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AL Notes: Picollo, Harris, Tigers, Perez, Rangers, Diaz

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After Dayton Moore was fired earlier this week, Royals GM J.J. Picollo was promoted to lead the Royals’ baseball operations department, and he met today with the media (including The Kansas City Star’s Lynn Worthy and 610 Sports Radio’s Josh Vernier).  Much has yet to be determined heading into what could be a busy offseason for the club, and Picollo said he has yet to make a decision on manager Mike Matheny or any members of the coaching staff.

In terms of players, Picollo said that the front office is “in the very infantile stages” of considering an extension for Bobby Witt Jr., though the team is indeed interested in such a deal.  The 22-year-old is completing a strong rookie season, and an extension would both solidify Witt as a cornerstone piece of the Royals’ future, and also give K.C. some cost certainty going forward.  Witt is already controlled through the 2027 season, however, so there isn’t necessarily any rush for Picollo and company to immediately work out an extension.

More from around the American League…

  • The AL Central’s other new front office boss also met with reporters earlier this week, with new Tigers president of baseball operations Scott Harris telling The Detroit Free Press’ Evan Petzold and other media members that the club simply plans to improve, without a specific timeline or any indication as to whether the Tigers will take a step back to reload, or try to build and contend in 2023.  “I am treating this as an opportunity for us to get better this winter….And we’re going to look up at the end of the winter and we’re going to have a much better feel for when the most competitive Tigers team is going to come out,” Harris said.  “That’s how I believe every baseball team should be built.  I don’t believe in strict five-year plans with specific benchmarks that you have to reach year over year.  There’s too much variability in the sport to define a plan as concretely as that.”
  • Impending free agent Martin Perez and the Rangers will wait until after the season to discuss an extension, according to The Athletic’s Levi Weaver (Twitter link).  There has been speculation for months that both and Perez and the team were interested in reaching a new deal to keep the left-hander in Arlington, and while a deal hasn’t yet been reached, there is still plenty of time for the two sides to talk before Perez is scheduled to hit the open market.  Perez is enjoying a career year, with a 2.90 ERA over 183 1/3 innings and his first All-Star selection.
  • Yandy Diaz has missed the Rays’ last five games due to a sore shoulder, but the infielder told Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times and other reporters that he is doing “a lot better” after getting a cortisone shot earlier this week.  It doesn’t appear as though Diaz will require a trip to the injured list, but it also isn’t yet known when he might be back on the field.  Diaz has been a big part of Tampa’s offense, hitting .292/.399/.419 over 549 plate appearances this year, resulting in an excellent 145 wRC+.

Tigers Place Joe Jimenez On 15-Day Injured List

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The Tigers placed right-hander Joe Jimenez on the 15-day injured list due to a right lumbar spine strain.  Right-hander Angel De Jesus was called up from Triple-A to take Jimenez’s spot on the active roster for the remainder of the regular season.

Jimenez told reporters (including Chris McCosky of The Detroit News) that he has been dealing with the injury for over a month, and he’d been wearing an electronic stimulation device on his back.  Yesterday, however, Jimenez said the back pain “felt different and I just said, ’Hey, I’m not going to put the team in a bad position. I’m just going to do everything I can to get back soon.’ ”

While further imaging and tests are inevitable, it doesn’t seem as though the spine strain will keep Jimenez from a relatively normal offseason, or from being ready for Spring Training.  That’s good news for both Jimenez and the Tigers, as the 27-year-old (28 in January) looks to build on what has been a career year.

Consistency has been difficult to come by for Jimenez over his six MLB seasons, even though he was an All-Star in 2018.  Over 209 1/3 innings from 2017-21, Jimenez posted a 5.72 ERA over 209 1/3 innings out of Detroit’s bullpen, and there was some speculation that the Tigers could even non-tender him last winter.

However, the Tigers’ decision to hang onto Jimenez ended up being one of the best calls of an otherwise rough year in the Motor City.  Jimenez posted a 3.49 ERA and an elite 33.3% strikeout rate over 56 2/3 innings in 2022, as well as plenty of other Statcast metrics that were well above the league average.  That 3.49 ERA undersold Jimenez’s dominance, as he had a 2.30 SIERA and 2.70 xFIP.  Four of Jimenez’s 22 earned runs were allowed over his last two outings, likely due to his increased back pain.

