the lefty was also placed on the 60-day IL to begin the year due to an elbow impingement. Though he eventually returned to the hill in the minors, he was only able to make 13 starts in between his ailments. He registered a 2.55 ERA in that time with a 19.1% strikeout rate and 5.9% walk rate.

Reds Acquire Nick Northcut From Red Sox

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The Reds announced Wednesday that they’ve acquired minor league infielder Nick Northcut from the Red Sox as the player to be named later in the deadline trade that sent Tommy Pham to Boston. Northcut hasn’t been on a Major League roster or injured list this season, so he’s eligible to be traded now even with the deadline having passed. That allows the Reds to get a late look at him in their system, rather than waiting until the offseason.

[Related: How to Acquire Players After the Trade Deadline]

It’s a homecoming for Northcut, a Cincinnati-area native and graduate of William Mason High School — which sits just 25 miles from Great American Ball Park. The 23-year-old Northcut was selected by Boston in the 11th round of the 2018 draft. However, he was considered a top-100 talent in that year’s draft and only lasted as long as he did because he was considered a tough sign who was likely to honor his commitment to Vanderbilt. Boston swayed him with a $565K bonus — roughly in line with late-third-round money. (Pick No. 99 that year, the 25th in the third round, carried a $564K slot value.)

The right-handed-hitting Northcut has appeared at the infield corners almost exclusively in his career, though he did log six innings at shortstop earlier this season (likely in something of emergency fashion). That’s been his lone appearance at any position other than either third base, where he has 1580 professional innings under his belt, or first base, where he’s played 605 frames.

Northcut has shown plenty of pop in the minors this season, swatting 30 home runs and 18 doubles in 428 plate appearances between High-A and Double-A. However, he’s also whiffed in 35% of his trips to the plate and turned in a combined .219/.276/.491 batting line. Northcut’s power is evident, but he’s drawn walks at only a 5.8% clip so far in 2022, which hasn’t been enough to offset the pronounced swing-and-miss in his game.

The struggles to make contact have increased in recent years and prompted Northcut to fall out of the top tiers of the Red Sox’ system; Northcut ranked 19th among Sox farmhands at Baseball America and 23rd at FanGraphs back in 2019 but has fallen off the radar on most prominent assessments of their system. He’ll add a project to Reds’ system, but one with local roots and power that draft-time scouting reports graded as high as 70 on the 20-80 scale.

The Pham swap has worked out reasonably well for the Red Sox, who’ve seen the veteran corner outfielder post a .262/.321/.416 batting line with five homers in 162 plate appearances to this point. That’s about six percent better than league-average, by measure of wRC+, but taking a broader look at the team’s deadline maneuverings as a whole, things simply haven’t panned out. Boston traded away catcher Christian Vazquez and veteran reliever Jake Diekman while bringing in Pham and Eric Hosmer and holding onto its most appealing trade candidates (e.g. Nathan Eovaldi). The Sox were 52-52 when the deadline hit but have played at just a 17-21 pace since that time, falling to 10.5 games out of the American League Wild Card chase.

Astros Targeting Friday Return For Justin Verlander

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The Astros appear to be on the cusp of getting Cy Young frontrunner Justin Verlander back. Manager Dusty Baker tells reporters that while nothing is finalized yet, the organization’s tentative plan is for Verlander to return on Friday (Twitter link via Chandler Rome of the Houston Chronicle). Verlander hasn’t pitched since departing his Aug. 29 start after three innings due to what would eventually be diagnosed as “fascial disruption” in his calf.

If he indeed returns Friday, it’ll go down as an 18-day absence for Verlander — a near-best case scenario for an injury that, as acknowledged by the pitcher himself in the wake of his IL placement, could have sidelined him through a portion of the postseason had it been even marginally more severe.

