Phillies Place Rhys Hoskins On DL, Promote Dylan Cozens, Designate Drew Hutchison
3:51pm: The injury will not require surgery and is considered “weeks thing, not a months thing,” Matt Gelb of The Athletic was among those to tweet.
2:14pm: The Phillies announced on Thursday that they’ve placed Rhys Hoskins on the DL with a fractured jaw and recalled outfield prospect Dylan Cozens from Triple-A Lehigh Valley in his place. Additionally, the Phils recalled right-hander Mark Leiter Jr. and cleared a spot on the roster by designating fellow righty Drew Hutchison for assignment.
Hoskins incurred the fracture on Monday this week when he fouled a ball into his jaw and was forced to exit the game. Initial x-rays proved to be negative, it seems, as Hoskins somewhat remarkably hit a pinch-hit double a day later on Tuesday. However, a CT scan revealed the fracture last night. At the time, he was reportedly set to return to Philadelphia for further evaluation by an oral surgeon. The Phillies have yet to announce the findings of that exam, though surgery was at least mentioned as a possible option.
Until the Phils make that announcement, there’s no way of knowing just how long Hoskins will be sidelined. In his absence, though, the organization will turn to former Cozens, the former second-rounder who has long held intrigue due to his light-tower power but has also displayed considerable struggles making contact in Triple-A.
It’s the first call to the Majors for the 23-year-old Cozens, who garnered plenty of attention with a 40-homer campaign as a 22-year-old in Double-A. Cozens posted an overall .276/.350/.591 batting line that season in a year which he and Hoskins were teammates who served as a source of great excitement for Phils fans. However, while Hoskins ascended to the Majors late in 2017 and took the big leagues by storm over the season’s final two months, Cozens struggled with a strikeout rate north of 35 percent in Triple-A. Overall, between 2017 and 2018, he’s batted just .214/.307/.424 with a 36.4 percent strikeout rate in 739 PAs at the Triple-A level.
With Hoskins on the shelf, the Phils could utilize Nick Williams, Odubel Herrera and Aaron Altherr as the primary outfielders, although given Altherr’s struggles against righties, perhaps the makings of a corner-outfield platoon are present at Citizens Bank Park.
As for Hutchison, the 27-year-old made the Opening Day roster after coming to camp on a minor league deal, but he’s scarcely been used by skipper Gabe Kapler in recent weeks. Hutchison posted a 2.76 ERA with a 16-to-8 K/BB ratio in 16 1/3 innings of relief from Opening Day through May 4, but he appeared just two more times over the remainder of the month. The Cardinals tagged him for five runs in a long relief appearance on May 18, and he allowed a run in two innings to the Dodgers yesterday.
In all, Hutchison has a 4.64 ERA with 8.0 K/9 and 5.5 BB/9 in 21 1/3 innings this season. He has experience starting in the Majors and is earning a fairly minimal salary, so perhaps a club in need of some rotation depth or a long man in the ‘pen would be interested in adding him to its ranks, be it via waivers or a minor trade.
Dodgers Activate Clayton Kershaw
The Dodgers announced that they’ve reinstated left-hander Clayton Kershaw from the disabled list and created a roster spot by optioning switch-pitcher Pat Venditte to Triple-A Oklahoma City. Kershaw, who’s been out since May 1 due to biceps tendinitis in his left arm, will start tonight’s game against the visiting Phillies.
The three-time NL Cy Young winner and five-time NL ERA leader will return to the Dodgers’ rotation just one day after right-hander Kenta Maeda landed on the disabled list with a right hip strain. It’s been an ongoing struggle for the Dodgers to keep their starting staff healthy so far this season, as Maeda is joined on the disabled list by lefties Rich Hill and Hyun-Jin Ryu. Fortunately for the Dodgers, Kershaw’s absence proved to be shorter than his DL trips for back injuries in each of the past two seasons.
