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Archives for March 2023

Brandon Nimmo Week-To-Week With Low Grade Strain In Knee And Ankle

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Brandon Nimmo is week-to-week with a low grade strain in his right knee and ankle, Mets general manager Billy Eppler told reporters, including Joel Sherman of the New York Post. His status for Opening Day remains unclear.

Nimmo, 30 later this month, re-signed with the Mets on an eight-year, $162MM deal this winter. The left-hander is coming off another stellar year in which he hit .274/.367/.433 with 16 home runs over 151 games. That last figure is important, as it was the first time Nimmo had topped 100 games since the 2018 season, and only the second time of his career. With that in mind, there’s reasonable cause for concern when an injury-prone player is dealing with any injury, even if this one doesn’t appear to be overly serious.

Having said that, Opening Day is now less than two weeks away, and with Nimmo set to be reevaluated in a week this development would throw a fair amount of doubt over his status for the Mets’ opener. If that is the case, the Mets could use Starling Marte in center field to begin the year, with Tommy Pham and Mark Canha handling the corners. Tim Locastro would likely be the first cab off the rank as a backup outfielder, although one other option for the team would be to use Darin Ruf as their fourth outfielder until Nimmo returns, paving the way for rookie Brett Baty to make the Opening Day roster.

While it remains unclear how much, if any, of the regular season Nimmo will miss, it’s another blow for a Mets side that recently lost star closer Edwin Diaz to a season-ending injury and veteran starter Jose Quintana to a long-term injury.

AL East Notes: Manoah, Bautista, Yankees’ Injuries

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The Blue Jays made a “contract suggestion” to star right-hander Alek Manoah this winter, but apparently the sides were not close, according to Jon Heyman of the New York Post. Manoah is part of a young core, alongside Bo Bichette and Vlad Guerrero Jr., that have been speculated as possible targets for long-term extensions.

Manoah, 25, put up a quality season last year, working to a 2.24 ERA over 196 2/3 innings and finishing third in AL Cy Young voting. That followed on from a strong rookie year in 2021, and cemented Manoah as one of the sport’s brightest young starting pitchers. As such, it’s not a huge surprise that the Blue Jays would have some level of interest in locking up the former eleventh overall pick long term. For his part, Manoah is still five years away from free agency but four of those should be arbitration-eligible, as Manoah is likely to qualify as Super Two player at the end of the season.

Here’s some more notes from around the AL East:

  • The chances of Orioles closer Felix Bautista making the Opening Day roster appear to be growing, with manager Brandon Hyde looking to get Bautista into three or four more games before the team breaks camp, according to Roch Kubatko of MASN. He’s been highly effective in his two outings to date, displaying his triple-digit fastball. Bautista’s camp had been slowed by shoulder and knee injuries to start, but he looks to be on track now. That’s a huge positive for the Orioles, as the closer worked to a 2.19 ERA over 65 appearances last season.
  • Bryan Hoch of MLB.com provides an update on some of the injured Yankees in camp. Starting with the bad news, reliever Tommy Kahnle has been unable to throw as scheduled as he battles biceps soreness. Kahnle re-signed with the Yankees this winter on two-year, $11.5MM deal after a few seasons with the Dodgers. He had been projected as a vital late-inning member of the Yankees’ bullpen, but it appears the start of his season will be delayed. It’s not known yet when Kahnle is next scheduled to pitch, but obviously it’s not great news for his recovery timeline.
  • Left-hander Carlos Rodon returned to throwing yesterday and was feeling good, according to Hoch. There were plenty of fears after the Yankees announced that the oft-injured starter would be shutdown for 7 to 10 days with a forearm strain, but an MRI showed no UCL damage and it seems Rodon is back on track to start ramping up for the season. It’s already been confirmed that Rodon will start the season on the injured list, but a positive return to throwing for the six-year, $162MM free agent signing hopefully means it won’t be a long wait before he can make his Yankees debut.
  • Hoch also reports that Harrison Bader is doing “better than anticipated,” relaying a quote from manager Aaron Boone. It’s a rather vague statement and there’s no indication that Bader is on track any sooner than the initially projected six week recovery timeline (three weeks of regular season action), but it’s at least a positive development as the Yankees look to overcome a number of injuries early in the season. Bader impressed in the playoffs for the team after coming over from the Cardinals at the deadline last year, crushing five home runs in nine games before the team was eliminated in the ALCS.

