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AL Notes: ChiSox, Rays, Rangers, A’s

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Having lost 19 of 29, the struggling White Sox won’t rest on their laurels after acquiring right-hander James Shields on Saturday. General manager Rick Hahn said today that the Shields trade won’t be the team’s last move, noting that the Sox have the money and prospects to make more deals (Twitter link via Bruce Levine of 670 The Score). They could seek a left-handed bat and-or a setup man, according to Levine (Twitter link).

More from around the AL:

  • The last-place Rays aren’t ready to sell yet, but they could be “very active” in shopping players prior to the deadline if they don’t begin climbing up the standings, FOX Sports’ Ken Rosenthal reports. The Rays are deep in both pitching and outfielders, two areas that will be in demand, and infielder Steve Pearce could also draw plenty of interest. After a disappointing showing last season, Pearce has returned to his 2014 form in slashing .302/.389/.527 with eight home runs and nearly as many walks (18) as strikeouts (22) in 149 plate appearances. The 33-year-old, who’s on a palatable $4.75MM salary, is scheduled to become a free agent at season’s end.
  • The Rangers are likelier to use their assets to upgrade their pitching – both the rotation and bullpen – than make a deal for Brewers catcher Jonathan Lucroy, says Rosenthal. While no buyer has been connected to Lucroy more than the Rangers in recent months, their backstops have exceeded expectations this season and the injured Robinson Chirinos is nearing a return.
  • In other Rangers news, the team will make a concerted effort to get infielder Jurickson Profar more playing time if he continues performing well, writes Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News. “It’s important he plays,” president and general manager Jon Daniels said. “That doesn’t necessarily mean every day, but we want to keep him in the flow and keep him going.” The former elite prospect has collected 12 hits, including two home runs, in his first 33 plate appearances this year. If Profar continues holding his own, Prince Fielder, Mitch Moreland and Elvis Andrus will all be at risk of losing playing time.
  • Athletics right-hander Sonny Gray will start for the club Sunday after he made a quick recovery from the trapezius strain that forced him to the disabled list two weeks ago (via John Shea of the San Francisco Chronicle). Gray performed like an ace over his first two-plus seasons in the majors from 2013-15, but he got off to an uncharacteristically awful start this year before landing on the DL. Manager Bob Melvin attributes that, at least in part, to the injury. “A lot of the command issues stemmed from what was going on in his trap,” he said. “He wasn’t able to extend like he wanted to and had a little trouble commanding the baseball. So those issues are resolved.” Gray will now try to improve on the 6.19 ERA and 4.50 BB/9 he posted over his first nine starts (48 innings) of 2016.

Quick Hits: Pence, Kelly, Profar, Gray

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Giants right fielder Hunter Pence left tonight’s game after re-aggravating a hamstring injury that plagued him for much of the past two weeks, and he’s headed for an MRI in the morning, writes Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle. The extent of the injury won’t be known until tomorrow morning, but Pence was unable to even finish running to first base on a grounder to third base in the fourth inning. Pence is hitting .298/.375/.486 with seven homers in 208 trips to the plate this season, and any prolonged absence for him would be a tough pill for San Francisco to swallow. Were he to require a stint on the disabled list, he’d end up alongside fellow outfielder Angel Pagan, who is on the DL with the same injury. Jarrett Parker is already on the roster due to Pagan’s injury, and Mac Williamson is an obvious candidate to come up and fill Pence’s 25-man roster spot if necessary.

