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Anibal Sanchez Announces Retirement

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Longtime big league starter Aníbal Sánchez took to Instagram this evening to announce his retirement. The 39-year-old wraps up a career in which he appeared in parts of 16 big league campaigns.

“Throughout these past 17 years in Major League Baseball, God has given me the opportunity to live wonderful moments on and off the field,” Sánchez wrote. “Baseball has been my great passion since I was a child, and I am extremely grateful to have been able to make that dream a reality.” He goes on to thank his teammates, coaches, managers, scouts, franchise owners and agents at Mato Sports Management, as well as his family, friends and the fans who supported him along the way.

“Today begins a new chapter where I hang up the glove and uniform to pursue my other passions,” Sánchez concluded. “I retire as a major league player; however, I will always be close to the sport I love. See you soon.”

Sánchez began his professional career with the Red Sox as an amateur signee out of Venezuela during the 2000-01 international period. Within a few years, he pitched his way to Double-A and rated as one of the top pitching prospects in the Boston system. Over the 2005-06 offseason, the Sox dealt him alongside Hanley Ramírez and two more minor leaguers to the Marlins to bring in ace Josh Beckett.

Florida called him to the majors for the first time the following June. Sánchez hit the ground running as a 22-year-old, tossing 114 1/3 innings of 2.83 ERA ball over his first 18 appearances. He threw a no-hitter in just his 13th career start, completing the feat in a six strikeout outing against the Diamondbacks that September. Sánchez finished that year ninth in NL Rookie of the Year voting.

Injuries dogged the right-hander over the next few seasons. He didn’t make more than 16 starts in any of the three years between 2007-09. Fortunately, he returned to health for his first full big league campaign in 2010. Sánchez would make 32 starts with a sub-4.00 ERA in both 2010 and ’11. He was on that pace again in 2012, working to a 3.94 ERA over 19 starts as an impending free agent for a noncompetitive Miami team. The Tigers acquired him in a deadline blockbuster, adding Sánchez and second baseman Omar Infante for a package headlined by former first round pick Jacob Turner.

Sánchez was excellent down the stretch to help Detroit to an AL Central title. He pitched three quality starts in as many outings during that year’s postseason, helping the Tigers to a pennant. The Tigers brought him back on a five-year free agent deal with an $80MM guarantee over the offseason.

Detroit was immediately rewarded with the best season of Sánchez’s career. He worked 182 innings of 2.57 ERA ball over 29 starts. He won the AL ERA title and topped the Junior Circuit with a 2.39 FIP. Sánchez finished fourth in Cy Young balloting and helped the club to a repeat division title. The Tigers came up a round short of the World Series that time around, though Sánchez contributed 12 innings of four-run ball during the AL Championship Series.

The veteran hurler turned in another productive showing in 2014, working to a 3.43 ERA in 126 frames on another division-winning Detroit team. His production fell off thereafter, as his ERA jumped each season between 2015-17. He finished his Detroit tenure with a 6.41 season that led them to decline a 2018 club option. Sánchez made an unexpected resurgence upon landing with the Braves on a minor league deal in 2018. He cracked the MLB club and provided Atlanta a 2.83 ERA over 136 2/3 innings to help them to an NL East title.

That rebound earned Sánchez a multi-year contract in his return trip to free agency. He jumped to the Nationals on a two-year, $19MM pact that paid off incredibly in the first season. He made 30 starts with a 3.85 ERA in the regular season. The Nats made the playoffs as a Wild Card club and embarked on a run to the first championship in franchise history. Sánchez was a productive contributor as the #4 starter, highlighted by 7 2/3 scoreless innings to stake Washington to a series lead against the Cardinals in the first game of the NLCS.

Sánchez posted middling numbers during the shortened season and sat out 2021 entirely. He returned last year on another run with a now-rebuilding Washington club, turning in a 4.28 ERA in 14 outings. It was a respectable finish to a lengthy, accomplished run at the highest level.

