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Dodgers Sign Pedro Baez To Minor League Deal

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The Dodgers have brought righty Pedro Baez back to the organization on a minor league contract, reports Jack Harris of the Los Angeles Times (Twitter link). The longtime Dodger setup man hit free agency following the 2020 season and inked a two-year, $12.5MM contract with the Astros but was designated for assignment and released by Houston earlier this season. For now, Baez is headed to the Dodgers’ complex in Arizona to work with the staff before being assigned to a minor league affiliate.

That Baez isn’t jumping directly into minor league games shouldn’t come as a huge surprise. The 34-year-old was limited to just 6 2/3 innings in 2021-22 combined thanks largely to a shoulder injury that limited him to just 4 1/3 frames last year. Baez was healthy enough to take the mound for 2 1/3 innings this season, but he was tattooed for six runs in that time and sat at 90.2 mph with his fastball — a catastrophic drop from the 95.9 mph he averaged as recently as 2019.

There’s little harm in the Dodgers taking what amounts to a free look at Baez. He’ll only be owed the prorated league minimum for any time spent on the big league roster, as the Astros are otherwise on the hook for the right-hander’s 2022 salary. Given Baez’s track record with the Dodgers — 3.03 ERA, 25.3% strikeout rate, 8.2% walk rate, 100 holds, 356 innings — it’s understandable that L.A. brass would be hopeful of getting him back into form. Boosting Baez’s heater all the way back into the 96 mph range might be a long shot, but he had success in 2020 even with his heater sitting at a slightly lower 94.4 mph.

The Dodgers don’t necessarily need bullpen help at this point, but teams generally never feel they can have too much depth of this nature. Los Angeles relievers have combined for a 3.22 ERA and 3.29 FIP that rank fifth and fourth in the Majors, respectively, and they also have the game’s fifth-best strikeout rate (26.8%) and third-best walk rate (7.6%). That said, they’re a bit banged up as well, with Blake Treinen out until after the All-Star break, Victor Gonzalez on the 60-day IL and right-hander Tommy Kahnle recently landing on the 15-day IL.

Harris tweets that Kahnle is dealing with a bone bruise in his elbow, which the Dodgers are treating with a one-to-two-week shutdown from throwing. Adding another experienced arm like Baez, even if he’s now something of a project, gives them a lottery ticket of sorts who could potentially help later in the season if he’s able to rebuild some strength and velocity.

Orioles Outright Logan Allen

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The Orioles announced that southpaw Logan Allen has been outrighted to Triple-A Norfolk. He’s never previously been outrighted and doesn’t have three years of big league service, so he can’t refuse the assignment. Allen will remain in the organization and try to pitch his way back onto the roster.

Baltimore just claimed Allen off waivers from the Guardians this month. He came out of the bullpen three times for skipper Brandon Hyde, allowing a pair of runs on three hits and two walks through 1 2/3 innings. After that briefest of showings, the Orioles designated him for assignment on Tuesday. This time around, the Florida native made it through waivers unclaimed. Out of minor league option years, he had to stick on an active roster or be designated for assignment.

Allen has appeared in the majors in each of the past four seasons. At one time a highly-regarded pitching prospect, he’s been dealt from the Red Sox to the Padres (in the 2015 Craig Kimbrel deal) and from San Diego to Cleveland (in the 2019 deadline Trevor Bauer, Taylor Trammell three-team swap with the Reds). Allen appeared at the back of Baseball America’s top 100 prospect list the latter season, but he’s yet to find much big league success.

Over 96 1/3 career innings, he owns a 5.89 ERA with a below-average 15.5% strikeout rate. Allen has also struggled at the Triple-A level, but he’s posted quality numbers up through Double-A and has long intrigued evaluators with a four-pitch arsenal anchored by a quality changeup. He turns 25 next week, so there’s still plenty of time for Allen to pitch his way back onto an uncertain staff in Baltimore if he shows well with Norfolk.

Carter Kieboom To Undergo Tommy John Surgery

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Nationals infielder Carter Kieboom will miss the entire 2022 season, as he’ll undergo Tommy John surgery next week, manager Dave Martinez told reporters (including Jesse Dougherty of the Washington Post). The 24-year-old has been on the 60-day injured list since Spring Training because of a UCL sprain in his throwing elbow.

