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First Pitch – 6/10/23

Jake Crumpler — Sat, 10 Jun 2023 08:57:23 +0000

Everything you need to know to win your fantasy baseball league, daily

The post First Pitch – 6/10/23 appeared first on Pitcher List.

Pete Alonso To Miss 3-4 Weeks With Bone Bruise, Sprain Of Left Wrist

Anthony Franco — Sat, 10 Jun 2023 03:59:18 +0000

The Mets announced that first baseman Pete Alonso has been diagnosed with a bone bruise and a sprain of his left wrist, with the expected return timeline as three to four weeks. He has been placed on the 10-day injured list as part of a slate of moves that also involves right-hander Stephen Nogosek being designated for assignment. Infielder Luis Guillorme and left-hander Zach Muckenhirn were recalled in corresponding moves.

Additionally, the club announced that catcher Tomás Nido has been outrighted to Triple-A Syracuse and that right-hander Edwin Uceta underwent surgery to address a torn meniscus in his left knee, with an expected return timeline of eight weeks.

Losing Alonso is the biggest development for the Mets, of course. Reports emerged this morning suggesting MLB’s home run leader was headed to the IL. He’ll be out beyond the minimal stay, though the silver lining is that he didn’t suffer a fracture. Alonso’s absence likely opens first base for rookie Mark Vientos, who’s in the lineup at designated hitter tonight against Pittsburgh starter Rich Hill. Outfielder Mark Canha slides over to first base this evening.

Nogosek has logged action for the Mets in four different seasons. He’s worked 57 1/3 innings across 33 career relief outings, posting a 5.02 ERA. The Oregon product has tallied a career-high 25 2/3 frames this season, pitching to a 5.61 ERA with middling peripherals. He’s striking hitters out at a slightly below-average 21.2% rate while walking nearly 12% of opponents. He’s surrendered six home runs, one of which came off the bat of Marcell Ozuna in last night’s disheartening extra-inning loss to the Braves.

The 28-year-old Nogosek has exhausted his minor league option years. The Mets had no choice but to take him off the 40-man roster to remove him from the big league club. They’ll have a week to deal him or look to run him through waivers. If another team rolled the dice on a claim, they’d also have to keep him in the majors or designate him for assignment.

Nido went through the DFA process earlier in the week. The Mets reportedly explored trade scenarios after taking him off the roster but apparently didn’t find sufficient interest. They waived him instead. He’s gone unclaimed, in part on account of a $1.6MM salary this season and a guaranteed $2.1MM next year.

The Mets DFA Nido just before he was set to surpass five years of major league service. That meant that while he can technically decline the minor league assignment in favor of free agency, he’d have to relinquish that guaranteed money to do so. With other clubs apparently unwilling to match that deal, Nido is accepting the assignment to Syracuse, tweets Mike Puma of the New York Post. He’ll stick in the organization as a defensive depth option but no longer occupies a 40-man roster spot.

As for Uceta, he joined New York at the start of April on a waiver claim from the Pirates. He made one three-inning appearance at the big league level and pitched twice more in Triple-A. He initially landed on the injured list with an ankle sprain but apparently suffered a knee injury while rehabbing. The Mets could move him to the 60-day IL if they need a 40-man roster spot at some point, though the recent DFA’s of Nido and Nogosek have already dropped that tally to 38.

William Cuevas Signs With KBO’s KT Wiz

Anthony Franco — Sat, 10 Jun 2023 03:08:25 +0000

The KT Wiz of the Korea Baseball Organization have signed right-hander William Cuevas, the team announced (h/t to Dan Kurtz of MyKBO.net). He’ll receive a $450K salary. In a corresponding move, the Wiz released righty Beau Sulser.

Cuevas, who pitched in the majors between 2016-18, had been in Triple-A with the Dodgers after signing a minor league deal in April. He started nine of 11 appearances for their Oklahoma City affiliate, working to a 6.14 ERA through 44 frames. Cuevas had a decent 22.1% strikeout rate but struggled with home runs in the difficult Pacific Coast League setting. The Dodgers granted him his release yesterday, which Triple-A communications director Alex Freedman notes (on Twitter) coincides with the recent signing of veteran lefty Mike Montgomery to a non-roster deal.

While the jump from an American to an Asian professional league could lead to an adjustment for some players, Cuevas shouldn’t have much trouble getting acclimated. He signed with this same Wiz club leading into the 2019 season and spent three-plus years there. Cuevas was a reliable rotation fixture through 2021, helping them win the Korean Series during his third year. An elbow injury led the Wiz to let him go last May. Now that he’s healthy, they’ll bring him back to a familiar setting.

Sulser signed with the Wiz last November. The 29-year-old made nine starts but struggled to a 5.62 ERA through 49 2/3 innings. He struck out a fairly modest 15.8% of opponents against a quality 6.3% walk rate. The KBO club moved on quickly once the chance to reunite with Cuevas presented itself.

As a result, Sulser returns to the open market and could seek out minor league landing spots. He has ten games of major league experience, all coming last season between the Pirates and Orioles. Sulser has a 5.17 ERA over 179 1/3 frames at the Triple-A level.

White Sox Release Daniel Ponce de Leon

Darragh McDonald — Sat, 10 Jun 2023 01:49:57 +0000

The White Sox have released right-hander Daniel Ponce de Leon, according to his transactions tracker at MLB.com.

Ponce de Leon, 31, had signed a minor league deal with the Sox in April and has been pitching for the Triple-A Charlotte Knights. He had been working largely out of the rotation for them, starting seven of his eight appearances this year. Unfortunately, the results weren’t good, as he posted an ERA of 9.99 in 24 1/3 innings. He struck out just 14.5% of batters faced while walking a huge 18.3%.

The righty has some major league experience, which came with the Cardinals from 2018 to 2021. He tossed 147 2/3 innings over those campaigns, registering a 4.33 ERA with a solid 23.9% strikeout rate but a 12.7% walk rate. Since that time, he’s bounced around to various farm systems but hasn’t been able to get into a good groove. He spent all of 2022 in Triple-A, pitching at that level for the Mariners, Nationals and Tigers. But he had a combined 6.52 ERA in 116 innings for those clubs on the year.

Ponce de Leon will now be free to explore and discover his next landing spot. Though he hasn’t been at his best for a few years, he at least has some decent major league outings on his résumé. With various clubs around the league dealing with significant pitching injuries, perhaps he will find a port of call with another organization in the near future.

Jack Baldschun Passes Away

Anthony Franco — Sat, 10 Jun 2023 01:19:30 +0000

Former big league reliever Jack Baldschun passed away this week after a battle with leukemia, according to an obituary from the Malcore Funeral Home in Green Bay. He was 86 years old.

An Ohio native, Baldschun entered the minor league ranks in 1956 as a signee of the Washington Senators. He’d spent four years in the Reds’ organization thereafter before moving to the Phillies during the 1960 Rule 5 draft. That set the stage for the right-hander to make his big league debut with Philadelphia in April 1961.

Baldschun took an immediate key role on the Phils’ pitching staff. He logged 99 2/3 innings over 65 relief appearances as a rookie, leading the majors in pitching appearances. Baldschun posted a 3.88 ERA, then followed up with consecutive sub-3.00 showings. He pitched to a 2.96 ERA over 112 2/3 frames of relief in 1962, then posted a career-best 2.30 mark in 113 2/3 innings the next season.

While he didn’t quite keep his ERA below 3.00 for a third straight year, Baldschun tossed a personal-high 118 1/3 frames of 3.12 ball in 1964. He fell just shy of the century mark the following season, working to a 3.82 ERA over 99 innings.

Over the stretch between 1961-65, only Hoyt Wilhelm, Ron Perranoski and Stu Miller absorbed a heavier workload out of the bullpen. Baldschun posted a cumulative 3.18 ERA and, while the save wouldn’t become an official statistic until the end of the decade, he’d be retroactively credited with 59 of them.

After the ’65 season, Philadelphia traded Baldschun to the Orioles. Baltimore would flip him back to Cincinnati within a matter of days, packaging him in one of the most impactful trades in MLB history. Baldschun joined starter Milt Pappas and outfielder Dick Simpson in heading to the Reds for Frank Robinson. The future Hall of Famer would go to win an MVP in his first season in Baltimore and help the club to a pair of World Series titles.

Baldschun never really found his form with the Reds, pitching to a 5.25 ERA in parts of two seasons. He signed with the Padres going into 1969 and pitched for two years there. He retired after the 1970 campaign, having appeared in parts of nine MLB seasons. Altogether, Baldschun pitched 704 innings over 457 games as one of the top bullpen workhorses of the 1960s. He posted a 3.69 ERA, struck out 555 and finished 267 contests.

MLBTR sends our condolences to Baldschun’s family, friends and loved ones.

The Sleeper and the Bust Episode: 1184 – Week 11 2-Start Pitchers

Paul Sporer — Sat, 10 Jun 2023 00:20:33 +0000

Paul and Justin discuss the viability of next week's 2-start pitchers who might be worth a pickup

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David Dahl Elects Free Agency

Anthony Franco — Sat, 10 Jun 2023 00:13:18 +0000

Outfielder David Dahl went unclaimed on outright waivers and elected minor league free agency, tweets Jeff Sanders of the San Diego Union-Tribune. The Pads had designated him for assignment when reinstating Adrián Morejón from the injured list earlier in the week.