All told, Sánchez leaves the game with a 4.06 ERA in a little more than 2000 big league innings. He had seven seasons with 100+ innings and fewer than four earned runs per nine. Sánchez won 116 games and struck out a little under 1800 hitters. He chipped in a 2.93 ERA through 61 1/3 postseason innings across three franchises, helping two teams to a pennant and one to a championship. Baseball Reference valued his career around 28 wins above replacement, while FanGraphs pegged him closer to 31 WAR. He banked just over $103MM in earnings.

Congratulations to Sánchez on an excellent career and all the best in his post-playing days.

Image courtesy of USA Today Sports.

Tigers Claim Seth Elledge From Mets

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The Tigers announced that they have claimed right-hander Seth Elledge off waivers from the Mets and optioned him to Triple-A Toledo. The Mets had designated him for assignment on the weekend. In order to open a spot for Elledge on their 40-man roster, the Tigers transferred right-hander Beau Brieske to the 60-day injured list.

Elledge, who turns 27 on Saturday, has changed uniforms a few times in recent years. He got to the majors with the Cardinals in 2020 and 2021 but was outrighted at the end of that latter season and signed a minor league deal with Atlanta. He spent 2022 with the Triple-A Gwinnett Stripers and impressed enough to get added to Atlanta’s 40-man roster at season’s end. He was optioned to the minors again to start this year but was designated for assignment in early April, getting claimed by the Mets, who also put him on waivers about a month later.

Amid all of those roster moves, he’s made 10 Triple-A appearances on the year with a 6.75 ERA in 14 2/3 innings, striking out 21.1% of batters faced against a 14.1% walk rate. He was much better last year, posting a 3.88 ERA in a larger sample of 46 1/3 innings. He struck out 33.7% of opponents on the season while walking just 8.6%. Though he’s out to a slow start this year, it’s understandable why clubs keep finding roster room for him based on last year’s results and the fact that he still has a couple of options remaining. He also has that small bit of major league experience, tossing 23 1/3 innings for the Cards with a 4.63 ERA. The Tigers have a couple of relievers on the injured list in Freddy Pacheco and Trey Wingenter, so Elledge can head to Toledo to give them a bit of extra depth.

As for Brieske, he’s been on the injured list all year due to a right ulnar nerve entrapment and hasn’t even begun a rehab assignment. This move will make him ineligible to return until 60 days from his initial IL placement, which was March 27, meaning he could technically come back next week if he were healthy. But there’s nothing to indicate a return that soon is on the table, making this move a fairly inevitable formality.

Tigers Place Spencer Turnbull On 15-Day Injured List

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The Tigers announced they’ve placed right hander Spencer Turnbull on the 15-day injured list retroactive to May 7 with neck discomfort. As Evan Woodbery of MLive explains, Turnbull had been optioned to Triple-A but this move means his option has been rescinded and he’ll spend time on major league IL. Had Turnbull reported the injury at Triple-A, he would’ve gone on the minor league injured list and not earned any big league service time, but his service time clock will continue while he’s on the Tigers’ 15-day IL.

Cody Stavenhagen of The Athletic reports that Turnbull met with president of baseball operations Scott Harris, manager AJ Hinch and pitching coach Chris Fetter after his last start when the Tigers optioned him back to Triple-A Toledo. “After Spencer left the room I got a call from him directly in which he disclosed some neck discomfort,” Harris said. “As soon as we heard that, we set up an appointment for him with our doctor. We also had him see a specialist out of state. We had those doctors discuss what’s going on with his neck. They confirmed the injury and we placed him on the injured list as of Sunday.”

Turnbull is two seasons away from free agency, but if he spends more than 35 days in the minor leagues he’ll have his free agency year pushed back by a season. Once a promising young member of the Tigers rotation, Turnbull has struggled in his first season back from Tommy John surgery, working to a 7.26 ERA in seven starts. That figure comes with a 16.6% strikeout rate and a 10.3% walk rate.

Just two years ago Turnbull tossed nine starts of 2.88 ERA ball and appeared on the verge of a breakout, but after Tommy John surgery ruled him out of the entire 2022 season it appears he’s yet to find his groove again. His strikeouts are down, walks are up and he’s given up a lot more hard contact this year than he did two seasons ago.