Kershaw will step back into the starting mix alongside Alex Wood, rookie sensation Walker Buehler and the breakout righty Ross Stripling. While that may not be a rotation mix the Dodgers anticipated having to lean upon in 2018, the quality of that group serves as a testament to the depth that the Dodgers seem to have a knack for cultivating on a yearly basis.
While the Dodgers’ early struggles garnered plenty of national media attention, they’ve quieted the narrative that their season was on the brink of being lost by rattling off 10 wins in their past 13 contests. Los Angeles is still three games south of the .500 mark, but the collapse of the former NL West-leading Diamondbacks has opened a door for the Dodgers, who now sit 3.5 games back from the Rockies, who suddenly find themselves in first place.
A healthy Kershaw will go a long way toward continuing their recent success, though there are clearly some longer-term implications here for both Kershaw and the team. Kershaw has the ability to opt out of the remaining two years of his contract at season’s end, and he’s all but certain to do so. While the Dodgers clearly possess the financial firepower to match or top virtually any offer another team can make to Kershaw, the price of a new contract with the Dodgers or another club will be impacted in no small part by his ability to put this injury behind him and return to his status as one of the game’s elite arms.
Cardinals Place Alex Reyes On DL With “Significant” Lat Strain
3:07pm: It’s a “significant” lat strain for Reyes, GM Mike Girsch tells reporters (Twitter link via Mark Saxon of The Athletic). There won’t be an exact timetable on his recovery until he receives a second opinion, per Saxon, though certainly that update from Girsch is far from promising. An MRI taken this morning revealed the injury, tweets Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
2:09pm: The Cardinals announced today that they’ve placed top prospect Alex Reyes back on the disabled list with a strained right lat muscle. St. Louis also optioned struggling outfielder Tyler O’Neill and right-hander John Gant to Triple-A Memphis. Filling those spots on the roster will be lefty Austin Gomber, righty Mike Mayers and first baseman Luke Voit, each of whom has been recalled from Memphis.
Reyes had Cardinals fans salivating as he tore through minor league batters in a rehab assignment, and he looked dominant in the first inning of yesterday’s return affair before slowly experiencing a dip in his velocity over the subsequent three innings. President of baseball ops John Mozeliak told The Athletic’s Jim Bowden last night that Reyes’ elbow was “fine,” and that appears to be the case, though the lat muscle presents a new issue for the vaunted young right-hander to overcome. While any injury to Reyes’ throwing arm is of course a cause for concern for the organization, it’s likely a silver lining that the issue is not specific to his surgically repaired right elbow.
With Reyes back on the shelf, the Cards will once again deploy a rotation consisting of Miles Mikolas, Luke Weaver, Michael Wacha and Jack Flaherty as they await the return of ace Carlos Martinez from a lat strain of his own. Martinez did go out on a minor league rehab assignment today, per the team’s transactions page, but while he’s nearing a return, it seems that fans will have to wait for the a highly anticipated 1-2 punch of Martinez and Reyes atop the staff.
[Related: St. Louis Cardinals depth chart]
As for O’Neill, he’ll head back to Triple-A and look to make continued strides on his approach at the plate and his bat-to-ball skills. While the 22-year-old flashed the power that has made him such an intriguing prospect, early proclamations of a new star’s arrival were proven premature. O’Neill struggled enormously to make consistent contact, whiffing in 43.9 percent of his trips to the plate and in 13 of his final 19 plate appearances before being optioned out.
None of that is to suggest that O’Neill doesn’t have the potential to develop into a regular middle-of-the-order threat for the Cards, of course. While contact issues had plagued him earlier in his minor league tenure, he whittled his strikeout rate down to a more respectable 23.3 percent in Memphis this season before being called to the Majors. His approach still needs some refinement, though, as was evidenced by a 2.5 percent walk rate in Triple-A and a near-identical mark in his brief MLB tenure this season. O’Neill has mashed 13 homers in 120 PAs with Memphis and three in the bigs, though, so there’s little doubting the legitimacy of his power.