It’ll be a lost critical development year for Kieboom. A former first-round pick, the righty-hitting infielder later developed into one of the sport’s top prospects. He reached the big leagues late in 2019, his age-21 season. The following winter, Baseball America ranked the Georgia native as the most promising player in the Washington farm system and named him the #15 prospect league-wide. The hope was that he’d cement himself as the third baseman of the future after Anthony Rendon departed in free agency, but he’s not yet staked a claim to that job.

Kieboom didn’t hit for any power in 33 games in 2020, finishing the shortened season with a modest .202/.344/.212 slash line. His 13.9% walk rate was strong and reinforced a patient plate approach, but the lack of results on batted balls was jarring. That more or less continued over a larger body of work last year, as he posted a .207/.301/.318 line with six home runs through 249 trips to the dish. Kieboom again drew a fair share of free passes, but he also saw his swinging strike rate jump and posted well below-average exit velocities.

The Nationals’ summer sell-off and retooling year afforded a perfect opportunity to give Kieboom everyday run at the hot corner this season. Washington presumably won’t embrace a multi-year stepback with Juan Soto only controllable through 2024, but the Nats were clearly not positioned to compete this year. Giving 600 plate appearances to a talented but unproven player like Kieboom makes sense for a team in their position, and he’d have probably been the primary third baseman if healthy.

The injury will deprive him of that chance, and it remains to be seen if the Nationals can afford to be so patient in 2023. They’ll presumably be more aggressive in trying to compete next season, and bringing in a more proven option at the hot corner seems plausible. Kieboom, who will collect a full year of MLB pay and service time while recovering, is controllable through 2026 and won’t be arbitration-eligible until the end of next season. The Nationals are hopeful he can be ready for Spring Training.

Royals Option Carlos Hernandez, Select Foster Griffin

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The Royals announced they’ve optioned Carlos Hernández to Triple-A Omaha and placed reliever Ronald Bolaños on the injured list. Kansas City selected left-hander Foster Griffin onto the big league club and recalled righty Matt Peacock. Infielder Adalberto Mondesi has been transferred from the 10-day to the 60-day IL as well.

Hernández becomes the second member of the season-opening rotation to pitch his way off the active roster. Kansas City also optioned Kris Bubic last week, with both hurlers struggling mightily in the early going. Hernández has taken seven turns through the rotation but logged a 9.10 ERA over 29 2/3 innings. He has struck out just 10.7% of batters faced while walking an untenable 13.4% of opponents, making him one of just two starters (minimum 20 innings) with more walks than strikeouts.

Needless to say, that kind of performance isn’t one the Royals can accept every fifth day. The 25-year-old righty posted a 3.68 ERA over 85 2/3 frames last season. His 2021 strikeout and walk numbers weren’t great, but they were far superior to this season’s early marks. Hernández also averaged north of 97 MPH with his fastball last season, but his velocity has taken a slight hit this year. He’ll try to right the ship with the Storm Chasers and earn his way back to the big leagues.

In large part due to Bubic’s and Hernández’s struggles, Kansas City has had one of the least effective rotations in the majors. Royals starters rank 26th with a 4.78 ERA and last with a 5.7 percentage point differential between their strikeout and walk rates. Zack Greinke, Brad Keller and Daniel Lynch have spots locked down, while Jonathan Heasley was recently brought up in Bubic’s stead. Who’ll replace Hernández is to be determined, but former first-round pick Brady Singer has been stretching out as a starter in Omaha after opening the season in the MLB bullpen.

Griffin, meanwhile, will join the bullpen mix for manager Mike Matheny. The former first-round pick made the briefest of big league debuts, appearing in one game for Kansas City in 2020. The Royals outrighted him off their 40-man roster following that season, but he quickly re-signed on a minor league pact. A starting pitcher early in his career, he’s come out of the bullpen 13 times with the Storm Chasers this year.

Over 19 2/3 innings, Griffin has posted a 1.83 ERA. He’s backed that up with excellent peripherals, fanning nearly three in every ten batters while inducing grounders on over 58% of batted balls. Griffin has always had solid control and gotten a fair share of worm-burners, but this season’s early strikeout rate is a marked improvement over his prior results. He has all three minor league option years remaining, so the Royals can bounce him between K.C. and Omaha without exposing him to waivers now that he’s back on the 40-man roster.

Mondesi’s IL transfer was an inevitability. The speedy infielder unfortunately suffered a torn ACL last month and isn’t expected to return this season. He’ll be eligible for arbitration for a final time this winter.