Because this transaction replaces Turnbull being optioned five days, there is no corresponding move to make, while it’s also worth nothing that Turnbull’s IL placement is retroactive to May 7, so he could return in just a handful of days.

The Upcoming Shortstop Class Looks Increasingly Bleak

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The top free agent storyline of each of the past two offseasons was the respective star-studded shortstop classes. In 2021-22, it was Carlos Correa, Corey Seager, Marcus Semien, Trevor Story and Javier Báez. Last winter, Correa was back on the market again, joined by Trea Turner, Xander Bogaerts and Dansby Swanson.

Next winter’s group was never going to rival that previous collection. The class in general is very light on star position player talent beyond Shohei Ohtani. It’s particularly barren up the middle of the diamond. It’s hard to imagine a more complete 180° turn than how things appear to be trending with the shortstop class, though. Virtually everyone involved is off to a very slow start.

The early-season performances from the impending free agents at the position:

Amed Rosario (28)*

While Rosario is not the superstar some evaluators had anticipated during his time in the Mets’ farm system, he’d been a solid regular for two seasons since landing in Cleveland in the Francisco Lindor blockbuster. Rosario’s solid batting averages helped offset his very low walk tallies. He hit 25+ doubles with double-digit homers in both 2021-22, playing on a near everyday basis. His cumulative .282/.316/.406 batting line was almost exactly league average. Public metrics were mixed on Rosario’s defense but the Guardians have been content to keep him at shortstop despite plenty of upper minors infield talent. Only 27 and without a ton of market competition, he entered the year in position for a strong three or four-year contract.

That could still be the case but Rosario is doing himself no favors with his early performance. He’s sitting on a .217/.262/.300 showing through his first 130 plate appearances. He has just one homer and is striking out at a 29.2% clip that’d easily be the worst full-season mark of his career if it holds. After making contact on 81.3% of his swings last season, he’s putting the bat on the ball only 71.5% of the time this year. He’s also committed six errors in 255 1/3 innings after being charged with just 12 in more than 1200 frames last year. Rosario is still the top impending free agent shortstop by default but he’s struggling in all areas right now.

Javier Báez (31), can opt out of final four years and $98MM on his contract

Báez is hitting .256/.318/.376 through his first 130 plate appearances. That’s an improvement over the lackluster .238/.278/.393 line he managed during his first season in Detroit. His 16.2% strikeout rate is the lowest of his career, pushing his overall offense near league average in spite of just three home runs in 32 games. Báez’s 2023 campaign has been fine but hardly overwhelming. It’s nowhere near what it’d take for him to beat the $98MM remaining on his existing contract. He’d need a torrid summer to put himself in position to test free agency.

Enrique Hernández (32)

Hernández has been pushed into primary shortstop duty by the Red Sox’ various injuries. The early reviews from public defensive metrics aren’t favorable, with Statcast putting him at seven outs below average in 199 innings. Hernández is off to an equally slow start at the plate. He’s hitting .236/.295/.362 over 139 plate appearances on the heels of a .222/.291/.338 showing last year. He’s been a valuable super-utility option and everyday center fielder at times in his career, including a 20-homer campaign in 2021. The past year-plus hasn’t been especially impressive, though, and Hernández has yet to demonstrate he’s capable of handling shortstop regularly from a defensive standpoint.

Brandon Crawford (37)

The career-long Giant had a tough April on both sides of the ball. He’s hitting .169/.244/.352 with a personal-high 28.2% strikeout rate in 21 games. His defensive marks through 173 2/3 innings are unanimously below-average. A right calf strain sent him to the injured list last week. Even if Crawford is willing to explore all opportunities next winter after 13 seasons in San Francisco, he’ll need much better production once he returns from the IL to find any interest as a starting shortstop.

Elvis Andrus (35)

Much of what applies to Crawford is also true for Andrus. He’s a 15-year MLB veteran with a couple All-Star appearances to his name but his offense has fallen off in recent seasons. Andrus was a well below-average hitter from 2018-21. He rebounded with a solid .249/.303/.404 showing last season but still didn’t generate much free agent attention. After settling for a $3MM deal with the White Sox, he’s hitting only .208/.291/.264 in 142 plate appearances this year. Andrus hit 17 homers last season but has just one through the first six weeks.

