By Jeff Todd | at
The Marlins will designate utilityman Rosell Herrera for assignment, per Craig Mish of MLB Network on Sirius XM (Twitter link). Corresponding moves aren’t yet known.
Herrera, a 26-year-old switch-hitter, has yet to make good on his former prospect promise. He’s now a .225/.286/.316 hitter through 421 career MLB plate appearances.
By Jeff Todd | at
The Red Sox announced that they have placed right-hander Hector Velazquez on the 10-day injured list. He’s dealing with a back strain after throwing four innings of relief last night’s marathon contest.
Righty Josh Smith is coming up to take the open roster spot. That’ll provide the Boston org with a fresh relief arm after burning through some pen pieces.
Velazquez had just been activated from a prior IL stint that cost him nearly three weeks of action. He currently carries a 5.59 ERA through 38 2/3 innings on the season.
By Jeff Todd | at
The Red Sox have released reliever Carson Smith, according to Chris Hatfield of SoxProspects.com (Twitter link). Smith had been working through a rehab program after re-signing with the organization on a minors deal.
Smith owns a shiny 2.21 career ERA over 102 MLB innings, but he hasn’t thrown even 25 of those frames since the start of the 2016 season. Elbow and shoulder woes put a halt to his promising career; he was outrighted off of the Boston 40-man at the end of the ’18 campaign.
When the Sox brought back Smith, the hope was that he’d be able to get back on track on the mound after building up to full health. Given that he has not yet been activated for competitive duties, it seems the first step is not yet completed.
By Jeff Todd | at
The Marlins are reportedly planning to promote righty Zac Gallen for his first MLB start. Craig Mish of MLB Network Radio on Sirius XM confirms some quality Reddit sleuthing (Twitter links). He’ll take the ball tomorrow in place of Pablo Lopez, who is headed to the injured list.
Gallen has been among the most intriguing hurlers in the minors thus far in 2019. He’s now through 91 1/3 innings of 1.77 ERA ball over 14 starts, with an impressive tally of 112 strikeouts against just 17 walks. While he has certainly shown legitimate potential at times in the past, that’s a new level of productivity for the 23-year-old.
Things are certainly headed in an interesting direction for a player who arrived in Miami without a ton of fanfare. He was a notable, but not overly hyped piece of the swap that sent outfielder Marcell Ozuna to the Cardinals. Gallen came over with Sandy Alcantara, whom he’ll now join on the Marlins staff.
As exciting as it is to get a look at Gallen at the MLB level, it’s unfortunate that his ascent comes with uncertainty for Lopez. Mish says (Twitter link) that shoulder concerns appear to have spurred the IL placement. There’s no indication at this point whether it’s a serious malady; it seems that’s just what is being assessed at the moment.
By Jeff Todd | at
The Mets will call up righty Walker Lockett to take the ball in tomorrow’s contest, according to Mike Puma of the New York Post (via Twitter). The corresponding roster move isn’t yet known.
Lockett, 25, was passed around over the offseason after making his MLB debut in 2018 with the Padres. He was first dealt to the Indians and then on to the Mets in the swap that shipped catcher Kevin Plawecki to Cleveland.
Slowed by injury to open the year, Lockett has now spun 24 2/3 frames of 3.28 ERA ball for the Mets’ top affiliate, handing out only four walks but also recording a mere nine strikeouts. When he toes the rubber tomorrow evening at Wrigley, he’ll be looking to improve upon his initial showing last year in San Diego. Over 15 innings, Lockett coughed up 16 earned runs on 22 hits with a 12:10 K/BB ratio.
By Jeff Todd | at
The Rays have placed third baseman Yandy Diaz on the 10-day injured list, Juan Toribio of MLB.com tweets. Infielder Daniel Robertson will come up to take the roster opening.
Diaz has been dealing with hamstring tightness that hasn’t resolved quite as rapidly as had been hoped. The club obviously felt it could no longer afford to carry an unavailable players.
There’s little reason at present to think that Diaz will be sidelined for more than the minimum, though it’ll all depend upon how the muscle heals up. The Rays will hope for a swift return for the 27-year-old, who has been everything they hoped for and more since arriving via trade.
Diaz has racked up 248 plate appearances of .286/.363/.502 hitting and 11 home runs on the season. That’s just the sort of output the Tampa Bay organization got last year from Robertson, but he scuffled to open the current campaign and ended up on optional assignment. There’s now a bit of a window for him to reclaim a MLB role, though there isn’t as much opportunity with Joey Wendle back in action.
By Connor Byrne | at
TODAY: As expected, Altuve is now active and in the ’Stros lineup. Southpaw Cionel Perez was optioned out to make way.
