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Rays Place Jeffrey Springs On 15-Day Injured List

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The Rays announced this morning that they’ve placed left-hander Jeffrey Springs on the 15-day injured list due to what the club described as left elbow fatigue. Left-hander Tyler Alexander was recalled to the big league roster in a corresponding move.

Springs, 32 later this month, underwent Tommy John surgery in April of 2023 and returned to the mound in the majors for the first time on the day of the trade deadline back in July earlier this year. It was unfortunate timing for the Rays, as Springs went under the knife just three starts into a four-year extension the club inked him to prior to the 2023 season on the heels of a 2022 campaign where he posted a 2.35 ERA and 3.04 FIP in 135 1/3 innings of work split between the rotation and bullpen. Springs has made seven starts since returning from the IL earlier this year and, while he hasn’t quite reached that level of dominance, he’s certainly held his own with a 3.27 ERA and a 4.00 FIP to go with a strong 26.1% strikeout rate.

It’s not yet clear whether or not today’s trip to the IL spells the end of Springs’s 2024 season. For his part, Springs told reporters (including those at MLB.com) today that his hope is to make two more starts this season and that his elbow was just “a little more sore than normal,” which manager Kevin Cash suggested was probably fatigue that should be expected coming off surgery.  Still, given the fact that he’s suffering from an issue regarding his elbow just over a month after returning from Tommy John surgery, it would hardly be a shock if the Rays simply decided to play it safe with him for the remainder of the season. After all, the 70-72 Rays sold somewhat aggressively at the trade deadline as they fell out of playoff contention and pivoted towards prioritizing next season and beyond. Even after dealing away key pieces such as third baseman Isaac Paredes and outfielder Randy Arozarena back in July, the Rays appear to be in pretty good shape to contend in 2025.

A big reason for that optimism is the expected return of several key pitchers to full-time rotation duties next year. Ace lefty Shane McClanahan underwent Tommy John surgery just over a year ago and resumed throwing in late July, putting him on track to be part of the club’s Opening Day rotation next year. Right-hander Drew Rasmussen, who returned last month from an internal brace procedure on his elbow in a bullpen role, also figures to be considered for a return to a rotation role next year. Springs, too, figures to be part of that conversation, leaving the Rays deep in rotation options as that trio joins Shane Baz, Ryan Pepiot, Taj Bradley, and Zack Littell in contention for starting jobs headed into 2025.

That deep group of rotation options led the Rays to deal both Aaron Civale and Zach Eflin from their rotation mix this summer, and it’s at least feasible that the club could look to deal another piece such as Littell from their rotation mix over the winter in order to help address an offense that has under-performed with a collective wRC+ of just 96 this year. Whether the Rays look to deal from their deep well of pitching talent in order to restock the lineup or simply hope that a full season from top prospect Junior Caminero and stronger performances from players like Christopher Morel, Josh Lowe, Dylan Carlson, and Jose Siri can boost the club’s offense internally, Springs figures to factor prominently into the club’s rotation plans next year, and putting him in the best position to be healthy and effective headed into next year is sure to be Tampa’s priority as the season winds down.

Taking Springs’s spot on the roster is Alexander, who spent the first five seasons of his career with the Tigers before joining the Rays this year. In his first season with Tampa, the lefty has swung between the bullpen and the rotation with lackluster results, posting a 5.66 ERA and 5.52 FIP in 89 frames. With that being said, his peripherals have been much better in the bullpen than as a starter, as he’s struck out a respectable 21.1% of opponents while pitching in relief against a walk rate of just 4.7%. Alexander is tentatively expected to pitch bulk innings for the club tomorrow night in a start that was previously slated to go to Springs.

Rays Place Zack Littell On 15-Day Injured List

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11:55AM: Littell described the IL trip as precautionary, and he told Topkin and other reporters that he could miss just the minimum 15 days.

11:07AM: The Rays announced that right-hander Zack Littell has been placed on the 15-day injured list due to fatigue in his throwing shoulder.  The placement is retroactive to August 15.  Left-hander Tyler Alexander has been called up from Triple-A in the corresponding move.

Littell threw five innings of one-run ball in his last start on August 14, but threw only 68 pitches, perhaps indicating that his shoulder issue might’ve hastened a relatively early exit from the game.  The 68 pitches tied Littell’s second-lowest pitch count of the season, as the veteran has been a reliable and durable presence in the Rays’ rotation, and leads the team in both innings (129 2/3) and starts (24).

These are both career bests for Littell, who had only 172 2/3 innings and 18 starts at the MLB level before Tampa Bay acquired the righty on a waiver claim off Boston’s roster back in May 2023.  At first, Littell worked as a reliever and opener with his new team, but over the last two months of the 2023 campaign, he thrived after being given the first extended starting job of his six big league seasons.

This success gave Littell another spot in Tampa’s rotation this year, and he has continued to pitch well, posting a 3.89 ERA over his 129 2/3 frames.  Littell’s 4.7% walk rate is one of the best in baseball, though the rest of his secondary metrics (such as a 21.1% strikeout rate, 39.6% hard-hit ball rate, or 9.7% barrel rate) are below average.  Home runs have also been an issue for Littell, but overall, his 4.05 ERA isn’t far beyond his bottom-line ERA.

At the price of a $1.85MM salary in his second year of arbitration eligibility, Littell has been a bargain, and he’ll continue to be a cost-effective rotation piece even after he gets a healthy raise this winter.  As MLBTR’s Steve Adams observed in a subscriber-exclusive piece back in May, Littell has been the latest unheralded pitcher to suddenly gain a new level of success after joining the Rays.

Today’s IL placement interrupts the righty’s overall solid season, and given the calendar, the injury could potentially threaten to end Littell’s 2024 altogether.  Another bout of shoulder fatigue cost him about three weeks last season, and while every situation is different, it could be that this placement is a way to let Littell rest up after almost a full year of an increased workload.  The Rays could use Alexander as a bulk pitcher behind an opener while Littell is on the IL, or the team again dip into the farm system for a replacement arm.

Checking In On 2024’s Reliever-To-Rotation Experiments: July Edition

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About a quarter of the way through the 2024 season, I took a look at how the most prominent examples of teams’ attempts to turn an established reliever into a starter had progressed. At the time, the majority of these experiments were going well, by and large. At that mid-May juncture, most of the relievers making the switch had yet to reach their innings workloads from the season prior. Now that we’re at the season’s halfway point, that’s no longer the case. Many of the pitchers striving to make this jump are now approaching or have already eclipsed their 2023 innings totals — if not their career-high workloads — so it seems a good time to check back on how they’re faring.

As a reminder, the focus here is pitchers who pitched exclusively or near-exclusively out of the bullpen last season. Someone like the Rays’ Zack Littell or Red Sox’ Kutter Crawford, who moved into the rotation last summer and continued that move this year, isn’t the focus.

