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Offseason In Review: Cleveland Indians

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This is the latest post of MLBTR’s annual Offseason in Review series, in which we take stock of every team’s winter dealings.

Comfortably atop MLB’s weakest division, the Indians spent the winter trimming salary without falling out of the conversation for a division title.

Major League Signings

  • Oliver Perez, LHP: one year, $2.5MM (includes vesting option)
  • Total spend: $2.5MM

Trades and Claims

Extensions

Notable Minor League Signings

Notable Losses

[Cleveland Indians Depth Chart | Cleveland Indians Payroll Outlook]

Needs Addressed

After a second consecutive postseason exit in the ALDS, this time at the hands of the Astros, the Indians and their fans are growing increasingly impatient as a 70-year World Series drought only grows longer. Entering the offseason, two glaring needs stood out: outfield and bullpen. Even with stars Michael Brantley and Andrew Miller on the team, both areas were weaknesses in 2018; now, with both gone, the Indians have had to look elsewhere to fill the void left by free-agent departures.

With a comparatively paltry total of $2.5MM in guaranteed money handed out, president of baseball operations Chris Antonetti and general manager Mike Chernoff were either unsatisfied with the slate of free agents, not given permission from ownership to spend, or both. However, the front office was active on the trade market, as a quiet offseason featured a smattering of low-key deals that they hope will strengthen the lackluster outfield and bullpen units that hindered last year’s team.

The first move to address the outfield came in a trade with Pittsburgh, with Jordan Luplow the biggest name involved. Though he has thus far failed to earn consistent big-league playing time, his new club should give him every chance to prove himself worthy of a spot in a Major League outfield. The other newcomer of note is Carlos Gonzalez, who is a solid bet to crack the roster this month — before the April 20 opt-out date in his minor league contract. Cleveland will welcome a healthier year from Leonys Martin, who nearly died from an infection just days after the Indians acquired him via trade. He was tendered a contract after embarking upon a remarkable recovery, which he completed this spring in time for regular duty to open the year.

With Carlos Santana making his return to Cleveland and the club adding Hanley Ramirez to serve as a designated hitter, those veterans will look to reestablish themselves as middle-of-the-order sluggers. Trade acquisition Jake Bauers is in the mix in those spots as well, though he’ll also venture into the outfield to find opportunities. The Indians parted ways with veteran Edwin Encarnacion and infielder Yandy Diaz in order to obtain Bauers, a one-time top prospect, from Tampa Bay in a three-team swap. Though Encarnacion, now 36 years old and owed $20MM, has been one of baseball’s most consistent hitters since 2012, his production dipped in 2018. Santana, his replacement, is more than three years younger and less expensive, thanks to $6MM of salary relief received in the swap.

There was also change behind the dish. Yan Gomes was shipped to Washington, shaving salary but leaving Roberto Perez as the lone proven catcher on the roster until a subsequent trade with the Mets brought Kevin Plawecki aboard. On the surface, the transition from Gomes to a combination of Perez and Plawecki is a downgrade. Neither Plawecki nor Perez can equal Gomes on offense or defense; it’s difficult to imagine a scenario where the pair is able to match Gomes’s overall value.

While Oliver Perez was the lone recipient of a Major League contract, other minor moves yielded relievers who could play their way into a bullpen spot during the season. Small trades with the Rays and Marlins brought right-handers Chih-Wei Hu and Nick Wittgren to Cleveland, respectively. Hu owns an impressive minor-league track record, and Wittgren quietly turned in a strong 2018 season. Minor league signees James Hoyt and Tyler Clippard have significant MLB experience as well — the latter, in particular. It sounds as if Clippard could be an option to join the big league staff once he’s sufficiently rehabbed a pectoral injury sustained in Spring Training.

Questions Remaining

Though the Indians may very well maintain their hold on the top spot in the AL Central, their offseason moves have left many unsatisfied with the lack of additions to the bullpen and outfield. With Brantley, Miller and Cody Allen all donning new uniforms in 2019, some may argue that the team has gone backward.

