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Quick Hits: Odorizzi, Posey, Miggy, Mazara, Rays

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Jake Odorizzi was linked to the Mets last winter, though in a recent podcast appearance alongside former Twins teammate — and current Met — Trevor May on The Chris Rose Rotation, Odorizzi indicated that the team’s initial interest was generated by team president Sandy Alderson.  (Mike Puma of the New York Post has an account of Odorizzi’s comments.)  Once Jared Porter was hired as the Mets’ GM, however, the interest dissipated, and the situation didn’t reignite after Zack Scott took over the job after Porter’s resignation.  “Early on, I thought I was going to be a member of a certain team, then some people took over that team and they pretty much hated me, so it fell through.  It was Trevor’s team,” Odorizzi said.

Odorizzi reportedly drew interest from several teams beyond only the Mets, but he didn’t end up finding a new club until early March, when he signed a two-year deal with the Astros worth $23.5MM in guaranteed money.  The long wait didn’t sit well with the right-hander, who described his free agent stint as “the single most frustrating time I’ve had in baseball.  At certain points you think you are going to be a member of a certain team and then it falls through or whatever maybe and it’s like, ’All right, now what?’ And it’s March and I am still sitting at the house.  It’s like, ’What the hell is going on right now?’ ”

More from around the baseball world…

  • X-rays were negative on Buster Posey’s left elbow after the Giants catcher was hit by a pitch during the seventh inning of tonight’s game with the Marlins.  Posey remains on the basepaths after being hit, but was replaced by Curt Casali at catcher in the bottom half of the inning.  Manager Gabe Kapler told reporters (including NBC Sports Bay Area’s Marcus White) that Posey suffered an elbow contusion.  Casali was already likely to start tomorrow’s game, though if Posey needs a bit of recovery time short of an proper IL stint, the Giants might have to call up Chadwick Tromp or Joey Bart so they aren’t shorthanded behind the plate.
  • Tigers manager A.J. Hinch provided Chris McCosky of the Detroit News and other reporters with some updates on injured players.  Miguel Cabrera (left biceps strain) will be on the injured list beyond the 10-day minimum, as Hinch said the veteran slugger wouldn’t be available for the Tigers’ series with the Pirates from April 20-22.  However, Cabrera is making progress with baseball activities, taking grounders and hitting in an indoor batting cage.  Hinch said the plan is for Cabrera to take on-field BP during that Pirates series, “and once he does that for a few days, then we will make an assessment on what’s next for him after that….We’re going to go series by series with him.”  As for Nomar Mazara, the Tigers outfielder hit the 10-day IL last Thursday due to a left abdominal strain.  Hinch also expects Mazara’s IL stint to last beyond 10 days, estimating “a couple of weeks” but noting that the nature of the injury makes it difficult to project a specific timeline.
  • Yoshi Tsutsugo is off to a rough start, with only a .154/.214/.179 slash line over his first 43 plate appearances of the season.  This performance has already cost Tsutsugo playing time, and Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times wonders if it might lead the Rays to part ways with Tsutsugo altogether, maybe as soon as May when Ji-Man Choi is off the injured list.  It would essentially be a punt on the $7MM salary Tsutsugo is owed this season, and while the low-payroll Rays would be loath to eat that much money, Topkin writes that “the Rays may decide Tsutsugo is a lost cause.”  The terms of Tsutsugo’s two-year, $12MM contract prevent him from being sent to the minors without his permission.  Tsutsugo was pretty average (98 wRC+, 99 OPS+) over 158 PA in his first Major League season in 2020, with the obvious caveats that he had to deal with the pandemic on top of the difficulties of adjusting to a new league.

Mets Activate J.D. Davis From Injured List

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The Mets are reinstating third baseman J.D. Davis from the injured list, Tim Healey of Newsday was among those to note (Twitter link). Infielder José Peraza was optioned to the team’s alternate training site in a corresponding move. Additionally, right-hander Franklyn Kilome has cleared waivers and been sent outright to the alternate site.

Davis returns from a hand injury after the minimum amount of time on the shelf. The 27-year-old figures to resume his role as New York’s top option at the hot corner. Peraza’s contract was selected from the alternate site to add infield depth when Davis went on the shelf, but he’ll ultimately head back without having gotten into a game. Peraza will keep his spot on the 40-man roster, though.