Between these numbers and Jimenez also being arbitration-controlled through the 2023 season, there was lots of interest in Jimenez heading into the trade deadline, but no teams met the Tigers’ reportedly high asking price.  With Scott Harris now installed as Detroit’s president of baseball operations, it is possible Harris could revisit the trade market and explore selling high on Jimenez, assuming that rival teams aren’t wary of the spine strain.  Or, the Tigers could simply hang onto Jimenez and hope that he can again help a bullpen that was the team’s only real strength this past season.

Kris Bryant Won’t Play Again In 2022

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It wasn’t looking likely that Kris Bryant would get back onto the field before the season was over, and the Rockies slugger confirmed to MLB.com’s Thomas Harding that his 2022 season is indeed done.  Bryant’s first season in Colorado concludes with only 42 games played, and a .306/.376/.475 slash line over 181 plate appearances.

Three separate stints on the injured list spoiled Bryant’s year, including two absences related to lower-back problems.  Bryant hasn’t played since July 31 due to foot injuries, including both a bone bruise and plantar fasciitis in his right foot.  With the Rockies already out of contention by August, Bryant said he received a platelet-rich plasma injection on August 24, and “if we were in the playoff hunt, I probably would have pushed through and got a cortisone shot.  The PRP is more healing, while cortisone masks the pain.”

The decision puts Bryant in better position to be fully ready for 2023, and he indicated that he is ahead of schedule in his recovery.  “I wanted to get as close to being able to play a game as I could, because then I can formulate an offseason approach that’s better,” Bryant said.

Though injuries have been an increasing factor for Bryant in recent years, 2022 represents far and away the lowest game total of his seven regulation-length Major League seasons.  (Bryant’s 42 games with Colorado barely topped his 34 appearances in the shortened 2020 campaign.)  Unsurprisingly, Bryant described his season as “a little depressing, just not playing baseball….Every year from February to October, I’m used to playing baseball.  And for the most part this year, I’ve been watching.”

Bryant and the Rockies can only hope for better things in 2023 and beyond, as Bryant still has six seasons remaining on his seven-year, $182MM free agent deal from last winter.  On the plus side, Bryant hit well when he was healthy this year, though he hit much better on the road (.996 OPS in 70 PA) than he did at Coors Field (.761 OPS in 111 PA).  The sample sizes are probably too small to draw any major conclusions, of course, but naturally the Rockies are hoping for more consistent production from Bryant at his new home ballpark.

Dodgers Place Dustin May On Injured List

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The Dodgers have placed right-hander Dustin May on the 15-day injured list due to lower back tightness.  The team also announced that righty Andre Jackson was called up from Triple-A to take May’s spot on the active roster.

May is now ineligible to pitch again during the regular season, though his postseason availability could hinge on his health.  Since Los Angeles already has a bye in the first round, May will get some extra time to rest and recover before the Dodgers have to make their roster decisions for the NLDS.  Jack Harris of the Los Angeles Times reports that May has a strained muscle in his lower back, and it isn’t yet known if the strain will impact his readiness for the playoffs, but the Dodgers are hopeful May will be ready.

May has already missed a lot of time with injury over the last two seasons, due to a Tommy John surgery back in May 2021.  The right-hander made it back to action in August, and has a 4.50 ERA, 22.8% strikeout rate, and 11% walk rate over 30 innings in 2022.  While these numbers are nothing to write home about, May’s velocity and spin rates are all still looking good in the wake of his TJ rehab.

The regular season has been a rousing success for the Dodgers, but they now face more pitching uncertainty as the playoffs loom.  Tony Gonsolin has a minor league rehab start scheduled for Tuesday after missing a month due to a forearm strain, so the All-Star could be on his way back to action, though nothing will be certain until Gonsolin gets onto the mound.  Ideally, Julio Urias, Clayton Kershaw, and Gonsolin would be the Dodgers’ top three starters in a playoff series, with Tyler Anderson likeliest for fourth starter duty.  Andrew Heaney, May, or rookie Michael Grove would be lined up for long relief or emergency-starter depth, but as we’ve seen from past postseasons, the Dodgers are generally pretty flexible with pitcher roles in big games.

Rockies Plan To Retain Bud Black As Manager For 2023 Season

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The Rockies are wrapping their fouth straight losing season, yet the organization hasn’t felt compelled to make a change in the dugout.  General manager Bill Schmidt told reporters (including The Athletic’s Nick Groke) today that manager Bud Black will return for the 2023 season, saying that “Buddy came here right when we were ready to be good.  He led us to some playoffs.  He’s very capable of doing it again.  It’s not for lack of effort.”