Nick Ahmed (34)

Another glove-first veteran, Ahmed is also off to a rough start at the plate. He carries a .227/.239/.318 line over 67 plate appearances. He’s hit only one home run and walked just once. Ahmed has always been a bottom-of-the-lineup defensive specialist, but his career .235/.289/.380 slash is much more tenable than the production he’s managed thus far in 2023. He lost almost all of last season to shoulder surgery.

Gio Urshela (32)

Urshela is hitting plenty of singles to start his time in Orange County. His .303 batting average is impressive but is paired with just a .325 on-base percentage and .345 slugging mark. He’s walking at a career-low 3.3% clip and has only three extra-base hits (two doubles and a homer) in 123 plate appearances.

More concerning for teams looking to the shortstop market is Urshela’s lack of experience at the position. He’s been a third baseman for the majority of his career. Since landing with the Angels, he’s assumed a multi-positional infield role that has given him eight-plus starts at shortstop and both corner infield spots. Even if he starts hitting for more power, he’s better deployed as a versatile infielder who can moonlight at shortstop than an everyday solution there.

Isiah Kiner-Falefa (28)

Kiner-Falefa lost his starting shortstop role with the Yankees towards the end of last season. He’s been kicked into a multi-positional capacity this year and hasn’t logged a single inning at the position in 2023. While Kiner-Falefa presumably could still handle shortstop if asked, he’s contributed nothing offensively in the early going. Through 72 plate appearances, he owns a .191/.225/.206 line.

Adalberto Mondesí (28)

Mondesí is young and has flashed tantalizing tools throughout his major league career. He’s also reached base at a meager .280 clip over 358 MLB games and battled various injuries. An April 2022 ACL tear cut that season short after just 15 games. The Red Sox nevertheless acquired him from the Royals over the offseason, but he’s yet to play a game with Boston. Mondesí opened the season on the 60-day injured list and won’t make his Sox debut until at least the end of this month. There’s a chance for him to play his way into some free agent interest. He’ll need an extended stretch of health and performance.

Players With Club Options

Both Tim Anderson and Paul DeJong can hit free agency if the White Sox and Cardinals decline respective 2024 club options. That seems likely in DeJong’s case but is reflective of the .196/.280/.351 line he managed between 2020-22. If he plays well enough to warrant significant free agent interest — he has been excellent in 11 games this season, to his credit — the Cardinals would exercise their $12.5MM option and keep him off the market anyhow.

The White Sox hold a $14MM option on Anderson’s services. That looks as if it’ll be a no-brainer for Chicago to keep him around (or exercise and make him available in trade). The only way Anderson gets to free agency is if his 2023 season is decimated by injury or an uncharacteristic performance drop-off, in which case he’d be a question mark as well.

Outlook

This was never going to be a great group. It’s comprised largely of glove-first veterans in their mid-30s. Players like Andrus, Ahmed, Crawford and José Iglesias — who’ll also hit free agency and has bounced around on minor league deals thus far in 2023 — don’t tend to be priority targets. That opened the door for the likes of Rosario, Báez and a potentially healthy Mondesí — younger players who have shown some offensive upside — to separate themselves from the pack in a way they wouldn’t have the last couple winters. No one has seized the mantle to this point. While there are still more than four months for someone to emerge, the early returns on the shortstop class aren’t promising.

*age for the 2024 season

Grayson Greiner Announces Retirement

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Catcher Grayson Greiner announced his retirement from professional baseball today, posting a message on Twitter. He then extends profound thanks to his family, friends, agents, teammates, coaches, team staff and fans. “While I’ve given almost my entire life to playing this game, I’m extremely excited for the next chapter of my life,” he says. “I’ll miss you, baseball.”

Greiner’s professional career began when he was selected by the Tigers in the third round of the 2014 draft out of the University of South Carolina, getting a signing bonus of $529.4K at that time. Unusually tall for a catcher at 6’6″, he was nonetheless considered a strong defender in his time as a prospect. He was also considered to have decent pop in his bat but wasn’t expected to be an especially strong bat-to-ball hitter or baserunner. Baseball America had him in the 20-25 range in their lists of top Tiger farmhands on three separate occasions, projecting him to be a solid backup catcher unless his bat surpassed expectations.

