Cardinals Rumors

NL Central Notes: Hayes, Akiyama, Contreras, Hicks

By TC Zencka | April 19, 2021 at 8:15am CDT

Rookie third baseman Ke’Bryan Hayes will soon compete in alternate site games, and he should thereafter return to the Pirates’ roster, per Kevin Gorman of Triblive.com. Hayes jammed his wrist in the second game of the season. The Pirates have surprisingly held their heads above water in his absence; A win in extras yesterday put their record to 7-9 on the young season. Hayes apparently left some rookie magic behind at the hot corner, as 28-year-old Phillip Evans has slashed .275/.373/.490 in 59 plate appearances as Hayes’ stand-in. Evans has already made 2021 the most prolific campaign of his career, a strong argument to keep a roster spot even after Hayes returns.

Let’s hang out in the NL Central this morning…

Reds outfielder Shogo Akiyama is working on running drills, per C. Trent Rosecrans of the Athletic (via Twitter). Manager David Bell wants to see Akiyama in game action at the team’s alternate site this weekend. Even with Aristides Aquino on the injured list, the Reds have no shortage of outfielders thanks to the surprising play of Tyler Naquin. Still, if Akiyami can return as he finished last season, he’s undoubtedly an asset. Akiyama posted a 135 wRC+ in September and October of last season while slashing .317/.456/.365 and providing capable defense at all three spots in the outfield.
Whether or not the Cubs are headed towards a rebuild, it’s a good time to work on extending catcher Willson Contreras, writes Gordon Wittenmyer of NBC Sports. Contreras continues to be one of the more dynamic catchers in the game, both in terms of his personality and his play on the field. The Cubs long-time backstop is off to a hot start at the plate, slashing .273/.400/.614 with five home runs through 55 plate appearances. Contreras will be a free agent after 2022, heading into his age-30 season. Appealing as it may be to keep Contreras in Chicago, extensions for positions players have not been part of the Cubs’ current operating procedure.
Jordan Hicks is on the Cardinals roster and pitching valuable innings, but he’s also still completing his ramp-up process as he returns from a 22-month layoff, per Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Hicks has tossed seven innings over six appearances, giving up just one earned run on two hits while walking six and striking out seven. More importantly, his stuff has looked as electric as ever, averaging 99.2 mph on his sinking fastball.

NL Injury Notes: Yelich, Cardinals, Inciarte, Lester

By Connor Byrne | April 16, 2021 at 10:32pm CDT

Although Brewers left fielder Christian Yelich hasn’t appeared in a game since Sunday, the team doesn’t seem overly concerned about his ailing back. Manager Craig Counsell said Yelich began baseball activities Thursday and is “making progress,” per Tom Haudricourt and Todd Rosiak of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Counsell likened Yelich’s current back ailment to the ones that he dealt with in previous seasons, noting that the former MVP didn’t require an IL stint in those cases and was able to return within a few days.

Cardinals center fielder Harrison Bader is 10 to 14 days from being a “full go,” manager Mike Shildt told reporters (including Katie Woo of The Athletic) on Friday. The Cardinals have been without Bader since he suffered a forearm injury in late March, mostly leaving center to Dylan Carlson thus far. Meanwhile, right-hander Miles Mikolas threw a second “aggressive” bullpen and is making favorable progress, according to Shildt. Mikolas didn’t pitch at all last season as he recovered from surgery on his flexor tendon, and he suffered a shoulder injury in the first half of March that has stopped him from taking the mound this year. A healthy Mikolas would be a welcome addition for the Cardinals, whose rotation has begun 2021 in dreadful fashion. Their starters rank last in the majors with a 6.33 ERA.
Braves center fielder Ender Inciarte appears ticketed for a trip to the 10-day IL after suffering a strained hamstring Friday, David O’Brien of The Athletic writes. Inciarte would be the second Braves center fielder to hit the IL this week, joining starter Cristian Pache. Behind Inciarte, Guillermo Heredia has the most center field experience of anyone on Atlanta’s roster. Superstar Ronald Acuna Jr. played 100 games there in 2019 and spent the majority of last season there, but the Braves are reluctant to move him out of right field, per O’Brien, who names Phil Ervin and Abraham Almonte as call-up possibilities. Ervin and Almonte aren’t on the Braves’ 40-man roster, which does have an open spot at the moment.
Nationals left-hander Jon Lester got through a three-inning, 49-pitch sim game on Friday without any issues, Jessica Camerato of MLB.com relays. Manager Dave Martinez believes Lester would be able to toss up to four innings right now, but the Nationals want to stretch him out further before he joins their rotation. There still isn’t a timetable for his 2021 debut, Martinez added. Multiple health issues have hampered Lester since the Nationals signed him to a one-year, $5MM guarantee in free agency. He underwent surgery to remove his thyroid gland at the beginning of March and has been in COVID-19 protocols for most of this month.

