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Giants Place Mike Yastrzemski, Logan Webb On Injured List

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The Giants announced they’ve placed outfielder Mike Yastrzemski and starter Logan Webb on the 10-day injured list. Yastrzemski, whose placement was retroactive to June 2, has a sprained right thumb. Webb has a right shoulder strain; his placement was retroactive to May 31. Corner infielder Jason Vosler and righty Nick Tropeano have been recalled from Triple-A Sacramento to replace the pair on the active roster.

Yastrzemski’s IL stint doesn’t figure to be a long one. Manager Gabe Kapler told reporters (including Andrew Baggarly of the Athletic) the 30-year-old is expected to miss seven to fourteen days, so it’s possible he’ll return when first eligible on June 12. Yastrzemski is hitting a productive .222/.332/.456 with six home runs over 184 plate appearances this year.

Webb, on the other hand, looks to be in for a more significant absence. Kapler says he’ll be shut down from throwing for a couple weeks (via Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle). This is the second time in as many months Webb is going on the IL with a shoulder strain. While he returned after the minimum ten days last time, the Giants will now take things a bit slower. The 24-year-old Webb has pitched well this season, tossing 49 innings of 3.86 ERA/3.36 SIERA ball.

The Giants haven’t yet decided who’ll start tomorrow night’s game against the Cubs in Webb’s place. Scott Kazmir is a possibility, though (Slusser link). The veteran lefty was placed on the restricted list Monday when he went to his Texas home to address a personal matter, but he’s expected back in the next few days.

Kapler also provided updates on a couple other injured Giants. Starter Aaron Sanchez, who has missed nearly a month with biceps tightness, threw live batting practice this afternoon (via Slusser). First baseman Brandon Belt, out since May 26 with a left oblique strain, has progressed to taking batting practice and could return to the lineup this weekend (Baggarly link).

Marlins Activate Elieser Hernandez, Designate Luis Marte

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The Marlins announced they’ve reinstated right-hander Elieser Hernández from the 60-day injured list to start tonight’s game against the Pirates. Infielder Luis Marté was designated for assignment to open active and 40-man roster spots.

Hernández hasn’t pitched since April 3. He left that start, his first of the year, with biceps inflammation that ultimately required a two-month absence. It was a disappointing beginning to the year for a hurler who earned himself a season-opening rotation spot with a quietly stellar 2020 campaign. Hernández made six starts for the Fish last season and worked to a 3.16 ERA over 25 2/3 innings, backed up by excellent strikeout and walk rates (32.1% and 4.7%, respectively).

Despite the absences of Hernández and Sixto Sánchez (who hasn’t pitched all year because of recurring shoulder discomfort), Miami’s rotation has been among the better groups in the league. Marlins starters rank eighth in MLB in ERA (3.38), with middle-of-the-pack placements in SIERA (4.07) and strikeout rate minus walk rate (15.4 percentage points). Pablo López, Sandy Alcantara and Trevor Rogers have each been quite good, while rookie Cody Poteet has put together four strong starts since making his MLB debut last month. In spite of that quality production, the Marlins sit in fourth place in the NL East at 24-30 thanks to some offensive struggles.

Marté was selected to the roster last week when starting shortstop Miguel Rojas went on the injured list. The 27-year-old utilityman made his MLB debut on Monday against the Blue Jays, going 0-2 with a walk. The Marlins will now have a week to trade Marté or place him on outright waivers in hopes of sending him back to Triple-A Jacksonville, where he’s hit .263/.279/.456 in 61 plate appearances this year.

Cardinals Activate Andrew Miller, Designate Tyler Webb

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The Cardinals announced they’re activating lefty reliever Andrew Miller from the 10-day injured list. Fellow southpaw Tyler Webb was designated for assignment to clear active roster space. Webb’s designation also creates a vacancy on St. Louis’ 40-man roster, which now sits at 39.

Miller has been out since April 30 due to a blister on his right foot. The 36-year-old got off to a poor start before the injury, allowing seven runs with eight strikeouts and four walks over 7 1/3 innings. Perhaps more worrisome, Miller’s raw stuff looks to have taken a significant step back. He averaged just 87.2 MPH on his four-seam fastball and 77.8 MPH on his slider in the season’s first month, down more than two ticks on both offerings relative to last season and nowhere near the mid-90s heater and mid-80s breaking ball he had at his dominant peak.

