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Season-Ending Surgeries Possible For Christian Encarnacion-Strand, Brandon Williamson

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TODAY: Williamson will forego surgery for now, Bell told Mark Sheldon (X link) and other reporters, and has instead received injections in his ailing shoulder.  The southpaw will be shut down for at least three weeks to see how his shoulder responds to the treatment, and will then resume throwing if improvement is shown.

JUNE 11: Two players on the Reds may need to go under the knife, according to David Bell, as relayed by Mark Sheldon of MLB.com (X link) and Gordon Wittenmyer of the Cincinnati Enquirer (X link). Infielder Christian Encarnacion-Strand has ligament damage in his fractured hand while left-hander Brandon Williamson has a lesion in his shoulder. Both players will be evaluated in the coming days with season-ending surgery possible for each of them.

Encarnacion-Strand debuted with a splash last year, hitting 13 home runs in his first 63 major league games. He slashed .270/.328/.477 for a wRC+ of 112 while playing first and third base, as well as a brief stint in right field.

That showing got him the everyday first base gig coming into 2024, though the season hasn’t played out the way he or the club hoped. He produced a tepid line of .190/.220/.293 this year before landing on the injured list in early May. He had been hit on the hand by a pitch at the end of April. X-rays after that HBP were negative but revealed an “old fracture” in one of his bones, per Wittenmyer. He continued playing for a little bit longer before eventually being placed on the IL.

He’s been on the IL for over a month now and it seems some further testing discovered some ligament damage. “Surgery is an option,” Bell said today, per Charlie Goldsmith of the Cincinnati Enquirer on X. “We’re hopeful he can start progressing. If that’s what he and the specialist decide.”

As for Williamson, he’s been on the injured list all year due to a shoulder strain that was diagnosed in spring training. He had been on a rehab assignment of late but that was shut down last week due to continued discomfort.

Once a top 100 prospect, Williamson went from the Mariners to the Reds as part of the March 2022 trade that sent Eugenio Suárez and Jesse Winker to Seattle. Williamson made his major league debut last year with a 4.46 earned run average that obviously isn’t too exciting, but it’s perhaps notable that his results improved as he got acclimated to the majors. He had a5.82 ERA in his first eight outings but then a 3.79 ERA in his final 15.

The Reds’ season has been significantly affected by absences of potential contributors so far this year. Noelvi Marté received an 80-game PED suspension and has been away from the team all year, while players like Encarnacion-Strand, Williamson, Matt McLain, Nick Lodolo, TJ Friedl and others have missed time due to injuries.

Lodolo and Friedl have since returned to the club and McLain could perhaps rejoin the club in August. If either Encarnacion-Strand or Williamson or both end up requiring surgery, it will deprive the club of another such return later in the year.

The club slumped badly in May but have been quite hot of late, with seven wins in their past eight games. Their 32-34 record isn’t especially impressive but it puts them just half a game back of a playoff spot in the relatively weak National League playoff race. Assuming they hang around the postseason picture in the coming weeks, they may be able to address these issues, if the surgeries are eventually deemed necessary.

For now, Lodolo, Hunter Greene, Andrew Abbott and Frankie Montas are in four rotation spots with one opening due to the recent optioning of Graham Ashcraft. Internal options to fill the spot include Nick Martinez and Carson Spiers. Williamson would be in that mix if healthy but he would naturally be subtracted if he ends up undergoing the surgery.

On the infield, Spencer Steer has been the regular first baseman lately, with Jonathan India at second, Jeimer Candelario at third and Elly De La Cruz at shortstop, while the designated hitter spot has largely been used to rotate the club’s many outfielders into the lineup. If Encarnacion-Strand were healthy, Steer could have been moved to third or DH or a corner outfield spot, though that possibility is clearly not an option at the moment and may not come into the play at all for the remainder of 2024.

Astros Release Jose Abreu

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The Astros announced Friday that they’ve released first baseman Jose Abreu. The former American League Rookie of the Year and Most Valuable Player is in the second season of a three-year, $58.5MM contract. Houston will eat the remainder of the money still owed to Abreu on that deal.

Houston selected the contract of catcher/outfielder Cooper Hummel from Triple-A Sugar Land, reports KPRC-2’s Ari Alexander. In 201 plate appearances in Triple-A this season, Hummel boasts a .301/.423/.509 slash (135 wRC+) with seven homers, 13 doubles, eight steals (in nine tries), a 17.4% strikeout rate and a massive 16.4% walk rate. The Astros acquired the 29-year-old from the Giants via an April waiver claim and later succeeded in passing him through outright waivers.

