Wilson Ramos Suffers Torn ACL, Sprained MCL
Indians catcher Wilson Ramos has been diagnosed with a torn ACL and a sprained MCL in his knee, tweets Mandy Bell of MLB.com. He’ll require season-ending surgery.
Ramos sustained the injury yesterday when fielding a weak grounder in front of the plate. He threw out Red Sox designated hitter J.D. Martinez, who was running from first to second on the play, but dropped in a heap upon releasing the ball. Cleveland trainers came out onto the field as Ramos, who remained down and gestured to his left knee. He was helped off the field by a pair of members of the Indians’ training staff. It’s the third ACL tear of Ramos’ career, although the first two tears came in his right knee back in 2012 and in 2016.
The 34-year-old Ramos opened the season in Detroit after signing a one-year, $2MM contract over the winter and promptly homered six times in his first nine games of the season, posting a ridiculous .281/.343/.875 batting line in that tiny sample. His production cratered not long after, however, and Ramos managed just a .178/.198/.216 batting line over his final 91 plate appearances before being designated for assignment, missing time with a back injury along the way. Detroit released him on June 20, and Cleveland signed him to a minor league deal about three weeks later.
Ramos hit well through 16 games with the Indians’ top affiliate in Columbus before having his contract selected to the MLB roster. He’s since appeared in nine games and posted a .226/.286/.419 batting line with a pair of homers.
Another major knee injury is a brutal blow for Ramos at this stage of his career. His glovework behind the plate has been graded with increasing levels of skepticism since that 2016 ACL tear, and he’s also dealt with hamstring and back injuries along the way. The hope will be for as swift a recovery as possible, but it goes without saying that it’d be a tall order for a 34-year-old with a multiple ACL repairs under his belt to handle a sizable workload behind the dish.
The Indians haven’t yet put a timetable on Ramos’ recovery, but he’s a free agent at season’s end, so it’s quite possible this injury will effectively end a very brief tenure with the organization. Presumably, the team will provide more details on his expected rehabilitation process once the surgery has been performed and more information has been gathered.
Tigers Outright Ian Krol
The Tigers announced Monday that left-handed reliever Ian Krol went unclaimed on waivers and has been assigned outright to Triple-A Toledo. Krol has the right to reject said assignment in favor of free agency, though there’s no indication from the team that he plans to do so. Detroit had designated Krol for assignment over the weekend in order to open a roster spot for the return of right-hander Jose Urena.
Krol, 30, returned to the Majors for the first time since 2018 this season. This year marks his second stint with the Tigers organization, having also pitched out of the Detroit bullpen from 2014-15 after coming over from the Nationals alongside Robbie Ray in an offseason Doug Fister trade.
Krol has appeared in a dozen games for the Tigers this season and tallied 12 1/3 innings. In that time, he’s yielded seven earned runs on 18 hits and five walks with 10 strikeouts. It’s a small sample of 41 plate appearances, but right-handed opponents have feasted off Krol this year, hitting at a .351/.390/.568 pace.
In between big league stints, Krol played for the Triple-A affiliates of the Twins and the Reds, in addition to a 2020 stint on the independent circuit. He’s totaled 202 1/3 innings at the MLB level and pitched to a combined 4.54 ERA, but his last real big league success came with the 2016 Braves. The lefty also carries a lifetime 3.45 ERA in 180 Triple-A frames that have been scattered across parts of eight seasons.
Marlins’ Jake Eder To Undergo Tommy John Surgery
Marlins pitching prospect Jake Eder has been diagnosed with a torn ulnar collateral ligament and will undergo Tommy John surgery to repair the damage, Jordan McPherson of the Miami Herald reports. The procedure will quite likely wipe out Eder’s entire 2022 campaign.
Miami has amassed one of the deepest and most enviable collections of young pitching in all of baseball, but the loss of Eder puts a notable dent in that promising bumper crop. The 22-year-old Eder has seen his stock skyrocket since being selected out of Vanderbilt in the fourth round of last summer’s draft, with multiple publications now listing him among the game’s 100 best prospects.
After the canceled 2020 season, Eder jumped directly into Double-A to begin his professional career and has dominated despite an aggressive assignment after a nearly year-long layoff from pitching in a competitive setting. He’s totaled 71 1/3 innings in Pensacola thus far and pitched to a pristine 1.77 ERA with a huge 34.5 percent strikeout rate, a 9.4 percent walk rate and a strong 50.3 percent ground-ball rate. Baseball America ranked Eder as the sport’s No. 68 prospect on its updated midseason rankings, and MLB.com listed the left-hander at No. 81 on its own summer reranking of the game’s best farmhands.
