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Orioles Place Chris Davis On Injured List

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The Orioles have placed first baseman Chris Davis on the 10-day injured list, according to an official team announcement. Right-handed pitcher Evan Phillips has been recalled from Triple-A to replace Davis on the active roster. Davis has been bothered by inflammation to his left hip.

Davis has not started a game since Thursday and last appeared for the Orioles on Friday, which might have been attributed to his recent struggles at the plate. However, it now appears that the lack of playing time was at least partly due to an injury.

The former slugger, who showed signs of a resurgence after his historic slump, has found that success sandwiched between bouts of poor performance; over his last ten games, Davis has struck out 22 times in 36 plate appearances, a frustrating development for a veteran who looked to have overcome some of the issues that held him hitless for the first 12 games of the season.

Evan Phillips, 24, is back with the big league team after a brief stint in the minor leagues. He has appeared in 11 games for the O’s, pitching 12 2/3 innings and striking out 16 batters against 10 walks.

Angels Reinstate Andrew Heaney, Option Jaime Barria

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The Angels have reinstated left-handed pitcher Andrew Heaney from the injured list, per an official club announcement. Heaney will start Sunday’s game against the Rangers in his season debut. To make room for Heaney on the active roster, right-hander Jaime Barria has been optioned to Triple-A.

The 27-year-old Heaney is prepared to make his 2019 season debut, which couldn’t come sooner for the struggling Angels—the team’s own starting pitching has perhaps been the most substantial impediment to the Halos’ postseason aspirations. On Sunday, though, the club will welcome back Heaney, who enjoyed a breakout 2018, which marked the first time in his Major League career that the injury-riddled southpaw was able to make 30 starts in a season.

Last year, Heaney struck out 180 batters in as many innings, leading many to express optimism that he could anchor the 2019 Angels rotation, a development that has been years in the making due to Heaney’s injury-marred past, which included a Tommy John surgery that cost him most of the 2016 and 2017 seasons. For that reason, the elbow issues that landed him on the IL to open this season were that much more troubling. However, Heaney has served his time and is in position to provide a considerable boost to an Angels team that has endured more than its fair share of health-related misfortune.

Barria, who will go the minors, has kicked in 14 1/3 innings for the Halos, mostly coming out of the bullpen. Following a rookie season in which he posted a 3.41 ERA in 26 starts, Barria has worked out of a long-relief role this year, though he has gotten work as a starter in Triple-A Salt Lake, where he has a 6.58 ERA in 5 games.

Giants Option Andrew Suarez

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The Giants have optioned left-handed pitcher Andrew Suarez to Triple-A, tweets Andrew Baggarly of The Athletic. His spot on the roster will go to right-hander Sam Coonrod, who has been recalled from Triple-A.

Suarez’s demotion comes after making just two starts for the Major League club, neither of which yielded particularly promising results. In ten innings of work this season, Suarez has conceded three home runs and ten earned runs while walking as many batters as he has struck out.

Of course, the 26-year-old Suarez is still young and relatively inexperienced, having worked just 170 1/3 career innings in the big leagues. Though the early returns for the 2019 season have been ugly, his rookie numbers were far more encouraging, suggesting that Suarez is at least worthy of consideration for a spot in the rebuilding Giants’ starting rotation. For the time being, though, his tryout for new president of baseball ops Farhan Zaidi will be put on hold and Suarez will head to the minors to iron out his issues.

As Baggarly notes, it appears that Suarez’s absence will clear the way for Dereck Rodriguez to reclaim his spot in the rotation. However, that is not certain; Tyler Beede is another candidate to replace Suarez in the rotation. Rodriguez, for his part, has not enjoyed much more success than Suarez in 2019, but after a brief stint in the minors he could be given the chance to show that his rookie success was no fluke. Sam Coonrod, meanwhile, will pitch out of the bullpen as he makes his Major League debut.

Coonrod, a fifth-round selection of the Giants in 2014, is a 26-year-old right-hander who began working out of the bullpen in the minors last season after beginning his professional career as a starter. Coonrod has played at the Triple-A level in 2019, pitching 18 innings in as many games, striking out 30 batters and walking 11. Though his 7.00 ERA is unsightly, his peripherals are considerably more impressive and point to MLB-caliber stuff.

