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Miguel Andujar Diagnosed With Labrum Tear

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The Yankees placed infielder Miguel Andujar on the 10-day injured list, as first reported by Jack Curry of the YES Network (Twitter link). He’ll be replaced on the active roster by Tyler Wade.

It emerged after testing that Andujar has suffered a “small labrum tear,” manager Aaron Boone conveyed to reporters including MLB.com’s Bryan Hoch (Twitter link). The injury, which was suffered when Andujar dove back to the bag on a pick-off attempt, could require season-ending surgery. While the club will first attempt non-surgical treatment, it’s clearly a significant injury that will need to be handled with care.

It’s the second injury-related loss of the day for the Yanks, who already put star slugger Giancarlo Stanton on the shelf. The organization does have some intriguing depth options, but it obviously would prefer to have its first-choice lineup on the field as much as possible in a highly competitive American League East. For the time being, solid veteran DJ LeMahieu will step in at the hot corner, but that’ll take him out of the rotation at the other infield spots.

The long-term repercussions are even more worrying. Andujar, 24, was one of baseball’s best rookies last year. While he’s a work in progress defensively, Andujar posted a healthy .297/.328/.527 slash and launched 27 home runs in his first full season as a big-leaguer.

Rangers Select Adrian Sampson

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The Rangers have selected the contract of righty Adrian Sampson. Indeed, he was just called in to relieve in tonight’s game.

To create space on the roster, the club announced two additional moves. Southpaw Kyle Bird was optioned to make way on the active roster, while a 40-man spot was procured by shifting injured hurler Yohander Mendez to the 60-day injured list.

Sampson, a 27-year-old righty, has seen minimal MLB time and dealt with some serious arm issues over the past few seasons. He generated nice results last year at Triple-A, but ended up being non-tendered and re-signed to a minors deal by the Texas organization.

Padres Acquire Matt Wisler

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The Padres announced the acquisition of righty Matt Wisler, who’ll make his way back to the place where his professional career began. In return, the Reds picked up righty Diomar Lopez.

Wisler’s career hasn’t gone the way some expected when he departed the San Diego organization in advance of the 2015 season. Then considered a high-quality pitching prospect who was a significant piece of the swap that sent Craig Kimbrel out west, Wisler failed to gain traction with the Braves.

For the most part, it was more of the same in 2018. Wisler turned in decent results in the upper minors and struggled badly in his limited opportunities in Atlanta, just as he had done in prior seasons.

After a late-season trade to the Reds, though, Wisler’s results perked up. He allowed just three earned runs in his 13 1/3 relief innings in Cincinnati. Things didn’t really get interesting until this spring, when Wisler ran up a 16:1 K/BB ratio in a dozen frames.

Since he’s out of options, Wisler will have to be carried on the active roster by the Friars. He could conceivably buttress a still-thin rotation, though the odds seemingly favor a relief role — perhaps including some multi-inning stints.

Mariners Acquire Connor Sadzeck

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7:30pm: This move has now been announced.

6:37pm: The Mariners have struck a deal with the Rangers to acquire righty Connor Sadzeck, according to Jeff Wilson of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. Fellow right-hander Grant Anderson will go to Texas in return.

The intra-division swap arose after Sadzeck was designated for assignment recently. He’s out of options, so he’ll head onto the Seattle 40-man and active rosters.

While Sadzeck is young and controllable, and possesses a live arm, the Rangers elected instead to carry veteran reliever Jeanmar Gomez, untested lefty  Kyle Bird (who has since been optioned), and Rule 5 pick Kyle Dowdy. For all the potential that comes with his big frame and upper-nineties heater, Sadzeck has yet to show he’ll be able to deploy his arsenal effectively at the MLB level and ended up on the chopping block.

The M’s will surely be prepared to live through some more growing pains from the 27-year-old. He surrendered 11 walks while recording seven strikeouts in his first 9 1/3 MLB innings last year and then gave up eight free passes with eleven strikeouts over 8 1/3 frames in camp. But Sadzeck hasn’t been irredeemably wild in the minors. Last year, for instance, he worked to a 4.03 ERA with 10.2 K/9 and 3.8 BB/9 over 38 innings at Triple-A.

