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Garrett Whitlock To Undergo Internal Brace Procedure

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MAY 30: Whitlock will indeed have the internal brace procedure today, Cora tells reporters. Chris Cotillo of MassLive was among those to relay the news on X.

MAY 25: Whitlock is tentatively set to undergo an internal brace procedure, he told The Athletic’s Jen McCaffrey and other reporters.  The details will be confirmed after more testing this coming week.  Assuming the surgery takes place as planned, Whitlock will miss roughly 11-12 months in recovery, as opposed to the longer 13-15 month timeline associated with Tommy John surgeries.

MAY 20: Garrett Whitlock has suffered ligament damage in his throwing elbow, Red Sox manager Alex Cora announced to reporters (including Chris Cotillo of MassLive). The Boston right-hander will go for further evaluation tomorrow to determine whether he can avoid surgery.

This was the outcome which the team and its fans feared last week. Whitlock reported elbow soreness coming out of a rehab start for Triple-A Worcester on Wednesday. He’d been working back from an oblique strain that had shelved him since the middle of April and had been hoping to return to the MLB team in the coming days.

Instead, there looks to be a good chance that his 2024 season is over. If Whitlock does need surgery, it would threaten his ’25 campaign as well. Whitlock has already undergone a Tommy John procedure in his career. That came back in 2019 when he was pitching in the Yankees farm system. Whitlock also had two elbow-related injured list stints in 2023, the latter of which cost him five weeks between July and August. Neither of those involved any ligament damage, but this injury unfortunately appears to be more serious.

The 27-year-old hasn’t had a full season as a starting pitcher since his time in the minors. He was an excellent multi-inning relief weapon for his first two MLB campaigns. Boston gave him 10 starts last year before his July injured list placement. Whitlock worked out of the bullpen after returning. The Sox moved him back into the starting staff to open this year. He allowed only four runs in 18 1/3 innings prior to the oblique injury.

Cooper Criswell has stepped into the rotation behind Brayan Bello, Nick Pivetta, Kutter Crawford and Tanner Houck. Signed to a $1MM contract last winter after being non-tendered by the Rays, Criswell has been quietly excellent through his first 29 1/3 frames for the Sox. He owns a 2.76 ERA with a solid 23.3% strikeout percentage and a tidy 5.8% walk rate.

Criswell, who will take the ball tomorrow against his old team in Tampa Bay, should hold a rotation spot for the foreseeable future. Starting pitching could be an area that first-year chief baseball officer Craig Breslow and his staff look to address around the deadline, assuming they hang in postseason contention. Boston blanked the Rays this evening to pull back to .500 at 24-24. They’re long shots to stick with the Yankees and Orioles at the top of the AL East but are firmly in the Wild Card picture.

While Boston’s rotation has been a surprising strength thus far, their front five is light on experience. Pivetta is the only member of the group who has ever started 30 MLB games in a season. He and Bello are the only ones who have surpassed the 130-inning threshold at the big league level.

That lack of volume is a big reason that Boston signed Lucas Giolito, who had been one of the league’s most durable pitchers, to a two-year free agent deal. Giolito immediately down with a partially torn UCL in Spring Training. He underwent an internal brace procedure and will miss the entire season.

Even if Whitlock is able to avoid going under the knife, he’s certainly in for a long-term absence. The Sox will move him to the 60-day injured list when they need a 40-man roster spot. Whitlock, who signed an extension back in 2022, is playing this season on a $3.25MM salary. He’ll make successive salaries of $5.25MM and $7.25MM over the next two seasons. Boston holds a $10.5MM option on his services for the 2027 campaign.

Athletics Outright Brandon Bielak

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The Athletics have sent right-hander Brandon Bielak outright to Triple-A Las Vegas, according to his transactions tracker at MLB.com. That indicates he cleared waivers after being designated for assignment last week.

Bielak, 28, only came to the A’s a couple of weeks ago. He had been designated for assignment by the Astros and then flipped to Oakland in a cash deal. Up until that point, he had spent his entire career in the Astros’ organization, as that club drafted him in the 11th round back in 2017.