Trade negotiations involving Corey Kluber and Trevor Bauer provided one of the biggest storylines of the offseason, but neither pitcher ended up being moved. If the Indians are less competitive than they’d hoped, those rumors could circulate again this summer and certainly next winter, when Kluber and Bauer will be a year closer to free agency. At the very least, securing Carlos Carrasco through at least 2022 through a team-friendly extension indicates that he’s likely to remain in the fold.

The Indians’ outfield, comprised of Martin, Allen, Bauers, Naquin, and Luplow, remains dangerously thin. Bradley Zimmer, owner of considerable upside, is on track to rejoin the mix sometime in midsummer, though he is yet unproven and will not solve the Indians’ problems alone. Gonzalez should contribute in some capacity, but it seems that the potential payoff in the signing is limited. The entire outfield lacks a likely two-WAR player, and it’s reasonable to question the team’s complacency in this area.

Outside of Brad Hand, there are still no surefire options in the Cleveland ‘pen. Wittgren is the only member of the current bullpen who did not pitch for the Indians last season, which only serves to underscore the puzzling lack of additions to a unit that was questionable even before losing a pair of high-profile free agents. Terry Francona and upper management will rely on unproven commodities like Tyler Olson, Nick Goody, Cody Anderson, and Jon Edwards to give the team valuable innings in 2019. Some of those arms have had success in the past, but leaning heavily on this sort of piecemeal collection is what one would expect from a rebuilding club — not a team with postseason aspirations.

With that in mind, it’s fair to suggest the Indians have fallen behind the AL juggernauts in Boston, Houston, and New York. The team looked outclassed in last season’s ALDS versus the Astros, and it seems that any path to the World Series will run through one of the aforementioned cities. While the Indians’ star power is undeniable, it remains to be seen whether they have the depth to survive a dogfight with the AL’s elite. Still, a starting rotation as dominant as the Indians’ should give the team a fighting chance in a five- or seven-game series.

2019 Season Outlook

While the Indians may have been treading water during the winter, they remain the consensus favorites to win the notoriously weak AL Central. The starting staff is outstanding, with breakout candidate Shane Bieber joining four immensely talented rotation pieces, though the depth will be tested with Mike Clevinger poised to miss over two months of action. The Indians will need superstar infielders Jose Ramirez and Francisco Lindor to find their form — the former started slow; the latter is recovering from leg injuries — in order to fend off the upstart Twins, who have become a trendy pick to challenge for a postseason spot. Regardless, expect to see the Indians in the ALDS again in 2019, seeking to end the Majors’ longest existing World Series drought.

How would you grade the Indians’ offseason moves? (Poll link for app users.)

How would you grade the Indians' offseason?
D 37.59% (1,045 votes)
C 30.25% (841 votes)
F 22.45% (624 votes)
B 7.73% (215 votes)
A 1.98% (55 votes)
Total Votes: 2,780

Jon Niese Signs With Long Island Ducks

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Long-time MLB lefty Jon Niese will try to revive his career with an independent ball stint. He has signed on with the Long Island Ducks, per a club announcement.

Niese hasn’t appeared at any level in the past two seasons. When last he did pitch in the affiliated ranks, back in 2016, he struggled to a 5.50 ERA in 121 frames and packed up early after knee surgery. Most recently, a 2018 spring audition with the Rangers ended when Niese was released after being diagnosed with a sub scapularis muscle strain.

Despite that unfortunate run, there could be hope yet for Niese to get things going. He’s still just 32 years of age, after all, and had worked to a 3.91 ERA over 1,068 1/3 innings with the Mets between 2008 and 2015. If Niese shows well, he could be the latest pitcher to use the Atlantic League as a launching pad to the majors.

Offseason In Review: New York Yankees

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This is the latest post of MLBTR’s annual Offseason in Review series, in which we take stock of every team’s winter dealings.

The Yankees won the American League Wild Card game for a second consecutive season in 2018 but were bounced from the playoffs at the hands of their biggest rivals, setting up an active offseason for general manager Brian Cashman and his staff.

