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Braves Acquire Jerry Blevins

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The Braves have acquired left-handed reliever Jerry Blevins from the Athletics, Gabe Burns of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution tweets. Oakland announced that it will receive cash or a player to be named later in return. Atlanta subsequently selected Blevins’ contract, optioned Wes Parsons to Triple-A Gwinnett and transferred reliever Arodys Vizcaino to the 60-day injured list.

An Athletic earlier in his career, Blevins never made it back to Oakland this year after returning to the organization on a minor league contract in the offseason. The 35-year-old instead tossed 10 2/3 innings of 1.69 ERA ball with 13.5 K/9 and 3.38 BB/9 with the A’s Triple-A affiliate.

Blevins had to settle for a role in the minors after a trying 2018 as a member of the Mets, with whom he posted a 4.85 ERA, 8.65 K/9 against 4.64 BB/9, and a measly 21.8 percent groundball rate. Difficulty retiring same-handed hitters played into Blevins’ struggles last year, a season in which he declined sharply after a largely impressive run with the A’s, Nationals and Mets. From 2016-17, his first two full seasons in New York, the soft-tossing Blevins managed a stingy 2.87 ERA with 11.97 K/9, 3.86 BB/9 and a 43.3 percent grounder mark across 91 innings. He was tough on both left- and right-handed hitters in the first of those two seasons, though the latter teed off on him in 2017.

Blevins will now join an Atlanta bullpen which is in dire straits, having limped to the majors’ eighth-highest ERA (4.74) with its worst walk rate (5.87 per nine) and second-worst fWAR (minus-0.7) this season. In the Braves’ estimation, the fact that lefties Jonny Venters and Jesse Biddle are on the injured list and fellow southpaw A.J. Minter has been awful helped create a need for Blevins.

Orioles Designate Jesus Sucre, Place Alex Cobb On IL

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As part of a series of roster moves, the Orioles have designated catcher Jesus Sucre for assignment and placed right-hander Alex Cobb (lumbar strain) on the 10-day injured list, retroactive to Saturday. The team also recalled Sucre’s replacement, catcher Austin Wynns, as well as righties Branden Kline and Luis Ortiz from Triple-A Norfolk, and optioned righty Jimmy Yacabonis.

Sucre made the Orioles’ season-opening roster after signing a minor league deal with the rebuilding team in the offseason, though the light-hitting 30-year-old’s production has fallen short even by his standards. Sucre batted a meager .210/.269/.242 with no home runs in 67 plate appearances prior to his designation. Defensively, while Sucre has always been adept at throwing out runners and has caught 4 of 8 would-be base thieves in 2019, he has been a bottom-of-the-barrel framer this season and has given up an AL-worst three passed balls.

As with Sucre, this season has been tough sledding for Cobb, who has struggled to live up to the four-year, $57MM commitment Baltimore’s prior regime made in him entering 2018. Not only has Cobb pitched to a dreadful 10.95 ERA/11.81 FIP and yielded an eye-popping nine home runs in a three-start, 12 1/3-inning span this season, but this is the second time a lumbar strain has sent him to the IL. The injury previously shelved the 31-year-old for two weeks.

White Sox Place Eloy Jimenez, Nate Jones On IL

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The White Sox announced that they have placed outfielder Eloy Jimenez (high right ankle sprain) and reliever Nate Jones (right elbow inflammation) on the 10-day injured list, retroactive to Saturday in both cases. The club recalled left-hander Aaron Bummer and righty Thyago Vieira in corresponding moves.

There’s no timetable for the return of Jimenez, whom the White Sox will re-evaluate in two weeks, Bruce Levine of 670 The Score tweets. They’re left to hope the 22-year-old makes it back in relatively short order thereafter, and Jimenez seems optimistic that will be the case.

“Yeah, it feels much better,” he said Sunday (via Scott Merkin of MLB.com). “The first day, I couldn’t even walk. Now, I feel better. I can walk better. There’s no pain a lot now, just a little bit.”

Jimenez is one of the keys to Chicago’s rebuild, someone the team signed to a six-year, $43MM guarantee before he ever set foot on a major league diamond. And though Jimenez has gotten off to a slow start as a rookie, having hit .241/.294/.380 with three home runs in 85 plate appearances, that subpar production shouldn’t dampen the enthusiasm about his long-term outlook.

