Matt Harvey Weighing Thoracic Outlet Syndrome Treatment Options
Mets righty Matt Harvey has been found to have symptoms consistent with thoracic outlet syndrome, GM Sandy Alderson told reporters including MLB.com’s Anthony DiComo (Twitter link). Harvey is still weighing whether to have season-ending surgery now or instead to undergo a therapy for the time being. ESPN New York’s Adam Rubin writes that the alternative to surgery would be a nerve-block injection, though that would merely be a temporary fix to the problem at hand. Surgery to alleviate his symptoms are inevitable, but it’s possible that he could delay the procedure until the offseason if he elects the injection route.
Harvey’s dilemma marks a continuation of injury problems that have impacted the Mets’ much-ballyhooed young rotation. Right-hander Noah Syndergaard is pitching through a minor bone spur in his right elbow, while lefty Steven Matz is currently pitching through a bone spur in his own elbow that is said to be larger than that of Syndergaard. And, of course, the Mets have been without the highly talented Zack Wheeler since 2014, as the now-26-year-old righty underwent Tommy John surgery just prior to Opening Day 2015. Notably, DiComo tweets that Wheeler isn’t an option to replace Harvey anytime in the near future, as the club has stopped providing a timetable for his return.
The 2016 season has been a struggle for Harvey, as he’s pitched to a 4.86 ERA with diminished strikeout (7.4 K/9), walk (2.4 BB/9) and ground-ball (40.8 percent) rates while also seeing a 1.5 mph dip in his fastball velocity. Those hardships come on the heels of a 2015 campaign in which his innings total was the source of a prolonged controversy. There was talk of shutting Harvey down for the year, as he had undergone his own Tommy John surgery in 2014, but he ultimately tossed a combined 216 innings between the regular season and the playoffs — the highest total ever for a pitcher in his first full season back from Tommy John. Of course, it’s not clear that last season’s workload had any direct impact on his new injury.
From a replacement standpoint, the Mets have a number of options, as can be seen on their depth chart. Logan Verrett will start this weekend in Harvey’s place and could be a rotation option alongside Syndergaard, Matz, Jacob deGrom and Bartolo Colon. Alternatively, Sean Gilmartin could make some starts for the club after enjoying a successful 2015 run as a member of the bullpen following his selection in the Rule 5 Draft (he’s been starting at Triple-A this year). Rafael Montero could again be an option, though he’s struggled tremendously in the minors this season. Right-handers Robert Gsellman and Gabriel Ynoa are in the Triple-A rotation and already on the 40-man roster. And, the Mets have also already brought Seth Lugo up to the Majors once this season and could turn to him for spot starts or long relief work if needed.
While surgery to alleviate thoracic outlet syndrome isn’t as common as Tommy John surgery, there’s no shortage of pitchers that have elected the procedure in recent years. Twins right-hander Phil Hughes had this exact surgical procedure earlier this week, and Royals righty Chris Young credits this surgery for revitalizing his career. Others that have undergone the operation include Mike Adams, Jaime Garcia, Shaun Marcum, Chris Carpenter and Josh Beckett. There are varying levels of success in the treatment, as explored by Nick Lampe of SB Nation’s Beyond the Box Score last summer.
MLBTR Live Chat: 7/7/16
Click here to read a transcript of today’s live MLBTR chat with host Jeff Todd.
NL Notes: Miller, Cubs, Hellickson, Crawford, Ethier
Andrew Miller sits atop the Cubs‘ wish list this summer, according to Jon Heyman of todaysknuckleball.com. The Yankees southpaw is humming along with a 1.47 ERA and ridiculous 13.2 K/BB ratio, so the price won’t be low — if he can be had at all. While teammate Dellin Betances would also hold interest, Heyman says that Chicago doesn’t believe there’s any chance he’d be available. The Cubbies do not have interest in a reunion with Braves righty Arodys Vizcaino, who has already twice changed hands between the organizations.