Garrett Crochet, LHP, White Sox

Stats at quarter mark: 9 games started, 46 2/3 innings, 4.63 ERA (2.47 SIERA), 34.2 K%, 4.8 BB%, 43.8 GB%

Stats since: 9 GS, 54 2/3 innings, 1.65 ERA (2.27 SIERA), 36.3 K%, 5.2 BB%, 45.5 GB%

At the 25% mark of the season, Crochet sat on a pedestrian ERA but elite K-BB profile. His production had been skewed by a series of three straight rough outings: five runs versus the Reds, seven in Philadelphia and another five in Minnesota.

Those three starts still stand as the worst three of his season. Crochet hasn’t yielded more than three runs in a single outing since that time. He’s not only maintained his elite K-BB profile but improved upon it, slightly upping his strikeout rate while sustaining his exceptional command. No starter in baseball is striking out hitters at a higher rate than Crochet, and only 12 are limiting their walks more effectively.

At last check, Crochet had ace-like rate stats but pedestrian run-prevention numbers overall. That’s no longer the case. The only question as to whether Crochet is a bona fide No. 1 starter is one of durability. All of the pieces are there, but Crochet has never pitched a full season in the rotation. In fact, this year’s combined 101 1/3 innings not only stand as a career-high, they eclipse his combined total of professional innings pitched — majors and minors combined — since being selected in the first round of the 2020 draft.

With two and a half years of team control left, a bottom-of-the-barrel $800K salary and the worst team in baseball behind him, Crochet stands as a clear-cut trade candidate. The Sox reportedly broached the possibility of an extension with him but are now expecting to trade him after contract talks failed to progress. A new team will have to worry about how Crochet will hold up down the stretch, but there’s little doubting that he’s a front-of-the-rotation talent.

Jordan Hicks, RHP, Giants

Stats at quarter mark: 9 GS, 48 innings, 2.44 ERA (3.99 SIERA), 19.9 K%, 8.2 BB%, 56.2 GB%

Stats since: 8 GS, 37 2/3 innings, 4.54 ERA (4.29 SIERA), 22.2 K%, 10.2 BB%, 45.8 GB%

Early on, Hicks was thriving in terms of run-prevention in spite of a pedestrian strikeout rate. He’s picked up the strikeout rate a bit since that time but has seen his command, ground-ball rate and velocity all drop. After averaging 5 1/3 innings through his first nine starts, Hicks is averaging about 4 2/3 innings per outing and has seen his average sinker velocity drop by nearly two miles per hour. Since mid-May, his sinker is averaging 93.5 mph — down from the 95.5 mph at last check and even further from the 100.2 mph Hicks averaged in his time as a reliever.

Hicks has struggled to turn the lineup over multiple times. Opponents own an awful .196/.268/.348 slash when facing him the first time in a game. Unlike many pitchers, who experience a stark drop when facing opponents a third time, Hicks’ troubles begin the second trip through the order. Opponents in those settings carry a .267/.373/.382 slash. He’s only faced a hitter for the third time on a given day 57 times this season, but opponents have batted .283/.333/.434 in that small sample.

Back in May, I noted that opponents had posted an embarrassing .079/.167/.105 slash in the 42 plate appearances Hicks had finished off with a splitter. They’ve fared better against the pitch since that time, though it’d be hard to have performed much worse. And, with opponents still slashing only .160/.244/.272 against the pitch (which Statcast credits with a .270 expected wOBA), that newly implemented offering still has the look of a plus pitch.

Hicks has remained reasonably effective but hasn’t been the roaring success he was through the first quarter of the season. San Francisco signed the 27-year-old flamethrower to a four-year, $44MM deal and did so with an eye toward Hicks starting, so it’s clear this is a multi-year undertaking. Nothing Hicks has done to date suggests he decidedly can’t handle being a starter, but he’s faded from his early-season production, which is perhaps to be expected for a pitcher whose 85 2/3 innings are already a career-high mark.

The manner in which Hicks has begun to fade only further underscores the remarkable nature of Crochet’s performance to date as he navigates uncharted workload territory. That said, Hicks has an overall 3.36 ERA with a nearly average strikeout rate, a manageable walk rate and a plus ground-ball rate. There have been some roadblocks of late, but this year could serve as a launching pad to a better performance in 2025-27, when he’s more accustomed to his current workload.

Reynaldo Lopez, RHP, Braves

Stats at quarter mark: 7 GS, 40 1/3 innings, 1.34 ERA (4.00 SIERA), 25.2 K%, 10.1 BB%, 40.2 GB%

Stats since: 7 GS, 39 innings, 2.08 ERA (3.58 SIERA), 26.1 K%, 7.0 BB%, 32.7 GB%

The Braves have been judicious with Lopez’s start-by-start workload thus far. He hasn’t topped 94 pitches in a single appearance and has only recorded four outs after the sixth inning all season. So far, that level of caution has paid off. Since last check, Lopez hasn’t lost any life of his heater and has actually tacked on 0.4 mph on average, per Statcast.

Atlanta doesn’t often give Lopez the opportunity to turn the lineup over a third time, and the opportunities he’s had haven’t gone well. Lopez has yielded a mid-.500s OPS to opponents the first or second time through the order but has been tagged for a .245/.359/.396 batting line the third time through. It’s not egregious, but it’s far less dominant than his first couple trips through a lineup.

Lopez is still running a plus strikeout rate, and he’s improved his command and his velocity as the season has worn on. As the only member of this list who’s previously worked multiple full seasons as a starter, he might have been the best-equipped to handle this transition, and so far it doesn’t appear he’s slowing down much at all.

Lopez entered the season with a career 71.1% strand rate, and he’s currently stranding 86.3% of his baserunners. His .279 average on balls in play is lower than league average but right in line with his career .281 mark. He’s allowed only 0.45 homers per nine frames, thanks in large part to a paltry 4.7% homer-to-flyball ratio that sits well shy of his career 11.3% mark. There’s some correlation there; it’s easier to strand runners if you’re almost never allowing a ball to clear the outfield fence, after all. In all likelihood, both that HR/FB and strand rate will trend toward his career marks as the season (and, more broadly, his three-year contract) wears on, but the outside-the-box bet on Lopez as a starter looks like one that will pay off for Atlanta.