Kilome lost his 40-man spot to accommodate the Mets’ addition of Peraza last week. A former top prospect in the Phillies’ system, Kilome has seen his stock tumble quite a bit in recent years. He’ll remain in the New York organization and hope to pitch his way back onto the roster.

NL Injury Notes: Braves, Myers, Betances, Cain

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The Braves don’t have a timetable yet for injured right-handers Mike Soroka and Chris Martin to return, per David O’Brien of The Athletic. Soroka missed almost all of last season with a torn right Achilles, and as he was working his way back, the Braves had to shut him down because of shoulder inflammation. Martin went on the IL with the same issue on April 10 (retroactive to April 7). Between their injuries and Max Fried’s placement on the IL because of a hamstring strain, the Braves are without three of their most important pitchers.

  • Padres right fielder Wil Myers left their game Tuesday with right knee inflammation and was not in their starting lineup Wednesday. Myers has been dealing with patellar tenonitis, but it’s not believed he’ll miss much time or require surgery, according to Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union-Tribune. Even though Myers has had to play through discomfort, it hasn’t had an obvious effect on his production. On the heels of a massive rebound in 2020, he has begun this year with a torrid .341/.438/.659 line and three home runs in 48 plate appearances.
  • Mets reliever Dellin Betances, on the 10-day IL since April 8 with a right shoulder impingement, is still a ways from returning. Betances hasn’t begun throwing, and he won’t travel with the Mets for their April 16-22 road trip, Anthony DiComo of MLB.com reports. Injuries have been a constant problem over the past few years for Betances, a four-time All-Star who has thrown only 13 1/3 innings dating back to his final season with the Yankees in 2019. The Mets had high hopes for a Betances bounce-back effort when they signed him to a $10.5MM guarantee during the ensuing winter, but he yielded 10 earned runs in 11 2/3 innings in 2020. So far this year, Betances has made one appearance and thrown one inning, in which he allowed an earned run and a walk.
  • The Brewers have placed center fielder Lorenzo Cain on the 10-day IL with a strained left quad and recalled outfielder Tyrone Taylor, the team announced. There’s no word on how much time Cain will miss, but he strained his other quad during the spring and was limited to seven exhibition games as a result. The 35-year-old has gotten off to a slow start this season with a .154/.214/.423 line in 28 plate appearances.

NL Injury Notes: D-backs, Carrasco, Lamet

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Diamondbacks right-hander Zac Gallen will make his first start of the season on Tuesday, Steve Gilbert of MLB.com tweets. The Diamondbacks had to open the year without Gallen, their No. 1 starter, as a result of a hairline fracture he suffered in his right forearm roughly three weeks ago. Gallen thrived with the Marlins and D-backs during his first two years in the majors, in which he combined for a 2.78 ERA and struck out 28.5 percent of batters in 152 innings.

Here’s more regarding Arizona and a couple of other National League teams…

  • The Mets’ Carlos Carrasco suffered a torn hamstring last month, but manager Luis Rojas said Monday that the righty “is doing really good right now,” per Anthony DiComo of MLB.com. Carrasco is stretched out to throw four innings and will soon report to the Mets’ alternate site to begin fielding work, according to DiComo. Still, there isn’t an exact timeline for the offseason acquisition’s Mets debut. It was reported when Carrasco went down that he would need six to eight weeks to recover, so he could still be another month-plus away.
  • Righty Dinelson Lamet won’t rejoin the Padres’ rotation until he pitches at least one more time at their alternate site, Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union-Tribune tweets. Lamet has been delayed while working back from elbow issues that brought a premature end to a breakout 2020 effort in which he put up a 2.09 ERA/3.16 SIERA in 69 innings and finished fourth in NL Cy Young voting. The Padres have roared to an 8-3 start without Lamet, but he should make the World Series hopefuls even more formidable upon his return.
  • The Diamondbacks placed first baseman Christian Walker on the 10-day injured list Monday with a right oblique strain and recalled infielder/outfielder Andrew Young to take his spot, per a team announcement. Whether Walker will need more than 10 days to recover isn’t known, but oblique problems often lead to extended absences. Before going on the IL, Walker amassed 44 plate appearances and hit .179/.250/.282 – a far cry from the .271/.333/.459 line he posted in 243 PA last year.