As for Anderson, the 21-year-old was plucked in the 21st round of last year’s draft out of McNeese State. He has only a dozen pro innings under his belt, but did impress enough to earn a quick (but brief) promotion to the Class A level. He allowed just four hits and two earned runs while posting a 13:7 K/BB ratio last year.

Padres Outright Bryan Mitchell

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The Padres announced today that righty Bryan Mitchell was outrighted to Triple-A. He cleared waivers after being designated for assignment recently.

Since he’ll remain in the organization, Mitchell could yet provide the Friars with a return on the investment they made in acquiring him in December of 2017. To gain the rights to Mitchell, the San Diego organization took on a reported $13.5MM in obligations to Chase Headley (his 2018 salary and half of a $1MM assignment bonus), who ended up being dropped early in the season.

Mitchell hadn’t found MLB success when the San Diego organization picked up him up from the Yankees, but he had demonstrated some intriguing skills. The Pads hoped that his mid-to-upper -nineties heater, in combination with a cutter and curve, would allow him to become a quality big-league starter. Mitchell impressed at Triple-A in 2017, recording a 66:13 K/BB ratio and 55.4% groundball rate while allowing only one home run in 63 2/3 innings over 13 starts and one relief appearance.

But the struggles in the majors have continued unabated. In total, Mitchell owns a 5.15 ERA with 102 strikeouts and 87 walks in his 171 1/3 total frames at the game’s highest level. Now closing in on his 28th birthday, he’ll need to reestablish himself to earn his way back onto the 40-man roster.

Diamondbacks Promote Jon Duplantier

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The Diamondbacks announced today that they have selected the contract of righty pitching prospect Jon Duplantier. He’ll take the active roster spot of infielder Ildemaro Vargas, who was optioned back to Triple-A.

Generally regarded as the best prospect in the Arizona farm system, Duplantier will initially work out of the bullpen, according to Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic (Twitter link). It seems likely he’ll serve in a long-relief capacity for the time being and will generally remain stretched out.

Duplantier was a third-round pick out of Rice back in 2016. He has marched up the chain since that time, turning in excellent results all along the way. He pitched to a 2.69 ERA with 9.1 K/9 and 3.8 BB/9 in 67 Double-A innings last year, but some arm issues kept him from working a full season. Duplantier then threw another 21 2/3 frames in the Arizona Fall League (3.32 ERA, 32:10 K/BB ratio) to build up his workload.

Prospect hounds generally view Duplantier as a high-ceiling hurler. He has proven capable in the minors of producing grounders as well as swings and misses, with a mid-nineties heater that he combines with a good slider and still-progressing curve and change. There’s some worry about his long-term health outlook, and he has missed some action since joining the professional ranks, but the consensus is that the talent is there for the 24-year-old to be a top-flight pitcher.

Injury Notes: Wendle, Blue Jays, Braves

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The Rays announced Monday that they’ve placed second baseman Joey Wendle on the 10-day injured list due to a strained left hamstring and recalled Christian Arroyo from Triple-A Durham in his place. Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times, who first reported the moves, tweets that Wendle has a “moderate” strain that the player himself described as “not too, too bad.” Wendle won’t know how long he’s going to be shelved until he tests the injured leg in a few days’ time, though. The 28-year-old Wendle finished fourth in AL Rookie of the Year voting in 2018 after hitting .300/.354/.435 with seven homers, 33 doubles, six triples and 16 stolen bases. The Tampa Bay infield has plenty of depth between Brandon Lowe, Daniel Robertson and the newly recalled Arroyo, though Wendle was quietly one of the team’s better all-around players in 2018.