Dahl signed a minor league pact with San Diego over the winter. He broke camp but appeared in only four MLB games. A quad strain cost him some time early and he spent the bulk of his time on optional assignment to Triple-A El Paso. Dahl got into 17 games there, hitting .265/.342/.382 with one home run.

That’s modest power production in the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League. Dahl did demonstrate strong plate discipline in that limited time, walking eight times against seven strikeouts. The lefty-swinging outfielder has now appeared in parts of six seasons at that level. In a little less than 800 trips to the plate, he’s hitting .299/.352/.488 against Triple-A pitching.

Dahl was an All-Star outfielder for the Rockies early in his career. He hasn’t gotten much major league run in the past few years. Dahl missed a good chunk of 2020 to injury, slumped to a .210/.247/.322 showing for the Rangers in ’21, then spent all of last season in the minors. He’ll likely look for minor league opportunities on the open market.

Vince Velasquez Undergoes Elbow Surgery; Expected To Miss Roughly A Year

Darragh McDonald — Fri, 09 Jun 2023 23:36:01 +0000

6:36pm: Pittsburgh director of sports medicine Todd Tomczyk indicated Velasquez was likely to miss 11-12 months, writes Justice delos Santos of MLB.com. He won’t been throwing until around November. Obviously, that’ll cut into the righty’s availability for the first half of the 2024 campaign.

3:55pm: Pirates right-hander Vince Velasquez has undergone season-ending elbow surgery, reports Jason Mackey of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

Velasquez, 31, was signed by the Pirates this winter to a one-year, $3.15MM deal. The club was likely hoping that he could provide a stable source of veteran innings, alongside fellow offseason signee Rich Hill, as they also gave auditions to younger pitchers like Mitch Keller, Roansy Contreras, Johan Oviedo and Luis Ortiz.

The plan worked fairly well for a while, as Velasquez got out to a strong start. He made eight starts for the Bucs with a 3.86 ERA, striking out 22.8% of batters faced against an 8.6% walk rate. He was placed on the injured list in early May due to elbow inflammation and came back later that month. However, he departed his return start after just two innings due to renewed discomfort in that elbow.

It was reported last week that Velasquez would eventually be moved to the 60-day injured list, which seemed to point to a significant absence. That has now come to fruition with today’s news that he required some sort of serious surgery. It’s not clear exactly what sort of surgery took place, but it will apparently end his 2023 and perhaps impact his 2024 as well if it were something as serious as Tommy John surgery, though further details will undoubtedly come out in time.

It’s surely a frustrating development for both the player and the team. Velasquez has been fairly inconsistent in his career, with his ERA oscillating between a low of 4.12 in 2016 and a high of 6.30 in 2021. Though it was a fairly small sample, his 2023 was on pace to potentially be his strongest yet, though it now appears to be done. He will be a free agent this winter, though the level of interest he receives will be affected by the severity of the surgery and his health going forward.

For the Bucs, this will be a blow to their rotation depth as they are hovering in the playoff race for the first time in years after a lengthy rebuild. They are currently 32-29 and holding the last Wild Card spot in the National League. If they manage to stay afloat in that race, the diminished depth will present them with a challenge. Velasquez also would have been a logical trade candidate if they fell back in the race given his impending free agency, though that won’t even be a call the front office has to make anymore.

Best Deadline Rental Returns In Recent History, #5: Pirates Get A Shortstop With Elite Tools For Tony Watson

Darragh McDonald — Fri, 09 Jun 2023 23:29:47 +0000

With the trade deadline now less than two months away, we at MLBTR are setting our sights backwards for a bit to highlight past trades of rental players to provide a loose guideline of what sort of returns fans can expect with their teams’ current rental players. With an arbitrary cutoff point of 2017-21, we’re counting down the top 10 returns that a team got when selling a rental player. We’ve already published some honorable mentions as well as entries No. 10, No. 9, No. 8, No. 7. and No. 6. If you disagree with our rankings, let us know! It’s all part of the subjective fun! Onto No. 6…

The Pirates endured a long postseason drought that spanned the changing of the millenium. They made the postseason in three straight years from 1990 to 1992 but then didn’t return for over 20 years. They had another three-year run beginning in 2013, qualifying for the Wild Card game that year as well as the next two. They couldn’t keep it going in 2016, dropping to 78-83 and missing the postseason.

The club had many star players in that time, particularly Andrew McCutchen, Starling Marte, Russell Martin, Gerrit Cole, Francisco Liriano and others, but one fixture of those Pittsburgh clubs was left-handed reliever Tony Watson. Drafted by the Bucs in 2007, he made it to the majors in 2011. He tossed 41 innings in his debut season with a 3.95 ERA, securing 10 holds in the process.

He would get even better in the seasons to come, his peak coinciding with those postseason years for the Pirates. He had a miniscule 1.63 ERA in 77 1/3 innings in 2014, striking out 26.6% of batters faced while walking 4.9% and getting grounders on 47.7% of balls in play. He only notched a couple of saves as Mark Melancon was in the closer’s role, but Watson tallied 34 holds.

Watson’s effectiveness would fade a bit in the subsequent seasons, hardly a surprise given that his excellent 2014 campaign would be almost impossible to maintain. His ERA climbed to 1.91 in 2015 and then 3.06 in 2016. His strikeout rate also fell to 21.2% and 21.3% in those seasons. Nonetheless, he was still a very effective relief pitcher.

The Pirates weren’t able to bounce back from their down season in 2016. At the end of July 2017, they were sporting a record of 51-54, fourth place in the National League Central and 8.5 games back in the Wild Card race. Watson was pitching fine that year, with a 3.66 ERA at the time. But since he was just a few months away from free agency and the club was struggling, it made sense to move on.

Watson had spent his entire career with the Pirates up until he was traded to the Dodgers on July 31, 2017. He made 24 appearances for his new club with a 2.70 ERA as they finished 104-58, the best record in the majors. He made 11 more appearances in the postseason with a 2.70 ERA. The Dodgers eventually lost the World Series in what will go down as a major “what if” since it was the now-infamous sign-stealing Astros club that emerged victorious in seven games.

In exchange for Watson, the Pirates got a couple of younger players from the Dodgers. One of them was 21-year-old right-hander Angel German. He wasn’t considered a top prospect but had a 1.91 ERA in Single-A that year. Unfortunately, he bumped that to a 6.92 ERA in High-A in 2018 and then a 4.33 in Double-A in 2019. He reached free agency and signed a minor league deal with the Rays going into 2020, but was released in May of 2020 amid the pandemic shutdown. He hasn’t pitched in an official capacity since.

The other player in the deal was 18-year-old infielder Oneil Cruz. He had signed with the Dodgers in July of 2015 as a 16-year-old international amateur, securing a bonus of $950K. He played in the Dominican Summer League in 2016, hitting .294/.367/.444 in 211 plate appearances and stealing 11 bases.

Going into 2017, Baseball America ranked him the #27 prospect in the Dodgers system and their report highlighted something that has been a subject of interest in the years since: his size. “Cruz is a great example of the challenges unique to international scouting,” the report states. “As a 15-year-old working out for clubs in the Dominican Republic, Cruz was a 6-foot-1 shortstop. By the time he signed with the Dodgers for $950,000 as a 16-year-old, Cruz had shot up to 6-foot-4. He grew taller after signing, and by the time the 2016 Dominican Summer League season began, he was pushing 6-foot-6.”

Cruz actually was slumping in the first half of 2017, as he was hitting just .240/.293/.342 in 89 Single-A games. He had eight home runs and eight stolen bases but was striking out at a 29.3% clip. Nonetheless, the Pirates decided to take a gamble on him and brought him aboard in the Watson deal.

Six years later, it certainly seems like it was a worthwhile gamble. Cruz has risen through the ranks over the years, becoming a top 100 prospect thanks to his elite tools. He got a very brief two-game cup of coffee in the majors at the end of 2021 but then was sent back to the minors at the start of 2022. He was recalled in June and showed both the reasons for his prospect hype but also the concerning parts of his game.

Cruz has arguably the best raw athletic traits of any player in the league. His 122.4 mph maximum exit velocity was tops in the majors last year. His sprint speed was in the 98th percentile. His arm strength was in the 97th percentile. In short, he can hit for power, run and throw among the best in the world.

But one of the major questions around Cruz as a prospect was whether his height, now 6’7″, would prevent him from playing shortstop. No one that size had ever successfully played the position before. The other question was whether or not his penchant for strikeouts would become too much of a problem. Neither of those questions were definitively answered last year.

Despite hitting 17 home runs in 87 games, Cruz went down on strikes in 34.9% of his plate appearances. Among players with at least 350 trips to the plate, only Joey Gallo and Chris Taylor were punched out at a higher rate. On the defensive side of things, the reviews were mixed. Defensive Runs Saved gave him a grade of +1, but Ultimate Zone Rating came in at -7.5 and Outs Above Average at -9.