Black’s first two seasons in Colorado indeed resulted in postseason appearances.  The Rockies earned wild-card berths in both 2017 and 2018, and in the latter season defeated the Cubs in the Wild Card Game to advanced to the NLDS (where the Brewers eliminated the Rox in a sweep).  Since those two playoff berths, however, the Rockies have yet to reach the .500 mark, and Black has a 414-445 overall record as he approaches the end of his sixth season as Colorado’s skipper.

The two wild-card berths earned Black a contract extension prior to the 2019 season, a three-year deal that ran from 2020-22.  The Rockies added another year of control in another contract extension last February, with Black extended for a one-year deal that runs through the 2023 campaign.  The relatively limited nature of that extension seemed to indicate that Black was on a slightly shorter leash, yet it doesn’t appear to have hampered his job security.

In fact, Groke notes that Black is “on a rolling year-to-year contract” that would seemingly give both sides the flexibility to walk away after any season, not that such a scenario seems likely in the near future.  It would seem like Black’s arrangement could be similar to the so-called handshake deal that the Rockies had with former manager Jim Tracy, wherein Tracy had the freedom to leave at the end of any season.

Rockies owner Dick Monfort is known to value loyalty and continuity within his organization, which has proven to be a double-edged sword considering that the Rockies are often criticized for being too insular.  The change from Jeff Bridich to Schmidt (another long-time front office employee) in the GM chair last season didn’t do anything to get Colorado on track in 2022, and a lot of work will need to be done to make the team a winner in 2023.  Virtually every member of the Rox roster had an underwhelming season either at the plate or on the mound, and prized free agent signing Kris Bryant ended up spending most of the year on the injured list.

With all this in mind, it is somewhat difficult to really evaluate Black’s win-loss record.  For as much as Monfort and company perpetually feel that the Rockies are on the verge of contention, Black doesn’t seem to be receiving much of the blame for not winning with these flawed rosters.  While it can also be argued that Black isn’t necessarily part of a solution to the Rockies’ woes, Colorado’s bigger-picture issues in evaluating, developing, and acquiring talent seem like much larger obstacles to success than Black’s work as manager.

Giants Outright Lewis Brinson

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TODAY: Brinson cleared DFA waivers and was assigned to Triple-A after being outrighted off the 40-man roster.

SEPTEMBER 21: The Giants have designated outfielder Lewis Brinson for assignment, Maria Guardado of MLB.com was among those to relay (Twitter link). San Francisco also optioned righty Sean Hjelle to Triple-A Sacramento. The moves clear active roster space for reliever Jharel Cotton, who has reported to the team after being claimed off waivers a few days ago, and infielder Jason Vosler, who has been recalled. Brinson is out of minor league option years, so he had to stick on the MLB roster or be designated for assignment. The Giants 40-man roster tally dips to 39.

San Francisco just added Brinson a few weeks ago. With active rosters expanding by two players in September, the Giants acquired the former first-rounder from the Astros. Brinson had signed a minor league deal with Houston over the offseason and had a very good Triple-A showing, blasting 25 home runs with a .299/.356/.574 line through 364 plate appearances. While the Astros never called him to the major leagues, the Giants immediately selected his contract after trading for him.

Brinson has played in 16 games this month, tallying 39 plate appearances. While he’s picked up three home runs in that limited time, he’s drawn just a pair of walks while going down on strikes 14 times. Subpar strikeout and walk numbers have been common throughout his MLB career, as he’s walked at a 5% clip with a 28.4% strikeout percentage in parts of six big league seasons. Brinson’s aggressive approach and high swing-and-miss rates have contributed to a .198/.246/.328 line through 1150 career plate appearances.

That’s obviously not the production many had envisioned when Brinson was coming up through the minor league ranks. Long one of the sport’s top prospects, the righty-swinging outfielder was a key part of the deals that sent Jonathan Lucroy from Milwaukee to Texas and Christian Yelich from Miami to the Brewers. He spent parts of four seasons with the Marlins but never consistently hit against big league pitching. Through parts of seven years in Triple-A, he owns a far more impressive .308/.373/.545 line.

