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Dodgers Place Cody Bellinger On IL

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The Dodgers placed center fielder Cody Bellinger on the IL for left hamstring tightness and recalled Mitch White, MLB.com’s Juan Toribio was among those to report.  The timing of the injury is unfortunate, as tonight is the first full-capacity game at Dodger Stadium since before the pandemic.  Bellinger is eligible to be activated on June 22nd, notes Eric Stephen of True Blue L.A.

Bellinger returned from a lengthy IL stint on May 29th after recovering from a hairline fracture in his left fibula.  Now, he’s back to the IL due to a hamstring injury, which first cropped up last Friday.  The Dodgers will again make do without the 2019 NL MVP.  This year, that’s generally meant Chris Taylor and Mookie Betts in center field.  With Max Muncy hitting the IL on Saturday, the Dodgers’ current first base tandem is Matt Beaty and Albert Pujols.  In his 66 plate appearances with the Dodgers, Pujols has a 131 wRC+.  The Dodgers are also without star shortstop Corey Seager, who might return early next month from a broken hand.

In recalling White, the Dodgers have gone to a nine-man bullpen after yesterday’s short start from Tony Gonsolin.

Glasnow: Enforcing Sticky Stuff Rule Midseason Is “Insane” And Contributed To Injury

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Rays starter Tyler Glasnow hit the IL with a partially torn UCL and a flexor tendon strain today, and he feels that MLB’s decision to finally enforce the foreign substance rules on the books is a contributing factor.  In advance of MLB’s new enforcement policy, Glasnow ceased usage of sunscreen, changing the grips on his fastball and curveball.  Here’s what Glasnow had to say (Bally Sports Florida sideline reporter Tricia Whitaker has the video here):

“Do it in the offseason, give us a chance to adjust to it. But I just threw 80-something, 70-whatever innings, and then you just told me I can’t use anything in the middle of the year? I had to change everything I’d been doing the entire season. Everything, out of the window, I had to start doing something completely new.

And then I’m telling you, I truly believe, that’s why I got hurt. Me throwing 100 and being 6’7″ is why I got hurt, but that contributed. I’m just frustrated that they don’t understand how hard it is to pitch, one, but to tell us to do something completely different in the middle of the season is insane. It’s ridiculous. There has to be some give and take here. You can’t just take away everything and not add something. Pitchers need to be able to have some sort of control or some sort of grip on the ball. And I just don’t want this to happen to somebody else, I don’t want a fastball to sail away and hit somebody in the face like it already has.

I understand you need to take an aggressive approach here, but I just think people are going about it all wrong. And I’m sitting here, my lifelong dream, I want to go out and win a Cy Young, I want to be an All-Star, and then now it’s all just shit on. Now it’s over. I have to try and rehab and come back in the playoffs. I’m clearly frustrated…people need to figure this out. You can’t just tell us to use nothing. It’s crazy.”

According to ESPN’s Jeff Passan, Glasnow’s sentiments are “shared by a lot of people across baseball — and not just players.”  Dodgers righty Trevor Bauer is another pitcher who takes issue with MLB’s timing on the enforcement, tweeting, “They’ve knowingly swept this under the rug for 4 years. Now they implement a knee jerk reaction to shifting public perception. Hard to hear them talk about “competitive integrity” when they have no integrity to begin with.”

The pitchers who have been speaking up recently on this topic have sound points: this issue could have been tackled with care in the offseason, and MLB should have tried to get players on board.  As the Nationals’ Max Scherzer put it, “The players should have a say in this. Unfortunately, I don’t think we will. It just appears that MLB is going to do whatever they want with this.”  The use of “sticky stuff” by pitchers has been an unenforced rule for many years, and forcing pitchers to go cold turkey could bring unintended consequences – including injuries.  MLB’s new “enhanced enforcements” go into effect Monday, though some pitchers have clearly been weaning off the sticky stuff this month.

Diamondbacks Select Contract Of Keury Mella

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Righty reliever Keury Mella is returning to the Diamondbacks’ 40-man roster, according to The Athletic’s Zach Buchanan.  The club transferred Seth Frankoff to the 60-day IL to clear a 40-man spot, while Taylor Clarke hit the 10-day IL to create an active roster opening.  Incredibly, the D’Backs are vying for their first road win since April 25th tonight in San Francisco.

