Guardians notes: MRI reveals strained foot for Angel Martinez

CLEVELAND — The Guardians might have dodged a bullet in the Angel Martinez situation. Saturday's MRI showed that the Guardians outfielder suffered a mild mid-foot strain, Cleveland president of baseball operations Chris Antonetti said. Martinez was held out of the Boston game Sunday. "It's relatively good news, so he'll just be day-to-day," he said. "So, he should be OK by Tuesday." Decision time Right-hander Peyton Pallette, designated for assignment by the Guardians May 24, has cleared waivers. The Rule 5 pick has been offered back to the Chicago White Sox, who have 24 hours to accept him back. "We should have clarity in the next day or so, whether or not he'll return to the White Sox or whether or not we work out a trade for him to stay with us," Antonetti said. He said it was difficult keeping Pallette in Cleveland's bullpen. "We have to rely on every guy out there to be able to get out to important parts of the game," he said. "I think with any Rule 5 guy, that's a challenge to do because typically they don't have a lot of experience in the major leagues and they're not pitching regularly. They have to find a way to contribute to a bullpen on a contending team. That could be a really hard thing to ask of a young player. "I continue to believe that Peyton will be a productive pitcher in the major leagues at some point." Learning the name Intriguing prospect Ralphie Velazquez played left field for Triple-A Columbus Saturday. Some believe the first baseman is going to be called up to Cleveland at some point this season. "Ralphie's had a great start to the season," Antonetti said. "It's exciting to think about where he could go from here." The president of baseball operations said the Guardians wanted to see Velazquez in the outfield and "keep that as an option." "Again, as we've seen at the major league level, the more positions guys can play capably, the more chances they have to impact us up here. So we just don't know where those opportunities are going to come. So, we try to have guys play a number of positions in AAA to prepare for that." He said Cooper Ingle, normally a catcher, will also get time in the outfield. Slow start Guardians third baseman Jose Ramirez came into the Boston game Sunday batting .228 with eight home runs and 28 RBIs. Antonetti doesn't appear to be worried. "He's hit into some bad luck," he said. "I think if you look underneath the hood, there are lots of positive indicators how he's impacting the ball, the way he's managing the strike zone. Unfortunately, just a lot of his hard-hit balls right now are right at people. "If he keeps on the path he's on, I think we'll look up at the end of the year and it'll be a typical Jose year." Bo knows Guardians catcher Bo Naylor was optioned to Columbus on May 9. He first reported to the team's facility in Arizona. "It was a really productive few weeks for Bo in Arizona," Antonetti said. Antonetti said Naylor made progress with his swing and his approach at the plate. "Bo ultimately felt he was ready to transition back to a competitive environment in Columbus and test out some of those swing adjustments," he said. "I think the early returns are good." He was batting .143 when he was sent to the minors. Bob Finnan can be reached at rfinnan30@gmail.com.