Rockies Place Seunghwan Oh On IL, Select Philip Diehl
The Rockies have placed righty Seunghwan Oh on the 10-day injured list with a left abdominal strain. MLB.com’s Thomas Harding (via Twitter) reported the move, which is retroactive to June 7th.
Taking the active roster spot is lefty Phillip Diehl. His contract was selected to the 40-man roster.
Oh has not pitched since May 30th, making for quite a lengthy stretch of inactivity for a player on the active roster. He has struggled quite a bit to open the season, working to a 9.33 ERA in 18 1/3 innings with 7.9 K/9 and 2.9 K/9. Opposing hitters haven’t struggled to make good contact, with 29 total hits and six long balls.
Diehl, 24, came to the Rox in a pre-season swap with the Yankees. He has compiled 29 strikeouts against eight walks in 27 1/3 upper-minors frames this year. Diehl owns a 2.30 cumulative ERA, though that mark has risen a fair bit since he was promoted to Triple-A following 13 1/3 scoreless frames at Double-A.
Pirates Place Jordan Lyles On 10-Day IL
The Pirates have placed righty Jordan Lyles on the 10-day injured list, per a club announcement. He’ll be replaced on the active roster by reliever Montana DuRapau.
Lyles is said to be dealing with left hamstring tightness. The muscle has given him issues of late, disrupting what had been an excellent start to the season.
After joining the Pirates on an affordable, one-year deal, Lyles turned in eight starts of 1.97 ERA pitching. But he stumbled in his next outing and soon thereafter reported hammy troubles. Lyles has permitted 16 earned runs in his past 18 2/3 frames.
Despite the recent downturn, there’s still plenty to like about the 28-year-old’s work to this point. He’s averaging more than a strikeout per nine for the first time in his career while sustaining the swinging-strike increase he has shown in recent years. Lyles isn’t throwing as hard as he did last year but has found more and more success by shelving his once heavily used sinker in favor of his four-seamer and curve.
It seems reasonable to hope that Lyles won’t require too long an absence, though he’d do well to ensure the problem is behind him. Trouble is, the Pirates are already dealing with some tough injury and performance issues in the rotation. Just what the team will do to fill in isn’t immediately clear. The Bucs are already on the look for innings from outside the organization.
Giants Acquire Alex Dickerson
The Giants and Padres have announced a swap that will send outfielder Alex Dickerson to San Francisco. Righty Franklin Van Gurp goes to San Diego in return.
Dickerson, 29, was designated for assignment recently by the Friars. He’ll find a match with a Giants organization that has been on the hunt for interesting opportunities in the outfield all season long.
Though the Friars long tried to give Dickerson an extended look, his body didn’t hold up long enough for extended action. He turned in a solid offensive showing in his first full MLB action back in 2016, only to miss all of 2017 and 2018 owing to back issues and Tommy John surgery.
Dickerson returned this year to a tough roster situation in San Diego. The club has several younger players who deserve looks of their own at the game’s highest level.
Though Dickerson didn’t run with what limited opportunity he did have in the majors — just three singles to go with seven strikeouts in 19 MLB plate appearances this year — he has once again showed an interesting bat at Triple-A. In 113 plate appearances, Dickerson is batting .372/.469/.606 with an 18:14 K/BB ratio and five home runs.
As for Van Gurp, he’s a 2017 25th-rounder who just received a promotion to the Double-A level. The 23-year-old has battled walk issues at times but has performed well in that area this year. Through 33 2/3 innings — five at Double-A and the bulk at Class A — Van Gurp owns a 4.54 ERA with 13.1 K/9 and 2.9 BB/9.
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MLBTR Chat Transcript: Bumgarner, Will Smith, Cardinals
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White Sox Release Nicky Delmonico
The White Sox announced Monday that they’ve released outfielder Nicky Delmonico. His spot on the 40-man roster will got right-hander Odrisamer Despaigne, whose contract as been formally selected from Triple-A Charlotte (as was first reported last night). To open space on the 25-man roster for Despaigne, left-hander Jace Fry was placed on the injured list due to soreness in his left shoulder.
The 26-year-old Delmonico recently underwent season-ending shoulder surgery. Injured players can’t be run through outright waivers, so Chicago opted to simply release Delmonico to open the necessary 40-man roster spot. As noted at the time of his surgery, it’s commonplace to see teams release and then re-sign 40-man players who incur a season-ending injury while in the minors. That could well be the case here. Delmonico certainly has the right to explore other options, but as a player who’s fresh off surgery and won’t be ready to play until 2020, his appeal to a new organization will be fairly limited.
