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Delino DeShields

Mariners Sign Delino DeShields To Minors Contract

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The Mariners have signed outfielder Delino DeShields to a minor league deal, according to the team’s official transactions page.  DeShields last played in the big leagues in 2021, as a member of the Reds.

Seattle becomes the eighth different MLB organization of DeShields’ career, though he has seen official game action with only three of them, playing with Texas from 2015-19, Cleveland in 2020, and then Cincinnati in 2021.  The outfielder was also briefly a member of the Red Sox in between stints with the Rangers and Reds in 2021, and he signed minor league contracts with the Marlins and Braves in 2022.  DeShields spent the 2022 campaign with Triple-A Gwinnett, hitting .220/.367/.264 over 426 PA for Atlanta’s top affiliate.

While DeShields has rarely contributed much with his bat, his speed and defense has consistently earned him looks from teams in need of outfield depth.  Taylor Trammell and utilityman Dylan Moore will both start the season on the Mariners’ injured list, so the M’s might see DeShields as a bit of extra experience to have on hand in camp, along with fellow veteran minor league signings Kole Calhoun and Leonys Martin.  Julio Rodriguez, Teoscar Hernandez, AJ Pollock, and Jarred Kelenic are projected as Seattle’s regular outfielders, with Pollock and Kelenic slated to split duties in left field.

Reds Part Ways With Hitting Coach Alan Zinter, Five Others

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The Reds are parting ways with a number of coaches on the heels of a disappointing season. The team announced Thursday that hitting coach Alan Zinter, bullpen coach Lee Tunnell, first base/infield coach Delino DeShields, advance scouting coach Cristian Pérez and assistant coach Rolando Valles have all been let go. Bobby Nightengale of the Cincinnati Enquirer reports that senior director of performance/health Geoff Head also will not be offered a new contract.

Manager David Bell will return in 2023, tweets Charlie Goldsmith of the Enquirer. It’ll be the fifth season at the helm for the 50-year-old, who signed an extension last September that runs through the end of next season.

Cincinnati’s coaching changes wrap up a frustrating year for the organization. The Reds lost 100 games in 2022, tying them with the Pirates for the third-worst record in the majors. They dropped 21 games in the standings relative to last year’s 83-79 mark. Cincinnati’s only postseason appearance since 2013 came as part of an expanded playoff field during the shortened 2020 season.

As one would imagine for a team that won just 62 games, the Reds underachieved in a number of areas. Both the starting rotation and bullpen finished 28th in ERA (4.97 and 4.75, respectively). Those dismal results weren’t unforeseeable. The Reds had one of the league’s worst relief units in 2021 and were without two of their better late-game arms — Tejay Antone and Lucas Sims — for most or all of this season.

Over the past calendar year, Cincinnati also parted with all four of its top starting pitchers. Wade Miley was waived to shed $10MM from the books last November, while Sonny Gray was traded to the Twins in Spring Training. Luis Castillo and Tyler Mahle stuck on the roster until the summer but were flipped to the Mariners and Twins, respectively, before the deadline. Cincinnati wound up giving 62 combined starts to the rookie trio of Hunter Greene, Nick Lodolo and Graham Ashcraft. While each of them showed promise, they all battled injuries and Greene and Ashcraft were up-and-down from a performance perspective.

The club’s issues weren’t limited to the pitching staff. Despite playing in one of the sport’s most hitter-friendly home environments, they finished the year ranked 23rd in runs scored. The Reds placed 21st in batting average (.235), 24th in on-base percentage (.304) and 26th in slugging (.372). By measure of wRC+, which accounts for the ballpark, Cincinnati’s lineup was 15 percentage points below league average. Only the Pirates, A’s and Tigers were less productive.