Eder’s immediate success might have made him a candidate for a promotion to the big leagues as early as 2022. Instead, he’ll spend the season rehabbing with an eye toward getting back on the mound to begin his age-24 campaign in 2023. Even with Eder sidelined, however, the Marlins are still deep in young arms who’ve either found big league success or been ranked among the game’s most promising prospects.
Sandy Alcantara and Pablo Lopez have solidified themselves as quality big league hurlers and each can be controlled another three seasons. Left-hander Trevor Rogers has been one of the best pitchers in the National League this season. Jesus Luzardo and Elieser Hernandez have both had some big league success but are seeking more consistency. Sixto Sanchez missed the 2021 season due to injury but is viewed as a key long-term piece of the rotation after a strong debut effort in 2020. Hard-throwing righty Edward Cabrera ranks among the game’s best prospects and impressed in his own MLB debut last week. Twenty-seven-year-old righty Zach Thompson has been an outstanding find for the Marlins on a minor league deal. Righty Max Meyer, the No. 3 pick in 2020, has dominated in Double-A. Lefty Braxton Garrett is viewed more as a depth arm at this point, but he was the No. 7 overall pick back in 2016. Prospects like Dax Fulton and Eury Perez (not to be confused with former big league outfielder Eury Perez) are also well-regarded, but further from the big leagues.
The injuries to Sanchez and now Eder serve as a reminder of the inherent risk associated with any pitching prospect, but there are few clubs that can boast such a deep collection of talented arms. That should serve the Marlins well both in terms of their 2022 pitching staff and also with their approach to the offseason trade market. The Marlins are known to be on the lookout for long-term options both at catcher and in center field, and that impressive stockpile of controllable pitching figures to serve them well in that endeavor, even with some injuries impacting the group.
Pirates Fire Hitting Coach Rick Eckstein
The Pirates announced Monday that they’ve fired hitting coach Rick Eckstein. An interim replacement was not named, though assistant hitting coach Christian Marrero is remaining with the club.
“We are grateful for Rick’s dedication to the team and our players,” general manager Ben Cherington said in a press release announcing Eckstein’s dismissal. “This was a difficult decision as we have a great deal of respect for Rick. Making the decision now gives us the opportunity to use the rest of the season to focus on improvements in our hitting program while also starting the process of looking for a replacement. We wish Rick all the best moving forward.”
The older brother of former big league infielder David Eckstein, Rick Eckstein has been with the Pirates since being hired on Nov. 26, 2018. He’d previously served as a coach both at the NCAA level and in the Majors (Nationals, Angels). At the time of his hiring in Pittsburgh, he’d spent the two prior seasons serving as the Twins’ minor league hitting coordinator. Eckstein was one of two coaches on the Pirates’ Major League staff whose hiring predated that of current general manager Ben Cherington and manager Derek Shelton — the other being third base coach Joey Cora.
“I appreciate Rick’s tireless work ethic and his passion for our players,” Shelton said in today’s press release. “Despite the challenging season, Rick always put in the effort to connect and help our players. He is a great person who we will all be rooting for in his next opportunity.”
While the hitting coach certainly isn’t solely responsible for a team’s offensive woes (or its successes), the Pirates’ offensive ineptitude in 2021 has nevertheless been glaring. Pittsburgh ranks last in the Majors with 470 runs scored, and they rank 27th, 25th and 30th in batting average, on-base percentage and slugging percentage, respectively. The Pirates’ team .233/.304/.362 batting line has resulted in an MLB-worst 81 wRC+, and no team has hit fewer than their combined 101 home runs.
Rob Biertempfel of The Athletic reported Eckstein was being dismissed shortly before the team made its formal announcement (Twitter link).
Mets Release Zack Godley
The Mets have granted right-hander Zack Godley his release, MLBTR has learned. He’d been on a minor league contract and pitching with their affiliate in Triple-A Syracuse. He’s now a free agent and eligible to sign with another club for the final month of the season. Godley is the second veteran free agent cut loose by the Mets late in the month, as they also released Josh Reddick from their Syracuse affiliate just yesterday.
The Mets were the third organization of the 2021 campaign for the 31-year-old Godley. He opened the year in the Brewers system after signing a minor league deal and got a pair of brief looks in the Majors. He’s also spent time with the Indians this season, though Cleveland didn’t call him to the Majors.
Godley has been tagged for six runs in 3 1/3 big league innings this season and, generally speaking, has struggled in the Majors over the past few years. He was a solid member of the D-backs’ rotation from 2017-18, pitching to a 4.10 ERA with a 24.9 percent strikeout rate and a 9.4 percent walk rate through 333 1/3 innings (57 starts). However, the D-backs moved on after he limped to a 6.39 ERA through 76 frames for them in 2018. A brief run with the Blue Jays’ bullpen yielded solid results late in that season, but Godley allowed 26 runs through 28 2/3 innings with the Red Sox last summer before a season-ending IL placement due to a forearm strain.