Jones’ latest ailment is troubling considering the laundry list of injuries, including to his pitching arm, he has battled during his career. Now 33, Jones has been among the game’s finest relievers at times, though this season has been another story. While Jones owns a 3.48 ERA and a 51.7 percent groundball rate in 10 1/3 innings, he has accompanied those respectable figures with a dip in velocity and declining strikeout, walk and swinging-strike rates (8.71 K/9, 6.1 BB/9, 9.1 percent).

Mets Designate Travis d’Arnaud

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The Mets have designated catcher Travis d’Arnaud for assignment, per a team announcement. His 25-man roster spot will go to fellow catcher Tomas Nido, whom the Mets recalled from Triple-A Syracuse.

This decision figures to conclude what has largely been a disappointing New York tenure for d’Arnaud, a Met since they acquired him in a 2013 blockbuster with the Blue Jays. Then among baseball’s elite prospects, d’Arnaud was one of the key pieces of the Mets’ return for knuckleballer R.A. Dickey, who also netted them right-hander Noah Syndergaard. Unlike Syndergaard, though, d’Arnaud hasn’t blossomed into a high-end major leaguer.

While d’Arnaud impressed early as a Met, combining for 6.1 fWAR and a .252/.317/.442 line with 25 home runs in 689 plate appearances from 2014-15, his numbers have fallen off since then. Dating back to 2016, d’Arnaud has slashed .239/.292/.381 with 21 HRs and 2.6 fWAR in 693 PA, thanks in part to a slew of injuries. The 30-year-old has missed at least 50 games in each of his seasons, including all but four contests in a 2018 campaign that was ruined by Tommy John surgery on his right elbow.

On the heels of that procedure, the Mets and rookie general manager Brodie Van Wagenen turned elsewhere for a starting catcher this past offseason. The club signed Wilson Ramos to a two-year, $19MM contract, which could have made d’Arnaud expendable on a team that also had Nido and the since-traded Kevin Plawecki at the time. The Mets kept d’Arnaud around at a now-guaranteed $3.515MM salary in his final year of arbitration eligibility, though, but decided to cut him after he opened the season with just two hits (both singles) in 25 plate appearances.

The Mets will owe d’Arnaud approximately $2.955MM if someone doesn’t take him off their hands, Joel Sherman of the New York Post notes, though it’s possible a trade will come together if his potential tantalizes a club. After all, d’Arnaud was reasonably productive during his previous season, 2017, and has earned solid marks behind the plate during his career.

West Notes: Kinsler, Godley, K. Seager

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Ian Kinsler’s run as the Padres’ regular second baseman (and perhaps his time on their roster) may be nearing an end, a source tells Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union-Tribune. The Padres signed the highly accomplished Kinsler to a two-year, $8MM guarantee in the offseason, no doubt expecting him to serve as a quality stopgap prior to the Luis Urias era. Instead Kinsler has slashed a ghastly .141/.221/.256 through 86 plate appearances. While a .148 batting average on balls in play suggests fortune hasn’t been on the 36-year-old’s side, his expected weighted on-base average (.216) matches his real wOBA (.216) and ranks as the game’s fifth-worst mark. Now, thanks to Kinsler’s inadequate production, the Padres may be on the verge of turning to Greg Garcia as a bridge to Urias. The Padres optioned Urias to Triple-A El Paso last Sunday after he hit just .083/.241/.125 in 29 major league PA, but the 21-year-old top prospect has torched minor league pitching with a .357/.413/.786 slash in 46 attempts.

  • The Diamondbacks will discuss whether to drop right-hander Zack Godley from their rotation, manager Torey Lovullo told Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic and other reporters Saturday. Lovullo’s comments came on the heels of Godley’s latest clunker, in which he yielded five earned runs on four hits and three walks over 2 2/3 innings in a blowout loss to the Cubs. Having surrendered four or more earned runs in four of six starts this year, Godley’s ERA sits at an untenable 7.58, thanks in part to declining strikeout, walk and groundball rates (7.58 K/9, 5.46 BB/9, 41.3 GB%). The 29-year-old entered the campaign off a respectable two-season run in which he logged a 4.10 ERA with 9.45 K/9, 3.62 BB/9 and a 51.6 percent grounder rate across 333 1/3 frames, making his 2019 output all the more concerning. Demoting Godley to the minors likely isn’t on the table for the Diamondbacks, as a team could claim the out-of-options hurler on waivers. If the D-backs do remove Godley from their rotation, though, Piecoro names Matt Andriese, Taylor Clarke and Jon Duplantier as potential replacements.
  • The Mariners have begun the season an excellent 18-12 without third base mainstay Kyle Seager, who underwent surgery on his left hand in mid-March. But the 31-year-old’s recovery is going smoothly, as he took ground balls for the first time Saturday and said (via Ryan Divish of the Seattle Times) that he’s “ahead of schedule” and not feeling any pain. Still, Seager will be out until at least May 25, the first day he’s eligible to come off the 60-day injured list. The Seager-less M’s have turned to Ryon Healy and Dylan Moore at third to mixed results.