2023 was going to be an important season for Cruz, still just 24, to show the Pirates if he were capable of improving in either of those areas. Unfortunately, after just nine games, he suffered an ankle fracture during an awkward slide in a close play at home plate. The estimated timeline on that injury was four months, meaning he could be back in August if that prediction holds.

It’s still unknown whether Cruz will reach his full potential or not. Despite the injury setback, the Pirates have time to find out, as Cruz isn’t slated for free agency until after 2028. He and the club have also discussed an extension that could potentially keep him around even longer. Regardless of how it plays out, the Pirates have a player who arguably has one of the highest ceilings in the sport. If he takes a step forward in terms of defense and plate discipline, his tools will give him the chance to be one of the best players in the league.

Images courtesy of USA Today Sports.

The Pitches Producing Your Portliest Pains

Nicklaus Gaut — Fri, 09 Jun 2023 23:19:39 +0000

We thought we drafted aces - we were wrong.

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Yankees’ Greg Allen To Miss Six To Eight Weeks With Hip Flexor Strain

Anthony Franco — Fri, 09 Jun 2023 22:52:47 +0000

The Yankees placed Greg Allen on the 10-day injured list over the weekend after the outfielder strained his right hip flexor. It’s apparently a serious issue, as manager Aaron Boone told reporters this afternoon the club expected Allen to miss six to eight weeks (via Chris Kirschner of the Athletic).

It’s a tough break for the switch-hitting outfielder. Allen was looking to establish himself in a New York outfield that was already without Harrison Bader and since lost Aaron Judge to injury. He’d picked up a homer and a triple within his first 17 plate appearances since being acquired from the Red Sox in a minor trade last month. Allen has had a pair of brief stints with the Yankees over the past three years and performed well in each, though his overall MLB track record is modest.

In 292 career games, he’s a .231/.299/.340 hitter. Allen had some opportunities to carve out a role in Cleveland early in his career. His recent playing time has been more sporadic. He’s generally struggled offensively and is now on a second notable injury in as many seasons. He lost a good chunk of last year with a hamstring injury sustained while playing for the Pirates.

While the injuries to Judge and Bader are obviously far more significant problems, losing Allen for an extended stretch deals another hit to a Yankee outfield with few established players. New York has a group of Willie Calhoun, Jake Bauers, Isiah Kiner-Falefa, Oswaldo Cabrera and Billy McKinney to take the reps on the grass. New York is using Giancarlo Stanton exclusively at designated hitter for now after an injured list stint due to a hamstring strain.

Bauers has hit well in limited playing time. Calhoun has been a roughly league average hitter. Kiner-Falefa and Cabrera have struggled, while McKinney just came up from the minors this week. Even once Judge and Bader come back, the Yankees figure to look for ways to add to the outfield via trade this summer.

Rockies Remove Pierce Johnson From Closer Role

Anthony Franco — Fri, 09 Jun 2023 22:23:37 +0000

The Rockies will no longer use right-hander Pierce Johnson as the closer, manager Bud Black told the team’s beat (relayed by Patrick Saunders of the Denver Post). Black didn’t declare a definitive replacement but pointed to Justin Lawrence and Jake Bird as candidates to step into the role.

Johnson signed a one-year, $5MM free agent deal with his hometown club last offseason. It was a roll of the dice from the Colorado front office considering he’d been limited by injury to 14 1/3 innings during his final season as a Padre. Johnson has been healthy in 2023 but hasn’t performed at the level the organization had envisioned.

Over 24 innings, the veteran hurler has been tagged for a 7.50 ERA. He hasn’t had any trouble missing bats, as he’s punching out 27.7% of opponents while picking up swinging strikes at a solid 11.9% clip. Yet his control has been far too inconsistent. Johnson has walked over 14% of batters faced. He’s also surrendered plenty of loud contact, and while it’s unlikely that nearly 40% of balls in play will continue to fall for hits, the combination of free passes and barrels has led to disappointing results.

Johnson’s raw save rate (11 of 13) isn’t bad. Each of his blown saves have come in his last two opportunities, though. A three-run ninth inning to turn a 4-3 lead into a 6-4 loss to the Giants yesterday will lead the club in another direction. Johnson could still play an important role in the Colorado bullpen, but it’ll come in middle to late innings work for the moment.

Lawrence and Bird have each performed much better through the season’s first couple months. The former carries a 3.41 ERA across 34 1/3 innings. A lower-slot righty, Lawrence presents a particularly tough look for same-handed hitters. He’s striking out almost 27% of opponents and generating grounders on over half the batted balls he allows. Lawrence has had scattershot control in years past, but this season’s 9.4% walk rate is tolerable.

Bird, 27, leads Colorado relievers with 41 1/3 innings pitched. He’s sitting on a 3.05 ERA and, like Lawrence, is keeping the ball on the ground at a high level. While a modest 9% swinging strike rate might make it hard for him to continue punching out a quarter of opposing hitters, that shouldn’t be an issue so long as he’s picking up grounders at a near-57% clip.

Lineup Analysis (6/9/23)

Jeff Zimmerman — Fri, 09 Jun 2023 22:04:23 +0000

A few interesting moves.

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Vince Velasquez Undergoes Season-Ending Elbow Surgery

Darragh McDonald — Fri, 09 Jun 2023 20:55:01 +0000

Pirates right-hander Vince Velasquez has undergone season-ending elbow surgery, reports Jason Mackey of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

Red Sox Transfer Chris Sale To 60-Day Injured List

Darragh McDonald — Fri, 09 Jun 2023 20:25:36 +0000

The Red Sox announced a series of roster moves today, some of which were previously reported, though some were new developments. Outfielder Adam Duvall has been reinstated from the 60-day injured list while left-hander Joe Jacques has had his contract selected. To open two active roster spots, lefty Matt Dermody has been designated for assignment while infielder Enmanuel Valdéz was optioned to Triple-A. To open one more 40-man roster spot, lefty Chris Sale has been transferred to the 60-day injured list. The Sox informed reporters, including Pete Abraham of the Boston Globe, that Sale has a stress reaction in his shoulder blade. He won’t require surgery but he will be shut down for three to four weeks before being reevaluated.

Sale, 34, was once one of the most dominant pitchers in the league but he has been severely held back by injuries in recent years. He averaged over 200 innings per season from 2012 to 2017 but was held to roughly 150 per year in the two following seasons. He made trips to the injured list in 2018 due to shoulder inflammation then dealt with elbow inflammation the following year. He ultimately required Tommy John surgery in March of 2020, causing him to miss that entire season.

He returned late in 2021 and was able to make nine starts that year. It was hoped he would be set for a return to full-time work in 2022 but he dealt with a stress reaction in his ribs that kept him out until July. He was hit by a comebacker in his second start, fracturing a finger. While on the injured list again, he broke his wrist in a bicycle accident that ended his season.

Here in 2023, it was again hoped that he could perhaps return to a regular starting role. That was the case for a while, as he made 11 starts with a 4.58 ERA, but he landed on the injured list again on June 2 due to shoulder inflammation. He’ll now be ineligible to return until August, though even that seems contingent on a bit of luck in the health department. The aforementioned shutdown period will keep him out of action for most of the rest of June. Even if he’s healthy after that, he’ll need most of July to build back up and go on a rehab assignment.

In the short term, the Red Sox will be figuring out how to proceed without Sale. They have recently been running out a group with veteran James Paxton alongside younger pitchers like Brayan Bello, Garrett Whitlock, Tanner Houck and Kutter Crawford, while struggles from Corey Kluber and Nick Pivetta got both of those guys pushed into the bullpen.

In the long-term, the Sox will have to wonder what they can expect from Sale going forward. He is playing this year on a salary of $27.5MM and will make that same figure next year as part of the extension he and the club signed going into 2019. There’s also a $20MM club option for 2025 with no buyout. Due to his carousel of injuries, he’s pitched just over 100 innings since the end of the 2019 campaign.

Beat the Shift Podcast – Bullpen Episode w/ Greg Jewett

Ariel Cohen — Fri, 09 Jun 2023 20:25:23 +0000

An update of bullpens and closer situations with Greg Jewett of Reliever Recon.

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Astros Place Yordan Alvarez On Injured List

Darragh McDonald — Fri, 09 Jun 2023 20:10:06 +0000

3:10pm: The corresponding move is that catcher César Salazar has been recalled, per Matt Young of the Houston Chronicle.

2:20pm: The Astros announced that outfielder Yordan Alvarez has been placed on the 10-day injured list with right oblique discomfort. The Astros are in Cleveland tonight but he will head back to Houston for further evaluation. The corresponding move isn’t publicly known at this time.

Alvarez was removed from yesterday’s game against the Blue Jays due to this oblique issue. It’s still unknown exactly how serious it is, with the further testing hopefully shedding more light on it, but he’ll now be on the shelf for at least 10 days.

Time will tell how significant his absence will be, but the Astros will undoubtedly be worse off for whatever that length ultimately proves to be. Alvarez is one of the premiere hitters in the league, having hit .293/.384/.588 in his career for a wRC+ of 164. He has been right in line with that kind of production this year, having hit 17 home runs already while slashing .272/.384/.579 for a wRC+ of 165.