YESTERDAY: Already in possession of a 48-25 record and an 8 1/2-game lead in the AL West, key reinforcements are on the way for the Astros. Second baseman Jose Altuve is set to return from the injured list Wednesday, while outfielder George Springer will embark on a rehab assignment Thursday at the Double-A level, Chandler Rome of the Houston Chronicle was among those to report (Twitter links).
Altuve last played May 10, when he went to the IL with a left hamstring strain. The Astros then sent Altuve on a rehab stint, but he suffered a late-May setback in his right leg – on which he underwent surgery last offseason – which caused the team to shut him down. Adding to Houston’s problems, Altuve’s immediate replacement, Aledmys Diaz, hasn’t played since May 26 on account of his own left hamstring strain.
The injuries to Altuve and Diaz have left the Astros’ second base position to Tony Kemp and Jack Mayfield. Kemp has logged playable production this season, but Mayfield has struggled. Neither player has come close to approaching Altuve’s numbers. Even though this has been a down season for Altuve, a six-time All-Star and former AL MVP, he has still batted .243/.329/.472 (117 wRC+) with nine home runs in 164 plate appearances.
No Astro has been more effective on a per-PA basis this season than Springer, who slashed .308/.389/.643 (172 wRC+) with 17 HRs in 216 tries before a left hamstring strain took him down May 25. Springer divided his season between center and right field before then. For the most part, Jake Marisnick and Josh Reddick have handled those positions in Springer’s absence, though both players’ numbers have dropped since hot starts.
By Jeff Todd | at
The Diamondbacks have agreed to terms with first-round draft pick Corbin Carroll, according to MLB.com’s Jim Callis (via Twitter). The high school outfielder will receive the full slot value that comes with the 16th overall pick ($3,745,500).
This is the latest in a string of early draft signings for the Snakes, who had the game’s highest overall draft bonus pool due to a series of compensation picks. They’ve now reportedly inked four of their five highest selections, with only 26th overall choice Blake Walston still to go.
Carroll was the top target of the Arizona organization. He’ll forego a commitment to UCLA to begin his professional career. Entering the draft, MLB.com’s pundits graded him the 15th-best player available, right near his actual selection point. He landed 12th on the Baseball America board and ninth on the Fangraphs ranking.
There was one draft watcher who was quite a bit more bullish. ESPN.com’s Keith Law slotted Carroll way up in the number four spot on his own draft board. He posits that Carroll’s slate of exceptional tools — everything but his arm is a plus — warrant top-five consideration despite the youngster’s relatively diminutive frame. While Carroll stands at just 5’10, Law points to a variety of current big leaguers who deliver ample power from similarly modest heights.
By Connor Byrne | at
The latest on a few injured hurlers…
By Connor Byrne | at
As those who closely follow the majors know, Blue Jays right-hander Marcus Stroman may not be for long for Toronto. Not only are the Blue Jays rebuilding and out of contention, but Stroman’s team control is dwindling, making him a logical trade chip leading up to the July 31 deadline.
The 28-year-old Stroman discussed his future with Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet, Gregor Chisholm of MLB.com and other reporters Tuesday, saying the Jays have not pursued a contract extension. As such, even though Stroman loves Toronto and “everything about” Canada, he realizes his time there may be winding down.
“It doesn’t seem like I’m going to be signed here to a long-term deal. It’s just something you have to come to terms with,” Stroman said.
Stroman has been a Blue Jay since they chose him 22nd in the 2012 draft. The 5-foot-8 hurler ascended to the majors in 2014 and has since been one of the faces of the Toronto franchise. Stroman owns a 3.83 ERA/3.62 FIP with 7.22 K/9 and 2.56 BB/9 in 752 2/3 innings dating back to his debut. While he’s not a strikeout pitcher, Stroman’s a worm-burning wizard whose groundball rate – 59.2 percent – ranks second among starters since he initially came up.
So far in 2019, which may go down as his last year in Toronto, Stroman’s on pace for one of his best seasons. After allowing three earned runs in seven innings during a loss to the Angels on Tuesday, Stroman carries a stellar 3.23 ERA/3.83 FIP with 6.75 K/9, 2.76 BB/9 and a 58 percent grounder rate through 94 2/3 innings.
The production Stroman has posted this season is far better than what he managed during a truncated 2018, when multiple injuries limited him to 102 1/3 frames, and will only increase his appeal going up to the deadline. Over the next month-plus, plenty of teams figure to push for Stroman, who’s on a reasonable $7.4MM salary and eligible for arbitration for one more year.
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