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Nationals Select Jonny Venters

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3:25pm: To make room for Venters and Rodney, the Nationals moved injured right-hander Jeremy Hellickson to the 60-day IL and optioned fellow righty Kyle McGowin to Triple-A Fresno.

11:30am: The Nationals will select the contract of left-hander Jonny Venters prior to tonight’s game against the Marlins, reports Grant Paulsen of NBC Sport Washington (via Twitter). He’ll join fellow veteran Fernando Rodney in a constantly changing Nats bullpen mix; the Washington Post’s Jesse Dougherty reported yesterday that Rodney is also set to have his contract selected. Both promotions will require corresponding 40-man and 25-man roster moves.

Venters, 34, was the National League Comeback Player of the Year in 2018 after he returned from three Tommy John surgeries and a five-year MLB absence in 2018 to give the Braves 34 1/3 innings of 3.67 ERA ball. Along the way, the southpaw averaged 7.1 K/9, 4.2 BB/9 and 0.26 HR/9 to go along with a superlative 69.1 percent ground-ball rate while holding left-handed opponents to a laughable .133/.200/.200 batting line.

The Braves naturally tendered a contract to Venters following that performance, but the 2019 season was nothing short of a nightmare. Venters appeared in just nine games with the Braves, pitching a total of 4 2/3 innings but surrendering nine earned runs (plus another four unearned runs). He faced 31 batters and allowed more to reach than he retired (nine hits, eight walks) before being released in May.

Since signing with the Nats on May 29, Venters has been pitching for the team’s Double-A club. While he’s allowed just one run in seven innings, the control problems that dogged him in Atlanta earlier this season have persisted. Venters has issued six walks in seven innings and also hit a batter. He’s generated grounders at a ridiculous 72.7 percent clip in that tiny sample, and lefties are hitting just .194 against him with a .323 slugging percentage between the Majors and Minors in 2019. However, he’s also walked 11 of the 43 lefties he’s faced (against 10 strikeouts), so he’ll need to quickly rediscover some semblance of control if he’s to have much hope of sticking in the Washington ’pen.

As has been well documented, the Nationals’ bullpen has been an unmitigated disaster so far in 2019, although they no longer lay claim to the league’s worst collective ERA, having narrowly squeaked ahead of Baltimore for that onerous distinction (6.29 to 6.34). Nationals relievers have the game’s fifth-worst collective FIP and second-worst xFIP, and they rank in the bottom third of MLB in BB/9 and HR/9 as well.

Twins Sign Carlos Torres

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The Twins have signed free-agent right-hander Carlos Torres to a minor league contract, MLBTR’s Steve Adams tweets.

Torres will now stay in the American League Central, where he spent the previous month before the Tigers designated him for assignment this past weekend. The 36-year-old could have stayed in the Detroit organization after clearing waivers, but he elected for free agency on Monday. It proved to be a good decision for Torres, who quickly found another opportunity.

Torres totaled six innings with the Tigers before they cut the cord on him, allowing five earned runs on nine hits (two home runs) with one walk against eight strikeouts. Also a former National, White Sox, Rockie, Met and Brewer, Torres has recorded a 4.09 ERA/4.23 FIP with 7.94 K/9, 3.41 BB/9 and a 44.3 percent groundball rate in 506 2/3 innings in the majors. Although he hasn’t logged much major league experience since 2017 in Milwaukee, he’ll try to catch on with a contending Twins team.

Orioles Claim Tayler Scott, Designate Sean Gilmartin

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The Orioles have claimed right-hander Tayler Scott off waivers from the Mariners and designated left-hander Sean Gilmartin for assignment in order to open a 40-man roster spot, per a club announcement. Scott has been optioned to Triple-A Norfolk.

The South African-born Scott, 27, made his MLB debut with the Mariners in 2019, pitching 7 2/3 innings but yielding eight earned runs on 11 hits and six walks with seven strikeouts. Scott’s bottom-line numbers in Triple-A aren’t much more appealing — 6.43 ERA in 35 innings — but he’s posted a 57 percent grounder rate across his past two Triple-A campaigns and averages roughly 95 mph on his sinker. That, it seems, piqued the interest of the new-look Orioles front office. Because Scott only just had his contract selected for the first time in 2019, he has all three minor league option years remaining (2019 included).

Gilmartin, 29, yielded five runs on seven hits and two walks with one strikeout across 2 1/3 innings in his lone start for the O’s. The former first-round pick was once a fairly well-regarded pitching prospect but hasn’t found much MLB success outside a solid 2015 rookie season with the Mets when he was a Rule 5 pick out of the Twins organization. In 107 2/3 innings in the big leagues, Gilmartin has a 4.18 ERA with 7.1 K/9 against 3.3 BB/9 (5.90 ERA in 50 1/3 frames from 2016-19). He’s struggled throughout much of his time in Triple-A as well, though he did give the Orioles’ top affiliate 36 1/3 sharp innings this year prior to his selection to the MLB roster. The O’s will have a week to trade Gilmartin or run him through outright waivers.

