Roster Roundup: June 29-July 1

Below you’ll find a roundup of notable moves from the past few days, as well as future expected moves and a Minor League Report, which includes a list of recent major league debuts and a few players who are “knocking down the door” to the majors. For this column, any lineup regulars, starting pitchers, or late-inning relievers are considered “notable,” meaning that middle relievers, long relievers, and bench players are excluded. You can always find a full list of updated transactions here.

Lineup Regulars

Cleveland Indians
6/30/19: 3B Jose Ramirez reinstated from Paternity list.

Ramirez was 0-for-3 with a walk in his return to the lineup on Sunday. The 26-year-old switch-hitter has struggled in 2019, but he’s slashing .270/.356/.429 over his last 73 plate appearances with nine walks and three strikeouts. While his plate discipline remains strong (40 BB, 43 K) and he’s once again on pace for at least 30 stolen bases, Ramirez has just 21 extra-base hits in 340 plate appearances. As a comparison, he had 91 in 2017 and 81 in 2018. If the Indians are to close the gap in the AL Central, they’ll need him to resemble, at least somewhat, that MVP-caliber player once again.

Depth Chart | Roster Resource

Minnesota Twins
6/29/19: OF Byron Buxton activated from 10-Day IL.
6/29/19: INF/OF Marwin Gonzalez activated from 10-Day IL.

Gonzalez and Buxton were back in the starting lineup over the weekend, each collecting just one hit in two games, but the Twins are glad to have both key contributors back quickly with the second place Indians finally showing some life. On June 2, they were a game under .500 and 11.5 games behind the Twins. A month later, they’ve won 16 of 24 and have closed the division gap by 3.5 games.

Depth Chart | Roster Resource

Oakland Athletics
6/30/19: OF Stephen Piscotty (sprained knee) placed on 10-Day IL, retroactive to June 30.
6/30/19: INF Franklin Barreto recalled from Triple-A.

To say that the 28-year-old Piscotty has had a challenging past few weeks would be an understatement. Since returning to the lineup following a short break to have a cancerous tumor removed from his ear on June 14—he was in the starting lineup three days later—he’s had just seven hits in 36 at-bats with one homer. The severity of his knee injury has yet to be determined—MRI results are pending—but the A’s should be just fine with Mark Canha (.892 OPS) and Chad Pinder (.726 OPS), and possibly a reinforcement from the minors (see this week’s “Knocking Down The Door”), getting more at-bats on a temporary basis.

Depth Chart | Roster Resource

St. Louis Cardinals
6/29/19: OF Marcell Ozuna (fractured finger) placed on 10-Day IL, retroactive to June 29.
6/29/19: OF Tyler O’Neill recalled from Triple-A.

Ozuna’s has already bounced back from a disappointing debut season with the Cardinals, nearly matching his home run, doubles, and runs batted in totals in less than half-a-season, but now he’ll be sidelined through at least the All-Star break. O’Neill, starting in his place on Saturday and Sunday, managed just one single and a walk with six strikeouts in nine plate appearances.

Depth Chart | Roster Resource

Notable Moves Involving Part-Time Players

• • Chicago Cubs: OF Carlos Gonzalez designated for assignment.

Expected Future Moves

• • Detroit Tigers: Jordy Mercer will be activated from 10-Day IL on Tuesday July 2.

Starting Pitching

Baltimore Orioles
7/1/19: Tom Eshelman has contract purchased from minors.

Passed over for a big league promotion during a 2017 season in which he was clearly deserving, Eshelman finally gets the call less than a month after being traded to the Orioles for international bonus allocations. The 24-year-old right-hander posted a 2.23 ERA, 1.0 BB/9, and 6.0 K/9 in 18 Triple-A starts for the Phillies just two seasons ago, followed by a rough 2018 (5.84 ERA in 140 1/3 Triple-A innings) and an even worse start to the current season (6.28 ERA in six Double-A starts). However, a promotion to Triple-A got him back on track and a trade to a team with an immediate need in the big league starting rotation should allow Eshelman to forgive the Phillies for their prior snub.

Depth Chart | Roster Resource

Chicago Cubs
6/29/19: Cole Hamels (strained oblique) placed on 10-Day IL, retroactive to June 29.

