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West Injury Notes: Paddack, Gray, Ibanez, Ohtani, Astros

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Padres starter Chris Paddack appears to be ready to come off the IL to start Monday’s game in Arizona, according to Kevin Acee of The San Diego Union-Tribune. Acee says that Padres manager Jayce Tingler didn’t confirm the plan, but then later listed Paddack as Monday’s starter on Twitter.

For Paddack, his third big league season has been a disappointing one, logging an ERA of 5.13 over 93 innings. That’s a spike from last year’s 4.73 and his 3.33 mark from 2019. His strikeout rate has also gone in the wrong direction. After a solid 26.9% rate in his debut season, it dropped to 23.7% last year and sits at 22.5% so far this year. However, his walk rate has stuck around 5% in every season, which is excellent. (MLB average is 8.7% this year.)

Despite those struggles, the team has certainly missed Paddack. Since the righty went on the shelf July 31st with an oblique issue, the team has been on a disastrous slide. They’ve gone 9-15 so far in the month of August, surrendering the final National League playoff spot to Cincinnati. During that time, the rotation was missing not only Paddack, but also Yu Darvish. They tried to patch over those absences with the addition of Jake Arrieta, only to see him land on the IL himself after just one start of 3 1/3 innings. With Darvish having already returned and Paddack on the way, that could allow the team to steady the ship and finish strong, as they try to retake the Reds over the season’s final weeks.

Other notes from the west…

  • Rockies starter Jon Gray left last night’s start after 48 pitches. Manager Bud Black told reporters, including Patrick Saunders of the Denver Post, that the move was precautionary and related to some forearm tightness. Nick Groke of The Athletic gets a bit more granular, explaining that the injured area appears to be away from the ulnar collateral ligament, hopefully negating the worst fears of Rockies fans. Though the extent of the injury remains to be seen, it makes sense for the club to be cautious, as they are 11 games out of a playoff spot. Gray is a free agent at year’s end, but the Rockies are reportedly hoping to sign him to an extension. They will also have to decide on whether or not to issue him a qualifying offer at the end of the season. Gray would surely warrant the offer if he’s healthy. Over 806 2/3 career innings, Gray has an ERA of 4.52 while pitching primarily in the most hitter-friendly ballpark in the league, producing 15.7 fWAR.
  • Rangers infielder Andy Ibanez left last night’s game with left hamstring tightness, per Kennedi Landry of MLB.com. She quotes Rangers manager Chris Woodward as being “not optimistic” about the injury. Regardless of the eventual severity of the injury, the club has every reason to be cautious, as they have one of the worst records in the league and no shot at contending. If this is the end of the season for Ibanez, it will go down as a solid rookie campaign for the 28-year-old. He’s hit .260/.304/.415, wRC+ of 96, while splitting time between first, second and third base, as well as one game in left field.
  • Shohei Ohtani was hit on the hand by a pitch in last night’s game, while serving as the designated hitter. However, he stuck around for the remainder of the contest and x-rays on the hand came back negative. Angels manager Jeff Madden told reporters, including Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register, that Ohtani should be fine to make his scheduled start on Tuesday. That is good news for the club and baseball fans in general, as Ohtani is having the most unique and fascinating season that baseball has seen in quite some time, if not ever. He’s currently the MLB home run leader with 41, and has an overall slash line of .264/.363/.623, producing a wRC+ of 160 which is currently bested by only two other qualified hitters. (Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Bryce Harper) All of that is combined with Ohtani’s 105 innings in the Angels’ starting rotation with an ERA of 3.00.
  • The Astros could be getting a couple of players back this week. Jose Urquidy is pitching in a rehab game tonight, which could be his last before returning, according to Jake Kaplan of The Athletic. Urquidy has only been able to make 14 starts this season because of injuries but has been excellent when healthy, putting up an ERA of 3.38. It’s unclear who would be bumped from the rotation in his absence, but some have speculated that Luis Garcia could be an option. Garcia has already set a career high in innings pitched this year and has seen his results slip a bit recently. Since July 26th, he has an ERA of 4.22. The club has already moved another young starter, Cristian Javier, to the bullpen as a way to manage his workload. The Astros could also be welcoming Chas McCormick back later this week. General manager James Click told various reporters, including Mark Berman of Fox 26, that the outfielder could be back as soon as Friday. The club hasn’t suffered much in McCormick’s absence, given that Jake Meyers has been manning center field and has been on a tear. Since having his contract selected last month, in the first 20 games of his career, Meyers is slashing .323/.348/.523.

