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Clayton Kershaw Slated To Return This Week

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Dodgers left-hander Clayton Kershaw threw around 70 pitches in a simulated game yesterday, and feels ready to make his return from the 15-day injured list.  Lower back pain forced Kershaw to the IL on August 5, and the Dodgers took a cautious road to recovery with their veteran ace.

“The situation we’re in, this is more kind of a roster decision more than anything,” Kershaw told reporters, including Bill Plunkett of the Orange County Register.  “I’ve felt pretty good for a while now.  We took it slow, did two sim games and now ready to go.  Sometimes you can’t decide when you get to pitch.  They tell you.”

However, Kershaw now seems on track for a slightly earlier return than expected, considering the initial plan was to activate him from the IL around the second week of September.  Now, Kershaw is likely to pitch on either Thursday (against the Mets in New York) or on Friday when the Dodgers open a homestand by facing the Padres.

There is plenty of reason for the Dodgers to take a measured approach to Kershaw’s return, given his checkered health history — that history includes another IL stint earlier this season, when Kershaw missed a little over a month this season due to hip inflammation.  While the Dodgers would certainly be careful with Kershaw under any circumstances, the team’s runaway lead in the NL West does allow some extra luxury when it comes to managing workloads and keeping players healthy for the postseason.

To that end, manager Dave Roberts told reporters (including The Athletic’s Fabian Ardaya) today that Los Angeles will use a six-man rotation for “a couple weeks at the bare minimum” once Kershaw is activated.  This will allow Julio Urias, Tony Gonsolin, and Tyler Anderson a bit of extra rest between starts, and since Dustin May and Andrew Heaney are both back from lengthy injury absences themselves, they’ll get to stay in the rotation and stay stretched out, rather than be relegated to bullpen work.

Now in his 15th MLB season, Kershaw is still a top-tier starter when healthy, posting a 2.64 ERA, 26.2% strikeout rate, and 4.5% walk rate over 85 1/3 innings.  The left-hander’s first-half performance earned Kershaw an All-Star nod for the ninth time in his outstanding career.

Pirates Claim Robert Stephenson, Designate Kevin Padlo

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TODAY: The Pirates have officially added Stephenson to their active roster, with JT Brubaker headed to the paternity list in the corresponding move.

AUGUST 27: The Pirates have claimed right-hander Robert Stephenson off waivers from the Rockies.  Infielder Kevin Padlo was designated for assignment in the corresponding 40-man roster move, and the Pirates will make another move on their active roster when Stephenson joins the team.

Stephenson was DFA’ed by Colorado earlier this week, and didn’t last long on the waiver wire before the Pirates snatched him up.  It isn’t surprising to see the Bucs take a chance on a live arm who has some of the highest velocity of any pitcher in baseball, and Stephenson was also a former top prospect for the division-rival Reds during his minor league career.

That early promise led to some good results as a reliever in 2019 and 2021, but this season has been a struggle for the right-hander.  Stephenson has a 6.04 ERA over 44 2/3 innings, due to a below-average 18.8% strikeout rate and a lot of hard contact allowed.  As fast (97mph) as Stephenson’s average four-seamer may be, batters have hit .379 against the pitch.

If Pittsburgh’s coaching staff can get Stephenson back to his 2021 form, he’ll be a nice bullpen addition for the Pirates both for the remainder of this season and in 2023, as Stephenson still has a third and final season of arbitration eligibility remaining.  The righty is out of minor league options, so the Pirates would have a DFA decision to make of their own if they wanted to move Stephenson to the minors and off their 40-man roster.

Padlo is no stranger to the DFA carousel, as he has now been designated for assignment for the fifth time in a little over a year.  The Mariners claimed Padlo off waivers from the Rays in August 2021, starting a cycle that has been Padlo go from Seattle to the Giants, back to the Mariners, and then to Pittsburgh earlier this month when the Bucs claimed Padlo away from the M’s.

All of the movement has resulted in only 34 Major League plate appearances for Padlo this season (split over the Pirates, Mariners, and Giants), but he has performed well over 278 Triple-A PA.  The infielder has hit .270/.345/.484 with 12 homers and 13 doubles at the highest minor league level, continuing what has been a solid set of career Triple-A numbers.

Between that production and Padlo’s versatility as a third baseman who can be moved around the infield and into left field, it isn’t hard to see why teams keep having interest in Padlo, even if that interest has yet to manifest itself into a regular MLB job.  As such, it seems quite possible that another club might claim Padlo away from the Pirates.