[Related: The Changing Landscape of the American League Cy Young Race]

The 39-year-old Verlander has had nothing short of a remarkable season in his return from 2020 Tommy John surgery — not only reestablishing himself as a high-quality starter but resurfacing as a bona fide ace with a legitimate chance at his third Cy Young Award. Missing even a couple of starts could prove a deciding factor, particularly with Dylan Cease and Alek Manoah surging late in the season, but Verlander’s 1.84 ERA still tops American League pitchers. He’s now fallen to 18th in the league in innings pitched, however, narrowing any lead he might have previously held over the field. He’s also returning without a minor league rehab stint, so it’s at least possible the ’Stros will be a little more cautious than usual with his workload in his first outing.

The extent to which Verlander is able to bounce back from this calf issue will be telling with regard to the Cy Young race, though the team focus is surely just on having him built up to full strength for their now-inevitable postseason run. With 20 games left to play and a 12.5-game lead in the AL West, Houston hasn’t mathematically clinched the division crown, but that’s a fait accompli at this juncture. The Astros have the best record in the American League and the second-best record in baseball, trailing only the Dodgers, positioning them for a first-round bye in this year’s newly expanded 12-team playoff format.

That will give Houston the luxury of lining up the rotation however the team deems fit. Assuming he’s at full strength, Verlander would be the obvious choice to take the ball in Game 1 of the American League Division Series, likely to be followed by lefty Framber Valdez, who figures to get some down-ballot recognition in this year’s Cy Young voting himself. With Lance McCullers Jr. back on the active roster and 25-year-old righties Cristian Javier and Luis Garcia each pitching well (Javier, in particular) — the Astros are deep in options for their postseason rotation.

Andrew Velazquez To Undergo Knee Surgery

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The Angels announced Wednesday that infielder Andrew Velazquez has been diagnosed with a torn meniscus in his right knee and has been placed on the 10-day injured list. Infielder Michael Stefanic is up from Triple-A Salt Lake in his place, the team added. Velazquez exited yesterday’s game after four innings due to a knee injury sustained while making a play at shortstop.

Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register tweets that Velazquez is set to undergo surgery, which comes with a recovery period of six to eight weeks. That, obviously, brings the season to an end for Velazquez, who’ll likely be transferred to the 60-day IL the next time the Angels need a 40-man roster spot.

Claimed off waivers out of the Yankees organization last November, Velazquez received a career-high 349 plate appearances with the 2022 Angels — nearly double his career total of plate appearances in parts of four seasons prior to the current campaign. He posted a dismal .196/.236/.304 batting line in that time — roughly 51% worst than league average, by measure of wRC+.

As one would expect for a player who struggled so considerably at the plate, Velazquez’s glovework graded out quite well. He posted a whopping 13 Defensive Runs Saved at shortstop, and while Statcast wasn’t as bullish, he still notched positive marks in Outs Above Average (5) and Runs Above Average (3). Strong as the defense may be, however, the overreliance on Velazquez speaks to the general lack of depth in the Angels organization; he split time at the position with the since-traded Tyler Wade and fellow infielders David Fletcher and Luis Rengifo. Both Fletcher and Rengifo are best suited for other infield positions, and Fletcher missed substantial time on the injured list this season.

As for Velazquez’s future with the club, it’s possible that between this year’s struggles and this new injury, that he could be removed from the 40-man roster following the season. If he remains on the 40-man roster he’ll be right on the cusp of Super Two status this winter, finishing out the season at two years and 126 days (2.126) of service time. Over the past three years, the respective Super Two cutoffs have been 2.116, 2.125 and 2.115.

Whether Velazquez returns or not, addressing the organizational depth at shortstop figures to be on the offseason to-do list for the Angels. They’ll stand out as a feasible landing spot for an impactful option at the position, depending of course on a potential new owner’s willingness to spend, but even in the absence of a major acquisition, the Halos should be in the market for at least a modest short-term upgrade.

Reds Release T.J. Zeuch

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The Reds announced today that right-hander T.J. Zeuch has been released. That comes as part of a series of transactions that also saw righty Justin Dunn reinstated from the injured list and right-hander Raynel Espinal optioned to Triple-A Louisville. Dunn had been on the Covid-related injured list, hence the need for a 40-man move to reinstate him to what had been an at-capacity roster.