Baseball Blogs Weigh In: Dodgers, Franmil, Yanks, Jays, Twins

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This week in baseball blogs…

Submissions: ZachBBWI @gmail.com

Didi Gregorius Begins Rehab Assignment

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SUNDAY: Gregorius is likely to move to Triple-A Scranton on Tuesday, Bryan Hoch of MLB.com tweets. Boone is hopeful Gregorius will rejoin the Yankees in “a week or two.”

SATURDAY: The first-place Yankees have been without injured shortstop Didi Gregorius all season, but it appears he’s moving closer to a return. Gregorius is set to begin a rehab assignment with Single-A Tampa, per an announcement from New York.

Gregorius, one of the Yankees’ most valuable players dating back to the beginning of his tenure with them in 2015, has been on the mend from Tommy John surgery since last October. The 29-year-old’s injury helped lead to speculation New York would pursue Manny Machado in free agency, but the club ended up taking much cheaper routes to bolster its infield, signing DJ LeMahieu and Troy Tulowitzki. The addition of LeMahieu, whom the Yankees signed to a two-year, $24MM contract, looks like a shrewd pickup so far. The low-cost signing of the oft-injured Tulowitzki hasn’t been nearly as beneficial, on the other hand, as he hasn’t played since April 3 on account of a calf strain.

With Gregorius and Tulowitzki out of commission, the Yankees’ middle infield has typically consisted of rising star Gleyber Torres at short and LeMahieu at second. It’s unclear how the Yankees’ infield will align once Gregorius comes back, as they also have surprising standouts Gio Urshela and Thairo Estrada joining powerful first baseman Luke Voit in the mix, but they surely consider that a high-class problem. Manager Aaron Boone said Friday that Gregorius should return within 20 days, per Kristie Ackert of the New York Daily News.

Once Gregorius does come back, he’ll be vying for a potentially significant offseason payday. Gregorius, who’s fresh off back-to-back seasons of at least 4.0 fWAR, stands as the majors’ most enticing soon-to-be free-agent shortstop in the wake of Xander Bogaerts’ extension with the Red Sox. MLBTR’s Tim Dierkes ranks Gregorius as the game’s sixth-best impending free agent.

Pirates Designate Jake Elmore, Select Jacob Stallings, Place Francisco Cervelli On 7-Day IL

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The Pirates have designated infielder Jake Elmore for assignment and selected the contract of catcher Jacob Stallings from Triple-A Indianapolis, per Adam Berry of MLB.com. The club has also placed injured catcher Francisco Cervelli on the seven-day concussion IL and recalled outfielder Jose Osuna from Indianapolis.

Elmore spent just under two full weeks on the Pirates’ roster, as they promoted him May 13 to take the injured Jung Ho Kang’s 25-man spot. He collected just one hit (a single) and no walks in 20 plate appearances thereafter, making it easier for the Pirates to subject him to DFA limbo. Formerly a Diamondback, Astro, Red, Ray and Brewer, the 31-year-old Elmore is a meager .208/.287/.269 hitter in 498 career PA. However, Elmore has been an asset at the minors’ top level, especially during a .380/.444/.546 showing in 124 trips to the plate this year.

Pittsburgh outrighted Stallings off its 40-man May 17, but he’s quickly back to help cover for Cervelli. The 29-year-old has appeared in the majors in five straight seasons and combined for a .286/.325/.325 line in 83 PA.

Latest On Possibility Of International Draft

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Major League Baseball continues its quest to implement an international draft, per recent reports from Jeff Passan of ESPN and Ben Badler of Baseball America. MLB has discussed the possibility of introducing a draft by 2020 or 2021, according to Badler, with the league having held talks with members of its Trainer Partnership Program – a group of Latin American trainers known as buscones. To this point, though, the league hasn’t engaged in talks with the MLBPA on the subject of a draft.  It’s one of several important issues the two sides will have to iron out before the current collective bargaining agreement expires Dec. 1, 2021.

Thus far in MLB’s preliminary discussions on the matter, it has considered a 15-round, 450-selection draft with a hard-slotted system, per Badler, who adds teams would be able trade picks. It appears players who go undrafted would be able to sign for up to $50K, though Badler notes that number could change. Players still wouldn’t be able to sign until the age of 16, but clubs have been known to exploit that – which has been a key part of talks between the league and the buscones.