A bit more from the division…

  • The Blue Jays announced that they’ve put lefty Clayton Richard on the 10-day IL due to a stress reaction in his left knee. In a corresponding move, right-hander Sean Reid-Foley has been recalled from Triple-A and will start tonight’s game for Toronto. The Jays didn’t provide a timeline for Richard’s return, but a stress reaction has the potential to keep him sidelined for a substantial period. In Reid-Foley, Toronto will be getting another look at one of its more promising young arms; the 23-year-old was the team’s second-round pick back in 2014 and pitched to a combined 3.26 ERA with 10.5 K/9 against 3.4 BB/9 in 129 2/3 innings between Double-A and Triple-A last season.
  • Beyond that move, the Jays revealed a wide-ranging series of medical updates Monday afternoon. Vladimir Guerrero Jr. began taking some at-bats in extended Spring Training games this weekend, tweets Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet. He’ll still need to get back into his routine at third base and play in some rehab games before he emerges as an option at the MLB level. TSN’s Scott Mitchell tweets that Clay Buchholz will throw tomorrow and could start for Triple-A Buffalo on April 7, which signals that the veteran righty is on track to join his new club sooner rather than later. Ryan Tepera and Ryan Borucki are throwing ’pen sessions, meanwhile, and could return by month’s end. Bud Norris’ timeline is less concrete, per Shi Davidi of Sportsnet. Norris is still throwing in the 90-91 mph range — well south of his usual mid-90s heat. He did get a late start by signing in mid-March, so he’ll continue to build up arm strength without a set return date in focus just yet.
  • David O’Brien of The Athletic tweets that the Braves plan to active southpaw A.J. Minter on Thursday — the first day he’s eligible. (Minter’s IL stint was backdated the maximum three days at the start of the season.) Mike Foltynewicz could join the rotation as soon as April 14 after making a pair of rehab outings, O’Brien adds. Right-hander Darren O’Day, unfortunately, is shutting down for a “couple weeks” due to ongoing forearm issues. Given that update, it seems as though it’ll be tough for the veteran O’Day to be ready before month’s end. O’Day missed the majority of the 2018 season due to a hyperextended elbow.

Yankees Place Giancarlo Stanton On Injured List

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2:45pm: Manager Aaron Boone tells reporters that Stanton initially felt discomfort following a swing in Sunday’s game against the Orioles (Twitter link via James Wagner of the New York Times). A postgame MRI revealed a Grade 1 strain. While an exact timetable isn’t known, Stanton will be out longer than the minimum 10 days. The YES Network’s Jack Curry tweets that Stanton will be shut down entirely for the next 10 days. The organization’s hope is that he can return before the end of April.

10:05am: The Yankees announced Monday that they’ve placed outfielder/designated hitter Giancarlo Stanton on the 10-day injured list due to a left biceps strain. In his place, Clint Frazier has been recalled from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. There’s no word yet from the team on the severity of Stanton’s injury or how long he is expected to be out of action.

There was no clear indication that Stanton was dealing with an injury early in the season. The slugger has a pair of hits in eight official at-bats so far but has also drawn a walk in seven of his 15 plate appearances on the young season, giving him a .600 on-base percentage through three games. The injury is a tough early blow to a Yankees club that already is already without Luis Severino, Aaron Hicks, Dellin Betances, Didi Gregorius and CC Sabathia to open the season. New York torched the Orioles in the season opener but dropped the next two games to lose the year’s first series. They’ll face the Tigers, the Orioles a second time (in Baltimore) and then the Astros (in Houston) over the next 10 days without Stanton in the fold.

With Stanton now shelved alongside Hicks and Jacoby Ellsbury, the Yankees will lean on Brett Gardner, Aaron Judge, Frazier and Mike Tauchman in the outfield mix for at least their next three series (barring any waiver claims or other additions). The injury to Stanton should allow the club to more easily work both Luke Voit and Greg Bird into the lineup at times, and it could also present some more at-bats for offseason acquisition DJ LeMahieu.

The 24-year-old Frazier, meanwhile, will get an early opportunity to rebuild some stock after a 2018 season that was marred by ongoing concussion symptoms. The longtime top prospect received only 41 plate appearances in the Majors, though he certainly held his own, batting .265/.390/.353. In 242 minor league plate appearances last season, Frazier posted an outstanding .305/.388/.562 batting line.

