MLB trade rumors and news: Mariners’ Héctor Santiago suspended 10 games for foreign substance use

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• Mariners lefty Héctor Santiago is the first pitcher to be disciplined as part of MLB’s foreign substance crackdown after being ejected Sunday, when umpires believed they found a foreign substance on his glove. Santiago admitted to having rosin on his glove, and while it wasn’t a highly-publicized element of the new policy, pitchers are now strictly prohibited from having rosin on their person, even though they are allowed to obtain it from the bag on the mound. MLB confiscated Santiago’s glove but never examined it, and now they’ve hit him with a 10-game suspension and undisclosed fine.
• MLB is investigating Dodgers right-hander Trevor Bauer after a woman was granted a temporary domestic violence restraining order against him in Los Angeles on Tuesday. Bauer’s attorney claims the actions took place as part of a consensual sexual relationship.
• The Blue Jays are determined to reach the playoffs for a second straight season, and they boosted their roster on Tuesday morning by acquiring sidearming reliever Adam Cimber and currently injured outfielder Corey Dickerson from the Marlins in exchange for veteran utility player Joe Panik and relief prospect Andrew McInvale.
• Indians outfielder Josh Naylor is likely out for the season after suffering a dislocated right ankle in a collision with second baseman Ernie Clement. If this is it for Naylor this year, he’ll finish with rather unremarkable numbers: a .253/.301/.399 slash line and seven homers in 69 games.
• Braves starter Mike Soroka has re-ruptured his Achilles and will not pitch again in 2021. After making three starts in 2020, he tore his Achilles. He hadn’t pitched since then. Soroka looked like he’d be the Braves’ ace for years to come after going 13-4 with a 2.68 ERA, 1.11 WHIP, and .236 OBA in 2019, but now his future is extremely uncertain.
• The Athletics have reunited with veteran starter Homer Bailey on a minor league contract. He’s been assigned to Triple-A Las Vegas. The 35-year old was ravaged by injuries in 2020. The last time Bailey played with Oakland, he hurled 4.30 ERA over 13 starts and 73 1/3 innings. Here’s hoping for a comeback.
• It is always nice to start the day with some good news, and Cubs fans woke up to fuzzy feelings all around last week as Chicago used four pitchers including starter Zach Davies and closer Craig Kimbrel to no-hit the Dodgers. Kimbrel looked like the Kimbrel of old, and let’s not understate how difficult it is to shut down that Dodgers offense. Really impressive.
• The Rays promoted top prospect Wander Franco, and he immediately made his presence known in his debut, hitting a game-tying homer for his first major league hit while also collecting a double and a walk. At Triple-A Durham, the 20-year-old was slashing .323/.376/.601 with seven home runs in 173 plate appearances.
• The Mets’ rotation sustained a pair of blows last week, as the team announced that lefty Joey Lucchesi will undergo Tommy John surgery, then right-hander Marcus Stroman exited his start early with left hip soreness. While they have a comfortable lead in the NL East, the Mets continue to be dealt an incredible amount of adversity, so it’ll be interesting to see if they can stay afloat.
• The Blue Jays have signed veteran reliever John Axford, reports Jamie Campbell of Sportsnet. The 38-year-old hasn’t seen a major league mound since 2018 and had been working as an analyst on the Jays’ pre and postgame shows before being asked to pitch for them again. The bulk of his career came with the Brewers, as he played in Milwaukee from 2009-13, but now the Ontario native will embark on his third stint with Toronto.
• The Tigers have released Wilson Ramos, per a club announcement. The 33-year old signed a $2M deal with Detroit at the beginning of this year, and he looked like he was really giving the Tigers the most value for their buck after going yard six times in his first nine games. Unfortunately that took a turn in early May, when a back injury completely derailed the 12-year major league veteran. Should he be able to heal quickly enough for a late season renaissance, he could make a great extra backstop for a team in contention. Posting a 105 wRC+ for the Mets in 2019, he’s still got some gas left in the tank for whatever team is willing to take the risk.
• Astros third baseman Alex Bregman is going to be out for an extended period after suffering a quad injury trying to beat out a double play.
• Rays ace Tyler Glasnow’s season is in jeopardy after he suffered a partially torn UCL and flexor strain in his right arm. He’ll initially try to rehab the injuries rather than immediately opting for Tommy John surgery. In an interesting crossover with the biggest story being discussed around baseball right now, Glasnow said MLB’s crackdown on foreign substances contributed to his injury, as he stopped using a mixture of sunscreen and rosin, and as a result he began gripping the baseball so hard that he injured his elbow.
• A lot has been made in recent weeks about the proliferation of foreign substances used primarily (but certainly not exclusively) by pitchers to get better grip on balls to have better command as well as to generate greater spin. It has been clear that MLB was going to crack down on the practice and now it looks like it has landed on its chosen punishment, as it was announced that players found to be using such substances will receive a 10-game paid suspension.
• It is fair to say that the 2021 season has been a particularly weird one. Teams that we all thought would be good haven’t been and teams that were thought to be afterthoughts have been anything but. Our own Andersen Pickard broke down the five most surprising teams from the 2021 season so far.
• It’s the most glorious time of the year: here’s your 2021 MLB Draft primer for notable players, draft order, and more.
• The Twins are dragging their feet for extension talks with Jose Berrios, SKOR North’s Darren Wolfson reports. Berrios has one last year of arbitration eligibility before he’s free to sow his wild oats and hit the market in the 2022-23 offseason. And as of now, the Twins have done little to nothing to stop him. Could that be because the NL Central 4th place team is looking to use him as a lucrative trade chip come this year’s deadline? The 27-year old could bring a significant return for Minnesota, but is it enough to risk for them losing him? He’s having another strong season this year, with a 3.49 ERA and a 26% strikeout rate. Either way, as the trade deadline gets closer, we’ll see what moves the Twins are thinking of making.
• After going 5-24 in the month of May, the Arizona Diamondbacks are reeling and are already buried in an NL West where even a good season would not guarantee a playoff berth. In order to try to stop the bleeding and try to get back to some level of decency, Arizona fired hitting coaches Eric Hinske and Darnell Coles. Sadly, given the breadth of that roster’s issues, it seems like that they will still end up as one of the league’s worst teams.
• Outfielder Jarred Kelenic, widely regarded as one of baseball’s top prospects and the potential savior of the Mariners organization, was optioned to Triple-A Tacoma after getting into an 0-for-39 slump. Kelenic, who played just 28 games in the upper minors (21 at Double-A in 2019 and seven at Triple-A this year) before reaching the majors, has an .096 batting average and .378 OPS in 23 major league games.
• The Mets had been hopeful to get Noah Syndergaard back in their rotation soonish to try and hold off their division rivals in what has been a surprisingly bad National League East. Unfortunately, they will have to wait a good bit longer, as Syndergaard’s rehab hit a setback, and elbow inflammation will keep him out until at least August.