He debuted in the big leagues in 2020 and had a 6.75 earned run average that year, but he went on to serve as a decent depth swingman for the next three years. Over the 2021-23 seasons, while getting frequently shuttled to the farm and back, he tossed 142 1/3 major league innings with a 4.05 ERA. His 19.2% strikeout rate wasn’t amazing but his 9.8% walk rate was close to average and he got grounders at a strong 48.1% clip.

But in the process, he exhausted his option years. That meant that he came into 2024 out of options and with a tenuous hold on his roster spot. The Astros dealt with various pitching injuries this year and kept Bielak in their bullpen but his 5.71 ERA in 17 1/3 innings eventually squeezed him off.

He landed with Oakland but made just three appearances for that club before getting designated for assignment again. The other 29 clubs had a chance to grab him in recent days but it appears they all passed.

Bielak came into this year with two years and 110 days of service time, putting him 62 days shy of the three-year mark. Players continue to earn service time while in DFA limbo, so Bielak should have been earning service time all year until his outright. May 28 was the 62nd day of the season and his outright is listed as May 29, so he should have hit the three-year mark.

That is significant since players with at least three years of service or a previous career outright have the right to reject an outright assignment and elect free agency. Bielak doesn’t have a previous career outright but should now have hit the three-year service line. It’s not yet confirmed that he has the right to hit the open market, nor is it known what his decision will be, if he has one.

If he sticks with the A’s, he should have a decent chance of making it back to the majors later in the year. They have one of the weaker pitching staffs in baseball and currently have ten hurlers on the injured list. Anyone who is pitching well this summer could wind up traded by the rebuilding club, opening up opportunities for other guys.

Astros Notes: Alvarez, Abreu, Rotation

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Jose Abreu’s return from an optional assignment to the minor leagues will indirectly further crowd the the team’s outfield mix, writes Matt Kawahara of the Houston Chronicle. Manager Joe Espada said yesterday that with Abreu back on the roster, Yordan Alvarez is likely to see more time in left field, allowing both Abreu and Jon Singleton to be in the lineup at first base and designated hitter.

Alvarez has made consecutive starts in left field after previously appearing in only three games at the position. Espada noted that Alvarez picking up outfield at-bats will come at the expense of Chas McCormick and Mauricio Dubon, adding that he’ll still work to keep everyone involved in the mix for playing time. (MVP candidate Kyle Tucker and center fielder Jake Meyers, in the midst of a breakout showing, naturally don’t appear as though their playing time will be impacted.)

Abreu is 1-for-6 with an RBI single since being recalled from a monthlong sojourn to the minor leagues — a rare assignment for a veteran of his status but one to which the former AL MVP consented after a disastrous start to the season. He went 7-for-22 with a homer and a pair of doubles with Houston’s Rookie-level Arizona Complex League affiliate. Abreu then played a pair of games in Triple-A Sugar Land and went 0-for-7 with a walk and three strikeouts.

The Astros are trying what they can to get Abreu back on track after a disappointing debut campaign in 2023 and a calamitous .099/.156/.113 slash through his first 77 plate appearances of the current campaign. It’s not clear what kind of leash Abreu will have, particularly with Houston sitting 6.5 games back in both the AL West and in the AL Wild Card chase, but Abreu’s three-year, $58.5MM contract gives the team plenty of financial incentive to try to turn things around.

Between Abreu and the 32-year-old Singleton, who returned to the majors after a seven-year absence last season, the Astros’ first base mix has been woefully unproductive. Singleton has turned in a .221/.327/.359 slash — roughly league-average offense (102 wRC+) that’s been accompanied by poorly rated defense (-4 Defensive Runs Saved, -4 Outs Above Average in 293 innings).

That lackluster output from the team’s first basemen is just one of many reasons the Astros find themselves staring at a 24-32 record with more than a third of the season in the books. The rotation’s health — or rather, the lack thereof — has also been a prominent factor. On that front, Espada provided a mixed bag of updates.

