Manzardo (shoulder) was activated from Triple-A Columbus' 7-day injured list Wednesday.
Manzardo went 0-for-8 with a walk, one RBI and a run scored over three games while rehabbing with the Guardians' Arizona Complex League affiliate. He's now clear to make his Columbus debut following a trade that sent him from the Rays organization. A strong showing with the Clippers could make him an option for a late-season call-up to Cleveland.
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Guardians' Kyle Manzardo: Begins rehab assignment
Rotowire
Manzardo (shoulder) went 0-for-3 with a walk and a run scored for Cleveland's rookie-level Arizona Complex League affiliate on Friday.
Manzardo is beginning a rehab assignment after he had been out of action for over six weeks after sustaining an injury with Triple-A Durham while still in the Rays organization. The Guardians acquired Manzardo in the July 31 trade that sent Aaron Civale to Tampa Bay.
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Guardians' Kyle Manzardo: Traded to Cleveland for Civale
Rotowire
Manzardo (shoulder) was traded from the Rays to the Guardians in exchange for Aaron Civale on Monday, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.
This one-for-one deal is final, as Manzardo goes from the 64-44 Rays to the 53-53 Guardians. Manzardo has been on the 7-day injured list since July 6 due to a sore left shoulder, per Topkin, but he is expected to return to action soon. He hit .238/.342/.442 with 11 home runs, a 20.8 percent strikeout rate and a .269 BABIP in 73 games for Triple-A Durham before landing on the shelf.
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Rays' Kyle Manzardo: Goes on Triple-A IL
Rotowire
Triple-A Durham placed Manzardo on its 7-day injured list Monday due to an unspecified issue.
Manzardo was recently deactivated after he was selected to play in Saturday's All-Star Futures Game, but he ultimately went unused in the exhibition. The Rays haven't provided an explanation behind why Manzardo didn't play in the Futures Game, though it's worth noting that he exited in the third inning of his most recent game with Durham last Thursday, which may be when he sustained an injury. The first base prospect finished the first half of the season with a .238/.342/.442 slash line and 11 home runs across 313 plate appearances with Durham.
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Rays' Kyle Manzardo: Treading water at Triple-A
Rotowire
Manzardo is slashing .243/.346/.449 with three home runs and a 28:18 K:BB over his last 30 games for Triple-A Durham.
His line for the season (.261/.360/.489) is more impressive than this recent run, but Manzardo's wRC+ is down to 110, which is not an impressive mark for a Triple-A first baseman. He is still one of the better pure hitters in the minors, but given that Manzardo is not yet on the 40-man roster, a promotion to the majors does not appear imminent.
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Rays' Kyle Manzardo: Strong hard-hit rate at Triple-A
Rotowire
Manzardo is slashing .262/.333/.548 with three home runs and a 10:5 K:BB in 48 plate appearances for Triple-A Durham.
The Rays didn't mess around, sending Manzardo to Triple-A this year after he dominated in 30 games at Double-A to close last season. Manzardo also set a career high in exit velocity (111.9 mph) on one of his home runs this season, and his 42.4 percent hard-hit rate is up from the 33.5 percent mark he logged in 2022.
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Rays' Kyle Manzardo: Off to Triple-A
Rotowire
Manzardo is opening the year at Triple-A Durham, MLB.com reports.
While Manzardo is widely considered to be one of the best hitters in the minors, the Rays had cover to send him back to Double-A for a month or two since he only played 30 games there last season, but they didn't mess around with this assignment. Manzardo's Triple-A teammate Curtis Mead is on the 40-man roster already and likely ahead in the promotion hierarchy, but it's possible Manzardo kicks the door down sometime this summer.
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Rays' Kyle Manzardo: Slugs second homer of spring
Rotowire
Manzardo went 2-for-4 with a home run, a double, a walk, four RBI and two runs scored in a Grapefruit League game against the Mets on Sunday.
Manzardo wasn't in the lineup with the Rays' regulars, but he did take Carlos Carrasco deep to account for his second homer of the spring. As he has at every stop in his minor-league career, Manzardo has hit well this spring, maintaining a 1.207 OPS across 21 plate appearances. He won't start the season in the majors, but there's a strong possibility Manzardo makes his big-league debut at some point in 2023.
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Rays' Kyle Manzardo: Bumped up to Double-A
Rotowire
The Rays promoted Manzardo to Double-A Montgomery on Tuesday, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.
The 23-year-old first baseman has been a fast climber through the organization, as he'll now move on to his third affiliate since being drafted in the second round of the 2021 first-year player draft. Manzardo decimated South Atlantic League pitching over the first four months of the season, slashing .329/.436/.636 with 17 home runs and a 45:46 BB:K in 275 plate appearances.
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Rays' Kyle Manzardo: On power binge in High-A
Rotowire
Manzardo has hit six home runs while batting .444 over his last 10 games for High-A Bowling Green and is now up to 17 long balls with a .326/.429/.633 batting line on the season.
Manzardo came into this season with concerns about his power potential, especially relative to the expectations at first base, but he's been quieting the naysayers. The combination of power and plate discipline is fantasy gold, and that's exactly what Manzardo has offered this year, as his walk rate (16 percent) isn't far behind his strikeout rate (17.2 percent). The 22-year-old will need to maintain this sort of performance at the higher levels of the minors, of course, but he could conceivably get that opportunity soon.