Tyler Duffey To Opt Out Of Rangers Contract

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Right-hander Tyler Duffey is opting out of his minor league contract with the Rangers, according to FanSided’s Robert Murray (Twitter link).  Duffey only joined the organization a little over two weeks ago, but is now exercising one of the several opt-out clauses that was reportedly part of the deal.

Duffey has a 4.91 ERA over 44 innings with the Twins this season, with below-average walk and strikeout rates and a host of other unimpressive metrics.  This performance ended Duffey’s decade-long run in the organization, as Minnesota released him about a week prior to Duffey’s signing with Texas.

The Rangers will end up parting ways with Duffey at no cost, since they didn’t even have to pay the reliever a prorated minimum salary since Duffey didn’t reach the big leagues.  Duffey and the Twins avoided arbitration this past winter by agreeing to a $3.8MM salary for the 2022 season, so if Duffey does land elsewhere and make it back to a Major League roster, the Twins will still be responsible for the bulk of that remaining salary (with the new team only paying the prorated portion of a minimum salary).

Duffey’s brief run at Triple-A Round Rock saw him pitch five scoreless innings over four appearances, though he did walk four batters in those five frames.  Control was once a strength for the righty, but Duffey’s walk rate has dipped considerably over the last two seasons.  Still, as uninspiring as Duffey’s 2022 performance has been, his quality work out of Minnesota’s bullpen in 2019-21 will likely convince another team to take a shot on another minors contract.  As for the Rangers, they might have been more apt to give MLB innings to younger relievers down the stretch, rather than devote a roster spot to a veteran who will be a free agent after the season.

Vinny Nittoli To Opt Out Of Blue Jays Contract

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A little over a month after signing a minor league deal with the Blue Jays, right-hander Vinny Nittoli now plans to opt out of that deal, FanSided’s Robert Murray tweets.  Nittoli will hit the free agent market again, and could join his fifth different organization in just over a year’s time.

A 25th-round pick for the Mariners in 2014, Nittoli has already bounced around several times in his career — this is his second stint with the Blue Jays, and he also has two separate stints with Seattle.  It was with the Mariners in 2021 that Nittoli made his MLB debut, tossing a single inning of work on June 23, 2021.  After the M’s released him last August, Nittoli has since signed minor league deals with the Twins, Yankees, and Blue Jays, with Nittoli also opting out of his pact with New York.

Amidst all this movement, the 31-year-old has had a solid season at the Triple-A level, with a 3.30 ERA over 46 1/3 combined innings for the Yankees’ and Jays’ affiliates.  Nittoli also has a 32.06% strikeout rate and 7.61% walk rate, but despite these numbers, it appears as though he wasn’t on the radar of either AL East team for an in-season promotion.

NL East Notes: Alvarez, Hernandez, Sanchez

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Star Mets prospect Francisco Alvarez is undergoing evaluation on a sore right ankle, SNY’s Andy Martino reports (Twitter link).  As per other Peter Botte and Mike Puma of the New York Post, the injury isn’t thought to be too severe, though simply given the calendar, there is a possibility that the Mets could shut Alvarez down for what remains of the 2022 season.  More will be known in a few days’ time, after Alvarez has been more fully tested.

One of the top minor leaguers in all of baseball, there has been speculation that the 20-year-old Alvarez might receive a call-up to the majors this season, as the Mets haven’t gotten much from the catching position.  However, even before his ankle injury surfaced, Alvarez wasn’t off to a great start in his first taste of Triple-A action, batting only .180/.340/.378 in 141 plate appearances.  It certainly isn’t the ideal platform to launch a young player into making his MLB debut in the thick of a pennant race, and naturally the Mets want to be as careful as possible with the development of a possible cornerstone player of the future.

