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Blue Jays Plan To Call Up Mat Latos This Weekend

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The Blue Jays will start right-handers Mat Latos and Casey Lawrence this weekend in place of the injured Aaron Sanchez and J.A. Happ, reports Joel Sherman of the New York Post (via Twitter). They’ll face an Angels lineup which, as Sherman notes, is largely right-handed.

Latos isn’t on the 40-man roster, so his addition will require a corresponding 40-man roster move. At present, it doesn’t seem that the Jays have any obvious candidates to be transferred from the 10-day DL to the 60-day DL, which could suggest that a DFA is on the horizon in Toronto.

Still just 29 years of age, Latos signed a minor league deal with the Jays after his second straight season of struggles in the Majors. Latos has pitched for five teams in the past two seasons, logging a combined 4.93 ERA in 186 1/3 innings between the Marlins, Dodgers, Angels, White Sox and Nationals. He had a rough Spring Training as well (6.75 ERA in 14 2/3 innings) but has been charged with just one earned run through his first nine frames in Buffalo and represents the most experienced depth option the Jays possess.

Lawrence, also 29, logged a 4.17 ERA with 6.0 K/9 against 2.1 BB/9 in 162 innings between Double-A and Triple-A last season. He made his Major League debut with Toronto earlier this year but allowed three runs on three hits and five walks (two intentional) with two strikeouts in two innings against the Rays.

The Blue Jays, clearly, will hope the need for Latos and Lawrence to be brief. To that end, Sportsnet’s Shi Davidi reported last night that the team received positive news on both Happ and Sanchez yesterday. An MRI on Happ’s problematic left elbow didn’t show any structural damage. Sanchez, meanwhile, underwent a procedure to have roughly a quarter of the nail removed from his ailing finger, per Davidi, which could allow him to return to the rotation in short order. (Davidi notes that down the line, a chemical treatment to prevent the nail from growing back is an option.) Per Davidi, it’s possible that both pitchers could miss only the upcoming starts this weekend.

Angel Pagan Won’t Play In 2017

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Veteran outfielder Angel Pagan is perhaps the most talented player among unsigned free agents, but the 11-year Major League veteran tells Yamaira Muniz Perez of El Vocero that he’s planning to sit out the 2017 season and spend time with his family rather than further pursue a contract. Pagan has reportedly turned down a pair of Major League offers this winter in addition to several minor league contracts. Muniz Perez reports that the Blue Jays, Braves and Nationals were among the clubs to offer minor league deals.

Pagan says that he’s not formally retiring, as he could once again feel the urge to compete in 2018 and beyond. He also notes that the decision is not one which he made on his own but rather with his entire family. Pagan says that at present, he is “100 percent dedicated” to his family.

That the 35-year-old Pagan remained a free agent all winter after putting up a .277/.331/.418 batting line with 12 homers and 15 steals last season was something of a surprise, even if his outfield defense had deteriorated. The switch-hitter was still worth one to two wins above replacement in 2016, depending on one’s preferred defensive metric (+1 rWAR, +2.1 fWAR), and there were a number of clubs that appeared to be fits. At various points, the Jays, Braves, Nats, Pirates and Orioles were connected to Pagan. Jon Heyman of FanRag Sports went so far as to report that Pagan had even reached an agreement with the Orioles at one point this winter before a failed physical sank the deal.

Whether this closes the book on Pagan’s career remains to be seen. Pagan suggested to Muniz Perez that he was never interested in taking a minor league pact this winter (as previous reports had suggested), but after sitting out the 2017 campaign he’ll assuredly have to do just that if he wishes to play in 2018. However, if a year away from the game comes with a continued desire to compete, then perhaps the notion of proving himself in Spring Training won’t be so off-putting.

Pagan’s big league debut came with the 2006 Cubs at the age of 24, but he didn’t cement himself as a big league regular until three years later with the Mets. Across the 11 years in which he played in the Majors, Pagan hit a combined .280/.330/.408 with 64 homers and 176 stolen bases between Chicago, New York and San Francisco. He won two World Series rings with the Giants and has earned more than $51MM to this point in his career.