It’s been a solid season in Triple-A for the veteran Godley, however, who has pitched to a 2.33 ERA in four starts with the Mets’ top affiliate and owns a season-long 3.56 ERA with a 22.1 percent strikeout rate and a 10.9 percent walk rate through 73 1/3 innings. Godley carries a 3.29 ERA in 134 career innings at the Triple-A level and a 4.92 ERA in 568 2/3 innings at the big league level.
Tigers Place Erasmo Ramirez On Release Waivers
4:49PM: Ramirez has been placed on release waivers, the Tigers announced.
2:22PM: The Tigers have designated right-hander Erasmo Ramirez for assignment, per a club announcement. They’ve also reinstated catcher Eric Haase from the 10-day injured list and recalled right-hander Jason Foley from Triple-A Toledo.
It’s been a season of rough results for the 31-year-old Ramirez, who carries a 5.74 ERA through 26 2/3 innings of relief in Detroit. He’s gone through a particularly rough stretch of late, yielding runs in five of his past seven appearances — including a three-run drubbing in two-thirds of an inning at the hands of the Cardinals this week. He’s posted a below-average 18.3 percent strikeout rate this season, although to his credit, Ramirez’s 4.6 percent walk rate is excellent.
The 2020 campaign went much better for Ramirez, who pitched 14 1/3 innings out of the Mets’ bullpen and held opponents to just one run on eight hits and four walks with nine strikeouts. He’s pitched for five big league teams across parts of nine seasons, totaling 681 2/3 frames of 4.37 ERA ball with an 18.4 percent strikeout rate, a strong 6.7 percent walk rate and a solid 44 percent ground-ball rate. He’ll hit outright waivers or release waivers in the coming days, and Ramirez has the service time to reject an outright assignment to Triple-A Toledo if he goes unclaimed on waivers.
Stephen Piscotty Out For Season After Undergoing Wrist Surgery
AUGUST 27: Piscotty underwent successful surgery on his left wrist this morning, the team announced. Unsurprisingly, he won’t return this season.
AUGUST 23: Athletics outfielder Stephen Piscotty is back on the 10-day injured list due to ongoing discomfort in his sprained left wrist, and trainer Nick Paparesta tells reporters that the “anticipation at this point in time” is that surgery will be required (link via Matt Kawahara of the San Francisco Chronicle). He’s had a pair of cortisone injections already that have helped but have not remedied the issue entirely.
It’s been a difficult couple seasons for Piscotty at the plate, as he’s hitting just .220/.282/.353 in 188 plate appearances this season and carries a .223/.277/.355 slash in 359 plate appearances dating back to Opening Day 2020. The wrist injury has obviously hampered him, at least in 2021, and given that there are just six weeks remaining on the current regular-season schedule, it’d be tough to envision Piscotty returning this year if surgery is indeed required. He’s slated to meet with a specialist this week.
Originally acquired in a Dec. 2017 trade with the Cardinals, Piscotty had an outstanding debut campaign in Oakland, hitting .267/.331/.491 with 27 home runs and 41 doubles in 605 plate appearances (151 games). Knee and wrist sprains plagued him in 2019, however, and his production has waned as the overall number of injuries he’s incurred in recent years has mounted.
Piscotty has typically been a player who holds his own with about average offense against right-handed pitching (.252/.316/.422 career batting line, 101 wRC+) while thriving in platoon settings (.277/.357/.468 and a 126 wRC+). His drop-off this year has happened across the board, however, as he’s providing roughly average offense against lefties and hitting just .181/.236/.313 against righties.
Piscotty’s decline is particularly problematic for the low-payroll A’s. The now-30-year-old right fielder inked a six-year, $33.5MM deal with the Cardinals back at the beginning of the 2017 season after a pair of impressive seasons to begin his career. The 2022 season is the final guaranteed year of that contract, and he’s still owed $7.25MM next year, plus a $1MM buyout of a $15MM club option for the 2023 season. He’s earning that same $7.25MM in 2021 and accounting for a bit more than eight percent of the team’s current payroll in the process.
Reds Claim Asdrubal Cabrera
1:45pm: The Reds and D-backs have officially announced the move.
12:44pm: The Reds have claimed veteran infielder Asdrubal Cabrera off waivers from the Diamondbacks, reports Jon Heyman of MLB Network (Twitter link). The teams have yet to announce the move. Cincinnati already has multiple vacancies on its 40-man roster, so the Reds will only need to open a spot on the active 26-man roster.
Cabrera, 35, will give the Reds a switch-hitting infield option off the bench for the final month-plus of the regular season — and for the postseason, should they qualify. Because Cabrera is being claimed prior to Sept. 1, he’ll be eligible for postseason play with his new club.