Major League Signings

  • Zack Britton, LHP: Three years, $39MM (includes $14MM option for 2022 season that must be exercised after 2020 season; if Yankees do not exercise option, a player opt-out is triggered)
  • J.A. Happ, LHP: Two years, $34MM (plus $17MM vesting/club option for 2021 season)
  • Adam Ottavino, RHP: Three years, $27MM
  • DJ LeMahieu, INF: Two years, $24MM
  • CC Sabathia, LHP: One year, $8MM
  • Brett Gardner, OF: One year, $7.5MM
  • Troy Tulowitzki, SS: One year, $555K
  • Total spend: $140.055MM

Trades and Waiver Claims

Extensions

Notable Minor League Signings

Notable Losses

Bolstering a rotation that was rife with uncertainty following an up-and-down 2018 season was the Yankees’ top priority in the 2018-19 offseason. GM Brian Cashman acted quickly and decisively in the early-going, bringing back CC Sabathia for what will be the likely Hall of Famer’s final season and acquiring one of the best available starters on the trade market in the form of James Paxton. New York parted ways with vaunted prospect Justus Sheffield and another potential big league starter, Erik Swanson, in order to acquire the final two seasons of control over Paxton. While that move could ultimately prove beneficial to the Mariners, the Yankees have more immediate postseason aspirations and needed more certainty than the pair of promising young hurlers could provide. Paxton’s acquisition looks all the more critical now that it seems as though Luis Severino will be sidelined into the summer.

With Paxton and Sabathia secured, the Yankees sought to lock up one of their more successful midseason acquisitions in recent memory and managed to accomplish that goal at a lower rate — or, at least, on a shorter term — than many expected. J.A. Happ’s two-year, $34MM contract looks eminently reasonable for a pitcher who thrived to the tune of a 3.48 ERA over his past 690 MLB innings. Happ didn’t truly break out until his age-32 season, but he’s turned in four consecutive seasons of at least 25 starts with a 3.65 ERA or better in each of those years.

Outside of the rotation, the top need on a stacked Yankees roster was to round out the infield in the wake of Didi Gregorius’ Tommy John surgery. Gleyber Torres’ ability to play either middle-infield slot meant the Yankees didn’t need to limit themselves to solely exploring true shortstops. New York was frequently connected to Manny Machado and even took him to dinner in Manhattan to talk shop, but the team’s interest always seemed to be less serious than that of the Phillies or White Sox. By the time the Padres emerged as a late, serious bidder in the Machado auction, the Yankees were a distant memory. The team undoubtedly had a price at which it’d have jumped into the bidding, but that clearly was nowhere near the Padres’ $300MM mark and may not have even been especially close to the White Sox’ distant second-place bid of a reported $250MM.

Rather than pursue Machado, the Yankees rolled the dice on a player who was at one point as highly regarded as Machado is now. Troy Tulowitzki didn’t play a game in 2018 and hasn’t been a high-quality regular in nearly a half decade, but when the Blue Jays ate the remainder of his contract, the Yankees felt comfortable in taking a league-minimum gamble on the five-time All-Star. Tulowitzki’s addition was supplemented by a two-year deal with one of his former teammates, DJ LeMahieu, whose presence deepened an impressive collection of infield talent.

Around the time of the 2018 trade deadline, first base looked like it’d be an area of focus for the Yankees in the offseason, but Cashman and his lieutenants made a savvy bargain pickup of Luke Voit. While the Yankees surely liked Voit at the time of his acquisition — in a trade that sent since-DFA’ed lefty Chasen Shreve and Triple-A righty Giovanny Gallegos to St. Louis — no one could have foreseen Voit’s Ruthian surge down the stretch. The burly slugger captured the hearts of Yankees fans with a preposterous .322/.398/.671 slash and 15 home runs in just 161 plate appearances as a Yankee following the trade (and kicked off the 2019 season with a three-run round-tripper as well). Between Voit and the talented but fragile Greg Bird, the Yankees suddenly had a pair of useful and inexpensive options. LeMahieu, too, is expected to log some time at first base in 2019.

Though the bullpen was already robust even with some key names departing, the Yankees doubled down on their “too much is never enough” strategy with regards to their relief corps. Though David Robertson was allowed to depart, they re-upped Zach Zack Britton on a three-year contract and brokered another three-year pact with Adam Ottavino on the heels of a breakout season in Colorado. Pairing that duo with incumbent options like Aroldis Chapman, Chad Green, Dellin Betances and Jonathan Holder creates yet another uber-pen for second-year skipper Aaron Boone.

