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Angels To Select Wilfredo Tovar

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The Angels are preparing to select the contract of middle infielder Wilfredo Tovar. The Halos Prospects Twitter feed reported that the move was anticipated, with Maria Torres of the Los Angeles Times tweeting that he was indeed coming onto the MLB roster.

Tovar made it up to the bigs briefly with the Mets in 2013 and 2014, but hasn’t been back since. He has played exclusively at Triple-A in the intervening seasons. This year, Tovar carries a .285/.329/.404 slash with three home runs over 210 plate appearances.

Corresponding roster moves aren’t yet known. The Halos have eight relievers on the active roster at present, leaving them with just three bench players. Adding another player capable of handling shortstop  is particularly important given that the team is still going without Andrelton Simmons.

Mariners To Sign First-Rounder George Kirby

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JUNE 7: It’s an at-slot deal, per MLB.com’s Jonathan Mayo (via Twitter).

JUNE 5: The Mariners have agreed to a bonus with first-round pick George Kirby, team director of amateur scouting Scott Hunter told Ryan Divish of the Seattle Times (Twitter links).  The deal is set pending a physical.  Terms weren’t revealed, though the 20th overall selection has a recommended bonus value of $3,242,900.

Kirby is a 6’4″, 201-pound right-hander out of Elon University and a consensus top-25 prospect according to pre-draft rankings.  MLB.com had Kirby highest as the 18th-best prospect in this year’s class, with Fangraphs placing him 19th, Baseball America 20th, and ESPN’s Keith Law 24th.  Kirby has a fastball that usually sits in the 94-95mph range and is considered a plus pitch as per BA’s scouting report, and his repertoire also includes a changeup, slider, and curveball, though the latter two pitches “might be average pitches, at best, in a starting role.”

The Mariners put a big focus on young arms in this year’s draft, as the club took college pitchers in each of the first five rounds, and drafted eight pitchers overall within its first ten picks.  The M’s also took some prominent high schoolers outside of the top ten, including right-handers Anthony Tomczak (15th round) and Dutch Landis (17th round).  Any bonus given to a player from rounds 11-40 that is in excess of $125K counts against the team’s bonus pool, though Hunter said the Mariners are prepared to go over slot to sign the two youngsters.  Since clubs usually have something of a negotiating advantage with college seniors, Seattle should have some extra funds within their first ten picks to help their efforts in getting Tomczak and/or Landis signed.

Mariners Place Mitch Haniger On IL, Select Tayler Scott

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The Mariners announced today that outfielder Mitch Haniger has been placed on the 10-day injured list. He has been diagnosed with a ruptured testicle, Ryan Divish of the Seattle Times tweets.

That’s obviously not a run-of-the-mill injury for a ballplayer, though unfortunately it’s also not unheard of. There is no indication at this point how long Haniger will be sidelined.

In happier news, the M’s have selected the contract of righty Tayler Scott, as Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reported earlier on Twitter. Scott, 27, carries a 5.88 ERA with a 44:19 K/BB ratio in 33 2/3 innings over 19 appearances at Triple-A this year. He’ll make his MLB debut after signing a minors deal with the Seattle organization over the winter.

Scott was a 2011 fifth-round draft pick who spent time in high school in the states, but he’s a born-and-bred South African. He’ll become the first player from an African nation to pitch in the big leagues; infielder Gift Ngoepe previously became the first such player to appear in the majors.

Rockies Activate Blackmon & Davis, Designate Chris Rusin For Assignment

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The Rockies have activated outfielder Charlie Blackmon and closer Wade Davis from the injured list, the club announced. Lefty Chris Rusin was designated for assignment to create one roster opening, with utilityman Garrett Hampson optioned for another.

The Colorado club will obviously be glad to welcome back two of its most-established veteran players. Neither required a lengthy absence, but any time away is more than the Rockies can afford. A recent run has the team three games over .500, but it’s still staring at a yawning ten-game chasm with the division-leading Dodgers on the other side.

Rusin only just returned to the majors after opening the year on the IL with back issues. He has not looked great. He was bombed in his first two outings, surrendering four earned runs on five hits while recording only three outs. And he’s already coming off of a messy 2018 effort in which he was torched for a 6.09 ERA.

Still, the peripherals suggested better last year. And Rusin was a strong performer in 2017, when he threw 85 innings of 2.65 ERA ball. Of course, he not only managed a typically strong 58.5% groundball rate that year but also produced a career-best 12.7% swinging-strike rate. He hasn’t come close before or since. Thus far in 2019, Rusin’s velocity is down and he hasn’t generated grounders (in the majors and during his rehab assignment).

The timing may feel a bit rushed at first glance, particularly for a player who is earning $1,687,500 (with one more year of arbitration control remaining). It makes more sense when you tabulate Rusin’s service time. He entered the season with 4.092 years on the ticker; with 71 more accrued to this point, he’s sitting just nine days shy of reaching five full years of service. At that point, he’d be able to reject an outright assignment without sacrificing the remainder of his salary. By making the move now, the Rockies can either shed the remaining obligation (if he’s claimed or rejects an assignment) or stash Rusin at Triple-A and try to work out the kinks.

Seranthony Dominguez Weighing Surgery For Elbow Injury

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The Phillies received another unwelcome injury development, as news emerged today that reliever Seranthony Dominguez has an injury to his ulnar collateral ligament. MLB.com’s Todd Zolecki was among those to cover the announcement from GM Matt Klentak. (Twitter link.)