A few more notes from around the game…

  • The Red Sox optioned right-hander Joe Kelly to Triple-A following a brutal start against the Orioles on Wednesday. Kelly last just 2 2/3 innings and was tagged for seven earned runs on seven hits and three walks with just one strikeout. That difficult outing and an 8.46 ERA notwithstanding, Kelly was caught off-guard by the move, writes Tim Britton of the Providence Journal. “Obviously I didn’t see it coming,” the right-hander said. “I’m just going to go down there and try to continue to get better at commanding the baseball…. I’ve got to try to get my mechanics right and get that fastball command where it was a couple starts ago and to where it needs to be.” Manager John Farrell said that Kelly is “blessed with a golden arm and tremendous stuff” but lacks execution on his pitches. As Britton points out, Clay Buchholz struggled in relief on Wednesday, while Henry Owens, Sean O’Sullivan and Roenis Elias all have their own red flags about them. For the time being, Noe Ramirez is taking Kelly’s roster spot. Boston can skip the fifth spot in its rotation entirely the next time it comes up due to an off day on the schedule.
  • Jurickson Profar has been impressive while filling in for the suspended Rougned Odor, but Rangers manager Jeff Banister cast some doubt on whether he’ll remain with the club following Odor’s activation on June 4, as Jeff Wilson of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram writes. “In Jurickson’s case, I think the concern and need with him is the everyday process,” said Banister. “When you haven’t played every day for two years, getting the body back up to speed to play every day and continue to play every day, we need to make sure we monitor that.” Banister said that four games a week would be enough to keep Profar on the big league roster, but as Wilson writes, Texas isn’t keen on putting him in the outfield or at third base, and getting him four starts per week between the two middle infield positions and at DH could be tough. Profar went 2-for-5 with a double tonight and is hitting .357 since his recall from Triple-A.
  • Sonny Gray’s target date for a return to the Athletics’ rotation is June 10, writes Joe Stiglich of CSNBayArea.com. Gray is slated for a bullpen session Thursday and a rehab start on Saturday at Class-A Stockton, and assuming all goes well, his stay on the disabled list will be a fairly abbreviated one. Gray hit the DL back on May 22 with a strained trapezius muscle, and the A’s are undoubtedly hoping that some time off will help him return to form; Gray has logged a dismal 6.19 ERA this season while displaying the worst control of his career, averaging 4.5 walks per nine innings and unloading a league-high nine wild pitches through his first 48 innings of work.

Pitcher Notes: Buchholz, Boxberger, Gray, Wilson

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Red Sox right-hander Clay Buchholz is displeased with his demotion to the bullpen, writes Evan Drellich of the Boston Herald. Buchholz declined to talk to reporters for the second straight day and threw in a curse word as he walked away from them Saturday, according to Drellich. Manager John Farrell has left the door open for Buchholz to return to the rotation, saying, “While he might not like the current situation, that’s where we are. If he pitches to his talents and abilities, that role can potentially change.” Buchholz, 31, has been a solid starter for most of his career, but he put up a 6.35 ERA, 5.88 K/9 and 3.91 BB/9 in 56 2/3 innings in that role this year and will try to right the ship as a reliever.

Here’s more on a few other established pitchers:

  • The Rays will slowly transition reliever Brad Boxberger back into the closer role when he returns soon from core muscle surgery, manager Kevin Cash said (via Sam Blum of MLB.com). The righty led the American League in saves last year (41), but thanks to the brilliance of fill-in Alex Colome, the Rays haven’t missed him in the ninth inning. Nonetheless, Boxberger’s presence will aid a Rays bullpen that has been mediocre this year. In 137 2/3 innings from 2014-15, Boxberger compiled a 3.03 ERA, 12.55 K/9 (seventh among qualified relievers) and 3.67 BB/9.
  • Athletics right-hander Sonny Gray threw a 35-pitch first bullpen session Saturday – his first BP session since going on the disabled list last Sunday with a trapezius injury – per Jane Lee of MLB.com. Gray “feels good,” manager Bob Melvin said afterward, and could return on or shortly after June 5.
  • Two big-name Angels, southpaw C.J. Wilson and righty Tim Lincecum, are on similar timelines to make their major league debuts this year, tweets Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register. Wilson, who has been out all season with an injured left shoulder, will make his first of at least two starts with Triple-A Salt Lake City on Monday.
  • In case you missed it, the White Sox and Padres are discussing a James Shields trade.

Injury Notes: Jordan, Gray, Ross, Martin, Ottavino, Smith, Chirinos

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Nationals right-hander Taylor Jordan underwent Tommy John surgery yesterday, the team announced. It’s his second time undergoing a UCL replacement for the 27-year-old. Jordan burst onto the scene for the Nats in 2013, but has failed to maintain that promise at the major league level. He did have a strong season in the results department last year at Triple-A, though, and allowed just three earned runs in 15 2/3 innings in his first three starts of the 2016 campaign. Now, it’ll be at least a year or so before Jordan can try to get back on track.