Yankees Notes: Green, Gil, Judge

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2:55pm: Boone provided nebulous but worrisome updates on each of Green and Gil this afternoon (via Max Goodman and Laura Albanese of Newsday). Gil’s injury is “significant,” per Boone, who didn’t specify whether surgery may be on the table. The organization fears Green could also be facing a notable absence but is awaiting further tests.

12:04pm: Yankees reliever Chad Green left yesterday’s loss to the Orioles after just 11 pitches, and the team later announced he’d experienced some forearm discomfort (via Brendan Kuty of NJ.com). They’ll know more upon receiving the results of an MRI today, and Green conceded postgame that he’s “concerned about it to a certain extent” (quote via Erik Boland of Newsday). “Obviously, when you’re dealing with an arm injury, you’re not really sure what can happen or what’s really going on. We’ll get it checked out … and go from there.”

Even if the imaging results are good, it seems a precautionary injured list stint could be on the table. That’s unfamiliar territory for Green, who hasn’t landed on the IL since his 2016 season was cut short by a forearm tendon problem. The right-hander returned the following year seemingly no worse for wear, and he’s been one of the game’s predominant bullpen workhorses in the half-decade since then. Going back to the start of the 2017 season, only four relievers have taken on a heavier workload — and that’s not counting the 15 starts Green made in 2019.

He owns a sterling 2.87 ERA as a reliever over that stretch, striking out a lofty 33.1% of opposing hitters while showcasing atypically excellent control (5.9% walk rate) for a late-game arm. Skipper Aaron Boone has deployed Green as a high-leverage stopper throughout that run, often to great success. His strikeout and walk numbers haven’t been dominant over 15 frames this season, but Green owns a flat 3.00 ERA and a 14.5% swinging strike rate that isn’t far off his prior years’ marks.

More out of the Bronx:

  • New York is also dealing with some injury concerns at the minor league level. Prospect Luis Gil pulled himself from Wednesday night’s Triple-A start after experiencing an elbow injury (h/t to Joe McDonald of the Worcester Telegram and Gazette). Yesterday, Boone told reporters (including Bryan Hoch of MLB.com) that Gil was set for a visit with team physician Dr. Christopher Ahmad. As with Green, more information will be known upon further testing, but Gil is a key depth arm for the Yankees. The 23-year-old made his first six MLB starts last season, posting a 3.07 ERA across 29 1/3 innings. He hasn’t performed well thus far in 2022 with their top affiliate in Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, struggling with both walks and home runs en route to a 7.89 ERA over six starts. Nevertheless, Gil was called up for a spot start against the White Sox last week. He’s the only pitcher outside the primary five of Gerrit Cole, Nestor Cortes, Jordan Montgomery, Luis Severino and Jameson Taillon to start a game for New York this season.
  • In non-injury matters, Kiley McDaniel of ESPN takes a look at how Aaron Judge’s incredible start to the season could impact his free agent trajectory. Obviously, posting a .307/.381/.664 line through his first 36 games will help Judge’s market value, but there aren’t many clean comparison points for a player with his profile hitting the market in advance of his age-31 season. Judge famously rejected the Yankees’ seven-year, $213.5MM extension offer in Spring Training, and McDaniel feels he’d be in line to top $250MM if he continues to perform at a career-best pace. McDaniel also floats some possible landing spots if Judge were to leave the Bronx, hearing from rival executives who speculate that the Mets might relish the opportunity to make a run at the three-time All-Star.

Roberts: Kershaw Likely A Couple Weeks From Throwing Bullpen Session

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Clayton Kershaw landed on the 15-day injured list a week ago, and it doesn’t seem his return is imminent. Manager Dave Roberts told Dani Wexelman of MLB Network Radio on SiriusXM this afternoon that Kershaw was likely still a couple weeks from throwing a bullpen session (via Jon Morosi of MLB.com).

When Kershaw first went on the IL, there’d been optimism he could return after a minimal stint. The club wasn’t ruling out the three-time Cy Young winner from throwing a bullpen session this week, and there seemed a chance he’d avoid a minor league rehab appearance. Kershaw felt continued soreness while playing catch, however, meaning the progression will take longer than initially hoped.

It seems the earliest Kershaw will throw a bullpen session is now at the beginning of June. He’ll probably need multiple sessions before progressing to game action, and nearly a month will have passed since the time of his IL placement. That long a layoff probably necessitates a minor league appearance or two before Kershaw’s able to make it back to Dodger Stadium. With that in mind, mid-June would seem to be a rough target date for his possible return.

