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Braves Option Vaughn Grissom, Braden Shewmake

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The Braves will option infielders Vaughn Grissom and Braden Shewmake to Triple-A, reports Mark Bowman of MLB.com. Both had been in line for the Opening Day shortstop job in Atlanta, but it seems that will now go to Orlando Arcia. David O’Brien of The Athletic relays that Arcia will get the starting gig with Ehire Adrianza as the utility infielder. Adrianza is not currently on the 40-man roster. The Braves subsequently announced the moves as part of a larger batch of roster cuts, including outfielders Jordan Luplow, Eli White and right-hander Nick Anderson.

The Braves went into this offseason with a shortstop vacancy for the first time in years, as Dansby Swanson has held down that job since late 2016. Swanson reached free agency this offseason and was considered one of the “Big Four” shortstops, alongside Carlos Correa, Trea Turner and Xander Bogaerts. Despite that robust class of shortstops, Atlanta seemingly had little interest in either re-signing Swanson or going after anyone else. Eventually, the offseason came and went with the club’s big move being the trade for catcher Sean Murphy, who was later extended.

It seemed the club was satisfied with its internal shortstop options, with Grissom and Arcia the favorites for the role. Grissom had made his debut last year when he was just 21 years old, largely filling in at second base for the injured Ozzie Albies. He hit well in his first 156 plate appearances, producing a batting line of .291/.353/.440 for a wRC+ of 121. However, that may have been buoyed by a red hot start, as he hit .347/.398/.558 through September 7 but just .174/.264/.196 after.

Nonetheless, it was an encouraging start for such a young player and the club seemed to be a big believer in his abilities. Though he largely played second in his MLB debut, he was a shortstop in the minors. But that didn’t mean moving back to the other side of the bag was an obvious choice, as prospect evaluators had long raised questions about his ability to stick at short. It seems the club decided it was worth pursuing regardless of those concerns, as they tasked coach Ron Washington with working on Grissom’s shortstop defense this offseason. President of baseball operations Alex Anthopoulos discussed the situation in January, after Swanson had signed with the Cubs.

“I can see how the scouting community might have questions about Vaughn. I had questions about Vaughn when I first saw him,” Anthopoulos said (link via Justin Toscano of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution). “And I’ve been wrong plenty of times. The difference is we have a guy in Ron Washington who’s unbelievable with this stuff. He wouldn’t just say something to say it. … And, look, we don’t know how Vaughn’s going to hit. He’s got to earn the job. Orlando Arcia can do it, too. But Wash really believes in Vaughn. We believe in Vaughn, too, but we’re going to go with who we think the expert in that area is, and I don’t know anybody better in the game than Ron.”

For most of the winter, it seemed it would be a two-horse race for the job between Grissom and Arcia, but there was a late charge from Shewmake. It was reported just yesterday that Shewmake’s hot spring was making things interesting. His prospect profile was essentially the inverse of Grissom’s, as his glovework is graded much stronger than his bat. But he hit .323/.382/.452 in spring action and seemed to give himself some momentum to take the job.

However, it now seems that neither of the youngsters will get the job, at least here at the end of spring. With Grissom and Shewmake both getting optioned today, it seems they’ve decided to go with the veteran in Arcia. Though he is more established, with 642 games of major league experience, there’s still risk with the 28-year-old. He’s coming off a fairly solid season as the club’s utility infielder, hitting .244/.316/.416 for a wRC+ of 104. However, the rest of his work at the plate is less impressive, as he had hit .242/.293/.363 coming into the year for a wRC+ of 70. He also hasn’t had a full-time shortstop gig since 2019, when defensive metrics gave him poor reviews and he was pushed into a utility role over the past three years.

This is merely a temporary move and the club could quickly call up Grissom or Shewmake early on in the season. However, it’s still a surprising result given the club’s recent history. They’ve shown a strong willingness to be aggressive with their young players, with both Grissom and Michael Harris II skipping Triple-A last year, going straight from Double-A to the bigs. The club then avoided free agents all winter, seeming to have little interest in either the marquee players or even a modest deal for someone like Elvis Andrus. It seems they’ve decided Grissom and Shewmake need more time and are now left with Arcia as their top option at short, at least for the time being.

