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Rockies’ Peter Lambert Suffers Forearm Strain

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TODAY: The Rockies have termed Lambert’s injury as a forearm strain, as per The Athletic’s Nick Groke (Twitter link) and other reporters.  While the club is waiting for the results of Lambert’s medical tests, the righty is expected to “miss significant time.”

MARCH 10: Rockies right-handed starter Peter Lambert departed tonight’s Cactus League game early, according to Nick Groke of The Athletic. Colorado manager Bud Black chalked the exit up to “forearm tightness,” before ominously adding, “fingers crossed.”

The precautionary measure of taking Lambert out of the game is certainly understandable, as forearm issues can often be harbingers of more serious elbow troubles down the line.

Lambert, who will turn 23 on April 18th, was a second-round draft pick of the Rockies back in 2015. He made his MLB debut last year, logging 89 1/3 innings over 19 starts. Though he produced a bloated 7.25 ERA during that stretch, the Rockies surely believe the young hurler is capable of improvement. After all, it was only two weeks ago that Black considered him a possibility to obtain the fifth spot in the Opening Day rotation, along with Jeff Hoffman and Chi Chi Gonzalez. The club’s optimism is at least somewhat borne out by the fact that FIP liked Lambert’s 2019 better, pegging him at 5.97 for the year.

If Lambert has to miss time, the Rockies will have to look elsewhere to fill out their rotation behind Jon Gray, German Marquez, Kyle Freeland and Antonio Senzatela. The team had one of the worst rotations in 2019 and did little to improve it during the offseason, the most notable signing being righty Jose Mujica, who missed all of 2019 while recovering from Tommy John surgery. That seemingly leaves the aforementioned Hoffman and Gonzalez as the frontrunners for the fifth slot, assuming Lambert is out of the race.

The team could theoretically turn to the free agent market to add another arm. But with Opening Day just over two weeks away, it would be difficult getting a starter stretched out in time. And attracting free agent pitchers to make their living in Coors Field is difficult in the best of times.

MLB Suspends Spring Training, Delays Start Of Regular Season By At Least Two Weeks

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5:27PM: Officials from both the league and the players’ union will discuss players’ various concerns about the shutdown situation in a meeting tonight, ESPN’s Jeff Passan reports (Twitter link).

In other news, the possibility exists that when the schedule does get underway, some games could be played within an empty-stadium environment.  For instance, Illinois governor J.B. Pritzker told Adam Hoge of NBC Sports Chicago and other media that owners of all Chicago sports teams, including the White Sox and Cubs, had agreed to either suspend home games or to not allow fans to attend home games until May 1.

2:11PM: Major League Baseball has officially halted on-field operations due as a response to the coronavirus pandemic.  As per an announcement this afternoon, Spring Training has been suspended, and the start of the regular season will be delayed by at least two weeks.

The league’s full statement…

Following a call with the 30 Clubs, and after consultation with the Major League Baseball Players Association, Commissioner Robert D. Manfred, Jr. today announced that MLB has decided to suspend Spring Training games and to delay the start of the 2020 regular season by at least two weeks due to the national emergency created by the coronavirus pandemic.  This action is being taken in the interests of the safety and well-being of our players, Clubs and our millions of loyal fans. 

MLB will continue to evaluate ongoing events leading up to the start of the season.  Guidance related to daily operations and workouts will be relayed to Clubs in the coming days.  As of 4:00 p.m. (ET) today, forthcoming Spring Training games have been cancelled, and 2020 World Baseball Classic Qualifier games in Tucson, Arizona have been postponed indefinitely.

MLB and the Clubs have been preparing a variety of contingency plans regarding the 2020 regular season schedule.  MLB will announce the effects on the schedule at an appropriate time and will remain flexible as events warrant, with the hope of resuming normal operations as soon as possible.

Nothing is more important to us than the health and safety of our players, employees and fans.  MLB will continue to undertake the precautions and best practices recommended by public health experts.  We send our best wishes to all individuals and communities that have been impacted by coronavirus.

