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Tim Locastro

Diamondbacks Place Alex Avila On Injured List

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The Diamondbacks will place catcher Alex Avila on the 10-day IL with a strained left quad, according to Nick Piecoro of The Arizona Republic. In a corresponding move, the team will recall utilityman Tim Locastro from Triple-A to take Avila’s place on the 25-man roster.

Avila, 32, has made four starts for the Diamondbacks in 2019 and has performed well, slashing .333/.524/.800 in his 21 plate appearances. The veteran backstop has also hit two home runs on the young season and has posted an impressive 6:5 BB:K ratio. Though the results were not as encouraging in 2018, Avila’s first season in Arizona, the team will surely miss his presence behind the plate. However, Avila’s absence will open up opportunities for the team to give more ABs to young catcher Carson Kelly, who was acquired in the Paul Goldschmidt trade. Kelly, blocked by Yadier Molina for his entire career, has amassed just 145 career plate appearances in parts of four big league season, first with the Cardinals and now in Arizona.

Since the D-Backs opened the season carrying three catchers on the 25-man roster, the team didn’t need to replace Avila with another catcher. John Ryan Murphy will assume the backup duties behind Kelly, and Locastro will join the Major League roster as a reserve who can play all three outfield spots and second base. The 26-year-old spent several seasons with the Dodgers before being traded twice this offseason, first to the Yankees, and later to the Diamondbacks, who surrendered Ronald Roman and cash considerations to acquire Locastro. With Jarrod Dyson the team’s fourth outfielder and Ildemaro Vargas slotted in as the backup infielder following Jake Lamb’s injury, it’s unclear how much playing time Locastro will see, though he will afford the D-Backs some flexibility to rest outfielders.

Diamondbacks Acquire Tim Locastro

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The Yankees announced Wednesday that they’ve traded infielder/outfielder Tim Locastro to the Diamondbacks in exchange for minor league lefty Ronald Roman and cash. Locastro was designated for assignment earlier this week in order to open a spot on the Yankees’ roster for DJ LeMahieu. Arizona’s acquisition of Locastro fills the team’s 40-man roster.

Locastro, 26, has just 15 MLB plate appearances to his name, but he’s a .307/.402/.443 hitter with six homers, 33 doubles, two triples and 30 stolen bases (in 34 attempts) in just 114 games of Triple-A experience in the Dodgers’ system. New York acquired him from the Dodgers earlier this offseason, but Locastro didn’t last the full offseason on the Yankees’ 40-man roster following several infield additions, including LeMahieu and Troy Tulowitzki.

Locastro has played all over the field in the minors and has spent most of his time at second base and shortstop. He does have a pair of options remaining, and he’ll give the D-backs some additional depth in both the infield and the outfield following today’s reported agreement with former Mets infielder Wilmer Flores (for which they’ll now need to make a corresponding move following the acquisition of Locastro).

As for the 17-year-old Roman, he’s yet to even begin his professional career with the D-backs in earnest. He signed as an international amateur free agent out of the Dominican Republic back on July 2 when this year’s international class kicked off and has not pitched for any of the team’s Rookie-level affiliates. He’ll presumably head to the Yankees’ affiliate in the Dominican Summer League this coming season, where he’ll make his in-game pro debut.

Yankees Designate Tim Locastro For Assignment

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The Yankees announced Monday that they have designated infielder/outfielder Tim Locastro for assignment. His spot on the 40-man roster will to to veteran DJ LeMahieu, whose previously reported two-year deal is now official.

New York acquired the 26-year-old Locastro from the Dodgers earlier this season, sending minor league righty Drew Finley to Los Angeles in return. Locastro, however, doesn’t appear as though he’ll get the opportunity to suit up for the Yankees unless he clears waivers and works his way back into the MLB picture following an outright assignment.

Locastro has just 15 MLB plate appearances to his name, but he’s a .307/.402/.443 hitter with six homers, 33 doubles, two triples and 30 stolen bases (in 34 attempts) in just 114 games of Triple-A experience. The Yankees referred to Locastro as an outfielder only, likely indicative of how they planned to use him, but he’s played all over the field in the minors and has spent most of his time at second base and shortstop. He does have a pair of options remaining, so he could be viewed as a depth piece by another club.