Twins Designate Gabriel Moya For Assignment

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The Twins announced Tuesday that they’ve reinstated infielder Ronald Torreyes from the restricted list and designated left-handed reliever Gabriel Moya for assignment to open a spot on the 40-man roster. Torreyes was placed on the restricted list earlier this month for undisclosed reasons after already having spent a stretch on the temporarily inactive list. He’s been assigned to Class-A Advanced Fort Myers, where he’ll build back up after last playing in a game on May 3.

Moya, 24, hasn’t pitched in the Majors in 2019 but appeared in the big leagues with the Twins in 2017 and 2018. In 42 2/3 innings at the MLB level, he’s posted a 4.64 ERA with 7.6 K/9, 3.2 BB/9, 1.69 HR/9 and a 38.3 percent ground-ball rate. Moya has dominated in the upper minors in the past despite a pedestrian fastball that averages under 90 mph, but he’s been clobbered for a 7.36 ERA with a 27-to-13 K/BB ratio and three hit batters in 22 innings with Triple-A Rochester this year.

Moya logged a 1.90 ERA in 42 2/3 innings of Triple-A ball in 2018 and an eye-popping 0.77 ERA in 58 1/3 Double-A frames back in 2017. Although he’s anything but overpowering, he’s managed to consistently post gaudy strikeout totals in the minors, with a career minor league K/9 of 11.4. He has a minor league option remaining beyond the 2019 season, which, when paired with his prior success in the upper minors, could make him an appealing flier for another team (either via minor trade or a waiver claim).

Red Sox Reinstate Steven Wright

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The Red Sox announced Tuesday that they’ve reinstated right-hander Steven Wright from the restricted list. Wright had been serving an 80-game suspension following a failed PED test, but he’ll now join the Boston bullpen in place of righty Josh Smith, who has been optioned to Triple-A Pawtucket. The Sox transferred Nathan Eovaldi from the 10-day IL to the 60-day IL to open a spot for Wright on the 40-man roster.

Wright, 34, was afforded a brief minor league tuneup in accordance with the suspension rules set forth in the JDA, and he pitched 9 2/3 innings with two runs allowed in Triple-A during that unpaid stint. He’ll return to the Sox in hopes of approximating the 2.68 ERA he posted in 53 2/3 innings last season. The knuckleballer’s averages of 7.0 K/9 and 4.4 BB/9 weren’t nearly as impressive as that ERA, however, and Wright has been rather inconsistent on a year-to-year basis, making it tough to know what to expect from him moving forward.

Despite a lack of offseason additions, Boston relievers rank eighth in the Majors in ERA (3.96). seventh in FIP (4.07) and seventh in xFIP (4.17). The Boston ’pen currently paces the Majors in K/9 (10.7) and overall strikeout percentage (27.5 percent), and while Wright won’t help in that regard, he’ll be expected to strengthen the overall unit by deepening the mix and perhaps providing some stability in a long relief capacity.

Wright won’t be eligible for postseason play, should the Red Sox return to October baseball. He’ll turn 35 in August and is under team control through the 2020 season via the arbitration process. His 80-game ban ultimately cost him roughly $651K of this season’s $1.375MM salary.

Astros To Activate George Springer, Collin McHugh

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The Astros are set to activate outfielder George Springer and right-hander Collin McHugh from the injured list, per the team’s transactions log at MLB.com. Lefty Reymin Guduan and righty Rogelio Armenteros will be optioned to Triple-A to open spots on the active roster.

Springer will return to the ’Stros after missing exactly one month due to a hamstring injury. While Springer’s absence surely wasn’t the sole factor — Jose Altuve and Carlos Correa had IL stints overlap with Springer’s time on the IL — Houston posted a 14-12 record while he was sidelined. That’s a far cry from the 35-18 pace to which they’d played prior to his injury, but the club still holds a comfortable six-game lead over the surprising Rangers in the American League West. With Springer’s return, the team’s lineup is near full strength, as well; Altuve was reinstated last week, leaving Correa as the lone injured regular.

The 29-year-old Springer was in the midst of his finest offensive campaign at the time of his injury. Despite tallying just 216 plate appearances on the season, his 17 home runs are just five shy of last year’s season-long total. Springer’s walk rate, average exit velocity, hard-hit rate and barrel rate have all soared in 2019, and the resulting .308/.389/.643 batting line checks in at about 70 percent better than the league-average hitter (per OPS+ and wRC+).