Other updates from around the NL East…

  • The Nationals shifted Yadiel Hernandez to the 60-day injured list on Saturday, officially ending the outfielder’s season.  (In a corresponding move, Washington reinstated left-hander Seth Romero from the 60-day IL and assigned him to Double-A.)  Hernandez was retroactively placed on the 10-day IL on August 19 due to a left calf strain, and his third MLB season saw the 34-year-old hit .269/.312/.410 with nine homers over 327 plate appearances.  Hernandez has spent much of his Nats tenure as the left-handed hitting side of an outfield platoon, posting roughly league-average offense since the start of the 2021 campaign.  He is under team control through 2026, but given his age and the Nationals’ rebuild, it is possible the team might consider moving onto a younger option for next season.
  • Sixto Sanchez’s continued shoulder inflammation will result in a cortisone shot on Monday, per Craig Mish of the Miami Herald (via Twitter).  Sanchez made his MLB debut with 39 innings in 2020, but hasn’t since pitched at any level due to shoulder problems, which included surgery in July 2021.  It is becoming increasingly unlikely that Sanchez will get any game action in the majors or minors before 2022 is out, making it another lost year for the Marlins right-hander.

Yankees Place Aroldis Chapman On 15-Day Injured List

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7:06PM: The Yankees officially placed Chapman on the 15-day IL, retroactive to August 24.

6:14PM: The Yankees will place left-hander Aroldis Chapman on the 15-day injured list due to a leg infection, manager Aaron Boone told the YES Network’s Jack Curry (Twitter links) and other reporters.

Chapman last pitched on August 19, and Boone said part of that layoff has been due to the reliever’s battle with an infection that developed after Chapman got a leg tattoo.  Boone stated that he believes Chapman will pitch again this season, but the lefty will now be out until at least the second week in September, even accounting for a few days of backdating on his IL placement.

The unusual injury adds to what has been a tough season for Chapman, who already missed over five weeks due to left Achilles tendinitis.  By the time Chapman returned to the active roster, Clay Holmes had taken over as New York’s closer, leaving Chapman relegated to lower-leverage roles rather than even a solid set-up job.  Since beginning his season with 10 1/3 scoreless innings, Chapman has struggled to a 7.08 ERA over his last 20 1/3 innings of work.

Even with Chapman far less than his usual effective self, his IL placement is another hit to a bullpen that has suddenly been crushed by injuries over the last couple of months.  Holmes may be back from his own IL stint within a few days’ time, but Holmes and Chapman are joined by Scott Effross, Miguel Castro, Zack Britton, and Albert Abreu on the injured list, while Michael King and Chad Green have already been ruled out for the rest of the season.  Wandy Peralta and Lucas Luetge are the only remaining left-handers in New York’s relief corps now that Chapman is out.

The Yankees entered Saturday’s action with a comfortable 8.5-game lead in the AL East, as an ongoing five-game winning streak has eased some concerns after a mediocre stretch of play since the All-Star break.  Getting some of those injured relievers back before the playoffs will further bolster New York’s chances in October, but in Chapman’s case, the question must be asked whether the Yankees could conceivably leave him off a playoff roster altogether.

While Chapman is a seasoned playoff performer with a 2016 World Series ring to show from his time with the Cubs, he’ll need to return in good health and then deliver some consistent outings in September to clinch his spot for the postseason.  This is also the last season of Chapman’s three-year, $48MM contract, so a platform for free agency is also undoubtedly on Chapman’s mind.

Marlins Select Jake Fishman

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Prior to today’s game with the Dodgers, the Marlins selected the contract of left-hander Jake Fishman from Triple-A Jacksonville.  Right-hander Bryan Hoeing was optioned to Triple-A in the corresponding move.

While Fishman wasn’t needed in today’s 2-1 victory thanks to Sandy Alcantara’s complete-game gem, Fishman can provide the Miami bullpen with some length as they navigate a difficult stretch in their schedule.  The southpaw has found a lot of success as a multi-inning reliever this season, with a 2.04 ERA, 23.9% strikeout rate, 8.6% walk rate, and 52.6% grounder rate over 53 innings in Jacksonville.

Fishman made his MLB debut on July 31, allowing one run over 3 1/3 innings of relief work in a 9-3 Miami loss to the Mets.  The southpaw was designated for assignment the next day, then outrighted to Triple-A and off the 40-man roster after clearing waivers.

Originally a 30th-round pick for the Blue Jays in the 2016 draft, Fishman joined the Marlins organization as a selection in the minor league version of the 2020 Rule 5 Draft.  While relievers are generally more under the radar than most prospects, it is perhaps a little surprising that it took Fishman until 2022 to get his first crack at the majors, considering the solid numbers he has posted throughout his minor league career.

A’s Place Dany Jimenez On 60-Day Injured List, Select Austin Pruitt

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Dany Jimenez’s season is over due to a right shoulder strain, as the Athletics have placed the right-hander on the 60-day injured list.  Austin Pruitt’s contract was selected from Triple-A in the corresponding move.