Yankees Acquire Tim Locastro

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The Yankees have acquired infielder/outfielder Tim Locastro from the Dodgers, per a club announcement. Righty Drew Finley and cash considerations will head to Los Angeles in return.

Locastro was dropped from the L.A. 40-man yesterday, among many other moves. He has experience all over the diamond, with most of his time in the minors coming at second base and shortstop, but was announced by the Yanks as an outfielder.

It seems his likeliest fit, though, is as a pure utility piece; perhaps he’ll have a shot at competing with Ronald Torreyes (assuming he’s tendered), Hanser Alberto, and any other potential contenders to take up a reserve role. It’s not hard to see why the Yankees had interest, given that broad defensive background combined with Locastro’s generally productive numbers at the plate in the upper minors. He’s a .283/.354/.401 hitter through 626 Double-A plate appearances and has turned in an eyebrow-raising .307/.402/.443 slash in his 471 trips to the dish at the game’s highest level.

Finley, a 22-year-old righty, has yet to move past the low A level despite three attempts. In 120 innings as a professional over four seasons, he carries an unsightly 5.48 ERA with 9.7 K/9 and 4.8 BB/9. That said, Finley was a third-round pick back in 2015, and it could well be that the Dodgers still think there’s some talent to be unlocked.

Dodgers Designate Erik Goeddel, Release Tom Koehler

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The Dodgers announced today that they have designated three players: righty Erik Goeddel, lefty Zac Rosscup, and infielder/outfielder Tim Locastro. Meanwhile, the club released right-hander Tom Koehler, who signed with the club as a free agent last winter but was arbitration-eligible.

Those moves helped create space for new additions to the 40-man roster. Notable prospects Keibert Ruiz and Yadier Alvarez were selected, along with infielders Matt Beaty and Edwin Rios as well as right-hander Josh Sborz.

Goeddel, who’s a month from his 30th birthday, was rather effective last year after several tough campaign. He worked to a 2.95 ERA in 36 2/3 innings with the Mariners and (mostly) Dodgers. Goeddel racked up 44 strikeouts but also issued twenty walks.

Those productive innings were expected to come from Koehler, who signed a $2MM deal last winter but ended up being sidelined all year due to injury. His season ended with shoulder surgery, so he’ll be looking for a place to rebuild value in 2019.

Rosscup has bounced around in recent years and has never yet entrenched himself in the majors. He did record twenty strikeouts in 11 1/3 innings for the Dodgers in 2018, but also coughed up three homers and six earned runs. As for Locastro, he has posted strong numbers at the plate in the minors over the past two years but has received scant MLB opportunity. He could appeal to teams that are looking for versatility, as he has plenty of experience playing up the middle on both the infield dirt and the outfield grass.

Dodgers Activate Justin Turner, Logan Forsythe

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The Dodgers announced Tuesday that they’ve reinstated infielders Justin Turner and Logan Forsythe from the disabled list today. Fellow infielders Kyle Farmer and Tim Locastro were optioned to Triple-A Oklahoma City to create room on the 40-man roster.

[Related: Updated Los Angeles Dodgers depth chart]

Turner will take the field for the Dodgers tonight for the first time this season after missing a quarter of the season due to a broken wrist suffered late in Spring Training. In his absence, Dodgers third basemen have combined to post a woeful .209/.291/.374 batting line in 158 plate appearances. Forsythe, Farmer, and Max Muncy have combined for all of the Dodgers’ activity at third base in lieu of Turner this season, and the largely futile results have played no small role in the team’s 16-24 start to the year.

Forsythe, meanwhile, will be returning to the club after landing on the disabled list exactly a month ago due to inflammation in his right shoulder. He’ll slot back into the mix at second base and share time with veteran Chase Utley there, though he’ll be looking to rebound from a slow start that saw him bat just .174/.224/.283 in 49 trips to the plate before his own placement on the disabled list.

In other Dodgers health-related news, Andy McCullough of the L.A. Times tweets that Clayton Kershaw played catch once again today, though it doesn’t sound as if the lefty is nearing a return to the active roster. Via McCullough, manager Dave Roberts indicated that Kershaw isn’t expected to pitch off a mound on the current road trip. It’s been reported that Kershaw will miss a matter of weeks rather than months, though a specific timeline hasn’t yet been put in place on his return to a Dodgers rotation that will also be without lefty Hyun-Jin Ryu until sometime after the All-Star break.