Despite the diminished stuff, Miller was a decent bullpen option as recently as 2020. He tossed 13 frames of 2.77 ERA/3.41 SIERA ball last year, continuing to miss bats at a quality rate. The St. Louis front office evidently felt he’d be a better second lefty bullpen option (behind Génesis Cabrera) than Webb.

Given how Webb has started the year, that’s certainly a reasonable belief. The 30-year-old has had a nightmarish campaign, allowing a whopping 26 runs (24 earned) over his first 16 1/3 innings. Webb has seemingly lost his control of the strike zone, issuing nineteen free passes while striking out just fourteen. Webb’s 20.7% walk rate is tied for fourth-highest among the 451 pitchers to have thrown at least ten MLB innings this season.

Webb is out of minor league option years, so the Cards could only continue to let him work through his control issues at the major league level or designate him for assignment. Ultimately, the front office made the decision to remove him from the 40-man roster. That’s no doubt a bitter pill to swallow given that Webb pitched to a strong 2.08 ERA/4.22 SIERA just last season. The Cardinals will now have a week to trade him or place him outright waivers.

Pirates Activate Ke’Bryan Hayes, Option Wil Crowe

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The Pirates are reinstating Ke’Bryan Hayes from the 60-day injured list, the team announced. Wil Crowe has been optioned to Triple-A Indianapolis to clear active roster space. Hayes is hitting second and starting at third base in this evening’s game against the Marlins.

Hayes is arguably the most important player in the Pirates organization, so his return is a welcome development for the team and its fans alike. The 24-year-old entered the year as a popular pick to win the NL Rookie of the Year award after he burst onto the scene in 2020. Hayes, known more for his elite glove than his bat in the minors, made his MLB debut last September and hit a spectacular .376/.442/.682 over his first 95 plate appearances. No one reasonably expected him to duplicate that kind of production, but the offensive outburst coupled with his sterling defensive reputation makes it easy to envision Hayes as a cornerstone position player whom the rebuilding club can build around over the next few years.

Unfortunately, a left wrist injury sent him to the injured list just two games into the regular season. While Hayes wasn’t initially expected to miss much time, he suffered a setback in late April that has kept him out of major league action for the past two months. In his absence, the Pirates have turned to Erik González, Phillip Evans and Wilmer Difo at the hot corner to dreadful results. Pittsburgh third basemen have hit just .201/.254/.282, which ties the Royals group for the worst offensive output at the position in the league.

Crowe, acquired from the Nationals as part of the Josh Bell deal last winter, has made eight appearances (seven starts) this season. They’ve not gone well, as the righty has only managed a 7.26 ERA/5.06 SIERA with worse than average strikeout and walk rates (19.3% and 11.7%, respectively). The Pirates viewed the 26-year-old as a big league ready rotation arm when they brought him in, so it wouldn’t be surprising to see him back in the majors in relatively short order if he can get on track in Indianapolis. The 20-34 Bucs aren’t contenders, so the primary focus this season is determining whether younger, cost-controlled players like Crowe can be a part of the organization’s long-term future.

Hayes’ activation from the 60-day IL required the opening of a 40-man roster spot. Right-hander JT Brubaker, who went on bereavement leave last weekend, has been placed on the COVID-19 IL while he goes through intake testing protocols. That temporarily creates the 40-man vacancy for Hayes’ return, although the club will need to make another 40-man move once Brubaker clears the intake process.

Giants Release Shun Yamaguchi

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The Giants have released right-hander Shun Yamaguchi, tweets Andrew Baggarly of The Athletic. The former Blue Jays right-hander, who inked a minor league contract with San Francisco after he was released by Toronto, announced on Instagram that he is headed back to his native Japan.

Yamaguchi, 33, starred for the Yokohama DeNA Bay Stars and the Yomiuri Giants in a 14-year career in Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball before pursuing MLB opportunities in the 2019-20 offseason. He parlayed a career 3.35 ERA in Japan — including a 2.91 ERA and 26.7 percent strikeout rate in his final NPB season — into a multi-year deal with Toronto. The Blue Jays inked Yamaguchi to a two-year, $6.35MM deal on the heels of that terrific NPB career. It was a low-risk investment, but one that simply didn’t pan out.