NL Central Notes: Thames, Rosenthal, Arroyo

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Eric Thames is the talk of baseball after his preposterous start to the season — Thames is hitting .426/.491/1.000 with seven homers and six doubles through 53 plate appearances with the Brewers — the former KBO superstar spoke to USA Today’s Bob Nightengale about his transformation at the plate. Thames, 30, explains to Nightengale that going to Korea forced him to better his plate discipline; while pitchers there will often top out at 91 mph, the barrage of breaking pitches with which Thames was faced necessitated that he improve his pitch recognition and lay off pitches outside the zone. Thames jokes to Nightengale that in his first stint in American ball, he’d swing at anything within three feet of the batter’s box, but he’s become eminently more selective. Thames’ new approach drew praise from Dodgers VP Alex Anthopoulos, who was GM of the Blue Jays when Toronto let go of Thames, and from Cubs manager Joe Maddon, who called Thames’ swing “lethal,” Nightengale writes.

Brewers GM David Stearns tells Nightengale that Thames was on their radar for quite some time, and Nightengale reports that their first attempt to sign him came in the 2015-16 offseason when he still had time left on his contract with KBO’s NC Dinos. Skeptics of Thames may be interested to learn that he has already been tested for PEDs early this season, in addition to the test he took at the onset of Spring Training.

A bit more on Thames and on the NL Central…

  • On the subject of Thames’ selectivity at the plate, Fangraphs’ Jeff Sullivan breaks down the Brewers slugger’s newfound plate discipline at length. As Sullivan explains, Thames was well below the 25th percentile among Major Leaguers in terms of chasing out of zone pitches and was below the 50th percentile when it came to swinging at pitches in the zone during his first run in the bigs. Essentially, he was a free swinger that lacked the strike zone recognition to put himself in favorable counts and find pitches to drive. Now, Thames possesses one of baseball’s lowest chase rates and one of the best O-swing minus Z-swing percentages (that is to say, the percentage of pitches he chases minus the percentage of in-zone pitches at which he swings).
  • It may be a small sample of work, but Trevor Rosenthal’s early command has impressed the Cardinals to the point where he’s quickly becoming a late-inning option once again, writes MLB.com’s Jenifer Langosch. Rosenthal has yet to reach a three-ball count with any of the 10 men he’s faced, and his velocity is up noticeably from the 2016 season as well, per Statcast. Manager Mike Matheny tells Langosch that with several of the team’s setup options struggling, Rosenthal “is in the conversation” for a top setup gig following his early work. Rosenthal tossed a 100.6 mph fastball on Monday and is averaging 98.7 mph on his heater, according to Statcast.
  • Bronson Arroyo earned his first Major League win in 1,038 days against the Orioles yesterday, though he told reporters after the game that he’s still a bit uncertain about how well-equipped he is to continue on as a big league starter (video link via the Cincinnati Enquirer). Arroyo said that after 75 to 80 pitches, his arm is now feeling like it used to at 100 to 105 pitches, though it’s of course still early in his comeback season. C. Trent Rosecrans of the Enquirer provides more quotes from Arroyo and Reds manager Bryan Price than are available in that video. “I want to give this team the best opportunity to win the most ballgames and that’s just the way it has to be,” says Arroyo. “…if I’m feeling tired after 75, 80 pitches all the time, there might be a time where some of the young guys step into my role and I have to be the long guy in the ’pen or something like that.” Arroyo’s candor shouldn’t be mistaken for a lack of confidence, though, and Price voiced plenty of faith in the 40-year-old veteran’s ability to continue to build arm strength as the season wears on.

Reactions To Starling Marte’s Suspension

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The baseball world was collectively stunned yesterday by the announcement of an 80-game suspension for Pirates center fielder Starling Marte, who tested positive for Nandrolone — an anabolic steroid (which, as Bill Brink of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette details, has a long history of use in professional sports). Unsurprisingly, there have been a number of reaction pieces written, to say nothing of significant on-field ramifications for the Bucs, who will be without arguably their best player for half of the 2017 season. Some notable aftereffects and reactions…