Of course, all of this writing so far has overlooked the Yankees’ first move of the offseason — one that now looks particularly prudent. Brett Gardner might not have filled a dire need outside of deepening an already strong roster, but injuries to Giancarlo Stanton, Aaron Hicks and ever-fading Jacoby Ellsbury have suddenly made the decision to retain Gardner an important one. It’s true that the organization could have found some more affordable depth late in the offseason — Adam Jones took a year and $3MM with the D-backs in March — but Gardner is a known clubhouse asset that the team trusts all over the outfield.

Certainly, the Yankees pursued other avenues to improvement this winter. They were never in on Bryce Harper despite the expected barrage of rumors connecting the two sides early in free agency. Harper said after signing in Philadelphia that he never heard from the Yankees, in fact. But the team was linked to the likes of Noah Syndergaard and Patrick Corbin (whom they also hosted for an in-person visit) as they sought to bulk up the rotation, and there was even talk of potentially shipping out Miguel Andujar for rotation help (in a scenario where they’d then sign Machado to man third base). The Yankees are always at the forefront of free-agent and high-profile trade rumblings, and this offseason, as one might expect, was no different.

Questions Remaining

Clearly, the biggest question surrounding the Yankees right now is whether they’ll be able to get their roster up to full strength. Severino signed a four-year, $40MM extension and was shut down first for a couple of weeks due to shoulder inflammation and now for six more weeks due to a lat strain. Hicks passed on free agency in favor of an extension that promised him an additional six years and $64MM on top of what he was already slated to earn in ’19. He went down with a back issue in Spring Training and has yet to play a game. Meanwhile, Stanton is out for much of April with a biceps strain and Andujar is faced with the possibility of surgery to address a labrum tear in his right shoulder.

That pileup of injuries, though, is precisely the reason that the Yankees added LeMahieu and re-signed Gardner despite lacking clear paths to regular at-bats for both players. Winning teams have placed an even greater emphasis than ever on depth in recent years (e.g. Dodgers, Brewers), even if it means that a full-strength roster would appear to have a number of logjams.

The Yankees are likely asking themselves whether they have enough depth in the rotation — particularly with Dallas Keuchel still unsigned. Paxton, Happ and Tanaka makes for a fine top three, but Sabathia’s durability isn’t what it once was and it’s hard to be confident that Severino will simply bounce back without any lingering effects or flareups once he does make it back to the mound. None of Paxton, Happ or Tanaka has a track record of 200-inning seasons, and Gonzalez will need some time to get up to speed in Triple-A. Internal alternatives like Domingo German, Jonathan Loaisiga and Chance Adams have promise but also come with the potential to leave the Yankees with a weak, overexposed rotation for an unacceptable period of time in a competitive three-team race.

It’s also a bit surprising that the Yankees’ top plan at shortstop was to simply hope for the best with an injury risk as significant as Tulowitzki, who logged just 66 games in 2017-18 and was last a convincingly above-average hitter in 2014. It’s true that if Andujar were healthy, Torres could’ve slid to shortstop with LeMahieu taking over at second base in the event of a Tulo injury, but they’d have had a much more stable middle-infield setting by making that Plan A and signing a glove-first backup. There was no shortage of affordable options, with Freddy Galvis, Jose Iglesias and Adeiny Hechavarria all on the open market. I’ll buy that the Tulowitzki gambit presented the highest possible value upside, but it was a reach to pencil him in for significant playing time while Gregorius mends. If Gregorius has any setbacks in his recovery from Tommy John, it’s easy to see the Yankees looking for middle-infield help this summer.

2019 Season Outlook

Injuries will test the considerable depth cultivated by the front office this winter. The Yankees are in a three-team race with the Red Sox and Rays — a pair of teams with notable questions themselves; Boston’s bullpen is the type you’d expect to see on a rebuilding club, whereas Tampa Bay is again banking on a series of creative bullpen machinations and affordable young position players. Neither the Yankees nor the Red Sox look as imposing early on as one might’ve expected midway through the offseason, but all three of the top dogs in the AL East have viable postseason chances. The Yankees are a lock to be in the mix for the playoffs, but the rate at which their current glut of 11 injured players can mend will determine the extent to which they need to augment the roster to keep pace come June and July.