Cardinals Select Scott Hurst

By Connor Byrne | April 15, 2021 at 10:18pm CDT

The Cardinals announced that they’ve selected outfielder Scott Hurst from their alternate site and optioned fellow outfielder Lane Thomas. To make room for Hurst on their 40-man roster, the Cardinals transferred right-hander Dakota Hudson from the 10-day injured list to the 60-day IL. Hudson underwent Tommy John surgery last September, so he is unlikely to pitch this season.

The 25-year-old Hurst, a third-round pick of the Cardinals in 2017, will reach the majors for the first time. He excelled at the lower levels in his draft year and in 2018, when FanGraphs wrote, “Hurst, who is fine in CF and above-average in the corners, might hit enough to play everyday but his likely ceiling looks more like a reserve OF.”

Hurst advanced to Double-A for the first time in 2019, the most recent minor league season. He saw his numbers nosedive between that level and High-A, where he combined for a .217/.287/.299 line in 405 plate appearances.

NL Central Notes: Sonny, Hendricks, Kim, Cain

By Connor Byrne | April 13, 2021 at 9:41pm CDT

Here is the latest out of the National League Central:

Reds right-hander Sonny Gray will make his 2021 debut Friday or Saturday, manager David Bell told C. Trent Rosecrans of The Athletic and other reporters. The Reds have gone without Gray because of a back injury, depriving them of one of their best starters. Their Gray-less rotation has received quality work across a combined six starts from Wade Miley, Jeff Hoffman and Tyler Mahle. On the other hand, ace Luis Castillo has been surprisingly inconsistent.
Cubs righty Kyle Hendricks wasn’t feeling well heading into Tuesday’s start, so the Cubs made him a late scratch against Milwaukee and gave the ball to Alec Mills instead. The team said it scratched Hendricks “out of an abundance of caution,” which is understandable when considering the Cubs’ current health situation. They’ve sent four players to the COVID list this week, and coaches Craig Driver and Chris Young have tested positive for the virus in recent days. [UPDATE: Manager told Gordon Wittenmyer of NBC Sports Chicago and other reporters that Hendricks tested negative. An IL placement is a possibility, though.]
Lefty Kwang Hyun Kim will join the Cardinals’ rotation on Saturday in his first appearance of 2021, while righty Daniel Ponce de Leon will move to their bullpen, per Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Kim, who began dealing with back problems last month, was an eminently valuable part of the Cardinals’ pitching staff as a rookie in 2020. Across eight appearances (seven starts) and 39 innings, Kim notched a miserly 1.62 ERA. Some of his other numbers weren’t nearly as impressive (examples: 7.8 K-BB percentage, 5.00 SIERA), but he helped his cause by tamping down hard contact and keeping the ball on the ground at a 50 percent clip.
Brewers center fielder Lorenzo Cain exited their game versus Chicago with “left quad discomfort,” Adam McCalvy of MLB.com tweets. The Brewers shifted Jackie Bradley Jr. to center and brought in Billy McKinney to handle left when Cain departed. Cain also dealt with a quad issue (on his right side) in spring training, but that didn’t prevent him from debuting on time this season. It remains to be seen whether this will cost him any time.

Injury Notes: Kim, Alfaro, Andujar, Schmidt, Reds

By Mark Polishuk and Anthony Franco | April 11, 2021 at 7:36pm CDT

Kwang Hyun Kim is slated to toss a 90-pitch simulated game today, Cardinals manager Mike Shildt told reporters (including Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch). Kim tossed another simulated game earlier this week, so the left-hander may be just about on the verge of rejoining the Cards’ rotation during the team’s upcoming series against the Phillies from April 16-18.

Back problems sidelined Kim for a good chunk of Spring Training, requiring an injured list placement to begin the season. The 32-year-old is looking to build off an impressive debut season in Major League Baseball, as Kim posted a 1.62 ERA over 39 innings (thanks to a 50% grounder rate and a lot of soft contact) in 2020.