  • The Pirates have shifted Andrew McCutchen back to center field will utilize a combination of Adam Frazier, Josh Harrison, John Jaso and Jose Osuna (who was called up from Triple-A following Marte’s suspension) in right field, as MLB.com’s Adam Berry writes in an excellent breakdown on the fallout from Marte’s 80-game ban. The Bucs have no plans to shift Josh Bell back to the outfield at this time, per Berry.
  • While the immediate reaction from many was that Marte’s suspension could open a window for touted outfield prospect Austin Meadows, GM Neal Huntington ruled out that possibility (also via Berry’s piece). “We’re encouraged by where Meadows will be at some point over the course of the summer,” Huntington told reporters. “He’s not ready right now, but we’re thrilled by where he can go.” It’s hard to refute Huntington’s assessment; even though Meadows clearly comes with a lofty ceiling, he’s followed up last year’s .214/.297/.460 showing in 175 Triple-A plate appearances with a mere .146/.217/.244 line through 46 PAs in Indianapolis this season. The Pirates typically wait until their top prospects have avoided Super Two status before promoting them to the Majors anyhow, but statistically speaking, Meadows has yet to demonstrate that he’s ready for more advanced competition.
  • Marte first tested positive early in Spring Training, reports USA Today’s Bob Nightengale, but he was allowed to play through this point in the season as his appeal process played out. Nightengale adds that while the Pirates could theoretically make a run at Angel Pagan now with a hole in the outfield, they’ll likely pass. Huntington suggested that trades aren’t an option at this time, Nightengale adds. In Berry’s column above, Huntington indeed suggested that trades for impact players at this point of the season are “not real,” and he cast some doubt on bringing in a free agent: “We’ll always look for ways to improve the club. It would have to be someone who is a significant upgrade over our internal options.”
  • Marte’s teammates, certainly, are disappointed by the news, but they also offered messages of support following the news, writes Stephen J. Nesbitt of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. McCutchen, Josh Harrison, Gregory Polanco and Gerrit Cole were among the members of the Pirates roster quoted in Nesbitt’s column. “He’s not exiled,” Harrison told reporters. “He made a mistake.” Polanco and Cole both referred to Marte as their “brother” when speaking to the media. “When you make a mistake, you gotta pay for it,” McCutchen said to reporters before also voicing his support. “…I’m just trying to be a good friend before I am a teammate.”
  • Cubs first baseman Anthony Rizzo was among the players to call for more testing throughout the league. Rizzo was doing an interview with Yahoo’s Big League Stew at the time the news of the suspension hit, and told them (Twitter link): “It kinda makes you angry as a player, because you know there are still flaws in the system, you know there are still guys getting away with it. For me, I’ve been drug tested zero times this year. Not once since the beginning-of-Spring-Training standard drug test. Guys are going to get away with it as long as they can and obviously everybody’s going to say they didn’t know they were doing it.” Many current and former players took to social media to call for more stringent testing policies and, in some cases, harsher punishment for first-time offenders.
  • ESPN’s Buster Olney opines that Marte’s suspension taints his legacy in Pittsburgh to the point that he can never provide a suitable return on their long-term investment in him. Marte’s suspension comes early in a pivotal season for the Pirates that may very well be McCutchen’s last year in black and yellow, Olney notes, and Pittsburgh had very little margin for error as it sought to keep up with the Cubs and Cardinals. While it’s hard to disagree with the notion that Marte’s suspension is a poorly timed blow that that Pirates could ill afford, the suggestion that he’s “torpedoed” his value beyond repair seems excessive. Marte is earning a combined $17.5MM in 2018-19 and has a pair of reasonably priced club options for the 2020 and 2021 seasons.
  • Yahoo’s Jeff Passan lists a number of myths and truths about performance enhancing drugs in a reaction column, ultimately calling for transparency and regulated use of certain substances (though not necessarily Nandrolone). Passan points out that some steroids are already commonly used (e.g. cortisone injections for pain) as a reference point when citing that the term “performance enhancing drugs” is rather arbitrary in its nature. “There is a place for chemistry in baseball and all other sports, and it is in a tightly regulated, ever-evolving partnership with doctors, chemists, politicians, ethicists, management and players to develop fair rules for sport while acknowledging sport itself can benefit from the use of drugs,” writes Passan. “The rules in place now don’t work. They never have. They never will.” Passan also suggests that PEDs will never be eradicated from baseball and disagrees with any suggestion that Marte’s value has somehow been erased by the suspension, among other points.
  • Marte might be the best player (at the time of his punishment) to ever receive a suspension for performance enhancing drug use, writes The Ringer’s Ben Lindbergh. Lindbergh profiles the numerous reasons that Marte has flown under the radar as one of Major League Baseball’s most underrated and unheralded stars in recent years, though certainly now that view will be tainted in the eyes of many. As Lindberg adds, there’s a cascading effect of Marte’s suspension, in that the downturn in the Pirates’ expected performance will now make a trade of McCutchen and, eventually, a promotion of Meadows all the more likely.