NL Notes: Reds, Wood, Mets, Gio, Bucs, Braves

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Reds lefty Alex Wood, who’s dealt with back spasms since he arrived for Spring Training in late February, “didn’t respond well” after his latest bullpen session, reports manager David Bell (via MLB.com’s Mark Sheldon). Wood, who was acquired in an offseason trade that also sent Yasiel Puig and Matt Kemp from Los Angeles to Cincinnati, will likely seek a second opinion on the creaky back, placing his eventual Reds debut in even further doubt. Thanks to stellar early-season performances from Luis Castillo, Sonny Gray, and Tyler Mahle, among others, Cincy’s starting five leads the NL in nearly every rotation category, doubly impressive when given the puny dimensions of Great American Ballpark. Still, it’s a unit that should both anticipate heavy regression and yearn for the return of Wood, whose recent-year track record stands apart from each of his potential rotation mates.

The latest on a few other NL franchises…

  • The Brewers and Mets were the teams most connected to Gio Gonzalez in the rumor mill before the lefty agreed to sign with Milwaukee on Thursday. Gonzalez confirmed Saturday that the Mets were indeed the other club pursuing him, per Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. “The Mets were in there but they have such a great rotation. The Brewers met my expectations and needs,” Gonzalez said. “Either way, it was a win-win for me. Two great teams were coming at you. It came down to wants and needs with Milwaukee. I played with them last year so I had the feel for what they’re trying to do.” While Gonzalez lauded the Mets’ rotation, he nonetheless may have been an upgrade for New York. The Mets have been running out the much-maligned Jason Vargas as their fifth starter, after all, yet they only viewed Gonzalez as a marginal-at-best upgrade over him, Mike Puma of the New York Post tweeted this week. Their bearishness on Gonzalez helped pave the way for the 33-year-old to rejoin the Brewers, with whom he performed well after they acquired him from Washington last August. Now, Gonzalez will slot back into a Brewers rotation that entered Saturday with the NL’s worst ERA (5.77). His first outing of the year will come Sunday against – you guessed it – the Mets.
  • Banged-up Pirates outfielders Corey Dickerson and Lonnie Chisenhall aren’t recovering as hoped. Dickerson felt tightness in his strained right shoulder while throwing from 110 feet Saturday, and Chisenhall’s now dealing with left calf tightness that has forced the team to stop his rehab assignment, according to Bill Brink of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. It’s a new issue this year for Chisenhall, who started the season on the IL because of a broken hand. However, it’s all the more troubling because Chisenhall – then with the Indians – missed large chunks of the previous two seasons because of calf problems in both legs.
  • The Braves have placed reliever Jesse Biddle on the IL with a right thigh bruise and right calf strain, Mark Bowman of MLB.com writes. Atlanta recalled righty Shane Carle in a corresponding move. The IL placement continues a difficult stretch for Biddle, who, as Bowman notes, has retired just 10 of the last 23 batters he gone against. The southpaw faced four batters in a loss to the Rockies on Friday and failed to retire any of them, though one reached on an error, and yielded four runs (one earned) on three hits. Biddle has still notched a solid 3.18 ERA in 11 1/3 innings this year, but he has also walked upward of seven hitters per nine and seen his swinging-strike rate plummet from 10.4 percent in 2018 to 6.8 this season.