He was able to reach the big leagues in 2018, the first of five straight seasons where he made an appearance. He never really carved out a regular role, however, with his 58 games and 224 plate appearances in 2019 being career highs. Over those five years, he got a bit under a full season of work, getting into 139 games and taking 485 trips to the plate. He hit nine home runs but struck out in 32.2% of his plate appearances, producing a batting line of .201/.275/.307.

His time as a Tiger went through 2021, but he was outrighted off their roster after that season. He elected free agency and signed a minor league deal with the Diamondbacks, getting into a couple of games as a COVID substitute but otherwise staying in the minors that year. Returning to free agency in the most recent offseason, he signed a minor league deal with the Twins but didn’t make the club out of camp. He was released and signed another minor league deal, this time with the Rockies. He got into 20 games for the Triple-A Albuquerque Isotopes this year but hit just .186/.269/.286 before deciding it was time to hang up his spikes.

Greiner wasn’t a star, though by making it to the majors he realized a dream that many have but few can turn into reality. He got into 139 big league games, collecting 87 hits, nine homers, 42 runs scored and 46 batted in. MLBTR congratulates him on his career and wishes him the best of luck in whatever’s over the horizon.

Tigers Option Spencer Turnbull

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The Tigers have optioned right-hander Spencer Turnbull to Triple-A Toledo and recalled right-hander Alex Faedo, per a team announcement. Faedo will start today’s game against the Cardinals.

A second round pick in the 2014 draft, Turnbull made his MLB debut in 2019, struggling to a 6.06 ERA in 16 1/3 innings of work. He would become a regular in the Tigers rotation the following season, however, making thirty starts and posting a roughly league average 4.61 ERA with a solid 3.99 FIP in 148 1/3 innings during the 2019 season. His results continued to improve in 2020, when he posted a 3.97 ERA and 3.49 FIP over 11 starts during the pandemic-shortened campaign.

Turnbull appeared on the verge of a true breakout in 2021, as he had posted a dazzling 2.88 ERA (148 ERA+) in 50 innings across the first nine starts of his season. Unfortunately, Turnbull’s 2021 campaign came to an end prematurely when he underwent Tommy John surgery in July. Turnbull missed the entire 2022 season rehabbing, and returned to the mound as a member of Detroit’s rotation to open the 2023 campaign.

Turnbull has struggled mightily to this point, however, with a 7.26 ERA that leaves him 40% worse than league average by measure of ERA+ and a 5.65 FIP that provides little consolation. Even more worryingly, Turnbull has managed just 31 innings across those starts, pitching into the sixth inning just twice while failing to make it out of the fourth inning three times. Manager AJ Hinch confirmed to reporters, including Chris McCosky of The Detroit News, that Turnbull’s inability to pitch deep into games so far this season was a factor in his demotion. Per Hinch, Turnbull will be tasked with finding the consistency to execute all his pitches during his time in the minors going forward.

Service time might also be some small factor in the Tigers’ decision, as MLive.com’s Evan Woodbery (Twitter links) notes that Detroit might gain an extra year of control over Turnbull if he spends enough time in the minors. Turnbull entered the season with four years and 20 days of service time, and he is currently on track to reach free agency following the 2024 season. Of course, Woodbery observes that the Tigers’ first priority is just getting Turnbull pitching well, since the righty might be a non-tender candidate unless he can turn things around.

Turnbull’s departure creates room on the active roster for Faedo, the club’s first round pick in the 2018 draft. The 27-year-old Faedo made his MLB debut last season, posting a 5.53 ERA with a 4.62 FIP in 53 2/3 innings of work over 12 starts. While Faedo’s results at the big league level last year certainly left something to be desired, there’s some reason for optimism given his excellent results in the minors since his return from Tommy John surgery last year. In 33 2/3 minor league innings since then, Faedo has posted a 2.14 ERA with a 38.2% strikeout rate. Faedo joins Eduardo Rodriguez, Matthew Boyd, Michael Lorenzen, and Joey Wentz in the Tigers’ rotation, though it’s not currently clear if Faedo is simply up for a spot start or will get a longer look as the club’s fifth starter.