NL East Notes: Kendrick, Nats’ Closer, Ross, Bruce, Reyes

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The Phillies announced on Tuesday that left fielder Howie Kendrick has been placed on the 10-day disabled list due to an abdominal strain, thus making him the second veteran Philadelphia addition to go down with an injury today. (Clay Buchholz will miss anywhere from four to six months after undergoing surgery to repair a torn flexor tendon.) “It’s like upper abdomen, lower rib cage,” Kendrick told reporters, including MLB.com’s Todd Zolecki. “Hopefully it’s something that’s not a nuisance, but we’ll see. It hasn’t gotten any worse over the past couple days, so hopefully it’s something that’ll be done pretty quickly.” Fellow veteran Daniel Nava could be the primary substitute for Kendrick, though certainly the injury could lead to a bit of extra playing time for Aaron Altherr or Brock Stassi as well. As noted earlier tonight, the Phils selected the contract of right-hander Mark Leiter Jr. to fill Kendrick’s spot on the roster.

Elsewhere in the NL East…

  • The Nationals are considering a change in the ninth inning, manager Dusty Baker told reporters after he had to remove Blake Treinen in the ninth inning of tonight’s game (Twitter link via MLB.com’s Jamal Collier). “This ain’t working,” said Baker of the current alignment. Indeed, the Nats entered the day with a collective 6.25 ERA out of their bullpen — fourth-worst in all of baseball. Treinen lasted a third of an inning tonight and yielded a run on two hits and two walks before giving way to Shawn Kelley, who managed to salvage a 3-1 win for the defending NL East champs. Kelley and young right-hander Koda Glover seem like the two most plausible replacement options for Baker, though it’s unlikely that there’ll be definitive word on the situation until tomorrow. (Those chasing saves in fantasy baseball can follow @closernews on Twitter for updates on ninth-inning situations around the game.)
  • Right-hander Joe Ross will join the Nationals’ rotation tomorrow night after opening the year in Triple-A Syracuse, per Mark Zuckerman of MASNsports.com (Twitter links). The Nats optioned Ross to Syracuse in an effort to help limit his innings early in the year, though Baker acknowledged that the decision backfired on them. (Jeremy Guthrie was shelled in his lone appearance for the Nationals when he started in place of Ross.) It’s worth debating exactly how much the decision even worked toward the Nationals’ stated goal, as Ross has already thrown 9 2/3 innings in a pair of Triple-A outings. Regardless, he’ll be a welcome addition to the D.C. rotation if he can approximate the 3.52 ERA, 8.0 K/9, 2.5 BB/9 and 45.5 percent ground-ball he posted through his first 181 2/3 Major League innings in 2015-16.
  • ESPN’s Jerry Crasnick interviewed Mets right fielder Jay Bruce about the slugger’s struggles following the 2016 trade that brought him to New York and the hot start he’s experienced in 2017. Bruce brushes off any previous suggestions that he “couldn’t handle” the move to the big city and the more imposing media market. Rather, he explains to Crasnick the difficulty he had being uprooted from his daily routine in Cincinnati. Bruce calls himself a “routine-oriented guy” and details that he stayed with six different teammates in addition to living out of hotels during his first few months with the Mets — all with his wife and infant son remaining behind in Ohio. “I understand how people come up with their thoughts,” Bruce tells Crasnick. “…I think it’s a pride thing with people from New York, and I get it. It’s an amazing city. It’s chewed a lot of people up and spit them out. That doesn’t even exist to me, though. This is the team I’m playing baseball for, with an incredible opportunity. I was just bad at baseball for a month.” As of this writing, Bruce is hitting a robust .275/.362/.529 with four homers in his final year before free agency.
  • There’s more concern in the Mets organization surrounding Jose Reyes’ woeful start to the 2017 season than the team is publicly expressing, writes Kristie Ackert of the New York Daily News. Reyes picked up a double in tonight’s loss to the Phils but is still hitting just .100/.182/.140 on the season. Reyes, Ackert notes, was brought back with the hope that he could solidify the leadoff spot and allow Curtis Granderson’s 30-homer bat to hit lower in the order, but Reyes has been dropped to the bottom third of the order due to his poor performance. Michael Conforto hit leadoff for the second time this season on Tuesday, and Granderson has been in the leadoff slot three times in the past five games as well.