Back in 2017, Delmonico looked like a nice find for the White Sox when he hit .262/.373/.482 with nine homers and four doubles in a 43-game audition down the stretch (166 plate appearances). The former Orioles and Brewers prospect made the team’s Opening Day roster the next year but hasn’t produced in the Majors since that rookie season. Over his past 386 plate appearances at the MLB level, he’s slashed an anemic .213/.290/.357 with a 27.2 percent strikeout rate.
Rays Reinstate, Option Michael Perez
The Rays announced Monday that they’ve reinstated catcher Michael Perez from the 10-day injured list and optioned him to Triple-A Durham. Perez missed more than a month due to an oblique injury.
Not long ago, it looked as through Perez’s return could push Travis d’Arnaud out of the mix in Tampa Bay. The longtime Mets catcher had struggled considerably at the plate in his time with the Rays and was acquired only for cash considerations, so there’d have been little harm in cutting him loose based on his struggles. Since late May, however, d’Arnaud has come to life at the plate. He’s hit safely in six of his past seven starts, including four multi-hit efforts. He’s suddenly batting .259/.323/.481 with three homers as a member of the Rays, albeit in a small sample of 62 plate appearances.
With Mike Zunino back from the injured list and d’Arnaud riding a hot streak, there’s not much room on the big league roster for Perez at the moment. The 26-year-old has batted .274/.328/.389 in 126 plate appearances with the Rays since being acquired from the D-backs in the trade that sent Matt Andriese to Arizona last year, but he’ll have to wait for another opportunity at the MLB level. He still seems like a viable long-term piece for the Rays moving forward — particularly given that he can be controlled through 2024. Zunino is a free agent after the 2020 season, while d’Arnaud will be a free agent this offseason.
David Ortiz Hospitalized, In Stable Condition After Gunshot Wound
12:20pm: Rivera and Rojas report (via Twitter) that the Red Sox have sent a plane to the Dominican Republic in order to transport Ortiz back to Boston, where he’ll receive further treatment. Ortiz has been deemed stable enough by his doctors to travel.
June 10, 6:15am: Ortiz incurred some damage to his liver and had to have his gall bladder as well as parts of his colon removed as a result of the shooting, per Rivera and Rojas. Rivera adds that Ortiz is currently in intensive care but still considered to be in stable condition.
June 9, 11:43pm: In excellent news, Ortiz is expected to make a “total recovery” from the attack, Leo Ortiz tells Soldevila (Twitter link, with translation from Pete Abraham of the Boston Globe).
11:22pm: Ortiz is out of surgery and doing well, his brother tells Soldevila (via Twitter, with translation from James Wagner of the New York Times).
10:29pm: The operating doctor also says that Ortiz is stable, though he will still require another hour of surgery (from Soldevila with translation from Speier).
10:10pm: Ortiz is in stable condition, the local police chief tells Soldevila (Twitter link).
9:24pm: Former Red Sox slugger David Ortiz is in hospital in Santo Domingo Este after receiving a gunshot wound, according to multiple reports out of the Dominican Republic, including TV station CDN 37 (Twitter link). Ortiz was attacked while at a club, and the suspect is reportedly now in police custody. Leo Ortiz, David’s father, told ESPN.com’s Enrique Rojas that he was called about the situation, “but they did not tell me how he is or exactly where he was transferred.”
Original reports stated Ortiz was shot in the leg, but the latest update from Dominican reporter Dionisio Soldevila (original tweet, and translation from the Boston Globe’s Alex Speier) indicates that Ortiz was shot through his lower back on the left side, with the bullet coming out the other side of his body through the abdomen. Ortiz is currently in surgery, Soldevila told ESPN.com’s Marly Rivera (Twitter link).
Details are still scarce about the incident, though needless to say, it is a horrific situation for Ortiz, his family, friends, and millions of fans. Prayers and messages of support for Ortiz are already pouring in from all over the baseball world for one of the sport’s most beloved figures, and we at MLB Trade Rumors likewise sent our best wishes to the Ortiz family.
