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Matthew Boyd Undergoes Tommy John Surgery

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JUNE 28: Boyd underwent successful surgery in Dallas this morning, Stavenhagen tweets.

JUNE 27: The Tigers have informed reporters, including Cody Stavenhagen of The Athletic, that left-hander Matthew Boyd will require Tommy John surgery. The club also announced a slate of moves, with right-hander Matt Manning activated from the 60-day injured list and left-hander Anthony Misiewicz recalled from Triple-A Toledo. Boyd has been placed on the 60-day IL while right-hander Will Vest has been placed on the 15-day IL with a right lower leg strain.

The news comes as a very unfortunate development for both Boyd and the Tigers. The left-hander already missed a significant chunk of time in recent seasons as he required flexor tendon surgery in September of 2021 which forced him to miss roughly a full year. He returned in September of last year and was able to toss 13 1/3 innings down the stretch.

The Tigers took a chance on Boyd being able to return to form, signing him in the offseason to a one-year, $10MM deal. The club was coming off a nightmare 2022 season wherein they went 66-96 and lost pitchers like Casey Mize and Tarik Skubal to surgeries that would keep them out well into the 2023 season. They were undoubtedly hoping that Boyd could serve as a stabilizing force and perhaps turn into a trade candidate by midseason if they were again out of contention.

He made 15 starts with an elevated 5.45 ERA, though that was likely inflated by a 62% strand rate. Due to his 24.1% strikeout rate and 8.3% walk rate, his 4.36 FIP and 4.16 SIERA indicate he deserved better results. Given the pitching injuries around the league, plenty of clubs would have looked past the ERA and called up Detroit for trade talks but none of that will happen now. Boyd will miss the remainder of the 2023 season and much of the 2024 campaign as well.

On a personal level, it has to be incredibly frustrating for Boyd. From 2016 to 2019, he was a serviceable rotation member in Detroit, tossing 588 innings with a 4.67 ERA. But he then struggled in 2020 and has since endured three straight injury-shortened campaigns, with next year sure to be a fourth.

For the Tigers, this is the latest in a brutal succession of serious surgeries required for their starting staff. Each of Boyd, Mize, Skubal and Spencer Turnbull have required either Tommy John or flexor tendon surgery in the past few years. In addition to that, pitchers like Manning, Eduardo Rodriguez, Alex Faedo and Beau Brieske have dealt with other ailments that have pushed them to the injured list.

Manning is at least able to return today with Skubal and Rodriguez not too far behind him. That group will join a rotation mix that also consists of Michael Lorenzen, Joey Wentz and Reese Olson, though Lorenzen could find himself on the trade block this summer as he’s an impending free agent with a 3.97 ERA. The Tigers have a 34-43 record and would make sense as sellers, though they are only 4.5 games out in the weak American League Central. The mounting injuries will make it hard for them to stay in the race but the impending returns of some of those injured players could perhaps help them stay afloat.

Pirates Promote Jared Triolo, Place Ke’Bryan Hayes On IL

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The Pirates announced that they have recalled infielder Jared Triolo from Triple-A. He’ll be making his major league debut as soon as he gets into a game. He’ll take the roster spot of third baseman Ke’Bryan Hayes, who has been placed on the 10-day injured list with low back inflammation, retroactive to June 25. Jason Mackey of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette noted Triolo’s presence at the ballpark prior to the official announcement.

Triolo, now 25, was selected by the Pirates with the 72nd overall pick in the 2019 draft. He got a brief professional debut that year but then the minor leagues were canceled by the pandemic in 2020.  He spent 2021 at High-A, hitting 15 home runs in 108 games and slashing .304/.369/.480 for a wRC+ of 128 while stealing 25 bases.

He got bumped to Double-A last year and seemed to have less power but with better discipline. He only hit nine home runs in 112 games but his walk rate jumped from 8.9% to 12.7% as his strikeout rate dropped from 19.9% to 17.6%. He hit .282/.376/.419 overall for a 121 wRC+ and swiped another 24 bags.

