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Archives for July 2020

NL East Notes: Phillies, Wheeler, Mets, Braves, Freeman

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Phillies offseason addition Zack Wheeler is still weighing his options about participating in the 2020 season, according to Jim Salisbury of NBC Sports. With Wheeler and his wife expecting a baby in late July—right around the start of the regular season—he’s constantly evaluating his level of comfort with the precautions being taken around baseball. For the time being, Wheeler expects to play this season, though that’s subject to change. Matt Gelb of The Athletic adds that, even if he continues to play after the birth of his child, Wheeler expects to miss a couple of starts at that time. A number of players have already declared their intentions to sit out this year, and plenty of players in situations similar to Wheeler’s who will continuously evaluate that possibility. Players with young children or expecting a child are in particularly difficult circumstances as they keep their family’s health in mind; like Wheeler, Mike Trout has some reservations about playing this year as he awaits the arrival of a newborn.

  • The Mets and manager Luis Rojas might opt for a closer-by-committee approach this year, with the likes of Edwin Diaz, Seth Lugo, Dellin Betances, and Jeurys Familia all candidates to pitch in the ninth inning, as reported by Anthony DiComo of MLB.com. While Diaz was acquired with the expectation that he’d be the guy for years to come, a down year in 2019 coupled with the unique circumstances surrounding this season means that Rojas is open to a less rigid formula for winning games. The Mets are pretty well positioned to employ such a strategy, with the aforementioned four pitchers all having closing experience or boasting closer-quality stuff. Mets fans will hope for a rebound from Diaz, but if that doesn’t happen, Betances—hopefully healthy—and Lugo are certainly not bad options to fall back on.
  • With franchise cornerstone Freddie Freeman on the shelf due to COVID-19, the Braves are evaluating contingency plans at first base if Freeman is unable to play in time for regular season games. Per Mark Bowman of MLB.com, Brian Snitker named Austin Riley, Adam Duvall, and Nick Markakis as candidates to appear at first base during Freeman’s absence. All three have limited experience at the position, and Markakis could combine with either Duvall or Riley to form a platoon at first. Johan Camargo, a versatile infielder, could also see some time there, while Peter O’Brien and Yonder are on board as depth options. Obviously, though, the hope is that Freeman will return to good health quickly and with no hiccups to man the position as planned.

Health Notes: Knebel, Canning, Lowrie

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Mets infielder Jed Lowrie is said to be a “full go” for Mets workouts, manager Luis Rojas told reporters including Anthony DiComo of MLB.com. He’ll participate in a sim game at Citi Field today. Lowrie has been absent with a variety of nebulous injuries to his left side, seemingly stemming from an initial knee injury. Those injuries limited the 36-year-old to just nine games last year, his first with the Mets. He entered this year’s first iteration of Spring Training in a brace, apparently dealing with some lingering effects from last year’s health issues. It’s encouraging to hear that Lowrie seems to be in better shape now, but it remains to be seen just how often Rojas will deploy him in a somewhat crowded infield mix. This year marks the final year in the two-year, $20MM contract Lowrie inked prior to last year. And between last year’s injury-plagued season and a shortened campaign in 2020, it’s looking like the Mets’ two-year investment in Lowrie is going largely by the wayside.

Other injury-related notes from around baseball…

  • Brewers right-hander Corey Knebel is looking good in Brewers camp as he recovers from Tommy John surgery, per a report from Adam McCalvy of MLB.com. Knebel missed all of last year after undergoing the procedure in the spring, but he’s ramped up to throwing live batting practice in the Brewers’ return to action. As McCalvy says, manager Craig Counsell and pitching coach Chris Hook still want to be careful with Knebel, who’s a little more than a year removed from surgery. That said, it seems like Knebel should figure into Milwaukee’s bullpen mix this year, augmenting a unit that already looks formidable with Josh Hader at the helm. The tandem of Hader and Knebel, who was an All-Star in 2017, could form the backbone of one of baseball’s deadliest bullpens.
  • After an elbow-related scare this spring, Angels righty Griffin Canning says he’s feeling “10 times better” than he did a few months ago, according to Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register. That’s encouraging news for Angels fans who might have been panicking when ongoing elbow issues became a topic of focus during Spring Training. Luckily, those elbow troubles weren’t due to a tear in the UCL, so Canning was able to avoid an invasive procedure. A PRP injection seems to have worked wonders for Canning, and the hope is that he’ll maintain good health down the road. All told, it seems like Canning should be able to contribute in some capacity to the Angels’ shortened season—great news after an impressive rookie season.

Indians Bench Coach Brad Mills Opts Out Of 2020 Season

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Indians bench coach Brad Mills has decided to opt out of the 2020 season and return home, manager Terry Francona told reporters (including Mandy Bell of MLB.com). How Cleveland plans to replace Mills in the dugout and whether he will continue to work for the organization in some sort of remote capacity isn’t clear.