With O’Neill in the minors, it’ll be Marcell Ozuna, Tommy Pham, Dexter Fowler and Harrison Bader splitting up the bulk of the outfield duties. Meanwhile, in the rotation, it’s possible that Gomber could step up and make a spot start as the team awaits the return of Martinez. If not, he’ll give the ‘pen a fresh lefty at a time when both Brett Cecil and Tyler Lyons have endured some considerable struggles. Gomber has made nine start in Memphis and logged a solid 3.60 ERA with a 63-to-17 K/BB ratio in 55 innings of work.
Mayers, meanwhile, will return for another stint to give the bullpen some depth. The 26-year-old has already been optioned to Memphis and incredible five times in the season’s first two months, and that seems likely to be the role he fills in St. Louis this season unless further injuries in the Majors carve out a more permanent spot for him.
The 27-year-old Voit is hitting just .243/.351/.348 in Triple-A so far in 2018, but he had a monster season there in 2017 and also hit .246/.306/.430 with four homers in 128 plate appearances at the Major League level. This’ll be his first appearance on the 2018 roster for the Cards.
Braves Select Peter Bourjos, Release Aaron Blair
The Braves announced on Thursday that they’ve selected the contract of outfielder Peter Bourjos, who’ll return for a second stint with the big league club this season. To create room on the 40-man roster, Atlanta released right-hander Aaron Blair, who’d previously undergone season-ending shoulder surgery. Meanwhile, Dustin Peterson was optioned to Triple-A to create a spot on the 25-man roster for Bourjos’ return.
Bourjos, 31, was on the Braves’ Opening Day roster after signing a Major League deal late in Spring Training, but he received sparse playing time in Atlanta before being designated for assignment, electing free agency and returning to the organization on a new minor league contract. He enjoyed a productive 24-game run in Triple-A Gwinnett between stints with the big league club, slashing .277/.352/.511 with a pair of homers, six doubles and five triples through 105 plate appearances.
The fleet-footed Bourjos will give the Braves a backup option in center field behind Ender Inciarte — something they presently lack with Ronald Acuna on the 10-day disabled list. Preston Tucker and Charlie Culberson have been handling left field with Inciarte in center and Nick Markakis in right, and it’s not entirely clear how the Braves will adjust that mix once Acuna is able to return. Bourjos could be sent out again, but Culberson is only just now showing signs of life at the plate after a poor start, while Tucker hasn’t hit much at all since a hot first week of the season.
As for Blair, David O’Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution tweets that the Braves will continue to pay for the right-hander’s rehab from shoulder surgery. It stands to reason that there’s a fair chance he’ll re-sign with the club on a new minor league deal where he can serve as a depth option in 2019 without occupying a spot on the big league 40-man roster.
MLBTR Chat Transcript: Hanley, Rays, Nats, Mets
Click here to read a transcript of today’s chat with host Jeff Todd.
AL East Notes: Hanley, Kelly, Vlad Jr., Happ
As Rob Bradford of WEEI.com reported last night, Hanley Ramirez is going through release waivers at the moment, which makes it likely that he’ll clear and become a free agent tomorrow afternoon. Red Sox skipper Alex Cora appeared on MLB Network Radio on SiriusXM this week to discuss the team’s decision to cut ties with Ramirez in one of the highest-profile DFAs in recent memory (Twitter link, with audio). Per Cora, the decision came down to one of roster flexibility and a desire to get Mitch Moreland‘s left-handed bat and superior glove into the lineup with more regularity.
“We’ve been talking about when Pedroia comes back since February,” said the Red Sox’ skipper. “We had different scenarios, different options, and at the end, I talked about being flexible as far as versatility — being able to maneuver the last part of the game with pinch-hitters, pinch-runners, defensive replacements and being able to match up with the opposition. It’s nothing against the player, because Hanley is a good player. He was going through a slump. That’s part of it. Everybody goes through it. … I did feel as an organization, our roster was going to be a little bit tight with him not playing every day.”