It was widely expected that the league would make a ruling of this nature in short order, particularly after the NBA’s announcement last night that it was suspending its season set off a chain reaction of similar halts in play by numerous other professional (such as Major League Soccer, the National Hockey League, and the Association of Tennis Professionals) and college sports organizations.

MLS set a 30-day suspension on its regular season, and the NBA is also facing at least a 30-day break (as per Bruce Arthur of the Toronto Star).  Major League Baseball’s 2020 season was scheduled to begin on March 26, and a two week delay to April 9 would set a timeline just shy of that 30-day mark.  That said, it could be optimistic at best to expect games by April 9, given the global uncertainty surrounding the spread and treatment of COVID-19.  These big-picture issues naturally take absolute top priority in the league’s mind, and only once those concerns are dealt with will MLB’s attention be more fully turned to baseball-related logistical factors, such as contractual terms, service time, player pay, how much time is needed for players to get prepared (or re-prepared) for regular-season action, etc.

While official Spring Training activities have been halted, some teams (including the Twins, Reds, Mets, and Nationals) are temporarily keeping their facilities open so players can take part in non-mandatory workouts.  It remains to be seen how long camps will remain open, of course, as teams and players continue to monitor the situation and await further word from the league.

Should the halt in activities last far beyond April 9, a full 162-game season may not be feasible, unless the league was open to pushing the postseason fairly deep into November.  At this point, MLB’s “variety of contingency plans” surely involves scenarios for a shortened season, perhaps akin to the 144-game 1995 season that didn’t begin until April 25 due to the players’ strike.

Major League Baseball Expected To Suspend Spring Training

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12:30pm: Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic tweets that an announcement that MLB is “suspending operations” is expected in the near future. Joel Sherman of the New York Post adds that the conference call between MLB owners and commissioner Rob Manfred will take place in an hour.

12:15pm: Passan tweets that in the wake of a conference call between all 30 MLB ownership groups, the owners are expecting not only the suspension of Spring Training games but also a delay to the start of the regular season.

11:22am: As sports entities throughout the world take action to minimize the spread of the coronavirus pandemic, Major League Baseball appears poised to cease play of Spring Training games. MLB Network’s Jon Heyman tweets that officials with Grapefruit League clubs in Florida are expecting games to be suspended, and ESPN’s Jeff Passan reports that executives throughout Major League Baseball expect that Spring Training play in both the Grapefruit League and Cactus League will be suspended as soon as today. A conference call between commissioner Rob Manfred and all 30 MLB owners will be conducted shortly, Passan adds.

Suspending play of spring contests is a logical first step for the league. The games don’t count for anything, and teams can continue to ramp up players for the season in simulated settings — although it’s not yet clear just when the season for which they’ll be prepping will begin. Joel Sherman of the New York Post tweets that the majority of team executives to whom he has spoken are expecting a delay in the start of the season, although there’s yet to be any word from Major League Baseball itself on that front.

Beyond the likely suspension of MLB exhibition play, it’s worth noting that the National Basketball Association, Major League Soccer, the Association of Tennis Professionals and the PGA Tour have all announced measures to curb the spread of the virus since last night. The NBA suspended its season indefinitely last night, and both MLS (30 days) and ATP (six weeks) followed with suspensions of play this morning. The NHL has canceled practice throughout the league and is readying a statement of its own.

Meanwhile, the PGA just minutes ago announced that the Players Championship will be played without fans in attendance. That’s the same approach the NCAA has taken with regard to its annual March Madness tournament. Meanwhile, individual college conferences throughout the league — the SEC, the Big 10, the Big 12 and the ACC among them — have taken to canceling their annual conference tournaments. Overseas, the Korea Baseball Organization and Nippon Professional Baseball have both delayed the starts of their respective seasons.

Actions beyond the immediate suspension of spring contests remain unclear, but quelling the spread of the COVID-19 virus has become paramount. The potential for asymptomatic carriers spreading the virus to higher-risk individuals is a real threat — both to the health of those at-risk individuals and to the functionality of hospitals and medical facilities. Italy’s hospitals have become overwhelmed as the spread of the virus has reached critical levels, complicating medical care for patients of the coronavirus and other illnesses alike. Certainly, it’s in everyone’s best interest to avoid similar levels of saturation in other countries.