That’s certainly not all the fault of Zinter, who’d coached Reds hitters for the past three seasons. Cincinnati dealt Jesse Winker to the Mariners to get out from under the remainder of Eugenio Suárez’s contract this past offseason. (Somewhat ironically, Winker was just alright in Seattle while Suárez had his best season since his 49-homer campaign in 2019). Promising young catcher Tyler Stephenson suffered a trio of freak injuries that kept him to 50 games and derailed what looked like a breakout season.

Nevertheless, there were a number of disappointing performances throughout the lineup. Of the 14 Reds hitters to tally 200+ plate appearances, only three had a wRC+ above the 100 league average. Offseason minor league signee Brandon Drury was excellent and flipped to the Padres midseason. The only other above-average hitters on a rate basis were outfielders Jake Fraley and TJ Friedl, both of whom played just under half the team’s games. Reigning NL Rookie of the Year Jonathan India took a step back, hitting .249/.327/.378 through 431 plate appearances. Former top prospects Nick Senzel and José Barrero haven’t yet shown themselves capable of hitting big league pitching.

The Reds will go in a new direction on the staff in search of better offensive results going into 2023. Cincinnati is facing an uphill battle to compete next season, but they’ll hope a new voice can help unlock stronger play from a number of their young hitters.

American League Non-Tenders

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With revenue losses expected to result in reduced payrolls around baseball, a larger number of players than usual are expected to be let go by their current teams by tonight’s 7pm CT non-tender deadline.  Some of these players could end up re-signing with their teams for salaries below what they were projected (by MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz) to earn through the arbitration process, or teams could end up simply opting to explore other options…with many of those options arriving on the market through this same non-tender process.

You can track all of the arbitration and non-tender activity here, and we’ll also run through the list of American League players who have been let go in this post.  (The NL list is available here.)

  • In addition to Naquin, covered below, the Indians announced that they’ve non-tendered outfielder Delino DeShields Jr. and right-hander Jefry Rodriguez. Cleveland picked up DeShields in the Corey Kluber salary dump to the Rangers last winter, and he managed a tepid .252/.310/.318 slash in 137 plate appearances. Rodriguez wasn’t arb-eligible yet and didn’t pitch in the Majors this season, but the Indians obviously wanted to open the 40-man spot. He has a career 5.20 ERA and 5.29 FIP in 98 2/3 innings.
  • The Rangers non-tendered utilityman Danny Santana, MLB Network’s Jon Heyman reports. The 30-year-old switch-hitter had a big season with Texas in 2019, but as was the case with his rookie showing in Minnesota, the results were largely BABIP-driven. Santana underwent elbow surgery in September and may not be ready for Opening Day, so his non-tender isn’t a surprise. Outfielder Scott Heineman and righty Jimmy Herget were also non-tendered, the team announced.
  • Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times tweets that the Rays have non-tendered righty Edgar Garcia, who was not yet eligible for arbitration. Tampa acquired Garcia for a PTBNL in August after the Phils designated him for assignment, but he was hit hard in a small sample of work. The Rays prefer to have an open roster spot and will make Garcia a free agent.

Earlier Non-Tenders

  • The Indians have non-tendered outfielder Tyler Naquin, Paul Hoynes of cleveland.com tweets. Naquin, who would have earned around $2MM in arbitration, is coming off a poor year in Cleveland. The 29-year-old slashed .218/.248/.383 with four home runs, 40 strikeouts and five walks in 141 plate appearances. Naquin joined the Indians as the 15th overall pick in 2012, but he has only provided league-average offense since debuting in 2016.
  • The Royals also non-tendered Maikel Franco, as covered here. The White Sox, meanwhile, cut ties with Nomar Mazara and Carlos Rodon, as outlined here.

Indians Designate Christian Arroyo For Assignment

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The Indians announced today that they have designated infielder Christian Arroyo for assignment. That cleared one of two roster spots the club needs to trim its active roster down to 28 men.

To open another, the Indians optioned outfielders Greg Allen and Daniel Johnson while activating fellow outfielder Delino DeShields. He had been sidelined on the COVID-19 injured list.