Injuries have been a focus of the Astros in 2023 as Michael Brantley has been out all year, Jose Altuve has missed significant time and the pitching staff has had a handful of notable absences as well. Despite all of that, they are still 36-27 and hanging onto a Wild Card spot, though they are just half a game ahead of the Blue Jays at the moment. Losing the potent bat of Alvarez will create another challenge for the club going forward.

Alvarez has played 22 games in left field this year but has otherwise been serving as the designated hitter. Without Alvarez or Brantley, the club will have Kyle Tucker, Chas McCormick, Jake Meyers and Corey Julks in the outfield mix and could potentially rotate those players through the DH slot now, though the corresponding move could also put another player into that mix as well.

Pirates Designate Chase De Jong For Assignment

Darragh McDonald — Fri, 09 Jun 2023 19:35:41 +0000

The Pirates announced that outfielder Canaan Smith-Njigba has been recalled from Triple-A Indianapolis. In a corresponding move, right-hander Chase De Jong was designated for assignment. Their 40-man roster count is now down to 37.

De Jong, 29, has bounced on and off the Pirates’ roster since signing a minor league deal in January of 2021. He had his contract selected that year but spent much of the campaign on the injured list and was outrighted at season’s end. He returned on another minor league deal in 2022 and ended up having a nice season in Pittsburgh. He had his contract selected in April and eventually posted a 2.64 ERA in 71 2/3 innings.

That was enough for him to keep his roster spot through the winter, though there were reasons to suspect it wasn’t fully sustainable. His .222 batting average on balls in play and 86.3% strand rate were both on the fortunate side, leading to a 4.74 FIP and 4.38 SIERA. His luck has swung the other way this year in a small sample, as he has a .308 BABIP and 51.1% strand rate, leading to a 13.50 ERA in 11 1/3 innings. Beyond the luck, his 20.1% strikeout rate from last year is down to just 11.7% so far this year, while he’s also allowed six homers in that short time frame.

The righty was already designated for assignment in May, after which he cleared waivers and was outrighted to Indianapolis. He had the right to elect free agency based on previous career outrights but opted to accept and got his roster spot back a few days ago. He made one appearance since then, allowing six earned runs in two innings on Tuesday. Based on his rough season, it now seems possible that the same sequence of events will play out again, with De Jong being put on waivers and clearing. If that comes to pass, he would once again have the right to elect free agency but might simply accept an outright assignment like he did a few weeks ago.

Starting Pitcher Chart – June 9th

Paul Sporer — Fri, 09 Jun 2023 18:28:44 +0000

A handful of useful streamers heading into the weekend

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Blue Jays Designate Anthony Bass For Assignment

Darragh McDonald — Fri, 09 Jun 2023 18:10:35 +0000

The Blue Jays announced that right-hander Mitch White has been reinstated from the 60-day injured list and will be active for tonight’s game. Fellow righty Anthony Bass was designated for assignment in a corresponding move.

Bass, 35, was acquired from the Marlins at last year’s trade deadline. Between the two clubs, he posted a 1.54 ERA on the season. The Blue Jays exercised a $3MM club option to keep him around for 2023 but his results have taken a step back this season, as he has a 4.95 ERA thus far. His 26.5% strikeout rate from last year is down to 21.6% here in 2023, his walk rate has gone from 7.3% to 10.2% and his ground ball rate from 41.2% to 38.3%.

Beyond the poor on-field results, Bass has made plenty of headlines in recent days for other reasons. For those unfamiliar, Keegan Matheson of MLB.com yesterday provided a rundown of the storyline that has surrounded Bass in recent weeks. It started on May 29 when the pitcher shared a video on Instagram wherein companies supporting the LGBTQ2S+ community were described as “evil” and “demonic.”

Bass read a written apology last week but did not take questions afterward. “We’re not going to pretend like this never happened,” manager John Schneider said at that time. “We’re not going to pretend like it’s the end and move on. There are definitely more steps that are going to follow.”

The issue came up again yesterday when Bass met with the media and did take questions this time. Though he maintained he was committed to self-reflection and working with Pride Toronto executive director Sherwin Modeste, he also seemed more upset by the negative attention than the actual content of what he shared. “I just felt like it was too much of a distraction. But I stand by my personal beliefs,” Bass said in relation to eventually deleting the video, “and everyone is entitled to their personal beliefs, right?”

It isn’t fully known what motivated the Jays to make today’s move, as it could theoretically be claimed that it was merely the result of Bass’s on-field performance and the return of White. But it was reported just yesterday that Bass was going to catch the ceremonial first pitch at tonight’s game, the start of Pride Weekend. It seems fair to expect that those plans have now changed, though general manager Ross Atkins will speak to the media at 3pm Eastern/2pm Central, per Matheson.

The Jays will now have one week to trade Bass or pass him through waivers. In the event he clears waivers, he would have the right to reject an outright assignment and elect free agency while retaining all of his salary, as a player with more than five years of service time. If that comes to pass, the Jays would remain on the hook for that money and any other club could sign him for the prorated league minimum for any time spent on the active roster.

As for White, he was acquired from the Dodgers last year. He had a 3.70 ERA at the time of the deal but struggled with a 7.74 mark after. He came into Spring Training set to compete with Yusei Kikuchi for the fifth starter job but suffered a shoulder impingement in February and elbow inflammation in March. He’s been on the injured list all season and began a rehab assignment in late April. He was throwing multi-inning outings, seemingly planning for a return to work as a starter, but was shut down for a few days in late May due to shoulder fatigue. He resumed his rehab in recent weeks but has been pitching shorter outings and now seems tickets for relief work, at least for the time being.

The Blue Jays have a hole in their rotation since optioning Alek Manoah recently, leaving them with Kevin Gausman, Chris Bassitt, José Berríos and Kikuchi, with tomorrow’s starter still listed as TBD. They selected Bowden Francis recently and he could perhaps take the bulk of the innings, though White could factor in as well.

Top 100 Relievers for Save+Hold Leagues: 6/9

Rick Graham — Fri, 09 Jun 2023 18:00:58 +0000

Top 100 RP rankings for Saves + Holds leagues in 2023.

The post Top 100 Relievers for Save+Hold Leagues: 6/9 appeared first on Pitcher List.

Tigers Claim Nick Solak, Transfer Spencer Turnbull To 60-Day IL

Darragh McDonald — Fri, 09 Jun 2023 17:33:56 +0000

The Tigers announced that they have claimed infielder Nick Solak off waivers from Atlanta and optioned him to Triple-A Toledo. To make room on the 40-man roster, right-hander Spencer Turnbull was transferred to the 60-day injured list.

More to come.

Randy Vásquez Pitch Analysis – Pitch Breakdown

Nick Pollack — Fri, 09 Jun 2023 17:27:00 +0000

Nick analyzes Randy Vásquez for his daily breakdown

The post Randy Vásquez Pitch Analysis – Pitch Breakdown appeared first on Pitcher List.

Reds Place Graham Ashcraft On Injured List

Darragh McDonald — Fri, 09 Jun 2023 17:05:18 +0000

The Reds announced that they have placed right-hander Graham Ashcraft on the 15-day injured list due to a left calf contusion. In a corresponding move, they recalled right-hander Ricky Karcher, who will be making his major league debut as soon as he gets into a game.

More to come.

DFS Plays of the Day 6/9/23

Tyler Gentile — Fri, 09 Jun 2023 17:00:34 +0000

@808Paperboi is tryna get you that paper, boi.

The post DFS Plays of the Day 6/9/23 appeared first on Pitcher List.

Fantasy Baseball Relief Pitcher Rankings – 6/9/23 Depth Chart

Nate Kosher — Fri, 09 Jun 2023 16:45:09 +0000

Breakdowns of key bullpen usages from yesterday's slate of games.

The post Fantasy Baseball Relief Pitcher Rankings – 6/9/23 Depth Chart appeared first on Pitcher List.

Prospect Promotions: 6/2-6/8

Vincent Ginardi — Fri, 09 Jun 2023 16:30:08 +0000

A look at this week's prospect promotions.

The post Prospect Promotions: 6/2-6/8 appeared first on Pitcher List.

PPP 276 – Starting Pitcher Update & Streamers – 6-9-23

Nick Pollack — Fri, 09 Jun 2023 16:29:27 +0000

Nick Pollack's latest episode of his SP focused Plus Pitch Podcast.

The post PPP 276 – Starting Pitcher Update & Streamers – 6-9-23 appeared first on Pitcher List.

MLB News & Moments You Should Know – 6/9/23

Chrystal OKeefe — Fri, 09 Jun 2023 16:25:08 +0000

The MLB news and moments you need to know this morning.

The post MLB News & Moments You Should Know – 6/9/23 appeared first on Pitcher List.

