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IN THIS ISSUE

American League

National League

TAMPA BAY RAYS
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Placed SS-S Asdrubal Cabrera on the 15-day disabled list (strained hamstring); recalled MIF-R Tim Beckham from Triple-A Durham. [7/12]

With current top shortstop prospects Daniel Robertson (injured) and Willy Adames (infant) unsuited for recall, the Rays had to choose Cabrera's replacement from a pool of former top prospects: Beckham, Hak-Ju Lee, and Nick Franklin, each flawed in his own way. Lee is the best fielder and worst hitter of the group, while Franklin doesn't have the arm or actions for the position (and may not have the bat, if his recent big-league work is any indication). That leaves Beckham as the happy medium. He's already had a few runs this season in the majors, during which he's showed off his athleticism and above-average pop. Beckham has also displayed a liberal interpretation of the strike zone, and some massive swing-and-miss issues, so there's no sense anointing him anything more than a potentially useful extra infielder. Still, with Jake Elmore serving as the only hurdle, there's a legit chance Beckham will become Tampa Bay's starting shortstop—you know, just as planned. —R.J. Anderson

TEXAS RANGERS
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Released LHP Ross Detwiler. [7/15]

Detwiler is large and left-handed, with the ability to touch the mid-90s. In those ways, he seems like the perfect candidate to pair with a pitching coach as revered as Mike Maddux, so it's a little surprising to see him fail to this degree. After all, Detwiler didn't just perform poorly, he posted what will become, barring a second-half resurgence with his next team, career-worst groundball, walk, and home run rates. Yikes.

But the reason Detwiler's ugly season is only a little surprising, as opposed to wholly surprising, is because he's always been better in theory than practice. His velocity and ability to cut and sink the ball are nice attributes, but they never led to a ton of missed bats or groundballs. He never had the command to qualify as a crafty lefty, nor the secondary pitches to be known as effectively wild. What is Detwiler if not one of those labels? Maybe the better question is what he should become: a reliever, and, based on his platoon splits, perhaps one of the left-handed specialist variety. —R.J. Anderson

CINCINNATI REDS
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Claimed RHP Donn Roach off waivers from the Cubs; designated RHP Donovan Hand for assignment. [7/13]

Roach doesn't look like much. He's on the small side with a short stride that leaves him upright at release, reducing the perceived speed of his already well-below-average velocity. His results don't look like much either, thanks to one of the worst strikeout rates in Triple-A. But teams continue to employ Roach on the 40-man roster, largely due to his extreme groundball tendencies: He's at 66 percent this season, and has topped 70 percent multiple times in the past. The key for Roach is (perhaps obviously) his sinker, a pitch he added run to in 2015 by lowering his arm slot. The Reds could use Roach as an emergency starter—before you laugh, keep in mind that Jason Marquis has taken turns in Cincy's rotation—but his ceiling tops out at groundball specialist. —R.J. Anderson

MIAMI MARLINS
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Acquired LHP Chris Reed from the Dodgers in exchange for LHP Grant Dayton [7/15]

When he's at his best, Reed will show three above-average pitches, though they are generally closer to solid-average offerings than 55s on the 20–80 scale. In shorter spurts the fastball will get up to 95, sitting 90 to 93 with some plane and plenty of sink, particularly on his two-seamer. His slider is almost never in the strike zone as it "spikes" down at the feet of right-handed hitters, but its sharp movement does cause swings and misses for those looking for the fastball. Reed will also show an adequate change at times, but too often there's no deception from arm speed, and, like the slider, it's rarely in the strike zone.

The stuff suggests that Reed can be a starter, but his inability to consistently repeat the delivery and his grade-40 command make him a reliever. The Dodgers may give the former Stanford hurler a chance to start, though, and if they can make the necessary mechanical adjustments there's no. 4 stuff in his left arm. —Christopher Crawford

LOS ANGELES DODGERS
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Acquired LHP Grant Dayton from the Marlins in exchange for LHP Chris Reed. [7/15]

When the Dodgers took Reed with the 16th pick of the 2011 draft out of Stanford, the hope was that the southpaw would move quickly through the system and contribute to the big-league staff in a few years, be it in the rotation or the bullpen. Unfortunately, Reed was anything but a fast-track arm in his time in the Los Angeles system, and they were forced to designate him for assignment when they claimed Preston Guilmet from Tampa Bay.

In return for Reed the Dodgers get Dayton, a 2010 11th round pick out of Auburn who has put up big strikeout totals (383 in 319 innings as of Tuesday), and has the fastball-slider combination to be a quality lefty-only arm in a bullpen. As with Reed, though, his command is below average, and it's unlikely he'll be able to handle quality right-handed hitters at the big-league level. He might be the second lefty in a Dodger bullpen, but he's more than likely an up-and-down guy, if that. —Christopher Crawford

PHILADELPHIA PHILLIES
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Claimed RHP Dalier Hinojosa off waivers from the Red Sox. [7/15]

A 29-year-old Cuban defector, Hinojosa received a $4 million signing bonus from the Red Sox back in October 2013. He made all of one big-league appearance during his season-plus with Boston, a sloppy multi-inning assignment in which he threw more balls than strikes and fanned, walked, or hit six of the nine batters he faced. Wildness is a constant rather than a variable with Hinojosa, who contorts his body on every pitch to achieve a high release point. Of course, there's some good to be found here, too: His fast arm and usable three-pitch mix give him a chance to pitch in middle relief. Hinojosa will need to keep the walks in check if he's to have a lengthy big-league career, but there's no harm in the Phillies giving him a look or two during their rebuild. —R.J. Anderson

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Muboshgu
7/17
Adding Donn Roach is smart for a team about to deal two starters.
JChrisMason
7/17
Dayton has a 35-5 K:BB ratio this season. Outside of 2 outings, he's basically been unhittable. I don't get the lack of command comment. Also, RHB have hit .216 against him with a 24-4 K:BB split.
CraigB
7/17
I suspect it will be the Marlins, not the Dodgers, giving Reed a few starts.