Hyun-Jin Ryu Out Until Second Half; Walker Buehler Joining Dodgers’ Rotation

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12:37pm: The diagnosis is brutal for the Dodgers, as Roberts revealed to reporters that Ryu won’t return before the All-Star break (Twitter links via Pedro Moura of The Athletic). The injury sounds rather gruesome. Roberts explained that a muscle in Ryu’s groin tore completely off the bone.

Ryu will be replaced in the rotation by top prospect Walker Buehler (Twitter link via Andy McCullough of the L.A. Times). J.P. Hoornstra of the Southern California News Group adds that Buehler is on an innings limit, however, so he although he will nominally be the team’s fifth starter, he may not technically start every fifth day.

12:12pm: The Dodgers announced that they’ve placed left-hander Hyun-Jin Ryu on the 10-day disabled list with a left groin strain and optioned infielder Breyvic Valera to Triple-A on Thursday. In a pair of corresponding moves, utilityman Tim Locastro and right-hander Yimi Garcia have been recalled from Triple-A.

The press release didn’t include any sort of timetable for Ryu’s return, though manager Dave Roberts said after last night’s game that the strain was a “pretty good” one and called the injury a “big loss” for the team, which doesn’t exactly exude optimism regarding a minimal DL stay for Ryu. Roberts is hardly exaggerating when he calls any absence for Ryu significant, as the 31-year-old has dominated opposing lineups in 2018, working to a 2.12 ERA with 10.9 K/9, 3.0 BB/9, 0.9 HR/9 and 56.7 percent ground-ball rate in 29 2/3 innings.

Garcia, 27, will give the Dodgers the potential for a quality boost to the relief corps in what will be his first MLB action since undergoing Tommy John surgery back in 2016. Garcia possesses a 3.12 ERA with 9.7 K/9, 1.4 BB/9, 1.2 HR/9 and a 30.6 percent grounder rate in 75 innings at the Major League level and looked to be an emerging key cog in the L.A. bullpen before incurring his torn ligament. So far in Triple-A, he’s allowed three runs in 7 2/3 innings of work and picked up seven strikeouts without issuing a walk.

Locastro, 25, has experience at both middle-infield slots and in the outfield corners. He has just one MLB plate appearance under his belt but was off to a fast start in Triple-A, hitting .342/.448/.507 there. Valera, 26, has similarly impressive Triple-A numbers this season and was hitless in four MLB plate appearances. Locastro, though, has more recent experience at shortstop, so it seems he’s viewed as the better option to help provide depth in Corey Seager’s absence for the time being.

Minor MLB Transactions: 9/29/17

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Here are Friday’s minor moves from around the game…

  • The Dodgers have selected the contract of infielder/outfielder Tim Locastro, as per a team announcement.  Outfielder O’Koyea Dickson was placed on the 60-day DL due to a shoulder injury to create space on the 40-man roster.  Manager Dave Roberts told Bill Plunkett of the Orange County Register and other reporters that the Dodgers are evaluating Locastro as a possible pinch-running specialist for the postseason, to the point that Locastro won’t receive any at-bats during his call-up.  Locastro, a 13th-round pick for the Blue Jays in the 2013 draft, has a solid .293/.372/.402 slash line over his 2066 career minor league PA but has shown particular aptitude on the basepaths, stealing 143 bases out of 178 attempts.
  • The Blue Jays announced that they’ve selected the contract of right-hander Taylor Cole for the final series of the season, with righty Aaron Sanchez shifting from the 10-day DL to the 60-day DL to clear a spot on the 40-man roster. He’ll give the team an additional bit of bullpen depth for the final three games, though he’s already been removed from the 40-man once this season, so he’ll again be a candidate come off once the regular season ends. The 27-year-old Cole missed much of the regular season due to injury in the minors but threw 12 2/3 innings of scoreless ball across three levels before being promoted for his big league debut in early August. Cole was rocked for four runs on six hits in one inning of work in his lone big league appearance. He suffered a broken toe in that appearance and landed on the MLB 10-day DL before being released and re-signed to a new minor league deal once his DL stint was up.

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