Diamondbacks Release Jorge De La Rosa
The Diamondbacks announced today that they released lefty Jorge De La Rosa after he cleared waivers. He had been designated for assignment at the trade deadline.
De La Rosa, 37, had been working out of the pen after cracking the roster on a minors deal this spring. He’s owed $2.25MM for the season, his second in Arizona.
The veteran southpaw managed only a 4.63 ERA in his 35 innings for the Snakes before he was cut loose. Though he carried a solid 51.9% groundball rate, De La Rosa posted a marginal combination of 6.9 K/9 and 4.9 BB/9 while allowing homers on twenty percent of the flyballs put in play against him.
Corey Seager To Undergo Hip Surgery
Dodgers shortstop Corey Seager is slated to undergo surgery on his left hip tomorrow, the club announced. He is already out for the year after undergoing Tommy John surgery.
The organization says in its statement that Seager is “expected to resume baseball activities in January.” That would seemingly make it possible for him to participate fully in Spring Training.
Of course, that timeline is somewhat tighter than seems preferable. Seager has already been out for over three months and was experiencing some hip problems just before his elbow ligament popped. It obviously would have been preferable to use that time to rehab both issues. Presumably, there’s an explanation, though it hasn’t yet been given publicly.
Seager, 24, has been a high-end performer since breaking into the league at 21 years of age late in the 2015 season. He had not been in top form in the early stages of the 2018 season, though that might well have changed with a hot streak. All said, Seager carries a .302/.372/.494 slash with 54 home runs through 1,528 MLB plate appearances. He’ll be eligible for arbitration for the first time this fall, though his ill-timed health problems will significantly dent his expected earnings.
Lance McCullers Jr. Diagnosed With Forearm Strain
Astros starter Lance McCullers Jr. has been diagnosed with a muscle strain in his right forearm, Chandler Rome of the Houston Chronicle reports on Twitter. McCullers had already been placed on the 10-day disabled list.
The 24-year-old McCullers has worked to a 3.93 ERA with 9.9 K/9 and 3.6 BB/9 through a personal-high 126 innings on the season. He is earning $2.45MM this year as a Super Two.
While this diagnosis certainly isn’t the best news, it’s also not the worst. McCullers is said to be likely to miss the remainder of the month of August, but it appears there is good reason to hope he’ll be able to return during the present season.
That’s not to say that McCullers and the ‘Astros are out of the woods just yet. Any setbacks could threaten his availability down the stretch and in the postseason. And, in the long run, this is the latest of several injury issues that have combined to limit him to 199 2/3 innings over the prior two campaigns.
Focusing on the immediate picture, the Astros have several former starters working in their bullpen in Collin McHugh and Brad Peacock, though both are excelling in their current roles. Youngster Cionel Perez, who’s currently also in the MLB relief corps, could be among the internal options. It’s certainly also possible that the club could pursue a depth option on the August trade market, though a few possibilities have already left the shelves.
Rick Ankiel Planning Pitching Comeback
AUGUST 6th: Ankiel has announced that he will indeed pursue a comeback, in an interview on FOX Sports Midwest (video available on Twitter).
AUGUST 2nd: Though he’s long removed from his days as an active major leaguer, former pitcher-turned-outfielder Rick Ankiel says he’s now “toying with” the idea of trying to return to the mound, as Tim Brown of Yahoo Sports reports. It seems the thought is still in its infancy, but it’s intriguing to consider nevertheless.
Ankiel, who recently turned 39, has already crafted a notable path in baseball. He was a phenom on the mound for the Cardinals, only to see his career crumble in stunning fashion owing to a case of the yips that never went away.
The highly valued young hurler placed second in the 2000 Rookie of the Year voting at twenty years of age. But he collapsed in the ensuing postseason and was never again a useful MLB pitcher. While he made it back to the majors briefly in 2004, Ankiel decided to rebuild himsef as a outfielder the following spring when the problems returned.
Ankiel ended up turning in seven seasons as a position player. While he was noted mostly for his defense — particularly, a rocket of a throwing arm — Ankiel also had plenty of power and ended up swatting 76 home runs and carrying a .240/.302/.422 slash in over two thousand career plate appearances. It was almost entirely a feel-good story, though a PED controversy arose in the middle of that time.