Here’s more on some injury situations around the game:

  • Athletics staff ace Sonny Gray is readying to throw from a mound tomorrow, per Joe Stiglich of Comcast SportsNet California (via Twitter). It’s certainly good to hear that Gray feels good enough to begin working his way back from a trapezius issue, though his timeline remains completely unknown.
  • Padres skipper Andy Green says that righty Tyson Ross may be ready to begin throwing within one week’s time, as Dennis Lin of the San Diego Union-Tribune reports on Twitter. It’s been a slow process for Ross, as the Pads seek to ensure that his shoulder issues don’t worsen. While the trade deadline remains two months away, leaving some time to turn him back into a potentially valuable trade chip, it’s worth bearing in mind that Ross will need a full build-up and rehab stint before returning to the major league hill.
  • The Mariners have placed outfielder Leonys Martin on the 15-day DL today with a hamstring strain, the club announced. The team had believed he might avoid such an outcome altogether, so it doesn’t seem as if there’s any reason for significant concern. Stefen Romero will take Martin’s roster spot for the meantime. Martin, an offseason trade acquisition, had been off to an eye-opening .262/.339/.483 start at the plate for Seattle.
  • Rockies reliever Adam Ottavino is nearly ready to throw live batting practice, Nick Groke of the Denver Post reports on Twitter. He’s still working back from Tommy John surgery, but it’s encouraging to hear that his rehab could soon begin in earnest. Colorado, meanwhile, will no doubt be excited to look forward to receiving a return on the team’s investment in Ottavino over the winter.
  • Southpaw Will Smith is expected to return to the Brewers by next week, MLB.com’s Adam McCalvy tweets. That’s great news for Milwaukee, which has been without the excellent 26-year-old reliever all year long. He’ll join Jeremy Jeffress at the back of the pen — and, perhaps, on the trade block.
  • Rangers backstop Robinson Chirinos will begin a rehab stint tomorrow with hopes of returning to the majors on June 9, as MLB.com’s T.R. Sullivan was among those to tweet. Texas has been blessed with surprisingly productive starts from the catching position, but Chirinos had been expected to handle most of the duties before suffering a forearm fracture.

Pitcher Notes: Gray, Lincecum, Bucs, Rosenthal, BoSox

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Athletics manager Bob Melvin thinks the trapezius problem that forced Sonny Gray to the disabled list Sunday is at the root of the right-hander’s early season woes. “It’s like pitching with a rock in the bottom of your neck,” Melvin said (Twitter link via Joe Stiglich of CSNBayArea.com). If Gray had been pitching through the injury before landing on the DL, it would explain his swift descent from an ace to one of the majors’ worst starters in 2016. For his part, Gray expects the DL stint to serve him and the team well. “It’s better to go ahead and try to miss a couple starts and knock this thing out. In the long run, it’ll benefit everyone,” he commented (Twitter link via Jane Lee of MLB.com).

Here’s more on a handful of other pitchers:

  • Newly signed Angels righty Tim Lincecum will head to Triple-A Salt Lake City at the end of the month and make at least two rehab starts there before joining the big league club, tweets Pedro Moura of the Los Angeles Times.
  • Pirates general manager Neal Huntington wants elite pitching prospects Tyler Glasnow and Jameson Taillon to spend the entire season with Triple-A Indianapolis, but he realizes that it’s unlikely to happen. “Perfect world they have a full year at Triple-A. It’s probably not going to be a perfect world,” he said Sunday (Twitter link via Travis Sawchik of the Pittsburgh Tribune Review). Glasnow and Taillon have torched the minors this year and look poised to join the Pirates when the Super Two threshold passes in June. Aside from Gerrit Cole and, to a much lesser extent, Juan Nicasio, Pittsburgh has gotten little production from its rotation members this year. Thus, Glasnow and Taillon will provide a pair of welcome reinforcements.
  • The Pirates have gotten many offers for minor league right-hander Chad Kuhl over the years, Huntington said Sunday (Twitter link via Stephen Nesbitt of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette). Huntington added that he thinks Kuhl has the potential to be an asset in either the rotation or bullpen at the major league level. Both Glasnow and Taillon overshadow Kuhl, but the latter has gotten eye-opening results at Triple-A this year, posting a microscopic .99 ERA in 45 2/3 innings. Kuhl, 23, also demonstrated similar abilities at lower minor league levels.
  • Cardinals closer Trevor Rosenthal has struggled with command this month, walking nine batters in six innings, which manager Mike Matheny attributes to a lack of work. “If we see him take long breaks and then be really sharp when he comes in, that’s another story. But right now, he’s just not quite where he wants to be. And sometimes the only way of fixing that is to throw,” Matheny said (via Jenifer Langosch of MLB.com). Matheny plans to use Rosenthal more, even if it means the Cardinals deploy the 25-year-old so often that they have to rest him for certain save situations. “I think it’s probably the priority at this point to get [Rosenthal] the amount of work that he needs until he is right, and then build on that confidence,” Matheny stated.
  • Triple-A Pawtucket has placed Red Sox southpaw Brian Johnson on the temporary inactive list as he seeks treatment for anxiety, according to Ian Browne of MLB.com. Johnson, whom MLBpipeline.com ranks as Boston’s sixth-best prospect, will partake in “non-game baseball activities” in Fort Myers, Fla., while undergoing anxiety treatment. “Obviously we’re well aware of what he’s dealing with and we support him,” said manager John Farrell. “He’s a talented young guy and we’ll provide every available resource to him to get back to being a productive pitcher and a guy that we’d hope to factor in as we go forward.”

Athletics Send Sonny Gray To DL, Recall Daniel Coulombe

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The Athletics have placed Sonny Gray on the disabled list with a strained right trapezius, reports Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle (Twitter links here). In a corresponding move, the club recalled lefty Daniel Coulombe from Triple-A Nashville.

It’s unknown how much time Gray will miss, though the Nationals’ Stephen Strasburg sat out nearly a month last year with the same injury, notes Bill Shaikin of the Los Angeles Times (on Twitter). It’s also unclear if the right-hander had been pitching injured prior to landing on the DL. If that were the case, it would help to explain his precipitous decline this year. After posting ace-like numbers for the A’s in 491 innings from 2013-15, Gray has compiled a 6.19 ERA, 7.69 K/9 and 4.5 BB/9 in 48 innings this season. In his previous start, a 3 1/3-frame showing against the Yankees on Friday, Gray surrendered four earned runs on six hits and four walks.

Gray’s velocity looks normal, as do his strikeout and ground-ball rates, but his walk, home run and hard-contact marks have notably increased in 2016.

With Gray down, the A’s now have a franchise-record 13 players on the DL. The A’s haven’t announced how they’ll set their rotation in Gray’s absence, but the vacant spot won’t go to Coulombe, who’s a reliever. Couolombe has logged 22 1/3 big league innings, including one with the A’s this year, and put up a 6.04 ERA, 6.85 K/9 and 5.24 BB/9.

Quick Hits: Free Agents, A’s, Padres, Draft

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Here’s the latest from around baseball as we wrap up the weekend…

