Angels Righty Jake Jewell Diagnosed With Fractured Fibula
Angels reliever Jake Jewell has been diagnosed with a fractured right fibula, the team announced and MLB.com’s Maria Guardado was among those to report (Twitter links). He will require season-ending surgery.
Jewell suffered the injury on a play at the plate last night. The images left little doubt that he was seriously hurt, with a cart removing him from the diamond. At this point, his long-term outlook is not clear, though hopefully he’ll be able to rest and rehab over the winter and return to full strength next spring.
Certainly, that’s not how anyone would have wished Jewell’s third MLB outing would end. The 25-year-old, a former fifth-round draft pick, had only just ascended to the big leagues to help fill out an increasingly thin Halos’ staff. Now, he’s the latest to go down with injury — in this case, in quite an unusual and unfortunate manner.
Jewell had never even pitched at Triple-A when the 2018 season began. He quickly earned a promotion to the highest level of the minors, but had struggled there before moving to the bigs. In 25 frames at Triple-A, Jewell managed a 3.60 ERA but handed out 6.1 BB/9 to go with his 8.6 K/9 and 54.9% groundball rate. Jewell, who had previously been added to the 40-man roster to protect him from the Rule 5 draft, did show a 97+ mph heater in his brief time in the majors.
Shohei Ohtani Cleared To Begin Hitting Program
After undergoing an MRI this morning, Shohei Ohtani has been cleared to begin a hitting program, the Angels announced today. He’ll be further evaluated in another three weeks, but tests today showed improvements in his ulnar collateral ligament (Twitter links via Joel Sherman of the New York Post). The Angels aren’t making a definitive call on whether he’ll be able to pitch again this season until that subsequent followup exam.
While Ohtani certainly isn’t entirely out of the woods just yet, it’s obviously an encouraging update for the Angels that the platelet-rich plasma and stem cell injections he received earlier this month have resulted in some meaningful improvement. Eppler indicated yesterday that if Ohtani were strictly a designated hitter, he’d likely have been cleared right away. That, coupled with today’s clearance, makes it seem likely that Ohtani will, at the very least, return to the Angels’ lineup at some point this summer — if not the rotation.
Ohtani was widely expected to be a superior pitcher than hitter, and many reports at the time of his signing cited scouts who remained skeptical of his ability to hit Major League pitching. While he’s only had 129 plate appearances to date, he’s looked every bit the part of someone talented enough to excel in both areas. Thus far in the Majors, Ohtani has raked at a .289/.372/.535 pace, clubbing six homers, eight doubles and a triple.
The Halos won’t send Ohtani on a traditional minor league rehab assignment, according to Eppler (via Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register, on Twitter). Instead, he’ll get his at-bats in via a series of simulated games and live BP sessions. USA Today’s Bob Nightengale tweets that Ohtani could begin facing live pitching as soon as next week.
As with any UCL injury, speculation regarding potential surgery for Ohtani will abound. However, Eppler made sure to emphasize today that medical experts have not yet made that recommendation for Ohtani (Twitter link via MLB.com’s Maria Guardado). Said Eppler: “No doctor has told me that Shohei needs surgical intervention at this time.”
Latest On Shohei Ohtani
Angels GM Billy Eppler said today that he anticipates star pitcher/DH Shohei Ohtani to return as a hitter regardless of his status on the mound, Jim Duquette of Sirius XM Radio tweets (with some audio available on Twitter as well). Ohtani, who had taken the majors by storm this year after coming over from Japan, was diagnosed earlier this month with a grade 2 sprain of the ulnar collateral ligament in his right elbow.
Ohtani is set to be evaluated tomorrow after resting for several weeks following a platelet-rich plasma injection. But the medical review will not be necessary to determine his availability to resume hitting. As Eppler explains, if Ohtani “was only a DH … he would’ve been cleared right away.”
Rather, the focus at present is on ensuring that Ohtani has the best possible chance of returning to the mound without requiring Tommy John surgery. Whether or not he’ll even be able to try to accomplish that this season remains to be seen. But it seems there was a concern that allowing him to hit right away could jeopardize the ligament.