In an overall rough season for the A’s, Jimenez has been a bright spot, posting a 3.41 ERA over 34 1/3 innings and earning a team-high 11 saves.  A .231 BABIP helped Jimenez overcome some dicey advanced metrics like a 12.4% walk rate, but Jimenez’s ERA was also somewhat inflated by a three particularly poor outings out of 34 total appearances.  (In those three bad games, Jimenez allowed 10 earned runs in 1 2/3 innings, and only six runs over his other 32 2/3 frames of work during the season.)  With Lou Trivino struggling in the closer’s role, Jimenez ended up taking over the bulk of save chances.

Unfortunately, Jimenez’s bothersome right shoulder has now ended this solid rookie season.  It is the second time Jimenez has been sent to the IL with a shoulder strain, as a similar injury put him on the shelf for over six weeks, from mid-June to the start of August.

This was Jimenez’s first extended stint in the majors, as his only previous MLB experience was 1 1/3 innings with the Giants in 2020.  Jimenez is a two-time Rule 5 Draft selection, but in both cases was returned to the Blue Jays when neither the Giants (in 2020) or the A’s (in 2021) kept him on their active roster for the entire season.  Jimenez elected free agency this past winter and rejoined Oakland on a minor league deal.

Pruitt will make a quick return to the active roster after being designated for assignment and then outrighted off the 40-man earlier this week.  The right-hander has a 4.78 ERA over 37 2/3 innings out of Oakland’s bullpen, as Pruitt’s excellent control hasn’t overcome his below-average 17.2% strikeout rate.

Trevor Rosenthal Likely To Miss Rest Of 2022 Season

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After thoracic outlet syndrome surgery kept Trevor Rosenthal from pitching in 2021, it looks like the 2022 season will also be a total write-off for the veteran reliever.  Brewers manager Craig Counsell told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel’s Curt Hogg (Twitter links) and other reporters that Rosenthal will “probably” miss the rest of the season due to a lat injury in a recent Triple-A rehab outing.  Counsell compared Rosenthal’s injury to the posterior shoulder issue that kept Freddy Peralta out of action for almost two and a half months of the 2022 campaign.

Rosenthal wasn’t signed during the 2021-22 offseason, but a midseason throwing showcase led to a guaranteed contract with the Giants worth a prorated $4.5MM.  At the time of the signing, Rosenthal was recovering from a hamstring strain, and was still sidelined when the Brewers landed Rosenthal (and his contract) at the trade deadline in a swap with San Francisco.  While Rosenthal was making good progress in working his way back in rehab, Brewers president of baseball ops David Stearns said that the lat problem is “a completely new injury” that only just surfaced.

“He’s been working exceptionally hard to get back here.  He was close, the ball was coming out really good, and now we have a setback,” Stearns said.

The trade with the Giants now looks like a backfired risk for the Brewers, and yet another strange detail in what has been a bizarre five-year stretch for Rosenthal.  Tommy John surgery kept off the mound for the entire 2018 season, and he pitched only 15 1/3 innings in 2019 and then 23 2/3 innings in 2020, appearing for four different teams during that two-season span.  While his 2019 numbers were poor, Rosenthal looked quite good in 2020, leading to a one-year, $11MM free agent deal with the Athletics that resulted in Rosenthal never making an actual appearance for the A’s, due to thoracic outlet syndrome.

The $4.5MM deal was already something of a surprising total for a pitcher with Rosenthal’s recent injury track record, notwithstanding his strong career numbers.  Since it now looks like he’ll go more than two years without throwing a Major League pitch, the right-hander will probably have to settle for a minor league deal this winter.  Some questions might have to be asked about whether or not Rosenthal will continue his career in the face of all these health problems, but he is still only 32 years old.

As for Milwaukee, the team gave up minor league outfield prospect Tristan Peters to the Giants, and the lack of return on Rosenthal will surely bring some fresh criticism of the team’s deadline moves.  Between dealing All-Star closer Josh Hader to the Padres for a trade package that included Taylor Rogers, as well as the swap that brought Matt Bush from the Rangers, it was a bullpen-heavy set of transactions that (with almost four weeks of hindsight) looks to have not been enough.  Milwaukee has struggled to an 8-14 record in August, falling six games back of the Cardinals in the NL Central race and 2.5 games behind in the wild card race.

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