Andrelton Simmons Suffers Ankle Injury; Ohtani Pulled After HBP
Angels shortstop Andrelton Simmons departed last night’s game with an ankle injury. Fortunately, x-rays were negative, but he has at a minimum suffered a “very bad sprain,” Maria Torres of the Los Angeles Times was among those to report on Twitter.
At the moment, there’s no way to know what kind of absence might be anticipated. Simmons is due for an MRI today that will surely give a fuller picture of the damage incurred. He appeared to torque the joint quite forcefully after lunging to first base in an attempt to beat a throw.
The Halos also saw DH Shohei Ohtani leave the game in the same inning. He was struck by a pitch in the right hand. X-rays were also negative in his case, with manager Brad Ausmus indicating that his injury was of lesser concern.
It’s already a tough spot for the Angels, who sit three games below .500 and 9.5 back of the heavyweight Astros. With Justin Upton still sidelined and the rotation still scuffling, it’s tough to see a path to even Wild Card contention that doesn’t involve a huge performance from Simmons, Ohtani, and the peerless Mike Trout.
Fortunately, the club does seem to have the ability to shift some pieces around to cover for any absences. Zack Cozart is probably the most gifted shortstop in the world that doesn’t play that position for a MLB team, so he can slide over there with David Fletcher and Tommy La Stella sharing second and third base. If the team wants another lefty bat to go with Jared Walsh, it can recall Justin Bour.
Health Notes: Tatis Jr., Upton, Price, Diaz, K. Davis
The Padres are hoping shortstop Fernando Tatis Jr. will return May 24, the start of a six-game road trip for the club, per Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union-Tribune. Tatis went to the injured list on April 30 with a hamstring strain, temporarily derailing a phenomenal start to the 20-year-old rookie’s career. The Padres have had the luxury of using Manny Machado at short to fill in for Tatis, but moving the former off third base has left the hot corner to the light-hitting Ty France.
Here’s more on several other household names dealing with injuries…
- Angels left fielder Justin Upton remains a ways off from making his 2019 debut, as he explained to Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register and other reporters Saturday. That’s not surprising, though, considering Upton was slated to miss eight to 12 weeks when he went down with a toe injury at the end of March. While Upton is one of the Angels’ best complements to Mike Trout, his absence hasn’t been ruinous thanks to the surprisingly great offensive production waiver pickup Brian Goodwin has offered in his place.
- Red Sox left-hander David Price will come off the IL to start Monday, manager Alex Cora told reporters, including Chris Cotillo of MassLive.com. Price will end up missing exactly two weeks after heading to the shelf with elbow tendinitis May 6. Before that, Price followed up last fall’s playoff heroics with a 3.75 ERA/3.42 FIP and a career-high 10.5 K/9 across 36 frames.
- Utilityman Aledmys Diaz left the Astros’ game Friday with a Grade 1 left hamstring strain, manager AJ Hinch announced (via Chandler Rome of the Houston Chronicle). The injury doesn’t seem as if it will require an IL stint, though, as Hinch noted Diaz “could possibly be back as early as next series.” Diaz had been filling in at second base since last weekend, when the team placed starter Jose Altuve on the IL, and produced at a white-hot clip before going down with his own injury. Hinch indicated the Astros will turn to Yuli Gurriel at second and Tyler White at first for however long Diaz is out.
- Athletics designated hitter Khris Davis incurred a left hip injury on May 5, and the issue continues to trouble him nearly two full weeks later, Martin Gallegos of MLB.com relays. Davis said Saturday he’s “not 100 hundred percent,” which caused the Athletics to scratch him from their lineup. Manager Bob Melvin admitted there’s “a little bit of concern” for the 31-year-old Davis, who was eminently durable with the A’s from 2016-18, though he’s hopeful the slugger will be OK by Sunday.
Angels Option Justin Bour, Will Select Jared Walsh
The Angels announced following tonight’s game that they’ve optioned first baseman Justin Bour to Triple-A Salt Lake. They’ll make a corresponding roster move prior to tomorrow’s game, which, according to Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register (Twitter link), will be to select the contract of first baseman/left-handed reliever Jared Walsh.
Though Bour is a veteran of parts of six big league seasons, he’s still a couple of months shy of the five full years of MLB service time. Players with five or more years of MLB service can only be optioned to the minors with their consent, but Bour entered the year at four years, 64 days of MLB service and is now at four years, 111 days.
Bour, 30, was non-tendered by the Phillies in the offseason and inked a one-year deal worth $2.5MM with the Halos. At the time, the hope was that he could help fill in for Shohei Ohtani early in the season and then move into some kind of timeshare at first base and designated hitter. But while he entered the year as a career .260/.344/.466 hitter with 84 home runs in 1563 Major League plate appearances, Bour has batted only .163/.268/.316 through 112 plate appearances with his new club. He’s drawn 13 walks in that time, demonstrating strong knowledge of the strike zone, but has also shown questionable contact skills with a 27.7 percent strikeout rate.
