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Quick Hits: Walker, Glasnow, Dodgers

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Top Cardinals prospect Jordan Walker left today’s spring training game against the Astros with a shoulder strain suffered while sliding into second base, according to MLB.com’s John Denton (Twitter links).  The team is listing Walker as day-to-day and he’ll be re-evaluated tomorrow, but manager Oli Marmol said the team’s medical staff is “not overly concerned,” and that Walker even wanted to keep playing.

The 20-year-old Walker has been on fire in Spring Training, raising speculation that he could break camp with St. Louis and make his Major League debut on Opening Day. The 21st overall pick back in 2020, Walker has crushed minor league pitching and wound up with a .306/.388/.510 line slash with 19 home runs at Double-A last year. It remains to be seen how Walker’s shoulder problem might impact his immediate future or the Cards’ development plans, though since Walker has yet to play any Triple-A ball, there was some sense that he might not break camp with the Cards no matter how well he performs in spring action.

More from around the majors….

  • Rays manager Kevin Cash provided reporters (including Kristie Ackert of the Tampa Bay Times) an update on Tyler Glasnow, saying that the right-hander is still in the “treatment” phase of his recovery from a Grade 2 oblique strain.  Glasnow hasn’t thrown a ball in almost two weeks, which tracks with the 6-to-8 week timeline initially attached to his recovery process.
  • The Dodgers don’t see having a set closer as “a necessity,” president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman told reporters, including Bill Plunkett of the Orange County Register.  “I think the most important question to answer is whether you think our ‘pen is going to be really good, and we do,” Friedman said.  “And then it’s about the mindset of each one of those guys, keeping them in the best headspace to go out and have a lot of success…. I think our bullpen is going to be a real strength and exactly how it’s deployed, I think we have some time to figure it out.”  Evan Phillips might be the key figure as the bullpen’s fireman, though as manager Dave Roberts hinted, Phillips’ ability to pitch in all manner of high-leverage situations might conversely make him too important to be restricted to just the ninth inning.  Brusdar Graterol, Daniel Hudson, Caleb Ferguson, or Alex Vesia are also among the relievers who could be called upon for save situations.

Dodgers Remove Craig Kimbrel From Closer Role

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The Dodgers are going to take a closer-by-comittee approach for the remainder of the regular season, manager Dave Roberts informed reporters (including Fabian Ardaya of the Athletic). Craig Kimbrel will pitch in different roles while the club takes a variable approach to the ninth inning based on matchups.

Roberts didn’t guarantee he’d stick with the committee approach through the playoffs, although it’s hard to envision the Dodgers removing Kimbrel from the closing role for the final 12 regular season games before reinstalling him in the ninth at the start of the postseason. The decision comes in the wake of a dip in production for the eight-time All-Star, who has surrendered runs in three of his last four outings. That includes a game-tying homer to Christian Walker to blow a save opportunity yesterday against the Diamondbacks. The Dodgers walked off in the bottom of the ninth inning anyhow, but the blown lead finalized the team’s decision to take a more flexible approach with the playoffs on the horizon.

Kimbrel is in his first season as a Dodger. Acquired from the White Sox in a surprising one-for-one swap with AJ Pollock just before Opening Day, he’s made 57 appearances. Kimbrel certainly hasn’t been disastrous. He owns a 4.14 ERA across 54 1/3 innings, striking out an above-average 27.2% of opponents. His 9.6% walk rate is a bit higher than the league mark but not an untenable figure. He has successfully closed out 22 of his 27 save attempts. The right-hander’s overall production has been fine if unspectacular.

Nevertheless, Kimbrel clearly hasn’t performed at the level at which the Dodgers were hoping. The 34-year-old was arguably the best reliever in the game through last season’s first half with the Cubs. While he disappointed following a deadline trade to the White Sox — largely due to home run troubles — he still generated whiffs on an excellent 17.2% of his offerings with the South Siders. That led to some hope Kimbrel could continue pitching at an elite level in a new environment, but this season’s 12.1% swinging strike rate is only a bit better than average.

Taking Kimbrel out of the ninth inning should allow Roberts to be more judicious with his usage once the postseason arrives. Maximizing his work against right-handed hitters figures to be a priority. Kimbrel has held same-handed batters to a .208/.296/.307 line across 115 plate appearances this season; lefties, on the other hand, have managed a much more robust .266/.355/.431 showing in 124 trips.

