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Cubs Place Justin Steele, Adrian Sampson On Restricted List

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Aug. 30: Estrada has now officially been selected as a substitute player, reports Lee on Twitter.

Aug. 29: Steele and Sampon have officially been place on the restricted list, tweets Maddie Lee of the Chicago Sun-Times, with Little taking one spot on the roster. Montemurro adds that Estrada is with the team and likely to be added tomorrow.

Aug. 28: The Cubs will be traveling to Toronto for a three-game series that begins tomorrow, though left-hander Justin Steele and right-hander Adrian Sampson will not be making the trip. They will instead be placed on the restricted list, tweets Gordon Wittenmyer of NBC Sports Chicago. That’s standard procedure for players unvaccinated against COVID-19, as current health restrictions prevent such individuals from crossing the American-Canadian border.

Normally, the club wouldn’t be able to make corresponding moves right away, as league rules dictate starting pitchers aren’t eligible to be replaced until four days after they last pitched in these circumstances. Sampson started today’s game, though Meghan Montemurro of the Chicago Tribune tweets that he will indeed be eligible to be replaced due to having thrown less than four innings today. Steele, on the other hand, threw 5 1/3 innings on Friday, meaning the Cubs should be able to bring in someone else to take his spot by Tuesday.

Although no moves have been made official just yet, Montemurro relays that left-hander Brendon Little and right-hander Jeremiah Estrada are with the team. Neither are currently on the club’s 40-man roster, but they will likely be added as COVID “substitutes” and subsequently removed after the series without having to be exposed to waivers.

The 26-year-old Little was selected by the Cubs 27th overall in the 2017 draft. That high draft selection got him onto Baseball America’s list of top prospects in Chicago’s system in 2018 and 2019, though he’s since lost his spot on that list. This year, he’s thrown 39 Triple-A innings with a 4.15 ERA, 23.8% strikeout rate, 11.6% walk rate and 62.6% ground ball rate.

Estrada, 23, was a sixth-round pick in 2017. He’s spanned three levels this year, from High-A to Triple-A, faring well at each stop. Through 48 1/3 combined innings for the season, he has a 1.30 ERA with an incredible 40.4% strikeout rate, along with a 10.4% walk rate.

Bullpen Moves: Marlins, Cubs, Guardians

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Given the way the game is played these days, bullpens are dynamic entities constantly changing shape. Though longer injured list stints and option limits were intended to somewhat slow this ebb-and-flow of arms moving in and out, the game of musical chairs continues. Let’s check in on some of the changes being made in bullpens around the game today…

  • The Marlins have placed Louis Head on the 15-day injured list with a left shoulder impingement, recalling Zach Pop from Triple-A, per Christina De Nicola of MLB.com (via Twitter). Head’s contributions on the year haven’t necessarily been additive, as the 32-year-old reliever owns a 7.23 ERA/5.29 FIP across 23 appearances totaling 23 2/3 innings. The injury is a bit peculiar as well since it’s not his throwing arm. Pop was a Rule 5 pick from the Orioles by the Diamondbacks, whom the Marlins then acquired via trade. He appeared in 50 games for the Fish last season, pitching to a 4.12 ERA/3.77 FIP across 54 2/3 innings.
  • The Cubs have placed veteran southpaw Daniel Norris on the 15-day injured because of a finger strain. To take his roster spot, they have recalled Adrian Sampson from Triple-A, per Meghan Montemurro of The Chicago Tribune (via Twitter). Norris hasn’t had a great season, but if he’s healthy, he made draw some trade interest simply as a veteran southpaw. Currently, however, he owns a 7.24 ERA/5.73 FIP in 24 appearances covering 27 1/3 innings. Sampson has been up and down, designated for assignment, and brought back. Despite his frequent travels, he has tossed just 5 2/3 innings with the Cubs this season without giving up an earned run.
  • The Guardians have optioned Anthony Castro to Triple-A and recalled right-hander Yohan Ramirez, per Paul Hoynes of cleveland.com (via Twitter). Castro, 27, with his third team in three years, has slogged through eight appearances, surrendering eight earned runs in eight innings on 11 hits and seven walks to 10 strikeouts. The Guardians acquired Ramirez from the Mariners via trade for cash and a player to be named later. He made seven appearances with the Mariners, posting a 7.56 ERA across 8 1/3 innings of work.