It still doesn’t seem the organization is too concerned, as Roberts said earlier this week that Kershaw would continue lightly throwing. His current injury is inflammation of the right SI joint in his hip, which is obviously less concerning than a possible arm issue would’ve been. Kershaw’s 2021 season was cut short by forearm/elbow concerns, but he avoided surgery and returned to the Dodgers on a one-year, $17MM deal over the winter.

Before the injury, the eight-time All-Star continue to dominate opposing hitters. He’s worked 30 innings across five starts, posting a 1.80 ERA. Despite no longer possessing high-end velocity, Kershaw has struck out an excellent 29.4% of batters faced on the strength of a solid 12% swinging strike rate. He’s also only walked three of his 109 opponents on the season, maintaining his pristine command.

Kershaw is slated to be a free agent once again at the end of the year. His stint on the open market last winter seemed to come down to a return to L.A. or joining his hometown Rangers. If he finishes the season healthy, Kershaw would again be one of the best pitchers available, and it stands to reason both the Dodgers and Rangers would have continued interest in signing him.

Reds Make Series Of Roster Moves

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The Reds announced a host of roster moves before their series against the Blue Jays. First baseman Joey Votto has been reinstated from the COVID-19 injured list. Outfielder Aristides Aquino, righty Graham Ashcraft and utilityman Taylor Motter have all been selected to the majors as designated COVID “substitutes.”

Cincinnati placed four players — Tyler Mahle, Albert Almora Jr., Joel Kuhnel and Brandon Drury — on the restricted list. That’s standard procedure for players who haven’t been vaccinated against COVID-19 playing on teams that are headed to Toronto. The Canadian government prohibits unvaccinated players from entering the country, so that quartet will be unavailable for this weekend’s series.

Votto returns after missing more than two weeks because of virus concerns. The six-time All-Star began experiencing COVID symptoms during the first week of May, and he wound up missing enough time the organization sent him on a brief minor league rehab assignment. After a pair of appearances with Triple-A Louisville, the Toronto native returns for a set against his hometown club. He’ll look to right the ship offensively after the time off; Votto has opened the season in a dreadful .122/.278/.135 slump through 22 games.

Aquino, Motter and Ashcraft all occupy temporary spots on the roster. That the club specified they were COVID substitutes suggests it’s likely to be a brief stint for all three. Players whose contracts are selected with that designation can be removed from the 40-man roster and returned to the minors without passing through waivers as the team returns to full strength. In the Reds’ case, that’ll be after this series, so each of Aquino, Motter and Ashcraft is probably only up for three days.

The righty-hitting Aquino opened the year in the majors but got out to an awful start. He was outrighted off the roster earlier this month, but he’s tattooed Triple-A pitching (.314/.405/.743 with four homers) through ten games. Motter signed a minor league deal last month. The righty-hitting utilityman is hitting .245/.344/.566 with Louisville and offers some multi-positional depth in Drury’s place.

While this figures to be a brief stint for Ashcraft, the 24-year-old will probably play a notable role on the roster before too long. A sixth-round pick out of UAB in 2019, the 6’2″ hurler has quickly developed into one of the better arms in the farm system. Ashcraft split last season between High-A Dayton and Double-A Chattanooga, posting an even 3.00 ERA across 111 innings. He’s spent this year with Louisville, working to a 1.65 ERA over seven starts, albeit without great strikeout or walk numbers.

Baseball America recently ranked Ashcraft the #12 prospect in the Cincinnati organization, praising a mid-90s cut fastball that serves as his primary offering. Both BA and FanGraphs — which slotted him #17 in the system — suggest that Ashcraft’s below-average changeup and inconsistent control point to a long-term bullpen future, but he’s remained a starter to this point as a pro. Ashcraft will have to be added to the 40-man roster next offseason to keep him from selection in the Rule 5 draft, and potential trades by the last-place Reds could open an extended opportunity for him later this summer.

Cincinnati also announced that shortstop José Barrero will begin a rehab assignment with the Bats. The club’s anticipated regular shortstop, he hasn’t played this season after suffering a hamate injury during Spring Training. Position players can spend up to 20 days on rehab assignments, suggesting Barrero’s set to make his 2022 debut within the next three weeks assuming all goes well in the minors.

Tigers Claim Brendon Davis From Angels

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The Tigers announced they’ve claimed infielder Brendon Davis off waivers from the Angels. Detroit also selected righty Drew Carlton onto the big league club and placed Will Vest on the COVID-19 injured list. The Tigers had a prior vacancy on their 40-man roster, and Vest won’t count against that tally while he’s on the COVID list.