On the positive side of things, right-hander Luis Garcia is continuing to progress well in his rehab from last year’s Tommy John surgery. He threw off a mound at Minute Maid Park last week, and MLB.com’s Brian McTaggart tweets that the right-hander is now slated to throw to hitters in his next throwing session. McTaggart adds that righty Lance McCullers Jr., who’s on the mend from flexor surgery, threw a bullpen session this week but is still “a few weeks” from facing live hitters.

Facing live hitters and pitching in simulated game settings are often the last steps before an injured pitcher is cleared to set out on a minor league rehab assignment. Garcia will presumably have multiple live batting practice sessions before progressing to a rehab stint, which could last up to 30 days itself. A return isn’t right around the corner just yet, but he’s on track for a midsummer debut this year. McCullers, it seems, isn’t terribly far behind him.

Less encouraging were Espada’s updates on injured right-handers Jose Urquidy and Cristian Javier. Both are “getting opinions from other doctors,” according to Espada (via McTaggart). Seeking second opinions is always an ominous step for a pitcher, particularly when both are dealing with this type of injury. Urquidy has yet to pitch this season after suffering a forearm strain in spring training. Javier went on the injured list last week with forearm discomfort.

Mets Designate Jorge López For Assignment

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The Mets have officially designated right-hander Jorge López for assignment, a move that was reported on yesterday. Left-hander Danny Young was recalled to take Lopez’s spot in a corresponding move.

The Mets have been in a rough patch lately, losing three in a row and eight of their last ten, and the frustration seemed to boil over with López yesterday. After allowing a home run to Shohei Ohtani, he was facing Freddie Freeman when a checked swing appeal to third resulted in a call of no swing. López seemingly said something to third base umpire Ramon De Jesus and was ejected. While making his way off the way off the field, he untucked his shirt and tossed his glove into the stands. Video shared on X by SNY.

After the game, López spoke to the media, though there was some confusion about what he said and what he intended. López, a native of Puerto Rico, spoke in English and some believed he called the Mets “the worst team in probably the whole f***ing MLB” while others heard him referring to himself as “the worst teammate” in the league. Later that night, it was reported that López would be designated for assignment.

Today, López seemed unhappy with the way things played out the night before. He posted on his Instagram stories this morning, stating that he was definitely saying “teammate” and sarcastically thanked the media for making the situation worse. Anthony DiComo of MLB.com posted on X this morning that López losing his roster spot had nothing to do with the team/teammate confusion, saying that López “embarrassed the organization with his actions and words, throwing his glove into the stands, lying about meeting with management and offering zero remorse.”

Reporters from López’s previous clubs have come to his defense today, trying to give larger context to the pitcher’s frustrations. Andy Kostka of The Baltimore Sun shared this story from 2022, when López was with the Orioles. The article discusses the recent death of López’s grandfather as well as López’s son Mikael, who has dealt with several autoimmune disorders since he was born and has spent much of his life in the hospital. Dan Hayes of The Athletic shared this story from last summer, when the Twins put López on the injured list for a mental health break. Boomer Esiason addressed the matter on his show today, as relayed by Awful Announcing on X, saying that he had been informed that Mikael is currently waiting for a transplant.

The extra information certainly makes it easier to understand how López reacted the way that he did, but it appears the Mets don’t consider that an acceptable excuse. Some observers have suggested that the Mets could have put López on the IL for mental health reasons, as the Twins did last year, but they have decided to take a different approach and have removed the righty from their roster.

The Mets will now have one week to trade López or pass him through waivers. In the latter scenario, López has the right to reject an outright assignment and elect free agency while holding onto the remainder of his $2MM salary, as a player with more than five years of major league service time.

He has logged 26 1/3 innings with the Mets this year, allowing 3.76 earned runs per nine innings. His 17.1% strikeout rate is subpar but his 9.9% walk rate and 44.2% ground ball rate are both around league average.

He had a breakout seasons as a reliever with the O’s in 2022. After years of fairly middling work as a starter, a move to the bullpen seemed to unlock something in the righty. In 48 1/3 innings with Baltimore, he had a 1.68 ERA, 27.6% strikeout rate, 8.7% walk rate and 60% ground ball rate.