While Abreu generally exceeded expectations in landing that sizable three-year deal, few could’ve predicted that the contract would go this poorly. Abreu hit .237/.296/.383 with Houston last season and began the 2024 season in such a calamitous funk that the veteran agreed to be optioned at a point when he was 7-for-71 on the season. Since returning, Abreu hasn’t looked any better, hitting .167/.186/.333 in 43 trips to the plate.

Overall, Abreu’s tenure with the team will come to an end with a shocking .217/.275/.351 batting line in 714 plate appearances. That’s about 28% worse than league-average, by measure of wRC+. When coupled with below-average defense at first base, Abreu was 1.6 wins below replacement level, per Baseball-Reference, and a full two wins below replacement per FanGraphs.

Although there were some signs of decline in 2022, Abreu still hit .304/.378/.446 that season. A good portion of his power had eroded (hence the pedestrian .141 ISO and career-low 15 homers), and a fair bit of his production was propped up by a .350 average on balls in play that the plodding Abreu was never going to sustain over the long run. The Astros, operating without a general manager for the first portion of the offseason, still paid a hefty per-year price to sign Abreu into his late 30s, with owner Jim Crane spearheading negotiations on that deal and on Rafael Montero’s own surprising three-year pact. Though the length of the pact was a modest surprise, it pales in comparison to how surprising the extent of Abreu’s decline has been.

Between Abreu and Jon Singleton, Houston’s lack of production at first base has been near the bottom of all Major League Baseball. Only the Rockies — Kris Bryant, Elehuris Montero, Michael Toglia and Hunter Goodman — have seen their first basemen combine to deliver a lesser output than the Astros’ miserable .181/.262/.291 batting line. That dearth of offense from a typically bat-heavy position in the lineup has been one of many reasons for the Astros’ disappointing 31-38 record. Houston sits eight games back of the division-leading Mariners and six games out in the AL Wild Card hunt (with six teams to leapfrog in order to claim one of those three spots).

Abreu’s contract will now be dead money on the Astros’ payroll both this year and next. It still counts toward the luxury tax as well, even though he’s no longer on the roster. That dead money only further adds to a troubling long-term outlook that raises legitimate questions about the team’s ability to continue putting a perennial contender on the field. Despite their questionable long-term outlook and their 2024 struggles, however, general manager Dana Brown — hired after the signing of Abreu — has insisted that his team will not be a seller and that he expects to operate as a buyer in the run-up to next month’s trade deadline. The Astros reportedly have interest in adding multiple starting pitchers.

As for Abreu himself, he’ll now head to the open market and be able to field interest from other clubs. It’s unlikely that any team will place him directly onto the big league roster in light of his recent struggles, so he’d very likely need to settle for a minor league deal.

Whether Abreu is amenable to that sort of arrangement isn’t clear, but players often want to go out on their own terms rather than be forced from the game they love due to declining performance. Abreu’s willingness to be optioned earlier this season and the constant praise he’s received from teammates both in Chicago and in Houston regarding his work ethic and passion for the game could point a willingness to keep going. Teammates Mauricio Dubon, Jeremy Pena and Kendall Graveman all lauded Abreu’s work ethic last September when discussing his late-season hot streak with Chandler Rome of The Athletic, as well as his impact in the clubhouse. That drive, combined with his sterling clubhouse reputation and outstanding track record in Chicago, could lead to interest on what amounts to a no-risk flier from a team with a need for help at first base and/or against left-handed pitching.

Rangers Re-Sign Derek Hill To Minor League Deal

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The Rangers have re-signed outfielder Derek Hill to a minor league contract, reports Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News (X link). He’ll head back to Triple-A Round Rock after electing free agency earlier in the week.

Hill first signed a minor league contract over the offseason and was selected onto the MLB roster at the end of May. He appeared in five games, including a pair of starts in right field. He went 2-9 with a walk and a stolen base in what marked his fifth year logging MLB time. Texas designated Hill for assignment a week ago; he cleared outright waivers on Tuesday.

A first-round pick of the Tigers in 2014, Hill played sporadically with Detroit. He combined for a .240/.291/.339 line in 95 games over parts of three seasons. Hill made a brief appearance with the Nationals a year ago, appearing in 13 games between late June and the early part of July. He’s a plus runner who can play all three outfield positions. He has never provided much in the batter’s box against MLB pitching though.

To his credit, the 28-year-old has been a productive Triple-A hitter. Hill owns a .295/.354/.502 slash in nearly 900 trips at the top minor league level. That includes a robust .333/.387/.659 showing over 142 plate appearances with Round Rock this season. Hill’s 6.3% walk percentage and near-25% strikeout rate were pedestrian, but he connected on eight homers, four triples and 10 doubles (albeit in a hitter-friendly setting).