Needless to say, there’d still be quite a few hurdles to Ankiel’s potential return to professional pitching. But he is said to have reached the upper eighties with his fastball even before any dedicated work. He’s not outlandishly old; on occasion, pitchers still work into their forties. And given that he stopped pitching at 25 years of age, his arm hasn’t suffered anything close to the wear and tear of a typical big league hurler.
Given that the idea only seems to have been hatched recently, details remain scant. It may be that Ankiel won’t even follow through on the concept. But he indicated to Brown that he’d like to try working as a reliever in camp next spring. That’d surely make for a fascinating storyline to follow for those many fans that have wondered whether Ankiel still had one more run left in his powerful left arm.
Tigers To Purchase Contract Of Jacob Turner
The Tigers will purchase the contract of righty Jacob Turner, Evan Woodberry of MLive.com tweets. He’s expected to start tomorrow in place of the just-traded Mike Fiers.
Turner, 27, has seen action in parts of seven seasons. But his career hasn’t gone as hoped when he debuted in Detroit at just twenty years of age. The former first-rounder has spent time with four other organizations since that time and owns only a 5.26 ERA over 368 career innings.
Most recently, Turner was knocked around in four outings with the Marlins earlier this season. The Tigers nabbed him on a minors deal and sent him to Triple-A Toledo. Turner has been effective there thus far, carrying a 4.01 ERA with 6.3 K/9 and 3.1 BB/9 in 58 1/3 frames over 11 starts.
Dexter Fowler Suffers Fractured Foot
SATURDAY: Fowler won’t require surgery, but it’s still not known whether he’ll return this season, Langosch tweets. He’ll wear a boot for the next month.
FRIDAY: Cardinals outfielder Dexter Fowler left tonight’s game with what has now been diagnosed as a fractured foot, according to MLB.com’s Jenifer Langosch (via Twitter). He’s headed to the 10-day disabled list, though full details aren’t yet known.
Fowler, a 32-year-old switch-hitter, has been mired in a forgettable campaign. After putting up quality numbers last year, the first of his five-year contract, Fowler has fallen off of a cliff in 2018.
Through 329 plate appearances this season, Fowler carries only a .175/.274/.295 slash with eight home runs. While he has maintained his typically solid K/BB numbers (11.2% walk rate vs. 22.5% strikeout rate), he’s just not driving the ball like he has in the past.
Fowler’s .119 isolated slugging rate is well below his recent levels. Of course, he’s also suffering from a .203 BABIP that’s at least partially attributable to misfortune. But Statcast doesn’t suggest he has been in vintage form; he’s credited with only a .282 xwOBA though that’s much better than his actual .257 wOBA.
All told, the rest of the contract isn’t looking like a terribly appealing commitment, and the new injury doesn’t help. Fowler is also drawing poor grades for his fielding despite sliding over to right field from his customary center. He’ll earn $14.5MM apiece over the next three seasons.
Injury Notes: Deal Medicals, Matz, Devenski, Nicasio, Kinsler
WEEI.com’s Rob Bradford took an interesting look at changes that have been made to the process of assessing health in trades. The 2016 Drew Pomeranz swap, and more particularly the fallout from it, sparked the development of a much more robust system for documenting and assessing medical matters. While thee’s obviously an advantage in enhancing the scrutiny, it also leads to what Bradford calls a “tremendously tedious process.”
Here’s the latest on some injury situations around the league:
- The Mets announced today that they have placed lefty Steven Matz on the 10-day disabled list with a flexor pronator strain. That sounds a bit frightening, though indications are that it’s not a terribly concerning injury situation. Still, any arm troubles are somewhat more worrisome for a young hurler that has experienced so many already since his 2015 debut. Matz, who will be replaced on the active roster by right-hander Corey Oswalt, joins Phillip Evans on the shelf. The 25-year-old infielder suffered a non-displaced fracture of his tibia, though it is perhaps still possible he’ll be able to return to action this season.