If Bour is able to eventually turn things around, the Angels will be able to control him through the 2020 season as an arbitration-eligible player this winter, but that’s a long way from being a consideration at this point. For now, he’ll simply work to earn another crack at the big league roster.
As for Walsh, the 25-year-old is off to a .302/.398/.604 slash with 10 homers and a dozen doubles on the season so far. He’s also pitched five innings of relief and allowed a pair of runs on five hits and two walks with four strikeouts. He’s more of a position player than a pitcher — Walsh has just 13 2/3 professional innings under his belt in the minors — but he’s an intriguing player to monitor as he gets his first call to the big leagues.
Angels Release Peter Bourjos
May 12: The Angels announced that Bourjos has cleared waivers and has been unconditionally released.
May 10: The Angels announced today that they’ve requested unconditional release waivers on outfielder Peter Bourjos, whom they designated for assignment earlier in the week.
Bourjos, 32, had a homecoming of sorts when he signed a minor league pact with the Angels this offseason. The Halos selected him in the 10th round of the 2005 draft, and he made his big league debut with the club a half decade later when he emerged in 2010. Playing time in his second stint with his original organization was sparse, however, and Bourjos ultimately hit just .091/.109/.144 in 46 trips to the plate. A career .237/.296/.376 hitter (2334 plate appearances) who can handle all three outfield positions, Bourjos will head back to the open market in search of another opportunity with a club seeking some veteran depth.
Andrew Heaney At Least 2 Weeks From Returning
Angels left-hander Andrew Heaney won’t make his season debut until around May 25 at the earliest, Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register reports. Heaney will throw a three-inning, 45-pitch minor league rehab game Wednesday, and he’ll need to log a minimum of one more outing after that prior to his activation, according to manager Brad Ausmus.
With Shohei Ohtani unable to pitch this year, Heaney arguably ranks as the Angels’ top starter. The 27-year-old made a case for that distinction last season when he amassed 180 innings of 4.15 ERA/3.99 FIP ball over 30 starts. It was a career year for Heaney, a former star prospect whom injuries and inconsistency have stunted since he made his big league debut with the Marlins in 2014. He’s currently on the mend from issues in his elbow, which has endured “chronic changes.” Fortunately, though, the problem hasn’t forced the onetime Tommy John surgery patient to return to the operating table.
Thanks in part to Heaney’s absence, the Angels are sporting a weak 19-20 record, though they have gone on a 10-4 run since sitting a season-worst seven games below .500 through 25 games. The Halos’ Heaney- and Ohtani-less rotation sits second last in the majors in ERA and FIP, largely because free-agent additions Matt Harvey and Trevor Cahill haven’t justified the team’s investments in them yet. Meanwhile, holdover Tyler Skaggs and Felix Pena have been mixed bags, 2018 rookie standout Jaime Barria hasn’t been a factor, and Chris Stratton opened his Angels tenure in ugly enough fashion for the team to jettison him after just five starts. However, along with Heaney’s forthcoming return, there could be hope in the form of righty Griffin Canning. The well-regarded prospect, 23, excelled at the Triple-A level to begin the year and has since shown flashes of brilliance in his first two major league starts.
Pirates Acquire Chris Stratton
The Pirates have acquired righty Chris Stratton from the Angels for cash considerations, per a team release. The 28-year-old was designated for assignment by Los Angeles earlier this week.
Stratton, 28, was acquired earlier in the season from San Francisco for lefty Williams Jerez. The former first-rounder fought through five and a half difficult minor league seasons before cracking the Giant rotation in mid-2017, where he opened eyes with a super-high spin rate on his hammer curve. The fastball, though, has always been a bit light, and the righty’s long struggled to miss bats and command the zone. In five starts with LA this season, Stratton posted a dreadful 142 FIP-/127 xFIP- with six homers allowed in 29 1/3 IP.
Still, he’ll likely get a crack at a decimated Pittsburgh rotation, which’s already lost righties Chris Archer and Jameson Taillon to the IL. Nick Kingham and Steven Brault had attempted to fill the temporary void, to middling-to-disastrous results thus far. Top prospect Mitch Keller, it seems, is not quite ready to make the jump.
