Noah Syndergaard Leaves Rehab Start With Elbow Soreness
8:03pm: Syndergaard will have an MRI, but the Mets don’t seem overly concerned about his status, per Jon Heyman of MLB Network.
6:47pm: Mets right-hander Noah Syndergaard was supposed to throw at least four innings in a Low-A rehab start on Tuesday, but he exited after tossing just one frame. The Mets have since announced that Syndergaard left “for precautionary reasons due to right elbow soreness” (via Tim Britton of The Athletic).
Syndergaard is working his way back from the Tommy John surgery he underwent in March 2020, making this news especially troubling. It’s also another unsettling development for an injury-riddled Mets team that has a slew of other important players on the IL, including two of Syndergaard’s fellow rotation members in Carlos Carrasco and Taijuan Walker.
If this doesn’t prove to be another serious health problem for Syndergaard, he’ll serve as a key summer reinforcement for a New York team that currently has a tenuous hold on the National League East lead. The hard-throwing 28-year-old has enjoyed a terrific career with the Mets going back to 2015, having pitched to a 3.31 ERA with a 26.4 percent strikeout rate, a 5.6 percent walk rate and a 49.1 percent groundball rate across 716 innings. Unfortunately, Syndergaard hasn’t taken a major league mound since Sept. 29, 2019. On a personal level, Syndergaard is facing a pivotal season as a free agent-to-be, making it all the more important that he’ll recover quickly from this issue.
Brian Anderson To Miss Several Weeks
The Marlins have placed third baseman Brian Anderson on the 10-day injured list with a left shoulder subluxation, the team announced. They reinstated infielder Isan Diaz from the 10-day IL in a corresponding move.
This is the second IL placement of the year for Anderson, who went on the shelf on April 21 with a left oblique strain. Anderson missed about two weeks then, but this appears to be a much more significant injury. General manager Kim Ng told Craig Mish of SportsGrid and other reporters that Anderson will sit out several weeks this time.
A key member of the Marlins since he debuted in 2017, the 28-year-old Anderson had an unproductive April this season but bounced back this month before returning to the IL. Overall, Anderson has batted .250/.316/.371 with three home runs and a trio of stolen bases in 136 plate appearances, and he has been an asset at the hot corner with two Defensive Runs Saved and a 1.9 Ultimate Zone Rating.
Winners of three in a row, the Marlins sit 23-24 and just a game back in the wide-open National League East. They’ll now have to go for the foreseeable future without Anderson, which will leave third to Diaz and Jon Berti, Ng said (via Mish). The position’s uncharted territory for Diaz, who has never played there in the majors. Additionally, he and Berti have gotten off to poor starts at the plate this year.
Royals Activate Adalberto Mondesi
The Royals announced that they have activated shortstop Adalberto Mondesi from the injured list. He’s in line to make his 2021 debut after missing nearly the first two full months of the season.
The 25-year-old Mondesi went on the IL on March 31, just before the season began, with a right oblique strain. The Royals have since gone through an up-and-down year without Mondesi, last season’s stolen base champion, as they got off to a great start before enduring an 11-game losing streak. But the club has righted the ship of late and now owns a 22-23 record that places it 4 1/2 games behind the American League Central-leading White Sox.
The absence of Mondesi left the Royals’ shortstop position to Nicky Lopez, who has hit .230/.317/.310 with zero home runs and five steals in 150 plate appearances. Mondesi batted a somewhat underwhelming .256/.294/.416 with six home runs over 233 trips to the plate in 2020, but he has established himself as a major stolen base threat and a valuable starter.
Injury Notes: Buxton, Mets, A’s, Cards
Twins center fielder Byron Buxton could be ready for a rehab assignment near the end of the week, manager Rocco Baldelli told Betsy Helfand of the St. Paul Pioneer Press and other reporters. Buxton has been out since May 7 with a hip strain, the latest of an unfortunate number of injuries he has dealt with since his career began in 2015. The 27-year-old was off to a jaw-dropping start this season with a .370/.408/.772 line, nine home runs and five stolen bases in 98 plate appearances before his IL placement, making him the brightest spot on a Minnesota team that has surprisingly gone from contender to calamity.