The 27-year-old  Zeuch has been on the injured list himself for the past three weeks due to a back issue. Players on the injured list cannot be placed on outright waivers, so the Reds’ options with Zeuch were to move him to the 60-day injured list for the remainder of the season or release him.

Zeuch began the season with the Cardinals organization but was designated for assignment and released in May. He caught on the Reds shortly thereafter and, after a solid run of five starts with the Reds’ Triple-A affiliate, found himself selected to the big league roster in Cincinnati. He made three starts prior to landing on the injured list, but the results were brutal; in just 10 2/3 innings, Zeuch was tattooed for 18 runs on 24 hits and seven walks with as many home runs allowed as strikeouts recorded (five).

While Zeuch never found extensive big league experience in parts of six seasons with the Blue Jays organization, this year’s calamitous, small-sample 15.19 ERA is a marked departure from past levels of performance. In parts of three seasons with the Jays from 2019-21, the 2016 first-rounder posted a respectable 4.59 ERA in 49 frames, logging a strong 50.9% ground-ball rate but struggling in terms of strikeout rate (14.1%) and walk rate (10.9%).

In parts of three seasons of Triple-A ball, Zeuch has a 4.71 ERA in 216 innings, although that’s skewed by an awful showing with the Cardinals earlier this year. Take out that span of 19 1/3 innings (25 earned runs allowed), and he’s sitting at a 4.02 mark for his career at that level — right in line with his broader 3.99 ERA in a total of 484 2/3 minor league innings.

Zeuch doesn’t appear to be at 100 percent at the moment, and with such little time remaining in the regular season, today’s release could very well end his 2022 campaign. He’ll enter the offseason likely to land a minor league deal and compete for a job somewhere next spring.

Nationals, Juan Minaya Agree To Minor League Deal

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The Nationals and righty Juan Minaya agreed to a minor league pact over the weekend, as first indicated by Rochester Red Wings director of communications Morrie Silver (Twitter link). He’s actually already made a pair of scoreless ppearances after quietly joining the organization. Minaya was passed through waivers by the Twins earlier this summer and accepted an outright at the time, in early July, but he was released back on Sept. 4.

Minaya, 32 next week, spent the first four seasons of his big league career (2016-19) with the White Sox organization and has been with the Twins since 2020. He gave Minnesota 40 sharp innings out of the bullpen in 2021, pitching to a 2.48 ERA with an above-average 25.8% walk rate but a bloated 12% walk rate as well. The Twins and other organizations were apparently somewhat skeptical of that performance, as Minaya was passed through outright waivers unclaimed last winter and returned to Minnesota on a minor league deal.

The 2022 season has been nightmarish for Minaya. The 6’4″ righty has pitched just 9 2/3 innings in the Majors, during which time he’s yielded six runs on eight hits and five walks with 11 strikeouts. Things actually went worse for Minaya with the Twins’ Triple-A affiliate in St. Paul, where he was clobbered for a 6.98 ERA with a 19.3% strikeout rate against a 10.7% walk rate while yielding an average of 1.35 homers per nine frames.

This year’s rocky showing notwithstanding, Minaya carries a 3.69 ERA in 178 big league innings. He’s averaged 94.7 mph on his heater — though that was down to 93.8 mph in 2022 — fanned just over a quarter of his opponents (25.2%) and walked batters at a 10.7% clip. If the Nats select Minaya to the big league roster before season’s end, he’d technically be controllable for several more years via arbitration, although given his struggles to this point in the season, that seems unlikely. Rather, the final stretch of games could serve as a minor league audition for the 2023 campaign, when a rebuilding Nats club will surely need plenty of veteran bullpen depth of this nature to vie for jobs next spring or to stash in the upper minors.

Rafael Ortega Fractures Finger

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Cubs outfielder Rafael Ortega fractured his left ring finger during tonight’s contest with the Mets, relays Sahadev Sharma of the Athletic (Twitter link). The injury is expected to end his 2022 season.