Dodgers To Reinstate Bobby Miller Next Week

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Bobby Miller will return to the Dodgers rotation next week. Manager Dave Roberts told reporters that L.A. will reinstate Miller from the 15-day injured list to start against the Rockies on Wednesday (X link via Mike DiGiovanna of the Los Angeles Times). He’s not the only Dodger pitcher who’ll be making a noteworthy start that night. Clayton Kershaw will begin a rehab appearance with Low-A Rancho Cucamonga on Wednesday.

Miller has been out of action for more than two months. The second-year righty took the ball three times before going on the shelf with shoulder inflammation. He began a rehab stint on May 26 and has started four games in the minors. Miller had a rough go on that assignment, allowing 14 runs over 15 innings. He topped out at 4 2/3 innings and 93 pitches for Triple-A Oklahoma City yesterday.

A former first-round pick, Miller emerged as arguably the Dodgers’ top starter in the second half of his rookie season. He turned in a 3.76 ERA with a solid 23.6% strikeout rate over his first 22 starts. He recorded a career-high 11 strikeouts against the Cardinals to kick off his sophomore season, but the Cubs tagged him for five runs over 1 2/3 frames in his second outing. Miller tossed four innings of two-run ball against the Twins before the injury.

The Dodger rotation let them down in the postseason, contributing to their sweep at the hands of the D-Backs in the Division Series. The front office overhauled the group over the winter. The Dodgers signed Yoshinobu Yamamoto to a record deal for a pitcher not long after acquiring and extending Tyler Glasnow. They brought in James Paxton later in the offseason.

That trio each has an earned run average between 3.00 and 4.00 on the season. Glasnow and Yamamoto have been excellent, running huge strikeout rates with plus command. Paxton’s peripherals are much shakier, as he has walked 12.6% of batters faced with a well below-average 13.8% strikeout rate.

Gavin Stone has stepped up in Miller’s absence, working to a 2.93 ERA over 67 2/3 innings. Walker Buehler has rounded out the starting staff since his return from Tommy John surgery. Buehler has shown some rust over his first seven starts, allowing 4.64 earned runs per nine with a diminished 19.7% strikeout percentage.

No one from that quintet will be nudged out of the rotation. Roberts said the Dodgers will move to a six-man rotation “for this moment in time” once Miller returns (link via Bill Plunkett of the Orange County Register). Los Angeles is three games into a stretch of 12 consecutive game days. The Dodgers already shuffled their rotation this week to get an extra couple days off for Yamamoto and Glasnow, so they’ll welcome the opportunity to get their starters a bit of a breather. That’ll come with a hit to their bullpen depth, as they’ll need to go to a seven-man relief group to meet the limit of 13 pitchers on the active roster.

The Dodgers could welcome Kershaw back to the group a few weeks from now. The three-time Cy Young winner underwent shoulder surgery in early November. Next week’s appearance will be his first game action of 2024. That could position him for a return to the MLB rotation around the All-Star Break.

Kershaw worked to a 2.46 ERA over 24 regular season starts a year ago. His velocity evaporated down the stretch as he pitched through the injured shoulder, though, culminating in a disastrous outing in his lone playoff start. He officially re-signed with L.A. in February on an incentive-laden deal that guaranteed him $10MM. Kershaw is making a $5MM base salary and could earn an additional $7.5MM in performance bonuses if he gets to 10 starts. He has a $5MM player option for next year that could rise as high as $20MM if he makes 10 starts in 2024. That still seems attainable with Kershaw trending towards a July return.

Braves, Matt Carasiti Agree To Minor League Deal

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The Braves agreed to a minor league contract with right-hander Matt Carasiti, per the team’s transaction log at MLB.com. He recently elected free agency when the Rockies designated him for assignment and passed him through outright waivers.

Carasiti, 32, allowed 10 runs in 8 2/3 frames out of the Colorado bullpen this season and carries a 7.36 ERA in 33 frames with the Rox dating back to last season. He’s appeared in parts of four major league seasons and pitched to a 7.41 ERA in 58 1/3 innings. Rough as those numbers are, Carasiti also owns a 4.18 ERA in 170 career frames in Triple-A, where he’s fanned 25.5% of his opponents against a 10.5% walk rate. He also pitched well in 103 2/3 innings during his lone season in Nippon Professional Baseball back in 2018.