Cubs Select Adrian Sampson, Designate Eric Stout For Assignment

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The Cubs have selected the contract for Adrian Sampson, bringing the right-hander back to the active roster. To create roster space, the Cubs designated Eric Stout for assignment, per Gordon Wittenmyer of NBC Sports Chicago (via Twitter).

Sampson knows what it’s like to be DFA’ed, having been designated himself already by the Cubs this year after tossing just one inning and yielding two unearned runs. The Cubs lost him on waivers to the Mariners, who designated and released him before he appeared in a game. The Cubs then re-signed Sampson and put him in Triple-A. He now returns to the Cubs active roster, where a slew of injuries to their starting rotation has left them short-handed.

The Cubs are amid a nine-game losing streak and looking for anyone who might be able to record more innings pitched than runs allowed, which they have been unable to find during this unfortunate slide. Sampson made five starts and five relief appearances for the Cubs just last season, posting a 2.80 ERA/3.14 FIP over 35 1/3 innings.

Stout, 29, was only just added to the active roster two days ago when Sean Newcomb was designated for assignment. Stout made two appearances, tossing 3 2/3 innings, giving up two earned runs on three hits and one walk while striking out six.

Cubs, Adrian Sampson Agree To Minor League Deal

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The Cubs have agreed to a minor league contract with right-hander Adrian Sampson, reports Tommy Birch of the Des Moines Register (on Twitter). He’s reported to the club’s Triple-A affiliate in Iowa.

It’s a quick return to the organization for Sampson, whom the Cubs just lost on waivers a couple weeks ago. The Mariners had grabbed the 30-year-old after Chicago designated him for assignment, but Seattle took him off their 40-man roster before he even appeared in a game. Sampson passed through the wire unclaimed following his second designation but refused an outright assignment in favor of minor league free agency last week.

Sampson heads back to Iowa, where he’s started five games this year. Through 19 2/3 innings, he posted a 3.66 ERA. Sampson only punched out 14.6% of opponents in that time, but he induced ground-balls at a solid 48.5% clip and continued his career-long track record of pounding the strike zone. Chicago selected him to the majors for one relief outing before unsuccessfully trying to run him through waivers.

That May 8 outing against the Dodgers — in which Sampson allowed two unearned runs in one inning — marked his second straight season with some big league work. The 30-year-old started five of his ten outings for the Cubs last season, posting a 2.80 ERA through 35 1/3 frames. That was in spite of Sampson’s low-strikeout ways and eight home runs allowed, and Chicago outrighted him off their 40-man roster following the season before bringing him back on a Spring Training minor league deal.

Mariners Activate Kyle Lewis, Release Steven Souza

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TODAY: Sampson declined his outright assignment and elected to become a free agent, the team announced.

MAY 24: The Mariners have reinstated Kyle Lewis from the injured list. He’s in the starting lineup this evening as the designated hitter, batting seventh against A’s starter James Kaprielian. Seattle also announced they’ve released veteran outfielder Steven Souza Jr. and outrighted right-hander Adrian Sampson to Triple-A Tacoma.

It’ll be Lewis’ first big league appearance since last May 31. The former first-round pick suffered a meniscus tear in his right knee at the time. That marked the latest in a series of knee injuries for Lewis, who also tore his ACL as a minor leaguer and suffered a bone bruise in the joint in Spring Training. Lewis was shut down for a few months, and his attempt at a late-season rehab was scrapped after he suffered another bone bruise in September.

With that injury history in mind, the Mariners proceeded extremely cautiously with Lewis this spring. The club announced that he wouldn’t be available for the start of the season in March, and he continued to make slow progress over the season’s first few weeks. He headed out on a rehab assignment in early May, and his allotted 20-day window wrapped up yesterday. He’s now back and hoping to approximate the .262/.364/.437 showing he managed in 2020 to claim the American League’s Rookie of the Year award.