More injury updates from around the sport…

Marlins catcher Jorge Alfaro was scratched from yesterday’s lineup due to what the team described as “lingering tightness in his left hamstring.” Manager Don Mattingly told SportsGrid’s Craig Mish and other reporters the Marlins may decide tomorrow whether or not an IL stint is required. Counting today, Alfaro will have been sidelined for four straight games, and Miami doesn’t have another off-day until April 19. Should Alfaro hit the injured list, Sandy Leon is the only catcher in the Marlins’ farm system with any big league experience, so the team could select his minor league deal and install Leon as Chad Wallach’s backup.
Yankees manager Aaron Boone provided updates on Miguel Andujar and Clarke Schmidt to reporters (including ESPN.com’s Marly Rivera and Newsday’s Erik Boland). For Andujar, he is already hitting off a tee and will start hitting out of the batting cage next week as the 26-year-old is trying to recover from right carpal tunnel syndrome. Schmidt, meanwhile, is getting a second opinion on his bothersome right elbow, which is still giving him discomfort after almost seven weeks. Schmidt was shut down back in February for what was supposed to be three or four weeks due to a common extensor strain in his right elbow — for what it’s worth, Boland noted that Boone today described the injury as simply a “right elbow strain.”
Shogo Akiyama and Sonny Gray are each progressing well in their injury recoveries, writes Mark Sheldon of MLB.com. Akiyama has been expected to return from a hamstring injury in early-mid May, and Reds manager David Bell says the outfielder has had “zero setbacks” in his rehab. Gray, meanwhile, is in line to make his return from a back injury by the end of next week. It’s a little less clear when Cincinnati can expect Michael Lorenzen back; the right-hander’s recovery from a shoulder strain is “not as going fast as he would like,” Bell said (via Sheldon).

Cardinals Place Tyler O’Neill On 10-Day Injured List

By Mark Polishuk | April 11, 2021 at 11:15am CDT

The Cardinals have placed outfielder Tyler O’Neill on the 10-day IL due to a right groin strain, the team announced. Since righty Jake Woodford was optioned to the alternate training site after yesterday’s game, the two open roster spots were filled by outfielder Lane Thomas and right-hander Johan Oviedo.

O’Neill suffered the injury during an at-bat in yesterday’s 9-5 loss to the Brewers, coming out of the batter’s box moving slowly after hitting a grounder. He was replaced in the field the next inning. Manager Mike Shildt told reporters (including Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch) that O’Neill might only be out for the minimum 10 days, saying that the young outfielder received “Favorable news from an imaging standpoint….Probably a three to four day (situation) before he can get in there. We didn’t want to play short for three or four days.”

The IL stint could possibly act as something of a reset for O’Neill, who has hit only .143/.172/.286 with a league-high 14 strikeouts over his first 29 plate appearances of the 2021 season. Strikeouts have been a persistent issue during O’Neill’s four MLB seasons, and his overall production at the plate has trailed off considerably since a promising 2018 rookie season. On the plus side, O’Neill won a Gold Glove for his defensive work as the Cardinals’ regular left fielder in 2020.

O’Neill joins Harrison Bader on the 10-day IL, leaving the Cards even more short-handed in the outfield. A veteran of 52 Major League games, Thomas will join the mix along with Dylan Carlson, Justin Williams, Austin Dean, and utilityman Tommy Edman (when Edman isn’t at second base). Minor league signing Matt Szczur is also on hand at the team’s alternate training site.

NL Injury Notes: Wong, Akiyama, Goldy, Davis

By TC Zencka and Connor Byrne | April 8, 2021 at 7:34pm CDT

Brewers second baseman Kolten Wong departed the team’s game against the Cardinals on Thursday after re-aggravating his left oblique, manager Craig Counsell told Andrew Wagner of the Wisconsin State Journal and other reporters. It’s the same issue that kept Wong from playing Wednesday, and Counsell said (via Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel) there’s a “distinct possibility” that he’ll require a trip to the injured list. Wong, previously with St. Louis, joined the Brewers on a two-year, $18MM contract during the offseason. If he does have to miss time shortly into his Brewers tenure, it would be another blow to the middle infield depth of a team that traded Orlando Arcia to Atlanta earlier this week. The Brewers did add veteran Dee Strange-Gordon on a minor league contract Thursday, though Daniel Robertson – who replaced Wong when he exited – would be the favorite to handle most of the reps at the keystone.

