Angels’ Gerardo Reyes, Brendan McCurry To Undergo Tommy John Surgery
Angels right-handers Gerardo Reyes and Brendan McCurry will undergo Tommy John surgery and miss the 2021 season, the team announced to reporters (Twitter link via Rhett Bollinger of MLB.com). Reyes was already known to be dealing with a UCL sprain and was recently removed from the 40-man roster. McCurry, a former Astros and Athletics farmhand, signed a minor league deal with a spring training invite over the winter.
Reyes, 27, came to the Halos in the August trade that sent veteran catcher Jason Castro to the Padres. He appeared in one game this spring but departed early. The righty didn’t pitch in the Majors for the Padres or Angels last season but did log 26 frames with San Diego in ’19. He was knocked around for a 7.62 ERA in that time, but Reyes also showed a blistering heater that averaged 97 mph while punching out 32.5 percent of opponents (against a passable 9.4 percent walk rate).
Reyes has kept his ERA at 3.57 or better in every minor league stop since 2017, steadily increasing his strikeout rate along the way. A second straight season without pitching in a conventional game setting won’t do him any favors, but he’ll give the Angels a potential power arm out of the ‘pen in 2022 and beyond, assuming he successfully rehabs the injury.
McCurry, 29, has yet to make his big league debut but carries a career 4.03 ERA with quality 26.2 percent strikeout and 7.2 percent walk rates in 205 2/3 innings of Triple-A ball. He’s slated to be a minor league free agent again next winter.
The Angels announced a few other injury updates, including a hip injection for righty Luke Bard that will slow his spring progression. He’s expected to be re-evaluated in 72 hours, tweets MLB.com’s Jack Harris.
Quick Hits: Stottlemyre, Rockies, Wieters, Rangers, Suspensions
Longtime Yankees right-hander and pitching coach Mel Stottlemyre was “fighting for his life” earlier Saturday, but the 75-year-old is now “doing much better,” his wife, Jean, told John Harper of the New York Daily News. “We saw a big turnaround with Mel over the last 24 hours. He’s not in a life-threatening situation right now,” she continued. “It’s not the cancer. It was that he got sick from the chemo medicine. He was given anti-biotics to fight infection and he’s responded well.” Stottlemyre was diagnosed with multiple myeloma in 1999, which he fought off before it returned in 2011. We at MLBTR will continue to hope for the best for the five-time All-Star and five-time World Series champion.
More from around the majors:
- It’s unknown whether the Rockies are interested in free agent catcher Matt Wieters, but Jim Bowden of ESPN (Insider required) argues that signing him could push the team into the playoffs. Meanwhile, for Wieters, taking a one-year deal with Colorado and playing half his games at hitter-friendly Coors Field would perhaps enable him to rebound offensively and score a richer contract next offseason, posits Bowden. Long a competent offensive catcher, Wieters batted just .243/.302/.409 in 464 plate appearances last season. The Rockies have far less proven catchers in Tony Wolters and Tom Murphy, though the former thrived as a pitch framer in 2016 (unlike Wieters) and the latter raked at the Triple-A level.
- If the Rangers’ quiet approach to free agency this winter continues, it could benefit center fielder Delino DeShields, writes T.R. Sullivan of MLB.com. After an encouraging rookie year in 2015, DeShields was a colossal disappointment last season (.209/.275/.313 in 203 PAs) and spent significant time at Triple-A Round Rock as a result. While Carlos Gomez is slated to start in center field for the Rangers next year, a strong spring showing from DeShields could change that, suggests Sullivan. If DeShields reclaims center, Gomez and Nomar Mazara would occupy the corners, and Shin-Soo Choo would become the team’s full-time designated hitter. “My offseason program last year was a little different than this year. This year I’m more focused on being more explosive and getting my mobility back,” DeShields revealed.
- The commissioner’s office announced drug-related suspensions for five minor leaguers earlier this week, according to Vince Lara-Cinisomo of Baseball America: Red Sox catcher Jake Romanski (amphetamine), Astros right-hander Brendan McCurry (methamphetamine), Indians righty Dakody Clemmer (drug of abuse), Royals righty Arnaldo Hernandez (methamphetamine) and free agent righty Mario Alcantara each received 50-game bans. Clemmer, a 19th-round selection last June, is the most recent draft pick of the group. Romanski (14th round, 2013) and McCurry (22nd round, 2014) were also major league picks. McCurry has reached the most advanced level of the quintet, as he threw 42 1/3 innings at Triple-A last season. The 24-year-old recorded a 3.83 ERA, 9.35 K/9 and 2.76 BB/9 during that stretch.