Jose Soriano, RHP, Angels

Stats at quarter mark: 7 GS, 38 2/3 innings, 3.72 ERA (4.03 SIERA), 20.3 K%, 9.5 BB%, 61.5 GB%

Stats since: 5 GS, 33 2/3 innings, 3.21 ERA (3.97 SIERA), 16.9 K%, 6.2 BB%, 58.6 GB%

Soriano was continuing his sharp start to the season when he was scratched from a mid-June start due to abdominal pain. The Halos discovered an infection in the young righty’s abdomen that required a trip to the injured list and was expected to sideline him a few weeks. That’s thrown a bit of a wrench into his rotation breakout, though there’s no indication it’s a serious issue and the Halos can take solace in the fact that there’s no arm issue at play. And, after pitching just 65 1/3 innings last season, Soriano is already at 72 1/3 frames this year, so perhaps it can serve as a well-timed breather for his right arm.

The 25-year-old Soriano’s first run as a starter in the big leagues this season looked promising through mid-May and continues to do so. Impressively, he hasn’t lost any life on his four-seamer or sinker despite the shift from short relief to starting work. Statcast measured his average four-seamer at 98.9 mph in both 2023 and 2024, while his sinker clocked in at an average of 97.7 mph in 2023 and is actually marginally better in 2024 at 97.8 mph.

That sinker has helped Soriano run up an elite ground-ball rate; his 60.1% grounder rate ranks third among the 145 big league pitchers with at least 50 innings pitched this year, trailing only Framber Valdez (61.4%) and Cristopher Sanchez (60.3%). That uptick in grounder rate over last year’s 51% mark correlates with a huge spike in Soriano’s sinker usage (13.3% in ’23, 40% in ’24). The extra sinker usage has come at the expense of some four-seamers (25.8% in ’23, 17.8% in ’24) and particularly Soriano’s knuckle curve (41.2% in ’23, 27.5% in ’24).

The tweak in repertoire could come down to a pursuit of efficiency as Soriano looks to work deeper into games. The right-hander fanned 30.3% of opponents last season and registered a hearty 14.8% swinging-strike rate but also required 16.6 pitches per inning pitched, on average. In 2024, his strikeout rate is down to 20.3% with a 10.2% swinging-strike rate. But he’s significantly upped his grounder rate and is now averaging just 15.1 pitches per frame. Soriano averaged 6 2/3 innings per start in the five appearances between our last check and this one, so it seems clear he’s placing an emphasis on being able to work deeper into games in his new role. Opponents are hitting .313/.421/.521 in 58 plate appearances when facing him a third time, so the results aren’t there so far, however.

Bryse Wilson, RHP, Brewers

Stats at quarter mark: 11 G (5 GS), 34 innings, 2.65 ERA (4.60 SIERA), 20.4 K%, 10.9 BB%, 39.1 GB%

Stats since: 9 G (4 GS), 44 innings, 5.52 ERA (4.27 SIERA), 17.6 K%, 6.7 BB%, 41.3 GB%

Wilson hasn’t technically “started” each of his past nine appearances, but he’s averaged five innings per outing while working as a starter and bulk reliever (on the heels of an opener). Effectively, the Brewers are using him as a starter — they’re just shielding him from the top-third of some lineups on occasion, when the matchup dictates.

This wasn’t a planned move to a longer role. The former Braves top prospect and Pirates hurler entered the season slated for a second straight season as Milwaukee’s long man, but injuries to Wade Miley, Joe Ross, Robert Gasser and DL Hall combined to not only push Wilson into this rotation-ish role but to keep him there. After pitching 76 2/3 innings of pure long relief in 2023, Wilson is already at 78 frames and counting.

As one would typically expect, Wilson’s fastball has taken a slight dip as he’s stretched out for longer stints. He averaged 94 mph through the season’s first quarter, but several of those earlier appearances were still in short relief. He’s averaging 93.2 mph since mid-May and has seen his strikeout rate drop but also seen his walk rate improve. As he’s been tasked with facing more lefties, Wilson has upped his changeup and cutter usage a bit, doing so at the expense of his four-seamer and curveball.

Wilson has been far too homer-prone this season (1.62 HR/9) and is giving up too much hard contact (45.8%, per Statcast). More so than any pitcher on this list, he’s run into troubles the third time through the order; in 45 such plate appearances, they’ve posted a Herculean .400/.467/.650 slash. Those plate appearances account for just 13.6% of Wilson’s batters faced this season but have resulted in 21.5% of his home runs allowed. Wilson seems best suited for a long relief role or a five-inning start/bulk role, but he’s pitched more than five innings six times this season and is giving Milwaukee some desperately needed innings when their rotation is in tatters.

A.J. Puk, LHP, Marlins

Stats at quarter mark: 4 GS, 13 2/3 innings, 9.22 ERA (7.13 SIERA), 15.6 K%, 22.1 BB%, 31.9 GB%

Stats since: 0  GS, 21 1/3 innings, 2.95 ERA (3.36 SIERA), 21.4 K%, 4.8 BB%, 44.3 GB%

The Marlins quickly pulled the plug on the Puk rotation experiment, and it’s worked out for all parties. The former No. 6 overall pick (A’s, 2016) turned heads as a starter in spring training but was shelled in what currently stand as the only four starts of his big league career (though Puk was a starter both for the University of Florida and in the minor leagues).

It’s unlikely that Puk would’ve continued to struggle quite so substantially had Miami continued using him as a starter, but the left-hander certainly looks more comfortable in the short relief role in which he thrived from 2022-23 (123 innings, 3.51 ERA, 19 saves, 22 holds, 29.4 K%, 6.9 BB%). He’s performing far better in his old role, and he required a three-week stint on the injured list for shoulder fatigue following his early start in the rotation.

There’s no reason to fault the Marlins for trying to stretch out a clearly talented reliever who has a track record in the rotation, but Puk is back in the bullpen and figures to draw attention over the next month from teams seeking left-handed bullpen help. He’s controllable through the 2026 season.

Tyler Alexander, LHP, Rays

Stats at quarter mark: 7 G (5 GS), 39 2/3 innings, 5.45 ERA (4.44 SIERA), 19.1 K%, 6.9 BB%, 30.4 GB%

Stats since: 3 G (1 GS), 17 innings, 7.94 ERA (3.68 SIERA), 20.3 K%, 1.4 BB%, 27.8 GB%

Alexander entered the season in the same type of role Wilson currently holds with the Brewers: occasional starter and frequent bulk reliever behind an opener. He made a handful of solid appearances early on, though the value of those was offset by some particularly rough outings versus the Yankees (six runs in seven innings) and the Royals (eight runs in five innings).

Following our last check-in, Alexander made three appearances before being optioned to Triple-A Durham, where he’s worked quite effectively out of the Bulls’ rotation: five starts, 29 2/3 innings, 3.64 ERA, 24.2% strikeout rate, 2.4% walk rate. That should position him as a depth option in the event of a big league injury and/or trade. Tampa Bay reportedly has considered fielding offers on current members of its big league rotation — Zack Littell and Aaron Civale, most notably. Part of that is due to the looming returns of Shane Baz and Jeffrey Springs, but Alexander gives them another rotation candidate who’s performed well recently in Durham.