Injury/Rehab Notes: Steckenrider, Davis, Strickland, Middleton
The Marlins placed righty Drew Steckenrider on the 10-day injured list due to inflammation in his right elbow last night, and Andre Fernandez of The Athletic tweets that the 28-year-old righty is undergoing further testing in Miami today. Entering the season, Steckenrider looked poised to hold down a significant role in the Miami relief corps. The offseason addition of Sergio Romo to the bullpen gave him some immediate competition for saves, but Steckenrider was in line for a prominent late-inning gig regardless of what inning he pitched most frequently. Through the first 99 1/3 innings of his big league career in 2017-18, Steckenrider posted a 3.35 ERA with 11.6 K/9, 4.1 BB/9 and 1.0 HR/9. Steckenrider, though, struggled through a rough second half last year and hasn’t looked right this season, pitching to a 6.28 ERA in 14 1/3 frames. After allowing seven homers all of last season and just 11 dating back to 2017, he’s served up six long balls already. His velocity has held up, and he isn’t necessarily having trouble throwing strikes (3.1 BB/9). However, Steckenrider is falling behind hitters more than he has in the past and seems to be struggling to locate within the zone.
Some more injury updates of note…
- Slugger Khris Davis departed last night’s game due to “lingering effects from the left hip contusion he suffered on Sunday in Pittsburgh,” the Athletics announced. There’s no word on whether Davis will require any additional absence at this point, though he already sat out a pair of games with that issue before last night’s early exit. Last year’s home run leader is hitting .227/.306/.477 with 10 long balls on the season so far. His health status will be worth keeping an eye on, as his availability could directly impact Kendrys Morales‘ place on the roster now that Matt Olson has returned from the injured list.
- Mariners right-hander Hunter Strickland has been cleared to resume throwing, writes Ryan Divish of the Seattle Times. Strickland opened the season as the closer in Seattle and picked up a pair of saves with two perfect outings in his first two appearances. He was torched for three runs in his third appearance of the season, though, and landed on the injured list due to a strained lat that’ll sideline him more than two months when all is said and done. As Divish notes, Strickland had to restart his entire throwing program, so there’s no guarantee that he’ll be ready for activation when his 60-day minimum window is met on June 5. The Mariners have tried out Anthony Swarzak in the ninth inning with Strickland on the shelf, but he’s blown three of his past four save opportunities. Lefty Roenis Elias, too, has been in the mix for saves and has thrown more effectively.
- Angels righty Keynan Middleton had a minor setback in his rehab from Tommy John surgery last week but has resumed throwing, general manager Billy Eppler told reporters yesterday (link via Mike DiGiovanna of the L.A. Times). Middleton ramped up his throwing a bit too aggressively and had to scale back his rehab for a week, but he’s still on track for a return for a midsummer return (late June or sometime in July). A healthy Middleton would only add to a relief corps that features plenty of quality arms even with Cody Allen struggling. Ty Buttrey has emerged as one of the American League’s most impressive young relievers, and he’s but one of four Halo relievers averaging at least 10.7 K/9 with a sub-3.00 ERA on the season. The flamethrowing Middleton averaged 96.7 mph on his heater and logged a 3.43 ERA with a 15 percent swinging-strike rate in 76 career innings before undergoing surgery last season.
Angels Activate Ohtani, Designate Bourjos, Stratton For Assignment
The Angels have designated outfielder Peter Bourjos and righty Chris Stratton for assignment, per a club announcement. They’ll make way for a trio of newly activated players: designated hitter Shohei Ohtani, infielder Zack Cozart, and reliever Cody Allen. Infielder Luis Rengifo was optioned out for active roster space.
Notably, it sounds as though Ohtani will step in as the Angels’ everyday designated hitter, regardless of whether the team is facing a right- or left-handed starter (Twitter link via Mike DiGiovanna of the L.A. Times), which will cut into the playing time of both Justin Bour and Albert Pujols. Ohtani is in the lineup hitting third tonight, and if he can come anywhere near last season’s .285/.361/.64 slash line, he’ll provide a massive boost.
Bourjos, 32, had a homecoming of sorts when he signed a minor league pact with the Angels this offseason. The Halos selected him in the 10th round of the 2005 draft, and he made his big league debut with the club a half decade later when he emerged in 2010. His playing time in his second stint with his original organization was sparse, however, and Bourjos ultimately hit just .091/.109/.144 in 46 trips to the plate.
Stratton, meanwhile, was acquired in Spring Training in the hopes of providing another arm in a perennially injured rotation mix, but the former Giants first-rounder has struggled enormously in his brief tenure with the Angels. In 29 1/3 innings, Stratton has been tattooed for 28 runs on 43 hits (six home runs) and 18 walks with 22 strikeouts. He’s out of minor league options, so the Angels didn’t have the choice of simply sending him to Triple-A.
The Angels will have a week to trade, release or outright Bourjos and Stratton, though the former isn’t likely to generate much trade interest. If the Angels hope to keep him in the organization in Triple-A, they can send Bourjos through outright waivers, though a veteran with his service time has the right to reject any such assignment. That’s not the case with Stratton, so if the Angels don’t find a trade partner, they could run him through outright waivers and retain him if he clears.