NL Notes: Tatis, Mets, Lugo, Thor, McCutchen

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As if Joe Musgrove’s no-hitter wasn’t enough good news for the Padres, Fernando Tatis Jr. was taking grounders prior to yesterday’s game and is now also taking part in hitting and running drills.  Tatis is on the 10-day IL recovering from a slight tear in his left labrum, though the ugly-looking injury may only keep Tatis out of action for a relatively short amount of time.  Tatis’ shoulder inflammation has decreased to the point that he has been able to do some fielding work, and he could keep gradually ramping up his baseball activity as long as his shoulder remains sound, Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union-Tribune wrote yesterday.

Manager Jayce Tingler sounded cautiously optimistic talking to Acee and other reporters today.  “We want to take it day by day, but we feel confident if we can continue down this road, we’re going to be in a good position for him to be activated” by April 16, Tingler said.  That would be the first day Tatis would be eligible to leave the injured list, and it would put Tatis on pace to be in the lineup as the Padres began a big series with the Dodgers.

More from around the National League…

  • Mets GM Zack Scott provided reporters (including the New York Daily News’ Deesha Thosar) with updates on Noah Syndergaard and Seth Lugo, saying that both right-handers are on schedule with their injury rehab.  Lugo underwent bone spur surgery on his throwing elbow in February, and is expected to be back at some point in May.  Syndergaard is set to throw a live batting practice today, in the latest step in his recovery from Tommy John surgery in March 2020.  If all continues to go well for Syndergaard, he is on pace to rejoin the Mets’ rotation before the end of June.
  • Between a torn ACL in 2019 and then a tough time recovering from that injury (on top of all the other unusual elements last season) in 2020, Andrew McCutchen has some unfinished business as he enters the last guaranteed season of his three-year, $50MM contract with the Phillies.  “I had a lot of catching up to do last season,” McCutchen told The Athletic’s Matt Gelb, noting that it wasn’t until the Phillies’ last few games in September that he really felt comfortable.  Now, however, McCutchen is entering the year with the benefit of a full Spring Training, and there are “no limitations for myself.  No hindrance.  No thinking, second-guessing.  Really pushing myself to where I didn’t I feel like I had to guard….So, going into this spring, I was just saying, ’I feel like myself.  I can squat and play and do what I need to do here in the games.’ ”  It’s a good sign for McCutchen as he enters his age-34 season as the Phils’ regular left fielder, and he also pointed out that there aren’t many everyday outfielders of his age remaining in a sport that has become increasingly less inclined to regularly play veteran players.

Mets Place J.D. Davis On 10-Day IL, Select Jose Peraza, Designate Franklyn Kilome

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The Mets have placed infielder J.D. Davis on the 10-day injured list due to a left hand contusion, the team announced.  Davis’ placement is retroactive to April 7.  In corresponding moves, infielder Jose Peraza’s contract was selected from the alternate training site, and right-hander Franklyn Kilome was designated for assignment to open up a 40-man roster spot for Peraza.

Davis was hit on the hand by a Chase Anderson fastball during Tuesday’s game and hasn’t since been back on the field.  X-rays on both Davis’ hand and left wrist were negative, and it doesn’t sound as if Davis will miss much or any time beyond the minimum stay on the injured list, though an IL placement seems necessary if Davis isn’t yet ready to play.

Luis Guillorme and Jonathan Villar have filled in at third base in Davis’ absence, and Peraza might also join this mix.  Signed to a minor league deal back in November, Peraza saw pretty close to everyday duty for the Reds as a second baseman, shortstop, and eventually as a super-utility option in 2017-19, but Cincinnati non-tendered the infielder due to a lack of hitting.  The problems at the plate continued for Peraza with the Red Sox last season, as he batted just .225/.275/.342 over 120 PA in 2020.

Peraza drew some top-100 prospect attention prior to the 2015 and 2016 seasons, and Kilome also isn’t far moved from his days as a highly-touted minor leaguer in the Phillies’ system — Baseball Prospectus included the righty on their top-100 lists every year from 2016-18.  Kilome was acquired by the Mets in the Asdrubal Cabrera trade in July 2018, and Kilome then had to undergo Tommy John surgery just a few months later that wiped out his 2019 campaign.