The Bucs added Triolo to their 40-man roster in November to prevent him from being selected in the Rule 5 draft. Coming into this year, he was ranked the club’s #15 prospect (since moved to #16) by Baseball America, #9 by FanGraphs and #15 by Keith Law of The Athletic. He’s generally considered an excellent defender at third base but has been moved around to other positions because of the presence of Hayes. In addition to third, he’s also spent some time at the other infield positions and in center field as well.

Here in 2023, he hit a speed bump when he required hamate surgery in early April. That delayed his 2023 debut into early May. He’s played 37 Triple-A games this year with just one home run and a 27.7% strikeout rate, but he’s walked in 15.7% of his trips to the plate. His .293/.403 .436 overall line amounts to a 117 wRC+ and he’s tallied another eight steals. He’ll likely help cover third while Hayes is out but could potentially move to other positions if he performs well enough that the club decided to keep him around.

The Pirates were red hot in April but have cooled off lately. Their 36-42 record has them in fourth place in the National League Central but they are only five games off the lead. They are still acting like they want to put their best club on the field and stay in the fight, having recently promoted notable prospects like Henry Davis, Nick Gonzales and now Triolo.

As for Hayes, he last played on Saturday due to this back issue popping up. The fact that he wasn’t immediately placed on the IL suggests it may be a borderline case and he’ll therefore be back in action soon. Since the move is backdated, he could be back in a week if that is indeed the case. He’s continued to provide his excellent defense this year, having already tallied 10 Defensive Runs Saved and nine Outs Above Average. However, his offense remains subpar, with his .254/.290/.397 batting line amounting to a wRC+ of 84.

Elsewhere on the roster, the Bucs could soon welcome back first baseman Ji Man Choi and left-hander Rob Zastryzny from the injured list. They’ll each head to Triple-A Indianapolis for rehab assignments tonight, per Mackey.

Brewers Select Thomas Pannone, Option Peter Strzelecki

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The Brewers announced that they have selected the contract of left-hander Thomas Pannone, with righty Peter Strzelecki optioned to Triple-A in a corresponding move. The club already had a vacancy for Pannone on their 40-man roster.

Pannone, 29, signed a minor league deal with the Brewers in the offseason and has been faring well in Triple-A this year. He’s tossed 53 1/3 innings over 11 appearances, nine of those being starts. He has a 2.70 ERA, 23.1% strikeout rate, 6% walk rate and 37.7% ground ball rate. That performance will get him back up to the big leagues for the first time in a few years. He made 49 appearances as a swingman for the Blue Jays over 2018 and 2019 with 5.43 ERA.

It’s unclear what sort of role the Brewers envision for the lefty. Their rotation seems set on paper with Corbin Burnes, Freddy Peralta, Wade Miley, Julio Teheran and Colin Rea taking the five spots. Teheran has generally fared well this year but it’s his first meaningful big league action since 2020 and he was lit up in his last start, allowing seven earned runs against the Mets yesterday.

Though Pannone has been working as a starter in the minors, it’s possible that he’ll be installed in the bullpen. The club has been operating with Hoby Milner as its only left-handed reliever and Pannone would give them another option in that department. It’s also possible that his multi-inning abilities are the important thing, regardless of handedness. The club is in the midst of a stretch of playing 17 consecutive days, which will last until the All-Star break. Pannone’s abilities to work in long relief could prevent the other relievers from becoming overly taxed.

In order to make room for Pannone, the club has made the somewhat surprising decision to option Strzelecki. He posted a 2.83 ERA last year and was bumped into higher leverage situations this year, having already tallied 14 holds. His strikeout rate has dropped from last year’s 27% rate to 23.7% this year, but he’s also lowered his walk rate from 10.1% to 6.4%. His ERA has jumped to 4.54 but his 3.79 FIP and 3.60 SIERA suggest there’s at least some bad luck in there. Nonetheless, the club will send him down to Nashville for the time being.