The move could have service time implications for the younger players, as Shewmake’s clock has yet to start ticking and Grissom has a tally of 57 days. Whether either of them can reach the one-year mark this season will depend upon how long they eventually spend in the minors. It’s possible to earn a full year of service time even while spending time in the minors if a youngster finishes in the top two of Rookie of the Year balloting, but they also have to appear at least two preseason Top 100 prospect lists at Baseball America, ESPN or MLB Pipeline. Neither Grissom or Shewmake are on any of those three lists at the moment.

With Arcia securing the starting gig, Adrianza will apparently need to be added to the roster to take the backup infield job. He hit just .175/.264/.206 last year but is capable of playing any position other than catcher.

Turning to the other moves, Luplow and White were both in contention for a job backing up the starting outfield trio of Ronald Acuña Jr., Eddie Rosario and Harris. They seem to have been bumped out of that contest, at least for Opening Day. That perhaps will allow Sam Hilliard and Kevin Pillar to secure jobs on the bench. Nick Anderson was in the running for a bullpen job but will start the season in the minors.

Atlanta will need to make some roster moves in the wake of all this, but they may have already gotten a head start on that. Neither of Adrianza or Pillar are on the roster and it looks like the fifth starter job will go to one of Dylan Dodd or Jared Shuster, with neither of them being on the roster either. However, they recently opened a couple of spots when they lost Dennis Santana on waivers to the Twins and outrighted Jackson Stephens. They can also open a couple more by transferring Huascar Ynoa and Tyler Matzek to the 60-day IL, with both pitchers likely out for the season due to Tommy John surgery.

Braves Designate Rylan Bannon For Assignment

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The Braves announced this evening they’ve designated infielder Rylan Bannon for assignment. The move opens a 40-man roster spot for Nick Anderson, who has been signed to a one-year contract as previously reported.

Bannon has moved around the league over the past couple months. A longtime Orioles farmhand, he was designated for assignment by Baltimore in early August. He moved to the Dodgers and Braves in rapid succession via waivers. He didn’t play in the majors with L.A. and only suited up once for Atlanta, appearing as a late-game defensive substitution. Bannon only has five games of big league experience overall, but he’s attracted interest from a number of teams as infield depth.

A Xavier University product, he put together a .249/.367/.421 line over 411 Triple-A plate appearances this year. Bannon connected on 13 home runs and walked in a stellar 14.4% of his trips to the plate at that level. He punched out at a slightly elevated 24.3% clip, but he blended a very patient approach with decent power. The 26-year-old can’t play shortstop, though he’s capable of suiting up at either second or third base.

The Braves will now have a week to trade Bannon or look to run him through waivers. He still has a minor league option year remaining, so he could occupy a similar depth role he played this past season if another team is willing to hand him a 40-man roster spot.

Braves To Sign Nick Anderson

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The Braves are signing right-hander Nick Anderson, according to Jeff Passan of ESPN. It’s a split deal where Anderson will earn $875K in the big leagues and $180K in the minors.

Anderson, 32, was one of the best relievers in the league over 2019 and 2020. Splitting his time between the Marlins and Rays, he pitched 81 1/3 innings over those two campaigns. In that time, he had a combined 2.77 ERA, along with absurd rate stats, striking out 42.2% of batters faced while walking just 6.5% of them.

Anderson has faced his share of struggles over the past two years, however. He was diagnosed with a partial UCL tear during Spring Training in 2021. He made just six appearances before going on the IL and never returned. He underwent a UCL brace procedure in October of that year and didn’t return until August of 2022. Upon his return, the Rays kept him in the minors until plantar fasciitis ended his season.

Anderson was eligible for arbitration this year, with MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz projecting a contract of $845K, just a smidge above next year’s $720K league minimum. Despite that modest price point, the Rays were facing a roster crunch and decided to move on from Anderson. He was placed on waivers this week and cleared. Since he has over three years of MLB service time, he was eligible to elect free agency and did so.

For Atlanta, this is a low-risk, high-reward play. Anderson isn’t costing much, and would be huge value if he can rediscover his previous form. It’s possible that the injuries prevent him from reaching his previous heights, but in that scenario, they will have lost a small amount of money in MLB terms. If the gamble pays off, there will be long-term benefits, since Anderson could be retained for two more seasons via arbitration.