Kilome did make his MLB debut last season, but he was hit hard in every appearance and posted an 11.12 ERA over 11 1/3 innings.  It isn’t out of the question that another team could claim Kilome off the DFA wire, given his past prospect pedigree, but that seems to be a risk the Mets are willing to take on the 25-year-old.

NL Injury Notes: Wong, Akiyama, Goldy, Davis

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Brewers second baseman Kolten Wong departed the team’s game against the Cardinals on Thursday after re-aggravating his left oblique, manager Craig Counsell told Andrew Wagner of the Wisconsin State Journal and other reporters. It’s the same issue that kept Wong from playing Wednesday, and Counsell said (via Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel) there’s a “distinct possibility” that he’ll require a trip to the injured list. Wong, previously with St. Louis, joined the Brewers on a two-year, $18MM contract during the offseason. If he does have to miss time shortly into his Brewers tenure, it would be another blow to the middle infield depth of a team that traded Orlando Arcia to Atlanta earlier this week. The Brewers did add veteran Dee Strange-Gordon on a minor league contract Thursday, though Daniel Robertson – who replaced Wong when he exited – would be the favorite to handle most of the reps at the keystone.

  • The Reds are planning to have Shogo Akiyama back with the team in early-to-mid May, C. Trent Rosecrans of The Athletic reports (via Twitter). Akiyama started slowly for the Red last season, but he was able to adjust and post a strong second half. At least so far, however, the Reds have managed just fine without him. Tyler Naquin has helped fill the void with a massive start to the season. With Nick Senzel, Jesse Winker, Nick Castellanos, and Aristides Aquino on the roster, the Reds are in no real hurry to upset the apple cart, so to speak.
  • Paul Goldschmidt was scratched from today’s Cardinals game because of lower back tightness, per MLB.com’s Zachary Silver (via Twitter). The move was precautionary, so presumably the Cardinals don’t expect this to lead to an IL placement. Manager Mike Shildt said after the game that Goldschmidt’s day to day, and the Cardinals will know more about his status Friday, Jeff Jones of the Belleville News tweets.
  • The Mets received some good news on J.D. Davis. X-rays came back negative on his bruised left hand, Tim Healey of Newsday relays (via Twitter). Davis does not appear to be headed to the injured list, though he remained out of the lineup for the Mets’ home opener today. Jonathan Villar took his place at the hot corner. Villar got the start at third base today for the first time since 2016. Luis Guillorme would also be in line to see a bump in playing time while Davis is on the shelf. It’s not clear, however, how much time Davis will miss.

Mets Place Dellin Betances On Injured List, Call Up Trevor Hildenberger

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The Mets have placed right-hander Dellin Betances on the 10-day injured list because of a right shoulder impingement, per Newsday’s Tim Healey and others (via Twitter). Trevor Hildenberger will take his place on the active roster. Hildenberger will be added to the 40-man roster, which will now be full.

Betances, 33, made his first appearance of the season yesterday. He surrendered one run in one inning of work without giving up a hit. He walked one and struck out one. Injuries have been a central piece of Betances’ narrative since joining the Mets. He threw 11 2/3 innings last year in 15 appearances, finishing with a 7.71 ERA/4.91 FIP while striking out just 18.6 percent of hitters and struggling with his control. He had a 20.3 percent walk rate in 2020. This, of course, came after injuries robbed him of all but one appearance in his final season with the Yankees.

Hildenberger now becomes the latest solution to the Mets’ bullpen woes. The 30-year-old didn’t appear in the Majors last season, signing a minor league deal with the Red Sox but never making it to the roster. He does have 132 appearances from his time with the Twins from 2017 to 2019.

He was particularly good in his debut season back in 2017 when he made 37 appearances with a 3.21 ERA/3.02 FIP. The ball did not bounce his way the following two campaigns, however, when he posted a combined 6.35 ERA across 95 appearances totaling 89 1/3 innings, despite having a 4.58 FIP over that same span. An absurdly-high .459 BABIP over 22 appearances in 2019 might have been to blame for his bloated ERA that season.