Giants, Jakson Reetz Agree To Minor League Deal

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The Giants have agreed to a minor league contract with free-agent catcher Jakson Reetz, per the team’s transaction log at MLB.com. The Warner Sports Management client recently opted out of a minor league deal with the Royals after playing well for their Triple-A affiliate but not getting a call to the big leagues.

In 106 plate appearances with Triple-A Omaha this season, Reetz hit .274/.349/.526 with four homers and a dozen doubles. His 8.5% walk rate was solid, but Reetz’s 32.1% strikeout rate is obviously a number he’d prefer to curtail moving forward with his new organization.

Reetz, 27, has had the briefest of big league experience, tallying two plate appearances with the 2021 Nationals and going 1-for-2 with a double. The 2014 third-round pick is a career .242/.316/.480 hitter with 14 homers, 20 doubles and a triple in 304 Triple-A plate appearances, and he was long considered one of the 30 best prospects in Washington’s system over at Baseball America.

Defensively, Reetz has a solid reputation. BA’s scouting reports on him praised his receiving and blocking skills alike. Baseball Prospectus has credited him with average or better framing marks dating back to his 2018 season in High-A. He also touts a 30% caught-stealing mark in his minor league career, which would be well above league-average. (He’s a more pedestrian 5-of-29 so far in 2023 — a 17% success rate.)

The Giants are giving 2020 first-round pick Patrick Bailey a chance to cement himself behind the dish in San Francisco, and so far he’s run with the opportunity. In his first 111 plate appearances, Bailey is hitting .320/.349/.534 with four homers, eight doubles and a triple. A BABIP just over .400 points to some eventual regression, but the early results are encouraging.

Behind Bailey, the Giants have been using Rule 5 catcher/outfielder Blake Sabol as the primary backup. San Francisco also has former No. 2 overall pick Joey Bart on the 40-man roster down in Triple-A, and journeyman Jacob Nottingham is also with the team’s Triple-A club in Sacramento (though not on the organization’s 40-man roster). Reetz will give them some additional depth behind the plate, and he also saw 160 innings in left field while in the Brewers’ system a year ago.

Injury Notes: Wilson, Rucinski, Stewart

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Brewers left-hander Justin Wilson began a rehab assignment yesterday, per Adam McCalvy of MLB.com. The lefty required Tommy John surgery in June of last year and Milwaukee signed him knowing that he would miss the first half of 2023 even in a best-case scenario. He’s making $850K this year and the club has a $2.5MM option for next season with a $150K buyout.

The 35-year-old has plenty of experience as a solid left-handed reliever, having appeared in 527 career games with an ERA of 3.41. He’s struck out 25.9% of batters faced, walked 10.7% of them and kept the ball on the ground at a 46.8% rate. If he’s able to get healthy and back to his old self, he could give the club a second lefty in the bullpen alongside Hoby Milner.

Wilson will likely need some time to get into game shape, but the fact that he’s beginning a rehab assignment barely a year after going under the knife is an encouraging sign that things are progressing well. His health and performance down the stretch will undoubtedly impact how much interest the Brewers have in picking up that option.

Some other health notes from around the league…

  • Athletics right-hander Drew Rucinski has had a frustrating season in the health department and those frustrations seem to be continuing. He landed on the injured list in late May due to a stomach illness but that was followed by a low-grade MCL sprain in his right knee suffered during a bullpen session. Now Martín Gallegos of MLB.com relays that Rucinski will be undergoing MRIs on his left hip and lower back due to some apparent degenerative changes. That testing will hopefully shed some light on what’s ahead for the righty, whose return to North America isn’t going as hoped. He parlayed a strong performance in the KBO into a $3MM deal with the A’s plus a $5MM club option for 2024. He began the year on the IL due to a hamstring strain then got healthy enough to make four starts, allowing 18 earned runs in 18 innings before this recent cascade of setbacks. He’s already been transferred to the 60-day injured list and isn’t eligible to return until late July.
  • Twins right-hander Brock Stewart was placed on the 15-day injured list yesterday, retroactive to June 26, with right elbow soreness. His agent Joe Speed told Darren Wolfson of Skor North that it wasn’t a big issue and expressed confidence that Stewart would be able to contribute in the second half of the season. Manager Rocco Baldelli also seemed to think it wouldn’t be a huge problem, telling Bobby Nightengale of the Star Tribune that it appeared to be a minor bout of tendinitis. If it ultimately proves to be true that it’s no big deal, that’s a tremendous break for the Twins. Stewart has been utterly dominant this year, with an ERA of 0.70 through 25 2/3 innings, striking out 35.4% of opponents against an 11.1% walk rate. It’s been an incredible comeback story for a guy who is in the big leagues for the first time since 2019 and the club would undoubtedly be thrilled if he could make a quick return after the All-Star break.