Through 25 2/3 innings with the Jays last year, Yamaguchi pitched to an 8.06 ERA with a lackluster 26-to-17 K/BB ratio and six home runs allowed. The Blue Jays designated Yamaguchi for assignment and released him before Spring Training games began. He latched on with San Francisco and had a strong spring showing (one run n six innings), but his work in Triple-A thus far has been sub-par. He’s been tagged for 18 runs (16 earned) on 19 hits and 14 walks with 25 strikeouts through 23 1/3 innings.

Given Yamaguchi’s track record in Nippon Professional Baseball, it’s quite possible that he’ll latch on with another club in Japan. There’s certainly nothing that rules out another attempt in MLB somewhere down the road, but for the time being it seems that’s not Yamaguchi’s focus.

Astros’ Kent Emanuel To Undergo Season-Ending Surgery

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Astros lefty Kent Emanuel announced on Instagram today that he’ll undergo season-ending surgery to repair an injury to the ulnar collateral ligament in his left elbow. The southpaw is not yet certain whether he’ll be undergoing Tommy John surgery or a primary repair procedure that comes with a shorter recovery period (but is only possible with a certain extent of tearing at a specific location on the ligament). As FOX 26’s Mark Berman explains (Twitter link), that’s because the determination won’t be made until the surgery is underway and the surgeons can get a closer look at the ligament.

Regardless of the exact nature of the surgery, Emanuel, who turns 29 tomorrow, won’t pitch again in 2021. It’s an abrupt end to a promising rookie campaign for the 2013 third-rounder, who’d pitched to a 2.55 ERA with a 13-to-4 K/BB ratio through his first 17 2/3 MLB innings.

That Emanuel’s debut campaign came at age 28 is in part due to the fact that’s he’s already endured one Tommy John procedure earlier in his career. That injury limited him to just 14 2/3 innings in 2015 and 84 2/3 frames the following season.

Emanuel has also missed time with an 80-game PED suspension, though he’s among the growing number of players to raise issue following a positive test of trace amounts of DHCMT (seven picograms, in his case). The Wall Street Journal’s Jared Diamond explored the issue at length back in August, and Emanuel himself posted an 11-minute video on Instagram discussing his bewilderment over the positive test. Many fans will be skeptical of any player claiming innocence following a positive PED test, but it’s certainly worth reading Diamond’s column and watching Emanuel’s video for those who didn’t track the story at the time.

Turning back to the present-day ramifications of the injury, Emanuel figures to eventually be moved to the 60-day injured list, where he’ll accrue a year of service time as he goes through the rehabilitation process. If he indeed requires a second Tommy John procedure, he’ll likely miss at least half of the 2022 season as well; a primary repair could potentially have him ready for 2022, though that is again dependent on the extent of the damage in his elbow. An exact timeline for rehabbing from that procedure is tougher to pin down, given the general lack of successful instances. Rich Hill is the most recent example of a pitcher to return after a primary repair, as he had the procedure in the 2019-20 offseason before eventually signing with the Twins.

For the Astros, they’ll be reduced to two left-handed bullpen options: Brooks Raley and Blake Taylor. To this point, neither has pitched well in 2021, with Raley sitting on a 6.95 ERA in 22 2/3 innings and Taylor having yielded five runs (four earned) in 5 1/3 frames of his own. Both southpaws played key roles in Houston’s 2020 bullpen and should have decent leashes as a result. Raley has punched out 30.6 of his opponents this year against just an 8.2 percent walk rate, but he’s been plagued by a historically fluky strand rate. That’s not an exaggeration, either; per FanGraphs, Raley’s 39 percent strand rate is the seventh-lowest single-season mark of any pitcher (min. 20 innings) since 1900.

Should Raley and/or Taylor continue to struggle, left-handed relief figures to be an area of focus for the ’Stros this summer on the trade market as they seek another postseason berth.

Red Sox Designate Colten Brewer For Assignment

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The Red Sox have designated right-hander Colten Brewer for assignment in order to create 40-man roster space for righty Brandon Workman, per a club announcement. Skipper Alex Cora announced earlier today that Workman would be selected to the MLB roster and Brewer would be optioned, but the Sox have now removed Brewer from the 40-man roster entirely.