- The Mets didn’t need another injury to an outfielder, but they got one Monday: Johneshwy Fargas departed their game against the Rockies with a left AC joint sprain, Anthony DiComo of MLB.com was among those to report. The team just promoted Fargas a week ago when it placed fellow outfielder Michael Conforto on the injured list (he’ll be out until late June with a hamstring strain), and Fargas has since been its go-to option in center. The 26-year-old has fared well with a .286/.286/.524 line in 22 plate appearances, but he may now be on his way to the IL. The Mets’ outfield is already without Conforto, Brandon Nimmo, Kevin Pillar and Albert Almora Jr.
- Athletics left-hander Jesus Luzardo is going on a Triple-A rehab start Thursday and looks to be closing in on a return to the big league club, per Martin Gallegos of MLB.com. The question is whether Luzardo, who fractured his left hand in a video game-related accident at the beginning of the month, will start or relieve when he returns. The promising 23-year-old got off to a rocky start this season with a 5.79 ERA in 28 innings prior to landing on the IL.
- Cardinals southpaw reliever Andrew Miller will begin a rehab stint Tuesday, Jeff Jones of the Belleville News-Democrat tweets. St. Louis will have a better idea of a return date later this week. The Cardinals have gone since April 29 without Miller, whom they sent to the IL with a right foot issue. The once-marvelous Miller, 36, got off to a tough start this year with 7 1/3 innings of 12-hit, seven-run pitching and eight strikeouts against four walks before going on the IL.
Blue Jays To Promote Alek Manoah
The Blue Jays are promoting right-handed pitching prospect Alek Manoah, Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reports. He’ll start Wednesday against the Yankees.
It was a quick rise up the ranks for Manoah, the 11th overall pick in the 2019 draft. The former West Virginia star was excellent in Low-A ball that year, though he was unable to build on that last season because of the lack of a minor league campaign. However, Manoah picked up where he left off this season prior to his first major league promotion. The 23-year-old has dominated in his Triple-A debut with 18 innings of seven-hit, one-run ball and 27 strikeouts against three walks.
As one would expect based on his professional production, Manoah is among the game’s highest-regarded prospects. Outlets such as The Athletic, Baseball America, MLB.com and Baseball Prospectus have all placed him in their top 100 lists of late, with MLB.com writing that the 6-foot-6, 260-pounder’s three-pitch repertoire – a fastball, slider and changeup – could pave the way for a solid career as a starter.
While it remains to be seen whether Manoah will be able to stick in the bigs this year, Toronto could use the boost in its rotation. Hyun Jin Ryu, Robbie Ray and Steven Matz have combined for good production across 26 outings, but the Jays have gotten little else from their starters in 2021.
Latest On Michael Conforto, Jeff McNeil
The Mets placed outfielder Michael Conforto and second baseman Jeff McNeil on the injured list on May 17, but both players are going to miss much more time than the 10-day minimum. Mets acting general manager Zack Scott said Monday that Conforto and McNeil have “significant hamstring strains” that will shelve them until late June, per Laura Albanese of Newsday.
Conforto has largely been an offensive standout with the Mets since he debuted in 2015, but this news continues a difficult platform season for the 28-year-old. He’s off to a so-so start (by his standards) with a .230/.356/.336 line and a pair of home runs in 135 plate appearances. It’ll now be several more weeks before Conforto can try to rebound in advance of a potential trip to free agency.
The Mets’ outfield, meanwhile, is in a tattered state. Along with Conforto, they’re down Brandon Nimmo, Kevin Pillar and Albert Almora Jr. – all of whom have been on the IL for at least a week. As a result, the team is forced to rely on a starting alignment of Cameron Maybin, Johneshwy Fargas and Khalil Lee in the grass. It’s obviously not ideal for New York, but the club is nonetheless up a game and a half in the National League East.