- In terms of Cubs trade chips, there’s been plenty of speculation about Kyle Schwarber and Javier Baez. But Heyman says that neither is likely to go anywhere. Indeed, we heard recently that president of baseball operations Theo Epstein isn’t inclined at all to part with the injured Schwarber, and it’s tough to imagine the organization removing a useful Baez from its current mix. One interesting player who could be moved, per Heyman, is third base prospect Jeimer Candelario.
- Phillies righty Jeremy Hellickson looks like the club’s most obvious trade piece: he’ll be a free agent at year’s end and has been both solid and durable, which is why he sits among the top 20 trade candidates in baseball on MLBTR’s most recent list. But Corey Seidman of CSNPhilly.com wonders whether there’s a scenario where Philadelphia holds onto the veteran starter. A qualifying offer could make sense, he posits, since that could net the Phils a draft pick that could be more valuable (particularly given the likelihood of a big draft pool) than any prospect return. And if Hellickson were to take it, that wouldn’t be a terrible result for an organization that could use the stability in the rotation both now and in 2017. GM Matt Klentak hinted recently that his team may not “be super active” at the deadline.
- The Phillies could also push toward contention as soon as next year, though that still seems optimistic. A major factor in that timeline is young shortstop J.P. Crawford, who is currently playing at Triple-A. He was recently named the top prospect in all of baseball in a mid-season ranking update from Baseball Prospectus.
- The Dodgers are said to be looking at outfielders, but may have an internal option on hand before long. Manager Dave Roberts says that Andre Ethier could make his way back to the bigs by early August, as Andy McCullough of the Los Angeles Times tweets. The veteran has missed the entire season with a broken leg, but had been a highly productive player in 2015.
Cardinals Place Matt Carpenter On DL; Purchase Contract Of Michael McKenry
The Cardinals have placed star infielder Matt Carpenter on the 15-day DL with an oblique strain, the club announced. He’ll be replaced on the active roster by catcher Michael McKenry, whose contract will be purchased.
[Related: Updated Cardinals Depth Chart]
Things weren’t looking good from the moment Carpenter walked off the field clutching his side last night, as the club sent signals that there was significant concern. His timeline remains unknown, and will obviously depend upon how he progresses, but this is the sort of injury that will need to fully clear up before a player can attempt a rehab assignment.
St. Louis has now lost two huge bats from its lineup in short succession. First baseman/outfielder Brandon Moss is also out with an ankle injury. Both rate among the top 15 players in the National League by measure of wRC+ (minimum 250 plate appearances). That’s quite a bit off offense to strip out of a lineup, even if one or both can return without lengthy absences.
Fortunately for the Cards, other developments over the course of the year will help to fill the void. Aledmys Diaz has emerged as a quality option at short, while Jhonny Peralta is back (though he has been dealing with pain in his surgically-repaired thumb). Kolten Wong and Jedd Gyorko remain on hand, though neither has been particularly productive, while Matt Adams has been plenty capable at the plate at first.
The situation behind the dish is another area of concern, though, as the club recently lost Eric Fryer on waivers when it brought back reserve Bryan Pena. Now the latter has returned to the DL, leaving first-time big leaguer Alberto Rosario as the back-up to Yadier Molina. Now McKenry will help bolster that unit. He’s not well-regarded with the glove, but has shown life with the bat and owns a useful .301/.424/.569 batting line in 151 Triple-A plate appearances on the year.
Pitching Notes: Santana, Gray, Estrada, Anderson, Gearrin
Potential trade candidate Ervin Santana tossed a complete-game shutout yesterday for the Twins, limiting the Athletics to two hits without a walk while tossing just 100 pitches. Santana dropped his ERA 44 points in the process and is now sporting a 1.63 ERA over his past four starts. Obviously, a nice four-start stretch isn’t going to undo all of the damage Santana did to his trade stock with a rocky start to the season, but 93 innings with a 4.06 ERA, 6.6 K/9, 2.5 BB/9 and a 42.9 percent ground-ball rate looks rather solid on the whole. He has about $6.5MM remaining on his salary in 2016 and is owed $13.5MM in each of the next two seasons, plus a $1MM buyout of a 2019 option. He’s not a cheap option, but given how few starters will be on the open market this winter, adding a durable mid-rotation cog could make sense for a number of contenders this summer.