No fewer than four Latin players from the 2021-22 international signing period agreed to deals with teams when they were just 13, Passan reports. Furthermore, some international players drop out of school when they’re as young as 10 to focus on baseball, and Passan writes that performance-enhancing drug use among these children has been incentivized as they attempt to garner interest from MLB clubs. As a result, there are some influential buscones who are on board with a draft, Passan relays. But others are less enthusiastic about the idea because the financial cap on draft picks would further limit the players’ earnings (and the trainers’ in turn).

Under the current system, an international signing period that begins July 2 and runs into the next June, most teams have somewhere between $4.3MM and just under $6.5MM in their bonus pools. The lone exception is the Braves, who have a penniless pool thanks to violations from their previous front office. Back in 2017, the league issued a permanent ban to ex-general manager John Coppolella and stripped the Braves of 13 international prospects thanks to the misdeeds of him and some of his Atlanta cohorts on the foreign market. However, it’s clear there are still seedy elements at play under the present international setup, and it seems that’s on MLB’s mind as it attempts to shift to a draft.

Considering the frayed relationship between the league’s owners and players, this will be a situation worth watching over the next couple years as the two sides try to avoid a work stoppage. Notably, some Latin players – including Nelson Cruz and Edwin Encarnacion – have spoken out against an international draft, which Adrian Burgos of La Vida Baseball covered in 2017.

Braves Interested In Craig Kimbrel, Dallas Keuchel

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Braves general manager Alex Anthopoulos “made it clear” Sunday that they have legitimate interest in free-agent pitchers Craig Kimbrel and Dallas Keuchel, according to Jim Bowden of SiriusXM. Unsurprisingly, though, the Braves don’t seem inclined to sign Kimbrel or Keuchel until the June 3 draft, at which point a team would not have to surrender a pick for either of the two qualifying offer recipients.

Given their outstanding track records in the majors, Kimbrel and Keuchel entered free agency in November as two of the highest-ranked players available. High-paying, long-term contracts looked likely for both players at the time, but seven months later, they remain without teams. That probably won’t be the case for much longer considering the soon-to-expire draft pick ramifications, however.

For the Braves, the interest in Kimbrel is particularly notable. The right-hander was a 2008 draftee of the Braves, who took him in the third round and then saw him develop into one of the best picks in franchise history. Now one of the greatest relievers ever, Kimbrel spent 2010-14 with Atlanta, for which he pitched to a near-spotless 1.43 ERA/1.52 FIP with 14.82 K/9 against 3.36 BB/9 and piled up 186 saves over 289 innings. The Braves then ended their relationship with Kimbrel when they traded him to the Padres in April 2015. Kimbrel, now 31, moved on to the Red Sox via trade in 2016 and remained a formidable late-game force with the club through 2018, though he wasn’t as effective last season after an otherworldly showing in 2017.

On paper, Kimbrel would be an enormous pickup for an Atlanta team whose bullpen has fallen short this season. Their relief unit ranks 22nd in the majors in ERA and 27th in walks per nine innings, though current closer Luke Jackson, Touki Toussaint, Sean Newcomb and Jacob Webb have been good to great. Otherwise, the Braves have shuffled through several veterans who are far less inspiring than Kimbrel. Arodys Vizcaino, Jesse Biddle and Jonny Venters – all of whom are now out of the organization – as well as Josh Tomlin, the just-acquired Anthony Swarzak and Jerry Blevins are among familiar names the Braves have turned to in search of solutions.

The Braves’ rotation has been better than their bullpen, ranking 10th in ERA and 18th in fWAR, but the club seems to believe there’s ample room for improvement. They could look to Keuchel, a 31-year-old southpaw who’s a former AL Cy Young winner (2015), for help. The ex-Astro would be the most established starter on Atlanta’s staff, but he’d have a hard time topping the marvelous production Mike Soroka and Max Fried have put forth. Kevin Gausman and Julio Teheran have been useful in their own right, but the Braves have otherwise struggled to find a capable fifth member for their rotation. Mike Foltynewicz entered 2019 off what looked like a breakout season, but he has been a weak link so far. Newcomb, Toussaint, Kyle Wright and Bryse Wilson have also had difficulty over a combined eight starts.