Arroyo, 25, was a first-round pick of the Giants back in 2013, he cracked Top 100 prospect rankings from 2016-18. The Giants, though, flipped him to the Rays in the 2017 Evan Longoria deal, and he never got much of a look on a deep Rays roster. Tampa Bay traded him to Cleveland last summer in a deal that primarily netted international bonus money. Arroyo is a .215/.280/.342 hitter in 251 plate appearances spread over the past four seasons but has a career .298/.359/.487 slash in 418 Triple-A plate appearances. Arroyo has logged time at second base, third base and shortstop, so he has some versatility, but he’s also out of minor league options.

AL Notes: Anderson, Giles, Red Sox, Indians

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White Sox shortstop Tim Anderson left the team’s win over the Royals on Friday with right hip soreness, the club announced. The reigning AL batting champion is day-to-day, and the White Sox will re-evaluate him Saturday, manager Rick Renteria told James Fegan of The Athletic and other reporters. Anderson had a multi-hit game Friday, continuing a terrific start in which he has slashed .333/.355/.567 over 31 plate appearances. Chicago replaced him with utilityman Leury Garcia.

  • Blue Jays reliever Ken Giles went on the injured list July 27 with a right forearm strain, but the team is “very optimistic” he’ll return this season, according to general manager Ross Atkins (via Kaitlyn McGrath of The Athletic). After getting a second opinion on the injury, Giles underwent a platelet-rich plasma injection. Not only would his return boost the Blue Jays’ of pushing for a playoff spot, but it would be a positive for Giles as he prepares for a trip to free agency in a few months. The 29-year-old was absolutely dominant when he was healthy enough to pitch in 2019, but arm problems have troubled him since last summer.
  • Pitching has been a problem for the Red Sox early this season, but a couple of their hurlers are on the way back from the COVID-19 injured list. Left-handers Darwinzon Hernandez and Josh Taylor could join the Red Sox sometime within the next week, Chris Cotillo of MassLive.com writes. The 23-year-old Hernandez reached the majors for the first time last season and struck out a ridiculous 16.91 hitters per nine across 30 1/3 innings, though a horrid 7.71 BB/9 helped lead to a below-average 4.45 ERA. Taylor, 27, somewhat quietly notched a 3.04 ERA/3.11 FIP with 11.79 K/9 and 3.04 BB/9 in 47 1/3 frames as a rookie.
  • Ryan Lewis of Ohio.com relayed updates on a trio of injured Indians on Friday. Catcher Roberto Perez, whom the Indians placed on the IL this week with a right shoulder issue, has experienced improvement. The club will re-evaluate him Tuesday. Outfielder Tyler Naquin, on the IL since last weekend with a fractured toe, has started sprinting. And fellow outfielder Delino DeShields, an offseason acquisition who still hasn’t made his Cleveland debut on account of a positive COVID-19 test, played 4 1/2 rehab innings Friday. There’s no word on when any of them will be ready to rejoin the Indians, though.

Camp Battles: The Indians’ Outfield

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For a team that has averaged 95 wins a year over the last four seasons, the Indians have consistently taken a mix-and-match approach to their outfield amidst this run of success.  Of course, having star infielders (i.e. Francisco Lindor, Carlos Santana, Jose Ramirez) and a seemingly neverending pipeline of starting talent can allow a club to put less of a focus on its outfielders, and Cleveland would’ve ideally hoped that more of its highly-regarded outfield prospects would have taken the leap to everyday status by this point.  Still, the Tribe is now entering a fifth season of outfield uncertainty, and hoping that at least one of its question marks can enjoy a true breakout campaign.

Let’s begin with the one everyday lock in Oscar Mercado, though Mercado’s actual position on a game-by-game basis could be in flux.  The 25-year-old is coming off a solid rookie season that saw him perform decently well at the plate (95 wRC+, 96 OPS+) and impressively well with the glove in 698 2/3 innings in center field — +6 Outs Above Average, +5.8 UZR/150, +9 Defensive Runs Saved.  It’s safe to assume that Mercado will get the lion’s share of time in center again in 2020, though his ability to play all three positions will allow manager Terry Francona to shift other players into the outfield based on matchups.

