Injury Notes: Belt, Candelario, Lee, Reid-Foley
The Blue Jays placed Brandon Belt on the 10-day injured list this afternoon. He’s dealing with lumbar spine muscle spasms. Outfielder Nathan Lukes is up from Triple-A Buffalo to take the roster spot.
Toronto didn’t provide a timetable for Belt’s return. There are just under three weeks to go in the regular season and the Jays are on the edge of the playoff race. They go into the second game of this week’s series against the Rangers in possession of the American League’s second Wild Card spot, half a game above Texas and one game better than the Mariners.
Belt has had a strong first season in Toronto. Signed to a $9MM free agent deal, the veteran first baseman is hitting .251/.369/.470 with 16 homers across 382 plate appearances. The Jays have used him a platoon capacity, keeping him to just 31 at-bats versus same-handed pitching. His injury could leave more at-bats for lefty-swinging rookie Spencer Horwitz, who is in the lineup tonight against Max Scherzer.
In other injury news:
- The Cubs plan to place Jeimer Candelario on the 10-day injured list with a back issue, tweets Jesse Rogers of ESPN. Rookie outfielder Alexander Canario will be recalled to take the roster spot. Candelario suffered the injury on Sunday, so the placement will likely be backdated by one day. He’ll first be eligible to return a week from Thursday. Acquired from the Nationals at the deadline, Candelario is hitting .237/.324/.449 in 36 games during his second stint as a Cub. He’d hit well in August before falling into a slump over the past couple weeks.
- The Braves have placed Dylan Lee on the 15-day injured list with shoulder inflammation, the club announced. He had originally been optioned to Triple-A Gwinnett, but that demotion was voided thanks to the injury. Lee will continue to be paid at the MLB rate. Unfortunately, that’ll come at the cost of the rest of his season. Justin Toscano of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution writes that the Braves will shut the southpaw down until 2024. Lee was out from mid-June until the start of September because of shoulder soreness. He returned to make just four appearances before the shoulder sent him back to the IL. His season wraps up with 23 2/3 innings of 4.18 ERA ball. Atlanta has A.J. Minter and Brad Hand as their top left-handed relief duo going into the playoffs.
- Mets reliever Sean Reid-Foley suffered a lat strain, tweets Anthony DiComo of MLB.com. That’ll certainly end his season. New York recalled Reed Garrett to take Reid-Foley’s place on the active roster. It’s a frustrating development for the 28-year-old Reid-Foley, who was limited to eight appearances since the club selected his contract at the end of August. He’d been out since last May working back from a Tommy John procedure. Reid-Foley tossed 7 2/3 innings of three-run ball this year in the majors, striking out 16 while walking six.
Jose Siri Sustains Hand Fracture
September 12: The Rays officially placed Siri on the IL today, per Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times, recalling Curtis Mead in a corresponding move.
September 11: Rays center fielder Jose Siri suffered a fracture in his right hand during this evening’s win over the Twins, manager Kevin Cash told Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times (Twitter link). He’ll land on the 10-day injured list, though the Rays are hopeful he could return in around three weeks.
Siri was injured in the fifth inning when he was hit by a Dylan Floro pitch. He finished that half-inning but was subbed out for the following defensive frame. Vidal Bruján came into the game to play right field, pushing Josh Lowe over to center.
Lowe has spent the vast majority of his season in right but could move to center while Siri is sidelined. Luke Raley could move more frequently into right field, potentially clearing a path for Harold Ramírez and/or Jonathan Aranda to pick up a few extra at-bats at designated hitter. However the Rays play it, they’ll face a defensive downgrade.
Siri is one of the better defensive center fielders in the game. He consistently rates highly with the glove, with Statcast crediting him as nine runs above average over 830 2/3 innings entering play tonight. He’s a streaky offensive player but is amidst a respectable second full season at the big league level. Siri has rather quietly popped 25 home runs and is slugging .494 over 364 trips to the plate. A dismal strikeout/walk profile has led to him hitting .222 with a well below-average .267 on-base percentage, but he has rare power potential for an impact defensive outfielder.
