Headlines

Go To Pro Hockey Rumors
Go To Hoops Rumors

Twins Bench Coach Mike Bell Passes Away

By | at

In shocking and sad news, the Twins announced that bench coach Mike Bell has passed away at the age of 46. He had been suffering from kidney cancer.

Bell was one of many members in his family who enjoyed a long career in baseball. The grandson of former major league outfielder Gus Bell, the son of ex-third baseman and manager Buddy Bell, and the brother of former infielder and current Reds skipper David Bell, Mike Bell was the 30th overall pick of the Rangers in 1993. The ex-third baseman appeared in the majors in one season – 2000 – as a member of the Reds, his hometown team and one near and dear to his family’s heart.

After wrapping up his run as a professional player in 2005, Bell moved on to the minor and major league coaching ranks in 2007. He was also the director of player development with the Diamondbacks before becoming a prominent part of Twins manager Rocco Baldelli’s staff prior to last season. He garnered interest as a managerial candidate from the likes of the Mets, Orioles, Red Sox and Pirates over the past couple offseasons.

MLBTR sends our condolences to Bell’s family, the Twins organization and everyone affected by this tragic and sudden loss.

Nick Anderson Suffers Partial Tear Of Elbow Ligament

By | at

MARCH 26: The Rays have placed Anderson on the 60-day injured list and added righty Andrew Kittredge to their 40-man roster, per a team announcement. Kittredge had an opt-out for the end of camp in the minor league deal he signed with the Rays, but he’ll stay put. He contributed 111 1/3 innings of 4.93 ERA/3.90 SIERA pitching with the Rays from 2017-20.

MARCH 25: The Rays’ bullpen received terrible news Thursday: Right-hander Nick Anderson suffered a partial tear of his elbow ligament and will likely be out until past the All-Star break, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports. Surgery has not been recommended at this point.

Considering how much the reigning American League champion Rays lean on their bullpen, the loss of Anderson for at least a few months is an especially troubling development. Anderson has been absolutely lights-out dating back to his 2019 debut with Miami, which traded him to Tampa Bay before that season’s deadline.

Now 30 years old, the hard-throwing Anderson was a 32nd-round pick of the Brewers in 2012 who spent time in independent ball before he broke out in the bigs. Anderson owns a stellar 2.77 ERA/2.14 SIERA with a 42.2 percent strikeout rate and a 6.5 percent walk rate across 81 1/3 innings. While Anderson did miss time last year with forearm issues, he dominated over 16 1/3 frames with a measly 0.55 ERA and similarly jaw-dropping strikeout and walk percentages of 44.8 and 5.2, respectively. He wasn’t nearly as successful in the playoffs, in which he surrendered nine earned runs on 16 hits and totaled nine strikeouts against four walks in 14 2/3 innings.

Anderson led the Rays with six saves during the regular season in 2020, but they’ll have to lean on other end-of-game options until at least sometime in the summer. Diego Castillo, Pete Fairbanks, Chaz Roe and Ryan Thompson are among possible solutions for the Rays, whose bullpen – thanks in no small part to Anderson – ranked third in the majors in ERA a year ago.

Tony Watson Opts Out Of Phillies Deal; Kintzler, Joyce Make Roster

By | at

2:27pm: Righty reliever Brandon Kintzler and outfielder Matt Joyce, who also signed minors pacts, have earned roster spots, Matt Gelb of The Athletic tweets. Kintzler will make $3MM, while Joyce’s salary isn’t known yet.

Long an effective, grounder-inducing late-game option, Kintzler piled up 12 saves and recorded a 2.20 ERA over 24 1/3 frames. While the 36-year-old notched ugly strikeout and walk percentages (13.9 and 10.9, respectively), his 57.3 percent groundball mark once again helped him keep runs off the board at a quality clip.

Joyce, also 36 and Kintzler’s teammate in Miami last year, has been an on-base threat for most of his career. He slashed .252/.351/.331 with two home runs in a limited role (46 plate appearances) in 2020.

2:10pm: Veteran left-handed reliever Tony Watson has opted out of his minor league contract with the Phillies, Jim Salisbury of NBC Sports Philadelphia reports.