The Rays haven’t abandoned the Alexander starting experiment, but for the time being he’s not in their big league rotation plans. Speculatively, that could make Alexander himself a trade option for teams seeking back-of-the-rotation depth, though if the Rays do ultimately move Littell, Civale or a more expensive arm like Zach Eflin, they may not want to deplete the rotation depth much further.

Rays Select Justin Sterner, Option Tyler Alexander

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The Rays have selected the contract of right-hander Justin Sterner from Triple-A Durham, per a team announcement. He’ll be making his MLB debut when he first gets into a game. Left-hander Tyler Alexander was optioned to Durham in a corresponding move to create space on the active roster. Tampa Bay already had a vacancy on the 40-man roster, so no additional move was necessary. Their 40-man roster is now at capacity.

Sterner, 27, is a reliever whom the Rays acquired in 2021 swap sending right-hander David Hess to the Marlins. The 2024 season marks the third in which he’s logged time in Triple-A but the first in which he’s found much success. Sterner allowed eight runs in seven Triple-A frames back in 2022 and pitched to a 5.80 ERA in 35 2/3 innings there last season.

This year in Durham, however, Sterner has notched a much-improved 3.60 ERA in 25 innings, thanks in large part to huge gains in his ability to miss bats and limit walks. Sterner has fanned one-third of his opponents in Triple-A after posting a 26.1% strikeout rate a year ago. His 8.1% walk rate in 2024 is more than three percentage points south of last year’s 11.8% mark.

For the 29-year-old Alexander, this will be his first optional assignment since way back in 2019. The Rays acquired the southpaw via a November waiver claim after he’d been designated for assignment in Detroit. He’s effectively been the Rays’ fifth starter for much of the season, though only six of his 11 outings have been true starts. Alexander has frequently followed a one- or two-inning opener, but even his relief appearances have averaged five innings apiece this season.

Alexander had a decent stretch from mid-April to mid-May, but he’s been shelled for a dozen runs in just 9 2/3 innings over his past two appearances. He’s now yielded four or more runs in three of his past four outings. That ugly stretch has left the southpaw with a 6.19 ERA on the season, although fielding-independent metrics are more bullish (particularly his 4.09 SIERA). Alexander has a below-average 19.4% strikeout rate on the season but also a very sharp 5.3% walk rate. He’s also an extreme fly-ball pitcher (48.6% fly-balls, 29.6% grounders) who’s seen a larger-than-average 15% of his fly-balls leave the yard this year — an average of 2.06 homers per nine innings.

Alexander entered the season with 4.058 years of big league service time and is up to 4.122 as of this assignment. He’ll reach five full years of service with another 50 days on the active roster or major league injured list, at which point he’d gain the right to refuse an optional assignment to the minors. For now, he’ll get a reset in Durham while the Rays go with a rotation of Zack Littell, Aaron Civale, Taj Bradley and Ryan Pepiot.

Right-hander Zach Eflin went on the injured list due a lower back issue on May 20, and the Rays are awaiting returns from injured pitchers Jeffrey Springs, Drew Rasmussen and (in 2025) Shane McClanahan. Longtime top prospect Shane Baz could be a rotation candidate at some point as well. He very recently wrapped up his rehab from 2022 Tommy John surgery and was reinstated from the 60-day injured list and optioned to Triple-A himself.

Checking In On 2024’s Reliever-To-Rotation Experiments

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The 2023-24 offseason saw several teams go outside the box to add to their rotation mix by announcing plans to convert an established reliever into (or back into) a starting pitcher. It’s not a new concept by any means, of course, but it’s always notable when a player who’s found some success in one pitching role is shifted to the other — be it one-inning relievers stretching out to join a rotation or struggling starters shifting to the ’pen and hoping to find new life as their stuff plays up.

In some instances — e.g. Jordan Hicks, Reynaldo Lopez — the pitchers in question signed lucrative multi-year deals as part of this planned pivot. For others, this role change comes amid their original six seasons of club control and could greatly impact their earnings in arbitration and/or in free agency down the road.

Now that we’re about a quarter of the way through the year, it seems like a good time to check in on how some of these role changes are playing out. Readers should note that this rundown will focus on pitchers who pitched exclusively or near-exclusively out of the bullpen last season. Pitchers like Boston’s Garrett Whitlock (who started 10 games last year and nine in 2022) or Tampa Bay’s Zack Littell (who moved to the rotation last summer and finished out the ’23 campaign as a starter) aren’t the focus here so much as arms who were more strictly confined to short relief recently.

Since so many of these transitions are going to bring about clear workload concerns, we’ll check back in periodically throughout the season. For now, here’s how things are going through about 25% of the schedule.

Jordan Hicks, RHP, Giants

Hicks’ transition from flamethrowing late-inning reliever to … well, flamethrowing starting pitcher has gone seamlessly thus far. It’s only nine starts and 48 innings, but the 28-year-old boasts a 2.44 ERA in his move to the rotation. A career-low 19.9% strikeout rate is a red flag, but Hicks’ 8.2% walk rate is lower than the league average and a career-best mark as well. His 56.2% grounder rate isn’t quite as high as the 60% mark he carried into the season but is still more than 10 percentage points above average.

As one would expect, Hicks’ blazing sinker has lost quite a bit of velocity now that he’s not throwing one max-effort inning at a time. His sinker sat at 100.2 mph last year but is clocking in at 96 mph in 2024. Even with four fewer miles per hour on his primary offering, however, Hicks has more than enough velocity to keep hitters off balance.

Hicks has also fully incorporated the splitter he tinkered with in 2023 into his arsenal this year. After throwing it just 1.6% of the time last season, he’s thrown 22.5% splitters in 2024. Opponents may as well not even bother swinging at the pitch. Hicks has finished off 42 plate appearances with a splitter, and hitters have posted a .079/.167/.105 slash in those instances. Opposing batters have chased the pitch off the plate at more than a 35% clip, and Hicks boasts a huge 42.9% whiff rate on the pitch, per Statcast.

The big question for Hicks, as it is for virtually any pitcher making this transition, is how his arm will hold up once he begins pushing it into uncharted waters. Hicks has never topped 77 2/3 innings in a big league season. That mark came way back in his 2018 rookie showing. The 105 frames Hicks tallied as a minor league starter in 2017 are the most he’s ever pitched in a full season. He’ll be approaching his MLB-high after he makes another four starts or so and will be on the cusp of a new career-high about 10 to 11 starts from now — when there’s still roughly half a season left to play. Hicks wasn’t even especially durable as a reliever, only surpassing 35 appearances in two of his five prior big league seasons. The early returns are outstanding, but the real test will probably come in late June and into July.