The Rays are all but mathematically assured of a playoff spot. They’re three games behind the Orioles in the race for the AL East title (and likely the league’s top seed). Tracking down Baltimore was already an uphill battle and becomes a little more challenging with today’s news.
More notable is the possibility that Siri’s injury could linger into the postseason. The playoffs begin exactly three weeks from tomorrow. The club’s recovery timetable puts him right on the border of being ready by then, likely without the benefit of many lower-leverage at-bats to get back to game speed. It’s possible that Siri could miss a playoff round, especially if the Rays don’t track down Baltimore and therefore have to play in a Wild Card series instead of securing a first-round bye.
Previewing The 2023-24 Free Agent Class: Catcher
With the regular season winding down, a number of teams (and their fanbases) are already starting to turn their attention towards the offseason. Identifying free agent targets is a big part of that prep work, so it’s worth taking an early look at the players who’ll be available on the open market.
Over the coming weeks, MLBTR will go around the diamond to preview the free agent class. As always, we’ll start behind the plate. It’s a thin group, with no one in the class a threat to approach the five-year, $87.5MM contract that Willson Contreras received a season ago.
Note: only players who have been on an MLB roster in 2023 are included for this exercise.
Potential Regulars/Platoon Options
- Mitch Garver (33*)
Garver could prove a tricky evaluation for teams. He’s having the best season of any impending free agent who can catch. The right-handed hitter is mashing at a .286/.387/.541 clip with 16 home runs over 270 plate appearances for the Rangers. He slugged 31 homers for the Twins back in 2019 and is a career .254/.343/.489 hitter. A fully healthy Garver is one of the best offensive catchers in the sport and easily the best player in this winter’s free agent catching class.
Fully healthy is a notable caveat, however. Not only will Garver turn 33 this winter, he has a lengthy injury history. He has spent some time on the IL in every season since 2019 and required season-ending surgery to repair a torn flexor tendon in 2022. That injury affected Garver’s throwing even before he went under the knife, and Texas has eased him back to catching action. He has logged only 230 innings behind the dish this season, seeing more time as a designated hitter. The Rangers have that luxury thanks to the presence of All-Star backstop Jonah Heim, but it raises questions for teams evaluating whether Garver will hold up as a true #1 elsewhere.
- Gary Sánchez (31)
Sánchez has never returned to his early-career Yankees form. He’s nevertheless coming off a decent bounceback showing for the Padres, hitting .218/.292/.500 with 19 homers through 260 plate appearances after landing in San Diego. His much-maligned blocking drew an average grade from Statcast this season, while he threw out baserunners at an acceptable 20.8% clip. The year ended on a sour note when Sánchez sustained a right wrist fracture on a hit-by-pitch last week, but it was a reasonably encouraging effort overall.
While he’s not a star, Sánchez looks like an acceptable #1 catcher. He’s a power-first offensive player with middling on-base marks. One of the younger players in the class, he has a case for a multi-year contract after settling for a minor league pact a season ago.
- Tom Murphy (33)
Murphy has mashed in a small sample this year, hitting .290/.335/.538 over 159 plate appearances. He has shown significant offensive upside in prior seasons — highlighted by a .273/.324/.535 line over 76 games in 2019 — but only has two years in which he has reached 200+ plate appearances. Murphy lost all of 2020 with a foot fracture, a good chunk of last season to a dislocated shoulder, and has been out for the past month with a sprained left thumb.
When healthy, he consistently shows plus power from the right-handed batter’s box. He strikes out a lot but brings more offensive upside than most players at the position. At age 33, he’ll be limited to one or two-year offers, but he should be a target for teams that can pair him with a more stable veteran to compensate for the injury risk.
- Víctor Caratini (30)
Caratini is a switch-hitting backstop with good strike zone awareness and solid contact skills. He hits the ball reasonably hard but makes most of his contact on the ground, muting his power impact. This year’s .247/.327/.368 line over 54 games for the Brewers is in line with his career track record. He rates as a decent pitch framer but has a well below-average throwing arm. While Caratini doesn’t have a standout skill, he’s a reasonably well-rounded player and the youngest option in the catching class.