More from Boston and from the division…
- Bradford spoke with setup man Joe Kelly about the manner in which the right-hander has now fully embraced his role as a reliever. Kelly wasn’t exactly keen on the idea of moving to the bullpen earlier in his career and had preferred to remain in the rotation, but he’s thriving in and enjoying his role as a late-inning weapon for the Red Sox. Kelly, a free agent at season’s end, said he wouldn’t reject the idea if a club approached him about returning to the rotation this offseason, but it doesn’t sound as if that’ll be a priority for him, either. “I like the job I’m in right now,” he said. “I kind of like the thrill, the adrenaline rush.” Kelly and Bradford also discuss the different mindsets that come with pitching in different roles, his move from the outfield to the mound during his amateur days, and his stress-free approach to his impending free agency in a candid interview that’s well worth a full read.
- Buster Olney and Keith Law of ESPN discussed the timeline for Vladimir Guerrero Jr.‘s promotion in the latest Baseball Tonight podcast (audio link, with Guerrero talk beginning around the 7:30 mark). The pair agrees that Guerrero Jr. should be in Triple-A already and should be called up this summer, despite the fact that some execs with other teams have opined to Olney that the Blue Jays would be ill-advised to lose the year of service time they could gain by delaying his promotion until early 2019. Olney and Law discuss Guerrero Jr.’s defensive and offensive development as well as the marketing opportunities the Jays would have in both 2018 and 2019 by promoting him to the big leagues.
- For all the speculation surrounding the Yankees and Cole Hamels, Joel Sherman of the New York Post argues that J.A. Happ should be every bit as much on New York’s radar this summer — if not more. Happ, unlike Hamels, doesn’t have a no-trade clause that includes the Yankees, and he’s also earning a more reasonable $12MM this season that aligns with the team’s luxury tax goals. Moreover, though, Sherman notes that Happ simply isn’t separated by Hamels in terms of talent as much as the pair’s reputation would suggest. The 36-year-old reinvented himself following a 2015 trade to the Pirates, and he’s posted better numbers in recent years (and again in 2018) than Hamels. The general thinking extends well beyond the Yankees, of course. If the Blue Jays decide to make Happ available to other teams this July, the southpaw would be one of their most attractive rental chips and would fit on virtually any contender looking to bolster its rotation.
Jung Ho Kang To Begin Playing In Minor League Games
The Pirates are set to send Jung Ho Kang out on a minor league assignment as he builds up for an eventual return to their big league roster, tweets Adam Berry of MLB.com. Kang will initially be assigned to Class-A Advanced Bradenton.
Kang is currently on the restricted list after missing the 2017 season and the entirety of the 2018 season, to date, after being charged with his third DUI in his native South Korea in the 2016-17 offseason. Bill Brink of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette wrote earlier this month that Kang can remain there until he’s deemed ready to rejoin the big league roster, so Kang won’t be paid or accumulate any MLB service time until he’s actually ready to return to the Major League roster.
That outcome, of course, doesn’t appear to be a given. Kang played poorly in the Dominican Winter League this offseason, hitting just .143/.219/.202 with 31 strikeouts in 96 plate appearances before being cut loose by his club. The Pirates aren’t under any obligation to actually bring Kang back to the roster if his performance doesn’t merit that promotion, and GM Neal Huntington suggested in a radio appearance late last month that this Kang’s last chance with the organization.
The 29-26 Pirates are currently six games out of first place behind the surging Brewers in the NL Central but just two games back of a Wild Card spot, so it seems they’ll look to see whether Kang is capable of returning to the form he showed in 2015-16 when he hit .273/.355/.483 with 36 homers in 837 plate appearances. He’ll earn the pro-rated portion of this season’s $3MM salary for any time spent on the team’s active roster, though Huntington’s comments from April cast some doubt as to whether the organization would consider exercising next year’s $5.5MM option, barring a highly productive finish to the 2018 season.