Mella, 27, has logged 27 career innings for the Reds and Diamondbacks.  In his 11 appearances at Triple-A Reno this year, he punched out 24.4% of batters and walked 9.0%.  Mella averaged 95.2 miles per hour last year in the bigs, a bit above the average ’21 reliever figure of 93.8.  Two years ago as a Reds farmhand, Mella was considered to be a 45-grade prospect by Baseball America.  The Reds had acquired Mella and Adam Duvall from the Giants in the 2015 trade deadline trade of Mike Leake.  At the time, Mella was thought to have a plus fastball without a “true offspeed weapon.”  Mella was deemed expendable back in February, as Arizona designated him for assignment and he passed through waivers unclaimed.

As you might expect from the worst team in baseball, the Diamondbacks’ bullpen has been pretty bad, with a 4.64 ERA.  But still better than three other NL teams!  Mella joins a D’Backs bullpen consisting of Stefan Crichton, Joakim Soria, Kevin Ginkel, Ryan Buchter, Humberto Castellanos, Joe Mantiply, Riley Smith, and possibly Corbin Martin at present.  Clarke joins relievers J.B. Bukauskas, Tyler Clippard, Chris Devenski on the IL, with Devenski done for the season due to Tommy John surgery.

Latest On Cole Hamels

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18 months ago, Cole Hamels was an $18MM pitcher.  Back in December 2019, the Braves signed the veteran southpaw to a one-year contract, just shy of his 36th birthday.  Atlanta headed into Spring Training with Hamels, Mike Soroka, Max Fried, and Mike Foltynewicz as rotation locks, with Sean Newcomb, Felix Hernandez, and others competing for the fifth starter job.

2020 did not go as planned for just about anyone, and Cole Hamels was no exception.  He reported to camp with irritation in his left shoulder stemming from an offseason workout.  The expected normal Opening Day was ruled out, and by April 6th Hamels was said to be pain-free, and he was expected to be ready for the “new” Opening Day.  However, triceps tendinitis popped up, and Hamels wouldn’t make his lone Braves start until September 16th.  He returned to the IL with shoulder fatigue after the 52-pitch outing.  The Braves’ contract with Hamels was tied with Marcell Ozuna as the largest one-year deal of the 2019-20 offseason, and the club got nothing to show for it.

So, what’s the word on Hamels?  He’s not anywhere close to contributing to an MLB team, but at least he’s somewhere, throwing a baseball.  According to MLB Network’s Jon Heyman, the lefty “continues to throw off a mound and is building up every day but has not scheduled a showcase yet.”  I assume that if Hamels can show MLB teams he still has the ability to throw around 91 miles per hour, interest should be plentiful in a year where pitching depth is especially compromised.  The injuries will only continue to mount over the next few months.

How many current MLB rotation members are older than Cole Hamels?  Just four: Rich Hill,  Adam Wainwright, J.A. Happ, and Zack Greinke.  Hopefully we haven’t seen the last of Hamels, but his 15-year career will probably at least merit a few Hall of Fame votes.

Injury Notes: deGrom, Mondesi, Kim, Rendon, Davidson, Means

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It’s the Year of the Injury, and this post will house many of the evening’s updates on that front.

  • Let’s start off with some good news for everyone except the Cubs: Mets ace Jacob deGrom is set to start tomorrow night.  DeGrom left his start Friday due to right flexor tendinitis, but the MRI came back clean.
  • Royals shortstop Adalberto Mondesi was reinstated from the IL, with reliever Ronald Bolanos going on it.  Mondesi, who strained his hamstring on May 31st, is active but not in tonight’s lineup.
  • Cardinals lefty Kwang Hyun Kim is also off the IL, and is starting tonight against the Marlins.  Kim had a brief IL stint for lower back soreness.
  • Angels manager Joe Maddon told reporters the injured list has been ruled out for third baseman Anthony Rendon, who’s recovering from a mild triceps strain.  Rendon has struggled at the plate this year, with a 90 wRC+ in 191 plate appearances.  By measure of OPS, his .679 mark is the worst single-season 45-game slump of Rendon’s career since his 2013 rookie season.
  • Luis Severino’s rehab start injury Saturday was described as a Grade 2 groin strain by Yankees manager Aaron Boone.  This will set him back about a month, leading to a possible late July/early August return.
  • Braves southpaw Tucker Davidson left tonight’s start after 53 pitches with left forearm tightness, according to the team.  Davidson entered the night unscored-upon in his last 11 2/3 innings, spanning a pair of starts.
  • Orioles ace John Means, pulled from a June 5th start in the first inning, began playing catch for the first time since the injury according to MLB.com’s Joe Trezza.  Means may be able to return by month’s end.  With a 2.28 ERA and a no-hitter on the season, the lefty seems a lock for the All-Star Game.