Austin Slater Suffers Strained Hamstring

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Giants outfielder Austin Slater has suffered a strained hamstring, manager Gabe Kapler told reporters, including Evan Webeck of Mercury News. It’s not known yet how this injury affects Slater’s status for Opening Day, now just 12 days away. Slater’s injury is another blow to the Giants’ outfield depth chart, with Mitch Haniger already recovering from an oblique strain and in doubt for Opening Day himself.

Haniger and Slater have not been officially ruled out of Opening Day, so it remains possible that both could feature. Yet should both miss time, the team’s depth in the outfield would take a bit of a hit. Joc Pederson, Michael Conforto and Mike Yastrzemski would likely line up as the starting three outfielders, likely opening up the DH spot for another option, such as J.D. Davis.

This development could also open the door for non-roster invitee Stephen Piscotty to make the team out of camp as a bench outfielder. The former Athletic and Cardinal has had a solid spring, slashing .333/.391/.476 going into Saturday’s games. It’s been a few seasons since he was an above-average MLB player, but he could give the Giants a solid veteran option until Slater and/or Haniger return. Rule 5 pick Blake Sabol might’ve been another option for the Giants as he spent time in the outfield in the minors, but it’s been reported that they view him as strictly a catcher.

Slater, 30, slashed .264/.366/.408 with seven home runs for the Giants last season. He appeared in 125 games last season, largely handling center field but also spending time in the corners. The signings of Conforto and Haniger looked set to relegate him to a bench role this season, but the latter’s oblique strain had initially made him a good chance to start on Opening Day.

Luke Voit Pushes Back Opt-Out Date

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First-baseman/designated hitter Luke Voit has pushed back the opt-out date on his minor league deal with the Brewers until Friday, Adam McCalvy of MLB.com reports. Voit told reporters he likes the fit with Milwaukee, and that the team likes him, but they are trying to maintain maximum 40-man roster flexibility going into the season.

Voit was one of the more high profile players to settle for minor league deals this winter, and it always appeared he had a decent chance to crack the Brewers’ active roster. That he’s agreed to extend the deadline by a week suggests that’s very much still in play, and it may come down to straight decision between Voit and Keston Hiura as to who makes the roster for Opening Day.

With left-handed hitters Rowdy Tellez and Jesse Winker set to occupy a lot of time at the first-base and DH spots, it makes sense for the team to have a right-hander to balance them out, but it may be a stretch for the team to carry both Voit and Hiura, given they’re both defensively-limited right-handed hitters. Of course, they could, in theory, carry both players, but it may leave the bench a little too limited in versatility.

Voit, 32, hit 22 home runs on the way to a .226/.308/.402 over 568 plate appearances for the Padres and Nationals in 2022. That’s a fair drop from the days of him being one of the better right-handed sluggers around. In the pandemic-shortened 2020 season, Voit mashed 22 home runs in 56 games and finished ninth in AL MVP voting. That was part of a stretch from 2018-20 where Voit hit .278/.371/.541, largely for the Yankees. Things dropped off in 2021, as injuries restricted Voit to just 68 games that year, before the Yankees flipped him to the Padres ahead of the 2022 season.

While it’s unwise to glean too much from spring training numbers, Voit has hit .357/.379/.643 with two home runs so far, so is certainly doing everything he can to make an impression with the Brewers.

Mets, Nine Other Teams Attended Zack Britton’s Showcase

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The Mets were among the ten teams that attended free agent left-hander Zack Britton’s showcase on Friday, according to Jon Heyman of the New York Post. While the Mets have just lost their closer to a long-term injury, Heyman notes that the Mets’ level of interest in Britton is still unknown.

Britton, 35, was once one of the game’s top relief pitchers, but injuries have held him back in recent years, and he’s only thrown 21 innings over the past two seasons. That small sample was highly uneffective as well, as Britton owned a 6.16 ERA over those two seasons for the Yankees. Last year, in particular, was a frustrating one for the veteran, as Britton worked his way back from 2021 Tommy John surgery to throw, only to walk six of nine batters in his return and wind up back on the injured list for the remainder of the season with a shoulder injury.