- Santana wasn’t the only starter of note in that contest, as Athletics righty Sonny Gray was also on the bump. Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle reports that the match-up drew attention from quite a few scouts, with representatives from the Blue Jays, Royals, Orioles, Marlins and Cardinals among those in attendance to see the two potential trade candidates throw. Oakland skipper Bob Melvin said that he felt Gray may be turning a corner after the showing, in which he battled through six innings with only one earned run on the board. Gray did allow four walks, but worked through some tough spots and, in Melvin’s words, “found a little of his mojo.” With Gray showing some life and the A’s continuing to muddle through the season, Slusser says that some rival executives feel there’s daylight for a deal on Oakland’s staff ace. There’s little question that the Twins would at least be open to moving Santana, and he’d represent a less costly addition for those organizations in need of rotation help (on the prospect side of the equation, at least; his contractual obligations would need to be worked out).
- As the Blue Jays eye rotation pieces, the club is also taking a cautious route with All-Star right-hander Marco Estrada. The veteran expressed disappointment that he’ll need a DL stint to rest his ailing back, as Shi Davidi of Sportsnet.ca reports, particularly since it means he’s virtually certain not to appear in the mid-summer classic as a capstone to his remarkable tale. But he acknowledged that the move was prudent. “I haven’t had much sleep just knowing that there might be a possibility I don’t get the opportunity to pitch in this game. And I guess my worst nightmare unfortunately came true,” said Estrada. “But in the long run this is the right thing to do. And I think this is going to benefit me in the future.” Though the Jays’ staff has been a strength, it’s not hard to see why the club is on the hunt for more arms. In particular, there’s still no reason to believe that Toronto will back away from its plan to move Aaron Sanchez to the pen to limit his innings. Though Drew Hutchison represents a better-than-average insurance policy — he has had success in the past and has been effective this year at Triple-A — he may be needed to step into Sanchez’s shoes. As the club’s depth chart shows, that would leave the organization a bit thin behind its front five.
- The Dodgers have no shortage of pitchers in various stages of the rehabilitation process, and you can add Brett Anderson to the list of those that could return this summer. Manager Dave Roberts told reports, including Andy McCullough of the Los Angeles Times (Twitter link), that the southpaw might make it back by the middle of August if he continues to progress from his back surgery.
- Things haven’t gone smoothly of late for the Giants‘ bullpen, and now the club will be without righty Cory Gearrin for at least two weeks. As Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle reports, Gearrin has been diagnosed with a strained right shoulder, though the expectation is that he won’t miss much (if any) time beyond the minimum. It helps, too, that the club has welcomed back Sergio Romo, but all in all it wouldn’t be surprising if San Francisco chases a big relief arm over the coming weeks.
Red Sox Release Justin Maxwell To Sign With KBO’s Lotte Giants
Outfielder Justin Maxwell has been released by the Red Sox to allow him to sign with Korea’s Lotte Giants, as Yonhap’s Jee-ho Yoo reports. He’ll receive a $280K salary in the KBO.
Maxwell, 32, was hitting .219/.310/.320 over 253 plate appearances on the year at Triple-A Pawtucket. That wasn’t enough to earn him a big league promotion despite some need at the major league level, and Boston obviously had decided it did not need him in the organization.
Before his middling start to the present season, though, Maxwell had taken over 250 turns at bat in three of the last four campaigns at the MLB level. All told, he has compiled a .220/.303/.399 batting line in 1,193 big league plate appearances, with 41 home runs and 28 steals.
At his best, Maxwell is a slightly above-average hitter with some pop, and he has also added some value with the glove and on the bases. Maxwell’s new club will certainly hope that he brings a silver hammer with him to the hitter-friendly KBO.
Notably, per the report, Maxwell was pursued because former big leaguer Jim Adduci was released after failing some sort of drug test.