How would you grade the Yankees’ offseason? (Link to poll for Trade Rumors app users.) 

How would you grade the Yankees' offseason?
B 45.73% (1,943 votes)
C 21.98% (934 votes)
A 20.33% (864 votes)
F 6.47% (275 votes)
D 5.48% (233 votes)
Total Votes: 4,249

Angels, Parker Bridwell Agree To Minor League Deal

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The Angels have agreed to a minor league contract with right-hander Parker Bridwell, according to multiple reports (including Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic, on Twitter). It’ll be his third stint with the Halos organization. Presumably, he’ll eventually find his way to Triple-A Salt Lake, though he could also get his feet wet in extended Spring Training or with a lower-level affiliate early on. He’d been with the Athletics in Spring Training but was released a few days into the season after failing to break camp with the A’s.

Bridwell, 27, had an awful 2018 season but was a key member of the Halos’ pitching staff as recently as 2017. That year, he pitched to a 3.64 ERA in 121 innings (20 starts, one relief appearance). Bridwell’s meager 5.4 K/9 mark and sky-high strand rate pointed to some regression, though certainly not to the extent that he struggled last year (13 runs in 6 2/3 MLB frames; 27 runs in 28 Triple-A innings).

The Angels know they’ll be without Andrew Heaney for at least another month, and they opened the year with Nick Tropeano (shoulder) and J.C. Ramirez (recovering from 2018 Tommy John surgery) on the injured list as well. Beyond that, they will of course be without Shohei Ohtani’s presence in the rotation for the entire 2019 season. Injury issues have utterly decimated the Angels’ pitching staff for the past few seasons, so adding a familiar face who’s had success in the upper minors and at the MLB level is a logical move.

AL West Notes: Rangers, Heaney, Peacock

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The Rangers are looking at adding some depth options for the rotation to their minor league ranks, president of baseball operations Jon Daniels told reporters Tuesday (Twitter link via Jeff Wilson of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram). Texas recently lost Edinson Volquez to an elbow sprain that could potentially threaten the veteran righty’s career.

At this point, the free-agent market for starting pitching has been largely picked clean, although there are still a few notable names available. Edwin Jackson remains unsigned, as does old friend Bartolo Colon, who has reportedly sought to continue his career into the 2019 season. Veterans James Shields, Chris Tillman and Yovani Gallardo all remain unsigned. As with Colon, the Rangers have had both Tillman (late 2018) and Gallardo (2015, 2018) in the organization before. The Cubs recently designated righty Jen-Ho Tseng for assignment as well, and he could be another option given several years of rotation experience in the minors. Unsurprisingly, Wilson notes that Dallas Keuchel is not viewed as an option despite the Rangers’ search for rotation help.

Here’s more from around the division…

  • Angels southpaw Andrew Heaney resumed throwing today, but he’s still expected to be sidelined for a month or more, per MLB.com’s Rhett Bollinger. A recent CT scan revealed what the team announced as “chronic changes” to Heaney’s left elbow, but it doesn’t appear as though there’s any threat of surgery for the left-hander. Heaney tossed 180 solid innings for the Halos in 2018 but has yet to take the mound in 2019 after being limited to just 1 2/3 innings in Spring Training.
  • With a series of off-days on the horizon, the Astros will move Brad Peacock to the bullpen for the next couple of weeks, writes Brian McTaggart of MLB.com. Houston has been operating with a shorter bullpen than usual in order to carry two out-of-options players on its bench in Tony Kemp and Tyler White. Whether that arrangement proves sustainable over the course of the entire season remains to be seen, as manager A.J. Hinch even spoke of distinctly noticing a difference in carrying a 12-man pitching staff as opposed to a 13-man pitching staff in the early stages of the 2019 season.

Luis Severino Shut Down Six Weeks Due To Lat Strain

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Luis Severino’s recent MRI revealed a Grade 2 lat strain that will cause the righty to be shut down from throwing for the next six weeks, the Yankees announced to reporters (Twitter link via Newsday’s Erik Boland). The lat injury is a new development that is unrelated to the previous bout of shoulder inflammation from which Severino was working his way back. This new injury, it seems, was sustained while Severino was rehabbing his shoulder.