NL West Notes: Bochy, Gardenhire, Dayton, Hill, Padres

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MLBTR extends its best wishes to Giants skipper Bruce Bochy and Diamondbacks bench coach Ron Gardenhire, each of whom underwent surgery today, according to a pair of club releases. Bochy had a “minor ablation procedure this morning to alleviate some discomfort he was experiencing due to an atrial flutter,” the Giants said in a statement. Bochy is expected to rejoin the team on Friday, and in the interim, bench coach Ron Wotus will assume managerial duties. Gardenhire’s surgery was part of his ongoing treatment for prostate cancer, which he was diagnosed with during Spring Training. Both veterans are among the most respected and well-liked managers/coaches in the game, and we join those around the industry in wishing Bochy and Gardy full recoveries.

A few notes from around the NL West…

  • The Dodgers announced that left-hander Grant Dayton has been placed on the 10-day disabled list due to an intercostal strain. Right-hander Josh Fields has been recalled from Triple-A to take his spot on the active roster. The injury to Dayton, who has provided L.A. with 32 2/3 innings of 1.65 ERA ball dating back to his MLB debut last season, leaves Luis Avilan as the lone southpaw in manager Dave Roberts’ bullpen (as their depth chart at RosterResource.com shows). To this point, there’s no word on whether Dayton will be able to return in the minimum 10 days or if he’ll require a lengthier stay on the shelf.
  • Bill Plunkett of the Orange County Register writes that Rich Hill’s lack of blisters during Spring Training and immediate blister flare-up early in the season has left the Dodgers’ training staff “baffled” about what could’ve caused the issue. Roberts said that “everything” is on the table when it comes to getting Hill back up to speed, and the manager elaborated a bit on the notion of a temporary bullpen role for the left-hander to get him through the current issue. While some will question the decision to bring Hill back so quickly only to see the issue pop back up, Roberts doesn’t think insufficient rest isn’t to blame. “Put it this way – he shut down all winter and we didn’t see this blister until his first start,” said Roberts. “You can argue that resting it isn’t the solution because he had as much rest as he could and there wasn’t a sign of this until he made his first start.”
  • The Padres are looking for more production at shortstop but are hoping for one of Erick Aybar, Allen Cordoba or Luis Sardinas to step up for the time being, writes AJ Cassavell of MLB.com. There’s some optimism in the organization that prospect Luis Urias could emerge as a viable option, though he could be a ways off from the Majors. Urias opened the year at Double-A but is just 19 years of age. He did post a very strong .333/.404/.446 batting line as one of the youngest players in the Class-A Advanced California League last season, though, and even got a brief cup of coffee in Triple-A in 2016 (three games). In the meantime, manager Andy Green praised Aybar’s eye at the plate (he’s walked six times) and voiced confidence that hits will begin to fall in for the veteran. Aybar is hitting just .147/.293/.206, while Sardinas comes with less of a big league track record and Cordoba is swimming with sharks after jumping directly from Rookie Ball to the Majors as a Rule 5 pick.

Giants Designate Tim Federowicz For Assignment

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The Giants reinstated Buster Posey from the 7-day disabled list on Tuesday and designated backup catcher Tim Federowicz for assignment to clear a spot on the active roster (Twitter link via Alex Pavlovic of NBC Sports Bay Area).

Federowicz, 29, appeared in two games for the Giants and picked up just three plate appearances while Posey was on the shelf. It seems likely that the Giants will try to pass Federowicz through waivers in the hope of keeping him in the organization as a depth option in the event of further injuries to either Posey or backup Nick Hundley. Federowicz has never hit that much in the Majors, but he’s a .304/.375/.511 hitter over the life of 304 Triple-A games and also slashed an impressive .323/.417/.625 in 21 games with the Giants this spring.

San Francisco selected Federowicz’s contract last week when Posey hit the disabled list due to concussion-like symptoms. The sequence of events may not sit especially well with Giants fans, as the quick roster shuffle cost the Giants longtime pitching prospect Clayton Blackburn, who was designated for assignment to clear a spot for Federowicz and traded to the Rangers. While Blackburn certainly isn’t a top-tier pitching prospect, and the Giants did acquire minor league infielder Frandy De La Rosa in that trade with the Rangers, Blackburn is nearly MLB-ready, meaning his loss thins out the team’s immediate pitching depth.