Padres Activate Yu Darvish

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The Padres will activate Yu Darvish to start tonight’s ballgame, per Bill Plunkett of the Orange County Register (via Twitter).

Daniel Camarena has been optioned to Triple-A to create the roster space to add Darvish, the team announced. Camarena served up the game-winning two-run shot to AJ Pollock in the 16th inning of yesterday’s marathon contest. The 28-year-old southpaw has generated more buzz for his work at the plate this season, hitting a grand slam off Max Scherzer in his first career plate appearance. He had an at-bat in last night’s game as well, but he went down swinging.

For his part, Darvish has been out since August 13th with lower back tightness. He has a 3.70 ERA/3.71 FIP in 23 starts covering 131 1/3 innings with a typically strong 29.9 percent strikeout rate, 5.7 percent walk rate, and lower than usual 36.0 percent groundball rate.

The Padres have seen their pitching depth ravaged by injuries this season. If they’re going to stay in the hunt for the second wild card game, Darvish’s healthy return would seem a likely requirement. Chris Paddack could also be on his way back after a successful three-inning simulated game, notes Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union-Tribune.

Padres Fire Pitching Coach Larry Rothschild

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The Padres announced Monday that they’ve fired pitching coach Larry Rothschild. Bullpen coach Ben Fritz will step up as the pitching coach for the remainder of the 2021 season.

“Larry has been a tremendous asset for our organization over the last two seasons, and we appreciate the experience, hard work and dedication that he brought to the position,” Padres manager Jayce Tingler said in a statement within today’s press release. “We wish him nothing but the best in the future.”

Rothschild’s ouster comes after a weekend in which the Padres were overtaken by the Reds for the second Wild Card spot in the National League. San Diego has been in a freefall in the standings, losing nine of the past 11 games due in no small part to woeful performances from a pitching staff that has not lived up to expectations in 2021. The Padres have yielded an average of 5.91 runs per contest across that 11-game swoon.

Even beyond their recent slide, the Padres’ pitching staff simply hasn’t been as dominant as many would’ve hoped on the heels of an active winter. Joe Musgrove has taken his game to new heights and Yu Darvish has performed well, but San Diego starters rank 17th overall with a 4.37 ERA this season.

Left-hander Blake Snell, a marquee offseason acquisition, has had the roughest season of his career, recording career-worst marks in ERA (4.82), expected ERA (5.62) and walk rate (13.7 percent). Rookie Ryan Weathers has been hit extremely hard of late and is sitting on a 5.83 ERA. Young Chris Paddack, meanwhile, had a brilliant debut in 2019 but has struggled since Rothschild’s hiring prior to the 2020 season. Paddack posted a 3.33 ERA in 140 2/3 innings  as a rookie but has a 4.97 mark in 152 innings since. That certainly can’t all be pinned on Rothschild alone, but the timing couldn’t have helped Rothschild’s cause.

Fritz will hold things down for the remainder of the season, but Rothschild’s dismissal means there will be a search for at least one spot on the coaching staff this winter. The fate of others on the field staff could well be tied to how the team performs in the coming weeks. It’s unlikely that there will be major turnover at the top of the baseball operations department, however — not after A.J. Preller was promoted to president of baseball operations and extended through the 2026 season back in February.

Padres Place Jake Arrieta On Injured List

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The Padres announced this evening they’ve placed starter Jake Arrieta on the 10-day injured list, retroactive to August 19, due to a left hamstring strain. The move opens space on the active roster for utilityman Jurickson Profar, who has been reinstated after missing two weeks on the COVID-19 IL. To open space on the 40-man roster for Profar, reliever Drew Pomeranz was transferred from the 10-day to the 60-day IL.

Already reeling in the rotation due to injuries to Yu Darvish, Dinelson Lamet and Chris Paddack, San Diego signed Arrieta this week after he was released by the Cubs. The veteran right-hander made his first start as a Padre on Wednesday at Coors Field. He allowed five runs over 3 1/3 innings against the Rockies before departing due to the hamstring issue that today landed him on the shelf.

With Arrieta also out, San Diego will again have to try and piece things together behind Joe Musgrove, Blake Snell and Ryan Weathers. Reiss Knehr looks like one potential option for the back of the rotation, and the Padres also have Daniel Camarena on the 40-man roster as a pitcher capable of working into the middle innings. Fortunately, Darvish threw a bullpen session this afternoon, his first since landing on the IL last weekend (via AJ Cassavell of MLB.com).