- Yasmani Grandal (35)
Grandal was still performing at an All-Star level as recently as 2021. The final two years of his $73MM free agent deal with the White Sox didn’t go as planned. He limped to a .202/.301/.269 line last season and is hitting .236/.309/.345 over 388 plate appearances this year. He’s a switch-hitter who still draws a decent number of walks, but he hasn’t shown the same kind of power he had at his peak.
- Austin Hedges (31)
Hedges is an all-glove veteran who has found semi-regular run despite one of the league’s least imposing offensive profiles. He was an everyday catcher for three years in Cleveland and got into 65 games for the Pirates after signing a $5MM free agent deal last winter. The Rangers have pushed him into a depth role since acquiring him at the deadline.
The 31-year-old is hitting .176/.229/.222 through 203 plate appearances. He has had a hard time controlling the running game this season but has been excellent in that regard in prior years. Hedges’ elite receiving skills have not waned. Statcast rates him 11 runs above average as a pitch framer and credits him with eight more blocks than average. That’s in line with his career-long reputation as an elite receiver, and both Cleveland and Pittsburgh trusted him as their top catcher to work with fairly young pitching staffs.
- Martín Maldonado (37)
Maldonado is a beloved clubhouse presence in Houston. The Astros have continued to give him a starting workload on a World Series contender despite dismal offensive numbers, reasoning that his unquantifiable work with the pitching staff compensates for the lack of productivity at the dish. Maldonado has hit only .187/.254/.337 through 366 trips to the plate. He has occasional power but consistently poor on-base marks. Unlike Hedges, Maldonado has a well below-average grade from Statcast for his 2023 pitch framing. It hasn’t dissuaded Dusty Baker from keeping him in the lineup, though — a testament to how the coaching staff feels about his leadership and game-calling acumen.
Backups/Depth
- Jorge Alfaro (31)
A longtime top prospect who was a key piece in multiple blockbuster trades (Cole Hamels, J.T. Realmuto), the now-30-year-old Alfaro (31 next June) has never developed into the slugger that many expected. Alfaro posted a solid .269/.322/.429 batting line from 2017-19, but in 737 plate appearances since that time he’s at .236/.278/.354 with a glaring 33.6% strikeout rate. Alfaro has typically thrown well (28% caught-stealing rate), but he’s at 18% in Triple-A this year. Statcast grades him last among 75 qualified catchers since 2018 when it comes to blocking pitches in the dirt.
- Tucker Barnhart (33)
Barnhart has spent the past week in Triple-A with the Dodgers. He signed a minor league pact with L.A. after being released by the Cubs in the first season of a two-year, $6.5MM free agent deal. The two-time Gold Glove winner managed only a .202/.285/.257 line over 123 plate appearances with Chicago and is a .215/.286/.264 hitter since being traded from the Reds to the Tigers over the 2021-22 offseason. Despite the tepid offense, Barnhart should draw depth interest based on his glove and reputation as a strong clubhouse presence — especially since the Cubs are responsible for all but the league minimum on next year’s salary as well.
- Curt Casali (35)
The Reds are likely to opt for a $750K buyout on their end of a $4MM mutual option. The right-handed hitting Casali has operated as the third catcher in Cincinnati when healthy, batting .175/.290/.200 over 96 plate appearances. He is currently on a rehab stint working back from a July foot contusion.
- Sandy León (35)
León, currently in Triple-A with the Guardians, appeared in 22 games for the Rangers early in the season. The switch-hitting backstop is a classic journeyman depth catcher. He has gotten to the majors in each of the past 12 years. He’s a well-regarded defender who has hit .176/.254/.261 for five teams since the start of 2019.
- Luke Maile (33)
Maile signed a $1.175MM free agent deal with his hometown Reds last winter. He has essentially played at the level they’d expected as their backup, putting up a .234/.305/.392 line through 175 plate appearances. He has roughly average framing and blocking numbers and has cut down a quarter of opposing basestealers. He has probably done enough to secure another major league contract this offseason.
