[Art Deco]

Before getting into May's games I'll recap the transactions, which will be interspersed chronologically with the game recaps going forward. There weren't many moves of significance in April (the same cannot be said of May).

April 2: Claimed OF Clint Frazier on waivers from the Yankees, demoted OF Yoshimoto Tstusugo to AAA Durham. Designated P Peter Fairbanks for assignment.

You may have noticed Tstustugo's name conspicuously absent from the recaps, and with good reason. Given several starts against righthanders, Yoshi continued to struggle and with few ABs available for him I couldn't resist picking up Frazier for free, whom I've always liked. And although Fairbanks has a great arm, in my game he missed most of 2020 with injuries and never was consistent, plus the bullpen is already pretty deep so he was the guy to come off the 40-man. He was later claimed by Baltimore, where he's had mixed success.

April 5: Signed 1B/2B Howie Kendrick to a minor league contract, assigned to AAA Durham.

Kendrick was a real-life target of the Rays before the 2019 season, but he chose to stay in Washington and it paid off for him with a ring. After a pretty good 20 HR, .290 season in 2020 none of the AI GMs out there wanted to give him a contract so I couldn't pass him up still sitting there at this point. Brandon Lowe has been struggling, and I figure Kendrick might at least platoon with him at 2B for awhile.

April 23: Designated OF Clint Frazier for assignment, purchased the contract of 1B/2B Howie Kendrick.

The last bench bat spot continues to be a revolving door as Frazier did little in his opportunities with the club while Lowe's slump rages on. Time to give Kendrick a go after he got some ABs with Durham to shake off the rust. Frazier cleared waivers and was sent to Durham, where he's hit 9 HR in May.