Mills, 63, has spent the better part of two decades coaching for Francona-led teams. He was the Phillies’ first base coach and Red Sox’s bench coach while Francona managed those respective clubs. He’s been on Cleveland’s staff the past seven years, the last six as bench coach. Mills also once took the helm in Houston, managing the Astros from 2010 through most of 2012. Those teams went just 171-274 under his watch, but it’s hard to separate Mills’ performance as manager from the subpar rosters he was working with.

 

Buster Posey, Sean Doolittle Discuss 2020 Season

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Buster Posey took part in the Giants’ Summer Camp workouts yesterday. Nevertheless, he was reluctant to commit to playing out the entire 2020 season in a teleconference with reporters, including Andrew Baggarly of the Athletic.

“Yeah, definitely, I think there’s still some reservation on my end as well,” Posey said, presumably in response to Mike Trout expressing some trepidation about playing out the season amidst rising coronavirus cases throughout most of the United States.

“I want to see how things progress here over the next couple weeks,” Posey continued (via Baggarly). “It would be a little bit maybe naive or silly not to gauge what’s going on around you, and not only around here but paying attention to what’s happening in different parts of the country. It’s obviously unprecedented times right now. Most definitely, I’ve thought about it and talked with my wife about it quite a bit.”

To be clear, Posey’s comments don’t suggest he’s on the verge of stepping away. As the virus continues to rage, the situation surely remains fluid for even the most optimistic players. As Posey later pointed out, the virus’ unpredictability makes it virtually impossible for anyone to unequivocally commit to finishing the season.

Nationals reliever Sean Doolittle echoed those thoughts on a conference call with reporters (including Jesse Dougherty of the Washington Post) this afternoon. The southpaw indicated he’s leaning towards playing this season, but he’s by no means committing to the entire campaign just yet. “At any point, if I start to feel unsafe, if it starts to take a toll on my mental health, with all the things we have to think about and this cloud of uncertainty hanging over everything, then I’ll opt out,” Doolittle said.

Posey’s and Doolittle’s comments are the latest reminder that all players (and non-playing staff, for that matter) have far greater personal and familial concerns outside baseball. We’ve seen a handful of players and coaches, most notably David Price, decide to sit out this season. Even players who’ve already reported to their respective teams could (and, needless to say, have every right to) reverse course and opt out of playing in 2020. Braves right-hander Félix Hernández, in fact, did exactly that last night.

“Small Number” Of Mariners Players Test Positive For Coronavirus

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A “small number” of players have been held out of Mariners’ camp after testing positive for COVID-19, manager Scott Servais confirmed to reporters (including Greg Johns of MLB.com). The organization declined to divulge any further information about the identities or current conditions of those player(s).

Per MLB protocols, any player who tests positive must be asymptomatic and twice test negative, with the tests administered at least 24 hours apart, before returning to the team. The Seattle organization originally invited 60 players to Summer Camp, utilizing all of the available player pool space.

 

Cardinals Health Notes: Mikolas, Goldschmidt

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Cardinals right-hander Miles Mikolas received a platelet-rich plasma injection back in February, but he’s continued to make progress over the past few months. He’s apparently nearing full recovery, as he tells reporters, including Rick Hummel of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, that he anticipates being in the club’s season-opening rotation.

Mikolas will throw approximately 40 pitches to live hitters in an intrasquad game early next week, Hummel adds. That seemingly represents the final step in his build-up toward readiness for the regular season.

Also ready for the season opener is Paul Goldschmidt. Goldy was nagged a bit by a sore right elbow in the first iteration of Spring Training, Hummel notes. Nearly four months later, Goldschmidt tells Hummel his elbow is back to 100 percent. The 32-year-old’s first season in St. Louis was a bit of a down year relative to Goldschmidt’s lofty standards. A fully healthy season from the star first baseman would go a long way towards the Cards’ hopes of repeating as NL Central champions.

2020 will mark the first year of a five-year, $130MM contract extension Goldschmidt signed at the outset of the 2019 season. Whereas Goldy might not have opened this season at full health had it begun in March as planned, it seems he has generally benefited from the three-month stoppage, allowing his elbow to get back to where it should be.

Two White Sox Players Test Positive For Coronavirus

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The White Sox announced today that two players have tested positive for COVID-19 (h/t to James Fegan of the Athletic). Fortunately, both players are currently asymptomatic. Per the announcement, they are in isolation in Chicago and are being monitored by team medical staff. As is their right, each player has chosen to remain anonymous.

Those positive tests took place during the intake process, meaning that those two players did not participate in any team activities during the beginning of camp.