- Roberto Pérez (35)
Pérez won consecutive Gold Glove awards in 2019-20. He has continued to get looks based on his defense, but injuries have kept him off the field for most of the last two seasons. He suffered a season-ending hamstring tear in May 2022. He was capped at five games with the Giants this year before tearing the rotator cuff in his throwing shoulder, necessitating another surgery in April. He’ll likely be limited to minor league offers as a result.
- Manny Piña (37)
Piña had a few seasons as a productive depth option with the Brewers. Unfortunately, left wrist issues have essentially robbed him of the last two years. He underwent surgery after just five games in 2022. Piña started this year back on the injured list with continued soreness. He returned for four games this summer but Oakland released him around the trade deadline as they evaluated their younger catching options.
- Mike Zunino (33)
Zunino signed a $6MM contract with the Guardians a year ago on the heels of thoracic outlet surgery. He couldn’t recapture his pre-surgery form on either side of the ball. Zunino hit .177/.271/.306 with a 43.6% strikeout rate in 140 plate appearances. Perhaps even more concerning was that he struggled mightily as a receiver and threw out only 16.7% of baserunners. Cleveland released him in late June and he has remained a free agent since then.
Club Options
- Yan Gomes (36)
The Cubs hold a $6MM option that comes with a $1MM buyout. It’s a $5MM call, which seems reasonable after Gomes’ decent 2023 showing. The 12-year MLB veteran is hitting .269/.311/.414 with nine home runs through 360 trips to the plate. He hasn’t rated highly for his receiving but has thrown out an above-average 26.4% of attempted basestealers. The Cubs may look to turn the top catching job over to rookie Miguel Amaya, but it’s a low enough price point that the team could still retain Gomes as a veteran backup.
Player Options
- Omar Narváez (32)
Narváez is unlikely to hit free agency. His contract with the Mets contains a $7MM player option. The left-handed hitter has slumped to a .192/.272/.253 line in 39 games, missing a chunk of the year with a calf strain. Unsurprisingly, he told Will Sammon of the Athletic last month that he expects to exercise the option rather than retest free agency on the heels of such a tough season.
* Listed ages are the player’s age for the 2024 season.
Diamondbacks Release Nick Ahmed
The D-Backs released Nick Ahmed over the weekend, tweets Theo Mackie of the Arizona Republic. He’s officially a free agent.
There was never any doubt the veteran shortstop would hit the open market after Arizona designated him for assignment last Wednesday. Players in DFA limbo have to go on waivers after the trade deadline. Ahmed has well more than the five years of major league service necessary to decline a minor league assignment while retaining his entire salary. With around $1.4MM in remaining guarantees on his $10MM salary at the time of the DFA, no other club was going to put in a claim.
The 33-year-old infielder becomes a free agent for the first time in his career. He’d signed a $32.5MM extension with the D-Backs going into the 2020 campaign, which would’ve been his platform year. The defensive stalwart hit .230/.285/.351 in 954 plate appearances over the course of that deal. That includes a .212/.257/.303 slash this season.
Ahmed has been healthy this season after losing most of last year to shoulder surgery. He’s still a quality defensive shortstop. The D-Backs turned to 21-year-old top prospect Jordan Lawlar to try to add some spark to the lineup, though, pushing Ahmed off the roster a few weeks before his contract was set to expire.
The 10-year veteran will surely at least find minor league interest based on the strength of his glove — although that might not materialize until the winter. Now that the calendar has turned to September, he’d be ineligible for postseason play elsewhere. As a result, he could elect to sit out the final few weeks of this season and look for a new landing spot during the upcoming offseason.
Orioles Keep Open Possibility Of Felix Bautista Returning In 2023
Orioles closer Félix Bautista has been out since August 26 after suffering an injury to the UCL in his throwing elbow. The O’s haven’t provided many specifics on the situation, but Bautista has continued to throw while on the injured list.
Baltimore general manager Mike Elias met with the beat this afternoon and provided a little more clarity. Elias noted the team isn’t closing the door on Bautista returning this year, saying that medical personnel believe the big right-hander won’t do further damage by throwing (via Chelsea Janes of the Washington Post).