Watson, whom the Phillies signed during the winter, would have earned a somewhat hefty $3MM salary had he cracked their roster. Considering the Phillies would like to stay under the luxury-tax threshold, it’s not that surprising that they’re unwilling to pay Watson that sum – especially in light of his struggles this spring. The 35-year-old allowed four earned runs in five innings and surrendered nine hits in exhibition play, though he did total seven strikeouts against two walks. His exit leaves the Phillies with Jose Alvarado, JoJo Romero, Damon Jones and Ranger Suarez – all on the 40-man roster – as their primary southpaw relievers.

As for Watson’s next step, he should at least be able to land another minors deal somewhere, as the former Pirate, Dodger and Giant has regularly produced good results. Owner of a lifetime 2.80 ERA, Watson logged a 2.50 mark and a 3.75 SIERA over 18 innings in San Francisco last season. He also amassed 15 strikeouts against three walks, posted a 50 percent groundball rate and was tough on both lefty and righty hitters.

Indians Announce Roster Decisions

By | at

The Indians have informed first baseman Jake Bauers, lefty Oliver Perez, infielder Yu Chang and outfielder Ben Gamel that they’ve made the Opening Day roster, the club announced to reporters (Twitter links via Ryan Lewis of the Akron Beacon-Journal). First base prospect Bobby Bradley, outfielder Bradley Zimmer, veteran righty Blake Parker and young lefty Kyle Nelson have all been told they will not head north with the club.

The slate of decisions means that Bauers, who is out of minor league options, will get one more opportunity to fend off Bradley. Bauers didn’t show particularly well this spring, slashing just .200/.429/.280 in 35 trips to the plate. Bradley’s .303/.314/.636 output trounced that, but we’re looking at small samples of data and it’s common this time of year for clubs to be averse to losing out-of-options players on waivers.

Bauers is still just 25 years old and is a former top prospect himself, although he didn’t play in the big leagues last year and carries a rather marginal .214/.314/.377 slash in 811 career plate appearances. Bradley, 24, got an opportunity in the big leagues last season but stumbled with a .178/.245/.356 line in 49 trips to the plate.

With the Indians optioning both Zimmer and Oscar Mercado to Triple-A this week, it appears that Gamel, who’d been in camp as a non-roster invitee, will be one of their primary options in center field. He could split time with Amed Rosario there, although Cleveland’s experiments with him in the outfield thus far in Spring Training have been somewhat adventurous. Gamel has more experience there and seems likely to see plenty of opportunity despite a tepid .212/.316/.364 showing in 38 spring plate appearances.

Chang’s case for a roster spot improved earlier in camp when veteran Mike Freeman was traded over to the Reds. The 25-year-old Chang hasn’t hit much in parts of two seasons with the Indians in 2019-20, but he’s also received just 97 plate appearances in the Majors. Perez, meanwhile, has spent the past three seasons in Cleveland’s bullpen and thrown quite well, so it comes as little surprise that they’ll bring him back for a fourth year. Parker came to camp with a decent chance to grab a spot but has been clobbered for a dozen runs in 6 1/3 innings. His track record in the big leagues is obviously quite a bit better than that disastrous showing, but it’s not hard to see why Cleveland went in another direction after that audition.

Though the team has announced its decisions, the moves themselves aren’t yet formal. Both Perez and Gamel were in camp on non-roster deals, as was veteran righty Bryan Shaw, who made the club earlier in the week. All three will need to be added to the 40-man roster between now and Opening Day, so the Indians clearly have some roster tweaking on the horizon.

Joe Panik Will Make Blue Jays’ Roster

By | at

The Blue Jays have informed veteran infielder Joe Panik that he’s made the club’s Opening Day roster, tweets Shi Davidi of Sportsnet. The Jays won’t make the move official until next week, however, so there’s no corresponding move for selecting his contract just yet.

Panik, 30, turned in an 8-for-29 showing (all singles) with a pair of walks and just one strikeout with the Jays during Spring Training. He’ll make the club as a backup infielder for the second straight season and look to improve upon last season’s .245/.340/.300 batting line (141 plate appearances).

The Jays have a full infield with Vladimir Guerrero Jr. at first base, Marcus Semien at second base, Bo Bichette and shortstop and the versatile Cavan Biggio lined up at third base. Panik can back up all around the diamond and give the club a plus defensive option with solid career walk and strikeout rates (8.4 percent and 9.9 percent, respectively). In 2842 career plate appearances, Panik is a .269/.334/.380 hitter.