Ohtani Homers Twice In A Start For The First Time, Ks 10

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Shohei Ohtani once again reminded the baseball world that he’s one-of-a-kind with an electrifying two-way performance Tuesday night against the White Sox. 

The 2021 AL MVP went 3-for-3 with two homers and two RBIs, continuing his tear at the plate in June, while also pitching 6 ⅓ innings of one-run ball and striking out 10. The second homer came in the bottom of the seventh inning, despite a cracked fingernail that forced him to leave the mound. He now leads the Majors in both homers and runs batted in, with 28 homers and 64 RBIs.

“I do want to stay on schedule,” Ohtani said regarding his next start. “We don’t want to force it [the cracked fingernail] but for me, I always want to go out and pitch.”

According to Opta Stats, Ohtani is the first player since 1890 to reach base 4+ times, hit 2+ homers, and strike out 10 batters all in the same game. 

Ohtani now has a 3.02 ERA on the season, with a 33.2 K% and 10.2 BB%, holding hitters to a .180 batting average. 

It was a balanced game plan for Ohtani, who relied on a combination of his four-seam fastball, cutter, sweeper, and splitter. The splitter was particularly untouchable Wednesday night, as Ohtani was able to get five whiffs on six swings on the pitch. 

“I was able to stick to the game plan and execute it well, except for the end when the nail got worse,” Ohtani said. “I was able to put hitters away, and my only regret is that I couldn’t finish the inning.”

Ohtani’s excellent June on the mound and especially at the plate has vaulted the Angels into the Wild Card race with a 44-37 record. If their infield injury crisis does not catch up with them and Ohtani is able to maintain this torrid performance in the next few weeks, the Halos have a strong chance at securing their first playoff berth since 2014. 

“It definitely helps when the team is winning,” Ohtani said. “Winning improves our approach to the game and personally I feel like I do better. ”

It will be a pivotal July for the Angels franchise. Despite GM Perry Minasian’s comments last week, contending teams will certainly be monitoring Ohtani’s availability should the Angels hit a rough patch in the weeks leading up to the trade deadline on August 1.

In the meantime, Ohtani will get a chance to bring his ERA below 3.00 for the first time since May 27 in his next start, which barring any complications with the fingernail, will be against the Padres on July 4. 

Follow Pro Hockey Rumors For NHL Draft Coverage

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The first round of the 2023 NHL Draft starts tonight, and Pro Hockey Rumors is your destination for draft coverage, trades, and rumors throughout the two-day event!

Last season saw a few big names moved at the draft, and we’re expected to see some more big moves over the coming days. Some big-time news has already come in, such as 2016 top-five pick Pierre-Luc Dubois heading to Los Angeles and the New Jersey Devils locking in Timo Meier on a massive extension.

The Chicago Blackhawks hold tonight’s first overall pick, and they’ll be the lucky team where the most coveted prospect in nearly a decade will start his career. Center Connor Bedard is in the conversation with Alex Ovechkin, Connor McDavid, Sidney Crosby, and Auston Matthews as a true generational talent.