With those injury concerns fresh in the memory, it’s tricky to predict just what sort of pitcher Britton can be moving forward. There’s no question about his dominance during his prime, as Britton put in year after year of consistently elite relief work between 2014-20, working to a 1.84 ERA over 367 1/3 innings.

With that sort of track record, a healthy Britton would make sense for a number of teams to take a chance, including the Mets. Brooks Raley is the only left-hander currently projected to make their bullpen, so another southpaw would make some sense. They do have TJ McFarland and Zach Muckenhirn as left-handers in camp with the team, but Britton would represent a clear upgrade on both. They’re also down a man after Edwin Diaz’ season-ending injury suffered in the World Baseball Classic. One case against signing a veteran like Britton is the fact that out of their currently projected bullpen, only John Curtiss and Drew Smith have minor league options remaining, so the team may prefer to add an arm with options remaining to allow for a bit more flexibility in the bullpen ahead of a long season.

Of course, that’s only looking at the Mets, and it’s worth remembering that nine other teams also attended his showcase and would have some level of interest. It’s also worth noting that attendance at a showcase is far from a confirmation of any firm interest in a player, and there’s no indication yet that the Mets are actively pursuing the two-time All Star, although they do make a fair bit of sense.

Latest On The Yankees’ Shortstop Battle

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As top prospect Anthony Volpe continues to make a strong case to win the Yankees’ starting shortstop job this spring, Andy Martino of SNY reports that the team are not close to making a decision on who’ll start there on Opening Day.

Volpe, fellow youngster Oswald Peraza, Isiah Kiner-Falefa, and to a lesser extent Oswaldo Cabrera have all been in the mix for the shortstop job this spring. The Yankees seemingly prefer Cabrera in a utility role, and the injury to starting center fielder Harrison Bader means he could be called upon for more outfield reps to start the season, so it appears safe to rule him out of the starting job at short.

Kiner-Falefa was the starter for the bulk of the 2022 season, but looks to be headed for more of a utility role himself this season, with the Yankees working him out around the infield, and even giving him starts in the outfield. He’s owed $6MM in his final year of arbitration, and has been speculated as a possible trade candidate given the Yankees’ glut of middle infielders. The Dodgers were one such team thrown around as a possible destination in the wake of Gavin Lux’ injury, but it appears that’s unlikely, with Jon Heyman of the New York Post reporting they’re not interested.

It’s perhaps not surprising that Kiner-Falefa isn’t of interest to the Dodgers. While a $6MM salary is affordable for a team like the Dodgers, it looks steep for a player who only hit for an 85 wRC+ (15 percentage points below the league average), and has a career wRC+ of 82. The team also already has a shortstop in Miguel Rojas, who doesn’t hit a ton, plays decent defense and is owed $5MM in 2023, so it may be that acquiring Kiner-Falefa would just mean bringing in another player who profiles very similar to their in-house option.

In any case, it does appear that Kiner-Falefa is an outsider in the shortstop battle, which leaves it down to Peraza and Volpe. Peraza, 22, is probably the favorite, given he impressed in a short stint in the big leagues last year, hitting .306/.404/.429 across 57 plate appearances and starting in a playoff game. Martino’s report also details how scouts have generally favored Peraza’s glove at short over Volpe’s.

Yet it seems foolish to rule out Volpe. Coming into spring it seemed he was very much a candidate for a mid-season call-up, but probably not an option for Opening Day. He has, after all, only appeared in 22 games at Triple-A. However, the 21-year-old has impressed the team with his bat, slashing .294/.415/.588 going into Saturday’s games (and Volpe is again in the lineup, leading off and playing shortstop today), and with the way he’s carried himself off the diamond, earning the praise of a number of team mates.

With Opening Day less than two weeks away now, the countdown is on to see who is manning short when the Yankees host the Giants on March 30.