NL Central Notes: Bruce, Price, Phillips, Carpenter, Pena, Stewart
Among the clubs looking at Reds outfielder Jay Bruce are the Dodgers and Nationals, both of whom have been tied previously to the slugger, as Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports writes. (Rosenthal previously reported those connections here and here.) Neither of those organizations has a critical need for an outfielder, though it’s possible to imagine both looking to add some thump to their lineups. Of course, those are likely to face competition for the revived veteran from other quarters. Bruce holds the top spot in MLBTR’s top twenty trade candidates list as he continues to put up monster offensive numbers.
Here’s more from Cincinnati and the rest of the NL Central:
- Reds manager Bryan Price isn’t at risk of dismissal, president of baseball operations Walt Jocketty tells Rosenthal. Price says that the removal of pitching coach Mark Riggins was done as part of an effort to add “a different perspective, different approach” to address the club’s pitching woes.
- Rosenthal also notes that the Reds could conceivably look to give youngster Jose Peraza more time at second while reducing the role of veteran Brandon Phillips, who has struggled at the plate. Jocketty acknowledges that Peraza’s current super-utility role is “not the most ideal way to develop a guy,” but says “that’s what [the Reds] have” at present. Rosenthal wonders whether the organization could re-approach Phillips about waiving his no-trade clause, which he has been unwilling to do thus far, though Jocketty says the organization isn’t considering that at the moment. Generally, Jocketty says that trade chatter still isn’t “that active right now.”
- Cardinals third baseman Matt Carpenter left tonight’s game with what has been diagnosed as an oblique strain, Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch was among those to report (Twitter links). He’s headed for an immediate assessment of the injury as the team seeks to get out ahead of things, and manager Mike Matheny says there’s a “high level of concern.” It’s obviously not possible to assess how much time he might miss at this point, let alone whether a DL stint will be required, but the manner in which the Cards are proceeding suggests some pessimism. St. Louis just lost Brandon Moss, so it’s not an optimal time for another position player to be dealing with an injury issue.
- Meanwhile, Cardinals catcher Brayan Pena is headed to the DL with knee inflammation not long after being activated, as MLB.com’s Jenifer Langosch reports on Twitter. 11-year minor-league veteran Alberto Rosario will get his first big league call to replace Pena as the backup receiver, but that’s probably not what St. Louis was hoping for. The team recently lost Eric Fryer on waivers while attempting to outright him to clear space for Pena.
- Pirates reserve catcher Chris Stewart will attempt to play through knee soreness, head athletic trainer Todd Tomczyk told reporters including Bill Brink of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (Twitter link). An MRI showed “wear and tear” to the joint, which could ultimately require surgery, but it seems that Stewart will at least make an effort to avoid going under the knife.
Padres Claim Jake Smith Off Waivers
The Padres have claimed righty Jake Smith off waiver from the division-rival Giants, per a team announcement. San Francisco had designated him for assignment and ultimately placed him on outright waivers.
Smith showed plenty of promise last year at the High-A level, spinning 84 1/3 innings of 2.35 ERA pitching and posting an impressive 12.2 K/9 versus 2.2 BB/9. But things have turned south in his age-26 campaign, as Smith has struggled after making the jump to Double-A.
Over his 20 1/3 frames thus far in 2016, Smith has been touched for 16 earned runs while permitting 23 free passes. On the positive side, he has struck out 26 batters and has only allowed 17 hits, so it seems that the control issues are the biggest problem.
Cuban Prospect Adrian Morejon Declared Free Agent
Cuban prospect Adrian Morejon has been declared a free agent, according to MLB.com’s Jesse Sanchez (via Twitter). The southpaw is now free to sign with any team, but will be subject to international signing limits, which will have a major role in shaping his market.
Morejon left his native Cuba last October, as Ben Badler of Baseball America reported. At the time, it had seemed that Morejon might be cleared before the previous July 2 signing period, under a changed approach to MLB’s registration rules.