Ortega suffered the injury while attempting to lay down a bunt against Jacob deGrom. He was immediately replaced by Michael Hermosillo, who’s a candidate to assume the vacated center field reps for the season’s final few weeks. Utilityman Christopher Morel has also played a fair amount of center field this year, but defensive metrics have panned his work there (and indeed all around the diamond). Chicago also has rookie Nelson Velázquez on the active roster, but he’s struggled offensively at both the MLB and Triple-A levels this year.

Signed to a minor league deal over the 2020-21 offseason, Ortega cracked the big league roster in May 2021. The journeyman impressed during his first season on the North Side, hitting a career-best .291/.360/.463 with 11 home runs and 12 stolen bases. A .349 batting average on balls in play certainly propped up those results, but Ortega had a decent blend of contact skills and power that earned him a permanent roster spot.

Ortega retained that job and has tallied a career high 371 trips to the plate this year. His offensive output has dipped from last year’s heights, as he carries a .241/.311/.358 line. The batted ball fortune has swung in the opposite direction, as Ortega has posted a below-average .285 BABIP this year. He’s nevertheless drawn walks at a robust 11.9% clip while only striking out 19.9% of the time.

The 31-year-old is a virtual lock to reach arbitration for the first time this offseason as a Super Two qualifier. He’s controllable through 2026, but the Cubs could entertain trade offers this winter given his age and the team’s retooling status. Ortega’s capable of covering all three outfield spots and offers a high-contact lefty bat that could make him a decent fourth outfield option for a contender. The offseason center field market is quite thin beyond Aaron Judge and Brandon Nimmo, so it’s possible teams searching for depth at the position could consider Ortega, assuming the finger injury isn’t expected to affect his readiness for next Spring Training.

Outrights: Aguilar, Beaty, Garcia, Barrera

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A handful of players recently designated for assignment have gone unclaimed on waivers in recent days.

  • The Angels announced today that outfielder Ryan Aguilar was outrighted to Triple-A Salt Lake. The 28-year-old is now in line for what’ll be the first Triple-A experience of his career. Aguilar had never played above Double-A before he was called up last month — first as a temporary replacement for players unable to travel to Toronto and then as a formal addition to the 40-man roster. Aguilar only got into seven games during his MLB look, though, striking out in 14 of 26 plate appearances before being designated for assignment last week. He’d struck out in 27.2% of his plate appearances at Double-A Rocket City this year, but he’d also drawn walks at an incredible 19% clip and posted a huge .280/.427/.517 showing in 88 games there. The lefty-hitting outfielder will stick in the organization for now, but he’ll qualify for minor league free agency at the end of the year if he’s not reselected onto the 40-man roster.
  • Infielder/outfielder Matt Beaty has cleared waivers after being designated for assignment by the Padres, according to his transactions tracker at MLB.com. Acquired from the division rival Dodgers before the season, Beaty only appeared in 20 games with San Diego and hit .093/.170/.163 without a home run. He lost the bulk of the year to a shoulder impingement. It’s been a tough season, but the left-handed hitter is only a year removed from a productive .270/.363/.402 showing over 234 plate appearances with Los Angeles. Beaty surpassed three years of MLB service this season, giving him the right to refuse an assignment to Triple-A El Paso in favor of free agency.
  • The Orioles announced that right-hander Rico Garcia was outrighted to Triple-A Norolk. Baltimore designated the 28-year-old for assignment over the weekend upon claiming Cam Gallagher off waivers. Garcia has appeared in six big league games this season, working eight frames of four-run ball. He’s only struck out two batters, but he has a more impressive 27% strikeout rate in 30 1/3 innings with the Tides this year. Garcia has never previously been outrighted and doesn’t have three years of service, so he’ll stick in the organization without occupying a 40-man roster spot. He’ll be eligible for free agency at the end of the season if not added back to the roster.
  • Athletics outfielder Luis Barrera has been outrighted to Triple-A Las Vegas, according to his MLB.com transactions log. Barrera lost his roster spot when Oakland claimed Conner Capel from the Cardinals last week. The left-hander has tallied a career-high 85 MLB plate appearances this year, hitting .234/.294/.338 with his first home run. Barrera has slightly below-average numbers in Triple-A and has been outrighted twice this season, giving him the right to test free agency this time around.