- The Astros have placed reliever Chris Devenski on the 10-day disabled list with left hamstring tightness, the club announced. He’ll be replaced on the active roster by southpaw Cionel Perez. Devenski had been cruising through another dominant season before he imploded very recently. Devenski had a 1.32 ERA as of July 1st, but has since allowed 13 earned runs in seven outings — including eight without recording an out over his past two appearances. Clearly, something isn’t quite right, so the ‘Stros will give him a chance to get back to full health before the stretch run.
- Also heading to the DL is Mariners righty Juan Nicasio, the team announced. He’ll be replaced by reliever Chasen Bradford. Knee problems have been an issue for the 31-year-old Nicasio this year. He’s now sporting a 6.00 ERA through 42 frames on the season, though he’s also carrying a sparkling 53:5 K/BB ratio.
- Just-acquired Red Sox second baseman Ian Kinsler is likewise set to hit the DL after leaving tonight’s game with a tight hamstring, Bradford tweets. The seriousness isn’t yet apparent, but it doesn’t appear to be a major source of concern. Kinsler will be replaced for the time being by infielder Tony Renda.
Minor MLB Transactions: 8/3/18
We’ll use this post to track the day’s minor moves:
- The Athletics have outrighted right-hander Carlos Ramirez, who cleared waivers after being designated for assignment recently. Ramirez, 27, has allowed just eight earned runs on nine hits in his 25 MLB innings over the past two years. Of course, he also dished out nine free passes to go with only five strikeouts in 8 1/3 frames this season. Ramirez has spent most of his time of late in the upper minors. At Triple-A this year, in 32 1/3 innings with the A’s and Blue Jays organizations, Ramirez has worked to a 5.01 ERA with 9.2 K/9 against 5.6 BB/9.
Chris Young Undergoes Hip Surgery
Angels outfielder Chris Young has undergone right hip surgery, per a club announcement. He will need an additional procedure on his left hip as well. Both are to address labral tears.
The 34-year-old’s outlook isn’t immediately clear, but it seems reasonable to guess it’ll be challenging for him to make it back this year. He has already been on the shelf for a month with a hamstring strain. With just two months of the season left to be played, Young may be looking at a return next spring.
Regardless, the Halos likely will not get value on the $2MM they invested in Young over the winter. That was certainly a reasonable amount to pay for the veteran reserve, who has mostly provided solid overall output over his 13-year career. Unfortunately, things haven’t worked out as hoped.
In 128 plate appearances on the year, Young carries only a .168/.252/.363 batting line with six home runs. It’s fair to note that he’s only carrying a .183 BABIP, but Young is also producing soft contact at a whopping 38.5% rate and his strikeout rate has jumped to 28.9% after sitting in the twenty percent range in recent years. Plus, he has graded as a below-average defender in the outfield.
Young has been more effective against left-handers (85 wRC+) than against same-handed pitchers, but obviously he has lagged even in that regard. The expectation was that he’d provide something of a platoon partner for Kole Calhoun and a back-up for Mike Trout and Justin Upton, helping to form a highly productive outfield unit on a contending team. Instead, with the since-rejuvenated Calhoun embroiled in a miserable slump to begin the year, right field became one of the problem areas for a club that has fallen short of expectations.
Hunter Greene Diagnosed With Sprained UCL
Top Reds prospect Hunter Greene has been diagnosed with a sprained right ulnar collateral ligament, the team announced. He won’t pitch again this season.
For the time being, Greene is slated to attempt to rehab the injury. The announcement indicates that he’ll report to the organization’s Spring Training facility and be monitored “throughout the offseason.” Perhaps the hope is that he’ll be ready to ramp up fully in camp next year.
It seems promising that the organization feels it’s worth pursuing a rehab rather than a surgical route. The club has not specified the grade of the strain. Obviously, any UCL injury raises the specter of the famous Tommy John procedure, but there’s no indication that it’s a consideration at this point in Greene’s case and plenty of pitchers have made it back from the injury without going under the knife.
Greene, who’s closing in on his 19th birthday, was the second overall pick in the 2017 draft. The high-powered righty rose to 18th on MLB.com’s mid-season ranking of the top prospects in baseball. In eighteen starts this year, he compiled a 4.48 ERA with 11.7 K/9 and 3.0 BB/9 over 68 1/3 innings at the Class A level.