Cardinals Notes: Reyes, Stolen Bases, Molina, Guilmet
Alex Reyes made his much anticipated return to the Cardinals’ rotation yesterday and looked dominant in the first inning, whiffing two hitters with a fastball that reached 97 mph. However, a shaky second inning saw him issue a pair of walks and hit a batter, and his fastball at one point dipped to 92 mph. Reyes’ start was finished after just four scoreless innings and 73 pitches. Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch looks at whether there’s any cause for concern, quoting Reyes as the young righty acknowledged some fatigue. As Goold notes, Reyes didn’t go through an inning nearly as challenging as Wednesday’s second frame at any point during his rehab assignment. Manager Mike Matheny characterized the early hook as a precautionary move, acknowledging that the drop in velocity was a significant factor in the decision. Goold notes that Reyes at one point also winced and flexed his shoulder during the fourth inning, prompting a visit from the Cardinals’ staff, though certainly that could simply be related to the aforementioned fatigue, and it’s worth noting that Reyes did hit 97 mph again in the fourth immediately after that mound meeting.
President of baseball ops John Mozeliak spoke to Jim Bowden of The Athletic and CBS Sports last night and stated that Reyes’ elbow is “fine” in the aftermath of the potential scare (Twitter link), though it stands to reason that the Cards figure to proceed with caution early in the 23-year-old’s return to the big league rotation.
Here’s more out of St. Louis…
- Goold also examines an oddity in St. Louis, examining the surprising fact that the Cardinals have yet to prevent an opposing stolen base attempt in 2018. Other teams aren’t running on the Cards very often — they’re 20-for-20 through 53 games — which serves as a testament to the pitching staff’s ability to hold runners. But Goold still notes that no team has gone this far into the season without a single caught-stealing by its catching staff since 1951. St. Louis coaches are encouraging the staff to vary their delivery times and utilize slide steps when necessary as well. The trend is bizarre, to be sure, though it’s also almost certainly a short-term anomaly. Yadier Molina is on the mend and had the game’s second-best pop time prior to hitting the disabled list, Goold notes. And interim starter Francisco Pena comes with a 32 percent caught-stealing rate in his minor league career.
- Speaking of Molina, he took a significant step toward his return to the roster Wednesday, writes MLB.com’s Joe Trezza. Doctors cleared Molina to resume baseball activities, and he caught pitches in full gear yesterday in a batting cage in addition to taking some swings. He’ll head out on a rehab assignment in the near future if all continues to go well. Molina took a foul ball to the groin earlier this month and underwent emergency surgery to repair what the team called a “traumatic hematoma” later that evening.
- Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic tweets that Triple-A reliever Preston Guilmet, who has seen MLB time in the past with the Orioles, Rays, Indians and Brewers, has a June 1 opt-out provision in his minor league deal with the Cards. Guilmet’s opt-out is of particular note, given that the 30-year-old has torn through Triple-A batters with 26 innings of 1.04 ERA ball and a 32-to-4 K/BB ratio. He’s had some remarkable fortune on balls in play (.102 BABIP), but that doesn’t mean that Guilmet’s brilliant K/BB numbers should be wholly dismissed, either. Guilmet has allowed 21 runs in 23 MLB innings, but he’s been dominant in his past two Triple-A seasons now and had a solid run with the Yakult Swallows of Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball in 2017 (3.79 ERA, 9.4 K/9, 2.5 BB/9 in 54 2/3 innings of relief).
MLB Daily Roster Roundup: Buxton, Maeda, Iglesias, Reyes, Syndergaard
ROSTER MOVES BY TEAM
(May 29th-May 30th)
NATIONAL LEAGUE
- ATLANTA BRAVES | Depth Chart
- Activated from 10-Day DL: SP Anibal Sanchez
- Promoted: RP Miguel Socolovich (contract purchased)
- Optioned: SP/RP Lucas Sims, SP/RP Matt Wisler
- CHICAGO CUBS | Depth Chart
- Placed on 10-Day DL: RP Carl Edwards Jr. (shoulder inflammation)
- Promoted: RP Cory Mazzoni
- CINCINNATI REDS | Depth Chart
- Activated from 10-Day DL: RP Raisel Iglesias
- Role change: P Homer Bailey has been moved to the bullpen.