Seattle has gotten very little from their corner outfielders thus far, a big reason for the team’s disappointing 18-25 start. Nevertheless, they’re not about to thrust the 26-year-old Lewis back into an everyday role on the grass. Manager Scott Servais told reporters (including Ryan Divish of the Seattle Times) the plan is to use Lewis exclusively as a DH for now as they ease him back to action. They’ll presumably mix in a heavy dose of off days as well, leaving the outfield to Jesse Winker, Julio Rodríguez and Taylor Trammell as the club awaits the arrival of the newly-signed Justin Upton.

Souza briefly factored into that mix, heading to the majors when the M’s optioned Jarred Kelenic. The veteran had earned the call with a monster .267/.417/.533 showing in 96 plate appearances in Tacoma, but Seattle didn’t give him much leash at the big league level. After Souza collected just three hits (all singles) and punched out eight times in his first six games, the M’s designated him for assignment over the weekend. Presuming he clears release waivers, the 33-year-old will hit free agency and likely search for another minor league opportunity elsewhere.

Sampson has the right to do the same, having previously been outrighted in his career. The team didn’t specify whether he’s elected free agency, however, and Sampson does have Pacific Northwest roots as a Washington native.

Seattle grabbed the 30-year-old righty off waivers from the Cubs earlier this month, but he was designated for assignment before making an appearance. Sampson has pitched in 11 MLB games with Chicago over the past two seasons, tossing 36 1/3 innings of 2.72 ERA ball. His modest 18.7% strikeout rate hasn’t supported that excellent run prevention mark, though, and he’s now passed through waivers unclaimed.

Mariners Sign Justin Upton

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TODAY: Upton’s deal contains a 10-team no-trade clause, Bob Nightengale reports.  Upton has had partial or full no-trade protection in all three of his major multi-year contracts (with the D’Backs, Tigers, and Angels), and he’ll retain some measure of control over his future should the Mariners look to flip him before the trade deadline.

MAY 21: The Mariners have signed outfielder Justin Upton to a one-year, Major League contract.  The club has officially announced the move, and in a corresponding transaction designated righty Adrian Sampson for assignment to clear roster space.  Upton will report to the Mariners’ extended Spring Training camp in order to ramp up for his eventual debut with the team.

USA Today’s Bob Nightengale reports (Twitter link) was the first to announce the Upton signing, and noted that Upton will earn around $550K on the deal, or the prorated portion of the MLB minimum salary.  The M’s will cover the $550K, while the Angels will still owe Upton the remainder of his original $28MM salary for the 2022 season.

The Angels released Upton just before the season began, ending the outfielder’s four-plus year run in Los Angeles.  Originally acquired from the Tigers in August 2017, Upton was already under contract through the 2021 season but held an opt-out clause, and agreed to forego that clause when the Halos tacked another year onto his deal.  The extension added $17.5MM in new money to Upton’s contract and locked up through the 2022 campaign.

Unfortunately, it was a deal the Angels came to regret, after Upton struggled during the 2019-21 seasons.  Due to both injuries and a simple lack of production, Upton has hit .211/.299/.414 with 38 home runs over 784 plate appearances in the last three seasons.  Between this lack of hitting and declining glovework in left field, Upton has been almost exactly a replacement-level player, generating only 0.1 fWAR since the start of the 2019 season.

In his prime, of course, Upton was an outstanding player, with a resume that includes four All-Star appearances, 324 career homers, and a .262/.343/.471 slash line over 7592 PA with five different organizations.  Selected by the Diamondbacks with the first overall pick of the 2005 draft, Upton is a very familiar face to Mariners GM Jerry Dipoto, who worked in Arizona’s front office during Upton’s time with the club.

For the minimal cost, there isn’t much risk for Dipoto and the Mariners in seeing if Upton still has anything left at age 34.  With Mitch Haniger on the injured list until around July, Jarred Kelenic demoted to the minors, and Kyle Lewis still working his way back from injury, the M’s have a need for outfield depth.  Jesse Winker and rookie phenom Julio Rodriguez have two of the spots spoken for, with Adam Frazier, Dylan Moore, and Steven Souza Jr. all recently seeing starts on the grass since Haniger was lost to the IL.