Best Deadline Rental Returns In Recent History, #6: The Cubs’ Fire Sale

Steve Adams — Fri, 09 Jun 2023 16:21:27 +0000

With the trade deadline now less than two months away, we at MLBTR are setting our sights backwards for a bit to highlight past trades of rental players to provide a loose guideline of what sort of returns fans can expect with their teams’ current rental players. With an arbitrary cutoff point of 2017-21, we’re counting down the top 10 returns that a team got when selling a rental player. We’ve already published some honorable mentions as well as entries No. 10, No. 9, No. 8 and No. 7. If you disagree with our rankings, let us know! It’s all part of the subjective fun! Onto No. 6…

The 2021 season marked a turning point in Cubs franchise history. Half a decade had elapsed since the team’s curse-breaking 2016 World Series run. The “dynasty” chatter that followed that seven-game victory over Cleveland never really manifested into reality. Chicago was a perennial contender, but that vaunted Cubs core never reached the World Series again and only won one game beyond the National League Division Series before the group was suddenly nearing the end of its time together.

Kris Bryant, Anthony Rizzo, Javier Baez, Willson Contreras, Kyle Schwarber, Jon Lester, Jake Arrieta and Kyle Hendricks was a sensational group of talent around which to build, but Hendricks was the only one of the bunch to put pen to paper on an extension. The group continued inching closer to free agency, and as Lester and Arrieta declined in their latter years in Chicago, some of the shine wore off. The Cubs were a good team, but year after year, the season ended with now-former president of baseball operations Theo Epstein making similar comments about how the “offense broke” or something else went wrong.

Following a 2020 season that saw the Cubs swept out of a three-game Wild Card series against the Marlins in the expanded playoff format, Epstein stepped down from his role as president and turned baseball autonomy over to Jed Hoyer. It was baptism by fire in every sense of the cliche, as Hoyer faced a series of unenviable decisions, beginning with Schwarber. Fresh off a .188/.308/.393 showing in 244 plate appearances in 2020, Schwarber was non-tendered rather than offered a raise heading into his final year of arbitration. Not four weeks later, Yu Darvish was traded to the Padres in a salary-motivated deal that has to date produced just one prospect of any note (Owen Caissie).

Decision time was only just beginning for Hoyer and his staff. The Cubs would need to determine how to proceed with the trio of Bryant, Rizzo and Baez, each of whom were slated to become free agents following the 2021 season. Prior extension talks had never resulted in a deal — though Baez was reportedly quite close to signing before baseball grinded to a halt with the Covid pandemic in 2020. Chicago made one final effort to extend Rizzo that spring, but he spurned their five-year, $70MM offer (and has since banked three years and $56MM in guaranteed money with the Yankees).

The Cubs could’ve traded any of the bunch that offseason, and Bryant’s name in particular echoed throughout the rumor mill as much as it ever had. Ultimately, all three stayed put, and thus the ensuing narratives that would dominate the 2021 Cubs season were set into motion. Would any of Bryant, Baez or Rizzo stay? Was the core finally breaking up? Was this the team’s last chance?

The lackluster offseason headlined by trading the prior season’s Cy Young runner-up should’ve answered that final question on its own, but the Cubs surprised plenty of onlookers by not only fielding a competitive team but vying for first place in the division for much of the first few months. As late into the season as June 24, the Cubs were eight games over .500 and in a first-place tie for the NL Central lead with the Brewers.

A subsequent 11-game losing streak — the first of two 11-game losing streaks for that year’s Cubs — removed all doubt, however. By July 8, the Cubs were below .500, and the surging Brewers had remained hot. They held a 9.5-game lead over the second-place Reds, with Chicago and St. Louis tied for third in the division. The fire sale was coming, and virtually everyone knew it.

Rizzo was the first to go. A July 29 deal sent him to the Yankees in exchange for 19-year-old outfielder Kevin Alcantara and 24-year-old righty Alexander Vizcaino. A day later, Baez was following Rizzo out of Wrigley. Traded alongside right-hander Trevor Williams, Baez went to the Mets in exchange for 19-year-old outfielder Pete Crow-Armstrong. For the next 24 hours, there were serious questions about whether a trade for Bryant would ultimately come together, but in a buzzer-beating deal, Bryant was shipped to the Giants in exchange for 21-year-old outfielder Alexander Canario and 24-year-old righty Caleb Kilian.

You can perhaps call the inclusion of Baez cheating a little bit for the purposes of this series, because Williams’ inclusion meant it wasn’t *technically* a rental. The Mets acquired two months of control over Baez and a year-plus of Williams in this swap. That extra year of control over Williams surely factored into the decision to part with Crow-Armstrong to an extent, but this was a trade about acquiring Baez first and foremost. Baez caught fire down the stretch for the Mets, too, posting a huge .299/.371/.515 slash in 186 plate appearances. The Mets still missed postseason, however, and the trade surely stings when looking at what’s become of the player they surrendered.

Fast forward less than two years, and “PCA” is regarded as one of the sport’s top outfield prospects. He’s ranked within the top-30 overall prospects in the sport on the most recent lists Baseball America, MLB.com, FanGraphs and Keith Law of The Athletic. ESPN’s Kiley McDaniel has the “low” ranking on Crow-Armstrong… at No. 39 in the game. Regarded as plus-plus defender in center field with plus speed, Crow-Armstrong has opened the season with a .278/.345/.513 showing in Double-A (131 wRC+). He’s knocked eight homers, seven doubles and three of triples while going 13-for-17 in steals.

Obviously, the Cubs haven’t yet gotten any big league value out of Crow-Armstrong, but it’s rare for a team to acquire a prospect in exchange for a rental and see him almost immediately ascend to the point that he’s regarded as one of the top 15 to 30 prospects in all of baseball. If the Cubs wanted to do so — they surely don’t, to be clear — they could use Crow-Armstrong as a headline piece to acquire just about any controllable veteran who hits the market this summer or next offseason. The likelier path for PCA is that he’ll be given every opportunity to become a franchise center fielder for a still-retooling Cubs club.

There’s no nitpicking with the other two swaps in this three-for-one entry. Rizzo and Bryant were shipped out as two-month mercenaries in exchange for a quartet of prospects, although Rizzo took to the Bronx quite nicely and is now locked in as a Yankee through the 2024 season. There was plenty for the Yankees to like, as Rizzo hit .249/.340/.428 (113 wRC+) down the stretch, swatting eight homers and seven postseason doubles before tacking on another dinger in that year’s Wild Card loss to the Red Sox. In parts of three seasons as a Yankee, Rizzo is a .245/.344/.468 hitter with 51 home runs.

I doubt the Yankees regret making this swap, but it’s worked out nicely for the Cubs as well. Alcantara, now 20 years old, isn’t as highly regarded as Crow-Armstrong, but he entered the season ranked No. 91 on Baseball America’s Top 100 prospect rankings. He’s dropped off that list after a slow start in High-A (.250/.281/.389), but he still sits at No. 75 at FanGraphs and is generally a very well regarded prospect.

It’s worth bearing in mind that those pedestrian High-A numbers have been posted against competition that is, on average, nearly two and a half years older than Alcantara. The towering 6’6″ toolbox is also just a season removed from a much heartier .273/.360/.451 showing in Class-A, where he was nearly two years younger than the league’s average player. He’s a ways off, but like Crow-Armstrong, Alcantara has significantly elevated his stock since that 2021 trade. If the Cubs were so inclined, he too could be a significant piece in any potential deadline trade for controllable big league help. That’s not likely to happen — granted, it’s a bit more plausible with Alcantara than with Crow-Armstrong — but Alcantara has become a reasonably high-profile prospect.

That’s not the case with the now-26-year-old Vizcaino, though the circumstances surrounding his departure from baseball remain unclear. The Cubs placed Vizcaino on the restricted list in 2022 after he failed to report to spring training. He spent the entire year on the restricted list. The Cubs non-tendered him last offseason, and he didn’t sign with another team. Details surrounding Vizcaino’s abrupt departure from the game are basically nonexistent. The obvious hope is that he’s happy and healthy wherever he’s at, but it’s a disappointing outcome for the Cubs.

As for the third and final chapter of this deadline trio, Bryant proved an important pickup for the Giants. True, San Francisco would’ve made the postseason regardless, evidenced by their MLB-best 107 wins that season, but they edged out the division-rival Dodgers for that NL West crown by a margin of just one game. Bryant’s solid .262/.344/.444 slash may not have been in line with his peak form, but he contributed a meaningful presence in the Giants’ lineup down the stretch. They’d go on to fall to those same Dodgers in the National League Division Series, but not through any fault of Bryant’s. He delivered an 8-for-17 performance in the NLDS, adding a homer and a walk with only three strikeouts in 18 total trips to the plate.

Unlike with the other two trades, Cubs fans have at least gotten a look at one element of this return, although the now-26-year-old Kilian’s big league work to date hasn’t been pretty. The 6’4″ righty is still widely regarded as one of the organization’s best pitching prospects, but he’s been tagged for 20 earned runs in 14 2/3 innings through a pair of very limited auditions. He’s pitched 148 Triple-A innings as a starter over the past two seasons, logging a 4.32 ERA with a 24.2% strikeout rate against an 11.1% walk rate.