Davis, 24, hasn’t yet played in the majors. Los Angeles selected him onto the 40-man roster over the winter, as he’d have otherwise qualified for minor league free agency. That came on the heels of a breakout 2021 campaign in which the righty-hitting infielder posted a .290/.362/.561 cumulative line across a trio of minor league levels. Davis had arguably his best showing following a late-season bump to Triple-A, and that impressed the Angels enough they were willing to devote him an offseason 40-man roster spot.

Los Angeles assigned Davis back to Triple-A Salt Lake to open this year, and his results have fallen short of last year’s excellent showing. Through 159 plate appearances, he’s hitting .243/.333/.463 with six home runs in a hitter-friendly setting. That’s still decent production, and Davis has a strong combination of walks (11.3%) and strikeouts (19.5%). It’s not at the .333/.409/.641 level at which he debuted there last season, though, and the Angels tried to slip him through waivers to keep him in the organization without a roster spot.

Detroit jumped at the opportunity to add the former fifth-round pick, who was involved in the 2017 deadline deal that sent Yu Darvish from the Rangers to the Dodgers. Davis scuffled during his days in the Rangers’ farm system, but he’s improved dramatically since the Angels grabbed him in the minor league portion of the Rule 5 draft. He’s primarily a third baseman, but he also has experience in the middle infield and the corner outfield. He can be optioned for the next three seasons, so he offers the Tigers a versatile depth pickup.

Carlton returns to the majors after being outrighted off the roster at the end of last season. The 26-year-old made his first four big league appearances last September, allowing two runs with four walks and one strikeout in 3 2/3 innings. He’s off to a nice start with Triple-A Toledo, tossing 15 frames of 3.60 ERA ball with an excellent 30.2% strikeout rate and a strong 6.3% walk percentage. Carlton also has all three options remaining, so the Tigers can shuttle him between Detroit and the minors without again exposing him to waivers if they’re willing to keep him on the 40-man roster.

Mets Sign Trevor Cahill To Minor League Contract

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The Mets recently agreed to a minor league deal with veteran starter Trevor Cahill, as Joel Sherman of the New York Post first reported. According to the righty’s transactions tracker at MLB.com, he has been assigned to the team’s Florida complex.

Cahill will presumably head to Triple-A Syracuse at some point, but Sherman notes that he’ll first need time to build into game shape. That’s no surprise, as he hasn’t pitched since last June. A member of the Pirates at the time, Cahill landed on the injured list with a left calf strain. He was quickly transferred to the 60-day IL and didn’t return, quietly hitting free agency at the end of the year.

Before the injury, Cahill made nine appearances (including eight starts) for the Bucs. He managed just a 6.57 ERA over 37 innings, striking out a below-average 19.3% of opposing hitters. The sinkerballer induced grounders at a typically robust 55.2% clip, though, and he’s been excellent at keeping the ball in the yard throughout his career.

Cahill doesn’t throw hard or miss many bats, and his results have been inconsistent in recent years. Yet the 12-year big league veteran has continued to earn opportunities as a depth arm, having reached the majors each season since 2009. After an early run as a rotation stalwart with the A’s and Diamondbacks, Cahill has suited up for eight different clubs over the past seven seasons.

He’s a perfectly sensible veteran depth option for the Mets, who have taken some hits to their star-studded rotation. Jacob deGrom has still yet to pitch recovering from the stress reaction that arose in his throwing shoulder late in Spring Training. He is throwing but not yet ready for a minor league rehab assignment, and a specific timeline is still unclear. (Jon Heyman of the Post noted yesterday that he’s not likely to be available until some point in July). Making matters worse, New York just lost co-ace Max Scherzer for six-to-eight weeks because of an oblique strain.

Tylor Megill is also on the injured list because of biceps inflammation, although the prognosis seems more promising there. Anthony DiComo of MLB.com tweeted last night that Megill is tentatively expected to play catch today, his first time throwing since hitting the IL a week ago. If all goes according to plan, it doesn’t seem the 26-year-old is in for too long an absence.

For the moment, New York is set to rely on a primary starting five of Chris Bassitt, Carlos Carrasco, Taijuan Walker, David Peterson and Trevor Williams. That’s a solid group — particularly for a team down three of its top arms — but New York has already had to call on their depth options and the minor league ranks have thinned out. Further rotation injuries could put the organization in a precarious spot, so they’ll add Cahill as an insurance option.

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