Sampson was only claimed off waivers from the Cubs earlier this week, and now might be moving on from Seattle without a single appearance in either the minors or majors.  The swingman’s 2022 resume thus far consists of a single MLB inning with the Cubs and 19 2/3 innings with Triple-A Iowa.  The Washington native did break into the majors with his home state Mariners back in 2016, marking the first of Sampson’s five Major League seasons — the righty has a 5.13 ERA over 189 1/3 innings, with 125 1/3 of those frames coming with the Rangers in 2019.

Mariners Option Jarred Kelenic, Claim Adrian Sampson

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The Mariners announced this afternoon they’ve claimed right-hander Adrian Sampson off waivers from the Cubs. They’ve also selected outfielder Steven Souza Jr. to the big leagues in place of Jarred Kelenic, who was optioned to Triple-A Tacoma. Seattle also reinstated Sergio Romo from the 10-day injured list, optioned Danny Young and designated Stuart Fairchild and Yohan Ramirez for assignment to clear 40-man roster space for Sampson and Souza.

Kelenic’s demotion is the most notable of Seattle’s spate of moves. A former sixth overall pick and top prospect, Kelenic has yet to produce against big league pitching. He struggled to a .181/.265/.350 line over his first 377 MLB plate appearances last season, striking out in 28.1% of his trips while hitting only .216 on balls in play. The M’s surely hoped to see more from the left-handed hitting outfielder in the early going this season, but that hasn’t yet been the case.

Through 30 games, Kelenic owns just a .140/.219/.291 mark. The youngster has gone down on strikes 36 times while making contact on only 67.8% of his swings. That’s the 12th-lowest contact rate among 192 batters with at least 90 plate appearances, and the M’s have decided it’s time for a reset against Triple-A arms. It’s the second time in as many years that Kelenic has been optioned after scuffling against MLB pitching, but he responded well during a month-long stint in the minors last summer.

The timing of Kelenic’s latest option comes rather ironically as the M’s are headed to Queens for a weekend series with the Mets. New York, of course, originally drafted him and included him in the controversial Robinson Canó/Edwin Díaz swap. That looked to be a coup for Seattle given Kelenic’s prospect pedigree, but he’ll obviously need to perform better whenever the M’s bring him back to the big leagues. There’s plenty of time to do so, as he won’t turn 23 years old until July. Because of the canceled minor league season in 2020, the Wisconsin native has still only played 51 games between Double-A and Triple-A.

Barring an exceptionally lengthy stint, the demotion doesn’t seem likely to affect his path to free agency after the 2027 season. Kelenic entered the year with 105 days of big league service; players are credited with a full service year for spending 172 days on an MLB roster or injured list. He’s accrued approximately 36 more days this year, meaning he needs to be in the majors for around a month more to surpass the one-year threshold in 2022. How long this stay in Tacoma lasts will no doubt be determined in large part by Kelenic’s performance there, but it’s hard to imagine the M’s keeping him down until September barring some major struggles against Triple-A pitching.

In the meantime, Seattle will turn to the veteran Souza with Julio Rodríguez, Jesse Winker and Dylan Moore as outfield options. The 33-year-old has gotten sporadic MLB time with the Cubs and Dodgers over the past couple years, but he hasn’t played a full season in the majors since 2017. Signed to a minor league deal in Spring Training, Souza has gotten off to an excellent start with the Rainiers. He’s hitting .267/.417/.533 with five homers and a massive 19.8% walk rate in 22 games. The 14-18 M’s will see if he can carry over that production against big league arms to inject some life into an outfield that has underwhelmed.

Fairchild was part of that outfield mix very briefly. The 26-year-old was acquired from the Diamondbacks for cash in late April and appeared in three games, going hitless in a trio of plate appearances. A Seattle native, Fairchild was a second-round pick of the Reds in 2017 and has been traded twice in his young career. The M’s will have a week to deal him again or try to run him through outright waivers.