Command wasn’t an issue for him prior to reaching Triple-A, but he struggled with walks last year. It’s encouraging that he’s walked just 6.8% of his opponents over his past seven Triple-A starts, pitching to a 3.09 ERA along the way, but Kilian has also plunked six hitters in that time so he’s not out of the woods with his shaky location just yet. He’s in the mix to come up and make some starts this year still, and depending on how he fares, Kilian could be a candidate for a rotation spot either later this season or in 2024.

As for Canario, he finished second among all minor leaguers with 37 home runs in 2022 and hit .252/.343/.556 across High-A, Double-A and Triple-A. He added 23 steals (in 26 tries) and walked at an 11% clip, though his 27.5% strikeout rate was more concerning. Baseball America calls him a potential low-average slugger with plenty of walks, above-average speed and above-average defense in right field. He hasn’t yet gotten a chance to build on last year’s breakout, as he dislocated his shoulder while playing in the Dominican Winter League.

We’re just shy of two years removed from the Cubs’ deadline fire sale, and while it’s still early to grade the overall strength of their return, things are looking promising. To trade three rental players and come away with a pair of top-100 prospects — including one who’s widely ranked in the top 25 — as well as a near-MLB starting pitcher and a strikeout-prone but prodigious slugging outfielder with power, speed and defensive upside is objectively impressive.

On the one hand, it’s a testament to the caliber of the players the Cubs were trading, but not all trades of star players result in this type of return. The Orioles have still barely gotten anything from the Manny Machado trade nearly five years after its completion. The Rangers’ trade of Darvish to the Dodgers netted them one immediate top prospect, but two years after the deal that prospect (Willie Calhoun) was already looking like a questionable big leaguer.

The tail-end of the development phase for the prospects acquired here — particularly Crow-Armstrong — will define this series of trades. But four of the five prospects acquired in this slate of trades have enhanced their stock since joining the Cubs, who now have a handful of near-MLB-ready talent and/or trade chips to show for parting with a trio of popular veterans. The 2021 trade deadline was a dark few days for Cubs fans, but there’s a good chance it’ll wind up leading to some brighter times ahead.

Images courtesy of USA Today Sports.

Fantasy Baseball Daily Hitting Recap: 6/8/23

Seth Klusmire — Fri, 09 Jun 2023 16:15:04 +0000

Breaking down notable hitting performances from yesterday’s games.

The post Fantasy Baseball Daily Hitting Recap: 6/8/23 appeared first on Pitcher List.

Starting Pitcher Streamer Rankings Fantasy Baseball – 6/9 & 6/10

Nick Pollack — Fri, 09 Jun 2023 16:03:56 +0000

Nick Pollack ranks the starting pitcher streamers for today & tomorrow.

The post Starting Pitcher Streamer Rankings Fantasy Baseball – 6/9 & 6/10 appeared first on Pitcher List.

2023 MLB Power Rankings: Week 10

Scott Youngson — Fri, 09 Jun 2023 15:30:45 +0000

Are the Marlins legit? What's going on with the Mariners?

The post 2023 MLB Power Rankings: Week 10 appeared first on Pitcher List.

Nationals Release Erasmo Ramírez

Darragh McDonald — Fri, 09 Jun 2023 15:24:59 +0000

The Nationals have released right-hander Erasmo Ramírez, according to his transactions tracker at MLB.com. He had been designated for assignment earlier in the week.

Ramírez, 33, has had a very rough go of it so far this year. Through 27 innings over 23 appearances, his ERA is 6.33. His 4.8% walk rate is excellent and his 43.1% ground ball rate is close to average, but his 10.3% strikeout rate is less than half of the 23.9% league average for relievers across the majors this year.

That’s a significant drop-off from last year, when he posted a 2.92 ERA in 86 1/3 innings with a 17.6% strikeout rate. On the heels of that solid campaign, the Nats retained him by signing him to a one-year deal with a salary of $1MM for 2023. But that investment hasn’t paid off and Ramírez has lost his roster spot.

It’s not a shock to see him end up released as he would have been able to reject an outright assignment anyway. All players with more than five years of major league service time have the right to elect free agency instead of accepting such an assignment, while retaining all of their salary. The Nats have simply skipped that formality and sent Ramírez to the open market.

They will remain on the hook for that money while Ramírez will be free to sign with any other club. Should he get a roster spot somewhere else, that club would only be responsible for the prorated league minimum salary for any time spent on the active roster, with that amount subtracted from what the Nats pay.

Starts and Sits - All Starting Pitcher Matchups for Fantasy Baseball (June 5 - June 11)

Jon Anderson — Fri, 09 Jun 2023 15:00:01 +0000

We are barreling towards warmer weather and full data samples! I'm growing more and more confident with my SP grades with each new start added to the database every day. In this article, you'll find our starting pitcher starts/sits for Week 11 of the fantasy baseball season – Monday, June 5 through Sunday, June 11.... Read More

Ottoneu Starting Pitching Planner: June 12–18

Jake Mailhot — Fri, 09 Jun 2023 14:15:09 +0000

Welcome back to the Ottoneu Starting Pitching Planner. Based on the Roster Resource Probables Grid, I’ve organized every starter slated to start next week into four categories: start, maybe, risky, and sit. The first and last category are pretty self-explanatory. Starters who fall into the “maybe” category are guys you could start if you need […]

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Pete Alonso Likely Headed To Injured List

Darragh McDonald — Fri, 09 Jun 2023 14:00:13 +0000

Mets first baseman Pete Alonso was hit on the wrist by a pitch Wednesday and hasn’t played since. Initial X-rays came back negative and he was diagnosed with a contusion, but the diagnosis seems to be worsening. As the club was in Atlanta yesterday, he left for New York to undergo further testing, including an MRI. This morning, Jon Heyman of The New York Post tweets that there is “real concern” about Alonso hitting the injured list, potentially for weeks. Similarly, Will Sammon of The Athletic tweets that an IL stint seems likely.

An absence from Alonso is the last thing that the club needs at the moment. Having just been swept by their division rivals in Atlanta, they are now in fourth place in the National League East, 8.5 games behind Atlanta for the lead. Despite their 30-33 record, they’re only three games back of a Wild Card spot at the moment, but losing a player like Alonso surely wouldn’t help matters.

The Mets came into this season with their eyes set on competing, to put it mildly, as they ran up the highest payroll in baseball history. Their struggles are due to various players being hurt or falling short of expectations, but Alonso has continued to be remarkably consistent in his fifth major league season. He’s already launched 22 home runs and his .231/.326/.546 batting line translates to a 139 wRC+, indicating he’s been 39% better than league average. His wRC+ has been between 133 and 144 in each full season in which he’s participated.

Subtracting a bat of that caliber would be a blow to any lineup, but it would be especially noteworthy for the scuffling Mets club. With Alonso sitting out yesterday’s game, rookie Mark Vientos took over at first base. He has hit very well in the minors but is slashing .162/.179/.243 in the majors this year amid sporadic playing time. Perhaps a regular gig would help him get into a groove at the plate, but it wouldn’t be fair to expect him to simply jump up to Alonso’s level in short order.

The Mets have some significant games coming up on the schedule, which they may have to navigate without Alonso. They are in Pittsburgh this weekend to play the Pirates, the team currently holding the final playoff spot in the National League. The rest of the month sees them square off against the Yankees, Astros and Phillies, among others.

The Opener: Alvarez, Jimenez, Urias

Nick Deeds — Fri, 09 Jun 2023 13:36:28 +0000

With 40% of the 2023 regular season in the books, here are three things we’ll be keeping an eye on around the baseball world throughout the day today:

1. How serious is Alvarez’s injury?

Astros slugger Yordan Alvarez exited yesterday’s loss to the Blue Jays after the first inning with what was termed right oblique discomfort. Speaking to reporters after the game, manager Dusty Baker (as relayed by MLB.com’s Brian McTaggart) told reporters that the club plans to re-evaluate their prized DH today, but called the injury a “tough blow.” As McTaggart notes, even a mild oblique issue seems likely to shelve Alvarez for at least a few games, as it did for Jose Altuve earlier this month when he missed four games with a mild oblique strain. A more significant strain, of course, could require a stint on the injured list.

Alvarez, who turns 26 at the end of the month, is having another sensational season at the plate for the Astros. The slugger has mashed to a .272/.384/.579 slash line in 242 plate appearances this season, good for a wRC+ of 165. While that sort of production will be next to impossible to replace fully, the Astros seem likely to offer more consistent at-bats to Corey Julks in the event that Alvarez misses time.

2. Eloy exits:

White Sox slugger Eloy Jimenez left yesterday’s game after feeling discomfort in his lower left leg while running the bases in a loss to the Yankees last night. Manager Pedro Grifol told reporters, including Scott Merkin of MLB.com, that Jimenez would be re-evaluated today and is considered day-to-day for the time being. A former top prospect, the talented Jimenez has found success when on the field throughout his big league career, with a wRC+ of 122 in the majors, but has struggled to stay on the field consistently in recent years, with just 174 games played since the start of the 2021 season.