The Anaheim Ducks hold the second pick and are expected to draft University of Michigan center Adam Fantilli, who became only the third freshman ever to win the Hobey Baker Award for the top player in college hockey. There’s some room for surprise, though, especially with Russian forward Matvei Michkov. Michkov is widely regarded to be the best prospect out of Russia since Ovechkin, but could fall out of the first few selections given his contract status overseas and the ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine – potentially to Ovechkin’s Washington Capitals, who hold the eighth overall pick.

Pro Hockey Rumors will have coverage of all of the above, keeping track of draft selections as they come in while keeping you updated on trades, signings, and rumors. It’s the busiest time of the year for NHL fans, so keep up with Pro Hockey Rumors and follow @ProHockeyRumors on Twitter for instant analysis on every move!

Red Sox Notes: Deadline, Houck

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At 40-40, the Red Sox sit 13 games behind the division-leading Rays but are a more manageable three and a half games back in the American League Wild Card chase. A month of strong play or a month of poor play would drastically alter the team’s postseason hopes, and chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom tells Alex Speier of the Boston Globe that the team’s play over the next several weeks will determine the front office’s approach to the Aug. 1 trade deadline.

“If we’re able to play well, and that should make us more aggressive,” said Bloom. “…That frankly dictates how you go into the deadline and what you’re looking to accomplish.”

The Red Sox, like many teams in today’s MLB, walked the line between traditional “buyer” and “seller” at the 2022 trade deadline. Veterans Jake Diekman and Christian Vazquez were traded away, but Boston also acquired a big league catcher (Reese McGuire) in that Diekman swap and swung separate trades to acquire veterans Tommy Pham and Eric Hosmer. The Sox wound up hanging onto veterans Rich Hill, Michael Wacha, J.D. Martinez, Nathan Eovaldi and Xander Bogaerts despite all five being on the cusp of free agency. (Boston ended up narrowly exceeding the luxury-tax line, thus reducing their draft compensation for Eovaldi and Bogaerts, who rejected qualifying offers.)

Bloom’s wait-and-see approach is one being employed by many teams right now. The Red Sox are one of six American League teams within six games of a playoff spot. Over in the National League, there are another four non-playoff teams that are currently fewer than six games back from positioning themselves for a spot. Understandably, those clubs aren’t yet giving up hope on their season. Some may become sellers closer to the deadline, while others will surely play their way into clear-cut buyer status. Broadly speaking, given the parity throughout the league and the increased frequency with which teams are willing to cash in Major League assets who have dwindling club control, many clubs will take that same hybrid buy/sell approach that the 2022 Red Sox took at last year’s deadline. Boston itself could certainly do so again.

As is the case with many baseball operations leaders, Bloom spoke in generalities and didn’t detail what his club might seek on the market should they end up looking to add pieces. Rotation help is an obvious need in Boston, however, evidenced both by a 4.89 ERA from their starters (26th in MLB) and by the trio of starters on the injured list at present. Chris Sale, Corey Kluber and Tanner Houck are all on the shelf, leaving the Sox with a rotation of James Paxton, Brayan Bello, Garrett Whitlock and Kutter Crawford at the moment. That group has performed well of late, it should be noted, with Paxton in particular thriving now that he’s finally healthy. However, the depth beyond the current staff is thin, at best, and there are both health (Paxton) and workload (Whitlock) concerns among the bunch.

A timeline for Houck, who recently underwent surgery after being struck in the face by a comeback line drive, hasn’t been fully clear since he incurred that frightening injury. Sean McAdam of MassLive.com now reports that Houck is unlikely to return before August. The right-hander hasn’t thrown in two weeks and will still need additional time to recover from a procedure that inserted a small plate into his cheekbone. It’ll be a long enough layoff that Houck will need to build arm strength back up and go out on a minor league rehab assignment.