It’s possible Atlanta is facing an offseason of tight spending, despite five straight NL East titles. The club has never paid the competitive balance tax before, but their slew of contract extensions have pushed them close to the brink. The lowest CBT threshold for 2023 is $233MM, and the club is currently at $228MM, in the estimation of Roster Resource. It’s possible that the club is willing to pay the tax for the first time in order to retain Dansby Swanson at shortstop or else replace him. In the meantime, they’ve found a low-cost flier that could potentially help their bullpen.

Nick Anderson Clears Waivers, Elects Free Agency

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November 10: Anderson has cleared waivers and elected free agency, according to Bob Nightengale of USA Today.

November 9: The Rays have placed right-hander Nick Anderson on outright waivers, according to Jeff Passan of ESPN. The hard-throwing reliever no longer occupies a spot on Tampa Bay’s 40-man roster, and other clubs have an opportunity to add him if they’re willing to devote him a roster spot.

It’s certainly not the way the Rays envisioned Anderson’s tenure in the organization coming to a close. He had a breakout rookie season with the Marlins in 2019, and Tampa Bay flipped highly-touted outfielder Jesús Sánchez to Miami to add him at the deadline. Anderson posted a 2.11 ERA with a laughable 52.6% strikeout rate in 21 1/3 innings down the stretch. Anderson followed up with a 0.55 ERA across 16 1/3 innings during the shortened 2020 season, working as manager Kevin Cash’s most-trusted leverage arm in both of those years.

Unfortunately, Anderson’s form was diminished in the 2020 postseason. He had some forearm inflammation late in that season, proving a precursor to two years lost to injury. He was diagnosed with a partial UCL tear during Spring Training 2021. He appeared in only six games before going back on the IL. Last October, Anderson underwent a UCL brace procedure to repair his ligament. He was out until August, then suffered plantar fasciitis in his right foot late in the year.

Anderson’s 2022 season consisted of just 16 innings with Triple-A Durham. He put up a 5.63 ERA with a modest 17.4% strikeout rate, and that diminished form eventually led the Rays to cut bait.

With between three and four years of MLB service, Anderson is eligible for arbitration for the first time. He’s projected by MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz for just an $845K salary, barely above the league minimum. That could lead another team to take a look at a formerly elite bullpen arm via waivers. If Anderson were to go unclaimed, he’d have the right to refuse an outright assignment in favor of minor league free agency.

Rays Select Dusten Knight, Place Jalen Beeks On IL

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The Rays announced a series of roster moves prior to today’s game, selecting the contract of right-hander Dusten Knight. He will take the active roster spot of left-hander Jalen Beeks, who has been placed on the 15-day IL due to lower leg tightness, retroactive to September 18. To create room on the 40-man roster, right-hander Nick Anderson was recalled and placed on the 60-day IL due to plantar fasciitis.

The loss of Beeks will be a notable one for the Rays, as the southpaw has somewhat quietly been having an excellent season. After missing all of 2021 while recovering from Tommy John surgery, Beeks has thrown 61 innings here in 2022 with a 2.80 ERA, 28% strikeout rate, 8.8% walk rate and 45.8% ground ball rate. This is the second time he’s landed on the IL this year due to his leg and this one will keep him out of action until the final days of the regular season, at least.

Knight, 32, signed a minor league deal with the Rays in the offseason and has bounced on and off the roster since then. This is the third time the club has selected his contract, with the previous two instances resulting in him being designated for assignment before clearing waivers and being outrighted. He’s thrown eight innings in the big leagues with a 4.50 ERA but had a more substantial showing in Triple-A. He’s thrown 54 1/3 innings for the Bulls with a 3.48 ERA, 27.4% strikeout rate and 48.5% ground ball rate, but an unfortunate 13.7% walk rate.

The move for Anderson is a formality, as it had already been reported that he would miss the remainder of the season. By placing him on the 60-day IL, the Rays have freed up a roster spot for Knight but will now pay Anderson a major league salary for the final two weeks of the season, with Anderson also earning service time for that stretch.