That’s also true of Ramirez, who has pitched in the bigs over the past three seasons. The right-hander owns a 3.97 ERA in 56 2/3 career innings, striking out a strong 28.6% of opponents. He’s also walked 15.2% of batters faced, however, and he’d been tagged for three homers in his first seven outings this year. The Mariners elected to move on, but he works in the mid-90s and has a pair of minor league option years remaining, so it’s possible another club takes a chance on him.

In his place, they’ll bring aboard a multi-inning option from the Cubs. Sampson started five of his ten appearances for Chicago last season, tossing 35 1/3 frames of 2.80 ERA ball. That came with an underwhelming 19.3% strikeout rate and an alarming 2.04 homers allowed per nine innings, but he pounded the strike zone and induced a fair amount of ground-balls. Chicago re-signed the righty to a minor league deal over the winter. He was selected to the big leagues on Sunday, pitched in one game, then was designated for assignment.

Cubs Place Nick Madrigal On 10-Day IL, Select Ildemaro Vargas, Designate Adrian Sampson For Assignment

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The Cubs announced a flurry of roster moves this evening, most prominently sending second baseman Nick Madrigal to the 10-day IL with low back tightness. The team also selected Triple-A infielder Ildemaro Vargas’s contract, designating right-handed pitcher Adrian Sampson for assignment to open up a 40-man roster spot for Vargas.

Madrigal, acquired in last season’s cross-town trade for Craig Kimbrel, was hitting a pedestrian .203/.250/.241 (43 OPS+) at the time of his IL placement. There’s still plenty of time for the 25-year-old to turn it around when he returns to the field, though a few things stick out in his early season offensive performance. Chief among them, Madrigal’s elite contact abilities have eluded him to a notable extent thus far.

His 16.7% strikeout rate, while considerably better than the league average, is more than double his career rate entering the season. The former first-rounder is hitting the ball with more authority than ever, however, which may eventually lead to a more impressive batting line than the one that is currently present. Madrigal’s defense has also remained top-notch, largely offsetting the contact hitter’s lack of offense in the eyes of most defensive metrics.

Vargas meanwhile returned to the organization this winter on a minor league deal and was hitting .279/.321/.413 in 25 Triple-A contests. Offense isn’t Vargas’s calling card though, as his promotion stems from his ability to play all around the infield, a must-have for a three-man Cubs bench.

Sampson, another offseason minor league signee, pitched to an excellent 2.80 ERA in 35 plus innings (10 games) for the Cubs last season as a swingman. Advanced metrics weren’t terribly bullish about his performance however, which helps explain the minor league pact and the right-hander’s lack of opportunity with the big league team this season. The 30-year-old has continued to have a decent run in Triple-A this year, so it will be interesting to see if the Cubs can keep him in their organization as depth or if a team hurting with injuries will seek to claim him in the coming days.

Cubs Make Series Of Roster Moves

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The Cubs made a flurry of roster moves today. Per Meghan Montemurro of the Chicago Tribune, the club optioned right-hander Adrian Sampson to Triple-A Iowa, recalled Frank Schwindel from Triple-A Iowa, selected left-hander Conner Menez onto the major league roster, and placed right-hander David Robertson on the IL without an injury distinction — generally a sign that the move is COVID-related. Presuming Robertson’s IL stint is indeed COVID-related, the Cubs would not have been required to add Menez to the 40-man roster in order to add him to the active roster, though Montemurro later clarified that the club has added him to the 40-man.

Sampson’s demotion and Schwindel’s return to the majors mark something of an abrupt about-face for the Cubs, who’d selected Sampson’s contract (to replace Marcus Stroman, who also went on the IL without an injury designation) and optioned Schwindel to Triple-A only yesterday. Sampson did pitch in his one game with the big-league club, covering the ninth inning of a blowout loss to the Dodgers, while Schwindel did not enter a game during his (extremely) brief stint in the minors. Both players had success for the Cubs in 2021: Sampson, who’s also pitched for the Mariners, Rangers, and the KBO’s Lotte Giants in his career, posted a 2.80 ERA over 35 1/3 innings for Chicago (albeit with a 5.72 FIP), and Schwindel posted a world-beating .342/.389/.613 across 239 plate appearances (albeit with an unsustainable .364 BABIP). In 2022, Sampson has served as minor league depth outside his single inning on Sunday, while Schwindel has posted a far more pedestrian 209/.250/.308 batting line in 96 trips to the plate.