Houck, 26, has had an up-and-down season while seeking to establish himself as a long-term option in the Boston rotation. At the time of his injury, he was sitting on a 5.05 ERA through 67 2/3 innings, although his strikeout rate, walk rate, ground-ball rate and average on balls in play were all right in line with his 2022 levels, when he posted a tidy 3.15 ERA in a similar sample of 60 innings. Houck has seen more than twice as many of the fly-balls he’s allowed leave the yard this season, which is the primary culprit for the ERA spike. He’ll apparently have to wait at least five weeks before he’s able to return to the mound and correct that ugly trend.

Reds Outright Randy Wynne

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Reds right-hander Randy Wynne went unclaimed on outright waivers and has been assigned to Triple-A Louisville, per a club announcement. He’ll remain with the organization but no longer occupy a spot on the 40-man roster.

Wynne, 30, made his big league debut earlier this month, tossing 2 1/3 innings and allowing a run on three hits and a walk. He’d been summoned from Louisville when a taxed and injury-riddled Cincinnati pitching staff needed a fresh arm, and Wynne found himself removed from the 40-man just one day after his debut in order for the Reds to get another fresh arm in the bullpen (righty Jake Wong, who’s now also been designated for assignment).

An undrafted free agent who spent three years in independent ball before the Reds signed him out of the Frontier League, Wynne is currently in his second season at the Triple-A level. He’s been tagged for a 5.12 ERA in 31 2/3 frames with Louisville this season and posted a 4.75 ERA in 133 2/3 innings there during the 2022 season. Wynne doesn’t throw particularly hard (89.4 mph average on his sinker) or miss many bats, but he’s displayed keen command of the strike zone throughout his time in pro ball, walking just 3.9% of his opponents between the minors and his brief big league tenure.

Red Sox, Dinelson Lamet Agree To Minor League Deal

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The Red Sox and right-hander Dinelson Lamet are in agreement on a minor league contract, per the team’s transaction log at MLB.com. The Rockies designated Lamet for assignment on June 17 and released him a week later.

It’s been a tough season for the 30-year-old Lamet, who missed multiple weeks due to a back injury and has been hit hard when healthy enough to take the mound. The 6’3″ righty pitched 25 2/3 innings with Colorado but was tattooed for 33 earned runs on 38 hits and a dismal 22 walks in that time. Lamet’s 31 strikeouts in those 25 2/3 frames look like a strong number, but because of all the walks and long innings, he’s actually only fanned 23.1% of his opponents — well below his career mark of 30.2%. His 16.4% walk rate, meanwhile, is a career-high mark.

Once one of the top pitchers in the National League, Lamet has endured a precipitous decline in recent seasons. The righty showed enormous strikeout potential early in his career with the Padres, but Tommy John surgery wiped out his 2018 season. He had a solid return in 2019 and looked to be taking his game to new heights in 2020, when he posted a 2.09 ERA, 34.8% strikeout rate and 7.5% walk rate in 69 innings during the shortened 2020 season — good for a fourth-place finish in NL Cy Young voting.

Lamet entered the 2021 season locked into San Diego’s rotation, but forearm injuries limited him to 47 innings with a pedestrian 4.40 ERA. He’s struggled to get back on track. In 58 frames between the Padres, Brewers and Rockies over the past two seasons, he’s yielded a grim 8.53 ERA. Lamet’s fastball, which averaged 97 mph in 2020, was sitting at 95 mph in this year’s 25 2/3 innings. His strikeout rate, swinging-strike rate, opponents’ chase rate, walk rate and home-run rate in 2023 are all at career-worst levels.

Obviously, the past few seasons do little to inspire confidence in a turnaround. However, the Rockies are on the hook for the remainder of Lamet’s $5MM salary, meaning the Red Sox would only owe him the prorated league minimum for any time spent on the MLB roster. In other words, the minor league deal amounts to a free look at a big arm who as recently as 2021 was viewed as a potential high-end starting pitcher. At the very least, Lamet can provide rotation or bullpen depth in Triple-A, and if the Sox are able to get him back on track in a way that the Rockies weren’t able, he’ll only cost them a few hundred thousand dollars down the stretch. If not, they can move on with minimal investment in this particular dice roll.

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