Carasiti has averaged better than 95 mph on his sinker in his career and has kept the ball on the ground at a hearty 48.5% clip in the big leagues. He’ll add some experienced bullpen depth to a Braves club that currently has A.J. Minter, Tyler Matzek and Jimmy Herget on the 15-day injured list.

MLB Disciplines Umpire Pat Hoberg For Gambling Violation

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Major League Baseball has disciplined umpire Pat Hoberg for a violation of the league’s gambling policy, as first reported by Ken Rosenthal and Evan Drellich of the Athletic. Hoberg has appealed the decision. Commissioner Rob Manfred will hear the appeal, according to Rosenthal and Drellich.

MLB released a vague statement on the news: “During this year’s Spring Training, Major League Baseball commenced an investigation regarding a potential violation of MLB’s sports betting policies by Umpire Pat Hoberg. Mr. Hoberg was removed from the field during the pendency of that investigation.

While MLB’s investigation did not find any evidence that games worked by Mr. Hoberg were compromised or manipulated in any way, MLB determined that discipline was warranted. Mr. Hoberg has chosen to appeal that determination. Therefore, we cannot comment further until the appeal process is concluded.”

Hoberg, 37, has been a full-time MLB umpire since 2017 and was part of the crew for the 2022 World Series. He has not handled any regular season games in 2024.

He released a statement of his own (relayed by ESPN’s Jeff Passan): “I am appealing Major League Baseball’s determination that I should be disciplined for violating the sports betting policies. While that appeal is pending, it would not be appropriate to discuss the case. That said, I have devoted my adult life to the profession of umpiring, and the integrity of baseball is of the utmost importance to me. I look forward to the appeal process, and I am grateful that the Major League Baseball Umpires Association is supporting me in the appeal.”

Umpires are subject to the same gambling prohibition as are MLB players. Those found to have bet on games in which they were involved are given a lifetime ban. Betting on a baseball game in which the individual is not involved carries a one-year suspension. MLB handed down five gambling suspensions to players last week. Tucupita Marcano was banned for life for betting on Pirates games while he was on Pittsburgh’s injured list last season. Four other players (Michael Kelly, José Rodríguez, Jay Groome and Andrew Saalfrank) were hit with one-year bans for bets they placed while in the minor leagues. Rosenthal and Drellich report that the Hoberg investigation was unrelated to the players’ suspensions.

Matt Bowman Elects Free Agency

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Reliever Matt Bowman is back on the open market. The Mariners announced this evening that the righty elected free agency after clearing outright waivers. It’s the second time in as many weeks for Bowman, who became a free agent on May 31 after being waived by the Diamondbacks.

That could set Bowman up to join his fourth team of the season. He signed a minor league contract with the Twins over the offseason. He tossed six innings without allowing an earned run to earn a major league call midway into April. Bowman pitched five times before Minnesota designated him for assignment and sold his contract to Arizona. The Snakes DFA him after four outings, leading to a minor league deal with Seattle.

Bowman pitched twice for the M’s top farm team in Tacoma. The Mariners selected his contract and plugged him into a game against the White Sox on Monday. Bowman recorded two outs and surrendered a home run to Corey Julks. Seattle designated him for assignment the next day.

The 33-year-old has allowed nine runs across 15 innings between the three teams. He has punched out 10 while issuing seven walks. While that’s not particularly impressive, he hasn’t surrendered an earned run in eight Triple-A innings. Bowman had a solid 2023 campaign in Triple-A with the Yankees, turning in a 3.99 ERA with a strong 51.9% grounder rate over 58 2/3 frames. He should land another minor league contract in fairly short order.

Rockies Place Elias Diaz On Injured List

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The Rockies announced they’ve placed catcher Elias Díaz on the 10-day injured list, retroactive to June 11, due to a strained left calf. Colorado reinstated Nolan Jones from the IL in a corresponding transaction.

It’s not clear how long Díaz is expected to be out of action. His injury won’t have much of an effect on the standings with Colorado sitting at the bottom of the NL West. An extended absence could have some implications for the trade deadline, though. Díaz has played well enough to be a rather straightforward deadline trade candidate. Last year’s All-Star Game MVP is hitting .303/.352/.439 across 216 plate appearances.

Díaz is not likely to maintain a .350 batting average on balls in play. Yet he doesn’t need to hit .300 to be a capable hitter for teams looking to upgrade behind the plate. He’s performing well both at and away from Coors Field and has a modest 17.6% strikeout rate. Díaz has also fared well on the other side of the ball, throwing out 11 of 37 (29.7%) attempted basestealers. While pitch framing metrics have been down on his receiving skills for most of his career, Díaz has gotten plus grades in that regard in 2024.