The point of the three-week layoff, per Eppler, was to make sure the area around the UCL “has plenty of time to scar and heal.” Presumably, that’s largely what will be assessed tomorrow.
Whatever the likelihood is of Ohtani returning to the bump in 2018, the Halos will surely be anxious to get his bat back in the lineup if possible. Since Ohtani went down, the Halos have gone just 5-11.
Angels Acquire Deck McGuire, Request Release Waivers On Juan Graterol
JUNE 24: The Angels have requested unconditional release waivers on Graterol, per a team announcement. His release will become official in 48 hours if he clears waivers.
JUNE 19: The Angels announced Tuesday that they’ve acquired right-hander Deck McGuire from the Rangers in exchange for cash. In order to clear a spot on the 40-man roster, catcher Juan Graterol has been designated for assignment. McGuire will head to Triple-A Salt Lake, per the Angels’ announcement.
Texas claimed the 28-year-old McGuire from the Blue Jays last Friday, but he appeared in just one game with the Rangers’ Triple-A affiliate before being designated for assignment in order to clear a spot on the roster for the return of Elvis Andrus. Now, McGuire will change organizations for the second time in a span of less than a week.
A former first-round pick (11th overall by the Blue Jays in 2010), McGuire has yet to establish himself as a viable Major League arm. Prior to the 2018 season, in fact, he’s posted largely unsightful numbers at the Triple-A level. However, McGuire enjoyed a strong season with the Reds’ Double-A club in 2017 and carried that success with him back to the Jays organization in 2018, pitching to a 3.22 ERA with 8.1 K/9, 3.8 BB/9, 0.6 HR/9 and a 39.7 percent ground-ball rate in 44 2/3 innings at Triple-A Buffalo.
After making eight promising starts in Buffalo, the Jays summoned him to the Majors, where he was tagged for six runs on nine hits and five walks with seven strikeouts in 8 1/3 innings of relief. But the Rangers and Angels, apparently, both saw enough in his work out of the Buffalo rotation to hold some interest in seeing if the former top prospect can emerge as a late bloomer at the big league level. For the Halos, McGuire will at the very least serve as a spot start/depth option in the upper minors — an important addition following injuries to Shohei Ohtani, Matt Shoemaker, J.C. Ramirez and Nick Tropeano.
Graterol, meanwhile, has made just one plate appearance for the Halos this season, going 1-for-1 with a single. He’s been up and down with the club on multiple occasions dating back to 2016, however, and has now been designated for assignment by the Angels on three different occasions. The first of those instances saw Graterol bounce around the league, briefly landing with the D-backs, Reds and Blue Jays before making his way back to Anaheim. The defensively-sound backstop is a career .222/.225/.283 hitter in 103 MLB plate appearances but carries a more encouraging .290/.318/.349 slash in 449 PAs at the Triple-A level.
Angels Claim Hansel Robles
The Angels announced today that they’ve claimed righty reliever Hansel Robles off waivers from the Mets. Robles was designated for assignment just yesterday. Rene Rivera was transferred to the 60-day DL in order to make room on the expanded roster.
As MLBTR’s Jeff Todd noted at that time, Robles put up some solid numbers for the Mets during the 2015 and 2016 seasons. He pitched 131 2/3 innings during that span, allowing 52 earned runs while racking up 146 strikeouts. Robles also pitched three scoreless postseason innings in 2015 without allowing a walk or a hit.
That seems to be in the distant past now, as Robles has an ERA close to 5.00 since the start of the 2017 season. He’s also seen a spike in his walk rate to 4.59 BB/9 during that time frame. Still, the Angels will hope he can add depth to a bullpen that seems to lack stability, as they’ve got a number of relievers with upside but none who have proven themselves reliable across an extended stretch. For the time being, Robles will report to Triple-A Salt Lake.