Rehab Updates: Ohtani, Gennett, Reed, Sano, Martinez
The Angels are slated to welcome back reigning Rookie of the Year Shohei Ohtani, an exciting development for a team that could use a jolt. He’s not going anywhere near the pitching mound this season, which limits his value, but it’s intriguing to wonder whether that’ll actually open the door to even greater offensive output from the two-way performer. You might anticipate just that if you peruse Fabian Ardaya’s profile of Ohtani at The Athletic (subscription link), which paints a picture of a player with immense physical abilities, learning capacity, and competitiveness.
- The progress has been steady for Reds second baseman Scooter Gennett, as MLB.com’s Mark Sheldon reports. He’s still at least a week or two away from on-field activities; there’s good reason not to rush his return from a significant groin strain. Gennett indicates that he’s doing well with walking and jogging, but feels weakness and is still avoiding quick directional changes to avoid aggravating the injury.
- Righty Addison Reed is launching a rehab assignment as he returns from a left thumb strain, as LaVelle E. Neal III of the Star Tribune was among those to report. Given the nature of the injury it would stand to reason that Reed could work back quickly, but it doesn’t sound as if the team is in a particular rush. GM Thad Levine explained that the club assigned Reed straight to Triple-A in order to give him a long look at advanced competition. Beyond the injury, the veteran reliever is looking to regain his form after a subpar 2018 season.
- In another update from the Twins organization, it doesn’t sound as if there’s a huge rush to move slugger Miguel Sano back up the ladder. He’s currently working at Double-A. In that case, though, there’s a May 20th deadline to wrap up the rehab assignment.
- Cardinals righty Carlos Martinez is moving his rehab assignment up to Triple-A, as MLB.com’s Jenifer Langosch tweeted. It seems promising that he’s heading right to Memphis after one game at the class A level. Martinez could be a MLB option rather soon; given that he’s returning in a relief capacity, he won’t need to build up his pitch count.
Quick Hits: Treinen, Rangers, Guzman, Allen
It was on this day in 1975 that the Oakland A’s released Herb Washington, ending Washington’s unique Major League career after 105 regular season appearances and five postseason games. Signed by the A’s prior to the 1974 season, Washington served exclusively as a pinch-runner — he never made a single appearance at the plate, in the field, or on the mound. A distinguished track star at Michigan State, Washington tied and set world records in the 50-yard and 60-yard dashes, respectively. Athletics owner Charlie Finley, never one to shy away from an unusual idea, signed Washington as the sport’s first “designated runner,” putting Washington on Oakland’s 25-man roster despite his lack of anything beyond high school baseball experience. Washington ended up scoring 33 runs and stealing 31 bases (out of 48 attempts) during his regular season career, though he was caught stealing twice in the ALCS and picked off first base in Game Two of the 1974 World Series. The A’s still won the Series, giving Washington a championship ring to show for his brief stint in professional baseball.
Here’s the latest from around the majors, including an item on the modern-day A’s…
- Blake Treinen “came in feeling quite a bit better” on Sunday after suffering from elbow discomfort the day prior, Athletics manager Bob Melvin told Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle and other media. Treinen said Saturday that he believed was suffering from elbow tendinitis, though he and the team will have more information when the closer is examined by doctors on Monday. In the wake of his outstanding 2018 campaign, Treinen has a 3.00 ERA and 10.8 K/9 through 15 innings for Oakland this season, though with a troubling 6.6 BB/9.
- Ronald Guzman (hamstring) is set to return from an IL stint on Thursday, leaving the Rangers with a 25-man roster question, Jeff Wilson of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram writes. Veterans Danny Santana and Logan Forsythe have been two of the team’s better hitters, and designating either for assignment would create the risk of a claim from another team, plus Santana and Forsythe both have the right to reject an assignment to Triple-A. Perhaps the likelier option is that Texas demotes a reliever, as the Rangers are already working with an eight-man bullpen, or Delino DeShields is sent to Triple-A and Santana takes over in center field. One option that isn’t on the table is a Triple-A stint for the struggling Rougned Odor, as manager Chris Woodward expressed confidence that the second baseman would get on track. Even after a two-hit performance today against the Blue Jays, Odor is hitting only .141/.221/.244 through 86 PA this season.
- The Angels are planning to activate Cody Allen from the IL on Tuesday, manager Brad Ausmus told Jeff Fletcher of the Southern California News Group and other media. Allen was sidelined on April 26 with a lumbar spine strain, though he’ll return after missing just over the minimum 10 days. Thus far, Allen hasn’t found any success in an Angels uniform, with a 6.00 ERA, 10 walks, and 11 strikeouts over nine innings this season. After excelling as Cleveland’s closer from 2014-17, Allen had a rough 2018 and had to settle for a one-year deal (worth $8.5MM guaranteed) in free agency.