Tigers Sign Heath Hembree To Minor League Deal

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The Tigers have signed right-hander Heath Hembree to a minor league deal, according to his transactions tracker at MLB.com. He elected free agency last week after being outrighted by the Rays. He’s been assigned to the Triple-A Toledo Mud Hens.

This is the third relief pitcher the Tigers have added today, as they also signed left-hander Sam Clay to a minor league deal and claimed right-hander Braden Bristo off waivers from the Rays. Those three will give the club some extra depth arms in Toledo to be potentially called upon when needed.

Hembree, 34, was a fixture of the Boston bullpen for many years. From 2016 to 2019, he made at least 38 appearances in every one of those seasons with his ERA finishing between 2.65 and 4.20 in each. He struck out 25.8% of batters faced in that time against an 8.6% walk rate while racking up a couple of saves and 43 holds.

Since then, he’s worn many different jerseys as he’s become a well-traveled journeyman. From 2020 to 2022, he went from the Sox to the Phillies, Mets, Reds, Pirates and Dodgers. This winter, he signed a minor league deal with the Rays and got selected to the big league club last week but was designated for assignment the very next day. He managed to make one scoreless appearances of an inning and a third during his brief stay on the roster.

Hembree cleared waivers and was outrighted to Triple-A but rejected that in favor of a return to the open market. Any player with a previous career outright or more than three years of service time has that right, both of which apply to Hembree. He’ll now head to Toledo and try to earn his way back to the big leagues and add yet another new jersey to his collection.

Tigers Claim Braden Bristo, Transfer Austin Meadows To 60-Day IL

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5:05pm: The Tigers have announced the claim of Bristo, who has been optioned to Triple-A Toledo. The corresponding move is transferring outfielder Austin Meadows to the 60-day injured list. Meadows was placed on the 10-day IL due to anxiety on April 7 and will now be ineligible to return until 60 days from that point, which would be early June.

1:35pm: The Tigers have claimed right-hander Braden Bristo off waivers from the Rays, reports Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times. Bristo was designated for assignment on the weekend when the Rays acquired right-hander Javy Guerra from the Brewers. The Tigers have a full 40-man roster and will need to make a corresponding move in order to open a spot for Bristo.

Bristo, 28, was drafted by the Yankees in 2016 and was on their farm through the end of 2022, working exclusively in relief apart from a couple of two-inning starts as an opener. He made it all the way up to Triple-A, posting big strikeout totals but also dealing out more than his fair share of walks. He tossed 103 1/3 Triple-A innings between 2021 and 2022, posting a 4.70 ERA with a 27.1% strikeout rate but also a 13.2% walk rate.

He reached free agency in the winter and signed a minor league deal with the Rays, who selected his contract just over two weeks ago. He made one appearance against the Red Sox, tossing three innings without allowing a run, but was optioned back to Triple-A Durham the next day. He has an ERA of 10.00 in a small sample of six appearances for the Bulls this year.

Bristo will now head over to the Tigers, who will see if they can help him better harness his strikeout stuff so that he limits the free passes. The righty still has a full slate of options and essentially no service time, meaning he can be a depth option for the foreseeable future as long as he continues to hang onto his spot on the 40-man.

Tigers Sign Sam Clay To Minor League Deal

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The Tigers have signed left-hander Sam Clay to a minor league deal, according to his transactions tracker at MLB.com. He had signed a minors deal with the Diamondbacks in the offseason but was released, per the tracker.

Clay, 30 in June, has a bit of major league experience on his ledger to this point in his career. A Twins draftee, he never got the call to the big leagues with them, reaching free agency after 2020. The Nationals then signed him to a major league deal and put him into 58 games in 2021. He didn’t rack up a ton of strikeouts, just 15.9% of batters faced, but he got ground balls at an excellent 60.1% rate. The lefty posted a 5.60 ERA that year but might have deserved better, given his .342 batting average on balls in play and 65.4% strand rate, which were both on the unfortunate side of average. His 4.61 FIP and 4.42 SIERA were each about a full run better than his ERA.