It hasn’t been a great year at the plate for Cabrera, but he’s posted a respectable .244/.324/.392 batting line in 321 plate appearances while splitting his time between the infield corners (in addition to one lone inning at shortstop). He’s playing out the season on a one-year, $1.75MM contract and is owed about $358K of that sum through season’s end. The Reds will be on the hook for the remainder of that salary.
The veteran Cabrera looked like an obvious trade candidate prior to the deadline, but the D-backs apparently didn’t find much interest. They’ll clear a bit of cash now that he’s been claimed, although the primary motivation here could simply have been to give a veteran player a chance to join a playoff contender.
Cincinnati doesn’t have everyday at-bats available for Cabrera — not with Joey Votto at first base, Jonathan India at second base and Mike Moustakas over at third base. However, Cabrera has been quite productive against left-handed pitching over the past two seasons and has slightly better numbers against lefties than against righties over the course of his lengthy career. And as potent as the Reds’ lineup can be, Cincinnati has quietly been one of the game’s least-productive groups against southpaws, hitting just .231/.313/.380 as a team. Their collective 86 wRC+ against lefties ranks 28th in the Majors. Cabrera gives them a slight upgrade in that regard and also gives manager David Bell some versatility for late-game maneuvering.
Astros Sign Marwin Gonzalez
The Astros have brought infielder/outfielder Marwin Gonzalez back to the organization on a minor league contract, per a club announcement. He’ll head to the team’s Spring Training complex to work out for now. The Red Sox released Gonzalez earlier this month, and he hasn’t played in a game since Aug. 12, so he’ll get some work in there and perhaps be assigned to a minor league affiliate before being considered for the MLB roster.
Gonzalez, 32, spent the first seven seasons of his career in Houston, never really settling into one spot on the diamond but bouncing all around the field as a versatile utility option. After struggling at the plate through his first two seasons at the MLB level, Gonzalez settled in as a roughly average hitter from 2014-16 before a massive season at the plate in 2017, when he hit .303/.377/.530 with career-bests in home runs (23), doubles (34) and walk rate (9.6 percent).
In four seasons since that time, however, Gonzalez has turned in a pedestrian .240/.310/.376 output, and his struggles have been particularly evident over the past two seasons. Dating back to 2020 — the second season of a two-year, $21MM contract he signed in Minnesota — Gonzalez has combined for a dismal .206/.284/.300 batting line. This season’s 25.8 percent strikeout rate through 271 plate appearances is the highest of his career by about three percent.
There’s little harm in the Astros taking a look at a player they know well — particularly one who can bounce around the diamond and fill a versatile bench role in September when rosters expand from 26 to 28 players. Gonzalez hasn’t shown much at the plate recently, but if he’s able to return to the even average levels of offense he’s provided outside of that 2017 campaign, he’d be a nice addition both for the month of September and for the playoffs. The mere fact that he’s in the Astros’ organization prior to Sept. 1 makes him eligible for the postseason roster — even if he’s not selected to the Majors until sometime next month.
Blue Jays Claim Jarrod Dyson
1:11pm: The Royals and Blue Jays have now both announced the move.
12:39pm: The Blue Jays have claimed outfielder Jarrod Dyson off waivers from the Royals, reports Robert Murray of FanSided (Twitter link). Neither club has formally announced the move just yet.
Kansas City never formally designated Dyson for assignment, but it’s not uncommon for clubs to quietly place a player on waivers without first announcing a DFA. The Blue Jays, by claiming Dyson, are now on the hook for the remainder of his $1.5MM salary — about $306K between now and season’s end.
Dyson, 37, returned for a second stint with the Royals this offseason when he inked a one-year, $1.5MM contract in free agency. He’s appeared in 77 games but tallied just 132 plate appearances, instead being utilized more for his blistering speed and defensive acumen late in games. Dyson carries a .221/.256/.311 batting line in that time. He hasn’t homered in 2021 but has doubled seven times, tripled twice and gone 8-for-11 in stolen base attempts this year.
The Royals likely didn’t find much interest in Dyson at the trade deadline, but he’ll only cost the Jays cash and a roster spot at this point. He’ll give the team some needed depth in center field with George Springer again on the shelf, and he’ll also provide Toronto with a dynamic late-game defensive replacement and pinch-running option as they try to close a deficit of five and a half games in the hunt for the second Wild Card spot.
The Royals will save a but of cash by placing him on waivers, but the move is surely more about giving a veteran player the organization respects an opportunity to return to the postseason. By waiting until late in the month of August to place Dyson on waivers, the Royals ensured that the cost of acquiring him was quite minimal, thereby enhancing the chances he’d be claimed. Because he’s joining the Jays organization prior to Sept. 1, Dyson would be eligible for their postseason roster, should Toronto manage to close that considerable gap in the standings.