As has been well documented by now, the Yankees have a staggering 11 players on the injured list, though it’s arguable that Severino is the most vital of the bunch. The recently extended righty was expected to front the rotation in 2019 but now seems destined to miss the majority of the season’s first half. A six-week shutdown would mean that Severino wouldn’t even resume throwing until the latter third of May, and at that point he’d need to completely rebuild arm strength sufficient to handle a starter’s workload at the big league level. Even in a best-case scenario, there’s little hope of Severino making his first start of the season before the middle of June.

With Severino and CC Sabathia on the shelf, the Yankees have been leaning on James Paxton, Masahiro Tanaka and J.A. Happ as the top three options in the starting rotation. Right-handers Domingo German and Jonathan Loaisiga have been the preferred options at the back of the rotation to this point in the young season, though the Yankees also picked up Gio Gonzalez on surprising a minor league contract late in Spring Training.

The prolonged absence of Severino will do nothing to quell connections between the Yankees and yet-unsigned Dallas Keuchel — the clear-cut top option remaining on the open market. Keuchel’s asking price has reportedly begun to come down recently, though signing him would still come with both luxury tax concerns and draft penalties; specifically, the Yankees would pay a 32 percent tax on any dollars spent on Keuchel and would forfeit their second-highest draft pick and $500K of international bonus money by signing the 2015 AL Cy Young winner.

If the Yankees opt to remain internal, it’ll mean continued looks for German and Loaisiga, plus a potential opportunity for the veteran Gonzalez and/or young righty Chance Adams.

Hunter Greene Undergoes Tommy John Surgery

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April 9: The Reds announced that Greene had his surgery today.

April 1: Top Reds pitching prospect Hunter Greene is scheduled for Tommy John surgery, the club announced to reporters including C. Trent Rosecrans of The Athletic (Twitter link). He’ll miss all of the present season and quite likely some of the 2020 campaign as well.

It’s not exactly a huge surprise to hear this news, as Greene was known to have had some elbow issues that were being watched closely. The former second overall pick is just 19 years old and still has plenty of time to get back to full strength and work on trying to reach his immense ceiling.

Greene is known first and foremost for his arm strength, with a triple-digit heater out of high school. But that wouldn’t have been enough to command a record-setting draft bonus; the talented hurler also was prized for his athleticism, mechanics, command, and developing-but-promising secondary repertoire.

It hasn’t been smooth sailing since Greene reached the professional ranks. He didn’t make it into game action that much in his first year and then pitched to a 4.48 ERA at the Class A level in 2018. Of course, he also carried a promising blend of 11.7 K/9 and 3.0 BB/9 in his 68 1/3 innings last year, so there was plenty of evidence of the talent that led the Reds to invest so heavily in him.

Injury Notes: Dahl, Turner, Cobb, Mariners

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The Rockies announced Tuesday that they’ve placed outfielder David Dahl on the 10-day injured list due to a “left-side core injury.” Fellow outfielder Yonathan Daza has been recalled from Triple-A in his place. Dahl’s injury isn’t believed to be especially serious, and the hot-hitting 25-year-old in fact told MLB.com’s Thomas Harding that he hopes to return after a minimal 10-day stay on the IL (Twitter link). Dahl joins Daniel Murphy as a key middle-of-the-order presence whose absence will surely be felt by a Rockies lineup that entered play Tuesday tied for 20th in total runs scored (37th), 24th in batting average (.219), 26th in on-base percentage (.283) and 23rd in slugging percentage (.350). Dahl was off to a scintillating .343/.385/.629 start to the season through 39 plate appearances.