Injury Notes: Anderson, Patiño, Brieske

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Tampa Bay Ray veteran reliever Nick Anderson’s 2022 season is officially over, as per Marc Topkin of Tampa Bay Times. One of the leaders of Tampa Bay’s famed relief corps will call 2022 a lost season, having dealt with a torn elbow ligament in March 2021 and, more recently, plantar fasciitis on his right foot. Anderson did make it back to Triple-A, but posted a 6.19 ERA in 16 innings and gave up 5 home runs in the small sample. This poor showing led the Rays to opt to keep him in Durham, despite their constant bullpen shuffling.

In the three prior seasons, including the 6 innings pitched in 2021, the righty has put up a dominant 2.89 ERA in 87 1/3 innings, with a high 39.6 K% and a low 6.7 BB%. The Rays still have control over Anderson for the next three years, but with his recent injury troubles, it will be interesting to see if they tender him a contract for the 2023 season.

Other injury updates from around the league…

  • Rays’ former top prospect Luis Patiño was scratched from his Triple-A start due to “right shoulder discomfort,” as reported by Topkin. Patiño has had a rough 2022 season, with the starter posting a 8.10 ERA in 20 innings, giving up 6 home runs and walking 13 batters. In Triple-A Patiño has fared better, pitching to a 4.38 ERA in 37 innings, which is more in line with the 4.31 ERA in 77 1/3 innings that he posted last season in the majors. Regardless, Patiño’s injury comes at a crucial time with the Rays looking to hold onto a wildcard spot, and any further impediments may bring his season to an early close.
  • Detroit Tigers’ rookie Beau Brieske, who has been on the injured list since August 10th with right forearm soreness, will look to the 2023 season. Tigers manager A.J. Hinch has announced that the starter will not pitch again this year, reported by Evan Woodbery of Michigan Live, with the club not wanting to “ramp him back up for just one start” after his first major league season. Brieske’s rookie season was largely productive, with the newcomer starting 15 games, tied for second-most among Tigers pitchers, and pitching to a 4.19 ERA in 81 2/3 innings.

Rays Reinstate, Option Nick Anderson; Designate Phoenix Sanders

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The Rays have reinstated right-hander Nick Anderson from the 60-day injured list and optioned him to Triple-A Durham, per broadcaster Neil Solondz. To create space on the active roster, fellow righty Phoenix Sanders was designated for assignment.

Anderson, 32, underwent elbow surgery in October 2021, a UCL brace procedure that was expected to keep him out of action until at least the middle of this year. As such, he’s been on the 60-day injured list since Spring Training.

The fact that he’s been optioned to the minors is somewhat surprising, given how excellent he was pitching before the injuries slowed him down. After being acquired from the Marlins in 2019, Anderson threw 21 1/3 innings for Tampa that year with a 2.11 ERA, striking out an incredible 52.6% of batters faced in that time while walking just 2.6%. He added another 5 2/3 innings in the postseason with a 1.59 ERA and  38.1% strikeout rate without issuing a single walk.

In 2020, Anderson landed on the IL for almost two weeks due to forearm inflammation. He was still incredibly effective when on the mound, however, throwing 16 1/3 innings with a 0.55 ERA, 44.8% strikeout rate and 5.2% walk rate. He added another 14 2/3 frames in the postseason, with the Rays going all the way to the World Series, though with diminished effectiveness.

In Spring Training 2021, he suffered a partial tear of his UCL but opted to rehab the issue instead of undergoing Tommy John surgery, on the advice of the Rays’ medical staff and renowned surgeon Dr. Keith Meister. He threw six innings that year before eventually going the surgical route at the end of the season.

He was able to return to the mound on a rehab assignment July 22, beginning in the Florida Complex League before joining the Triple-A Durham Bulls. He’s thrown 9 1/3 innings with a 6.75 ERA in that rehab assignment so far with a 23.1% strikeout rate and 7.1% walk rate. He had a much more palatable 3.86 ERA until his last outing, wherein he entered and faced just three batters, allowing two singles and a home run.

