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Archives for May 2023

Robbie Ray Undergoes Tommy John Surgery

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The Mariners provided an update today on left-hander Robbie Ray, who was reported last week to require season-ending flexor tendon surgery. “Ray, 31, had surgery today on his left elbow,” the press release reads. “The surgery was performed by Dr. Keith Meister at TMI Sports Medicine in Arlington, Texas. Dr. Meister performed a flexor tendon repair and reconstructed the Ulnar Collateral Ligament (UCL) in Ray’s left arm.” The flexor tendon surgery was already reported upon but the UCL reconstruction, also known as Tommy John surgery, wasn’t publicly known prior to today.

In the short term, this news doesn’t change much for the Mariners, as they’ve already been planning on operating without Ray for the remainder of the year. But since TJS typically requires a recovery period of 14 to 18 months, this update seems to indicate the club will be without Ray for even longer, likely a few months into the 2024 season as well.

That’s obviously unwelcome news, as Ray has been one of the better pitchers in the league in recent seasons. After some inconsistency earlier in his career, he had a tremendous season with the Blue Jays in 2021. He posted an ERA of 2.84 in 32 starts with a 32.1% strikeout rate, 6.7% walk rate and 37.2% ground ball rate. He won the American League Cy Young award and parlayed that performance into a five-year, $115MM deal with the Mariners.

His first year with Seattle was a bit of a drop-off from the previous season but still with plenty to like. He made 32 starts with a 3.71 ERA, striking out 27.4% of opponents, walking 8% and getting grounders at a 39.2% clip. That helped the Mariners break their postseason drought, making it into the playoffs for the first time since 2001. Unfortunately, he was only able to make a single start this year before landing on the injured list and likely won’t make another until midway through 2024.

The Mariners should still have a strong front four in the rotation between now and then as long as everyone is healthy. Luis Castillo and Marco Gonzales are both still under contract next year while both George Kirby and Logan Gilbert are still many years from qualifying for free agency. The final spot is a little less certain since Chris Flexen has been struggling and is slated for free agency after this season anyway. Prospect Bryce Miller was called up recently to start an audition and Ryan Divish of The Seattle Times reported that it wasn’t going to be just a spot start. That was before Miller debuted and tossed six innings against the A’s, allowing just one earned run on two hits and no walks while striking out 10. It’s best not to read too much into just one game, but given that the club planned on giving him a lengthy stay in the rotation anyway and he dominated his first time out, he seems to have a legitimate chance at securing a rotation spot going forward.

Athletics Recall JJ Bleday

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The Athletics announced today that outfielder JJ Bleday has been recalled from Triple-A Las Vegas, with fellow outfielder Conner Capel optioned to Vegas in a corresponding move. Bleday is in tonight’s lineup, batting fifth and playing left field.

This will be the first appearance as an Athletic for Bleday, who came over from the Marlins this winter in a one-for-one trade with A.J. Puk going the other way. The fourth overall selection of the 2019 draft, Bleday has been considered one of the top prospects in the league but has had an inconsistent professional career thus far. He struggled in Double-A in 2021 but hit well enough in Triple-A last year to get a 65-game audition in the big leagues. He walked in 12.6% of his plate appearances in the majors but also struck out 28.2% of the time and slashed .167/.277/.309 for a wRC+ of 72.

The Marlins decided to move on from him and flipped him for Puk, but Bleday is making some noise so far this year. In 119 plate appearances in Triple-A, he’s walked more than he’s struck out, a 16.8% rate of free passes compared to just a 12.6% clip for the punchouts. His .316/.429/.643 batting line needs to be taken with a grain of salt because he’s playing in the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League, but it’s still 50% above league average, as shown by his 150 wRC+.

Bleday will now see if he can fare better against major league pitchers this year than he did last year. If he’s able to play well enough to stick around, it could have ramifications on the business side of things. Bleday earned 75 days of service time with the Marlins last year, meaning he’s 97 shy of the 172 that are required to get to the one-year mark. With about five months left in the season, there’s still a chance for him to get over the line and be on track for arbitration after 2025 and free agency after 2028. However, future optional assignments could push those targets back.

If Bleday does hit the ground running and emerge as a key piece for the A’s, it doesn’t currently seem like the Marlins will have too much regret. Puk has been absolutely lights out so far this year, posting a 0.75 ERA through 12 innings pitched, striking out 27.1% of batters faced while walking just 4.2%. That performance seems to have vaulted him into the closer’s seat, as he’s racked up five saves on the year so far.