San Francisco will place Brinson on waivers within the next few days. As a player with over four years of big league service, he’d have the right to refuse an outright assignment in favor of free agency if he goes unclaimed.

Rangers’ Dane Dunning To Undergo Arthroscopic Hip Surgery

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Rangers right-hander Dane Dunning will undergo arthroscopic hip surgery next week, the team announced.  Dunning will finish his 2022 season with a 4.46 ERA, 53.3% grounder rate, 20.4% strikeout rate, and 9.2% walk rate over 153 1/3 innings and 29 starts in the Texas rotation.

Acquired from the White Sox as the centerpiece of the Lance Lynn trade in December 2020, Dunning’s first two seasons in Texas have been pretty statistically identical, though he tossed only 117 2/3 frames in 2021.  Over both seasons, Dunning has a 4.48 ERA/4.14 SIERA, with below-average strikeout, walk, and hard-hit ball rates.  Dunning’s ability to keep the ball on the ground has helped him avoid major damage, and a .324 BABIP over the last two seasons indicates that the righty has perhaps been a little unlucky in maximizing his return on that strong groundball rate.

Assuming he returned from this hip surgery in good form, Dunning projects as a rotation piece for the Rangers both in 2023 and over the long term, as he’ll be 28 on Opening Day and is controlled through the 2026 season.  However, the rotation as a whole was not a strength for the Rangers this season, and they are sure to focus on upgrading the pitching staff during what might be another very busy offseason.  The Rangers already parted ways with longtime president of baseball operations Jon Daniels, and the onus will be on general manager Chris Young (a former MLB pitcher himself) to get the club back to contention.

Jon Gray looks like the only member of the 2022 rotation who is thusly guaranteed a job in next year’s starting five, though Texas is hopeful of re-signing Martin Perez.  Dunning’s track record and ability to at least eat innings may give him a leg up on other younger or more unproven rotation candidates, but nothing can really be ruled out considering how intent Rangers ownership is on fielding a winner.  Dunning has already been part of two notable trades during his relatively short career, and he could be an interesting trade chip once more if the Rangers are looking to overhaul their rotation picture.

White Sox Place Luis Robert On 10-Day Injured List

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Luis Robert’s 2022 season is officially over, after the White Sox placed the outfielder on the 10-day injured list due to a sprained left wrist.  Left-hander Tanner Banks was also optioned to Triple-A Charlotte, while outfielder Mark Payton was called up from Charlotte and righty Joe Kelly was reinstated from the medical leave list.

Robert’s wrist has been bothering him since August 12, when he suffered a sprain while trying to steal a base in a 2-0 Chicago win over the Tigers.  White Sox GM Rick Hahn told reporters (including The Athletic’s James Fegan) that Robert’s injury was re-aggravated after he was hit by a pitch on September 6 during a game against the Mariners, which led to Robert receiving more sporadic playing time over the last few weeks.  Three different hand specialists determined that there isn’t any structural damage, Hahn said, but Robert just needs time off to fully heal.

As a result, Robert has been shut down, ending his season with a .284/.319/.426 slash line and 12 home runs over 401 plate appearances.  His wrist problem seemed to sap his effectiveness at the plate, as Robert had only a .414 OPS over his final 47 PA of 2022.

Robert also missed time due to blurred vision and the COVID-related IL this season, and thus played in only 98 of Chicago’s games.  Between his absences this season and the hip flexor strain that cost him a big chunk of the 2021 campaign, Robert has played in only 166 of a possible 324 games since the start of the 2021 season.  When he was able to play, Robert posted great numbers in 2021 and his 2022 production was still solidly above average (112 wRC+), but it still represents a disappointment for a player who has shown glimpses of superstar potential.

The White Sox can only hope that Robert is able to fully heal up over the winter, and is then able to stay on the field for most or all of the 2023 campaign.  Robert’s injury-plagued year is one of but several “if only…” laments South Side fans have about a White Sox season that is looking increasingly like it will fall short of the playoffs.  The 76-75 Sox are on a four-game losing streak, and have dropped to a 76-75 record, falling eight games behind the Guardians in the AL Central and 6.5 games out of the wild card race.

Tony La Russa Won’t Return As White Sox Manager This Year

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The White Sox have announced that Tony La Russa, who has been absent from the team due to a medical issue, will not return to manage for the remainder of the 2022 season. “After undergoing additional testing and medical procedures over the past week, doctors for Tony La Russa have directed him to no return as manager of the Chicago White Sox for the remainder of the 2022 season,” a team statement reads. “Bench coach Miguel Cairo will continue to serve as acting White Sox manager through the remainder of the 2022 season.”