Red Sox Extend Xander Bogaerts

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Just a week after locking up free-agent-to-be Chris Sale with a five-year extension, the Red Sox secured long-term control over another member of their core Monday when they announced a six-year extension with shortstop Xander Bogaerts.  The deal reportedly guarantees Bogaerts $120MM from 2020-25 (in even, $20MM increments) and contains a vesting option for the 2026 season.  The vesting option is reportedly worth another $20MM and would kick in if Bogaerts made 535 plate appearances in 2025.  Bogaerts, a client of the Boras Corporation, is also said to have received an opt-out provision after the 2022 season.

Xander Bogaerts

Bogaerts and the club had been in talks during the winter, and though neither side wanted negotiations to extend into the season itself, it seems things were close enough to the finish line that a deal was able to be struck just beyond Opening Day.

Bogaerts, who turned 26 last October, originally signed with Boston as a 16-year-old amateur out of his native Aruba, and quickly developed into one of baseball’s best prospects.  He made a quick impact in his 2013 rookie season, helping solidify a problematic third base position for the Red Sox as the team went on to win the World Series.  He didn’t fully begin to blossom until the 2015 season, and Bogaerts has gone on to generate 17.6 fWAR over the last four seasons, hitting .295/.354/.446 with 61 homers over 2588 plate appearances.  This includes a career-best 23 homers, .883 OPS, and 133 wRC+ in 2018, as Bogaerts rebounded from an injury-marred 2017 campaign to help lead the Red Sox to another World Series title.

Defensively, Bogaerts has been something of a mixed bag at shortstop.  The Defensive Runs Saved metric has never looked kindly on his glovework (-48 DRS) while his UZR/150 mark of -0.3 posits him as just slightly below average.  There has been some speculation that Bogaerts could eventually move from shortstop, and while that change doesn’t look to be happening anytime soon, that decision could eventually hinge on Rafael Devers’ development as a third baseman, plus whether prospect Michael Chavis plays at second base, third base, or elsewhere around the diamond.

The pact between Boston and Bogaerts is just the latest in a precedent-setting number of extensions over the last few weeks, as multiple superstars (both near and far from free agency) have chosen to lock in guaranteed paydays with their current teams.  Of this group, players who were going to be free agents after the 2019 season included Bogaerts, Sale, Nolan Arenado, Justin Verlander, Paul Goldschmidt, and Aaron Hicks.

It’s clear that the lack of free agent activity in the last two offseasons has influenced many of these decisions, and in Bogaerts’ case, he’ll forego entering the open market for his age-27 season.  Keeping a young player who may just be entering his prime on a $20MM average annual value looks like a very solid deal for the Red Sox.  Bogaerts also has the ability to opt out of the contract as he enters his age-30 season, if he feels he can top the three years and $60MM still owed to him.

For luxury tax purposes, Bogaerts’ new deal will add an even $20MM to Boston’s Competitive Balance Tax bill beginning in 2020.  This is no small factor in the contract, given the rather onerous tax situation the Red Sox find themselves in, though some relief from at least the top level of the CBT structure could come as several contracts come off the books for the club next winter.

It also helps the Red Sox afford what would be their biggest extension yet — a pact with Mookie Betts before the reigning AL MVP hits free agency following the 2020 season.  Betts has been firm in his desire to go year-to-year in arbitration rather than sign a long-term deal before getting his chance on the open market, so the topic of an extension could be moot, though Boston will surely continue to explore the possibility of keeping the star outfielder at Fenway Park even if a $300MM+ commitment is required.  The Bogaerts and Sale extensions are evidence, if Betts needs any, that the Sox are serious about keeping this winning core of players together.

WEEI’s Evan Drellich broke the news that the two sides were close to a deal (Twitter link).  ESPN.com’s Jeff Passan reported the terms of the contract (Twitter links).  The New York Post’s Joel Sherman reported the inclusion of the vesting option (Twitter links).  MLB Network’s Jon Heyman added some details on the option and also first reported that Bogaerts had passed his physical Monday morning (Twitter links).  The Boston Globe’s Alex Speier reported the final details on the vesting option, while Chris Cotillo of MassLive.com tweeted the annual breakdown.

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