Reynaldo Lopez, RHP, Braves

Unlike Hicks, Lopez is no stranger to starting games at the MLB level. He started 73 games for the White Sox from 2018-20 after coming over from the Nationals alongside Lucas Giolito and Dane Dunning in the Adam Eaton trade. The first of those three seasons went well, but Lopez stumbled in 2019-20 and began to transition to the bullpen in 2021.

The shift to a relief role seemed to suit the right-hander well. His already impressive velocity played up even further. Lopez averaged better than 95 mph as a starter in ’18-’20 but saw that number jump to 97.1 mph in 2022 and a massive 98.4 mph in 2023. Over those two seasons, he pitched to a sharp 3.02 earned run average. His rate stats were somewhat uneven, as he showed pristine command (4.3% walk rate) but an only slightly higher-than-average strikeout rate in ’22 before jumping to a huge 29.9% strikeout rate in ’23 … but pairing it with a bloated 12.2% walk rate. Taken together, however, Lopez gave the Sox 131 1/3 innings with that 3.02 ERA, 31 holds, six saves, a 27.4% strikeout rate and an 8.5% walk rate.

When he signed with the Braves for three years and $30MM, that generally fell in line with expectations for what he’d command as a late-inning reliever. However, it quickly became clear that the Braves were going to stretch Lopez back out. There was plenty of skepticism — myself very much included, admittedly — but the experiment has gone better than anyone could’ve imagined.

Thus far, Lopez has not only been the Braves’ best starter but one of the most effective starters in the league. He’s pitched 35 1/3 innings of 1.53 ERA ball. His velocity has dipped back down to his 2018-20 levels, sitting 95.6 mph, but that’s to be expected working out of the rotation. His 25.5% strikeout rate is better than average but not elite. His 9.9% walk rate could stand to come down. But Lopez is throwing more curveballs than ever before (10%), has largely abandoned his changeup and is keeping the ball on the ground at a career-best 41.1% rate. That’s a bit shy of the 42.8% league average but noticeably higher than the 35% clip he posted during his time with the White Sox.

The uptick in grounders is one reason that Lopez is yielding a career-low 0.51 homers per nine innings. The other is a 5.4% homer-to-flyball rate that he almost certainly can’t sustain. That fluky HR/FB and an abnormally high 88.7% strand rate are part of the reason metrics like SIERA (3.87) and xFIP (3.79), which normalize HR/FB, tend to peg him for some regression. Still, even if he’s bound to see his ERA tick up by a couple runs, Lopez has looked great through his first six turns.

Time will tell just how his arm can handle a return to his 2018-19 workloads, but the early results are excellent — and the importance of his breakout is magnified by the loss of ace Spencer Strider to season-ending elbow surgery. Notably, Lopez exited last night’s start with some tightness in his back, but manager Brian Snitker suggested after the game that he’s likely to make his next start.

A.J. Puk, LHP, Marlins

On the other side of the coin, the Marlins’ efforts to move Puk back into a starting role quickly went down in flames. Puk, a former No. 6 overall pick who worked as a starter in the minors, looked excellent this spring. He pitched 13 2/3 innings over four starts and two earned runs with a 23-to-4 K/BB ratio. The transition could hardly have gotten out to a more promising start.

In his first four regular-season starts, Puk also pitched 13 2/3 innings. The similarities stop there. Opponents bludgeoned Puk for 14 earned runs on 19 hits and a stunning 17 walks. He fanned only 12 of his 77 opponents (15.6%).

Miami placed Puk on the injured list on April 20 due to left shoulder fatigue. He returned from the injured list just yesterday. Despite myriad injuries in their rotation, the Fish have already pulled the plug on the rotation experiment for Puk, announcing that he’ll be back in the bullpen following his stay on the injured list. It’s a role he thrived in over the past two seasons, logging a 3.51 ERA, 29.4% strikeout rate and 6.9% walk rate while piling up 22 saves and 19 holds.

If Puk returns to form as a reliever — he was particularly impressive in ’23, striking out 32.2% of opponents against a 5.4% walk rate — the ill-fated rotation gambit will be little more than a footnote in what hopefully ends up as a strong overall career as a reliever. If Puk’s struggles persist, however, there’ll be plenty of second-guessing the decision to take one of the team’s best relief arms and stretch him out despite a litany of injury troubles that had combined to limit Puk to only 147 2/3 innings in his entire career prior to this season.

Garrett Crochet, LHP, White Sox

Crochet has worked to a pedestrian earned run average on the season due to a bevy of home runs allowed, but the former first-rounder who’s drawn comparisons to Chris Sale since being drafted by the White Sox has turned in elite strikeout and walk numbers. The 4.63 ERA looks unimpressive, but Crochet has fanned more than a third of his opponents (34.2%) against a pristine 4.8% walk rate.

Crochet boasts an excellent 14.5% swinging-strike rate and is averaging 96.9 mph on his heater. That’s a ways from the 100.2 mph he averaged in six innings as a rookie in 2020, but Crochet has had Tommy John surgery since that time and is working in longer stints now as opposed to bullpen work in ’20. This year’s velocity actually slightly exceeds his average velocity from working purely as a reliever in 2022-23.

In terms of workload concern, Crochet is up there with Puk in terms of extreme uncertainty. He entered the season with a total of 73 big league innings since his No. 11 overall selection in 2020 and is already at 46 2/3 innings on the young 2024 campaign. So long as he keeps missing bats and limiting walks anywhere near his current levels, the run-prevention numbers will come down — FIP and SIERA peg him at 3.33 and 2.37, respectively — but it’s anyone’s guess as to how Crochet will hold up. He skipped the minor leagues entirely, so even if you add in his whole minor league body of work, that’d only tack last year’s 12 1/3 rehab innings onto his track record. Going from a total of 85 1/3 professional innings over a four-year period to a full starter’s workload is bound to have some bumps in the road, but so far Crochet looks quite intriguing as a starting pitcher.

Jose Soriano, RHP, Angels

The Angels nearly lost Soriano back in 2020, when the Pirates selected him in the Rule 5 Draft. At the time, Soriano was wrapping up his rehab from 2020 Tommy John surgery and could’ve been stashed in a rebuilding Pittsburgh bullpen upon his reinstatement from the injured list. A setback in his recovery early in the season prompted another wave of imaging and revealed a new tear, however. Soriano underwent a second Tommy John surgery on June 16, 2021. He was eventually returned to the Angels.

Unfortunate as that back-to-back pair of surgeries was, Soriano’s injury troubles allowed the Angels to keep him in the system. They’re now reaping the benefits. The flamethrowing righty made 38 relief appearances last season and pitched to a quality 3.64 ERA with a huge 30.3% strikeout rate — albeit against a troubling 12.4% walk rate. Soriano averaged 98.6 mph on his heater last year and wound up picking up 15 holds, as the then-rookie righty increasingly worked his way into higher-leverage spots.