Pomeranz’s transfer to the 60-day IL is nothing more than a procedural move. The southpaw is out for the season after it was determined he’s require surgery to repair a torn flexor tendon.

Padres Sign Jake Arrieta

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The Padres are taking a flier on Jake Arrieta, announcing a deal with the veteran right-hander this afternoon. While San Diego technically inked Arrieta to a minor league contract, the club announced they plan to formally select him to the big league roster on Wednesday, when he’ll get make his team debut with a start against the Rockies. San Diego already has a vacancy on the 40-man roster, so they won’t need to make a corresponding move in that regard unless they add somebody to the roster in the intervening two days. Arrieta is repped by the Boras Corporation.

San Diego suddenly finds itself desperate for innings — a scenario few would’ve anticipated after an offseason in which the Friars acquired Yu Darvish, Blake Snell and Joe Musgrove to strengthen a rotation that already looked to have a fair bit of depth. However, Darvish was placed on the injured list yesterday owing to back issues, and the Padres are also currently without Chris Paddack (oblique strain), Dinelson Lamet (forearm inflammation, hip surgery) and Adrian Morejon (Tommy John surgery). Touted prospect MacKenzie Gore hasn’t pitched in a game since June 13, as he was sent back to the team’s Spring Training complex to work on mechanical issues not long after.

Arrieta will give the Padres a veteran option to soak up some innings, but the extent of his struggles with the Cubs underscore the dire nature of the need for arms in San Diego at the moment. While Arrieta got out to a nice start after signing a one-year, $6.5MM deal to return to the Cubs, his production cratered after a handful of solid outings to begin the season.

Arrieta pitched to a 2.57 ERA through his first five starts but has since been shellacked for 58 runs in 58 1/3 innings. He completed six innings just one time in those 15 outings and completed five frames in just six of them. And while a few poor outings can always skew a few months’ worth of numbers, that isn’t necessarily the case here; Arrieta allowed at least four runs in 10 of those 15 starts. This year’s 90.8 mph average fastball is the lowest of his career and represents a two mile-per-hour drop from last year’s levels.

Of course, Arrieta was once one of the game’s best arms. He followed up a strong first half in 2015 with a historically dominant second half, cruising to a National League Cy Young Award and a sixth-place finish in NL MVP voting. He went on to throw a shutout in his postseason debut in 2015. That was followed by All-Star campaign in 2016, which featured 197 1/3 innings of 3.10 ERA ball, and Arrieta posted a 3.63 ERA in 22 1/3 postseason frames as the Cubs marched to a World Series victory. Broadly speaking, he was one of the primary drivers behind the Cubs’ transformation into a perennial contender during his initial run there.

That all feels like a distant memory after three lackluster years in Philadelphia, an elbow surgery, and this year’s unsuccessful Wrigley reunion. The Padres will hope a change of scenery can lead to some late-season lightning in a bottle, but the mounting number of rotation injuries has left their grip on the second NL Wild Card spot feeling more tenuous than ever. What was a six-game lead over the Reds as recently as July 27 has been whittled away to a 2.5-game lead over their closest competitors in Cincinnati.

Ken Rosenthal of the Athletic first reported the sides were close to a deal. Bob Nightengale of USA Today was first to report the Padres were among the teams with interest in Arrieta. Jon Heyman of MLB Network reported the sides had an agreement and that Arrieta would get the start on Wednesday. Image courtesy of USA Today Sports.

Padres Activate Fernando Tatis Jr., Place Yu Darvish On IL

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The Padres have reinstated Fernando Tatis Jr. from the IL, per a club announcement. He is in today’s lineup, starting in right field, his first career game at a position other than shortstop. Yu Darvish is swapping places with Tatis and going on the IL, with lower back tightness. Additionally, outfielder Brian O’Grady has been optioned, with righty Reiss Knehr being recalled.

Despite ongoing shoulder issues, Tatis has been one of the best players in baseball this year. He has an excellent slash line of .290/.373/.647 on the year, producing a wRC+ of 165. Among players with at least 350 plate appearances, the only ones with a higher wRC+ are Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Shohei Ohtani. The Padres are moving him to the outfield in the hopes that he’ll see less defensive action and will therefore be less likely to re-aggravate the shoulder problems that have already seen him go on the IL three times this season. Having his bat back in the lineup will surely be a boost to a Padres team that has been sliding lately, but still maintains a 2 1/2 game lead over the Reds for the final National League wildcard spot, going into today’s action. Jake Cronenworth, who has been manning shortstop in the absence of Tatis, figures to remain there. Wil Myers, who has been the regular right fielder of late, might be the most at risk of losing playing time.