In 2023, Jimenez has slashed .257/.315/.434 (105 wRC+) while splitting time between the DH slot and the outfield for the White Sox, though he’s been limited to just 35 games by two stints on the IL this season: one for a hamstring strain back in April and another after undergoing and appendectomy last month. Jimenez’s injury comes as the White Sox struggle to stay competitive in a weak AL Central, as the club is just 3.5 games back of the division-leading Twins despite a weak 28-36 record. Should Jimenez miss time, that would likely open up additional starts for the likes of Jake Burger and Clint Frazier.

3. Urias to return on Sunday:

The rotation picture in LA has begun to crystalize with Noah Syndergaard heading to the injured list yesterday. That leaves young right-handers Michael Grove and Bobby Miller secure in their rotation spots for the time being as they prepare to take the ball against the Phillies this weekend. Taking the ball to close out the series this weekend will be left-hander Julio Urias, who has been on the injured list since the middle of May with a hamstring strain. Last week, Urias threw a 30-pitch bullpen session, leading to speculation that he could return in the near future. That’s now coming to fruition as Urias figures to start Sunday’s game in Philadelphia.

Urias’s return could provide a boost to the Dodgers’ pitching staff as the club as the club looks to stop their current skid. Losers of 6 of their last 10 games, the Dodgers have seceded ground in the NL West race to the Diamondbacks in recent days, with Arizona currently holding a 1.5 game lead over Los Angeles in the division. That being said, Urias has struggled in 2023 to meet the lofty expectations set by his work in previous seasons. After posting a 2.63 ERA (158 ERA+) in 495 1/3 innings of work between 2019 and 2022, Urias has seemingly taken a step back through ten starts in 2023, with a 4.39 ERA that’s barely league average by measure of ERA+ (101) and a worrisome 5.31 FIP.

DFS & Fantasy Projections – 6/9/23 Games

Nick Pollack — Fri, 09 Jun 2023 12:55:39 +0000

Today's DFS & Fantasy Baseball Projections powered by PLV.

The post DFS & Fantasy Projections – 6/9/23 Games appeared first on Pitcher List.

Red Sox To Select Joe Jacques

Nick Deeds — Fri, 09 Jun 2023 12:39:00 +0000

The Red Sox are poised to select the contract of left-hander Joe Jacques prior to this evening’s game against the Yankees, per Joel Sherman of the New York Post. The club will need to clear space on both the active and 40-man rosters to accommodate Jacques.

While it had previously been reported that the club plans to designate Matt Dermody for assignment today, that 40-man and active roster spot appears set to go to outfielder Adam Duvall, meaning an additional move will be needed to make room for Jacques. Alex Speier of the Boston Globe speculated last night that right-hander Bryan Mata, who has been on the injured list in Triple-A for the past month and does not appear close to a return, could be transferred to the 60-Day IL to clear a 40-man roster spot for another pitcher, though it certainly remains possible the Red Sox decide to go a different route in clearing space for Jacques.

The 28-year-old Jacques would be poised to make his MLB debut with the Red Sox. A 33rd round pick by the Pirates in the 2018 draft, Jacques has spent the past several seasons climbing the minor league ladder, eventually reaching Triple-A in 2021, though he posted a mediocre 4.31 ERA in 48 innings at the level that season. 2022 was far more impressive for Jacques, as the left-hander posted a strong 3.12 ERA in 43 1/3 innings pitched primarily at the Triple-A level. That performance was enough to catch the attention of the Red Sox, who selected Jacques from the Pirates during the minor league phase of the Rule 5 draft.

Jacques has continued to succeed at the Triple-A level with his new organization this season, posting a 3.58 ERA in 27 1/3 appearances. Though his 20% strikeout rate might leave something to be desired compared to many power relievers in the majors, a 7.5% walk rate and a whopping 56.3% groundball rate both leave Jacques in position to potentially succeed at the big league level. In joining the Red Sox bullpen, Jacques would give Boston another left-handed option alongside Brennan Bernardino while Joely Rodriguez and Richard Bleier are on the injured list.

Roto Riteup: June 9, 2023

Justin Mason — Fri, 09 Jun 2023 11:15:06 +0000

News, notes and streaming pitchers to wrap up your work week!

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First Pitch – 6/9/23

Brian Entrekin — Fri, 09 Jun 2023 07:00:51 +0000

Everything you need to know to win your fantasy baseball league, daily

The post First Pitch – 6/9/23 appeared first on Pitcher List.

Fantasy Baseball SP Roundup – Colin’s Mockery

Nick Pollack — Fri, 09 Jun 2023 06:51:10 +0000

Nick Pollack reviews every starting pitcher performance from Thursday.

The post Fantasy Baseball SP Roundup – Colin’s Mockery appeared first on Pitcher List.

Mariners Sign Didi Gregorius To Minor League Deal

Darragh McDonald — Fri, 09 Jun 2023 04:59:13 +0000

The Mariners have signed infielder Didi Gregorius to a minor league deal, per an announcement from Algodoneros de Unión Laguna, the Mexican League club he had been playing for. Gregorius’ deal contains a $1.5MM base salary if he cracks the MLB roster, reports Daniel Kramer of MLB.com (Twitter link).

Gregorius, 33, struggled badly in the past two major league seasons and was released by the Phillies in August of last year. He remained a free agent until May of this year, when he headed to the Mexican League. He has been on an absolute tear since signing, as he has hit .359/.431/.777 through 26 games this year. That strong showing will get him another chance to join the affiliated ranks.

He was once an effective big league shortstop during his time with the Yankees, hitting .269/.313/.446 from 2015 to 2019. He then reached free agency and signed with the Phillies. He was good enough in 2020 to return on a two-year pact, but his results slid at that point. He slashed just .210/.267/.345 over 2021 to 2022, leading to his release.

The Mariners will obviously be hoping that his recent surge in the Mexican League is a sign that he’s capable of bouncing back. The club has had a few of their regulars struggle on offense this year, none more so than second baseman Kolten Wong. He has a dismal .153/.246/.178 line so far this year. His wRC+ of 29 is dead last in the majors among hitters with at least 130 plate appearances.

Gregorius has primarily been a shortstop in his career and was playing that position in the Mexican League. His only major league experience at second base was with the Diamondbacks way back in 2014, but most shortstops are broadly capable of making the switch the other side of the bag without much issue. However the Mariners decide to deploy him, he’ll give the club a bit of extra non-roster depth and try to earn his way back to the majors.

Blue Jays Outright Zach Thompson

Anthony Franco — Fri, 09 Jun 2023 04:08:12 +0000

The Blue Jays have sent right-hander Zach Thompson outright to Triple-A Buffalo after he went unclaimed on waivers, tweets Mitch Bannon of Sports Illustrated. He’d been designated for assignment on Tuesday when the Jays brought up Bowden Francis.

Thompson hasn’t made an MLB appearance with Toronto. The Jays acquired him from the Pirates over the offseason for minor league outfielder Chavez Young. He’s spent the year on optional assignment, serving as rotation depth for a club that hadn’t gone beyond its top five starters until optioning Alek Manoah this week. Thompson has had a tough go with the Bisons, serving up nearly seven earned runs per nine in 47 innings across 11 starts.

It’s a tough follow-up to a disappointing lone season in Pittsburgh. Thompson had emerged as an interesting late-blooming starter with the Marlins in 2021, when he worked to a 3.24 ERA over 75 innings. Pittsburgh brought him in as part of the deal that sent catcher Jacob Stallings to South Florida. The Pirates gave Thompson 121 2/3 frames last season, but he stumbled to a 5.18 ERA while striking out a below-average 16.6% of opponents.

The swing-and-miss has dipped further this year. Thompson has a 14.4% strikeout rate in Triple-A, where he’s allowed over two homers per nine. The struggles were significant enough he’d been leapfrogged on the depth chart by Francis, who seems likely to get the first crack at replacing Manoah in the rotation.

Thompson has less than three years of major league service and has never previously cleared waivers. He therefore doesn’t have the ability to decline an outright assignment. Thompson will stick in Buffalo and try to pitch his way back into the MLB mix. If the Jays don’t add him back to the 40-man roster by season’s end, he’d reach minor league free agency to start the winter.

Red Sox To Designate Matt Dermody For Assignment

Anthony Franco — Fri, 09 Jun 2023 02:29:19 +0000

The Red Sox are designating left-hander Matt Dermody for assignment, manager Alex Cora told the team’s beat (including Julian McWilliams of the Boston Globe). The move clears active and 40-man roster spots. That’s likely to go to outfielder Adam Duvall, as Pete Abraham of the Globe tweeted this afternoon that Duvall was expected to be reinstated from the 60-day injured list before tomorrow’s game against the Yankees.

Dermody was just selected onto the big league roster a few hours ago. He took the ball tonight against the Guardians, allowing three runs (all driven in on a pair of José Ramírez homers) across four innings. Knowing Duvall would be back on Thursday, it seems likely the Boston front office always viewed this as a one-off start for Dermody, which represented the first of his major league career.

The 32-year-old southpaw had spent the season in Triple-A Worcester after signing a minor league deal over the winter. He’d pitched reasonably well for the WooSox, working to a 4.50 ERA across 44 innings. He fanned just under a quarter of opponents, had a decent 45.3% grounder rate and kept his walk percentage to a stingy 4.7% clip.