Pirates Acquire Taylor Davis

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The Orioles acquired minor league outfielder Jose Berroa from the Pirates for catcher Taylor Davis, reported Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com among others.

Davis, 31, picked up 20 games of big league experience with the Cubs from 2017-19.  He signed a minor league deal with the Orioles in January 2020, and played in 12 games for the Norfolk Tides this year.  Davis may not have made much of a big league impact yet, but he did garner fame for “shooting icy stares at the Iowa Cubs’ cameras,” as SI’s Dan Gartland put it in 2017.  Davis will now make the trip to the Pirates’ Triple-A affiliate.  The Indianapolis Indians open a six-game set against the Memphis Redbirds tonight.

Berroa, 19, did not fall within FanGraphs’ top 51 Pirates prospects back in February.  He played 56 games in the Dominican Summer League in 2019 and will be assigned to the Orioles’ Florida Complex team in Sarasota.  He was a July 2 signing out of the Dominican Republic back in 2018.

Tigers’ Matt Manning To Make MLB Debut Thursday; Matthew Boyd To IL

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The Tigers announced a series of roster moves today, the most exciting of which is the planned MLB debut of acclaimed pitching prospect Matt Manning.  Manning, 23, will start Thursday night in Anaheim against the Angels.  Additionally, pitchers Matthew Boyd and Alex Lange hit the IL, Wily Peralta and Miguel Del Pozo had their contracts selected, and Jeimer Candelario was reinstated from the IL.

Manning was drafted ninth overall by the Tigers in 2016 out of high school.  Prior to the season, Baseball America ranked Manning as the 33rd-best prospect in the game.  The COVID-19 pandemic deprived Manning and many others of a minor league season in 2020, and he also dealt with a right forearm strain.   Manning made his Triple-A debut on May 4th of this year.  He’s scuffled to an 8.07 ERA in seven starts, with more than 27% of his flyballs leaving the yard.  Still, Manning’s last outing was solid, and he retains “frontline starter potential” according to Baseball America.  He’ll get a tough assignment, going up against Shohei Ohtani.

Boyd, 30, exited Monday’s start due to an arm injury that Tigers manager A.J. Hinch described today as “more toward the elbow.”  Through 13 starts, he was experiencing a resurgent season with a 3.44 ERA in 70 2/3 frames.  With a strikeout rate of just 18.8%, Boyd is likely still a 4.50 ERA type pitcher whose flyballs happened to stay in the yard over a brief sample.  Still, he’s under team control through 2022 as an arbitration eligible player and should be a solid late July trade candidate if the injury turns out to be minor.  Boyd joins rotation-mate Spencer Turnbull on the IL.

Lange, a 25-year-old rookie reliever, struggled to the tune of a 7.31 ERA over 18 fairly low-leverage outings before hitting the IL with a shoulder strain.  He was rated as a 40-grade prospect by Baseball America prior to the season.

Peralta and Del Pozo will be new additions to the Tigers’ 40-man roster.  One such spot was opened with the transferring of Rony Garcia to the 60-day IL.  Peralta, 32, joined the Tigers on a minor league deal back in February.  He was once a productive member of the Brewers’ rotation, peaking with a 3.53 ERA in 198 2/3 innings back in 2014.  He managed to give the Mud Hens six mostly solid but brief outings and is an option to take Boyd’s spot Saturday in Anaheim, Hinch told reporters.

Del Pozo has 13 big league innings to his name.  The 28-year-old southpaw inked a minor league deal with the Tigers back in January.  He’s been dominant in a dozen Triple-A relief outings, punching out 34.7% of batters faced and walking only 6.1%.