While the postponement or even cancellation of sporting events, concerts and other mass gatherings is surely a frustrating development for fans — and one that will raise questions of fan reimbursement, player compensation and myriad other issues within individual sports — those realities will be characterized as a necessary byproduct in the effort to combat what the World Health Organization has characterized as a global pandemic.

Latest On MLB, Coronavirus

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11:10am: Teams throughout the league have been sending scouts home this morning, and Joel Sherman of the New York Post tweets that “just about every team, if not every team” has taken this step. Meanwhile, in an unlocked article that is not behind the web site’s paywall, The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal runs through several potential pandemic-related issues and courses of action for the league.

As for any actual action from the league, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times tweets that the league is likely to provide some clarity today. At this point, it feels inevitable that the league will make a statement on the status of Spring Training games and the regular season in the very near future.

1:55am: The coronavirus outbreak led the National Basketball Association to suspend its season on Wednesday. It’s unclear how Major League Baseball will react before its regular season is scheduled to begin March 26, but it’s becoming increasingly likely that the pandemic will have a sizable effect on its plans.

It’s possible, for instance, that some of the league’s teams will start 2020 by playing regular-season games outside of their normal home venues. That already seems to be the case for the Mariners, who are “likely” to host their season-opening series in the Phoenix area instead of in Seattle, according to Jeff Passan of ESPN.com. But they may not be the only club in that situation. The state of California has recommended limiting public gatherings to 250 people for the rest of March, which means the Dodgers, Padres and Athletics could either play their initial series elsewhere or have those sets postponed, Passan tweets. All three of those teams are scheduled to play at home until early April.

For now, MLB executives aren’t slated to discuss how they’ll proceed until a Friday conference call, per Passan. However, with the NBA shutting itself down and the National Hockey League possibly poised to make a similar announcement on Thursday, perhaps MLB will reach a decision on how it will move forward sooner than expected. The hope is that the league will come up with a plan “within days,” three high-level team officials told Passan.

Seranthony Dominguez Slated For MRI Following Setback

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March 12: Dominguez has an MRI scheduled for this afternoon, he tells Scott Lauber of the Philadelphia Inquirer (Twitter link). The right-hander said the discomfort he feels isn’t as bad as last season but added that he’s “really concerned” about the upcoming tests.

March 11: Phillies reliever Seranthony Dominguez has experienced a setback in his elbow rehab efforts, Jim Salisbury of NBC Sports Philadelphia reports. Details on his anticipated timeline remain unknown.

Dominguez had hoped to be ready for Opening Day and has appeared in some spring action. Unfortunately, he is said to have experienced some issues during his most recent outing on Sunday.

As Salisbury details, Dominguez went through a lengthy rest and rehab process last year after being diagnosed with an injury to his ulnar collateral ligament. He seemed to be ramping up well this spring after a nice long layoff, raising hopes that he’d be a notable part of the pen picture early in the season.

The Phillies would obviously benefit from the 2018 version of Dominguez. As a rookie, he threw 58 innings of 2.95 ERA ball. He took a step back while battling injury woes last year but still managed 10.6 K/9.

Perhaps it’s still possible that this’ll mostly be a blip. Whether or not Tommy John surgery will go back on the table remains to be seen.

NBA, MLS, ATP Suspend Seasons; NHL Preparing Update On Season Status

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March 12: Major League Soccer is also suspending its season until further notice, Grant Wahl of Sports Illustrated reports (via Twitter). The Association of Tennis Professionals has also announced a six-week suspension of the men’s professional tour.

Meanwhile, the NHL has canceled practice for teams and is readying a statement on the status of the current season. Gavin Lee will be tracking all of the coverage as pertains to the National Hockey League over at ProHockeyRumors.com.

March 11: In a stunning announcement that is sure to put pressure on other sports leagues, the NBA has suspended its season indefinitely after a Utah Jazz player — reported by The Athletic’s Shams Charania to be center Rudy Gobert — has tested positive for the coronavirus. The NHL has also issued a statement which indicates that it is “continuing to consult with medical experts” and “evaluating the options.” A more detailed update can be expected tomorrow, per the announcement.