Dermody has always had strong control but generally worked as a low-strikeout grounder specialist. The Iowa product has been a reliever for the bulk of his career, only moving to the rotation in Triple-A for the Cubs last year. He entered play tonight with a 5.60 ERA through 27 1/3 major league innings over 30 relief outings.

The Sox will have a week to trade Dermody or put him on waivers. The latter is the likelier course of action. Were he go to unclaimed, he’d have the right to test minor league free agency because he’s been outrighted before in his career.

Duvall will make his return to the Boston outfield when first eligible, 60 days from his initial IL placement. The offseason signee opened the season as the Sox’s center fielder after signing a $7MM free agent deal. He got off to an incredible start, blasting 10 extra-base hits (four homers, five doubles and a triple) in his first eight games. Those scorching two weeks were cut unceremoniously short when he suffered a fracture in his left wrist while diving for a ball in the outfield.

Boston has used Jarren Duran as the primary center fielder of late. The former top prospect has a solid .278/.335/.432 line through 179 plate appearances. He’s cooled significantly after a roaring start, though, hitting only .236/.292/.371 while striking out a third of the time since the calendar flipped to May.

Boston has gotten excellent corner outfield work out of Masataka Yoshida and Alex Verdugo, so Duran figures to be pushed into a fourth outfield role, joining the righty-swinging Rob Refsnyder as an option off the bench. Cora held Verdugo out of today’s game in response to what the manager cited as a lack of hustle during Wednesday’s contest, as noted by Ian Browne of MLB.com. However, Cora indicated Verdugo’s discipline would be limited to one game and he’d be back in the lineup for Friday’s series opener in the Bronx.

Phillies, Drew Hutchison Agree To Minor League Deal

Anthony Franco — Fri, 09 Jun 2023 01:22:20 +0000

The Phillies have signed veteran righty Drew Hutchison to a minor league pact, tweets Matt Gelb of the Athletic. He’ll report to Triple-A Lehigh Valley.

Hutchison had spent the 2023 season in the minors with the Blue Jays after signing a non-roster deal over the winter. He triggered an opt-out clause earlier this month and was granted his release. It’s not too surprising the Jays didn’t call him up, as the 32-year-old had struggled through nine starts with Triple-A Buffalo. Hutchison allowed a 5.66 ERA in 35 innings while walking nearly as many batters (17.9%) as he struck out (19.1%).

He’ll obviously need to perform better to get another big league look. The Phils will hope the change of scenery can lead to improved results. Hutchison has plenty of major league experience, having tallied parts of seven seasons split between five clubs. That includes a brief stint as a Phillie. Hutchison made 11 relief appearances for them early in the 2018 season, pitching to a 4.64 ERA in 21 1/3 innings.

While Hutchison has settled into a journeyman type career, he carved out a role with the Tigers last year. He logged 105 1/3 MLB frames — his most since 2015 — while starting 18 of 28 appearances. Hutchison posted a 4.52 ERA with a below-average 14.7% strikeout rate with Detroit before being outrighted off the roster at season’s end.

Standing In Against the Curveball

Lucas Kelly — Fri, 09 Jun 2023 01:10:34 +0000

It's not easy to keep your feet in the box when it looks like you might get drilled, but these hitters do.

Source

Tigers Release Jermaine Palacios, Jace Fry

Anthony Franco — Fri, 09 Jun 2023 01:05:55 +0000

The Tigers have released infielder Jermaine Palacios and reliever Jace Fry, according to an announcement from their Triple-A affiliate in Toledo. Neither player had been on the 40-man roster, so they won’t be exposed to waivers. They each hit the open market and can seek out new opportunities.

Palacios joined the Detroit organization on an offseason waiver claim from the division-rival Twins. The Tigers non-tendered him almost immediately but brought him back on a minor league contract. The righty-swinging infielder has played the year in Toledo but gotten out to a woeful start offensively. Over 152 trips to the plate, he was hitting .176/.232/.352 while striking out 31.2% of the time.

The 26-year-old had a far better showing with Minnesota’s Triple-A club last year. Palacios had hit .283/.341/.462 with 14 homers over 102 contests. That earned him his MLB debut — first as a COVID substitute, then as an official contract selection in early September. He hit .143/.184/.229 during his first 30 MLB contests. Detroit acquired minor league infielder Joe Rizzo from the Marlins this morning, ostensibly pushing Palacios out of the mix.

Fry, a left-hander, inked a minor league deal in February. He’d been trying to work back to the majors for the first time since 2021. Fry made seven appearances but landed on the minor league injured list with elbow inflammation at the end of April. He hasn’t pitched in six weeks. The 29-year-old has appeared in parts of five big league campaigns, all with the White Sox. He owns a career 5.04 ERA with a 27.3% strikeout rate and 14% walk percentage in 139 1/3 frames.

Additionally, Toledo announced that veteran reliever Trevor Rosenthal is beginning a rehab assignment at Low-A Lakeland. The right-hander signed a minor league pact on the heels of two consecutive seasons lost to injury. He pitched twice for Toledo before landing on the IL with a sprain in his throwing elbow. It now seems he’s in position to build back towards competitive game action.

Lance McCullers Jr. Headed For MRI After Experiencing Setback

Anthony Franco — Fri, 09 Jun 2023 00:20:46 +0000

Astros starter Lance McCullers Jr. had a setback in his rehab from a forearm strain, general manager Dana Brown told reporters this evening (relayed by Chandler Rome of the Athletic and Matt Young of the Houston Chronicle). He’ll head for an MRI tomorrow and the team is expected to provide an update next week.

It’s an ominous development for a pitcher who has had an unfortunate series of arm issues over the past few years. McCullers underwent Tommy John surgery in late 2018 and missed the entire subsequent season. He was healthy and effective for most of 2020 and ’21 but suffered a flexor strain in his forearm during the latter postseason. That kept him out until the following August, limiting him to 11 combined starts between the regular season and the club’s World Series run.

McCullers’ latest issue arose over the offseason. He was diagnosed with a muscle strain in his forearm and shut down for a few months. His ramp-up process hit a snag in late May when continued soreness led the club to scale him back from bullpen sessions to flat-ground work. According to Brown, even those throwing sessions were causing McCullers discomfort, necessitating further imaging.

It’s too soon to know whether McCullers will need to go back under the knife. He and the organization are surely hopeful they’ll be able to avoid surgery. Yet it’s clear that McCullers’ return won’t be imminent. Brown acknowledged this development could play into their approach to the trade deadline.

“Even if (McCullers) could come back, we would have to build him up and it’s going to take a little while to do that, so we have to get our mind set and keep the thought process of strengthening the rotation,” the GM told the media (relayed by Young). “If there’s a deal that we can do, we’ll entertain it. But at the end of the day, our top three guys, make no mistake, are really good.”

Each of Cristian Javier, Framber Valdez and Hunter Brown has a sub-4.00 ERA with a strikeout rate north of 26%. Valdez and Javier are both allowing fewer than three earned runs per nine innings and have multi-year track records of top-of-the-rotation production. The rookie Hunter Brown isn’t quite as proven, though he’s a former top prospect who has hit the ground running with a 3.05 ERA, 28.1% strikeout rate and 54.9% grounder percentage over his first 88 2/3 MLB innings.

The Astros could feel comfortable running any member of that trio out for a postseason start. The rest of the staff has taken a number of hits over the past few months. Luis Garcia was lost for the season to Tommy John surgery. McCullers’ status is in question. José Urquidy is unlikely to be back before the All-Star Break due to a shoulder issue. Brandon Bielak and J.P France have stepped into the starting five and pitched fairly well themselves, though neither player misses many bats nor had much MLB starting experience before this season.

Houston enters play Thursday at 36-26. They’re in possession of a Wild Card spot but 4 1/2 back of the Rangers as they look to defend their AL West crown. Losing McCullers, Garcia and Urquidy certainly hasn’t helped their cause in trying to hold off a scorching Texas club, but the rotation has more than held up its end of the bargain. Astros’ starters rank third in the majors with a 3.23 ERA and fourth with 350 2/3 innings pitched.

The offense, on the other hand, has been uncharacteristically middling. Houston is tied for 13th in runs and ranks 20th in on-base percentage (.316) and 17th in slugging (.399). Dana Brown unsurprisingly acknowledged the front office was open to ways to addressing the offense on the trade market. Which positions the club targets could be determined by how things play out over the next seven weeks.

First base, catcher and whichever of left field or designated hitter hasn’t been manned by Yordan Alvarez have been their biggest problem areas. There’s at least some question about whether they’d upgrade at all three spots, though. The Astros love Martín Maldonado as a defensive presence behind the dish and have tolerated lackluster offense at the position for years. They just signed José Abreu to a three-year free agent deal last winter; benching him a few months into that contract would be a tough pill to swallow, though he’s now sitting on a ghastly .212/.273/.261 line. Michael Brantley could be an option for left field/DH at some point. He has yet to play this season as he recovers from last summer’s shoulder procedure, but Brown noted today that he’s hitting in batting practice and throwing in drills.