- Promoted: RP Jesus Reyes
- Optioned: RP Tanner Rainey, RP Jesus Reyes
- LOS ANGELES DODGERS | Depth Chart
- Placed on 10-Day DL: INF Chase Utley (sprained thumb), SP Kenta Maeda (strained hip)
- Promoted: P Dennis Santana, RP Pat Venditte
- Santana is a candidate to take Maeda’s rotation spot. He was a “Knocking Down The Door” pick last week.
- MILWAUKEE BREWERS | Depth Chart
- Placed on 10-Day DL: INF/OF Tyler Saladino (sprained ankle)
- Saladino had been the starting SS in recent days. Eric Sogard played SS on Wednesday.
- Promoted: SS Orlando Arcia
- Placed on 10-Day DL: INF/OF Tyler Saladino (sprained ankle)
- NEW YORK METS | Depth Chart
- Placed on 10-Day DL: SP Noah Syndergaard (strained ligament in right index finger)
- Seth Lugo will start in Syndergaard’s place on Thursday.
- Promoted: RP Buddy Baumann, RP Scott Copeland (contract purchased), RP Tim Peterson (contract purchased)
- Optioned: INF/OF Phillip Evans, RP Jacob Rhame
- Designated for assignment: P P.J. Conlon
- Transferred to 60-Day DL: OF Juan Lagares
- Placed on 10-Day DL: SP Noah Syndergaard (strained ligament in right index finger)
- PHILADELPHIA PHILLIES | Depth Chart
- Placed on 10-Day DL: INF/OF Pedro Florimon Jr. (fractured foot)
- Promoted: 3B/1B Mitch Walding (contract purchased)
- Walding played 3B and batted 7th in his MLB debut on Wednesday.
- Transferred to 60-Day DL: SP Jerad Eickhoff
- SAN DIEGO PADRES | Depth Chart
- Added to 25-man roster: SP/RP Phil Hughes
- Hughes will work out of the bullpen for now.
- Optioned: RP Tyler Webb
- Added to 25-man roster: SP/RP Phil Hughes
- SAN FRANCISCO GIANTS | Depth Chart
- Placed on 10-Day DL: SP Jeff Samardzija (shoulder inflammation)
- Promoted: SP Tyler Beede
- Beede was optioned back to Triple-A following tonight’s game. A corresponding move will be announced tomorrow.
- Activated from 10-Day DL: RP Derek Law
- Law was optioned to Triple-A
- ST. LOUIS CARDINALS | Depth Chart
- Activated from 10-Day DL: SP Alex Reyes
- Reyes pitched 4 scoreless innings (73 pitches) in his ’18 debut.
- Optioned: RP Mike Mayers
- Transferred to 60-Day DL: RP Dominic Leone
- Activated from 10-Day DL: SP Alex Reyes
—
AMERICAN LEAGUE
- BALTIMORE ORIOLES | Depth Chart
- Placed on Paternity List: INF/OF Danny Valencia
- Promoted: RP Donnie Hart
- BOSTON RED SOX | Depth Chart
- Released: 1B Hanley Ramirez
- Acquisition: 1B/OF Adam Lind (MiLB contract)
- CLEVELAND INDIANS | Depth Chart
- Promoted: RP Jeff Beliveau (contract purchased)
- Optioned: SP Adam Plutko
- DETROIT TIGERS | Depth Chart
- Placed on 10-Day DL: SP Francisco Liriano (strained hamstring), RP Daniel Stumpf (elbow nerve irritation)
- Promoted: SP Ryan Carpenter, RP Johnny Barbato
- Released: RP Gerson Moreno
- Moreno will undergo Tommy John surgery.
- HOUSTON ASTROS | Depth Chart
- Placed on 10-Day DL: C Brian McCann (knee soreness)
- Max Stassi will be the starting catcher while McCann is out.
- Promoted: C Tim Federowicz (contract purchased)
- Placed on 10-Day DL: C Brian McCann (knee soreness)
- KANSAS CITY ROYALS | Depth Chart
- Placed on 10-Day DL: Blaine Boyer (strained lower back)
- Promoted: RP Trevor Oaks
- MINNESOTA TWINS | Depth Chart
- Placed on 10-Day DL: OF Byron Buxton (fractured toe)
- Ryan LaMarre played CF on Tuesday and Wednesday with Buxton out of the lineup.