Rehab assignments for pitchers come with a maximum of 30 days, meaning the Rays had to activate him with that timeline expiring. His results during that rehab assignment are obviously a ways off from the form he showed in previous seasons, with that evidently being enough for the Rays to decide on giving him a bit more time to try to round into form. This will potentially have repercussions for Anderson from a service time perspective, as he came into this season with exactly three years in that department, putting him on track to reach the six years necessary for free agency after the 2024 season. Players on the 60-day IL continue to accrue MLB service time, meaning he’s added about 137 days to that total since Opening Day. But since 172 days are required to reach a full year, Anderson will come up short of the four-year mark unless he is quickly recalled and stays with the big league club down the stretch. If that doesn’t happen, it would push his free agency down the road another year. He qualified for arbitration for the first time this year and is earning a salary of $845MM, a bit above the $700K league minimum.

As for Sanders, 27, he’s spent his entire career with the Rays thus far, having been drafted by them in the 10th round in 2017. He was selected to the big league roster for the first time in April. He has split him time between Tampa and Durham this year, with better peripherals than results in the minors but the reverse in the majors. In 30 Triple-A innings, he has a 5.40 ERA with a 27.9% strikeout rate, 1.6% walk rate, .388 batting average on balls in play and 15.8% HR/FB rate. In the majors, he has thrown 14 2/3 innings with a 3.07 ERA, 21.1% strikeout rate, 5.3% walk rate, .286 BABIP and no homers. With the trade deadline having passed, the Rays will have to place him on either outright or release waivers in the coming days. Since he has never previously been outrighted and has less than three years’ service time, he will be unable to reject an outright assignment in the event he clears waivers.

Latest On Manuel Margot

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June 22: Cash provided a fairly positive update on Margot Wednesday, telling reporters the early testing results “are looking better than not” (Topkin link). He’s facing an extended absence in any event and a specific timetable won’t be known until the club has an official diagnosis, but Cash indicated Margot could still return this season.

June 21: Tampa Bay has placed both Margot and Kiermaier on the injured list. Infielder Jonathan Aranda is up for his Major League debut, and outfielder Luke Raley has been recalled as well.

Topkin tweeted this morning that the team expects Margot’s absence to be “significant,” and Jim Bowden of The Athletic suggests there are those in the organization who fear an ACL injury to Margot. The Rays announced that the results of Margot’s MRI are still pending and are continuing to refer to it as a “knee sprain” for the time being.

June 20: The Rays are likely to place outfielders Manuel Margot and Kevin Kiermaier on the 10-day injured list, manager Kevin Cash told reporters (including Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times). Both players made early exits from tonight’s loss to the Yankees, and Margot in particular seems to be facing an extended absence.

Margot had to be carted off the field in the top of the ninth inning. Playing right field, he leaped into the wall in pursuit of an Aaron Hicks fly ball. He landed awkwardly on his right knee after the collision and had to be carted off the field. Cash said after the game he’s been diagnosed with a knee sprain and ominously noted “it doesn’t look good.”

Kiermaier, meanwhile, departed after the second inning. The team later announced he was dealing with inflammation in his left hip, and that issue will apparently require he miss at least a week and a half. It marked the second time in five days that Kiermaier had to make an early exit, and while his latest issue is different than the Achilles inflammation that forced his departure last Wednesday, it’ll lead to an absence of some kind.

Needless to say, the loss of a couple regular outfielders will force Tampa Bay to dip into its depth. Randy Arozarena has started at designated hitter in each of the past two nights, but he’ll now head back to left field on a more or less everyday basis. Highly-regarded rookie Josh Lowe was recalled before tonight’s game after a six-week stint in Triple-A Durham. He figures to assume regular reps in either center or right field, but it remains to be seen how much of an offensive impact he’ll make. The 24-year-old has only a .179/.257/.328 line through his first 75 MLB plate appearances; he posted big numbers with the Bulls but also struck out at an alarming 31.2% rate in the minors.

Tampa Bay has a pair of out-of-options backup outfielders on the active roster in Brett Phillips and Harold Ramírez. Both players could assume larger roles with Margot and Kiermaier out, but each would probably be miscast as an everyday player. Phillips is an excellent defender but is hitting .172/.238/.291 with a 41.6% strikeout rate. Ramírez is performing at the plate (.297/.337/.386) but has rated as a well below-average defender throughout his career.