[Related: HoopsRumors’ coverage of the suspended NBA season]

Earlier today, MLBTR’s Jeff Todd examined the potential ways in which the coronavirus — which the World Health Organization declared a pandemic this afternoon — could impact the upcoming Major League Baseball season. The day has become increasingly surreal in the hours since that writing. Multiple Major League teams — the Athletics, Mariners and Giants — have issued statements indicating that they’ll explore alternatives to playing scheduled exhibition and regular-season games at their home stadiums. And the NCAA made the even more eye-opening announcement that this year’s March Madness tournament will be played in front of empty stadiums, with only “limited family” and “essential staff” permitted to be in attendance.

It’s not yet clear precisely how Major League Baseball will act, but it’s increasingly evident that the season won’t be played out in conventional fashion. Some have suggested relocating regular-season games to facilities that aren’t in major areas of risk, although that clearly presents its own problems; hosting regular-season games at neutral locales would only seem to encourage fans from higher-risk regions to travel to said neutral locations (thus increasing the risk of spreading the virus).

Already today, the Alameda County Department of Public Health has announced its recommendation that events or gatherings of 1,000-plus people be canceled or postponed — thus prompting the Athletics’ statement. Washington state governor Jay Inslee announced a ban on gatherings of more than 250 people in three counties, including King County, where the Mariners’ T-Mobile Park is located.

As governmental bodies continue to take action and as other major sporting leagues take or consider drastic actions in an effort to curb the spreading of the virus, pressure will surely mount on Major League Baseball and commissioner Rob Manfred to pursue similar measures. ESPN’s Jeff Passan reported earlier tonight that a league-wide conference call had been scheduled for Friday, but that was prior to the NBA’s announcement and the statement from the NHL. Given the action from two in-season major sports, it seems likelier that Manfred’s office and the MLBPA will address the public sooner than later.

Carlos Gonzalez Unlikely To Make Mariners’ Roster

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Outfielder Carlos Gonzalez is not expected to make the Opening Day roster of the Mariners, according to Ryan Divish of the Seattle Times. Following up on that, MLBTR’s Steve Adams tweets that Gonzalez has an April 1 opt-out in his minor league deal with Seattle. He can also request his release on the first of the month each month up through August if not on the MLB roster.

The 34-year-old Gonzalez has produced middling numbers this spring, with a slash of .273/.360/.318 across 25 plate appearances. And though that’s an improvement over the .200/.289/.283 line he put up at the MLB level in 2019, it appears that won’t be enough to get him back into the big leagues. Divish spoke to some scouts who commented on his slow bat speed and struggles with velocity. Divish adds that Gonzalez wasn’t viewed as likely to make the club even at the time he signed his deal, calling it more of a “courtesy” audition for a veteran player.

The Mariners seem to have narrowed their outfield competition down to younger players that they want to get long looks at, with Jake Fraley being the favorite to play regularly in right field, alongside center fielder Mallex Smith and left fielder Kyle Lewis. Divish also notes that the utility/bench duties are likely going to other younger players, such as Tim Lopes and Patrick Wisdom. Dylan Moore and Sam Haggerty were also seemingly getting more consideration than the veteran Gonzalez before befalling to injuries.

Gonzalez, a three-time All-Star, had a terrific run of success with Colorado from from 2009 to 2016, producing a wRC+ above 100 in each of those seasons except for the injury-shortened campaign of 2014. However, he hasn’t been able to get back above the 100 line since.

Gonzalez now seems likely to return to the open market, given the opt-out provisions in his deal and his apparently minimal chances of making the roster in Seattle. He could theoretically decide to stay with the Mariners organization in order to get some playing time down on the farm and further showcase himself for other clubs. But given the organization’s preference to use the 2020 season to look at young talent, Gonzalez may lean toward trying to find a better path back to the show.