As for Darvish, he left his start a few days ago with lower back tightness and he will now miss at least one start while recuperating. It’s a serious blow to the Padres rotation, as Darvish is having yet another excellent season. Through 131 1/3 innings, he has an ERA of 3.70, with a strikeout rate of 29.9% and walk rate of 5.7%, both of which are much better than league average. Craig Stammen is starting today, in what figures to be a bullpen game.

The San Diego rotation is now down to Blake Snell, Joe Musgrove and Ryan Weathers for the time being. Reinforcements will surely be required, either internally or externally. Kevin Acee of The San Diego Union-Tribune reports that the club is considering free agents such as Jake Arrieta, who was released by the Cubs three days ago.

Drew Pomeranz To Undergo Season-Ending Surgery

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Padres left-hander Drew Pomeranz will undergo surgery to repair a torn flexor tendon, manager Jayce Tingler told The San Diego Union-Tribune’s Annie Heilbrunn (Twitter links) and other reporters.  The procedure will end Pomeranz’s season.

Pomeranz went on the injured list earlier this week due to forearm inflammation, marking the second time that particular injury resulted in an IL stint and the third time overall this season that Pomeranz was sidelined by injury — he missed almost seven weeks in May and June due to a shoulder impingement.  When he has pitched, the southpaw has still been very effective, delivering a 1.75 ERA over 25 2/3 relief innings out of San Diego’s bullpen.

Now, the Padres will have to make do without one of their best relievers, as the snake-bitten team has now lost yet another notable pitcher to a season-ending injury.  Within the last year, Mike Clevinger, Adrian Morejon, Jose Castillo, Keone Kela, Michel Baez, and Dan Altavilla have all undergone Tommy John surgeries, while Javy Guerra has yet to pitch this season due to a sprained UCL.

A specific timeline on Pomeranz isn’t yet known, as recovery from flexor tendon surgeries can vary depending on the amount of damage.  Cardinals righty Miles Mikolas underwent a similar procedure in July 2020 and might have been ready for Opening Day, though Mikolas is something of an imperfect comparison because of several other injury setbacks that delayed his eventual return.  As a relief pitcher, Pomeranz wouldn’t have to rebuild quite as much arm strength as a starter, though Pomeranz has had other arm issues throughout his career that could factor into his recuperation.

Pomeranz was a very promising rotation prospect on his way up the minor league ladder, and he showed quite a bit of that promise throughout his first seven seasons but injuries kept hampering his career.  The Brewers converted Pomeranz to full-time relief work in 2019 and the results were immediately impressive, as the left-hander posted a 2.39 ERA over his 26 1/3 innings with Milwaukee.

This led the Padres to make a sizable investment in Pomeranz’s bullpen future, as San Diego inked him to a four-year, $34MM free agent deal in November 2019.  Between salary and signing bonuses, $20MM remains owed to Pomeranz in 2022-23.  As well as Pomeranz pitched when healthy in his first two seasons, this signing might loom as a bit of an albatross depending on Pomeranz’s future health and the Padres’ flexibility under the luxury tax threshold.  Ownership is reportedly okay with paying the tax, though we won’t know the limits of this openness until the Padres actually do end up over the tax line.

Yu Darvish Leaves Game Due To Lower Back Tightness

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Yu Darvish made a quick exit from tonight’s game against the Diamondbacks, lasting just 2 2/3 innings and allowing five runs.  Darvish was removed after a mound visit from the team trainer, and the Padres announced that Darvish left due to lower back tightness.

With San Diego already short-handed in the rotation, the last thing the Padres need is an injury to Darvish, the team’s leader in innings despite a minimum 10-day trip to injured list in July (Darvish’s absence covered the All-Star break).  Left hip inflammation was the cause of that IL visit, and tonight’s rough outing continues an inconsistent run for the right-hander since the start of July.  Darvish had a 6.34 ERA over his previous six starts, though he seemed to have turned a corner with a very strong performance (7 IP, two ER, 12 K, no walks) in his last game on August 7, also against the Diamondbacks.

Darvish’s next scheduled start is on Tuesday against the Rockies at Coors Field, and it is possible the Padres could push Darvish back a couple of days even if an IL trip isn’t required.  However, that only further hampers a rotation already down to four regular starters in Darvish, Joe Musgrove, Blake Snell, and Ryan Weathers.  Craig Stammen is being stretched out for starter or opener duty in tandem with rookie Reiss Knehr, as San Diego continues to look for ways to fill innings with Chris Paddack and Dinelson Lamet still on the injured list.