The Rays could turn to a loose platoon arrangement between the left-handed hitting Phillips and the righty-swinging Ramírez in right field with Lowe playing center, particularly if they anticipate Kiermaier’s absence being on the shorter side. Former Dodger Luke Raley is on the 40-man roster and hitting well in Durham, and he could be recalled to add some offense-first bench depth. It seems likely the club will at least poke around the market for potential external additions, though, considering the amount of uncertainty with each of Lowe, Phillips, Ramírez and Raley.

It has been a rough stretch for the Rays, who’ve been without their primary middle infield of Brandon Lowe and Wander Franco and their #1 backstop Mike Zunino for weeks. The losses of Margot and Kiermaier will leave the club without five of their regular position players, and it’s little surprise the team has sputtered of late. Tampa Bay has dropped six of their past seven games to fall to 36-31. They now sit a half-game back of the Red Sox for the final Wild Card spot in the American League.

The rough injury news wasn’t limited to what happened tonight, as Cash also provided a discouraging update on reliever Nick Anderson pregame. The right-hander has been on the IL all season after undergoing a UCL brace procedure last October. His initial recovery timeline suggested a possible return around the All-Star Break, but Cash said he’s still feeling elbow discomfort and will go for further evaluation tomorrow (Topkin link). More will obviously be known in the coming days, but it seems unlikely the 31-year-old will be back on a major league mound in the near future.

Rays Acquire Harold Ramirez From Cubs

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The Rays have acquired outfielder Harold Ramírez from the Cubs in exchange for minor league infielder Esteban Quiroz, according to announcements from both teams. Tampa Bay announced they’ve placed reliever Nick Anderson on the 60-day injured list to open space for Ramírez on the 40-man roster.

The move brings Ramírez’s Chicago tenure to an end before he ever suited up for the team. The Cubs acquired the right-handed hitting outfielder from the Guardians in exchange for cash in late November. That came after Cleveland had designated him for assignment in advance of Rule 5 protection day, part of an overhaul of more than a quarter of the Guardians’ 40-man roster.

While Ramírez didn’t play in a game with the Cubs, he has logged a fair bit of MLB action over the past few seasons. A former Blue Jays’ farmhand, Ramírez debuted in the majors with the Marlins in 2019. He hit .276/.312/.416 in 119 games as a rookie, but he missed almost all of the following season after suffering a severe hamstring strain. Cleveland picked him up off waivers in February and gave him 361 plate appearances, and his .268/.305/.398 line wasn’t much different than his 2019 performance.

The 27-year-old Ramírez has a career .271/.308/.405 mark in a bit more than 800 plate appearances. He makes a fair amount of contact, leading to a solid batting average. Yet he’s paired that with a minuscule 4% walk rate and a below-average .134 ISO (slugging minus average). Ramírez’s 47.2% hard contact percentage and 91.3 MPH average exit velocity were more impressive than those bottom line power numbers might suggest, but he negated a good bit of that batted ball authority by putting more than half his balls in play on the ground.

Ramírez adds an affordable option to the Tampa Bay outfield. He’ll play the 2022 campaign on just a $728K salary and is controllable via arbitration through 2025. The Rays could keep him around as a long-term piece, but he’s also out of minor league option years. That means Tampa Bay must either carry him on the active roster all season or DFA him themselves.

Whether Ramírez sticks long-term could be determined by what the Rays have planned for the coming weeks. The outfield is already pretty crowded, with Randy Arozarena, Kevin Kiermaier and Manuel Margot lined up as the projected starting group. Austin Meadows will see some time in the corners and at designated hitter, while the out-of-options Brett Phillips and top prospect Josh Lowe figure to be in the mix. It may be tough to carry both Phillips and Ramírez in depth capacities all season, but the former is a better defensive option off the bench. Ramírez has some experience in center field but is better suited for the corners.

Of course, it’s possible the Rays deal from the outfield logjam before the season. Meadows, in particular, has been floated in trade rumors since the lockout was lifted. The front office isn’t going to be pressured to deal one of their regulars because they picked up Ramírez in a minor trade, but today’s deal could be a preemptive move to bolster the outfield depth in case another swap on the horizon.

From the Cubs’ perspective, the pair of Ramírez trades essentially amounts to picking up Quiroz for cash. Despite never having appeared in the majors, Quiroz is actually a few years older than Ramírez. At 30 years old, the lefty-hitting infielder isn’t a prototypical prospect. Yet he has a long track record of performing well in both the Mexican League and in the high minors, one that has caught the attention of a handful of clubs.