Dodgers Activate Tommy Kahnle, Designate Heath Hembree

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The Dodgers announced they’ve designated reliever Heath Hembree for assignment. The move clears active and 40-man roster space for Tommy Kahnle, who was reinstated from the 60-day injured list.

Hembree signed a minor league deal with L.A. this summer after being let go by the Pirates. He made the big league roster a couple weeks back and went on to make six appearances as a Dodger. Hembree was hit hard, surrendering six runs (five earned) on nine hits and three walks while fanning five. It was the continuation of early-season struggles in Pittsburgh, where he was tagged for a 7.16 ERA with more walks than strikeouts through 16 1/3 innings.

The 33-year-old will hit the waiver wire in the next few days. He has more than enough service time to refuse an outright assignment, so it’s likely he’ll return to the open market if he passes through waivers unclaimed. Hembree is playing this season on a $2.125MM salary after signing with the Pirates during Spring Training. Pittsburgh remains on the hook for the majority of that sum, with the Dodgers only paying him the prorated portion of the $700K league minimum for the few weeks he spent on their roster.

Kahnle is back for the first time in nearly four months. The right-hander landed on the injured list in May due to inflammation in his throwing arm. That came on the heels of 2020-21 seasons almost completely lost to arm issues, including Tommy John surgery. Since the conclusion of the 2019 season, Kahnle has pitched in only five MLB games — one with the Yankees in 2020 and four with Los Angeles this May.

On the bright side, Kahnle averaged a solid 95.3 MPH on his heater and was generating plenty of whiffs on his changeup during his brief look earlier in the year. He’d been an excellent high-leverage arm at times during his stint in the Bronx, making him an intriguing option for manager Dave Roberts as the Dodgers turn their attention to the postseason. Kahnle worked seven innings of three-run ball on a rehab stint with Triple-A Oklahoma City, striking out seven against a pair of free passes.

Rays Place Brandon Lowe On Injured List

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The Rays announced they’ve placed second baseman Brandon Lowe on the 10-day injured list, retroactive to September 12, with lower back discomfort. Backstop René Pinto was recalled from Triple-A Durham to take the open active roster spot.

It’s the third IL stint of what has to be a frustrating season for Lowe. He suffered a stress reaction in his lower back in mid-May, an injury that required a multi-week shutdown and two-month absence. He returned in mid-July but went back on the shelf with a calf contusion in late August. That second stint proved brief, as Lowe was reinstated after a minimal 10-day absence last week, but he’s now again headed back to the injured list.

The Rays haven’t indicated how long they anticipate Lowe being out of action, but it’s an ill-timed absence as the end of the regular season nears. Tampa Bay trails the Yankees by 5 1/2 games in the AL East and is unlikely to capture the division title, but they’re battling for Wild Card position. The Rays, Mariners and Blue Jays occupy the AL’s three Wild Card spots and are all within half a game of one another. With a 5 1/2 cushion over the nearest non-playoff team, the Orioles, it seems likely all three will make it to the postseason. Securing the top Wild Card spot entitles a team to home-field advantage in the first-round playoff series, with all three games (if necessary) taking place at the higher seed’s ballpark.

Tampa Bay’s efforts to secure that position will be dealt a blow with Lowe again hitting the shelf. Isaac Paredes, Jonathan Aranda and Taylor Walls look like the top candidates to step in at the keystone, with the club losing some infield depth yesterday when Yu Chang was nabbed off waivers by the Red Sox. Lowe isn’t having his best season, but his .221/.308/.383 line still checks in a hair above league average by measure of wRC+.

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