Dinelson Lamet Undergoes Procedure For Hip Infection

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Dinelson Lamet’s right arm has been an injury concern for the better part of a year, but the Padres hurler has now hit another roadblock in his recovery from forearm inflammation.  Manager Jayce Tingler told reporters (including The Athletic’s Dennis Lin) that Lamet underwent a procedure yesterday to have a hip infection “cleaned out,” and it will result in more missed time.  “It’s gonna be a little while, because they had to go in and cut some things out,” Tingler said.  “Is that a week or 10-day setback?  I don’t know yet.”

While Tingler’s mention of a 7-10 day timeframe would seemingly indicate that this might not be a major delay for Lamet, there is obviously still uncertainly, considering that Lamet will have to recover from this procedure on top of his planned forearm rehab.  Lamet began a minor league rehab assignment on August 4 that has consisted of one in-game appearance and a pair of live batting practice sessions.  Since the Padres were already planning to bring Lamet back as a reliever rather than as a starter, he didn’t need to build as much strength in his arm, so there was some thought that Lamet might have been activated off the injured list within a week or so.

Lamet suffered a UCL strain near the end of last season, which delayed his 2021 season debut until April 21.  From there, he had a 10-day stint on the IL due to forearm inflammation prior to his current injured list visit, which began on June 27.  All in all, Lamet has tossed only 34 1/3 innings, and his absences have been a major factor in the Padres’ lack of rotation depth.

When Lamet has pitched, he has performed pretty well — a 3.67 ERA/3.88 SIERA and above-average strikeout and walk rates, though opposing batters were making a lot of hard contact against the right-hander’s offerings.  While it represents a step backwards from Lamet’s outstanding 2020 numbers, it certainly stands to reason that he can be a big weapon out of San Diego’s bullpen, once he eventually gets back onto a big league mound.

Fernando Tatis Jr. Preparing To Play Outfield

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Fernando Tatis Jr. was placed on the injured list 10 days ago, and it seemed as though the Padres star was perhaps closer to a season-ending surgery on his bothersome shoulder than a return to the field.  Now, however, it looks as if Tatis has once again recovered enough from his latest shoulder issue that he’ll be able to get back into San Diego’s lineup, and a new position appears to be in the works.

Rather than take any grounders at his normal shortstop position, Tatis has instead been working out as an outfielder, with Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union-Tribune writing that the Padres are planning to shift Tatis between center field and right field when he returns from the 10-day IL.  Tatis took batting practice on the field yesterday, so if he continues to progress well, it seems like he might not be far away from yet another fairly quick recovery from what seemed to be a serious injury.

While surgery seems inevitable, Tatis and the Padres hope that the procedure can wait until after the season, and the move to the outfield will theoretically help reduce wear-and-tear on Tatis’ shoulder in the interim.  There doesn’t appear to be any concern over how Tatis will be able to handle the position change from a defensive standpoint, as Padres outfield coach Wayne Kirby had rave reviews of Tatis’ workouts.

“His instincts are impeccable.  He shouldn’t have any problem,” Kirby said about Tatis as an outfielder.  “His speed will make up for whatever he doesn’t read.  If he makes a false move, I’m sure he can make an adjustment.”

Tatis would play every day in center or right field, leaving Trent Grisham still getting the bulk of everyday assignments at the other position, while Tommy Pham and Wil Myers might end up splitting time in left field.  (Myers has almost exclusively played outfield for the last four seasons, but given his past work at first base, he could possibly also find some at-bats in a platoon with Eric Hosmer.)  With Tatis playing on the grass, Jake Cronenworth would remain as the regular shortstop and Adam Frazier would remain at second base, with Ha-Seong Kim as the backup infielder.  It wouldn’t be what the Padres anticipated as their regular lineup down the stretch, yet the new alignment might be necessary to keep Tatis healthy.

It could also open up some interesting possibilities for the team heading into 2022, since Pham is a free agent this winter and San Diego could opt to just keep Tatis in the outfield if he takes to the new role as smoothly as Kirby imagines.  Cronenworth could remain as the everyday shortstop in that scenario, and top prospect CJ Abrams is expected to make his MLB debut at some point in 2022.  Or, since there are plenty of star shortstops available in this winter’s free agent class, the aggressive Padres front office could explore another high-profile acquisition.  The Padres may also have another lineup spot to work with if the National League adopts the designated hitter.

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