Turning back to Bleday, he’ll jump into the outfield mix in Oakland next to some other players looking to prove themselves. Rookie Esteury Ruiz is getting most of the playing time in center while Ramón Laureano is the regular in right, looking to get back into a groove after his PED suspension and shaky return last year. Brent Rooker is also in the mix, having a tremendous season at the plate thus far, but has been frequently in the designated hitter slot of late.

José Quijada To Undergo Tommy John Surgery

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Angels left-hander José Quijada will undergo Tommy John surgery, manager Phil Nevin tells reporters, including Sam Blum of The Athletic.

The news doesn’t come as a total shock, since it was reported yesterday that the lefty had some ligament damage in his elbow and was headed for a second opinion before deciding on next steps. It seems that the second opinion didn’t provide any way for Quijada to avoid his fate and he will now go under the knife. He will miss the remainder of the 2023 season and likely at least half of 2024 as well, given the typical recovery period of 14 to 18 months.

The 27-year-old began his career with the Marlins but has been an Angel since being claimed off waivers prior to the 2020 season. Overall, he has a 4.89 ERA in his career, spanning 118 major league appearances. He’s struck out 30.6% of batters faced, walked 13.8% of them and got grounders at a 35.3% clip. He’s earned some high-leverage work in that time, racking up eight saves and 26 holds.

The Halos will now have to navigate the rest of the season without Quijada and part of next year as well. They won’t be hurting for left-handers in the short term, as they have four in their starting rotation and then have Matt Moore, Aaron Loup and Tucker Davidson in the bullpen.

Quijada is already on the 15-day injured list and will be moved to the 60-day whenever the Angels need his roster spot. He’ll spend the remainder of the season there and will cross three years of service time in the process, which will allow him to qualify for arbitration for the first time this winter.

Cardinals’ Rule 5 Pick Wilking Rodriguez Undergoes Shoulder Surgery

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Cardinals righty Wilking Rodriguez, whom they selected from the Yankees in the 2022 Rule 5 Draft, underwent arthroscopic shoulder surgery today and will miss the next four to six months, manager Oli Marmol announced to reporters (Twitter link via Jeff Jones of the Belleville News-Democrat).

The surgery likely ends Rodriguez’s season. He’ll spend the entire season on the Cardinals’ big league injured list, which won’t wipe away his Rule 5 status. The Cards will have the right to keep Rodriguez if they’re comfortable carrying him on the 40-man roster all offseason and putting him on the Opening Day roster in 2024. He’d still need 90 days on the active roster next season before he’d shed his Rule 5 designation and be eligible to be optioned to the minors.

Rodriguez, 33, is a rather remarkable story. Eight years have elapsed since his last season of affiliated ball, and it’s been nine years since his lone MLB stint with the Royals. He’s been a regular in the Venezuelan Winter League and, more recently, in the Mexican League, where he’s been particularly impressive of late. From 2021-22, Rodriguez tossed 73 innings of 2.71 ERA ball, including a 2.01 ERA and 43.2% strikeout rate in 44 2/3 frames last year.

The Yankees saw that production and signed Rodriguez to a minor league deal back in August. However, Rodriguez had so much minor league service from with the Rays, Reds, Royals and Yanks themselves from 2007-15, that he was eligible for selection when the Rule 5 Draft rolled around. The Cardinals selected him, hoping to plug Rodriguez’s power arm into the bullpen. Things won’t play out that way, and only time will tell whether the Cardinals want to carry the experiment over into the 2024 campaign. For now, Rodriguez will accrue MLB service time and pay so long as he’s on the Cardinals’ Major League disabled list.

Cubs Trade Luis Torrens To Orioles

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The Orioles have acquired catcher Luis Torrens from the Cubs in exchange for cash, per a team announcement. Right-hander Joey Krehbiel was designated for assignment in order to open a spot on the 40-man roster.

Torrens, 26, signed a minor league deal with the Cubs in the offseason. He appeared in 13 games for them this season but tallied only 22 plate appearances, going 5-for-20 with a double, a walk and eight strikeouts in that time (.250/.318/.300).

Prior to that brief run in Chicago, Torrens spent two years with the Mariners after coming over alongside Ty France and Andres Munoz in the trade sending Austin Nola, Austin Adams and Dan Altavilla to the Padres. In 799 Major League plate appearances, he’s a .227/.289/.352 hitter with 19 long balls, a 26% strikeout rate and a 7.8% walk rate. While he wasn’t especially productive in his time with Seattle, he did make a fair bit of hard contact, averaging 91 mph off the bat and putting 45.7% of his batted balls in play at an exit velocity of at least 95 mph.