The White Sox picked up a $16MM option on Kimbrel for this season before trading him to L.A. He’s in the final few weeks of that deal and will hit free agency for the second time in his career this offseason. In the interim, he’ll remain part of one of the game’s top relief corps.

That the Dodgers feel equipped to take the career-long closer out of the ninth inning is a testament to the strength of the remainder of their bullpen. Los Angeles enters play Friday with the majors’ second-lowest bullpen ERA (2.94) and fourth-best strikeout percentage (26.5%). Evan Phillips, a waiver claim from the Rays last August, almost immediately emerged as one of the best relievers in the game. The slider specialist has a 1.24 ERA with a 31.8% strikeout rate over 58 innings during his breakout campaign. Flamethrowing sinkerballer Brusdar Graterol has ridden a massive 63.5% ground-ball percentage to a 2.96 ERA. Deadline acqusition Chris Martin has a 1.71 mark with a laughable 26:1 strikeout-to-walk ratio since landing in Los Angeles. Southpaw Alex Vesia has the bullpen’s best strikeout rate (34.6%) and a 2.24 ERA in 51 2/3 frames.

That quartet looks likeliest to assume the highest-leverage work in the playoffs. Roberts can also call upon Kimbrel, Phil Bickford and Tommy Kahnle from the right side, while Caleb Ferguson and the rehabbing David Price are left-handed options. Yency Almonte has had a nice season of his own and is on a rehab assignment with Triple-A Oklahoma City, and there’s still a possibility of Blake Treinen making a playoff return (although Treinen is currently on the injured list and continues to battle shoulder discomfort).

Dodgers Remove David Price, Billy McKinney For NLCS

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The Dodgers narrowly survived a five-game tilt with their rival Giants, but now they must quickly turn the page and prepare for a seven-game NLCS rematch with the Atlanta Braves. Unfortunately for Dodger fans, the club will continue without star first baseman Max Muncy. The injury the knocked Muncy out of the lineup in game 162 will keep him out at least through the World Series.

Here’s how the rest of the roster breaks down for the NLCS…

Right-Handed Pitchers

Left-Handed Pitchers

Catchers

Infielders

Outfielders

The most notable subtraction from the NLDS roster is southpaw David Price. He’s essentially replaced on the roster by the southpaw Bruihl. Though Price was on the NLDS roster, he did not appear in a game against the Giants. Bruihl provided the Dodgers with a more traditional bullpen lefty while giving up the potential length provided by Price. The veteran Price has plenty of postseason experience, whereas Bruihl is a 24-year-old rookie with just 21 big league games under his belt.

Regardless, it will be Bruihl in the bullpen alongside Vesia preparing for showdowns with Freddie Freeman, Eddie Rosario, or Joc Pederson. Bruihl faced 43 lefties over his 18 1/3 Major League innings, compared to just 30 right-handers. Those same-handed hitters struggled to a .150/.209/.150 mark with just six hits – none for extra bases. Of course, Freeman is usually protected in the lineup by righty Austin Riley, and with the three-batter rule, Bruihl likely won’t escape usage against opposite-handed hitters if he makes an appearance.

They also removed outfielder/first baseman Billy McKinney from the roster. The well-traveled McKinney had mostly been used as a late game replacement at first base. With Beatty, Pujols, and Bellinger on the roster, however, that’s a role the Dodgers should have no trouble filling. Manager Dave Roberts likely trusts both Beatty and Bellinger at first late in games, depending on what the match-ups at the plate dictate.

What is interesting is that the Dodgers chose to add an additional pitcher for this round. Right-hander Evan Phillips will give Roberts another arm with which to mix-and-match. They now have 13 pitchers and 13 position players. Phillips, 27, is a well-traveled righty who has logged innings in his professional career with the Braves, Orioles, Rays, and Dodgers. He made one appearance with Tampa this season before being claimed off waivers by the Dodgers. He appeared seven times down the stretch for the Dodgers, logging more than one inning in five of those seven outings.

The decision to remove McKinney and add Phillips leaves Roberts with a five-man bench. Most days, Pujols, Barnes, Beatty, Souza Jr., and Lux will be available to Roberts off the bench.

As for the rotation, the Dodgers are going with a bullpen game in game one, with Knebel serving as the opener, just as he did in game five against the Giants. Scherzer and Buehler should line up for games two and three.