Ligament damage was said not to be a concern when Dominguez departed his most recent outing, but that optimistic assessment obviously changed after examination. A treatment course has yet to be determined, but Tommy John surgery is under consideration. Dominguez will receive a second opinion before deciding how to proceed.

That’s rough news for the Phils and the 24-year-old hurler. Even if he’s able to avoid surgery, Dominguez will surely require a lengthy rehab process. He has worked to a 3.27 ERA with 11.2 K/9 and 3.7 BB/9 over 82 2/3 total MLB innings since breaking into the big leagues last year.

Filling the void for the time being is lefty Ranger Suarez, who was recalled. He’ll be joined on the active roster by starter Zach Eflin. Reliever Yacksiel Rios was optioned to create another roster spot.

There was at least some positive reliever health news as well. Klentak says that the club anticipates returns later this month from a few of its injured hurlers. (Via Scott Lauber of the Philadelphia Inquirer, on Twitter.) The Phils expect Edubray Ramos, Adam Morgan, Pat Neshek, and Tommy Hunter to be back within the next three weeks or so, with David Robertson following behind them.

Rangers Acquire Tim Federowicz, Place Isiah Kiner-Falefa On IL

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The Rangers announced today that they’ve acquired catcher Tim Federowicz from the Indians. The return is not yet known. His contract has been selected to the MLB roster.

Fellow receiver Isiah Kiner-Falefa was placed on the 10-day injured list. He’s dealing with a sprained ligament in his right middle finger, which explains the acquisition of Federowicz. To open 40-man space, the Rangers shifted injured pitching prospect Taylor Hearn to the 60-day IL.

For the Rangers, this move obviously wasn’t about installing offense into the lineup. The team simply wanted a reliable reserve catcher.

Federowicz, 31, has seen action in parts of seven MLB seasons. Through 360 plate appearances at the game’s highest level, he carries a .199/.247/.323 slash. He had been playing at Triple-A Columbus to open the year, carrying a .278/.353/.411 batting line in 103 trips to the dish.

White Sox Claim Jimmy Cordero

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The White Sox have claimed righty Jimmy Cordero off waivers from the Mariners, per club announcements. Southpaw Carlos Rodon was shifted to the 60-day IL to create 40-man space.

Cordero has now moved three times already this season. He started out with the Nationals, who had employed him for a few years after claiming him from the Phillies a few years back, before brief stints with the Blue Jays and M’s.

Though he didn’t manage to take advantage of a 22-appearance MLB showcase last year in D.C., Cordero has obviously shown enough to pique the interest of multiple organizations. He carries a 5.40 ERA in 16 2/3 Triple-A innings this season, with twenty strikeouts but also 13 walks.

Nationals Sign Dante Bichette Jr.

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The Nationals have agreed to a minor-league deal with corner infielder Dante Bichette Jr., per an announcement from the High Point Rockers. Bichette had been playing with the indy ball outfit, which sold his contract to the D.C. organization.

The 26-year-old Bichette has a familiar name for baseball fans of a certain age. His namesake father was a well-known slugger with the Rockies. The family name is now more notable for another player: Bo Bichette, a top Blue Jays prospect who is Dante Jr.’s brother.

Back to the Bichette at issue here, he’ll earn a return to the affiliated ranks for the first time since the 2017 campaign. A former first-round draft pick and Yankees prospect, Bichette was cut loose after three-straight tepid showings at the Double-A level. He has performed better thus far in the Atlantic League in 2019, slashing .397/.424/.529 with three home runs in 145 plate appearances.

Orioles Likely To Place Dwight Smith Jr. On Injured List

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TODAY: Smith is indeed going on the seven-day concussion IL, the club announced. Outfielder Anthony Santander takes his spot on the active roster.

YESTERDAY: The Orioles expect to place outfielder Dwight Smith Jr. on the injured list, manager Brandon Hyde told reporters after Thursday’s loss to the Rangers (via Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com and Rich Dubroff of BaltimoreBaseball.com). Smith crashed into the left field wall in the fourth inning, eventually forcing him to exit the game.

“He’s going to be out for a while,” Hyde said. “He’s going through concussion protocol, they’re going to X-ray his shoulder up here that he banged in the wall and he’s holding his jaw. It was like a car wreck.

The 26-year-old Smith has been one of last-place Baltimore’s best offensive players this season, which admittedly isn’t saying much. Still, Smith has perhaps given the Orioles better offensive production than they could have hoped for when they acquired him from the division-rival Blue Jays in early March.

In his first extensive look in the majors, Smith has hit .249/.296/.462 (98 wRC+) with 11 home runs, a .213 ISO and four steals on five attempts across 243 plate appearances. Smith has not complemented his respectable offensive output with quality defense, however, as evidenced by his minus-5 Defensive Runs Saved, minus-3.3 Ultimate Zone Rating and minus-6 Outs Above Average.

The Orioles replaced Smith on Thursday with Stevie Wilkerson, who could take over as their main left fielder if the former does go on the IL. Should Smith miss time, Baltimore would likely summon an outfielder from the minor leagues to take his roster spot. The team’s 40-man outfielders in the minors include Joey Rickard, Anthony Santander, Cedric Mullins and one of its top prospects, Austin Hays.

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