With the upcoming All-Star break, Hamels could be out of action for close to three weeks and, technically, only miss one start. The Cubs don’t need a fifth starter until July 16. If they stick with a six-man rotation, they wouldn’t need an extra starter until July 17. But the way Hamels was going—in five starts prior to the injury, he had a 1.00 ERA in 36 innings—losing him for just one start could make a big difference in a tight division race. After Hamels was removed after one inning in Friday’s start, Mike Montgomery allowed five runs in relief and was the losing pitcher in a 6-3 loss to the Reds.

Depth Chart | Roster Resource

Detroit Tigers
6/29/19: Gregory Soto recalled from Triple-A.

Through six big league starts, the 24-year-old lefty has yet to record more than 12 outs in a game. He did follow up four scoreless innings in his last start on June 15 with three more to begin his latest. But Soto couldn’t make it out of the fourth, allowing three earned runs to the Nationals. He’ll get another start this week, although that speaks mostly to the Tigers’ lack of options and unwillingness to promote one of several very good Double-A pitching prospects.

Depth Chart | Roster Resource

New York Mets
6/30/19: Noah Syndergaard activated from 10-Day IL.

It wasn’t his best outing, but Syndergaard held the first place Braves to three runs over 5 2/3 innings in an 8-5 win. Most importantly, the victory halted a 7-game losing streak that had pushed the Mets to 10 games under .500. If they’re going to recover, they’ll need a healthy Syndergaard. And if they can’t, it will be interesting to see if general manager Brodie Van Wagenen will put the 26-year-old right-hander on the trade block before the end of the month.

Depth Chart | Roster Resource

Pittsburgh Pirates
6/29/19: Jordan Lyles activated from 10-Day IL.

Lyles gave the Pirates a quality start on Saturday (6 IP, 3 ER, 5 H, 2 BB, 5 K), but it wasn’t enough as he was out-dueled by Brewers ace Brandon Woodruff. If the 28-year-old Lyles can avoid any more trips to the injured list, he should easily make 20 starts for the first time since 2014.

Depth Chart | Roster Resource

Tampa Bay Rays
6/29/19: Brendan McKay has contract purchased from minors.

McKay was just the latest pitching prospect to not allow a run in their major league debut—Logan Allen, Aaron Civale, and Jordan Yamamoto all did the same in recent weeks. He’s the only one, however, to be in his team’s starting lineup just two days later. After pitching one-hit ball over six shutout innings on Saturday, the 23-year-old is in the Rays’ lineup on Monday, batting eighth as the designated hitter. McKay is not expected to be available as a batter the day before he pitches, the day of, and the day after.

Depth Chart | Roster Resource

Expected Future Moves

• • Chicago Cubs: Kyle Hendricks will be activated from 10-Day IL on Tuesday July 2.
  • Chicago White Sox: Dylan Cease will be recalled from Triple-A on Wednesday July 3. He’ll be making his major league debut at home versus the Tigers.
  • Houston Astros: Jose Urquidy will have his contract purchased from the minors on Tuesday July 2. He’ll make his major league debut at Coors Field versus the Rockies.

Late-Inning Relievers

Atlanta Braves
6/30/19: Anthony Swarzak (shoulder inflammation) placed on 10-Day IL, retroactive to June 29.

Since being acquired from the Mariners last month, Swarzak had established himself as the Braves’ primary setup man, allowing only one run over 17 1/3 innings with 10 holds and a save in 17 appearances. While A.J. Minter and Sean Newcomb give the team a pair of hard-throwing lefties to bridge the gap to closer Luke Jackson, they’ll have a difficult time replacing the right-handed Swarzak. Jacob Webb, who hasn’t allowed an earned run in his last 12 appearances, will likely fill that role while Swarzak is out.