Angels Acquire Juan Graterol, Designate Ryan LaMarre

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The Angels have acquired catcher Juan Graterol from the Blue Jays in exchange for a player to be named later or cash, the teams announced Tuesday afternoon. In order to clear a spot for Graterol on the 40-man roster, the Angels designated outfielder Ryan LaMarre for assignment.

After a tumultuous five-month cycle of transactions, Graterol is back with the organization with which he spent the 2016 season. Back in November, the Halos designated Graterol for assignment when claiming Nolan Fontana from the Astros — a move that triggered a subsequent cavalcade of scenery changes for the 28-year-old catcher. Graterol was claimed by the Reds, then claimed by the D-backs before briefly landing back with the Angels following a DFA in Arizona. The Angels, though, failed in their next attempt to pass Graterol through waivers, as the Blue Jays snagged him and brought him to MLB camp. Though he didn’t make the team in Toronto, he previously stood as one of the first lines of defense in the event of an injury to Russell Martin or Jarrod Saltalamacchia.

That changed this past weekend, when the Jays once again designated Graterol for assignment upon selecting the contract of Chris Coghlan. Graterol now changes organizations for the fifth time in five months and will hope to stick on the Halos’ 40-man roster this time around. He made his MLB debut with the Angels in 2016, appearing in nine games and going 4-for-14 at the plate.

While the constant changing of teams has to be frustrating for Graterol, it’s also undoubtedly heartening that so many clubs think highly enough of him to continually place him on a 40-man roster. Graterol doesn’t possess especially gaudy offensive numbers in Triple-A, but his .281/.311/.341 batting line in parts of four seasons there is solid for a player that comes with a sound defensive reputation. Graterol has shut down 39 percent of stolen base attempts him in his minor league career and also consistently rates as a solid, if unspectacular pitch framer (per Baseball Prospectus).

As for LaMarre, the 28-year-old has experienced brief stints in the Majors in each of he past two seasons with the Reds and Red Sox. Though he’s collected just two hits in 30 Major League at-bats, he’s a .273/.340/.406 hitter in parts of five Triple-A seasons. LaMarre has been primarily a center fielder throughout his minor league career but does also come with some experience in both corner slots (more in right field than in left).

Pitching Injury Notes: Graveman, Lugo, Tillman, Ross

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Athletics right-hander Kendall Graveman has been placed on the 10-day disabled list, retroactive to this past Saturday, due to a strained right shoulder, per a club announcement. Catcher Bruce Maxwell has been recalled from Triple-A to fill Graveman’s spot on the 25-man roster. While A’s fans are undoubtedly disheartened to see the 26-year-old Graveman land on the shelf, Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle tweets that there are no indications that the injury is severe. Slusser notes that she’d be surprised to see Graveman miss more than one start, so it seems that Oakland is merely taking advantage of the shortened minimum stay on the DL to help keep the roster full while Graveman recovers.

A few more injury notes from around the game…

  • Mets righty Seth Lugo is set to begin a throwing program after taking two weeks off, per The Record’s Matt Ehalt (Twitter link). Lugo, who is hoping to avoid surgery after being diagnosed with a partial tear in his ulnar collateral ligament, will begin his program by throwing from 60 feet. Ehalt adds. Lugo and southpaw Steven Matz are both presently on the DL for the Mets, which has considerably thinned out the club’s rotation depth.
  • Chris Tillman was able to make his first rehab start yesterday, appearing with the Orioles’ Double-A affiliate, as Jon Meoli of the Baltimore Sun reports. Though he says he is still having trouble getting his problematic shoulder loose, he says he’s “good to go” once he’s able to do so. Tillman suggested he is learning to deal with the constraints of the balky joint, though how that’ll work out at the game’s highest level is anyone’s guess. The righty sat in the upper eighties with his fastball yesterday, though he did top out at 91 — which is where he typically works. So long as he’s able to rebound from this first outing, Tillman will continue to increase his pitch count in further rehab starts.
  • The back issues that have slowed the rehab progress of Rangers’ righty Tyson Ross are still hanging around, Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News reports on Twitter. Since he has yet to return to the mound, it now seems that his early-May target to return to the majors will move back by at least a week or two. Ross had seemed to be nearing a full recovery from thoracic outlet surgery when the seemingly minor back issue cropped up.
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