Tigers Announce Decisions On Pitching Staff

By | at

Former No. 1 overall pick Casey Mize has made the Tigers’ Opening Day rotation, manager A.J. Hinch announced this morning (Twitter links via Evan Woodbery of MLive.com). Hinch also revealed that former AL Rookie of the Year Michael Fulmer will begin the season in the bullpen, where he’ll be joined by veteran lefty Derek Holland — a non-roster invitee to camp who has made the Opening Day squad. Detroit will need to make a corresponding 40-man roster move once Holland’s contract is formally selected, though that has not yet occurred.

Mize, 23, didn’t have a great spring but was sharper in his most recent outing, holding the Blue Jays to a pair of runs on five hits and no walks with nine strikeouts through four innings. Overall, he’s been tagged for 13 runs in 14 frames during Grapefruit League play, but he’s also punched out an impressive 21 hitters in that time.

Mize made his big league debut in 2020 and looked sharp at times but generally struggled to work deep into games. He held opponents to a tepid .228/.302/.358 batting line the first time through the order but saw those numbers leap to .235/.361/.510 upon turning a lineup over for the second time. It was a small sample, just seven starts, and Mize certainly has the pedigree to pitch at or near the top of a big league rotation. In addition to a strong NCAA track record, the former Auburn ace carries a 2.71 ERA, a 24.8 percent strikeout rate and a tiny 5.4 percent walk rate through 123 minor league innings. He skipped Triple-A entirely due to the canceled minor league season in 2020, but he’ll be given the opportunity to prove to the Tigers that he needn’t ever throw a pitch with their Toledo affiliate.

Mize joins Matthew Boyd, Jose Urena, Julio Teheran and Tarik Skubal in a rotation that looks quite different than it did early in the 2020 season. Righty Spencer Turnbull figures to eventually join the mix in some capacity, but he’s been in Covid-19 protocol since early this week.

Fulmer, too, could eventually work his way back into the rotation picture. The righty has undergone a pair of arm surgeries — ulnar nerve transposition and Tommy John — since being named AL Rookie of the Year back in 2016. He struggled mightily this spring, but Hinch gave him a vote of confidence Friday, calling Fulmer a “big league pitcher” (via Woodbery) and noting that optioning him to Triple-A was not a consideration. He’ll work in a multi-inning role, so he could perhaps slide into the rotation when injuries and/or struggles from the other starters necessitate. The Tigers still control Fulmer through the 2022 season.

As for Holland, he’ll give Hinch a third lefty alongside Gregory Soto and Daniel Norris. The 34-year-old has overwhelmingly earned his roster spot this spring, rattling off eight scoreless innings while allowing just five hits and a walk against 13 strikeouts. Holland has struggled with the Pirates, Giants and Cubs across the past two seasons, but he turned in 171 1/3 innings of 3.57 ERA ball for San Francisco as recently as 2018. He’s worked mostly as a starter in his 12-year big league career but has come out of the bullpen 80 times at the MLB level, so a relief role is hardly unfamiliar territory for him.

Red Sox Notes: E-Rod, Devers, Whitlock

By | at

The Red Sox have scratched lefty Eduardo Rodriguez from his Opening Day start due to a “dead arm,” manager Alex Cora announced to reporters this morning (Twitter links via MassLive.com’s Chris Cotillo). Fellow veteran Nathan Eovaldi will instead take the mound for the season opener. At this point, the Sox are calling the move precautionary and aren’t even certain that Rodriguez will be placed on the injured list. He’ll throw a bullpen in the coming days, and the team will evaluate him once they see how his arm responds. It’s possible Rodriguez will simply just have his first start of the season pushed back, but there won’t be any clarity on the matter for a few days.

The 27-year-old Rodriguez did not pitch in 2020 after being diagnosed with Covid-19 and then developing a subsequent case of myocarditis — an enlargement of the heart — in the aftermath. Rodriguez not only appeared to be healthy for most of Spring Training but looked quite impressive, tossing 13 2/3 innings and holding opponents to four earned runs on 11 hits and two walks with 15 strikeouts. He’s slated to become a free agent after the 2021 season.