The Angels announced early in spring training that Soriano would be stretched out as a starter. His ramp-up continued into the regular season. His first two appearances this year came out of the bullpen but both spanned three innings. He’s since moved into the rotation and has looked quite impressive. Through his first seven starts, Soriano touts a 3.58 ERA with an above-average 24.8% strikeout rate and an outstanding 62.8% ground-ball rate. Even though he’s working in longer stints, he’s improved his fastball and is now sitting at 99.3 mph with it. His 12.4% walk rate still needs improvement, but the returns here are quite promising.

Soriano only pitched 65 1/3 innings between the minors and big leagues last year, and he’s already at 38 2/3 frames on the 2024  season. He’s never pitched more than 82 1/3 innings in a professional season. We’ll see how he fares as he pushes past those thresholds, but there’s a lot to like with this rotation move — even though it’s garnered far less attention than some of the others around the game.

Tyler Alexander, LHP, Rays

The Rays obviously have a knack for finding hidden gems and converting unheralded arms into viable starting pitchers — hey there, Zack Littell — and Alexander is an example of their latest efforts to do so. The left-hander has started for the Tigers in the past and functioned in a swingman role, but the Rays picked him up in a low-cost move following a DFA in Detroit with the idea of stretching him out. Since it’s Tampa Bay, not all of Alexander’s “starts” have been, well, actual starts. He’s followed an opener on multiple occasions already, but he’s followed that one- or two-inning table-setter with at least four innings each time out.

Overall, Alexander has made eight appearances and averaged just under five frames per outing (39 2/3 total innings). He’s sitting on a pretty rough 5.45 ERA, thanks in part to a six-run drubbing at the hands of the Yankees last time out (though he did at least complete seven frames in that start, helping to spare the Tampa Bay bullpen). Alexander’s 19.1% strikeout rate is about three percentage points shy of average. His 6.9% walk rate is about two points better than average. However, he’s taken his longstanding status as a fly-ball pitcher to new heights in 2024, inducing grounders at just a 30.4% clip.

Alexander’s 14.5% homer-to-flyball ratio is only a couple percentage points north of average, but because of the sheer volume of fly-balls he’s yielding, he’s still averaging more than two taters per nine frames. Opponents have posted an ugly 11.8% barrel rate against him (ugly for Alexander, that is). If he can’t cut back on the fly-balls and/or start finding a way to avoid the barrel more regularly, it’s going to be hard for Alexander to find sustained success. The Rays don’t convert on every dart-throw — much as it’s fun to joke to the contrary — and so far the Alexander experiment hasn’t paid off.

Bryse Wilson, RHP, Brewers

Wilson’s move to the rotation wasn’t necessarily planned, but injuries up and down the Brewers’ staff forced the issue. Five of his past six outings have been starts and he’s sporting an eye-catching 1.78 ERA in that span. The rest of the numbers in that stretch are less impressive. Wilson has a tepid 17.3% strikeout rate in that stretch but has walked an untenable 13.5% of opponents. Opponents have posted a hefty 45.7% hard-hit rate (95 mph or more) against him during that time. Were it not for a .191 BABIP and 92.2% strand rate, the ERA wouldn’t look nearly as rosy. Metrics like FIP (4.64) and SIERA (5.34) are quite bearish.

Wilson is still scheduled to take the ball on Saturday in Houston, but his recent stretch of run-prevention doesn’t seem sustainable without some improvements in his K-BB profile.

Tyler Alexander To Begin Season In Rays’ Rotation; Team Still Considering Bench Additions

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Left-hander Tyler Alexander has won the final spot in the Rays’ rotation, tweets Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times. He’ll actually pitch the fourth game of the season, with Zach Eflin, Aaron Civale and Zack Littell expected to line up for the first three and Ryan Pepiot apparently taking the fifth game. Topkin adds that Alexander could pitch behind an opener, but for all intents and purposes, he’s the final rotation member, beating out righties Jacob Waguespack and Chris Devenski. Waguespack and Devenski will be in the Rays’ bullpen. Also of note, Topkin reports that the Rays still haven’t decided on their backup catcher and final bench spot and could consider external options for either.

Alexander, 29, came to the Rays by way of a Nov. 10 waiver claim after the Tigers designated him for assignment. He entered camp expected to stretch out to three innings in order to serve as a long reliever — same as Devenski — but the pectoral strain suffered by young righty Taj Bradley opened up a rotation job that Alexander has now seized.

Starting is a familiar role for the left-hander, as Alexander has started 43 games in his MLB career — all coming with the Tigers. He started 32 games from 2021-22, at times functioning as an opener but also stretching out to a full starter’s workload. He’s completed six innings on seven different occasions in his career and has three starts of seven-plus innings. In all, Alexander has pitched 199 innings as a starter. He’s recorded a 4.70 ERA, 17.4% strikeout rate and 5.6% walk rate in that time, as compared to a 3.92 ERA, 21.1% strikeout rate and 4.4% walk rate in 142 1/3 frames out of the bullpen.

Alexander has pitched well this spring. He’s tossed nine innings in official games and yielded just two runs on a dozen hits and one walk with five strikeouts. Alexander worked six innings and climbed to 89 pitches in a minor league game Sunday, per Topkin — numbers that aren’t reflected in his “official” spring statistics.

The Rays’ rotation is fluid enough right now that an early assignment in the rotation shouldn’t at all be viewed as a season-long spot on the staff. Alexander has a pair of minor league options remaining, and the Rays will be getting various pitchers back from injury as the year progresses. In addition to Bradley, whose timetable is still TBD, the Rays will also welcome back right-hander Shane Baz (2022 Tommy John surgery), left-hander Jeffrey Springs (April 2023 Tommy John surgery) and Drew Rasmussen (July 2023 internal brace surgery) at various points this season.

That said, injuries elsewhere in the rotation are an inevitability. Eflin has dealt with chronic knee injuries dating back to his amateur days. Civale has never reached even 125 innings in an MLB season due to frequent IL trips. Littell only just converted back to the rotation last summer, and Pepiot opened the 2023 season on the 60-day IL with the Dodgers due to a Grade 2 oblique strain. He pitched only 64 2/3 innings between the majors and minors combined. There should be innings to go around, if Alexander proves he’s up for the challenge.

The Rays can control Alexander through the 2025 season via arbitration. A successful season making starts would bode well for his arbitration outlook in a way that a season spent primarily in a swingman/mop-up role would not. He’s earning $1.95MM this year, so even if he steps up as a legitimate MLB starter, he won’t break the bank next winter.