Dodgers Designate Conner Greene For Assignment

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The Dodgers announced they’ve designated Conner Greene for assignment. The move clears space on the 40-man roster for Shane Greene, whose previously-reported agreement with the club has been made official. Evan Phillips has been placed on the 10-day injured list with a right quad strain to open room on the active roster.

Los Angeles just added Conner Greene off waivers from the Orioles two weeks ago. They could now stand to lose him after just a pair of big league outings, as the 26-year-old will find himself on the waiver wire again over the coming days. He’s made his first five MLB appearances between Baltimore and L.A. this season, tossing 5 2/3 innings of six-run ball but striking out seven while issuing only a single walk. Greene struggled over a much larger body of work with the O’s top affiliate in Norfolk, where he posted a 7.39 ERA with worse than average strikeout and walk rates (20.4% and 12.4%, respectively).

Obviously, Greene hasn’t gotten the results he’s desired so far in 2021. But he’s averaged just under 96 MPH on his fastball during his big league action and generated strong swinging strike rates at both the major league and minor league levels. He’s also a former well-regarded prospect who ranked among the Blue Jays’ most promising farmhands during his earlier days in the Toronto system. Greene still has a minor league option remaining, so any team that claims him could keep him in the high minors through the end of the season.

Dodgers Claim Evan Phillips

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The Dodgers have claimed right-hander Evan Phillips off waivers from the Rays, tweets Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic. Tampa Bay designated Phillips for assignment over the weekend. The Dodgers later formally announced the claim.

Phillips, 26, came up with a big three-inning save for Tampa Bay over the weekend, helping to spare the bullpen and give some of the rest of the relief corps some needed rest. Baseball is often a numbers game for players on the fringes of 40-man rosters, however, and Phillips was reminded of that when he was designated for assignment the very next day. He’ll now join the Dodgers, who’ll be his third organization of the season in addition to the Rays and the Orioles.

Phillips has shown considerable strikeout potential in past MLB stints with the O’s but has also given up far too many walks to remain effective. From 2019-20, Phillips pitched 42 1/3 frames with the O’s and fanned 28.7 percent of his opponents but also walked about 14.4 percent of them. Between that and a sky-high .398 average on balls in play, he was knocked around for a 5.95 ERA in that time.

This season in Triple-A, Phillips worked to a 5.04 ERA with the Orioles’ top affiliate, but he also whiffed 35 hitters in 25 frames. He was sharp in 3 1/3 Triple-A frames with the Rays and was clearly impressive in his lone MLB appearance of the season so far. He averaged 96 mph on his heater in that brief look with the Rays and has a track record of generating whiffs with a slider that possesses above-average spin rates, too.

Phillips is out of minor league options, so it could potentially be a quick run for him with the Dodgers, too, given their own penchant for frequent turnover on the fringes of the MLB roster, but he’ll first hope for a chance to make any such decisions more difficult for the organization.

Rays Designate Evan Phillips For Assignment, Select Adam Conley

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The Rays have designated Evan Phillips for assignment and selected the contract of Adam Conley, per Marc Topkin of The Tampa Bay Times.

Phillips was released by the Orioles August 2nd and then signed a minor league deal with the Rays the very next day. After getting into two games with the Durham Bulls, the righty then had his contract selected by the Rays on Thursday. He pitched three innings in Friday’s game against the Twins, allowing one run on three hits and striking out two.

As for Conley, the 31-year-old lefty spent five seasons with the Marlins from 2015 to 2019. He worked primarily as a starter for the first three seasons before transitioning to a bullpen role for the latter two. In total, he tallied 414 1/3 innings during that stretch with an ERA of 4.82. In 2020, Conley was  designated for assignment by the Marlins and outrighted without appearing in a game.

The Rays added Conley on a minor league deal back in May. In 31 Triple-A innings this year, he has an ERA of 4.35, including a spike in strikeouts but also walks. His 14.1% walk rate is higher than any previous season at any level, whereas his 26.6% strikeout rate tops all previous stops since his stint in A-ball way back in 2012.

Rays Select Evan Phillips

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The Rays announced Thursday that they’ve selected the contract of righty Evan Phillips. Lefty Dietrich Enns was optioned to Triple-A Durham to open a spot on the active roster. Tampa Bay had an open 40-man spot, so an additional corresponding move was needed.