He was flipped to the Twins at that year’s deadline but his results have backed up since then. He had a 4.37 ERA with Minnesota after the deal in 2022, then had a 5.95 ERA in 2023, ending up bouncing to the Marlins and Orioles later in the year. The O’s cut him at the end of the year, which freed him up to sign with the Mets.

Brooks Raley Undergoes Tommy John Surgery

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May 30: Raley underwent Tommy John surgery Wednesday and had an internal brace installed in his elbow as well, the team announced.

May 21: Mets reliever Brooks Raley will undergo Tommy John surgery next week, reports Tim Healey of Newsday. That’ll end his 2024 season and likely cost him at least the first half of the ’25 campaign.

It could also mark the end of Raley’s time in Queens. The 35-year-old southpaw (36 in June) is set to hit free agency next offseason. Raley is playing this season on a $6.5MM salary after the Mets exercised a club option at the start of last winter. That was an easy decision considering how well Raley pitched between 2022-23.

In 126 appearances over that stretch, he turned in a 2.74 earned run average behind a 26.8% strikeout rate. The Mets received some trade calls at last summer’s deadline (and quite likely again over the winter) but elected to hold onto him as their top left-handed setup option.

That’ll unfortunately go down as a mostly lost investment. Raley had an excellent start to the season, working seven scoreless innings with nine strikeouts over eight appearances. He landed on the injured list on April 21 with what ultimately proved to a season-ending injury. While the Mets initially diagnosed the issue as inflammation and projected a short-term absence, later testing revealed ligament damage.

Without Raley, the Mets are light on left-handed relievers. Jake Diekman is their clear top option. The 37-year-old has made 20 appearances and posted his typical blend of huge strikeout and walk tallies. Diekman has punched out 23 of his 70 opponents (nearly 33%) while issuing 14 walks (20%). He owns a 3.86 ERA across 16 1/3 innings. The veteran is an effective reliever overall, but he’s probably miscast as a team’s best left-hander.

Josh Walker has been on and off the active roster throughout the season. He’s currently in a middle relief role. Danny Young is on optional assignment to Triple-A Syracuse. Tyler Jay saw a bit of MLB time early in the season and remains in the organization after being outrighted from the 40-man roster a month ago. The Mets could welcome swingman David Peterson back from the 60-day injured list as soon as next week. Whether he’ll work from the bullpen or grab a rotation spot — likely in place of the struggling Adrian Houser — is still to be determined.

Raley has spent the last month on the 15-day IL. The Mets can move him to the 60-day at any time that they need to open a spot on the 40-man roster (though they already have two vacancies in that regard). His camp will presumably look for a two-year deal when he hits the open market, likely with a low base salary in the first season.

White Sox Outright Sammy Peralta

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The White Sox announced Thursday that left-hander Sammy Peralta, who was designated for assignment Tuesday, went unclaimed on waivers and has been assigned outright to Triple-A Charlotte.

It’s been a rollercoaster season for Peralta, whom the White Sox originally designated for assignment back on March 28 when setting their Opening Day roster. The Mariners claimed him off waivers and sent him to Triple-A Tacoma, where he was tagged for 13 runs in 12 2/3 innings of work. Seattle designated him for assignment over the weekend, at which point the White Sox claimed him back … only to again DFA him just two days later. This time, Peralta passed through waivers and will now remain in the Sox organization as a depth option in Charlotte.

Peralta, 26, made his big league debut with the Sox last season. In 20 innings he posted a 4.05 ERA with a 20% strikeout rate, 12.2% walk rate and 39.3% ground-ball rate. Peralta posted strong run-prevention numbers and big strikeout rates up through the Double-A level as he climbed through Chicago’s system following his 18th-round selection in the 2019 draft, but he’s been hit hard in 87 Triple-A frames (5.65 ERA) and had uncharacteristic struggles with his command dating back to last year’s initial MLB call-up.

Joey Wendle Elects Free Agency

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Veteran utility infielder Joey Wendle has rejected an outright assignment from the Braves and instead elected free agency, per the transaction log at MiLB.com. Atlanta designated Wendle for assignment just three days after signing him to a major league deal and outrighted him last night. He did not appear in a game with the Braves.