Asked whether it was fair to describe the injury as a UCL tear, Elias initially agreed before clarifying “it‘s probably best characterized as an acute or chronic injury to his ligament” (relayed by Jake Rill of MLB.com). That’s an alarming description of the issue. Elias acknowledged that surgery was a possibility but said the specific treatment program won’t be decided upon until after the season (via Rich Dubroff of Baltimore Baseball).
Bautista was stellar as a rookie a year ago and has cemented himself as one of the sport’s top late-game arms this season. Behind a triple-digit heater and a wipeout split, he has dominated opponents en route to a 1.48 ERA across 61 innings. Bautista has fanned a laughable 46.4% of batters faced while picking up whiffs on almost 21% of his pitches. Even if he doesn’t make it back this season, he’ll likely find himself on some Cy Young ballots.
Whether he can add to that breakout performance could have a major impact on the postseason race. The O’s are three games up on the Rays in the AL East. They’re trying to secure the division title and home field advantage through the American League playoff field. Even without Bautista, they’re in strong position to keep hold of the division with less than three weeks to go, but losing arguably the game’s best reliever would obviously deal some hit to their chances of making a deep postseason run.
The 28-year-old is a crucial player for Baltimore well beyond this season. He’ll only reach the two-year service threshold and is still controllable for four more years.
Ross Stripling Not Expecting To Opt Out Of Giants Deal
Giants right-hander Ross Stripling has the ability to return to free agency this offseason, as he can opt out of a $12.5MM salary for next year. However, the 33-year-old indicated this evening that he doesn’t anticipate heading back to the open market.
Stripling rather frankly told the team’s beat he “hasn’t pitched well enough to opt out” (relayed by Maria Guardado of MLB.com). While a blunt self-assessment, it’s not an especially surprising declaration. The veteran hurler has a 5.29 ERA over 78 1/3 innings on the season. That’s well off the 3.01 earned runs per nine which Stripling had allowed during his final year with the Blue Jays.
While he wasn’t especially overpowering even during his best seasons in Toronto, Stripling has lost a couple percentage points off his strikeout rate. He has still been one of the league’s best at avoiding free passes but has proven far too home run prone. Stripling has allowed 2.30 homers per nine, well above last year’s 0.80 HR/9 figure. Stripling had been susceptible to the longball in both 2020 and ’21.
In addition to the inconsistent production, Stripling has spent the past three weeks on the injured list with a back strain. It’s his second such IL stay of the year. He has expressed a bit of frustration with his status, telling reporters over the weekend he feels the club is keeping him on the IL beyond when he’s healthy enough to return because the team is reluctant to bump someone else off the roster. He reiterated today that he believes he’s ready for a return after throwing 50 pitches in a batting practice session.
Stripling is one of a handful of San Francisco players whose contracts have upcoming player options. Michael Conforto has an $18MM provision, while Sean Manaea will need to decide whether to retain a $12.5MM salary. Neither of those cases are as straightforward as Stripling’s, but both seem likely to return to San Francisco themselves. Conforto started slowly offensively. He’d seemed to find his stride midseason but has missed the past few weeks with a hamstring strain. Manaea lost his rotation spot early on and has worked mostly in multi-inning relief. Despite a solid 27.2% strikeout rate, he owns an even 5.00 ERA through 93 2/3 frames.
Angels Reinstate Jose Suarez From Injured List
The Angels have activated starter José Suarez from the 60-day injured list, per a club announcement. Gerardo Reyes was optioned to Triple-A Salt Lake in a corresponding transaction. The move brings the 40-man roster to capacity.
Suarez is back for the first time since early May. The 25-year-old southpaw has battled shoulder discomfort for the past few months. Even prior to the IL stint, he was having a disastrous start to the year. Suarez was tagged for a 9.62 ERA over six outings, striking out only 17.1% of opponents while walking over 12% of batters faced. It’s certainly not what the Angels had envisioned from a pitcher who allowed fewer than four earned runs per nine in each of the preceding two seasons.
From 2021-22, Suarez turned in 207 1/3 innings of 3.86 ERA ball. He posted nearly average strikeout and walk marks and generally looked the part of a stable #4/5 starter. The Angels were counting on the likes of Suarez, Patrick Sandoval and Reid Detmers to form a strong enough rotation to supplement their top-heavy lineup.