Defensively, Torrens has drawn below-average grades from Defensive Runs Saved and most pitch-framing metrics. He has a career 21.7% caught-stealing rate that’s below the league average, and he came up empty in his only attempt to throw a runner out with the Cubs. He did throw out nine of 28 attempted thieves (32.1%) as recently as last season.

Torrens is out of minor league options, so the Orioles will carry him on the big league roster. That’ll give them three catching options, as he’ll join 2022 Rookie of the Year runner-up Adley Rutschman and veteran James McCann on Baltimore’s roster.

Krehbiel, 30, hasn’t pitched in the Majors this season but logged 57 2/3 innings out of Baltimore’s bullpen in 2022, notching a solid 3.90 ERA with a below-average 18.4% strikeout rate but a sharp 7.4% walk rate. Overall, her has a 3.78 ERA in 69 Major League frames between the D-backs, Rays and O’s.

The 2023 season has been rough for Krehbiel, however. While he’s sporting a 2.00 ERA in nine Triple-A frames, he’s also walked more batters (seven) than he’s struck out (six) and has plunked another hitter. That’s nearly 22% of Krehbiel’s opponents that have either drawn a free pass or reached via hit-by-pitch. Even beyond those command woes, Krehbiel’s broader numbers in Triple-A (5.34 ERA in 175 1/3 innings) are actually worse than his big league output.

The Orioles will have a week to trade Krehbiel or attempt to pass him through outright waivers. He’s been outrighted once before, so even if he goes unclaimed, he’d have the right to elect free agency if he chooses.

Royals Select Austin Cox

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The Royals announced Wednesday that they’ve selected the contract of left-hander Austin Cox from Triple-A Omaha. Righty Jose Cuas was optioned to Omaha to open a spot on the active roster, and southpaw Kris Bubic was transferred from the 15-day IL to the 60-day IL to clear space on the 40-man roster.

Cox, 26, was Kansas City’s fifth-round pick out of Mercer University back in 2018. He’s opened the season with 20 1/3 innings of 2.21 ERA ball but a 22-to-11 K/BB ratio in Omaha. Cox is currently sporting a career-best 53.5% ground-ball rate in this year’s small sample of innings — a stark increase from the 37.5% mark he posted in 147 2/3 innings of Triple-A ball in 2022. Last season, Cox worked to a 4.21 ERA in Omaha, fanning just 16.2% of opponents but posting a strong 7.7% walk rate.

During the Royals’ most recent rebuilding effort, they spent a couple years putting an emphasis on college pitchers early in the draft, and Cox is a product of that strategy. It hasn’t panned out yet for Kansas City, however, as they’ve yet to produce a reliable big league starter from the experiment. Brady Singer certainly looked to be that during a breakout 2022 season, but he’s been torched for 28 earned runs in 29 2/3 innings this season. Other notable college draftees include Bubic, Daniel Lynch, Jackson Kowar, Asa Lacy, Alec Marsh, Grant Gambrell and Jonathan Bowlan, among others, but the development on that group simply hasn’t gone as hoped, whether due to injury or poor performance.

The Royals didn’t announce Cox as a starter for any of their upcoming games, so he could well head to the bullpen for his initial MLB assignment. That said, Kansas City starting pitchers have combined for a ghastly 5.80 ERA on the season, so there ought to be ample opportunity for Cox to eventually break into the group. Brad Keller and the injured Bubic —  who’ll miss the rest of the season following Tommy John surgery — are the only Royals starters with ERAs under 6.00. Zack Greinke (6.10), Jordan Lyles (6.11), Singer (8.49) and Ryan Yarbrough (7.40) have all struggled enormously to begin the year.

Liam Hendriks To Begin Rehab Assignment

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2:52pm: Grifol announced this afternoon that Hendriks will indeed begin a rehab assignment this weekend (Twitter link via Scott Merkin of MLB.com). He’ll need at least four or five outings before he’s ready to join the Major League club.

11:11am: White Sox closer Liam Hendriks, who announced just two weeks ago that he’s cancer-free after a battle with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, is expected to head out on a minor league rehab assignment this weekend, per Daryl Van Schouwen of the Chicago Sun-Times. Manager Pedro Grifol said that Hendriks “should be back here in the near future.”