The Rockies are paying Díaz a $6MM salary in the final season of a three-year extension. Unless Colorado extends him again in the next couple months, he’ll hit free agency next winter. Teams like the Cubs, Rays and Guardians could look for catching help around the deadline. The Phillies lost J.T. Realmuto for a month after he underwent meniscus surgery. Philadelphia doesn’t need to make a significant catching acquisition at the moment, but any kind of delay in Realmuto’s rehab process could change that calculus. The Rox wouldn’t get a huge trade return, but a healthy Díaz would be the best rental backstop available if the Blue Jays hold Danny Jansen.

Jacob Stallings, himself a possible deadline candidate for a contender that needs a backup catcher, will get the majority of the playing time with Díaz out. Colorado plans to use Hunter Goodman as their #2 option, tweets Patrick Lyons. Goodman only has one major league start behind the dish. He was a catcher at the University of Memphis and has started 73 games there in parts of four minor league campaigns. Questions about his glove have pushed him primarily to first base or the corner outfield.

Pirates Designate Niko Goodrum For Assignment

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The Pirates announced they’ve selected left-hander Josh Fleming onto the MLB roster while placing reliever Hunter Stratton on the 15-day injured list due to a triceps strain. To open a spot on the 40-man roster for Fleming, Pittsburgh designated Niko Goodrum for assignment. The Pirates also announced that reliever Ben Heller accepted an assignment back to Triple-A Indianapolis following today’s outright.

Goodrum’s stint with Pittsburgh could last less than a week. The Bucs claimed him off waivers from the Angels on Monday. Skipper Derek Shelton didn’t get him into a game before the need for another pitcher squeezed him off the roster. The 32-year-old utilityman is on his fourth organization of the season. Goodrum initially signed a minor league deal with the Twins. He leveraged an upward mobility clause to secure a 40-man roster spot with the Rays late in Spring Training before bouncing to Los Angeles and Pittsburgh on waivers.

The left-handed hitter appeared in 13 games between the Rays and Angels, hitting .103 with 10 strikeouts and zero extra-base hits. Goodrum had fared well in 17 contests with Tampa Bay’s Triple-A club in Durham, turning in a .270/.387/.444 slash with a trio of home runs. He’ll very likely wind up back on waivers in the next couple days.

Fleming, another former Ray, is back for his second stint of the season. Over the winter, Pittsburgh signed the southpaw to a split deal that pays him at an $850K rate for time spent on the major league roster. Fleming occupied a long relief role early in the year but was tagged for 16 runs over 19 innings. The Bucs ran him through outright waivers in May.

The 28-year-old accepted the minor league assignment and has spent the past month in Indy. His results there haven’t been much better. Fleming has allowed eight runs over 12 2/3 Triple-A frames, striking out five of the 55 batters he’s faced. He’ll work as a multi-inning arm out of Shelton’s bullpen for the time being. Fleming is out of options, meaning the Bucs would again need to run him through waivers if they want to send him back to Triple-A.

Angels Reinstate, Option Sam Bachman

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The Angels announced that right-hander Sam Bachman has been reinstated from the 60-day injured list and optioned to Double-A Rocket City. The 40-man roster already had a vacancy with infielder Niko Goodrum being claimed off waivers by the Pirates earlier this week, but the roster is now full with this move.

Bachman, 24, underwent arthroscopic shoulder surgery in the fall and wasn’t fully healed by Opening Day. He was placed on the 60-day injured list when the club selected Miguel Sanó in late March. Bachman began a rehab assignment at the end of May and has been getting stretched out, throwing three innings in each of his last two outings.

The Angels currently have a rotation mix consisting of Tyler Anderson, Patrick Sandoval, Griffin Canning, José Soriano and José Suarez. For now, Bachman will continue getting stretched out but could be a candidate for some major league starts later in the year. The Halos are 26-42 and one of the few clubs firmly in the seller camp ahead of the trade deadline. If any of those starters get traded or suffer an injury, Bachman could perhaps get a look in the majors, though Reid Detmers will also be in the mix after being optioned a few weeks ago.

Bachman made his major league debut last year with a 3.18 earned run average in 17 innings. He was placed on the injured list in July due to right shoulder inflammation and stayed there the rest of the year, eventually undergoing the aforementioned surgery. He was able to get 129 days of service time last season, mostly on the IL, leaving him 43 days shy of the one-year mark. He was able to get over that line here in 2024 by spending over two months on the injured list but his clock will stop ticking forward now that he has been optioned.

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