Obviously, the team’s hopes of competing have evaporated. There’s little benefit for the Angels in getting Suarez back for this season, but he’ll be able to make a few appearances going into the winter. He’ll be eligible for arbitration for the first time and is controllable via that process through the 2026 campaign.
The Dodgers Grabbed An Elite Closer Off Waivers
There are myriad reasons for the Dodgers’ decade-long run of excellence. They’ve added elite players via trade (Mookie Betts) and free agency (Freddie Freeman). Their strong player development pipeline has allowed them to consistently supplement their high-payroll, star-laden roster with controllable talent.
As with any good team, the Dodgers have also hit on less visible acquisitions. Jason Heyward has looked reinvigorated after cracking the L.A. roster following an offseason minor league pact. Ryan Brasier and Shelby Miller have turned in solid results in the middle innings since being acquired at little cost. None of those have been as impactful as the August 2021 waiver claim of right-hander Evan Phillips.
Phillips had pitched in parts of four MLB seasons at the time. He’d debuted with the Braves and been included in the 2018 deadline deal that sent Kevin Gausman from the Orioles to Atlanta. Phillips flashed strikeout upside with the O’s over the next couple seasons but couldn’t consistently throw strikes. At the end of the 2020 campaign, a rebuilding Baltimore team put Phillips on waivers. He went unclaimed.
The reliever stayed in the O’s system until the following August. He was carrying an ERA a little above 5.00 in Triple-A when Baltimore released him. The Rays signed Phillips to a minor league deal, called him up for one three-inning outing, then pushed him back off the MLB roster. When he hit waivers for a second time, L.A. claimed him.
It seemed a nondescript move. Phillips had a 7.26 ERA in 49 career appearances. Relievers with swing-and-miss potential but control woes often change hands. Phillips was out of options, meaning he couldn’t be sent to the minors without running through waivers. It seemed entirely possible he’d get quickly squeezed out of the Dodger bullpen the way he had been in Tampa Bay.
Phillips threw 10 1/3 unremarkable innings down the stretch. He was left off the playoff roster for the first two rounds before working three scoreless frames in an eventual NLCS loss to the Braves. He held his spot on the 40-man all winter and began last year in middle relief.
It only took a couple months for him to establish himself in a higher-leverage role. Phillips broke out with 63 innings of 1.14 ERA ball, the lowest mark of any reliever with 60+ frames. He struck out nearly a third of opposing hitters while cutting his walks to a lower than average 6.4% rate. While he didn’t dramatically increase the number of pitches he threw within the strike zone, he more consistently got hitters to chase pitches off the plate. Hitters’ rate of swings on would-be balls went up, while they began taking more pitches within the zone. He was giving opponents a much more uncomfortable at-bat.
Upon landing with the Dodgers, Phillips made a couple adjustments to his pitch mix. Against right-handed batters, he increasingly leaned on his slider — his best offering — while scaling back on his four-seam fastball. When facing southpaws, he dropped a split in favor of a low-90s cutter. He has dominated hitters of either handedness since that point.
Phillips was never likely to repeat a 1.14 ERA — that’s an almost impossible ask of any pitcher — but he has again been one of the game’s best relievers. He’s allowing only 2.18 earned runs per nine over 53 2/3 frames. His strikeout rate is down slightly but still well above-average at 29.9%. The Dodgers have increasingly used him in the ninth inning, and he’s responded with 22 saves (and six holds) while blowing a lead just twice.
Going back to the start of last season, Phillips leads MLB relievers (minimum 100 innings) with a 1.62 ERA. He’s 11th among that group in strikeout percentage and eighth in both strikeout/walk rate differential and SIERA. He’ll turn 29 on Monday but still has three more seasons of club control via arbitration. Phillips played last year on a near-minimum salary and is making $1.3MM this season as a Super Two qualifier.
The Dodgers will go into the postseason with perhaps their spottiest starting staff in years. Julio Urías is on administrative leave after a felony domestic violence arrest. Clayton Kershaw is pitching through shoulder discomfort. Lance Lynn continues to struggle with home runs. Dustin May and Tony Gonsolin have undergone season-ending surgery. There’s a case that rookie Bobby Miller — who has all of 17 major league starts to his name — is L.A.’s most reliable starter at the moment.