Brewer, 28, has spent parts of the past three seasons with the Sox after coming over from the Padres in a trade that sent minor league infielder Esteban Quiroz to San Diego. He pitched just one inning for Boston in 2021, yielding four runs in his lone game of the season.

The 2020 campaign was also a struggle for Brewer, who was tagged for a 5.56 ERA in 25 2/3 innings last summer. He posted a respectable 4.12 ERA in 54 2/3 innings with the Sox back in 2019, but that year’s 13.4 percent walk rate was a red flag that made it fair to question whether he’d be able to sustain that level of run prevention.

All told, Brewer has pitched 91 innings in the Majors between the Padres and the Red Sox, logging a collective 5.04 ERA (4.94 SIERA) with a 20.3 percent strikeout rate, a 13.4 percent ground-ball rate and a 50.4 percent ground-ball rate. Brewer sits about 94 mph with his go-to cutter and has, at his best, missed bats at a solid level. The past few seasons have been a struggle both in the Majors and in Triple-A, however. The Sox will have a week to trade Brewer or place him on outright waivers.

Kyle Lewis Likely To Miss Significant Time With Knee Injury

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June 3: Seattle general manager Jerry Dipoto didn’t paint a particularly optimistic picture in an appearance on 710 ESPN in this morning (Twitter link via 710’s Maura Dooley). “I’m hopeful we’ll see him again this year, but I don’t think it’s going to be quick,” Dipoto said of Lewis’ outlook. The GM added (via 710’s Brandon Gustafson) that the team will be “hypersensitive” with Lewis’ injury, which isn’t surprising given his prior knee problems.

The Mariners have yet to issue a concrete timeline on Lewis’ recovery or provide much in the way of detail on next steps in his rehab process.

June 2: Mariners outfielder Kyle Lewis will go for a second opinion on his injured right knee, manager Scott Servais told reporters (including Ryan Divish of the Seattle Times and Corey Brock of the Athletic). It certainly seems he’s looking at a potential extended absence, as Servais noted Lewis is “really down” about the original prognosis. The Mariners placed Lewis on the 10-day injured list with a meniscus tear and sent him for an MRI yesterday, and Daniel Kramer of MLB.com noted at the time that surgery was a possible option.

If Lewis is indeed forced to go under the knife, it’d be a brutal development for the 25-year-old. Lewis has been plagued by issues with that knee for much of his professional career. He tore his ACL shortly after being drafted in 2016, and it continue to bother him intermittently over the next few seasons. Lewis finally returned to peak form in 2019, and he shined during his first extended big league run last season. The former first-round pick hit .262/.364/.437 last year en route to the AL Rookie of the Year award.

He began the 2021 season on the IL after suffering a bone bruise in the same knee during Spring Training. Following a three-week absence, Lewis returned and got off to a solid .246/.333/.392 start before suffering this latest injury. Taylor Trammell was recalled in his place yesterday and seems likely to get extended run alongside Mitch Haniger and Jarred Kelenic while Lewis is out.

Red Sox Select Brandon Workman

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The Red Sox are selecting the contract of right-hander Brandon Workman, manager Alex Cora announced to reporters this morning. Righty Colten Brewer is being optioned to Triple-A Worcester in a corresponding 26-man roster move. A 40-man roster move will be announced later today as well. Workman, who signed a minor league deal to return to the Sox after being cut loose by the Cubs, had triggered a June 1 opt-out clause in his Red Sox deal earlier this week. That gave the Sox 48 hours to either release him or add him to the big league roster, and they’ve chosen the latter.

Workman, 32, pitched just eight innings for the Cubs earlier this season, allowing nine runs (six earned) on a dozen hits and seven walks with 11 punchouts in that short time. He looked quite effective until being tagged for three runs in each of his two final appearances with Chicago. Workman was on a one-year deal worth $1MM, so the Cubs didn’t have a particularly long leash when he struggled early in the year. That he was even available on such an affordable deal was a reflection of similar struggles he endured following a trade from Boston to Philadelphia last summer.