Of course, it’s worth pointing out that no one knows when Kimbrel or Keuchel will be ready to help a team. Even if they sign within the next week, they’ll likely need time to prepare to join their next club(s). Beyond that, there’s the key matter of how much they’ll cost. That may be of especially great import to the Braves, whose payroll has left fans upset this season. They opened 2018 with an $118MM-plus outlay, but despite winning the NL East last season, they’re now in the $115MM range. What’s more, back in February, neither Anthopoulos nor Braves CEO Terry McGuirk seemed too enthusiastic about distributing a big, multiyear contract. However, McGuirk did note, “We still have an appreciable amount of dry powder ready to go.”

Rays Select Oliver Drake, Transfer Tyler Glasnow To 60-Day IL

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10:10am: The Rays have transferred righty Tyler Glasnow from the 10-day injured list to the 60-day IL to make room for Drake, per Topkin. Glasnow has not suffered a setback to his injured forearm, manager Kevin Cash announced. However, the burgeoning ace, 25, now won’t return until sometime in July (the 12th at the earliest). When Glasnow went to the IL on May 11, he was only supposed to sit out four to six weeks, making Sunday’s news an unfortunate blow for a Tampa Bay club that is firmly in the AL playoff hunt.

8:51am: The Rays have selected right-hander Oliver Drake’s contract from Triple-A Durham, according to Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times. In a corresponding 25-man move, the team optioned righty Casey Sadler. Drake’s not on the Rays’ 40-man roster, which is full, so they’ll need to create a spot for him.

Drake’s in his first year with the Rays, who acquired him from the Blue Jays in January. Tampa Bay designated Drake for assignment two weeks later to make room for the signing of outfielder Avisail Garcia, but the hurler remained in the organization. Since then, the 32-year-old has only managed a 4.94 ERA in 23 2/3 Triple-A innings, though he has paired eye-opening strikeout and walk rates (15.21 K/9, 2.66 BB/9) with a 50 percent groundball mark.

For the most part, Drake has toyed with his competition at the minors’ highest level, where he owns a 2.36 ERA with 13.1 K/9 and 3.4 BB/9 in 133 2/3 innings. Drake’s success at Triple-A has led a slew of organizations to take chances on him, including five last year alone. However, Drake wasn’t able to hold down a major league spot with any of the Angels, Indians, Brewers, Twins or Blue Jays in 2018, nor could he distinguish himself with the Orioles or Brew Crew from 2015-17. In his MLB stints with those franchises, Drake pitched to a 4.59 ERA in 137 1/3 innings, but he did post a 3.48 FIP with 9.9 K/9, 3.8 BB/9 and a 47.3 percent grounder rate.

Astros Call Up Garrett Stubbs, Place Max Stassi On IL

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10:09am: Stubbs is up and Stassi’s on the IL, McTaggart tweets.

9:28am: The Astros are set to call up catcher prospect Garrett Stubbs from Triple-A Round Rock, per Brian McTaggart of MLB.com. They’re likely to place fellow backstop Max Stassi on the injured list to free up a 25-man roster spot for Stubbs, who’s already on the Astros’ 40-man. Stassi suffered a left knee injury in the Astros’ win over the Red Sox on Saturday.

Now 26, Stubbs has spent his entire pro career with the Astros, who picked him in the eighth round of the 2015 draft. The former USC Trojan ascended to the Triple-A level in 2017 and has since batted .284/.371/.424 with eight home runs in 530 plate appearances. He’s off to a .250/.364/.440 start with four HRs in 99 attempts this year.

MLB.com ranks Stubbs as the Astros’ 12th-best prospect, lauding the lefty swinger’s ability to make consistent contact and handle “the strike zone better than any Astros product.” Stubbs is also “extremely athletic” for his position, where he’s an adept defender, though MLB.com notes the 5-foot-10, 175-pounder may top out as a major league backup because of his lack of size.

Stassi, 28, has mainly been a reserve since debuting with the Astros in 2013. He got off to a scorching start in 2018, during which he wound up amassing a career-high 250 PA, but fizzled beginning in June and has continued to log anemic offensive numbers since then. Stassi does rate as an excellent defender, but his offensive shortcomings have kept him behind offseason pickup Robinson Chirinos on the Astros’ depth chart this year. Chirinos is among many Astros who have thrived at the plate so far.

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