- Promoted: SP/RP Aaron Slegers
- Slegers pitched 5 1/3 innings of long relief Wednesday and was optioned to Triple-A after the game. A corresponding move will be announced Thursday.
- Placed on 10-Day DL: OF Byron Buxton (fractured toe)
- OAKLAND ATHLETICS | Depth Chart
- Placed on Paternity List: SS Marcus Semien
- Chad Pinder played SS and batted 9th on Wednesday.
- Promoted: RP Josh Lucas
- Placed on Paternity List: SS Marcus Semien
- SEATTLE MARINERS | Depth Chart
- Placed on 10-Day DL: C/OF Chris Herrmann (strained oblique)
- Promoted: C David Freitas
- TAMPA BAY RAYS | Depth Chart
- Activated from 60-Day DL: SP Nathan Eovaldi
- Eovaldi made his 1st MLB start since August 10th, 2016.
- Optioned: RP Jaime Schultz
- Transferred to 60-Day DL: SP Jacob Faria
- Activated from 60-Day DL: SP Nathan Eovaldi
- TEXAS RANGERS | Depth Chart
- Activated from 10-Day DL: SP Matt Moore
- Activated from 60-Day DL: RP Ricardo Rodriguez
- Rodriguez was optioned to Triple-A
- Optioned: SP Austin Bibens-Dirkx
- Designated for assignment: INF/OF Eliezer Alvarez
—
FUTURE EXPECTED MOVES
- CLE: SP Shane Bieber will have his contract purchased from the minors on Thursday May 31st, according to Ryan Lewis of the Akron Beacon Journal. His MLB debut will be a spot start to give the rotation an extra day of rest.
- LAD: SP Clayton Kershaw will be activated from the 10-Day DL on Thursday May 31st, according to Alanna Rizzo of SportsNetLA.
- MIN: The team is hopeful that 1B Joe Mauer can return from the 10-Day DL this weekend, according to Mike Berardino of the Pioneer Press.
- OAK: OF Khris Davis is on track to be activated from the 10-Day DL on Thursday May 31st, according to Jane Lee of MLB.com.
- PHI: OF/1B Rhys Hoskins will likely be placed on the 10-Day DL on Thursday May 31st, according to Jim Salisbury of NBCSPhilly. He suffered a fractured jaw in Monday’s game.
- SEA: 2B/CF Dee Gordon is expected to return from the 10-Day DL on Thursday May 31st, according to Ryan Divish of the Seattle Times.
- SFG: 2B Joe Panik, INF/OF Alen Hanson, OF Hunter Pence and RP Mark Melancon could all return from the disabled list on Friday June 1st, according to Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle.
Tigers Select Ronny Rodriguez
The Tigers announced after Wednesday evening’s game that they’ve selected the contract of infielder Ronny Rodriguez from Triple-A Toledo and optioned catcher Grayson Greiner back to Triple-A in his place. The move gives the Tigers a full 40-man roster.
It’ll be the first call to the Majors for the 26-year-old Rodriguez, who signed a minor league deal with Detroit this offseason after previously spending his entire professional career with the Indians organization. The versatile Rodriguez posted a sound .291/.324/.454 slash in 483 plate appearances with Triple-A Columbus last year in his final season with the Cleveland organization, and he’s off to an even better start in his new environs, batting .302/.327/.484 with six homers, 13 doubles, a pair of triples and eight stolen bases (albeit in 13 attempts).
Rodriguez has been primarily a shortstop and third baseman this season with the MudHens, but he’ll bring at least 585 innings of experience at all four infield positions to the Tigers’ roster. He’s also spent more than 300 innings in the outfield over the past three seasons, including 139 innings of work in center field. The right-handed hitter won’t walk much but also hasn’t had much of an issue with strikeouts during his time in Triple-A.