AL Injury Notes: Judge, Mariners, Orioles

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A few injury updates from the American League:

  • Yankees right fielder Aaron Judge wasn’t in their lineup against the Orioles on Wednesday because of soreness in his left side, Bryan Hoch of MLB.com writes. Manager Aaron Boone doesn’t seem all that concerned, as he said, “With the off day tomorrow I don’t want to take any chances.” Still, it’s notable in light of Judge’s extensive injury history. He missed a large amount of time in 2018 after suffering a fractured wrist on a hit by pitch, which was obviously just a bad break, but then sat out a combined 92 games from 2019-20 because of oblique, rib and calf problems. Judge has been excellent when healthy, though, and has begun this season with an eye-popping .364/.391/.636 line with two home runs in 23 plate appearances.
  • Mariners center fielder Kyle Lewis is progressing in his recovery from a bone bruise in his right knee and could make his season debut during the team’s April 16-20 homestand, Corey Brock of The Athletic tweets. The injury has prevented Lewis from building on last season’s American League Rookie of the Year-winning campaign, in which he batted .262/.364/.437 with 11 home runs and five stolen bases over 242 plate appearances. The Mariners have mostly used Taylor Trammell in center during Lewis’ absence.
  • Sticking with the Mariners, first baseman Evan White exited their game against the White Sox on Wednesday with tightness in his left quad, Ryan Divish of the Seattle Times tweets. The team replaced White with Jose Marmolejos. White was off to a less-than-ideal start to the season even before the injury, as the 24-year-old has collected just three hits in 24 plate appearances and struck out seven times. The Mariners signed White to a six-year, $24MM extension before last season, but he wound up struggling to a .176/.252/.346 line with a 41.6 percent K rate in 202 PA as a rookie then.
  • Orioles outfielder DJ Stewart might be back in their lineup this weekend, according to manager Brandon Hyde (via Joe Trezza of MLB.com). Stewart hasn’t played yet this year on account of a hamstring issue that has shelved him for a little over a month. The 27-year-old lined up in the corner outfield in all 31 of his appearances in 2020, and he put up an unusual .193/.355/.455 batting line with seven home runs 112 trips to the plate. Despite a low batting average and a 33.9 percent strikeout rate, Stewart’s ability to draw walks (17.9 percent) and hit for power (.261 ISO) carried him to an impressive wRC+ of 124.

Nationals Set Opening Day Roster

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After having their first four games postponed due to positive Covid-19 tests within the organization, the Nationals have announced their roster for today’s season opener. Four Nationals players are said to have tested positive, with several more in the organization being deemed close contacts who are also going through protocol. Tuesday’s announcement was accompanied by a dizzying series of roster moves, which included placing catchers Yan Gomes and Alex Avila; left-handers Patrick Corbin, Brad Hand and Jon Lester; infielders Josh Harrison and Jordy Mercer; first baseman Josh Bell; and outfielder Kyle Schwarber on the Covid-19 related injured list. Right-hander Will Harris was also placed on the 10-day injured list after his recent procedure to address a blood clot.

In a sequence of corresponding roster moves, the Nats recalled catcher Tres Barrera; right-handers Ryne Harper and Kyle McGowin; infielders Carter Kieboom and Luis Garcia; lefty Sam Clay; and outfielder Yadiel Hernandez from their alternate training site. Washington also selected the contracts of veteran catcher Jonathan Lucroy and outfielder Cody Wilson. Wilson was specifically designated as a “replacement player,” indicating that he can be removed from the 40-man roster and sent back to the minors without clearing waivers as the affected Nationals players are cleared to return to the roster.

Notably, the Nationals’ Opening Day roster includes shortstop Trea Turner — a welcome development after Turner was absent from yesterday’s workout with the team. Manager Dave Martinez tells reporters that Turner was not cleared to be on the field yesterday (Twitter link via the Washington Post’s Jesse Dougherty), so it seems he cleared protocols this morning. Turner will be joined in the Opening Day infield by Ryan Zimmerman, Hernan Perez (at second) and Starlin Castro (at third). The Nats will give Andrew Stevenson the nod in left field alongside Victor Robles and Juan Soto, while Lucroy draws the start behind the plate, catching Max Scherzer.

The Nationals will make up yesterday’s postponed contest against the Braves in a doubleheader tomorrow. It’s not yet clear when they’ll make up their three postponed games against the Mets, although given that they’re division rivals, the remainder of this season’s schedule will provide ample opportunity for those games to be played.

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