The 37-year-old Robertson, who signed with the Cubs in March for a $3.5MM guarantee, was off to a strong start to what’s been an otherwise disappointing first month on Chicago’s north side. In 12 innings, he’s notched a 1.50 ERA while striking out 37.8% of the batters he’s faced and converting all five of his save opportunities. Presuming his trip to the IL is COVID-related, he’s unlikely to be out for more than a week or so, though his absence in the bullpen could well prove costly for a club hoping to contend but already nine games adrift in the NL Central.

Menez, who arrived in Chicago via the minor league phase of the 2021 Rule 5 draft, has actually had some success in the majors in a limited sample, notching a serviceable 4.04 ERA (if a less sightly 5.01 FIP) across 42 1/3 innings in parts of the 2019, 2020, and 2021 seasons, all spent with the Giants. He’s primarily been a starter in the minors (and has started four games in the majors) and was off to a strong start in Triple-A, pitching 16 2/3 innings of 2.16 ERA ball while striking out better than a batter an inning. His time in the majors may be short (perhaps only until either Robertson or Stroman returns from the IL), but he could also slot in as a long relief/swingman option if he can continue to miss bats in the majors. The fact he’s been added to the 40-man roster when he could have been selected without the addition could signal that GM Carter Hawkins hopes to see him stick around for a while.

Cubs Place Marcus Stroman On Injured List, Option Frank Schwindel

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The Cubs announced a series of roster moves to reporters today, including Bruce Levine of 670 The Score. (Twitter links) Marcus Stroman, who was scheduled to start tonight’s game, has instead been placed on the injured list. No designation was given for his placement, suggesting he is going on the COVID-related IL. Right-hander Adrian Sampson will have his contract selected to take Stroman’s place on the roster. Additionally, Frank Schwindel is being optioned to Triple-A. The club had an extra man on the roster for yesterday’s doubleheader and needed to subtract someone.

Stroman’s absence leaves the Cubs in a particular bind for tonight’s game, though if his placement is simply due to a close-contact situation or light symptoms, he could be activated as early as tomorrow (and thus likely lined up to start Tuesday’s game against the Padres).  If Stroman has indeed tested positive for COVID-19, he’ll face an absence of at least 10 days, unless he passes certain criteria — two negative PCR tests, approval from a three-physician panel, and at least 24 hours without a fever.

The right-hander has been inconsistent over his first five starts in a Cubs uniform, but Stroman is coming off his best outing of the season, seven shutout innings of two-hit ball against the Brewers on May 1.  If Stroman does have to miss an extended period of time, Wade Miley might be just about ready to step right into the mix, as the veteran (who hasn’t yet pitched in 2022 due to elbow inflammation) tossed a rehab outing on May 5.

Sampson posted a 2.80 ERA over 35 1/3 innings for Chicago last season, and re-signed a new minor league deal with the Cubs in March.  A right-handed swingman, Sampson has started all five of his games at Triple-A this season, and could also fit into the rotation picture as a Stroman replacement.

Schwindel was claimed off waivers from the A’s last July, and he took over regular first base duty for the Cubs after Anthony Rizzo was dealt to the Yankees prior to the trade deadline.  In a difficult period for the rebuilding Cubs, “Frank The Tank” was a bright spot, as he unexpectedly broke out to hit .342/.389/.613 with 13 homers over 239 PA for Chicago.  This performance made Schwindel an instant favorite among Wrigleyville fans, and earned him a sixth-place finish in NL Rookie Of The Year voting.

Unfortunately, Schwindel’s 2022 hasn’t been as positive, as he has batted only .209/.250/.308 with two home runs over 96 PA.  With Schwindel now looking to find himself at Triple-A, the Cubs may turn to another unheralded breakout candidate at first base, as Alfonso Rivas as gotten off to a hot start over his first 73 PA.

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