Minor MLB Transactions: 6/20/18
We’ll use this post to track the latest minor moves …
- The Angels announced yesterday that righty Oliver Drake was outrighted to Triple-A after clearing waivers. Drake received multiple opportunities this year, seeing action with three clubs, but ended up being designated for assignment by each of them when he simply could not produce results to match his generally promising peripheral numbers. All said, in 19 2/3 innings to open the 2018 campaign, he has allowed 18 earned runs on 29 hits while recording 23 strikeouts and ten walks. Certainly, Drake has been unlucky to carry a 59.1% strand rate and surrender a .450 batting average on balls in play on only a 32.3% hard contact rate. But it’s a bottom-line business at the end of the day, and he will now have to await another opportunity in the upper minors.
Angels, Dodgers Pursued Kelvin Herrera Before Trade To Nationals
The Angels and Dodgers were among the clubs that pursued reliever Kelvin Herrera before he was dealt yesterday from the Royals to the Nationals, Bob Nightengale of USA Today reports (in an article and on Twitter). In fact, per the report, the two Los Angeles franchises were “in serious talks” about Herrera.
That information is not only of historical interest. For one thing, it may hint something about the process the Royals undertook to move Herrera. The veteran reliever was among the most obvious and the best rental trade pieces in baseball. Most often, teams holding such an asset will take the decision until the deadline approaches, hoping that’s the best way to maximize their return.
With multiple teams involved in serious talks, it seems that the Kansas City organization decided to oversee bidding in mid-June. Perhaps that was due to concern over what other relief arms might reach the market and/or a desire to minimize risk associated with a high-performing pitcher. It also may reflect a universe in which contenders see an advantage to moving aggressively.
That’s all open to interpretation. What is clear, though, is that both L.A. clubs have an eye on bolstering their bullpens — and a willingness to do so by pursuing a pure rental asset. Presumably, they’ll be among the teams to pursue other such hurlers that come available over the coming weeks.
According to Nightengale, the Halos in particular “remain immersed in talks with multiple teams for pitching.” That’s notable given the team’s recent fade and spate of injuries. There’s certainly still a path to the postseason, but it’ll take some internal improvements (including a return to health) and stumbles from one or more teams ahead in the standings. It seems, though, that the organization is willing to chase roster improvements even in this setting — a topic that Nightengale explores in greater length in the above-linked post.
AL West Notes: Athletics, Ohtani, Luhnow, Rangers Infield
Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle takes an interesting look at the future of the Athletics‘ baseball operations and field leadership. She cites “increasing speculation in baseball circles and among those who know the A’s higher-ups” that the existing combination of VP of baseball ops Billy Beane, GM David Forst, and manager Bob Melvin may not be maintained past the 2019 campaign. The club is not obligated contractually beyond next season to Beane or Melvin, with the notable exception of Beane’s small stake in the team itself — a potential future wrinkle to keep in mind. Forst’s contract status is not publicly known. As Slusser explains, there’s a general sense that change is afoot in Oakland, though the direction (let alone the outcome) is not yet clear. It’s a worthwhile examination of the A’s organization that you’ll want to read for yourself to appreciate fully.
Here’s more from the AL West:
- The Angels continue to emphasize that the next steps for injured superstar Shohei Ohtani will not be decided until his sprained elbow ligament has a chance to respond to recent treatment. That said, manager Mike Scioscia says there’s significant internal optimism that the news will be good, as Bill Shaikin of the Los Angeles Times reports (Twitter links). For the time being, Ohtani is limited to taking some swings with his left arm. It’ll still be two or three weeks until more is known.
- Astros owner Jim Crane and newly-promoted president of baseball operations Jeff Luhnow discussed their plans for the future after announcing a new contract for Luhnow yesterday, as MLB.com’s Christian Boutwell writes. Crane says that Luhnow deserves “a lot of the credit” for the club’s World Series win last year and promising future outlook. It’s the possibility of a sustainable run of success, meanwhile, that has Luhnow excited. “[T]his next phase of keeping this organization at its high level for an extended period of time, that’s what drives me, that challenge,” he said. Despite his new title, Luhnow will continue to function as the general manager and will hang onto that label as well, though he says he’ll be willing to hand it off to someone else if that proves necessary. Luhnow also suggested that there’s a strong commitment to skipper A.J. Hinch, whose contract expires after the current season but seems likely to be extended at some point.