The 34-year-old Wendle opened the season with the Mets after signing a one-year, $2MM deal in the offseason. He was seldom used by manager Carlos Mendoza, appearing in only 18 games and tallying 37 plate appearances with a tepid .222/.243/.250 batting line in 37 trips to the plate. It’s the third straight year that Wendle has turned in sub-par offensive numbers, and he did so over a much larger sample with the 2022-23 Marlins. Since being traded from Tampa Bay to Miami in the 2021-22 offseason, Wendle owns just a .237/.273/.331 batting line in 726 turns at the plate. By measure of wRC+, that’s about 34% worse than league-average production.

At his best, Wendle was a versatile utilityman in Tampa Bay — one known for solid contact skills and a diverse defensive skill set that allowed him to capably handle multiple infield slots and both outfield corners. From 2017-21, he slashed a combined .275/.330/.416 — good for a 106 wRC+ (i.e. production that’s roughly 6% better than league average after weighting for home park and league run-scoring environment). He’s seen major league time at every infield position other than first base and in both outfield corners, grading particularly well in the middle infield.

Now that he’s once again a free agent, Wendle can sign with any team seeking some infield depth. A new club will only owe him the prorated league minimum for any time spent on the active roster or major league injured list. That sum would be subtracted from what the Mets owe him through season’s end. New York will remain on the hook for the rest of that $2MM salary.

Brewers Designate Mitch White For Assignment

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The Brewers announced Thursday that right-hander Mitch White has been designated for assignment. His spot on the active roster goes to righty Kevin Herget, who has been recalled from Triple-A Nashville.

Milwaukee acquired White from the Giants in exchange for cash just under three weeks ago. San Francisco had also designated the right-hander for assignment prior to that swap. White made six appearances with the Brewers, pitching 8 1/3 innings and yielding six earned runs on eight hits and four walks (two of them intentional). He punched out six batters. On the season as a whole, White has tossed 23 2/3 innings and been roughed up for a 7.23 ERA between the Blue Jays, Giants and Brewers. He’s fanned just 11.8% of his opponents against a matching 11.8% walk rate.

White, 29, has pitched in parts of five big league seasons. Once a prospect of note within the Dodgers organization, the 2016 second-rounder had a nice early-career run in L.A. before stumbling following a trade to Toronto. In 105 2/3 frames as a Dodger, White recorded a 3.58 ERA with a 22% strikeout rate and 8.3% walk rate. He’s since pitched to a 5.45 ERA with a diminished 17.7% strikeout rate.

White is out of minor league options, so the Brewers didn’t have the choice to send him to Triple-A. He’ll either be traded, placed on outright waivers or released within the next week. Because of that lack of options, any team to claim White or make a small trade for the righty will need to carry him on the big league roster.

Rays’ Prospect Junior Caminero To Miss Four To Six Weeks With Quad Strain

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Rays’ prospect Junior Caminero has been placed on the minor league injured list due to a quad strain. Tampa Bay manager Kevin Cash says it’s a Grade 2 strain and that the infielder is likely to miss four to six weeks. Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times relayed the information on X.

Coming into the season, it was easy to imagine Caminero playing a significant role for the Rays. He has been launching himself up prospect lists in recent years and even reached the majors last season. He didn’t hit much in his first 36 major league plate appearances last year but he was barely 20 years old when called up late in the season.

The fact that he was even up in the majors at such a young age speaks to his talent and his performance. He hit .324/.384/.591 in the minors last year between High-A and Double-A, leading to a combined 156 wRC+ and a leap over the Triple-A level.

As 2024 kicked off, he was considered a consensus top five prospect in the sport. Baseball America had him at #2, ESPN at #3 FanGraphs and MLB Pipeline at #4, with Keith Law of The Athletic putting him in the #5 spot.

Unfortunately, injuries have made 2024 a mostly lost season for Caminero so far. The Rays planned for him to start the year in the minors, optioning him fairly early in Spring Training, the second week of March. He landed on the minor league injured list in early April due to a quad strain and is now back in the same position yet again.