Phillips, 26, recently inked a minor league deal with the Rays and will give the club a fresh arm to keep the bullpen fresh. He’s shown considerable strikeout potential in past MLB stints with the Orioles but has also given up far too many walks to remain effective. From 2019-20, Phillips pitched 42 1/3 frames with the O’s and fanned 28.7 percent of his opponents but also walked about 14.4 percent of them. Between that and a sky-high .398 average on balls in play, he was knocked around for a 5.95 ERA in that time.

This will be Phillips’ first big league stint of the season. He’s split the year between the Triple-A clubs for Baltimore and Tampa Bay, working to a 4.76 ERA in 28 1/3 innings. He’s spent parts of four seasons in Triple-A, compiling a 3.67 ERA with a 27.6 percent strikeout rate and a 10.7 percent walk rate. He averages just shy of 95 mph with his heater and also features a mid-80s slider and lesser used changeup (also clocked in the mid-80s).

Rays Sign Evan Phillips To Minor League Deal

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The Rays have signed reliever Evan Phillips to a minor league deal, according to Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic. This is a quick bounceback for Phillips, as he was one of three players released by the Orioles yesterday.

Phillips has been shuffling between Triple-A and the big leagues over the past few years. Since the start of the 2018 season, he’s pitched 54 innings at the MLB level, with a bloated 7.50 ERA, although advanced metrics are kinder. (5.33 FIP and 5.22 xFIP.) The 25.4% strikeout rate is okay, though it’s come with an unpalatable 14.9 walk rate. But his minor league numbers are much better in that timeframe: a 3.41 ERA over 116 innings, with an excellent 31.5% strikeout rate. The walk rate is better but still high at 10%.

The 26-year-old will now report to Triple-A and see if he can work his way back to the majors over the final months of the season.

Orioles Release Three Players

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The Orioles released reliever Evan Phillips, reports Dan Connolly of the Athletic (Twitter link). Baltimore is also moving on from reliever Cody Carroll and first baseman/corner outfielder Chris Shaw, according to Rich Dubroff of Baltimore Baseball (on Twitter). All three players had already been outrighted off the 40-man roster, so they’ll hit the open market and presumably pursue minor league deals elsewhere.

Phillips appeared in the big leagues every season from 2018-20. He broke in with the Braves and was moved to Baltimore as part of the deadline deal that sent Kevin Gausman to Atlanta. The righty has a 7.50 ERA over 54 big league innings. The 26-year-old has punched out a solid 25.4% of opponents at the highest level but has walked an elevated 14.9% of batters faced. Phillips tossed 25 innings of 5.04 ERA ball with Triple-A Norfolk this season.

Carroll came over from the Yankees in the Zack Britton trade a week before Phillips joined the organization. He’s tossed 19 innings of 13.74 ERA/5.77 SIERA ball in the majors and posted a 5.57 ERA over 21 frames for Norfolk this year. The 28-year-old has racked up plenty of strikeouts in the minors but struggled with walks and has had trouble keeping the ball in the yard against high-level hitters.

Shaw might be the most notable name of the bunch, as he’s a former first-round draft pick of the Giants. The big left-handed hitter posted strong numbers throughout his minor league career but didn’t play well over a scattered 82 MLB plate appearances with San Francisco from 2018-19. Baltimore claimed the 27-year-old off waivers last November, but he spent a good chunk of this season on the minor league injured list and didn’t hit over a brief 50 plate appearance look with the Tides upon his return last month.

Orioles Outright Evan Phillips

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The Orioles announced Wednesday that right-hander Evan Phillips has cleared waivers and been assigned outright to Triple-A Norfolk. Baltimore’s 40-man roster is down to 36 players.

Phillips, 26, was acquired in the 2018 trade that sent Kevin Gausman and Darren O’Day to the Braves. He’s been up and down with the O’s since that trade, pitching to a 7.36 ERA with an impressive 65 strikeouts (12.3 K/9) but an alarming 36 walks (6.8 BB/9) through 47 2/3 frames as a member of the Baltimore ’pen.

Control issues have been a problem even in the upper minors, although Phillips does also own a 3.41 ERA and 10.8 K/9 in 121 Triple-A innings. Phillips sits a bit north of 94 mph with his heater but doesn’t possess the type of high-end spin rate or swinging-strike rates on the pitch one would expect from a pitcher with his strikeout rates.

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