Depth Chart | Roster Resource

 

Minor League Report

Major League Debuts (June 28-30)

• LaMonte Wade Jr, OF, Minnesota Twins: 0-for-1  6/29/19
• Lewis Thorpe, SP, Minnesota Twins: 5 IP, 2 ER, 5 H, 2 BB, 7 K, L  6/29/19
• Chris Mazza, RP, New York Mets: 4 IP, ER, 5 H, 0 BB, 2 K  6/29/19
• Brendan McKay, SP, Tampa Bay Rays: 6 IP, 0 R, H, BB, 3 K, W  6/29/19

Promotions (June 1-July 1): Top 130 Prospects

• Wander Franco, SS, Tampa Bay Rays #2  High-A Charlotte 6/25/19
• Jo Adell, CF, Los Angeles Angels #11  Double-A Mobile 6/3/19
• Keston Hiura, 2B, Milwaukee Brewers #13  MLB 6/27/19
• Brendan McKay, SP/DH, Tampa Bay Rays #14  MLB 6/29/19
  
• Dustin May, SP, Los Angeles Dodgers #21  Triple-A Oklahoma City 6/27/19
• Gavin Lux, SS, Los Angeles Dodgers #23  Triple-A Oklahoma City 6/27/19
• Vidal Brujan, 2B, Tampa Bay Rays  #26  Double-A Montgomery 6/27/19
• Nick Madrigal, 2B, Chicago White Sox #32  Double-A Birmingham 6/6/19
• Chris Paddack, SP, San Diego Padres #34  MLB 6/22/19
• Mitch Keller, SP, Pittsburgh Pirates #37  MLB 6/12/19
• Kyle Wright, RP, Atlanta Braves #39  MLB 6/24/19
• A.J. Puk, SP, Oakland Athletics #40  Double-A Midland 6/28/19
• William Contreras, C, Atlanta Braves #55  Double-A Mississippi 6/5/19
• Francisco Mejia, C, San Diego Padres #57  MLB 6/17/19
• Alec Bohm, 3B, Philadelphia Phillies #66  Double-A Reading 6/21/19
• Bryse Wilson, SP, Atlanta Braves #72  MLB 6/27/19
• Jose Suarez, SP, Los Angeles Angels #79  MLB 6/2/19, 6/8/19
• Will Smith, C, Los Angeles Dodgers #80  MLB 6/23/19
• Nolan Gorman, 3B, St. Louis Cardinals #85  High-A Palm Beach 6/20/19
• Logan Allen, SP, San Diego Padres #93  MLB 6/18/19
• Leody Taveras, CF, Texas Rangers #94  Double-A Frisco 6/20/19
• Yu Chang, INF, Cleveland Indians #103 MLB 6/28/19
• Peter Lambert, SP, Colorado Rockies #120 MLB 6/6/19
• Yordan Alvarez, OF, Houston Astros #125 MLB 6/9/19

*Bo Bichette #9 and Jesus Luzardo #27 had short stints in High-A after returning from injuries and subsequently promoted to Triple-A during this period.

Knocking Down the Door

Bo Bichette, SS, Toronto Blue Jays (Triple-A Buffalo)

There’s no immediate need on the Blue Jays’ roster for a shortstop, but the 21-year-old Bichette is proving that he’s ready to step in if Freddy Galvis is traded by the July 31 deadline. At this rate, though, the 21-year-old Bichette could force his way to the big leagues whether the Jays trade Galvis or not. After missing close to two months with a fractured hand, he’s made up for lost time with 21 hits in 63 at-bats, including two homers, six doubles, and seven stolen bases.

Galvis, who hit his 13th and 14th homers of the season on Monday, could help several contending teams down the stretch. He can also move over to second base to make room for Bichette. The only question is whether the Blue Jays would be willing to promote their best prospect at this point.

Dustin Fowler, OF, Oakland Athletics (Triple-A Las Vegas)

Regardless of how much time Piscotty misses because of his knee injury, adding Fowler to the A’s roster could’ve already warranted serious consideration based on his recent performance. The 24-year-old, once a highly-touted prospect with the Yankees before a devastating knee injury that occurred during his major league debut, slashed .277/.345/.604 with 16 extra-base hits during the month of June.

Jake Fraley, OF, Seattle Mariners (Triple-A Tacoma)

Only nine games into his Triple-A career, the 24-year-old Fraley is already making a case to join the Mariners’ outfield. Acquired in the offseason along with Mallex Smith in the deal that sent Mike Zunino to the Rays, Fraley has followed up a strong 2018 season in High-A with very similar numbers in the upper minors. After slashing .313/.386/.539 with 11 homers, 15 doubles, and 16 stolen bases in 61 Double-A games, Fraley has 13 hits in his first 41 Triple-A at-bats, including a homer, three doubles, three triples, and three stolen bases.