It was a different story for the 32-year-old McHugh, who struggled tremendously in his return to the Houston rotation in 2019. Through eight starts, McHugh was tagged for 30 runs in 41 innings — albeit with 10 of them coming in one road meltdown against the Rangers. Still, the Houston organization apparently deemed McHugh better suited for a relief role, as the Astros moved him to the bullpen in early May.

There’s no indication that McHugh will be returning to the Astros’ rotation now that he’s returned from a minor elbow issue. Framber Valdez has turned in a pair of strong outings (against weak Blue Jays and Orioles lineups) and one ugly one (at Yankee Stadium) since assuming the fifth spot in the rotation. It’s certainly possible that McHugh will eventually get another look, but he was also dominant in a multi-inning relief role last season (1.99 ERA, 11.7 K/9, 2.6 BB/9 in 72 1/3 innings). Which role McHugh occupies will be of particular interest, as he’s set to become a free agent for the first time this winter and his role could well impact his offseason earning power.

Yankees Designate Kendrys Morales For Assignment

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The Yankees announced Tuesday that they’ve reinstated first baseman/designated hitter Kendrys Morales from the injured list and designated him for assignment. New York also optioned righty Jonathan Holder to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre and recalled lefty Stephen Tarpley in his place.

Morales’ roster spot has looked to be in jeopardy since Didi Gregorius returned and the team and added another healthy option to the infield mix. He dodged one bullet and quite likely had his Yankees tenure prolonged due to the calf strain that landed him on the IL 12 days ago, but his tenure in the Bronx now looks to have reached its conclusion. With Luke Voit and the newly acquired Edwin Encarnacion now likely to split time between first base and DH, the Yankees simply don’t have room on the roster for Morales.

The 35-year-old Morales mustered only a .177/.320/.242 line through 75 plate appearances with New York while splitting first base/DH duties with Voit.  It’s been a rough season overall for the veteran slugger, who has followed up a solid 2018 season at the plate (.249/.331/.438) with a .194/.313/.253 effort in 201 plate appearances between Oakland and New York. The Yankees will gauge interest in Morales, if they haven’t done so already, and if there’s no suitor in a trade, he’ll likely be released and return to the open market in search of a new opportunity.

Blue Jays Notes: Stroman, Giles, Gurriel

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Blue Jays righty Marcus Stroman has come to terms with the fact that he’s a near-certainty to be traded and told reporters this week that he’s not expecting the team to make any final efforts to sign him long-term (link via Bill Ladson of MLB.com). Though he tries not to focus on trade rumblings, Stroman acknowledged that he can’t avoid all of the talk, implying that as a New York native, the frequent connections between him and the Yankees have been on his radar. “I’m from New York and I’m a New York boy,” said Stroman. “That kind of says everything for itself.” Stroman noted that he loves pitching in the spotlight of Yankee Stadium, even if the Yankees’ lineup tends to be “brutal” for opposing pitchers. Sportsnet’s Arden Zwelling also has comments from Stroman on the possibility of a trade and the manner in which he tries to tune out trade chatter, knowing it’s not something he can control. In 100 2/3 innings this season, Stroman has posted a tidy 3.04 ERA with 6.9 K/9, 2.7 BB/9, 0.8 HR/9 and a 57.9 percent ground-ball rate. He’s earning $7.4MM in 2019 and is arbitration-eligible for the final time this winter.

More out of Toronto…

  • Closer Ken Giles came to the Blue Jays with a questionable clubhouse reputation, but The Athletic’s John Lott writes (subscription required) that Giles has quickly changed the narrative, emerging as a leader and mentor to less-experienced pitchers. First-year manager Charlie Montoyo even acknowledged a bit of surprise regarding Giles’ demeanor, telling Lott: “You gotta give him all the credit. He’ll do anything for the team. I didn’t know he was like that. I saw what you guys saw from Houston and all that stuff.” Freddy Galvis, who was on the Phillies when Giles made his MLB debut there, suggested that while he never had an issue with Giles, it’s also obvious that the right-hander has matured since they were last teammates. Giles acknowledges that fatherhood, among other factors, has changed his perspective on life. The closer plainly states that he loves it in Toronto and would prefer to stay there, but he’s also keenly aware that a trade is not only possible but likely. Giles, who is controlled through the 2020 season, has a 1.33 ERA and a 47-to-8 K/BB ratio through 27 innings with the Blue Jays so far in 2019.
  • Zwelling also takes a close look at what has been a near-seamless transition to left field for Lourdes Gurriel Jr. The converted infielder has played just 28 MLB games there (plus another seven in the minors) but already looks comfortable in his new environs. Gurriel has racked up five outfield assists through just 241 innings while impressing the coaching staff and teammates alike with his outfield play. “Lourdes is unreal out there,” said Stroman of his teammate. “Man, I can’t put it into words. He looks like he’s been playing left field for years. It’s pretty shocking. And it’s exciting.” Meanwhile, Gurriel has somewhat quietly been on a tear at the plate as well. Since being recalled from Triple-A on May 24, he’s raked at a .330/.372/.679 clip with 10 homers, seven doubles and a triple in 121 plate appearances.