  • Will the 2016-17 offseason feature “the worst baseball free agent class in decades”?  Yahoo Sports’ Jeff Passan thinks so, and the thin number of upper-tier talents available opens the door for the likes of Yoenis Cespedes or Josh Reddick to greatly increase their asking prices if they can build on their hot starts.  Jose Bautista’s slow start shouldn’t hurt his chances of a nine-figure contract given how teams value his “old-man game” built around plate discipline, even if Bautista could end up getting closer to $100MM than his desired $150MM contract.  Even in the thin market, Passan feels Edwin Encarnacion and particularly Carlos Gomez have thus far hurt their value thanks to slow starts.
  • The qualifying offer as we know it may not exist if a new collective bargaining agreement is settled before the offseason begins, though if it remains similar, Passan figures Dexter Fowler, Francisco Cervelli, Ian Desmond and Wilson Ramos could be in position to receive a QO from their respective teams.
  • Rich Hill could even get a qualifying offer if he keeps up his strong season, which speaks to the weakness of the free agent pitching class is with Stephen Strasburg off the board.  Passan thinks Hill could ultimately have a better chance of being traded than issued a QO, however.  The relief pitching market is much stronger than the starting pitching market, as Passan feels Kenley Jansen and Aroldis Chapman could both top Mariano Rivera’s $15MM average annual value from earlier this decade.
  • The thin free agent pitching market could lead to more trades for arms this summer, as ESPN’s Jim Bowden (subscription required) notes in his listing of eight contenders who could deal for pitching and 10 starters who could be shopped.  Bowden’s list of starters including two Athletics (Hill and Sonny Gray) and three Padres (James Shields, Drew Pomeranz and Andrew Cashner).  The A’s have been adamant about keeping Gray, though with his rough start, Bowden wonders if the club could decide to move him while he still has value.  As for the Padres, a scout tells Bowden that of the three San Diego pichers, he would prefer to have Pomeranz, which is a sign of just how much Pomeranz has upped his trade value with his impressive start — a 1.80 ERA and 51 strikeouts through 40 innings.
  • In another subscriber-only piece from Bowden, he gets input from various executives around the league about what improvements could be made to the amateur draft.

West Notes: Rockies, Garcia, Hill, Gray

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The Rockies have already burned through much of their rotation depth, Nick Groke and Patrick Saunders of the Denver Post write. Injuries, poor performance, and roster pressures have conspired to leave the club scrambling for arms despite seemingly entering the year with plenty of volume (to go with plenty of questions, of course). It remains to be seen whether former top prospect Eddie Butler will get a crack at a starting gig, as he’s slated for pen duty initially, but he’ll be one of several arms that the Rockies will need to contribute if the club is to stay in contention.

Here’s more from out west:

  • Dodgers right-hander Yimi Garcia still hasn’t picked up a baseball since landing on the disabled list with right biceps tendinitis this past weekend, tweets J.P. Hoornstra of the Los Angeles News Group. While Garcia has yet to undergo an MRI, that’ll be the next step for him if he doesn’t improve in the relatively near future. The 25-year-old Garcia has a surrendered three runs through 8 1/3 innings this season, though he’s struck out just four batters after whiffing 68 men in 56 2/3 innings last season.
  • The Athletics have been rewarded handsomely thus far for their roll of the dice on veteran journeyman Rich Hill, and ESPN.com’s David Schoenfield believes that Oakland will continue to receive good work from the lefty. As Schoenfield explains, Hill has continued to show elite swing-and-miss numbers with his fastball, which he pairs with a frequently used curve. Indeed, Hill has picked up right where he left off last year: though his walks have crept up a bit, he is striking out 12.8 batters per nine and inducing grounders on more than half of the balls put in play against him, with metrics supporting his 2.42 ERA in 26 frames.
  • Meanwhile, ESPN.com’s Buster Olney wonders whether there could be a “perfect storm” that allows the Athletics to cash in on ace Sonny Gray. It’s looking like a seller’s market, both at the deadline and next winter, and Gray could stand out. It’s far from clear whether the A’s will have strong interest in striking a trade, of course, but it’s easy to imagine widespread demand. And as Olney notes, this summer could well prove a high-water mark for the righty’s value.