MLBTR Poll: Braves’ Fifth Starter

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The Braves made a surprising decision this week, optioning both Bryce Elder and Ian Anderson to Triple-A Gwinnett. That takes the duo out of consideration for the fifth spot in the rotation. Atlanta’s top four of Max Fried, Spencer Strider, Kyle Wright and Charlie Morton is settled, but the final slot now looks as if it’ll go to someone previously expected to open the year in the minors.

With injuries to Michael Soroka and Kolby Allard keeping them out of the season-opening mix, Elder and Anderson had seemed the favorites for the last rotation spot. Instead, it now seems the Braves will turn to a pitcher with no MLB experience out of the gate. Prospects Jared Shuster and Dylan Dodd look as if they’re battling for the final spot.

Jared Shuster

The 24-year-old Shuster was Atlanta’s first-round pick out of Wake Forest in 2020. He split the 2022 campaign between Double-A Mississippi and Gwinnett, working to a 3.29 ERA in 139 1/3 innings. He punched out 26.2% of batters faced compared to a modest 6.9% walk rate overall. Shuster’s strikeout numbers dropped precipitously after a midseason jump to Triple-A, however. He’d fanned 30% of opponents in 17 appearances with Mississippi but that mark fell to 19.4% over 10 outings for the Stripers.

Baseball America considers Shuster the #3 prospect in the Atlanta farm system. The outlet credits him with a plus changeup and above-average control. He’s not a particularly hard thrower and scouts peg his slider as a fringe-average pitch. Shuster has thrown 10 2/3 innings this spring, allowing only one run with 16 strikeouts and two walks.

Dylan Dodd

Dodd, also 24, was Atlanta’s third-round pick in 2021. An underslot senior signee coming out of Southeast Missouri State, Dodd moved across three minor league levels in his first full professional season. He started 16 games with High-A Rome and nine for Mississippi before closing out the ’22 campaign with one appearance in Gwinnett. The left-hander soaked up 142 innings over the three levels, posting a 3.36 ERA with a 26% strikeout percentage while only walking 5.3% of opponents.

Ranked the #6 prospect in the organization by Baseball America, Dodd has a similar pitchability profile as Shuster. His fastball also sits in the low-90s and he leans heavily on a pair of advanced breaking pitches in his changeup and slider. He’s an excellent strike-thrower who’s generally regarded as a solid bet to be a back-of-the-rotation starter. Dodd has tossed 8 1/3 scoreless innings in exhibition play, punching out 11 without handing out any free passes.

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The book on Shuster and Dodd is fairly similar. They’re both advanced left-handers with strong secondary stuff and control to drive the profile despite middling velocity. They’re each recent college draftees without a ton of professional experience but already in their mid-20s. Both pitchers are having excellent showings in Grapefruit League play, apparently vaulting themselves past Elder and Anderson on the immediate depth chart. Neither is yet on the 40-man roster but Atlanta has a vacancy after losing Dennis Santana on waivers last month and could clear more room by placing Tyler Matzek and Huascar Ynoa on the 60-day injured list.

It stands to reason both Shuster and Dodd will make their MLB debuts at some point this year. One of the duo now figures to break camp with the big league club and assume a key role from the season’s outset. Who will get the nod?

(poll link for app users)

 

Mariners Release Drew Ellis

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The Mariners announced Friday evening that corner infielder Drew Ellis has been released. He’d been in camp as a non-roster invitee after being outrighted off Seattle’s roster last November.

Seattle claimed Ellis off waivers from the Diamondbacks last June. The Louisville product only played one MLB game with the M’s, going 1-3 with a strikeout. He spent 70 games at Triple-A Tacoma, hitting .231/.346/.488 with 15 home runs and a 14.2% walk rate. Ellis had posted similar numbers with Arizona’s top affiliate while playing in six big league contests for the Snakes. Despite the roughly average Triple-A production, his .141/.270/.212 line over 100 big league plate appearances led to him going unclaimed on waivers at the start of the offseason.

The M’s gave Ellis a look this spring as he looked to reestablish himself on the MLB radar. He went hitless in 17 at-bats, striking out in half of his 20 plate appearances. With Dylan Moore set to miss the start of the season due to an oblique strain, Seattle’s right-handed hitting infield depth is thinned out a couple weeks from the start of the season. Ellis’ rough exhibition showing wasn’t going to put him in position for a call-up, though, and Seattle now cuts him loose entirely.