- The Rangers have a crowded infield mix now with Elvis Andrus re-joining the active roster. As Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News explains, the organization hopes to keep all of its primary options on the field quite often, allowing Jurickson Profar to continue receiving ample opportunities while also letting Rougned Odor work through his struggles at the plate. Skipper Jeff Banister says this will be accomplished by utilizing third baseman Adrian Beltre as a DH with some frequency and allowing Andrus some extra rest. Utilityman Isiah Kiner-Falefa, meanwhile, is going to attempt to add to his versatility by suiting up behind the dish, as Grant tweets. It’ll be interesting to see how this situation plays out for the struggling Rangers, who could weigh trades involving several of these players. In particular, Beltre (who’ll be a free agent at season’s end) and Andrus (who can opt out of his contract) seem to be plausible candidates.
Angels Activate Andrelton Simmons
Angels shortstop Andrelton Simmons is on the lineup card for today’s game against the Athletics, as Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register was first to report. A corresponding move has not yet been announced for either Simmons’ activation nor starter John Lamb‘s promotion, though Fletcher notes that infielder Nolan Fontana and right-hander Oliver Drake are not on the lineup card.
The reinstatement of Simmons comes as a surprise, considering that his original diagnosis after slipping on the dugout steps (grade 2 ankle sprain) implies at least a slight tear to a ligament. A return after the 10-day minimum stay on the disabled list, then, would seem to be an unexpected best-case scenario for the late-blooming Simmons, who has already improved upon his breakout 2017 season by posting 3.1 fWAR in just 59 games on the season so far. Simmons is slashing an excellent .330/.399/.460 with four homers and five steals on the year.
It’s at least some good news for an Angels club that has seen a wealth of back injury luck. Even with Simmons activated, the club has a significant number of players on the DL, including arguably their four best starting pitchers. The return of Simmons will no doubt provide a boost to both the club’s offense and defense, and fans will have to hope it can serve as a shot in the arm for their team, who currently sit 7.5 games outside of first place in the AL West.
Angels Place Garrett Richards, Nick Tropeano, Zack Cozart, Jim Johnson On 10-Day DL
The Angels have announced a significant roster shuffle occasioned by a few injuries. Starters Garrett Richards and Nick Tropeano are each hitting the DL, as are infielder Zack Cozart and reliever Jim Johnson.
It’s not fully clear how severe these injuries are, but it’s still an ugly casualty list for a team that has already had some worrying health issues arise recently. Richards has a left hamstring strain, while Tropeano is dealing with right shoulder inflammation.
With Shohei Ohtani already on the shelf, likely joining JC Ramirez and Matt Shoemaker there for a lengthy stretch, the team’s rotation depth has already been tapped into. It seems the team is likely to call upon John Lamb in the near-term, as Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register tweets that he’s with the team (though not yet active). That’ll require a 40-man move. Otherwise, the best 40-man possibilities are Parker Bridwell, Felix Pena, and Miguel Almonte.
Pena is among the four players coming up to take the open roster spots for the time being. He could presumably become a rotation option, but there’s a pressing enough need that it’s fair to wonder if outside possibilities will be pursued.
Along with Pena, the team has called up three additional right-handed hurlers to help absorb innings. Eduardo Paredes, Akeel Morris, and Jake Jewell will all come off of the Triple-A Salt Lake roster to join the club in Oakland. That’ll at least help the team deal with the absence of Johnson, who has a lumbar strain.
In some regards — without knowing details yet from the team — Cozart’s injury may be the most worrisome. It’s particularly poor timing given that Andrelton Simmons is also sidelined, though the real concern here is the question of severity.
Cozart has been diagnosed with a left shoulder subluxation, a potentially worrying injury. That injury has in recent years sent at least two players — righty Carson Smith and infielder Marco Hernandez — to the operating room for season-ending procedures. Hopefully, that won’t be needed in Cozart’s case, but the fates of those players serve to illustrate the seriousness of injuries of this general variety.