That’ll very likely increase the pressure on the relief corps in October. The Dodgers have an above-average bullpen, with Brusdar Graterol and Caleb Ferguson joining Brasier, Miller and hopefully deadline acquisition Joe Kelly in bridging the middle innings. Dave Roberts figures to lean most heavily on Phillips, something no one would’ve projected when the Dodgers placed their claim a little over two years ago.
Image courtesy of USA Today Sports.
Luis Severino Won’t Return In 2023 Following High-Grade Oblique Strain
6:44PM: The specifics of Severino’s injury have become clear, as manager Aaron Boone told reporters (including Brendan Kuty of The Athletic) that the right-hander had suffered a “high-grade” left oblique strain. The injury brings a difficult 2023 campaign for Severino to an end, and leaves the 29-year-old’s health as a major question mark just two months before he’s scheduled to hit free agency for the first time in his career.
9:39AM: As expected, the Yankees placed Severino on the 15-day IL, and called up right-hander Ron Marinaccio from Triple-A in the corresponding move. The specific nature of Severino’s injury isn’t yet known, as the club announced he was sidelined with “a left upper body injury (pending further results).”
SEPTEMBER 8: Luis Severino departed this evening’s start against Milwaukee in the fifth inning. The right-hander left in obvious pain after throwing a pitch to Brice Turang.
The Yankees didn’t provide many specifics, saying only that Severino would go for additional testing on a left side injury. After the game, the pitcher said he felt like he’d been shot, calling it “deep, sharp pain” (via Brendan Kuty of the Athletic).
More will be known in the coming days, but it seems as if Severino is trending to a trip to the injured list. With three weeks left in the regular season and the Yankees all but certain to miss the playoffs, it’s fair to wonder if his 2023 campaign will be cut short.
It has been a nightmarish season for the 29-year-old hurler. Severino spent the first six weeks of the season on the injured list after suffering a Spring Training lat injury. He returned in late May and had been healthy up until tonight, but he has posted some of the worst numbers of any pitcher in the league. Including his performance this evening, he carries a 6.65 ERA through 89 1/3 innings. He’s striking out a below-average 18.9% of opposing hitters and has allowed a staggering 2.32 home runs per nine.
It’s a huge drop-off for a pitcher who worked to a 3.18 ERA with a 27.7% strikeout rate in 102 innings a year ago. Severino battled injuries (most notably a February 2020 Tommy John procedure) going back to 2019. Yet his rate statistics last season weren’t much worse than those of his 2017-18 peak when he made consecutive All-Star games and finished as high as third in Cy Young balloting.
Even if Severino were to finish this year healthy, it’d be a tough time for his first career trip to free agency. He already looked like a candidate for a one-year, bounceback deal in hopes of a better platform season going into the 2024-25 offseason. If he requires a stint on the injured list to close out the year, he’d head into the winter with an additional question mark.
A’s Outright Spencer Patton
The Athletics have sent right-hander Spencer Patton outright to Triple-A Las Vegas, according to the transactions log at MLB.com. Oakland designated him for assignment on Wednesday.
Patton has pitched 12 times for the A’s over two stints. He’s logged 12 1/3 innings, mostly in low-leverage relief, allowing seven runs. Patton has punched out seven while walking six and given up a trio of home runs. The 35-year-old has spent more time in Las Vegas, working to a 4.68 ERA across 42 1/3 frames in the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League. Patton has fanned a decent 24.3% of opponents in Triple-A against a 10.1% walk rate.
A former 24th-round pick, Patton has appeared at the major league level in parts of six seasons. Pitching for the Rangers, Cubs and A’s, he owns a 5.11 ERA over 116 1/3 innings. He has worked to a 3.36 ERA through parts of six Triple-A campaigns and allowed 3.68 earned runs per nine in four years at Japan’s highest level.
As was the case when the A’s outrighted Patton in May, he’ll have the ability to elect free agency in lieu of the minor league assignment.