As for the remaining bench spots, Topkin’s report on that front is plenty notable. The Rays already reassigned Francisco Mejia to minor league camp, leaving non-roster invitee Alex Jackson as the favorite to take the backup job behind Rene Pinto. That’s been the plan for much of the offseason, but Jackson also owns a woeful 48% strikeout rate in 192 MLB plate appearances and entered Monday’s Grapefruit League game hitting just .194/.235/.226 with a 32.4% strikeout rate in 34 plate appearances. To his credit, he went 2-for-2 and swatted his first spring homer, but Jackson has no MLB track record of which to speak and also hasn’t been particularly productive in Triple-A.

As for the final infield spot, Topkin lists 26-year-old Austin Shenton as a candidate. He’s yet to make his MLB debut but posted a massive .304/.423/.584 line with 29 homers and 45 doubles between Double-A and Triple-A last season. He’s had a poor showing this spring, however, hitting just .205/.225/.256 with a 32.5% strikeout rate in 40 trips to the plate (including today’s 0-for-4 with three strikeouts). The Rays are without infielders Taylor Walls and Jonathan Aranda to begin the season, as both are on the injured list.

There’s no shortage of veteran options and/or trade candidates the Rays could consider at either position. The Royals released veteran backstop Sandy Leon over the weekend, and out-of-options Giants catcher Joey Bart has been a speculative trade candidate for much of the spring. Infielders hitting the market late this spring include Eduardo Escobar, Elvis Andrus and old friend Matt Duffy.

Rays Notes: Uwasawa, Devenski, Alexander, Ramirez

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Longtime NPB right-hander Naoyuki Uwasawa will be one of the more interesting non-roster players in Rays camp but also throughout the league in general. The 30-year-old righty reportedly turned down guaranteed offers to ink a minor league deal with Tampa Bay that’d pay him a $2.5MM base in the big leagues with another $1MM available via incentives. The former Nippon-Ham Fighters righty brings a sharp 3.19 career ERA from NPB to the Rays organization, but his lack of velocity (90.8 mph average fastball in ’23) and sub-par strikeout rate (17.8% in ’23, 19.7% career) limited his appeal on the market.

The Rays’ knack for maximizing pitching talent played a role in Uwasawa’s decision to sign there. If they’re able to help him successfully make the jump from NPB to MLB, it’ll serve as a launching pad back to free agency. As Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times writes, Uwasawa’s deal follows the industry standard for players coming over from NPB, the KBO and the CPBL in that it allows him to become a free agent after its conclusion. Uwasawa obviously won’t have the requisite six years of MLB service that’s typically required for free agency, but this provision is included in most (though not all) contracts for players signing out of foreign professional leagues.

Uwasawa’s ability to handle big league opponents (or his lack thereof) will be important for a Rays club that is rife with uncertainty in the rotation. Tampa Bay is no stranger to patchwork starting staffs, but this year’s group tests the limits of even their piecemeal approach to rotation construction. Top starters Zach Eflin and Aaron Civale both have lengthy injury histories. The former tossed a career-high 177 2/3 innings in 2023 but has averaged only 22.8 starts per 162-game season since 2017, due largely to chronic knee troubles that have led to a trio of surgeries. Civale has never reached 125 innings in a big league season.

Beyond that group, there’s reliever-turned-starter Zack Littell, who pitched just 104 innings last year and hasn’t been a full-time starter since the 2018 minor league season. Young arms like Ryan Pepiot and Taj Bradley have high ceilings but are unproven. Pepiot pitched just 46 innings between the majors and minors last year, thanks to injuries, while Bradley was one of the game’s most homer-prone starters (1.98 HR/9) as he posted a 5.59 ERA during last year’s debut effort. The Rays will get Drew Rasmussen and Jeffrey Springs back later in the season, but likely not until the second half. Both are rehabbing from major arm surgeries. Righty Shane Baz will be back in the fold after completing his own rehab from 2022 Tommy John surgery, but he’ll surely be on an innings limit.

The wobbly nature of the Tampa Bay starting staff will lead to some interesting pitcher usage. Adam Berry of MLB.com writes that relievers Chris Devenski and Tyler Alexander will both be stretched out to pitching three innings in camp. Neither is expected to take a full starting gig early on, but both are being viewed as potential bulk relievers who can be deployed behind openers or as swingmen who can work long relief as game script dictates. Alexander is no stranger to that role, having been a multi-inning reliever in Detroit.

For Devenski, it’s not a role he’s filled in the big leagues, but the right-hander tells Berry he’s excited for it. “My whole Minor League career, I was a starter, so I have experience there doing that,” says the 33-year-old righty. “It’s something that’s in me that I’ve always taken a liking to. Let’s go with it.”

Devenski was a powerhouse reliever with the Astros early in his career, pitching to a 2.38 ERA with a 28.2% strikeout rate and 6.4% walk rate in his first 189 innings from 2016-17. His production dipped in the two years thereafter, and injuries eventually derailed his career even further. From 2020-22, Devenski pitched just 25 2/3 big league innings, thanks largely to a Tommy John procedure. He tossed 42 1/3 frames between the Halos and Rays last season, logging a 4.46 ERA, 24.3% strikeout rate and 6.4% walk rate.

Turning to the team’s position player mix, it’s fair to wonder whether an ever-active Rays club is done shuffling the roster just yet. Last week’s signing of Amed Rosario on a one-year deal worth just $1.5MM came as a surprise on multiple levels, for instance, and Topkin notes in the same piece linked above that the addition of Rosario could make it easier for the Rays to move first baseman/designated hitter Harold Ramirez.

The two players don’t necessarily overlap in terms of positional fit, but both will see the bulk of their playing time against left-handed pitching. Rosario is a career .298/.339/.467 hitter against southpaws (121 wRC+), while Ramirez hits for a higher average but with lesser power at .323/.364/.453 (129 wRC+). Against lefties anyhow, Rosario is a comparable hitter with more speed and certainly more defensive utility. For a Rays team that’s concerned about payroll, signing Rosario at $1.5MM and trading Ramirez and his $3.8MM makes some sense. Becoming more versatile, saving a net $2.3MM and perhaps netting some talent in return for Ramirez could be a nice gambit all around.

Then again, Ramirez has been on the trade block for much of the offseason, and no deal has come to fruition. His limited defensive skill set and lack of power don’t help his trade value, but the 29-year-old is an affordable righty bat who’s posted a combined .306/.342/.438 slash in 869 plate appearances over the past two seasons.

Rays Designate Calvin Faucher, Cooper Criswell For Assignment

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The Rays are selecting infielder Austin Shenton and right-hander Yoniel Curet to the 40-man roster, tweets Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times. In corresponding moves, righties Calvin Faucher and Cooper Criswell have been designated for assignment. The Rays also avoided arbitration with left-hander Tyler Alexander on a one-year deal, Topkin adds.