La Russa, who turns 78 next month, took a leave of absence from the club at the end of August. The exact nature of his medical ailment wasn’t specified at the time, though it was reported that he would undergo testing on his heart. He was cleared to travel to Oakland a couple of weeks ago for a ceremony honoring Dave Stewart, though not to return to any kind of active duty in the dugout. It seems that, in the opinions of his medical team, La Russa hasn’t recovered enough to return to the team over the final days of the season.

La Russa’s contract runs through 2023, though his ability to actually serve as the club’s skipper next year could depend on how he recuperates. Cairo has been at the helm the past few weeks and will continue in that role down the stretch. Though the White Sox initially surged under his leadership, they have cooled off recently. They are now eight games behind the Guardians in the Central division and 6.5 games out of a Wild Card spot.

Shane Baz To Undergo Tommy John Surgery, Brandon Lowe Won’t Return In 2022

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The Rays got two pieces of bad news today, with Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times relaying both (Twitter links). Right-hander Shane Baz will undergo Tommy John surgery which will keep him out of action through the end of the 2023 campaign. Furthermore, Brandon Lowe won’t return here in 2022 due to an ongoing back issue.

Baz will end his 2022 season with only 27 innings pitched over six starts, as arthroscopic elbow surgery and then an elbow sprain (which has kept him on the injured list since July) limited his ability to get onto the mound. Unfortunately, those elbow problems have now resulted in the worst-case scenario of TJ surgery, and Baz now faces another completely lost season in 2023.

It was just over a year ago that Baz made his MLB debut, making three starts for the Rays at the end of the 2021 season and then getting another start in their playoff rotation during the ALDS. While entrusting an inexperienced pitcher with a big postseason start didn’t work out well for Tampa Bay, it was a sign of just how much faith the Rays have in Baz as one of the key arms of their future. The righty had become one of baseball’s top pitching prospects during his excellent 2021 minor league season, and thus entered 2022 as a favorite for AL Rookie Of The Year honors.

Instead, Baz will now be out of action until Opening Day 2024. It is a testament to the Rays’ pitching depth that they are still in prime position to return to the playoffs even without Baz or several other notable injured hurlers (such as another Tommy John patient in Tyler Glasnow, who has missed all of 2022 but might be close to returning for some bullpen work late in the regular season or in the postseason). Still, losing Baz to TJ surgery is naturally a blow to the Rays’ present and future plans, given how young and controllable pitching is such a key plank of Tampa Bay’s strategies.

Between 2022 and 2023, Baz will bank two full seasons of Major League service time while on the injured list, though he still isn’t eligible for arbitration until after the 2024 season. Assuming he is able to return from rehab in good form, he can use 2024 as a platform for a decent arb payday, but obviously Baz’s first priority is just getting healthy.

In regards to 2022 alone, having Lowe for only 65 games was an even bigger short-term problem for the Rays than losing Baz, given how Lowe is an established big league talent. After top-10 finishes in AL MVP voting in each of the last two seasons, Lowe hit only .221/.308/.383 over 266 plate appearances, as he was limited by three separate stints on the IL. One of those absences was a minimal 10-day stint due to a biceps contusion, but Lowe was mostly hampered by his lower-back problem.

It remains to be seen if Lowe might require a surgical fix to fully solve his back problems, and if so, such a procedure might impact his readiness for the start of the 2023 campaign. Arbitration isn’t a factor for Lowe, who had two guaranteed seasons remaining on a six-year, $24MM extension he signed back in March 2019, and he is owed at least $15MM more on that deal (which includes two club options). Given how the Rays are always open to dealing veteran players, it would seem like Lowe’s injury and down year would certainly lessen the chance of a trade, but a move cannot be entirely ruled out.

Such a decision would hinge on how comfortable the Rays are with their other options at second base. Isaac Paredes, Taylor Walls, Jonathan Aranda, and Vidal Brujan have handled most of the workload with Lowe out, with varying degrees of success. Walls is a premium defender who hasn’t hit much, while Paredes has shown some pop in his first season with the Rays, and Aranda has gotten off to a solid start in his first month in the big leagues. Tampa will now be counting on this mix to help them in the postseason, with Lowe no longer a possibility.

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