MLB Draft Signings: 6/10/19
Here are the latest notable signings from last week’s amateur draft, with the newest signings at the top of the post. Click here for the full list of slot values and draft pool bonuses, and you can find prospect rankings and scouting reports from Baseball America’s Top 500, Fangraphs’ Top 200, MLB.com’s Top 200, and the Top 100 of ESPN.com’s Keith Law…
- The Padres signed second-round pick Josh Mears for a $1MM bonus, reports Jim Callis of MLB.com (via Twitter). That checks in about $543K below slot, giving the Friars some additional flexibility in negotiations with their other picks. Callis further suggests that the additional funds could help to sign third-rounder Hudson Head, who “won’t come cheap.” Mears, an 18-year-old corner outfielder, ranked as the draft’s No. 68 prospect according to Law. He was 93rd on BA’s Top 500 and 118th at MLB.com. He’s rapidly elevated his stock over the past year and had been committed to Purdue but will instead begin his pro career. The Washington native draws praise for above-average right-handed power and bat speed. Law calls his power “explosive.”
- Tigers second-rounder Nick Quintana announced on Twitter that he’s signed a contract with his new team. His No. 47 overall slot came with a $1.58MM value, though bonus terms . Quintana played third base at Arizona and checked in 43rd on Fangraphs’ rankings heading into the draft. He placed 77th at MLB.com, 81st at BA and 85th at ESPN. He’s regarded as a plus defender at third with above-average raw power, but there are some strikeout concerns and he’s a below-average runner as well.
- The Royals announced that they’ve signed supplemental second-round pick Alec Marsh. He’ll receive the full slot value of $906,800 that accompanies the No. 70 overall pick, Callis tweets. A right-hander out of Arizona State, Marsh was ranked most favorably by Law (No. 83 overall). He landed 97th at BA, 102nd at MLB.com and 113th at Fangraphs. Law notes that he has a four-pitch mix and a chance to start. Neither MLB.com nor Fangraphs gives Marsh a true plus pitch, but their reports credit him for average or slightly above-average offerings across the board and a good feel for pitching.
Orioles Acquire Tom Eshelman From Phillies
The Orioles have acquired right-hander Tom Eshelman from the Phillies in exchange for international bonus allocations, per announcements from both clubs. Eshelman has been assigned to Triple-A Norfolk for the time being.
Eshelman, 24, was a second-round pick by the Astros back in 2015 (when Baltimore GM Mike Elias was with Houston) and landed with the Phillies by way of the Ken Giles trade in the 2016-17 offseason. Eshelman opened the season in Double-A Reading and struggled to a 6.28 ERA in 28 2/3 innings, but he did so with strong K/BB numbers that led metrics like FIP (3.79) and xFIP (2.98) to forecast better days on the horizon. The Phillies bumped him up to Triple-A Lehigh Valley, and Eshelman responded well. In four starts there (26 innings), he’s notched a 2.77 ERA with a 23-to-5 K/BB ratio and a 48.6 percent ground-ball rate.
While Eshelman is Norfolk-bound for the time being, it’s not difficult to see him emerging as an option at the Major League level in the near future. Between the 2017-19 seasons, he’s made a total of 48 starts at the Triple-A level, so he has plenty of upper-minors experience. And the Orioles’ rotation has performed dreadfully as a collective unit, posting a 5.42 ERA that ranks 26th in the Majors as well as an MLB-worst 5.87 FIP.
Manager Brandon Hyde said about three weeks ago that the front office had been exploring various avenues to add some rotation depth to the organization, and acquiring Eshelman certainly fits that mold. He wasn’t considered to be among the top prospects in the Phillies’ system but gives the Orioles the type of fairly advanced arm that they’re lacking in the upper levels of a farm system that’s still being rebuilt (and will be for the next few years).
Currently, the Orioles are deploying Andrew Cashner, Dylan Bundy, John Means, David Hess and Gabriel Ynoa, but the latter two of that quintet have struggled in particular. Veteran righty Alex Cobb remains sidelined by a back injury, while Nate Karns is on the shelf indefinitely due to a flexor strain. The alternatives in Triple-A are collectively underperforming, as each of Josh Rogers, Luis Ortiz and Chandler Shepherd has an ERA over 7.00.
As for the Phillies, they’ll add a bit of money — no amount was specified — to add a few more international players to their minor league ranks in the coming days. The 2018-19 international signing period comes to a close on June 15, but this swap should give them more funds to add a bit more talent to the lower levels of the system. International signing slots need to be traded in $250K increments, so the Phils picked up at least that much in this deal — and quite possibly more, given Eshelman’s proximity to the Majors.