Baseball Blogs Weigh In: L. Castillo, Bellinger, Trout, Brinson

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This week in baseball blogs…

Submissions: ZachBBWI @gmail.com

AL Notes: Givens, Astudillo, C. Frazier, Rangers

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The Orioles are listening to offers for reliever Mychal Givens, according to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (video link). On a rebuilding, talent-deprived club that doesn’t have many enticing trade chips, the right-handed Givens stands out as someone who would draw plenty of interest on the market. Givens hasn’t been elite at preventing runs since last season, having posted a 4.06 ERA in 88 2/3 innings, but he has generally done well in that department (3.18 lifetime ERA) while logging appealing strikeout and walk rates (10.46 K/9, 3.34 BB/9) in 272 frames since his 2015 debut. The soon-to-be 29-year-old is also affordable ($2.15MM salary) and controllable through the 2021 season.

More from the AL….

  • The Twins have placed utilityman Willians Astudillo on the 10-day injured list, Dan Hayes of The Athletic tweets. Astudillo left the Twins’ win over Baltimore on Saturday with left hamstring tightness. The 27-year-old collected a hit in his sole at-bat Saturday, continuing a trend of terrific production in the majors. After recording a .355/.371/.516 line in his 97-plate appearance debut in 2018, Astudillo has come out of the gates with a .327/.340/.531 showing in 53 PA this year. The big-bodied Astudillo has become a folk hero in Minnesota thanks in part to that output. It helps that Astudillo has lined up all over the diamond with the Twins, having racked up multiple appearances at catcher, first base, third base and in the corner outfield this season alone.
  • Yankees manager Aaron Boone believes injured outfielder Clint Frazier will be able to return in 10 to 14 days, Bryan Hoch of MLB.com relays. Frazier hit the IL on Thursday with an ankle injury, making him the 15th Yankee of the season to land on the shelf. It was especially unfortunate because Frazier, 24, looked to be in the early stages of a breakout campaign. He got off to a .324/.342/.632 start with six home runs in 73 PA, which was welcome production for a Yankees club whose outfield was annihilated by injuries even when Frazier was healthy.
  • The Rangers will shut left-hander Taylor Hearn down for at least three weeks, per Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News. The 24-year-old went on the IL on Friday with elbow tightness, though Grant notes an MRI didn’t reveal any acute structural damage – just inflammation. Hearn made his major league debut Thursday against the Mariners, who teed off on him for five runs (four earned) on three hits and four walks in just a third of an inning. Still, Hearn ranks as one of the Rangers’ best prospects, so it’s no doubt a relief for the team that he has appeared to dodge a ruinous injury.

Blue Jays Sign Ben Revere

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The Blue Jays have signed outfielder Ben Revere to a minor league contract, per Scott Mitchell of TSN. Revere will report to extended spring training by the end of the month.

This is the second stint in the Toronto organization for Revere, who first joined them in a trade with the Phillies in July 2015. At that point, Revere was a roughly league-average hitter who was among the majors’ top stolen base threats. Revere’s career has gone downhill since then, though, evidenced by his horrific .217/.260/.300 line with 14 steals in 375 plate appearances dating back to 2016.

Now 30, Revere hasn’t appeared in the majors since he was with the Angels in 2017, when he totaled 308 PA and slashed .275/.308/.344 with 21 steals. Revere’s a lifetime .284/.319/.343 hitter with 211 steals in 262 attempts since he debuted with the Twins in 2010. He was last with the Rangers, who signed him to a minors pact Feb. 17 but released him just over a month later.

Dodgers Activate Russell Martin

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The Dodgers have activated catcher Russell Martin from the 10-day injured list and optioned fellow backstop Rocky Gale to Triple-A Oklahoma City, Bill Shaikin of the Los Angeles Times tweets.

Martin’s return should be a welcome one for Los Angeles, whose primary catcher, Austin Barnes, has seen his numbers decline significantly over the past couple weeks. Barnes sported an otherworldly 1.110 OPS when Martin hit the IL with lower back inflammation on April 10, but he’s now down to .729 in that category. Martin, meanwhile, slashed an outstanding .333/.500/.600 with five walks against three strikeouts in 22 plate appearances prior to going on the IL. The well-respected 36-year-old is in his second stint with the Dodgers, with whom he stood out from 2006-10 before rejoining the team in an offseason trade with the Blue Jays.

Gale, on the other hand, has done anything but thrive as a Dodger. The 31-year-old posted a matching and equally woeful .143/.143/.143 line in 14 trips to the plate after the Dodgers promoted him to replace Martin. Gale, who debuted with the Padres in 2015, owns an ugly .111/.111/.194 line in 36 major league PA.

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