Those other players?  It’s quite a long list:

  • Delino DeShields: Depending on your defensive metric of choice, DeShields was either slightly behind (UZR/150, DRS) Mercado in defensive value last season, or ahead (Statcast ranked DeShields tied for fifth among all outfielders in baseball with +12 OAA in 2019), plus DeShields has a longer track record of outstanding glovework.  It stands to reason that DeShields will handle center when Mercado is used in the corners, though it remains to be seen if DeShields will hit enough to move beyond mere fourth-outfielder duty.  The 27-year-old hit only .246/.326/.342 over 1936 career plate appearances with the Rangers, though it’s possible the change of scenery from Texas to Cleveland could help.
  • Domingo Santana: Signed to a one-year MLB contract (with a 2021 club option) earlier this week, Santana is decidedly not an option in center field, and even the corner outfield might be a stretch for a player who posted some of the worst defensive numbers of any player in baseball.  If Santana does indeed end up being used mostly as a designated hitter, the fact that he was signed at all could hint at the Tribe’s belief that…
  • Franmil Reyes is capable of better things as a right fielder after two seasons of mediocre fielding.  Acquired as part of the three-team Trevor Bauer blockbuster last summer, Reyes hit .249/.310/.512 with 37 home runs over 548 PA between the Padres and Indians in 2019.  The power is already there and the overall hitting potential has shown some flashes of improvement, and though Cleveland used Reyes almost exclusively at DH after the trade, the team surely hopes that they can get at least a couple of seasons’ worth of passable fielding work from Reyes to maximize his overall roster value (even if a mostly-DH role is ultimately in his future).
  • Jordan Luplow: Among all qualified hitters in 2019, only J.D. Martinez and Alex Bregman had a higher wRC+ against left-handed pitching than Luplow, who crushed southpaws to the tune of a .320/.439/.742 slash line and 198 wRC+ over 155 PA.  Even with other big righty bats like Santana and Reyes on hand, Luplow’s incredible splits will ensure that he’ll at least see platoon action, and Luplow has the added defensive edge of being able to play the corners decently well (and could even handle center field in a pinch).  If Luplow is to play a larger role, he’ll have to greatly improve his desultory .596 career OPS over 225 PA against right-handed pitching.
  • Greg Allen: The switch-hitting Allen offers a bit of balance to all of these right-handed hitters, though he hasn’t much from either side of the plate over 586 Major League plate appearances.  Allen can technically play all three outfield positions, though his glovework in the corners is much more highly regarded than his performance in center field.  Assuming at least one of the left-handed bats remaining on this listing emerges, Allen may find himself beginning the 2020 season in the minors.
  • Tyler Naquin: He likely won’t factor into the Opening Day picture, as much as Naquin is making excellent progress after suffering a torn ACL at the end of August.  Still, Naquin looks on pace to return on the shorter end of his original seven-to-nine month recovery period, which adds another left-handed bat to the Indians’ mix.  2019 was shaping up as easily Naquin’s best season since his 2016 rookie year, so a post-hype breakout might yet be in the cards for Naquin if he can get healthy.
  • Jake Bauers: Acquired as part of last offseason’s three-team deal that brought Carlos Santana back to Cleveland, Bauers’ first year with the Tribe was a disaster, as he posted an overall sub-replacement season (-0.4 fWAR) while struggling at both the plate and in the field.  Bauers is still only 24 years old and is a former top-100 prospect, so it’s clearly far too early for the Indians to give up on him, but he’ll be on a much shorter leash than last season.
  • Bradley Zimmer: Speaking of former top prospects, Zimmer missed almost all of the 2018-19 seasons due to shoulder surgery.  MLB.com ranked Zimmer as the 22nd-best prospect in baseball entering the 2017 campaign, but a forgettable rookie season and then his extended injury absence turned Zimmer from building block to afterthought.  He could be the biggest wild card of any player on this list, assuming Zimmer is healthy.
  • Daniel Johnson: A part of the three-player package the Indians received from the Nationals in the November 2018 Yan Gomes trade, Johnson’s first season in Cleveland’s farm system was a successful one, as he hit .290/.361/.507 over 547 combined PA at the Double-A and Triple-A levels.  MLB.com’s scouting report notes that Johnson’s strong throwing arm and overall defense alone could earn him steady work as a fourth outfielder at the big league level, so if he can manage to hit as well, there’s certainly room for Johnson gain playing time with the Tribe.