The players will undergo follow-up testing in the coming days, the club announced. As per MLB’s COVID-19 protocols, neither will be allowed to return to action unless and until they are free of symptoms (as these two players currently are) and twice test negative for the virus, with the tests to be administered at least 24 hours apart.

Troy Stokes Likely Out For Season With Broken Hamate

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Tigers left fielder Troy Stokes, Jr. underwent surgery to repair a broken hamate bone in his hand, manager Ron Gardenhire announced earlier this week (h/t to Evan Woodbery of MLive). He is expected to miss the entire season.

This explains Stokes’ omission from the Tigers’ Summer Camp player pool. He remains on the 40-man roster, although it seems only a matter of time before he’s transferred to the 45-day injured list.

Originally a fourth-round pick of the Brewers in 2014, Stokes became a prospect of some note with his original organization. On his way up the minor-league ladder, Stokes offset high strikeout rates with a fair number of walks and an enticing combination of power and speed. Unfortunately, he struggled in his first crack at Triple-A in 2019, hitting .233/.341/.385 in the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League.

It’s brutal news for the 24-year-old Stokes, whom the Tigers claimed off waivers from Milwaukee last September. He has yet to make his MLB debut but looked to have a shot at cracking a young, uncertain outfield in Detroit this season.

Royals Notes: Matheny, COVID-19, Kuntz

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With positive coronavirus tests dominating the news from training camps around baseball, Mike Matheny told reporters (including MLB.com’s Jeffrey Flanagan) Saturday that he also contracted COVID-19 “about a month ago.”  The Royals manager said he has recovered fully, though not without first experiencing some symptoms.

“We had a family member test positive, so we knew even before the test because we had exposure, so my wife and I took off and we quarantined just the two of us,” Matheny said.  “And it was just the way they said it might happen, about three days [after exposure], I started feeling it.  But we laid low and quarantined and stayed away from people and it ran its course.  Fortunately I’ve been tested with the right antibody and looking forward now to donating some plasma to help out however we can.”

Owing to the unpredictable nature of the virus, Matheny said his wife Kristin “never had any symptoms and never tested positive,” even though the couple stayed together during the quarantine period.  Now, Matheny is at the Royals’ training camp in preparation (after several months of delay) for his first season as Kansas City’s skipper.

While it’s certainly good news that the Mathenys have a clean bill of health, the specter of COVID-19 continues to linger over every team in the league, the Royals included.  News broke yesterday that Salvador Perez was quarantining after a positive coronavirus test, and the club announced Friday that longtime coach Rusty Kuntz wouldn’t be coaching first base in the coming season.

The 65-year-old Kuntz is at a greater risk for COVID-19 due to his age, and GM Dayton Moore noted the large amount of travel associated with being part of a baseball team also presented an additional danger.  Instead, Kuntz will remain based out of Kansas City, still able to offer coaching and advisory tips to Matheny from the safer distance of a Kauffman Stadium suite.

Damon Hollins will move from his minor league outfield/baserunning coordinator role to take over as first base coach for Kuntz, who returned to the position just this past offseason.  Kuntz previously worked as the Royals’ first base coach from 2008-10 and 2012-17, spending the last two seasons as a special assistant to Moore.

Braves Coach Eric Young Sr. Opts Out Of 2020 Season

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Braves first base coach Eric Young Sr. has decided to step away from his role for the 2020 season, manager Brian Snitker told reporters (including Gabriel Burns of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution).  Young is reportedly a higher-risk candidate for COVID-19, though as Burns notes, the team didn’t disclose the specifics of the 53-year-old Young’s health situation.

Young has been Atlanta’s first base coach for the last two seasons, and has six prior years of first base coaching experience with the Diamondbacks and Rockies before joining the Braves organization.  Of course, Young is probably best remembered for his 15-season playing career, which saw him rack up 465 steals (tied for 48th in baseball history) playing with seven different teams from 1992-2006.  Young’s son, Eric Jr., is also a ten-year MLB veteran.

“It was a tough decision for [Young].  He’s a gamer,” Snitker said.  “We’ll miss him dearly because of what he brings inside this clubhouse, the energy.  He’s chosen to opt out, we respect that.  I respect him even more for doing that and (being with) his family.”

DeMarlo Hale will step into Young’s role as the first base and outfielders coach.  Hale joined the Braves as a special assistant and minor league coach last season, and he has a long relationship with GM Alex Anthopoulos from their time together in Toronto (when Hale was the Blue Jays’ bench coach and Anthopoulos was the general manager).  Young will continue to work with the team in a consulting role, with Snitker saying that Young “will be available for the club (virtually).  He’ll be in constant communication with DeMarlo and the outfielders.”

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