Originally signed by the Red Sox out of Mexico, Quiroz was dealt to the Padres for Colten Brewer over the 2018-19 offseason. Tampa Bay picked him up in March 2020 as the player to be named later in the Tommy Pham, Jake Cronenworth, Hunter Renfroe deal. Listed at 5’6″, 199 pounds, he doesn’t have overwhelming physical tools. Yet Quiroz owns a .270/.391/.534 line in his Triple-A career, including a .268/.401/.526 mark with the Rays’ top affiliate in Durham last season. Quiroz won’t occupy a spot on the Cubs 40-man roster; he’ll presumably head to Triple-A Iowa and keep trying to earn an MLB debut.

Anderson’s placement on the 60-day IL was a formality whenever the Rays needed a roster spot. The righty underwent a UCL brace procedure last October that was always expected to keep him out of action past the All-Star Break.

AL East Notes: Anderson, Whitlock, Barnes

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Rays righty Nick Anderson, on the mend from surgery that installed a brace to stabilize a damaged ligament in his elbow, tells Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times that he’s progressing through rehab and currently throwing from 60 feet. The 31-year-old originally sustained a partial tear of his ulnar collateral ligament in Spring Training 2021 but opted for rehab rather than Tommy John surgery after both the Rays’ medical staff and renowned surgeon Dr. Keith Meister advised that course of treatment. He returned to the big leagues in September but didn’t look close to his 2019-20 form in doing so. Anderson acknowledged that had he initially opted for surgery, he might be in a better place, rehab-wise, than he currently is, but explained that the decision is never so easy.

“Obviously, looking back at it, I’m like, well, shoot, I should have just got cut open right away when I had the injury,” says Anderson. “That would have solved that and I would have been back like the beginning of this year. But what do you do? You don’t ever really know. You  just make a choice and roll with it, and hope it’s the right one.” Topkin notes that Anderson is expected back at some point in the middle of the 2021 season.

Some more from the division…

  • Red Sox right-hander Garrett Whitlock proved to be a sensational find in the 2020 Rule 5 Draft, emerging as a key reliever who helped fuel Boston’s return to the postseason in 2021. Whitlock, who’s been a starter for the majority of his career, tells Stan Grossfield of the Boston Globe that he enjoys starting and “love[s] the routine behind it and everything,” but he took a team-first approach in adding that the competitor in him will work in any role he’s asked. The Sox, however, clearly haven’t ruled out the possibility of Whitlock transitioning from the bullpen to the rotation at some point, though, as the right-hander himself explained. “They told me to come in prepared to be, like, fighting for a starting job, and they’ll reevaluate it from there,” says Whitlock. “So I’m going to build up and I’m going to go in and be as prepared as I can be.” The comments from Whitlock come amid a much lengthier profile of the right-hander — an interesting look at his back story and journey to the Majors, wherein he even opines that Tommy John surgery “saved his life” by giving him the needed downtime for valuable introspection and to get into a better place, mentally, than he had been previously.
  • Matt Barnes’ 2021 was a tale of two seasons, as the Red Sox righty pitched to a dominant 2.25 ERA with a 42% strikeout rate through his first 44 innings before his performance fell off a cliff. Barnes yielded a dozen runs, surrendered four homers and walked nine batters in his final 10 2/3 innings of the season — a stretch of 10.13 ERA ball that led to what would’ve previously been an unthinkable omission from the postseason roster. Barnes, who signed a two-year extension worth $18.75MM in the midst of that hot streak during July, spoke to Chris Cotillo of MassLive.com about the manner in which his season spiraled out of control and expressed confidence in a 2022 rebound. Barnes called it the “craziest year of his life” and a “perfect storm” of circumstances that led to his struggles, beginning with the development of some bad habits when he’d pitched quite a bit in a short period of time. He then missed more than two weeks after a positive Covid-19 test and feels he “ran out of time” to recalibrate and get back into form. He’s owed $7.25MM in 2022 and $7.5MM in 2023 before the Sox must decide on an $8MM option for 2024, so a return to the form he showed up through early August is particularly important for both Barnes and the club.
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