One bit of good news for the Indians in sorting out all these players is that they don’t face any specific roster crunch, as Santana is the only one of these players who no longer has a minor league option.  That affords Francona and the front office the opportunity to freely evaluate these players during Spring Training without feeling forced into a tough roster choice based on team control.  Given the sheer number of outfielders on hand, it also wouldn’t be entirely shocking if the Tribe dealt away from this surplus.  If a few of these names really stand out during camp, Cleveland might feel comfortable enough in its depth to consider one of the other players expendable if another outfield-needy team came calling with an interesting trade offer.

Players Avoiding Arbitration: American League

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Entering the day, there were more than 150 players on the clock to exchange arbitration figures with their respective teams prior to a noon ET deadline. As one would expect, there’ll be an utter landslide of arbitration agreements in advance of that deadline. We already ran through some key facts and reminders on the arbitration process earlier this morning for those who are unfamiliar or simply need a refresher on one of MLB’s most complex idiosyncrasies, which will hopefully clear up many questions readers might have.

We’ll track the majority of the American League’s settlements in this post and split off a separate one for NL settlements as well. Note that all projections referenced come courtesy of MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz:

  • Newly acquired Angels righty Dylan Bundy receives a $5MM salary, per Jon Heyman of MLB Network (Twitter links). He had projected at a $5.7MM price tag. Teammate Hansel Robles gets $3.85MM, per Heyman, just shy of his $4MM projection.
  • The Yankees have worked out deals with all of their eligible players. The team has a hefty $8.5MM pact with Aaron Judge, per MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand (via Twitter). Backstop Gary Sanchez settled for $5MM, per Feinsand (via Twitter). The New York org will pay righty Luis Cessa $895K and Jonathan Holder $750K, Murray reports (Twitter links). Fellow reliever Tommy Kahnle will earn $2.65MM, per Jon Heyman of MLB Network (via Twitter). And star lefty James Paxton has settled at $12.5MM, Heyman adds via Twitter. Chad Green and Jordan Montgomery have also agreed to terms, the former at $1.275MM and the latter at $805K, per Heyman (Twitter links).
  • The Twins announced that they struck deals with Trevor May, Taylor Rogers, Eddie Rosario and Byron Buxton. Jon Heyman of MLB Network followed up with salary terms (all links to Twitter). May earns $2,205,000; Rogers takes home $4.45MM; Rosario lands at $7.75MM; and Buxton receives $3.075MM. While the first and last of those land rather close to the projected amount, Rogers got $550K more and Rosario got $1.15MM less than the calculators predicted.
  • Shortstop Carlos Correa settled with the Astros for $8MM, per MLB.com’s Brian McTaggart (via Twitter). Righty Brad Peacock lands at a $3.9MM salary, per Chandler Rome of the Houston Chronicle (Twitter link). The former went for more than his $7.4MM projection, while the latter ended up shy of the $4.6MM mark produced by the computers. The ’Stros also have agreed with closer Roberto Osuna as well, per an announcement. It’s a $10MM deal, slotting in just $200K shy of his projection, per Rome (via Twitter).
  • The Orioles have a deal with outfielder/first baseman Trey Mancini, Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com tweets. It’s for $4.75MM, per Dan Connolly of The Athletic (via Twitter), well south of the $5.7MM projection.
  • Outfielder Jorge Soler has agreed to a $7.3MM deal with the Royals, MLB.com’s Jeffrey Flanagan tweets. That’s well off of the $11.2MM that MLBTR’s model projected, though it is likely that the cause of the gulf lies in the interpretation of the correct baseline to start from in building Soler’s salary. He’s in the 4+ service class but had been playing on the original deal he signed out of Cuba.
  • The Tigers have a deal in place with southpaw Matthew Boyd, per Anthony Fenech of the Detroit Free Press (via Twitter). It’ll pay him $5.3MM, per Chris McCosky of the Detroit News (Twitter link). That falls comfortably below the $6.4MM, suggesting that Boyd’s camp was concerned with the way his suboptimal ERA would play in the arb process. Fellow lefty starter Daniel Norris will earn $2.96MM, McCosky tweets.