A rapid move onto the open market did not occur in Morejon’s case, as Badler recently explored. Per that report, though, Morejon isn’t expected to suffer much from the delay. That’s because he is anticipated to agree to terms with the Padres, who would’ve needed him to wait to sign anyway.
Morejon is considered a quality pitching prospect, though it’s important to recognize what type of player he is. At just 17 years of age, he has more in common with the young arms from the Dominican Republic and Venezuela who typically fall under the July 2 rubric than he does with older and more advanced players who have drawn huge bonuses out of Cuba.
That being said, Badler has opined that Morejon should be considered among the top names available among his class, and suggested more recently that the lefty has shown more of late. Morejon doesn’t have a big frame, but has run his fastball up to the mid-nineties. Badler also credits him with promising secondary offerings and “advanced feel” given his age.
Mets Place Matt Harvey On 15-Day DL
5:07pm: Harvey is seeing Dr. Thompson to check out the team’s “suspicion” that Harvey could be dealing with thoracic outlet syndrome, Newsday’s David Lennon tweets. The syndrome involves a compression of nerves and/or blood vessels in the shoulder area, and can be quite painful.
Several hurlers have dealt with it in recent years; most recently, Phil Hughes underwent season-ending surgery to treat his own bout with the issue. In his case, though, he had been pitching through it for quite some time. Royals righty Chris Young also had work done to alleviate his issues, which gave his career new life. Beyond the Box Score’s Nick Lampe took an interesting look at pitchers who have undergone surgery to address thoracic outlet syndrome, with mixed results.
4:35pm: The Mets have placed righty Matt Harvey on the 15-day DL, per a club announcement. The teams says that Harvey is dealing with right shoulder discomfort.
This news raises yet more serious concerns about a pitcher who already hasn’t looked himself this year. Expected to lead a rotation full of outstanding arms, Harvey has instead been the black sheep of the group, pitching to a 4.86 ERA with 7.4 K/9 and 2.4 BB/9 over 92 2/3 innings. There have been some ups and downs mixed in, but the aggregate falls shy of the ace-level results that Harvey has traditionally posted.
It’s not immediately clear whether this is a long-simmering issue or a newly-arising problem, but a glance at Harvey’s Brooks Baseball page shows one apparent change in recent weeks: a sudden and drastic shift in his horizontal arm slot. He’ll visit shoulder specialist Dr. Robert Thompson, who — as Marc Carig of Newsday notes on Twitter — is an expert in vascular issues such as thoracic outlet syndrome.
Harvey had returned from Tommy John surgery last year in dramatic fashion, logging 189 1/3 innings of 2.71 ERA ball with 8.9 K/9 and 1.8 BB/9. That was a largely unprecedented jump in innings for a pitcher who was working with a new UCL, and Harvey went on to throw another 26 2/3 in the post-season — which also shortened his winter rest period. While we haven’t heard of any elbow-related concerns, it’s hard not to wonder whether there could be any connection between that series of events and Harvey’s current malady.
New York has called up righty Seth Lugo to take Harvey’s place on the active roster, but he’s not an option to step into the rotation. For the time being, the club will likely go to swingman Logan Verrett, as they have on several prior occasions this year.
[Related: Updated Mets Depth Chart]
In the event that Harvey requires a lengthier absence, things could begin to get tricky. Steven Matz is pitching through a painful bone spur at the moment, so he’s a bit of a question mark, too. And the obvious replacement – Tommy John rehabber Zack Wheeler — is still not throwing bullpen sessions, per another Carig tweet. That’s still an enviable pitching situation, but a piece or two of bad luck could raise some real depth concerns with the cub’s key area of strength.
That’s not to say that there aren’t other pieces on hand. Former top prospect Rafael Montero is still pitching at Triple-A, but the results haven’t been pretty. Also working in Las Vegas are hurlers such as Gabriel Ynoa and Sean Gilmartin. Ynoa may be at the top of the team’s list among its farmhands, Mike Puma of the New York Post suggests on Twitter.