Around his injured list stints, he has appeared in 34 Triple-A games and stepped to the plate 153 times. His .261/.333/.478 batting line translates to a 106 wRC+, indicating he’s been above average but not outrageously so. Perhaps that’s due to the injury interruptions with better results to be expected with a longer stretch of health.

That will now have to wait, likely into July, considering the time frame provided by Cash. For the team, that will leave them with less infield depth for the next few weeks. Caminero has played all four infield spots in his minor league career but has mostly been at Triple-A this season, perhaps suggesting that’s where the Rays view his future home. Isaac Paredes is currently the regular at the hot corner and is playing well, though he is capable of moving elsewhere at some point down the line if Caminero forces his way into the big leagues.

Brandon Lowe and Yandy Díaz are getting most of the playing time at second and first base, respectively, but each is set to make an eight-figure salary in the next two seasons. Given the Rays’ penchant for trading players when they reach that position, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see a scenario wherein Caminero comes up and takes over third base, moving Paredes to the other side of the diamond and thus bumping another player into the designated hitter slot and later onto the trading block.

All of that will remain theoretical for now, particularly with Caminero on the shelf. For the player, it’s undoubtedly a frustrating situation, as he’s missing plenty of time in a key development season. Since this is all happening in the minor leagues, it’s also preventing him from moving his service clock forward. Caminero was able to get ten service days during his brief debut last year. His early-season injury already prevented him from getting to the one-year mark here in 2024, meaning he can’t reach free agency until after 2030 at the earliest. A call-up in the first half could have put him on track for Super Two status after 2026, but that’s likely out the window now with this further injury.

Braves Place A.J. Minter On Injured List, Outright Joey Wendle

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The Braves announced Thursday morning that they’ve placed left-hander A.J. Minter on the 15-day injured list due to inflammation in his left hip. Right-hander Jimmy Herget has been recalled from Triple-A Gwinnett to take Minter’s spot on the roster. Atlanta also passed veteran infielder Joey Wendle through waivers unclaimed and assigned him outright to Gwinnett, Justin Toscano of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports. Wendle is approaching seven years of MLB service, which is well north of the five needed to reject an outright assignment in favor of free agency, and he’ll have 48 hours from the time of the outright assignment to make that decision.

Minter, 30, has been one of the Braves’ steadiest relievers over the past seven-plus seasons. With the exception of an anomalous 7.06 ERA in 29 1/3 innings during 2019’s juiced-ball season, he’s kept his ERA to 3.78 or better each season and worked to an overall 3.32 mark through 335 2/3 MLB frames.

Minter has been strong again this season, working to a 2.95 ERA with a 27.7% strikeout rate, 7.2% walk rate and 40.4% ground-ball rate. His 95.2 mph average fastball is a career-low, though it’s only a half-mile less than his average fastball from a 2020 season that saw him post a 0.83 ERA in 21 2/3 frames. The left-hander is slated to become a free agent at season’s end and is earning a $6.215MM salary in 2024.

The team hasn’t yet provided an expected timetable for Minter’s return, but his absence is a notable one, given his track record. Minter’s seven holds trail only Joe Jimenez (10) for the team lead. With the left-hander now sidelined for at least a couple weeks, right-hander Pierce Johnson could see more leverage work. Fellow southpaws Dylan Lee and Tyler Matzek could also get some extra late-inning opportunities.

As for Wendle, his stay with the Braves organization could wind up proving excessively brief. The Mets released him earlier this month, and Wendle quickly latched on with Atlanta on a new big league deal. That deal was signed on May 24, but Wendle was designated just three days later — before Wendle even got into a game with the Braves.

A versatile utilityman known for his quality glovework and typically strong bat-to-ball skills, Wendle has seen his offensive production take a significant downturn over the past three seasons. He hit just .222/.243/.250 in 37 plate appearances as a Met earlier this year and carries an anemic .237/.273/.331 line (66 wRC+) in 726 plate appearances dating back to the 2022 campaign. If Wendle accepts the outright assignment, he’ll remain with the Braves as a depth option, but he can also choose to explore opportunities with other clubs if he prefers.

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