The mere fact that Hendriks successfully overcame that frightening diagnosis is already one of the feel-good stories of 2023, and the possibility that he could be back on a big league mound sometime later this month is similarly heartening. It’s welcome news not only for the White Sox and their fans, but for the baseball world as a whole. Hendriks has played for five different big league clubs and endeared himself to countless fans with his ebullient personality, his fiery on-field celebrations and, of course, his elite performance in recent seasons.

The 34-year-old Hendriks went from journeyman starter to world-class closer in short order, breaking out with an All-Star showing in 2019. He saved 25 games for the A’s that season and pitched to a 1.80 ERA over the life of 85 innings. He hasn’t slowed down since, evidenced by a 2.26 ERA, 114 saves, a 38.8% strikeout rate and a 5.1% walk rate in his past 239 big league innings.

Not much has gone right for the White Sox in 2023, but Hendriks’ looming return should provide an emotional boost and a breath of fresh air in the clubhouse. He’ll also surely help to solidify a bullpen that currently has MLB’s second-worst collective ERA (6.68), second-highest walk rate (11.7%) and highest HR/9 mark by a landslide (1.82).

The Sox haven’t specified how many rehab appearances Hendriks will require, though that information could come later today. Van Schouwen notes that Hendriks has been pitching in minor league games at the White Sox’ spring facility already, so he’s not starting out from scratch. His rehab window can last for a maximum of 30 days, so barring any kind of setback, Hendriks figures to return no later than early June.

Rays Place Pete Fairbanks On Injured List, Select Chase Anderson

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The Rays have placed right-hander Pete Fairbanks on the 15-day injured list due to inflammation in his right forearm and selected the contract of veteran righty Chase Anderson, whom they acquired from the Reds in exchange for cash earlier this morning. Right-hander Zack Burdi was designated for assignment in order to open a spot on the 40-man roster for Anderson.

Fairbanks has been unavailable for the past couple of days due to symptoms of Raynaud’s disease, which can trigger circulatory issues and slow bloodflow. That’s presented itself in the form of numbness in Fairbanks’ fingers. However, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times tweets that the forearm injury is not related to those symptoms but rather has been something that’s bothered Fairbanks on and off this season. Fairbanks tells Topkin he expects to return after a minimal stay on the injured list.

While Fairbanks hasn’t allowed an earned run in 7 2/3 innings this season, he hasn’t been nearly as dominant as he was in 2022, when he averaged 99.2 mph on his heater and fanned 43.7% of his opponents against a brilliant 3.4% walk rate. We’re looking at a much smaller sample in 2023, of course, but Fairbanks’ velocity is “down” to an average of 98 mph, and he’s sporting just a 19.4% strikeout rate against an ugly 12.9% walk rate. The Rays will hope that some downtime can get him closer to his ’22 form sooner than later.

Anderson, 35, was with the Rays’ Triple-A club last year but didn’t pitch for the big league squad. He opened the year with a 4.30 ERA in 23 innings for Cincinnati’s Triple-A club in Louisville, though his 19-to-13 K/BB ratio is obviously troublesome. Anderson had an opt-out clause in his minor league deal with the Reds that he’d either already exercised — giving the Reds 48 hours to add him to the active roster or release him — or planned to exercise. The Reds clearly didn’t want to displace anyone from their roster to bring Anderson back to the big leagues, but the Rays saw him differently.

It’s possible it’ll be a brief stint with Tampa Bay for Anderson, just was it was for Burdi and for veteran reliever Heath Hembree before him. The Rays have been regularly cycling names through the final spot of their bullpen in an effort to have as many fresh arms as possible available to complement their core relievers. With nearly eight years of MLB service time under his belt, Anderson brings plenty of experience to the table. He’s struggled mightily since 2020 but from 2014-19 was a solid fourth starter with Arizona and Milwaukee, pitching to a 3.94 ERA in 857 innings.

Burdi, 28, is a former first-round pick whose career has been derailed by injuries, most notably Tommy John surgery in 2018 and a torn patellar tendon in 2019. The former Louisville standout has been tagged for 15 earned runs in just 20 1/3 Major League frames.

That includes a sharp couple outings with the Rays during this most recent stint. He fired three shutout innings, allowing just one hit and one walk with four punchouts. That wasn’t enough to keep him on the roster for a larger look, however.