Rosenthal’s Latest: Beltran, Royals, Gray, Astros

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Here’s the latest from FOX Sports’ Ken Rosenthal, via his weekly Full Count video…

  • Carlos Beltran wants to keep playing beyond this season and there’s a chance he could return to the Royals in 2017.  Kansas City will have a vacancy at DH next season since Kendrys Morales is a free agent, and the Royals made a push to sign Beltran in the 2013-14 offseason before the Yankees boosted their offer to include a third guaranteed year.  Beltran, who turns 39 tomorrow, is still swinging a strong bat, and it’s possible he could better preserve himself in a regular DH role — Alex Rodriguez’s presence in New York has kept Beltran mostly in right field as a Yankee.
  • Aside from Ian Kennedy, the Royals also targeted free agent hurlers Zack Greinke, Wei-Yin Chen and Mike Leake as good fits for their rotation last winter.  “All throw changeups, all field their positions well and, most importantly, all command their fastballs,” Rosenthal noted, and GM Dayton Moore told him that pitchers who tend to fall behind in the count didn’t mesh with the Royals’ style.  K.C. ended up signing Kennedy to a five-year, $70MM contract, which was less than the five years/$80MM Leake and Chen respectively received from the Cardinals and Marlins and obviously well below Greinke’s $206.5MM megadeal with the Diamondbacks.  (Leake, unlike the other three, didn’t have qualifying offer draft compensation to his services.)  In the early going, Kennedy has been outstanding as a Royal, posting a 1.35 ERA over his first three starts.
  • The Athletics’ good start will make it less likely that Sonny Gray is traded, though Rosenthal notes that even if Gray was shopped and a team was willing to give up “a ton” for the star righty, the A’s would still face a tough decision about pulling the trigger on a deal.  Gray will become eligible for arbitration next winter, and though his arb costs may eventually price him out of Oakland’s comfort zone, Gray would still certainly be “affordable” for the A’s in 2017 (and really a bargain if he continues to post ace-type numbers).
  • In another video from Rosenthal, he notes that the Astros might eventually need to make a trade to add some velocity to their rotation.  Houston’s starters entered today with the lowest average velocity (87.8 mph) of any club in baseball, with the Orioles next to last at 90.1 mph.  The rotation woes are just one of many problems plaguing the Astros right now as the team is off to a rough 5-12 start.

AL West Notes: Weaver, McCullers, Gray, Beltre, Fielder

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Angels starting pitcher Jered Weaver has been diagnosed with mild degenerative changes in his cervical spine, tweets Mike Digiovanna of the L.A. Times. The cervical portion of the spine includes the upper back and neck. Weaver will still be bumped from his next scheduled start, but he’s not expected to be shut down (tweet). The soft-tossing righty averaged just 83 mph with his fastball last season and was throwing even softer in his spring work. He’s scheduled to see a spine specialist to decide next steps.

Here’s more from the AL West:

  • An MRI has revealed no damage in Lance McCullers sore right shoulder, writes Jose de Jesus Ortiz of the Houston Chronicle. The Astros’ starter threw a career high 164 innings last season, and the club has plans to limit his innings. Carefully addressing this current injury seems like a good way to manage McCuller innings while looking after his health. As such, he may not open the season on the big league roster.
  • “Everyone” inquired about Athletics ace Sonny Gray this winter, tweets Jon Heyman of MLB Network. The Red Sox were apparently the first to pick up the phones on the day after the World Series ended. No deals were close per Heyman. Oakland leadership has been vocal about holding onto Gray, although the club is also known to be very open minded about looking for roster upgrades.
  • While there is a gap in talks between the Rangers and Adrian Beltre, it’s thought that the two sides are motivated to find a middle ground, tweets Heyman. Beltre, soon-to-be 37, is in the final year of his current contract with Texas. Heyman speculates that the Angels could be a top suitor for Beltre if he reaches the open market. If an extension isn’t reached soon, Beltre’s performance this season could be the difference between a moderate one-year deal and a sizable multi-year offer.
  • The Rangers tried to sign Austin Jackson for about $4MM before pivoting to Ian Desmond, tweets Heyman. Texas’ need was in left field with Jackson preferring to remain an up-the-middle player. He ultimately signed with the White Sox for $5MM.
  • Slugger Prince Fielder has been diagnosed with sleep apnea, writes Gerry Fraley of the Dallas Morning News. He will use a mask and breathing apparatus to combat the disorder. The player and club are hopeful that better rest will translate to a more successful season. Fielder does not plan to undergo the painful and complicated jaw reconstructive surgery used to cure sleep apnea. Mike Napoli underwent that particular procedure prior to the 2015 season.
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