Some more notable injury updates from around the game…

  • Brittany Ghiroli of The Athletic tweets that there’s a “tentative” timeline of four to six weeks for Nationals star Trea Turner (from the time of his injury). Turner landed on the injured list with a fractured index finger last week. Light-hitting Wilmer Difo has filled in for Turner since he exited last Tuesday’s game after injuring his right (throwing) hand on a bunt attempt in his first plate appearance.
  • The Orioles announced that right-hander Alex Cobb, who had been slated to start tomorrow night’s game, has instead been placed on the 10-day injured list with a lumbar strain. The move is backdated to April 6. Cobb quickly follows righty Nate Karns (forearm strain) to the injured list, though there’s no timetable for a return on either right-hander. Baltimore has yet to announce a corresponding 25-man roster move for Cobb, who opened the season on the IL due to a groin strain. He’s thrown just 5 2/3 innings in one appearance so far this season. The early durability issues don’t help the Orioles’ already minimal chances of finding a summer trade partner willing to take on a portion of the $43MM still owed to Cobb through the 2021 campaign.
  • Mariners right-hander Chasen Bradford has been placed on the 10-day injured list due to inflammation in his right shoulder, per a team announcement. The Seattle organization will turn to fellow righty Erik Swanson in his stead. There’s no immediate rotation opening for Swanson, one of the focal pieces of the trade that sent James Paxton to the Yankees, so the 25-year-old seems ticketed for the bullpen for the time being. If Swanson finds his way into a game, he’d be making his big league debut. An eighth-round pick by the Rangers in 2014, Swanson went from Texas to New York in the 2016 Carlos Beltran trade before being sent to the Mariners in the aforementioned Paxton swap. He pitched at three levels in the Yankees’ system last year, working to a combined 2.66 ERA with 10.3 K/9 against 2.1 BB/9 in 121 2/3 innings.

Dodgers Place Hyun-Jin Ryu On Injured List

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April 9: The Dodgers announced that Ryu has been placed on the injured list. Righty J.T. Chargois has been recalled from Triple-A Oklahoma City in his place and will join the Dodgers’ bullpen.

April 8, 11:45pm: Ryu said after the game that he does not feel he has suffered a significant injury, as Jorge Castillo of the Los Angeles Times reports (Twitter links). The southpaw characterized his exit as precautionary. That’s certainly promising, though manager Dave Roberts made clear that Ryu was nevertheless destined for a stint on the injured list.

8:25pm: The Dodgers may well send another high-priced lefty to the inured list after watching Hyun-Jin Ryu leave the mound early tonight. He’s dealing with a left groin strain, Bill Plunkett of the Orange County Register reports on Twitter.

There’s added concern here due to Ryu’s history. He suffered a torn left groin muscle last year, ultimately missing about ten weeks of action. Ryu ended up making 15 starts, pitching well enough to receive a qualifying offer — which he accepted.

For the Dodgers, issuing Ryu the QO represented a bet that he’d be on the hill enough to warrant a $17.9MM price tag on one year of his services. He’s worth that and more when healthy, but his availability has been something of a flip of the coin for much of his MLB career. Since coming to the majors from his native Korea in advance of the 2013 campaign, Ryu carries a 3.17 ERA but has averaged only 95 frames and 16 starts annually.

Ryu joins Clayton Kershaw and Rich Hill on the shelf. Fortunately, those hurlers are making progress (the former in particular) and the Dodgers have an exceptionally deep group of pitchers. And the club isn’t exactly suffering in the results department at the moment. Still, the rotation resources have already been strained, so it’s worrying to see another potentially significant injury.

Royals Return Chris Ellis To Cardinals

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The Royals announced Tuesday that Rule 5 pick Chris Ellis has cleared waivers and returned to the Cardinals organization. The right-hander will head to a minor league affiliate (without occupying a spot on the 40-man roster), though the Cardinals’ announcement of the move did not specify the affiliate to which Ellis is headed.

Ellis, 26, was a roster casualty when the Royals selected the contract of Homer Bailey. Though Kansas City manager Ned Yost stated that the organization tried to get as long a look as possible at Ellis, he was designated for assignment after just one scoreless outing to begin the season. Ellis was hit hard during Spring Training, though, allowing 10 runs on 16 hits and three walks with 10 strikeouts through 10 Cactus League frames.

Originally a third-round pick of the Angels back in 2014, Ellis went to the Braves alongside Sean Newcomb in the Andrelton Simmons blockbuster before making his way to the Cardinals in the trade that sent Jaime Garcia to Atlanta. He was torched in his first two brief exposures to the Triple-A level but had a solid season there in 2018 when he pitched to a 3.76 ERA with 7.7 K/9 against 2.4 BB/9 in 79 innings of work. He’ll likely head back to Triple-A Memphis to continue working toward a spot with the Cards at the MLB level.

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