A couple more notes on the Red Sox…

  • There have been no talks of an extension with Rafael Devers this spring, as the third baseman himself revealed this week (via Cotillo). Devers added that he’s very much open to discussing a deal, however. The 24-year-old is still controlled through the 2023 season, so there’s no immediate rush for the Red Sox to get him locked into a long-term deal. That said, he’s also reached the point of his career where he’s begun to build the financial safety net that removes some of a player’s incentive to take an early deal. Devers reached arbitration eligibility this winter and agreed to a one-year, $4.575MM contract for the 2021 season. So long as he remains healthy and approaches the .298/.348/.536 output he produced in 2019-20, he should be in for a sizable raise on that sum next winter as well.
  • The Red Sox have informed Rule 5 Draft pick Garrett Whitlock that he has made the Opening Day roster, Cora also revealed in talking with reporters this morning (Twitter link via the Boston Globe’s Pete Abraham). That shouldn’t come as much of a surprise given the outstanding spring that the right-hander has put together. Whitlock, an 18th-round pick of the rival Yankees in 2017, has pitched in four games with the Sox and tallied nine innings, allowing one run on eight hits and no walks with a dozen strikeouts. The 24-year-old is likely ticketed for the Boston bullpen to begin the season, but he’s worked almost exclusively as a starter in the Yankees’ system, so it’s possible he’ll eventually work out of the rotation in Boston — if he sticks on the roster for the long haul.

Delino DeShields Jr. Won’t Make Rangers’ Roster

By | at

The Rangers told outfielder Delino DeShields Jr. that he will not earn a spot on their Opening Day roster, Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News tweets. DeShields has been in camp as a non-roster invitee, but it’s not yet clear if he will remain in the organization. The Rangers will lean on Joey Gallo, David Dahl, Leody Tavaras and Eli White as their top four outfielders, while utilitymen Brock Holt and Charlie Culberson (who hasn’t yet made the team) are also capable of playing in the grass.

[RELATED: Reviewing The Rangers’ Offseason]

The 28-year-old DeShields signed a minor league contract with the Rangers during the offseason in hopes of landing a second major league act with the club. He appeared in the majors with the Rangers in each season from 2015-19, topping out as a 2.1-fWAR contributor in 2017, but was never much of an offensive threat. While DeShields did amass 106 stolen bases as a Ranger, he batted just .246/.326/.342 (76 wRC+) with 18 home runs in 1,936 plate appearances.

DeShields’ first Texas tenure ended when the Rangers sent him to the Indians in December 2019 as part of a trade centering on two-time AL Cy Young winner Corey Kluber. Cleveland ended up getting little from DeShields, who hit .252/.310/.318 (72 wRC+) without a homer and stole just three bases in 120 PA last year. The Indians then non-tendered him during the winter.

Andrew Romine Opts Out Of Contract

By | at

Utility player Andrew Romine has exercised the opt-out clause in his minor league contract with the Twins, per an announcement from team director of communications Dustin Morse. He is now a free agent.

Romine began with the Angels in 2010 and has also played with the Tigers, Mariners and Rangers in parts of 10 seasons since then. The 35-year-old has slashed .235/.291/.301 – good for an uninspiring wRC+ of 63 – with 10 home runs in 1,327 plate appearances. But Romine has shown off impressive defensive versatility, having appeared at every infield and outfield position during his career.

Romine’s ability to play all over the diamond could attract other teams now that he is back on the open market. However, the Twins haven’t ruled out bringing him back on a different contract, according to manager Rocco Baldelli (via Do-Hyoung Park of MLB.com).

Astros Release Steve Cishek

By | at

Right-handed reliever Steve Cishek requested and was granted his release from the Astros on Thursday, Jake Kaplan of The Athletic was among those to report. He had been vying for a role in the Astros’ bullpen after signing a minor league contract during the offseason.

Cishek would have earned a $2.25MM salary had he made the Astros, but that looked increasingly unlikely after the team signed starter Jake Odorizzi to a two-year, $23.5MM deal earlier this month. After all, the Astros are hoping to stay under the $210MM luxury-tax threshold, and adding Cishek to their roster would have made that more difficult to accomplish.

The 34-year-old Cishek had a rough 2020 as a member of the White Sox, with whom he put up a 5.40 ERA/4.47 SIERA over 20 innings, but his track record suggests he’ll catch on with another team soon. Cishek has combined for a 2.78 ERA/3.36 SIERA with decent strikeout and walk percentages (25.2 and 9.2) and a 48.9 grounder mark over 576 innings since he first pitched in the majors in 2010. He gave up three earned runs in 7 2/3 innings and posted 12 strikeouts against two walks this spring.

MLB Trade Rumors is not affiliated with Major League Baseball, MLB or MLB.com

hide arrows FOX Sports Engage Network scroll to top