In Triple-A, Burdi carries a 4.81 ERA in 86 career innings. He’s fanned 32.5% of his opponents at the top minor league level, thanks in part to a blistering fastball, but he’s also issued walks at an untenable 13.5% clip. The Rays will have a week to trade him or attempt to pass him through outright waivers.

Marlins Designate Johan Quezada, Select Devin Smeltzer

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The Marlins announced a handful of roster moves Wednesday, designating righty Johan Quezada for assignment and selecting the contract of lefty Devin Smeltzer (who’d cleared outright waivers earlier today) in his place. Miami also placed first baseman Garrett Cooper on the injured list due to an inner ear infection and recalled outfielder Peyton Burdick from Triple-A.

The Quezada/Smeltzer swap is a swift reversal of the Marlins’ transaction earlier this week, wherein Smeltzer was designated for assignment and Quezada was selected from Triple-A. Quezada was tagged for three runs and issued five walks in just two-thirds of an inning during his lone appearance before the DFA. Smeltzer, meanwhile, would’ve had the right to reject that outright assignment, but the promise of an immediate call back to the big leagues surely made it easy for him to accept and remain with the organization.

The 27-year-old Smeltzer posted a 6.75 ERA in 12 innings with the Marlins prior to his DFA, though the bulk of that damage came in one mop-up relief outing. He’s tossed seven innings of one-run ball prior to his initial removal from the 40-man roster and carries an overall 4.20 ERA in 152 career innings at the MLB level, most of which came with the Twins. He’s never missed many bats (career 16.4% strikeout rate) but has good command (6.4% walk rate) and has worked as both a starter and reliever in his career.

Cooper, 32, got out to a productive start but has slumped of late. He’s still hitting a respectable .272/.306/.413 on the season, but that’s a ways off the quietly strong .274/.350/.444 he’s turned in over the past four seasons. Cooper’s production at the plate would surely garner more attention if he were able to stay in the lineup with a greater degree of regularity, but trips to the injured list are nothing new for him. Just dating back to the 2021 season, he’s missed time due to a broken finger, a concussion, an elbow sprain, a lumbar strain and a wrist injury. Since 2019, he’s played in just 61.6% of the Marlins’ total games.

Burdick made his big league debut last year but struggled, batting .207/.284/.380 in his first 102 big league plate appearances. The 26-year-old is on a blistering hot streak in Triple-A Jacksonville, however, hitting .293/.381/.636 overall and an even gaudier .365/.429/.810 with eight homers over his past 15 games. For a Marlins club that could badly use some more offensive production — particularly in right field, where Avisail Garcia has again struggled — it’s worth finding out if he can carry any of that over to the big league level.

Diamondbacks Designate Seth Beer For Assignment

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The D-backs announced Wednesday that they’ve designated first baseman/designated hitter Seth Beer for assignment. His spot on the 40-man roster will go to top pitching prospect Brandon Pfaadt, whose previously reported promotion has now been formally announced by the team. Righty Peter Solomon was optioned to Triple-A Reno to clear a spot for Pfaadt on the 26-man roster. Pfaadt will make his MLB debut and start today’s game for Arizona.

Beer, 26, was acquired from the Astros alongside Josh Rojas, Corbin Martin and J.B. Bukauskas in the 2019 deadline trade that sent Zack Greinke to Houston. He’s seen brief MLB time in the past two seasons but posted a .208/.294/.292 batting line in a total of 136 plate appearances.

Broadly speaking, Beer has a much more productive track record in Triple-A, where he’s batted .260/.370/.460 with 32 home runs, 55 doubles, an 18.2% strikeout rate and a 9.7% walk rate in 916 trips to the plate. That said, the year-to-year breakdown of Beer’s Triple-A production is less encouraging. After posting a strong .287/.398/.511 batting line there in 2021 (128 wRC+), his numbers dipped to about league-average in 2022 and have fallen all the way to a .200/.266/.314 slash in 79 plate appearances to begin the current season.

Beer, the No. 28 overall pick in the 2018 draft, was always viewed as a bat-first prospect who’d need to hit at a very high level to justify his lack of speed and defensive upside. He did that up through the 2021 season, but the past two years have brought about a downturn. That said, he still has a minor league option remaining beyond the current season, so a team in need of a left-handed bat with some power potential could view the 26-year-old as an intriguing buy-low candidate. The D-backs will have a week to trade Beer or attempt to pass him through outright waivers. If he were to go unclaimed, he wouldn’t have the ability to decline the assignment, as he has neither three years of MLB service nor a prior outright assignment in his career.

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