Shenton, a left-handed hitting corner infielder, was a fifth round pick of the Mariners in 2019. Seattle traded the Florida International product to Tampa Bay at the 2021 deadline to bring in reliever Diego Castillo. He has spent the past couple seasons in the upper minors. The 25-year-old had a breakout year in 2023, combining for a .304/.423/.584 batting line between Double-A Montgomery and Triple-A Durham. He walked at a massive 16.3% clip against an elevated 26.7% strikeout rate.

Curet, 21, is a 6’2″ hurler from the Dominican Republic. He’s still in the low minors. Curet split this year between Low-A Charleston and High-A Bowling Green. He combined for a 2.94 ERA through 104 innings, striking out a third of opponents. A near-17% walk rate points to significant control issues to be ironed out, yet the Rays were evidently still concerned another team could stash Curet as an upside flier in their bullpen.

Faucher joined the Rays at the 2021 trade deadline as part of the ill-fated Nelson Cruz/Joe Ryan deal. The 28-year-old has pitched 47 innings over 39 appearances in the last two seasons. He has allowed 6.32 earned runs per nine with a middling 20.8% strikeout rate and a lofty 10% walk percentage. Faucher ended the season on the injured list with biceps tendinitis.

Criswell was on and off the active roster this year. He posted a 3.93 ERA in 84 2/3 Triple-A innings but allowed a 5.73 ERA over 33 MLB frames. Criswell is a good strike-thrower but hasn’t missed many bats at the highest level. Both he and Faucher will be traded or put on waivers within the next week.

Alexander was just claimed off waivers from the Tigers. He is in his second season of arbitration eligibility. Financial terms of his deal weren’t disclosed. MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz projected him for a $2MM salary, although it’s not uncommon for deals for borderline non-tender candidates to come in below those forecasts.

Rays Claim Tyler Alexander From Tigers

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The Rays have claimed left-hander Tyler Alexander off waivers from the Tigers, according to announcements from both clubs. The Tigers had designated the lefty for assignment earlier this week.

Alexander, 29, will join a new organization for the first time in his career. He was selected by the Tigers in the second round of the 2015 draft and has been with that club in some fashion for close to a decade now. He pitched for the big league club in a swing capacity over the past five years, making 120 appearances since the start of 2019, including 43 starts. He logged 341 1/3 innings in that time with a 4.38 earned run average, 18.9% strikeout rate and 5.1% walk rate.

In 2023, he was moved to the bullpen on essentially a full-time basis, making just one start that lasted three innings. He threw 44 innings over 25 appearances in total with a 4.50 ERA, though perhaps deserved better. His 24.3% strikeout rate and 2.8% walk rate were both better than average, the latter number especially so. His 65.3% strand rate was a bit on the unlucky side, leading to ERA estimators looking at him through a relatively rosier lens, such as a 4.10 FIP and 3.48 SIERA.

In early July, Alexander landed on the injured list due to a left lat/shoulder strain and wasn’t able to return. There’s no injured list during the offseason, so the Tigers opted to cut him loose instead of adding him back onto the roster. It was effectively an early non-tender, with Alexander set to go through that process for a second time. He made $1.875MM in 2023 and MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz projects a salary of $2MM in 2024.

It appears the Rays are willing to add Alexander at something near that price point, otherwise there would be little point in claiming him just before next week’s non-tender deadline. Assuming they plan to keep utilizing him out of the bullpen, he will join Colin Poche and Garrett Cleavinger as the club’s southpaw relief options. Alexander is still optionable and has another potential year of arb control remaining, perhaps allowing him to serve as a long-term depth piece for the Rays.

Tigers Exercise Club Options On Carson Kelly, Mark Canha; Designate Tyler Alexander For Assignment

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The Tigers announced a flurry of roster moves this afternoon. Chief among those was the team’s decision to exercise their 2024 club options on catcher Carson Kelly and outfielder Mark Canha. In addition, the club designated left-hander Tyler Alexander for assignment, assigned left-hander Andrew Vasquez and right-hander Trey Wingenter outright to Triple-A, and selected the contract of right-hander Keider Montero. There had been no prior indication that Vasquez or Wingenter had been on waivers, but each of them now figures to have the opportunity to become a minor league free agent.

In addition, the Tigers activated Alexander, outfielders Austin Meadows and Riley Greene, as well as right-handers Casey Mize and Freddy Pacheco from the 60-day IL.

It comes as no surprise that the Tigers exercised their $11.5MM option for Canha after they dealt for the veteran outfielder on Saturday. Given the $2MM buyout on his contract, it wouldn’t have made any sense for Detroit to trade for Canha (and give up 25-year-old righty Blake Holub) only to part ways with him two days later. He figures to play an important role in the team’s offense next season, presumably splitting his time between the corner outfield and DH.

As for Kelly, the Tigers were expected to pick up his $3.5MM option for 2024. At his end-of-season press conference, president of baseball operations Scott Harris said the team was seriously considering keeping the backstop in the fold. The team already has a starting catcher in place, 28-year-old Jake Rogers, so Kelly can serve as a capable defensive backup, with the potential to be a little bit more – the former top prospect is only two years removed from an above-average season at the plate. For $3.5MM, the Tigers weren’t going to find much more than that.

Alexander, 29, made 25 appearances for the Tigers in 2023, his first full season as a reliever. He pitched to a 4.50 ERA and a career-best 3.48 SIERA in 44 innings of work. Unfortunately, his solid season came to an early end when he landed on the IL with a shoulder strain in July.

Vasquez spent the first four months of the season with the Phillies, with whom he posted an impressive 2.27 ERA but less promising underlying numbers. He was designated for assignment shortly after the trade deadline, and the Tigers scooped him up. Unfortunately, he couldn’t find the same success in Detroit. Across 12 appearances, he gave up nine runs (eight earned) in just 8 2/3 innings of work. He missed most of September with a calf injury, although he made two scoreless appearances at the end of the month.

After spending most of the first half on the injured list, Wingenter made 17 appearances for the Tigers in 2023, his first big league action since 2019. His 5.82 ERA was troublesome, but his underlying metrics were actually quite encouraging: a 3.43 SIERA, a 3.87 xERA, and a much-improved 3.14 strikeout-to-walk ratio. Then again, he produced those numbers in mostly low-leverage spots, and apparently, the Tigers weren’t impressed enough with what they saw to keep Wingenter on the 40-man roster.

After seven years in Detroit’s minor league system, Montero would have been eligible to elect minor league free agency had the Tigers not added him to the 40-man roster this afternoon. He is coming off a difficult couple of months at Triple-A, but he is still just 23 years old, and evidently, the Tigers like what they have seen enough to keep him around. According to MLB Pipeline, he is the No. 26 prospect in the Tigers system.

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