Athletics Hoping To Bolster Bullpen

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The Athletics lost ace Frankie Montas to an 80-game performance-enhancing drug suspension last week, but the team nonetheless seems more focused on improving its bullpen than its starting staff as the July 31 trade deadline nears.

Speaking with the San Francisco Chronicle’s Susan Slusser on the A’s Plus podcast Monday, general manager David Forst said, in part, “I think the bullpen is probably the first place we look, not because we don’t like the group we have here but because it’s been less consistent than it was last year – which was inevitable.”

The A’s bullpen managed a 3.80 ERA/3.89 FIP a year ago, though the figures have risen to 4.32/4.09 this season as closer Blake Treinen has taken steps backward. Treinen posted a jaw-dropping 0.78 ERA across 80 1/3 innings in 2018, but the number has shot to 4.08 over 35 1/3 frames this season, and the rest of his production has also gone in a discouraging direction. Adding injury to insult, the 30-year-old went to the shelf over the weekend with a shoulder issue.

Treinen’s decline aside, the Athletics have also gotten worse bottom-line production from fellow relievers Lou Trivino, J.B. Wendelken and Ryan Buchter in comparison to last season. Moreover, they lost important 2018 contributors in Jeurys Familia, Shawn Kelley and Fernando Rodney. Familia left for the Mets in free agency, Kelley signed with the Rangers, and Rodney got off to such a horrendous start this year that the Athletics released him at the end of May. And free-agent signing Joakim Soria – whom the A’s gave $15MM to help replace Familia and Kelley – has accounted for a disappointing 4.93 ERA through 34 2/3 innings, though his peripherals indicate it’s way too soon to write off the long-effective veteran.

In better news for the A’s, 2018-19 bullpen innings king Yusmeiro Petit is largely the same pitcher he was last year. While Petit has met expectations, no A’s reliever has been better than Liam Hendriks, who went from outrighted off their roster last July to pitching in a key role down the stretch a year ago. Hendriks has carried that momentum into this season, evidenced by a near-spotless 1.12 ERA/2.39 FIP in 40 1/3 innings.

Petit, Hendriks & Co. are still in obvious need of complements, which is something the A’s may be able to find both in and out of the organization in the coming weeks. Left-handed prospect A.J. Puk and righty Jharel Cotton could impact the team’s bullpen down the stretch. Puk’s on the mend from April 2018 Tommy John surgery, while Cotton underwent a TJ procedure in March 2018 and is now fighting back from a recent hamstring surgery. Even if the A’s expect late-year contributions from Puk and Cotton, though, they could still scour the trade market for help. There are plenty of relievers who figure to wind up on the move before July’s out, with the Giants’ Will Smith, Tony Watson and Sam Dyson, the Padres’ Kirby Yates, the White Sox’s Alex Colome, the Tigers’ Shane Greene and the Orioles’ Mychal Givens among an even larger group of potential trade pieces.

A beefed-up bullpen would take pressure off Oakland’s Montas-less rotation, which doesn’t necessarily look as if it’s primed to welcome outside acquisitions.

“You add a starter toward the end of July, there’s a limited number of appearances you’re talking about,” Forst told Slusser. “Not that I wouldn’t consider adding a starting pitcher but the cost in both dollars and player capital is typically high that time of year for starting pitching. So you have to balance that with the impact a reliever can make more often with the impact the guys from within the organization can make.”

Even with a breakout 90 innings from Montas, this hasn’t been a lights-out statistical year for the A’s starting staff. Mike Fiers, Brett Anderson, Chris Bassitt and Tanner Anderson have prevented runs at acceptable rates over a combined 243 frames. However, the peripherals of Fiers, Anderson and Bassitt portend trouble, and Anderson has a meager three starts and 15 innings to this point. Oakland does have one or two impactful reinforcements on the way, though, including prized lefty prospect Jesus Luzardo. The 21-year-old Luzardo, who’s on the comeback trail from a shoulder strain, could finally make his major league debut in early July, per Martin Gallegos of MLB.com. On the other hand, No. 1 2018 starter Sean Manaea – who hasn’t pitched since undergoing left shoulder surgery last September – is now dealing with right side soreness.

With Luzardo and Manaea still unavailable at the moment, the A’s could recall Daniel Mengden or Paul Blackburn from Triple-A Las Vegas, according to Slusser, who writes southpaw Wei-Chung Wang’s “a strong possibility” to function as an opener against lefty-heavy lineups. Those aren’t the most exciting options, but if we’re to believe Forst, the A’s seem OK with the starting choices they have on hand.

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