Both Corey Brock of the Athletic and Ryan Divish of the Seattle Times (Twitter link) suggested this evening that Moore’s injury could afford a season-opening job for non-roster invitee Mason McCoy. Like Moore and Ellis, McCoy is a right-handed hitting infielder. He’s capable of playing up the middle and coming off a .256/.332/.473 showing with 21 homers and 22 stolen bases over 503 plate appearances for Tacoma.

Ellis heads back out to free agency. Because he wasn’t on the 40-man roster, he won’t first have to clear waivers before hitting the open market. As a former second-round draftee with a .256/.374/.524 line in 826 career Triple-A plate appearances, he could find some interest on a minor league deal elsewhere.

Injury Notes: Blackburn, Pina, Morejon, Garcia, Szapucki

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The A’s will open the season with both starter Paul Blackburn and catcher Manny Piña on the injured list, manager Mark Kotsay told reporters this afternoon (link via Matt Kawahara of the San Francisco Chronicle). Blackburn still can’t throw at full strength after ripping the nail on his middle finger a couple weeks ago. Piña, meanwhile, was diagnosed with left wrist inflammation after meeting with a specialist yesterday. His wrist is currently in a brace and there’s no timetable for his return to baseball activity.

Neither development comes as a surprise. Kotsay said a few days ago both players were questionable for Opening Day. Blackburn’s absence doesn’t figure to be a long-term concern but will require an adjustment to the starting five. Blackburn would have been assured of an Opening Day rotation spot, joining Drew Rucinski and Shintaro Fujinami in that regard. James Kaprielian seems as if he’ll join them, as Kotsay indicated today the righty is on track to be ready for the season after offseason shoulder surgery. The A’s will need to make a move at catcher in the next two weeks, as Shea Langeliers is the only healthy backstop on the 40-man roster.

More injury updates around the game:

  • Padres southpaw Adrián Morejón went for an MRI after departing a weekend Spring Training game with elbow discomfort. Manager Bob Melvin provided a generally positive update this afternoon, telling the media that Morejón’s MRI came back clean of structural damage (video provided by 97.3 FM The Fan). Imaging did reveal some inflammation in the joint and the young hurler will be shut down from throwing until symptoms subside. That could be within a matter of days, according to Melvin. While Morejón may still need to open the season on the 15-day injured list, that there’s no structural damage warrants a sigh of relief considering his injury history. He lost most of 2021 and the first half of last season rehabbing from Tommy John surgery. The Friars used Morejón exclusively out of the bullpen last year. They’ve floated the possibility of moving him back to the rotation at some point, though it remains to be seen if his latest elbow discomfort will affect the club’s usage plan.
  • The Pirates announced last week that reliever Jarlín García was being shut down after experiencing some discomfort in his throwing arm. Director of sports medicine Todd Tomczyk provided an update yesterday, telling reporters the southpaw has a nerve injury in the biceps area (via Justice delos Santos of MLB.com). He’ll remain shut down from throwing for at least four to five weeks before going for more testing late next month. It’s clear García is in for an extended absence to start the season, as even a best-case scenario in which he can start throwing again in mid-April will require a ramp-up period lasting into May. It wouldn’t be a surprise to see Pittsburgh place him on the 60-day injured list at some point. García signed a $2.5MM free agent deal over the winter after being non-tendered by the Giants despite a 3.74 ERA in 65 innings last season.
  • Giants reliever Thomas Szapucki will meet with a thoracic outlet syndrome specialist next week, tweets Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle. He’d been sidelined of late by discomfort in his elbow area and there’s evidently some concern it’s related to the condition. Thoracic outlet syndrome has become a fairly prevalent issue for pitchers in recent years, typically requiring a surgical procedure that involves the removal of a rib to reduce nerve pressure in the arm. The track record for players returning from that issue is mixed. While players like Merrill Kelly have come back better than ever, the likes of Stephen Strasburg and Matt Harvey have never regained their pre-surgery form.

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