Corey Dickerson Placed On IL For Foot Contusion

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Marlins left fielder Corey Dickerson is headed to the IL, manager Don Mattingly told reporters today.  Mattingly said Dickerson had an MRI and it’s “not very promising,” according to SportsGrid’s Craig Mish.  The team later described Dickerson’s injury as a “left foot contusion.”  Earlier today, we learned that the Marlins are calling up prospect Jesus Sanchez from Triple-A.  Sanchez is batting fifth against the Cardinals’ Kwang Hyun Kim, who came off the IL today.

With 45 days until the trade deadline, it appears the last-place Marlins may have missed their chance to recoup some value on Dickerson.  The 32-year-old wasn’t exactly setting the world on fire with a 102 wRC+, the Marlins may have been able to unload the $2.8MM that will remain on Dickerson’s contract come July 30th.  Dickerson had signed a two-year, $17.5MM free agent deal with the Marlins in January 2020.  Dickerson’s contract still marks by far the largest free agent signing of the Bruce Sherman/Derek Jeter era, with no one else topping $5MM.

The Marlins still have a solid trade chip in center fielder Starling Marte, who owns a 174 wRC+ on the season.  Shortstop Miguel Rojas may also generate interest, though the club holds a $5.5M club option for 2022 that will become guaranteed if he reaches 500 plate appearances.  Though controlled through 2022, first baseman Jesus Aguilar may also be available.  Adam Duvall, also controlled through ’22, has had a rough year so far.  On the pitching side, top reliever Yimi Garcia is slated for free agency and should be popular on the trade market.

Nick Madrigal Out For The Season

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White Sox second baseman Nick Madrigal “underwent successful surgery to repair the proximal tendon tears in his right hamstring,” the club announced today.  He’ll be out for the season and is expected to be restriction-free in spring of 2022.  Madrigal’s injury was known to be potentially season-ending last week, as he was placed on the 60-day IL.

The White Sox have done a remarkable job weathering major injuries already this year, sitting in first place in the AL Central with the league’s second-best record despite early-season losses of Luis Robert and Eloy Jimenez.  Jimenez could potentially join the club in August after rupturing his left pectoral tendon in late March, while Robert suffered a Grade 3 right hip flexor strain.  Neither player has an official timetable for return from the White Sox.

Madrigal, Chicago’s high-contact 24-year-old rookie second baseman, had a 117 wRC+ on the season that ranked seventh among qualifiers.  Danny Mendick and Leury Garcia have taken over at second since Madrigal’s injury.  Should the White Sox look to upgrade, Adam Frazier, Josh Harrison, Eduardo Escobar, and Jonathan Schoop could be among those available.

2021-22 MLB Free Agent Power Rankings

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It’s time for a fresh installment of our 2021-22 MLB Free Agents Power Rankings, where we rank players by their potential earning power should they reach the open market as scheduled.  For this exercise, I’m setting aside the uncertainty of the collective bargaining agreement expiring on December 1st.  For the full list of free agents, click here.

1.  Corey Seager.  Seager suffered a broken hand after getting hit by a pitch in mid-May, and seems likely to return around early July.  It will be interesting to see how Seager hits once he returns.  In 169 plate appearances to start the season, he sits at a 122 wRC+.  That’s strong work, but perhaps a bit short of Seager’s own standards, as he entered the season with a career mark of 130.

2.  Carlos Correa.  Correa is raking this season, with a 147 wRC+ that ranks second only to Xander Bogaerts among shortstops.  He’s also managed to play in all but three of the Astros’ games and hasn’t been on the IL since late in the 2019 season.  I debated Correa vs. Trevor Story back in mid-April…but can Correa move past Seager?  Correa’s Statcast hitting numbers are strong this year, and he even ranks fifth among shortstops in Outs Above Average on defense.  Plus, Correa is not set to turn 27 until September.