Clay spent most of 2022 in the minors and eventually went to the Phillies and Mets in July with a couple of waiver claims in a span of a week. The Mets would later outright him off the roster in August. Amid all of that bouncing around, he tossed just 5 1/3 innings in the majors with a 8.44 ERA. But in 43 Triple-A innings, he had a much more palatable 3.56 ERA, getting grounders on almost two thirds of balls in play and striking out 24.1% of opponents.

Clay returned to the open market this winter and signed a minor league deal with the Diamondbacks. He wasn’t terribly effective in four spring outings and was released but will now join the Tigers. Per the transactions tracker, he’s been assigned to the FCL Tigers and will presumably get back into game shape after a layoff of about a month, at which point he’ll likely head to Triple-A Toledo. The Tigers have three lefties in the big league bullpen in Tyler Holton, Tyler Alexander and Chasen Shreve but Alexander currently has a 5.28 ERA on the year and Shreve a 7.84. Clay will give them a non-roster option to potentially turn to in the not-too-distant future.

AL Central Notes: White Sox, Mahle, Skubal

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The White Sox are set to get some much needed reinforcements early this week, as manager Pedro Grifol tells reporters (including MLB.com’s Scott Merkin) that both shortstop Tim Anderson and infielder Hanser Alberto are expected to return from the injured list on Tuesday.

That’s great news for the club, as the White Sox have begun their 2023 campaign with a worrisome 7-21 record that places them tied for last in the AL Central, nine games back of the division-leading Twins. A two time All Star who won the batting title in 2019, Anderson is one of the club’s marquee players. From 2019 to 2021 Anderson posted 11.6 fWAR in 295 games, a pace of nearly 6.4 fWAR per 162 games, thanks to solid defense at shortstop paired with a .322/.349/.495 slash line that was good for a 126 wRC+. That being said, Anderson missed three months of action in 2022 due to multiple injuries and didn’t reach those same standards when on the field, posting just a 110 wRC+ in 79 games along with a .093 ISO that was far below the .173 he managed during his peak years.

Even after a relative down season last year, however, Anderson figures to be one of the club’s best players this season, and any hope of a turnaround for the White Sox after this brutal start to the 2023 campaign likely rests in large part on his shoulders. In coming off the IL, he’ll be joined by Alberto, who figures to join Chicago’s bench mix alongside Romy Gonzalez, Lenyn Sosa, Gavin Sheets, and Adam Haseley. Despite a career wRC+ of just 77, Alberto is in his eighth year in the majors thanks to his versatility, which has allowed him to play all over the diamond except for behind the plate and in center field, and his penchant for avoiding strikeouts, as the 30-year-old veteran has punched out in just 12.2% of his 1,406 plate appearances in his career to this point.

More from around the AL Central…

  • Twins right-hander Tyler Mahle underwent an MRI on his arm after he was diagnosed with an elbow impingement earlier this week. Manager Rocco Baldelli told reporters, including MLB.com’s Do-Hyoung Park, that the team will have more details soon but that Mahle is expected to miss his next start at the very least. It’s not currently known if an injured list stint will be necessary for Mahle, who has a 3.16 ERA in five starts so far in 2023. The Twins have a variety of options for a spot start on the 40-man roster if necessary, including Simeon Woods-Richardson, Cole Sands, Louie Varland and Brent Headrick.
  • Tigers left-hander Tarik Skubal, who underwent flexor surgery last August, threw off a mound for the first time since his surgery yesterday, as noted by MLive’s Evan Woodberry. Everything went well during the bullpen, during which Skubal threw 15 fastballs. Skubal doesn’t figure to return from injury any time soon, but the positive update is nonetheless great news for the Tigers, who also lost fellow youngsters Casey Mize and Matt Manning before the season began. 2022 was something of a breakout season for Skubal, as the young lefty posted a 3.52 ERA and 2.96 FIP in 117 2/3 innings of work.
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