Of course, Workman is no stranger to the Red Sox organization. Boston selected him out of the University of Texas with their second-round pick in 2010, and he spent his entire professional career in the organization up until last August’s trade. Things didn’t pan out for Workman as a starter early in his big league tenure, but a full-time move to the bullpen proved to be a career-changing decision. From 2017-20, Workman threw 157 1/3 innings out of the Boston bullpen and notched a 2.57 ERA with a hearty 29 percent strikeout rate against an 11.8 percent walk rate.

As evidenced by that elevated walk rate, control has long been an issue for Workman, but he’s managed to overcome his sub-par strike-throwing skills by missing bats at a high rate and keeping the ball on the ground at an above-average 46.8 percent clip. Outside of his rocky stints with the Phillies and the Cubs, he’s been a solid late-inning reliever. He’s unlikely to be thrown right back into the fire as the Red Sox’ closer — especially with Matt Barnes pitching so well — but it wouldn’t be all that surprising if Workman resurfaced as a viable setup option before too long. He has some work to do to right the ship, but his poor performance since last summer’s trade effectively amounts to a two-month slump.

Rangers Notes: DeShields, Yang, Allard, Jung

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Outfielder Delino DeShields Jr. has foregone the June 1 opt-out clause in his minor league contract and will remain with the Rangers for the time being, per Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News (Twitter link). Grant notes that the Rangers are still open to helping DeShields land on a big league roster if the opportunity presents itself. The Yankees reportedly looked into a trade involving DeShields but have thus far opted to go in another direction. Given Texas’ openness to helping DeShields back to the Majors, the Yankees probably wouldn’t have to give much of anything in return.

Of course, Texas could also opt to take another look at DeShields themselves. He’s batting .363/.433/.538 in Triple-A Round Rock, albeit in just 91 plate appearances and with a ridiculous .500 average on balls in play that won’t be sustained. DeShields has spent parts of five seasons as a Ranger, but Texas is currently committed to evaluating younger and/or more controllable players throughout the bulk of the lineup — hence the decision to move on from Elvis Andrus and Rougned Odor this season. Twenty-five-year-old Jason Martin is getting a look right now, and Texas also has Willie Calhoun, Adolis Garcia and Joey Gallo in the current outfield mix.

Some more notes from Arlington…

  • Lefty Hyeon-jong Yang is moving back into the bullpen after four of his past five appearances (including three in a row) were starts, Grant tweets. The former KBO MVP has been hit hard when working out of the rotation — particularly the second time through the order. Everything regarding Yang’s numbers so far comes with a small-sample caveat, given his limited innings count, but he’s pitched to a 3.55 ERA in 12 2/3 innings as a reliever while holding opponents to a .191/.255/.340 output. As a starter, he’s been tagged for 11 runs in 15 innings while yielding a .298/.388/.561 slash. One good start or one poor relief outing could obviously skew those numbers substantially at this point, so those numbers can be taken with a grain of salt. The 33-year-old Yang has tossed at least three innings in all of his appearances as a Ranger, so he’ll give skipper Chris Woodward a multi-inning option.
  • Stepping into Yang’s rotation spot will be left-hander Kolby Allard. The former Braves top prospect and first-round pick has worked primarily out of the bullpen this season but stretched to four innings in his most recent relief outing. Allard held his own as a rookie following the trade that swapped him and reliever Chris Martin in 2019, but he was clobbered for a 7.75 ERA in 33 2/3 innings last summer. He’s been sharp through his small sample of 11 1/3 innings in ’21, sporting a career-best 27 percent strikeout rate and a strong seven percent walk rate. It feels like Allard has been a prospect forever, but that’s common with high-profile high school draftees. He’s still just 23 years of age and has only 19 big league starts under his belt, so there’s time for him to yet emerge as a solid back-end starter for Texas.
  • Top prospect Josh Jung is expected to be cleared to return to action within the next two weeks, per Jeff Wilson of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. The 23-year-old Jung, selected eighth overall in 2019, has yet to play this season after suffering a stress fracture in his foot back in Spring Training. He underwent surgery that came with a recovery period of up to eight weeks. Jung has yet to play above A-ball because of last year’s canceled minor league season, but he hit .316/.389/.443 between Rookie ball and Class-A in 2019, his lone pro season thus far. He’s widely considered to be among the game’s top 100 overall prospects and is viewed as the club’s third baseman of the future.

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