3.  Kris Bryant.  Bryant is having a monster season, posting a 160 wRC+ that ranks second among all free agents (assuming the Astros pick up Yuli Gurriel’s option).  Bryant is on pace for a six or seven WAR season.  That’s on par with the production of the first three years of his career, which netted him the 2016 NL MVP award.  Though Bryant once looked like an obvious trade candidate, the Cubs are currently clinging to first place in the NL Central.  FanGraphs puts their playoff odds at about 40%.  If that holds for the next month, trading Bryant won’t be a viable option for GM Jed Hoyer.  In that case, Bryant’s final overture from the Cubs may come in the form of a qualifying offer after the season.

4.  Trevor Bauer.  After the season, Bauer must decide whether to opt out of the remaining two years and $62MM on his contract with the Dodgers (causing a large chunk of his ’21 salary to be deferred) or potentially opting out of only the 2023 season, leaving just $17MM on the table.  Bauer’s calculus may be changing in light of MLB’s impending crackdown on the use of foreign substances.  Through Bauer’s first 12 starts, his four-seam fastball had 2,840 RPM at a velocity of 93.8 mph.  But on June 6th in Atlanta, Bauer’s spin rate dropped to 2,612 while staying at virtually the same velocity.

Will Bauer continue to post Cy Young level numbers for the remainder of the season if MLB’s sticky stuff rules are fully enforced?  If he slips – even if it has nothing to do with foreign substances or spin rate – the perception might be enough to prevent him from opting out.

5.  Trevor Story.  Story owns just an 89 wRC+ through 50 games; he hasn’t had a stretch this bad since 2017.  Plus, he hit the IL with right elbow inflammation in late May.  He’s expected to be activated today, and has plenty of time to right the ship before the Rockies most likely trade him in July.

6.  Freddie Freeman.  In 2018, a season in which Freeman finished fourth in the NL MVP voting, he had a 58-game stretch during which he posted a .780 OPS, which is a bit worse than what he’s done this year.  I don’t think there’s anything to worry about with the reigning NL MVP, even with a wRC+ all the way down to 111.  But the timing isn’t great for Freeman, who turns 32 in September and may have to be content getting a bit past Paul Goldschmidt’s five-year, $130MM deal.

7.  Kevin Gausman.  Gausman has sustained his strikeout rate from last year, improved his control, and has benefitted from a 7.1% home run per flyball rate and .212 BABIP.  Since joining the Giants in 2020, Gausman has a 2.29 ERA in 137 1/3 innings.  Maybe his skills are more indicative of a 3.00 ERA, but that’s still top shelf work that may put him in the $100MM discussion.  Gausman bet on himself this year by accepting the Giants’ qualifying offer, and that decision is looking prudent so far.

8.  Javier Baez.  It’s tough to predict how the market will treat Baez.  The Cubs’ 28-year-old shortstop continues to do things you’ve never seen before on a baseball field, but he also owns a .240/.276/.480 swing-for-the-fences batting line with a 36.7 K%.  With potentially nine starting shortstops on the free agent market this winter, teams will have options.

9.  Clayton Kershaw.  Kershaw has thrown four clunkers in his last seven starts, sending his ERA from 2.09 to 3.66.  Overall, though, I don’t think his skills have changed.  The 33-year-old should still be able to land a three-year deal at a premium salary, even if he limits his potential destinations.

10.  Max Scherzer.  Scherzer turns 37 in July, and will be highly sought-after if the Nationals are willing to trade him this summer.  Normally a pitcher at Scherzer’s age has little chance at a three-year deal, but so far he has a 2.22 ERA, 36.1 K%, and 5.2 BB%.  I think someone might spring for the third year.

Honorable mentions

Nick Castellanos, J.D. Martinez, Mark Canha, Brandon Crawford, Chris Taylor, Marcus Semien, Buster Posey, Starling Marte, Craig Kimbrel, Lance Lynn, Carlos Rodon, Robbie Ray, and Marcus Stroman are among those having big years, though if we set the bar for the top ten at $100MM they’ll have a hard time getting there.

A couple of Mets, Michael Conforto, and Noah Syndergaard, have been bumped from the top ten.  Conforto has failed to hit for power thus far, while Syndergaard had a setback in his rehab from Tommy John surgery.  Dylan Bundy also fell off the list, as he’s given up 23 runs in his last 21 innings.  There are others who fall somewhere in-between, having a solid but not spectacular year, like Anthony Rizzo, Avisail Garcia, Zack Greinke, Anthony DeSclafani, and Wade Miley.

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