Earlier Settlements

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Rangers Notes: Gallo, Pitching, Gardewine, Petricka

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The latest out of Arlington…

  • Joey Gallo will start game-simulation workouts on Monday with the hope of being back from his oblique strain as early as next weekend, though the team will surely be as cautious as possible with the star slugger.  With Gallo on the verge of a return and Willie Calhoun even closer to completing his own injured list stint, Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News and T.R. Sullivan of MLB.com both address how the Rangers will handle this incoming glut of outfield/DH possibilities.  Gallo had largely been playing center field at the time of his injury, but since the defensively-superior Delino DeShields has been hitting well in Gallo’s absence, manager Chris Woodward made it clear that “if DeShields is on the team, Delino will play center.”  This leaves Sullivan thinking that Gallo will play in left field when he returns, though such a deployment would mean one of Hunter Pence, Shin-Soo Choo, or Nomar Mazara would have to sit every day, as the other two players would handle right field and DH duties.  Grant notes that Gallo would be slotted in at first base since Ronald Guzman is optionable and isn’t hitting particularly well, though Woodward has hinted that he would prefer not to switch Gallo back to first base (his former position) in midseason.
  • “We’ve probably pursued every starting pitching depth option out there,” Rangers assistant GM Shiraz Rehman told reporters, including Grant and Sullivan.  “We’ve talked with a lot of clubs, but they are concerned about their depth, too. They need pitchers, also.”  Aside from Mike Minor’s ace-like performance and some solid work from Lance Lynn, the Rangers haven’t received much out of their rotation this season beyond some decent (but likely unsustainable) efforts from Adrian Sampson and Ariel Jurado, leaving Texas looking for controllable starting help as they both look ahead to their long-term plans while seeing if the team can stay afloat in the wild card race this season.  Grant suggested that the Marlins’ Hector Noesi and the Giants’ Ty Blach could fit what the Rangers are looking for in the short term — experienced pitchers throwing at Triple-A, and potentially acquirable from teams that aren’t in the pennant race, and thus more apt to let such veterans go to a team that would offer them a Major League opportunity.
  • One familiar arm could be back in the pitching mix, as Rehman said that the team is trying to re-sign Nick Gardewine after releasing the right-hander earlier this week.  Gardewine has spent much of the season on the Triple-A injured list, and thus couldn’t be put through outright waivers after being designated for assignment, hence his release to create a 40-man roster spot.  Gardewine has a 3.71 ERA, 3.12 K/BB rate, and 8.8 K/9 over 323 innings in the minors, plus 13 innings for the Rangers over the 2017-18 seasons.
  • The recently-acquired Jake Petricka has been on the Rangers’ radar for a while, as Sullivan reports that the team was interesting in signing the right-hander to a minor league deal during the offseason.  Petricka instead opted for a split contract with the Brewers, and appeared in six games for Milwaukee in April before being outrighted off the team’s 40-man roster.