Like Conforto, McNeil hasn’t been at the top of his game this year, though he was enjoying a solid month prior to his IL placement. Overall, the 29-year-old has batted .242/.336/.374 with three home runs over 113 trips to the plate, and the versatile McNeil has been the Mets’ No. 1 choice at the keystone. Jose Peraza and Jonathan Villar have also racked up at least a handful of starts there, but the latter has mostly handed third base since another of New York’s top hitters – J.D. Davis – landed on the IL on May 2 with a sprained left hand.
Padres To Place Trent Grisham On 10-Day IL
The Padres will place center fielder Trent Grisham on the 10-day injured list with a heel bruise, Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union-Tribune was among those to report. They’ll recall outfielder Brian O’Grady to take his roster spot.
This adds to an already injury-shortened year for Grisham, who began the season on the IL because of a strained hamstring and didn’t make his debut until April 9. When healthy, though, the 24-year-old has been fantastic. In his second season as a Padre, Grisham has slashed .301/.383/.515 with six home runs and seven stolen bases in 154 plate appearances. And Grisham, who won a Gold Glove Award in 2020, has accounted for four Defensive Runs Saved and put up a 0.9 Ultimate Zone Rating in the field in the early going.
On the rare occasions the Padres haven’t used Grisham in center this year, they’ve mostly turned to Tommy Pham at the position. Pham has had a difficult start to the season (.193/.342/.216 in 149 trips to the plate), though his production has taken a turn for the better this month.
Angels Select Dillon Peters
The Angels announced that they have selected left-hander Dillon Peters and optioned righty Jaime Barria. The club outrighted Peters last winter.
The 28-year-old Peters appeared in the majors during the previous four seasons with the Marlins and Angels. Peters has recorded a 5.83 ERA/5.22 SIERA with a 16.7 percent strikeout rate and a 9.9 percent walk rate over 132 2/3 big league frames. He has also had trouble at the Triple-A level, where he has logged a 6.15 ERA in 169 2/3 innings.
Diamondbacks Reinstate Ketel Marte
The Diamondbacks announced that they have reinstated Ketel Marte from the 10-day injured list and optioned outfielder Nick Heath to Triple-A Reno.
Arizona has gone almost the entire season without Marte, who landed on the IL on April 8 with a right hamstring strain. The 27-year-old began the season as the Diamondbacks’ No. 1 choice in center field, and they’ve since left the position to a combination of Heath, Tim Locastro, Pavin Smith and Daulton Varsho. D-backs center fielders rank a below-average 23rd in fWAR (minus-0.2) and 24th in wRC+ (80).
Marte, 27, was red hot to begin the campaign, as he slashed .462/.500/.846 with two home runs in 28 plate appearances. That was more like the MVP-contending Marte the Diamondbacks saw in 2019, not the one who hit .287/.323/.409 with two homers in 195 PA last year.
Mets To Place Taijuan Walker On 10-Day IL
4:55pm: McWilliams and Tarpley are on the COVID list, Healey tweets.
4:46pm: The team has officially placed Walker and fellow hurlers Sam McWilliams and Stephen Tarpley on the IL, Thosar relays. New York also activated outfielder Cameron Maybin, whom it acquired from the Cubs on Tuesday.
4:06pm: The Mets will place right-hander Taijuan Walker on the 10-day injured list, Deesha Thosar of the New York Daily News was among those to report. Walker is dealing with tightness in his left side.
The Mets now have four notable starters on the IL, with Walker joining Jacob deGrom (right side tightness), Noah Syndergaard (Tommy John surgery recovery) and Carlos Carrasco (hamstring strain) on the shelf. Nevertheless, the Mets have gone 20-16 and are in possession of a one-game lead in the National League East.
For his part, Walker – whom the Mets signed to a two-year, $20MM guarantee in free agency – has more than held his own in 2021. The former Mariner, Diamondback and Blue Jay, 28, has pitched to a 2.05 ERA over eight starts and 44 innings. That’s obviously going to be difficult production to replace, but the Mets seem hopeful Walker won’t miss much time, per manager Luis Rojas (via Tim Healey of Newsday).