Blue Jays Notes: Extension Talks, Pre-Arb Salaries, Yamaguchi

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Let’s check in on the latest regarding the Blue Jays, all coming via Sportsnet …

  • President Mark Shapiro covered a variety of matters in a recent chat with the Writers Bloc show (audio link). Of particular interest was his discussion of the team’s potential young extension targets. Shapiro obviously wasn’t willing to address specifics, but did indicate that the team is inclined to reach deals where possible. On the possibility of extensions, he said fans can “assume we’ve explored it or are exploring it with every one of our young players that we have a strong belief are going to be good players and here for a long time.” Actually getting a deal done is obviously a different story; there, Shapiro spoke of negotiations as “sharing risk” for the future.
  • Most of the team’s top potential extension targets have little MLB service time, so they’re in the class of players that have no effective control over their salaries. As Shi Davidi of Sportsnet reports, the Jays were able to get agreement on 2020 earnings with all of their pre-arbitration players, rather than being forced to renew certain players who weren’t pleased with what was offered. (Contract renewals are a symbolic gesture but can impact a team’s relationship with a player. We discussed this in a recent MLBTR YouTube video.) While there has been some grumbling around the game, the Jays seem to have earned plaudits for enunciating and sharing a complete list of their salary offers with an explanation for the formula utilized in reaching them. You can find all of the specific Jays salaries in the above link. Budding stars Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Bo Bichette, and Cavan Biggio each landed in the $570K to $580k range. The MLB minimum for the coming season is $563,500.
  • Newly inked righty Shun Yamaguchi isn’t making things easy on his new club — in a good way. As Sportsnet’s Ben Nicholson-Smith writes, the former Japanese star has worked through some difficulties to turn in a strong recent outing. As we explored recently, he’s one of many conceivable candidates for the fifth starter job. Nicholson-Smith writes that Trent Thornton remains the front-runner, but the Jays will surely be glad to maintain some competition and feel good about the status of their depth. Yamaguchi, 32, will slide into the pen if he doesn’t crack the rotation.

Rangers Notes: Mendez, Allard, Chavez

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Left-handed reliever Yohander Mendez has been placed on the suspended list by the Texas Rangers for seeking unauthorized medical care, which is a violation of this contract, according to T.R. Sullivan of MLB.com. Rangers general manager Jon Daniels was tight-lipped and didn’t elaborate with any further details. Generally, MLB players must seek permission before getting outside medical opinions. Sullivan notes that Mendez will be allowed to remain in camp and continue rehabbing his shoulder inflammation, which is presumably the injury he sought outside advice about.

Since making his debut with the Rangers in 2016, Mendez has appeared in 20 games for the team, including five starts in 2018. Over that span, he has produced an ERA of 6.23 with 33 strikeouts over 47 2/3 IP. He was expected to compete for a bullpen spot this year. It remains to be seen whether this suspension will now prevent him from doing so.

This isn’t the first time Mendez has caught the ire of his employers. He was optioned down to the minors in 2018 after a night on the town with Rougned Odor and some members of the Kansas City Royals “got out of hand.” Much like with today’s story, Jon Daniels kept the details of that incident close to his chest.

A few more notes from Rangers camp…

  • LHP Kolby Allard was optioned to Triple-A Nashville on Wednesday. The 22-year-old made 9 starts for the club in 2019, producing a 4.96 ERA and compiling 33 strikeouts over 45 1/3 innings pitched. But the offseason additions of Corey Kluber, Kyle Gibson and Jordan Lyles have pushed him into a depth role, at least for the time being.
  • RHP Jesse Chavez is not going to be ready for Opening Day, according to Daniels. Chavez has been experiencing “shoulder weakness” this spring as he attempts to come back from the elbow surgery he underwent last August. “We are going to give him a couple of weeks to build up his strength before we get him back on a mound,” Daniels said. “The end of April would be a positive outcome to have him back in games.” The Rangers signed Chavez to a two-year $8MM deal prior to the 2019 season. The veteran oscillated between the rotation and the bullpen in the first year of his deal, accumulating 78 innings over 48 games, including 9 starts, putting up a 4.85 era in that time with 72 strikeouts.

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