Rangers Notes: Minor, Leclerc, DeShields

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Entering the season, it looked like a foregone conclusion that the Rangers would make Mike Minor available on the summer trade market, but their 31-28 record and current presence in the thick of the AL Wild Card picture has muddied things, writes Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News. At the very least, despite the fact that Minor is 31 years old and signed through 2020, the Rangers will have to at least explore the possibility of extending him, Grant surmises. At present, the team is in a strong position regardless; it’s easy to point to their record and proximity to a Wild Card spot in telling other clubs that they’d need to be blown away to consider a move. And if they’re able to sustain this play through late July, of course, then Minor will become a vital piece to a more legitimate push toward an unexpected playoff berth.

Minor, through 81 1/3 innings this year, has a 2.55 ERA with 9.6 K/9, 2.9 BB/9 and 0.89 HR/9. As Grant notes, his dominance actually extends back into 2018, when he closed out the year with a terrific 17-start stretch. About two thirds of respondents in last week’s MLBTR poll on Minor’s future felt the organization should trade him; they’ve gone 4-2 in the six games since.

Here’s more out of Arlington…

  • Minor himself addressed the situation when talking with Jeff Wilson of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, acknowledging that he keeps up with trade rumors throughout the year. Minor feels that it’d be a mistake to make such a move with the Rangers playing well and voiced confidence that the team can continue to keep pace in its push for a postseason bid. “I know something could happen, but my honest opinion is if they do trade me, they’re going to go out there and buy a bunch of free agents this off-season,” said Minor. “Unless they’re getting young, controllable guys back.”
  • Jose Leclerc is “getting close” to reclaiming the ninth-inning role, manager Chris Woodward said again this week (link via Wilson). Leclerc had an absolutely awful start to the season due to shaky control, but over the past month he’s notched a 1.76 ERA with a ridiculous 28-to-6 K/BB ratio in 15 1/3 innings of work (16.4 K/9). “I just love the kid so much,” said Woodward of Leclerc. “He wants to win so bad. He’s willing to do whatever we ask. He’s been pitching lights out. Just the command with his fastball and getting the weird swings with his changeup. Yeah, it’s getting close.”
  • Delino DeShields connected with a walk-off single to cap a four-hit showing last night, and Wilson’s piece also looks at his chances of sticking on the roster. Woodward feels that DeShields’ swing “looks so much better and more efficient” after a brief reset in the minors. DeShields is getting another look at the moment due to injuries sustained by Joey Gallo and Willie Calhoun, but Texas will eventually have that trio, the resurgent Hunter Pence, Shin-Soo Choo and Nomar Mazara all in the mix for outfield and DH at-bats, creating a bit of a logjam. DeShields still needs to demonstrate that he can have some prolonged success, of course, but he’s off to a nice start in trying to force his way back into the mix. Notably, Wilson adds that Calhoun could begin a minor league rehab assignment next week.

Rangers Place Willie Calhoun On IL, Recall Delino DeShields

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The Rangers announced today that outfielder Willie Calhoun is heading to the 10-day injured list with a strained left quadriceps. He’ll be replaced on the active roster by fellow outfielder Delino DeShields.

It’s inopportune timing for the 24-year-old Calhoun, who just got a long-awaited promotion back to the majors. He has been in good form since coming up, slashing .435/.458/.739 with a pair of long balls in two dozen plate appearances.

There’s no reason to think the injury will be more than a speed bump for Calhoun, who was the headlining prospect of the 2017 Yu Darvish trade. But he hadn’t really thrived in his new organization since that swap, struggling especially in limited opportunities at the game’s highest level. Calhoun earned his way back up with a strong beginning to the season at Triple-A.

DeShields was demoted earlier this month after another rough showing at the plate. He just hasn’t hit enough since the start of the 2018 season to warrant a steady MLB roster spot, though his speed and defense remain appealing tools. DeShields wasn’t exactly tearing the cover off of the ball at Triple-A, with a .211/.318/.421 slash in 44 plate appearances since going down, though that was an improvement over his major league output.

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