The Reds are planning to have Shogo Akiyama back with the team in early-to-mid May, C. Trent Rosecrans of The Athletic reports (via Twitter). Akiyama started slowly for the Red last season, but he was able to adjust and post a strong second half. At least so far, however, the Reds have managed just fine without him. Tyler Naquin has helped fill the void with a massive start to the season. With Nick Senzel, Jesse Winker, Nick Castellanos, and Aristides Aquino on the roster, the Reds are in no real hurry to upset the apple cart, so to speak.
Paul Goldschmidt was scratched from today’s Cardinals game because of lower back tightness, per MLB.com’s Zachary Silver (via Twitter). The move was precautionary, so presumably the Cardinals don’t expect this to lead to an IL placement. Manager Mike Shildt said after the game that Goldschmidt’s day to day, and the Cardinals will know more about his status Friday, Jeff Jones of the Belleville News tweets.
The Mets received some good news on J.D. Davis. X-rays came back negative on his bruised left hand, Tim Healey of Newsday relays (via Twitter). Davis does not appear to be headed to the injured list, though he remained out of the lineup for the Mets’ home opener today. Jonathan Villar took his place at the hot corner. Villar got the start at third base today for the first time since 2016. Luis Guillorme would also be in line to see a bump in playing time while Davis is on the shelf. It’s not clear, however, how much time Davis will miss.

NL Notes: Reds/Cardinals Brawl, Castellanos, Padres, Baez

By Mark Polishuk and TC Zencka | April 5, 2021 at 12:57pm CDT

Outfielder Nick Castellanos was issued a two-game suspension for his part in Saturday’s brawl between the Reds and Cardinals, the league announced. Castellanos was the only player suspended, and he is appealing his two-game ban. Fines were issued to three players on each team — the Reds’ Castellanos, Jesse Winker and Eugenio Suarez, and the Cardinals’ Jordan Hicks, Yadier Molina, and Nolan Arenado.

The incident developed after Cards pitcher Jake Woodford hit Castellanos with a pitch during a fourth-inning at-bat. Castellanos wasn’t pleased by the HBP, and picked up the ball and held it in Woodford’s direction as he went to first base. Later in the inning, Castellanos scored from third on a wild pitch, and celebrated the run by standing over Woodford (who was covering home plate) and flexing. This led to the benches clearing, and a lot of shoving and heated words between the two NL Central rivals.

Quick Hits: Franchise Values, Rays, Cardinals

By TC Zencka | April 5, 2021 at 9:51am CDT

Major League Baseball teams are up in value by 3 percent from 2020, per the annual report from Forbes’ Mike Ozanian. Baseball’s 30 clubs are now being valued at an all-time high of $1.9 billion. The Yankees saw a 5 percent bump to $5.25 billion at the top of the list. They are not only the most valuable franchise in baseball, but one of the top three most valuable franchises in North America, along with the Cowboys and Knicks. Despite the operating losses many franchises suffered because of the pandemic, the long-term values were buoyed by the sale of the Mets and the valuation of the Boston Red Sox with their pending private equity deal. Ozanian reports that revenue was down 65 percent in 2020 as teams lost $1.8 billion after raking in a $1.5 billion profit the year prior. Check out the full article for the list and methodology. More from around the game…

“Complex information and simple messages,” that’s the key to the Rays’ run prevention plan, per MLB.com’s Adam Berry. The Rays believe in their ability to develop arms and find value where other teams have missed it. The Rays are famous for their analytical approach, but it might be their ability to effectively communicate their findings to the players on the field that truly makes them stand out as a development center. Throwing strikes and simplifying the approach is a big part of that, but so is giving confidence to guys who have struggled with other organizations. This year, the Rays’ approach will truly be put to the test as they attempt to replace nominal stars like Blake Snell and Charlie Morton with veterans like Chris Archer, Michael Wacha, and Rich Hill.
After the bullpen logged more innings than starters in their opening series against the Reds, the Cardinals may soon have to consider adding a ninth reliever to the roster, per Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Jake Woodford made the opening day roster exactly for this possibility, and he soaked up 2 1/3 innings on Saturday afternoon. Seth Elledge and Kodi Whitley are two bullpen arms on the taxi squad that could be added to the roster if the Cardinals decide they need another arm for their series against the Marlins.

Cardinals Claim Bernardo Flores Jr.

By Steve Adams | April 1, 2021 at 2:28pm CDT

The Cardinals announced Thursday that they’ve claimed lefty Bernardo Flores Jr. off waivers from the White Sox. He’s been optioned to the Cards’ alternate training site. The waiver claim fills the Cardinals’ 40-man roster.

Flores, 24, was Chicago’s seventh-round pick back in 2016 and made his big league debut this past season, tossing two innings and yielding a pair of runs. He’d have spent the 2020 season at the Triple-A level had there been a minor league season, but his top level aside from that brief two-inning cup of coffee in the big leagues has been Double-A. The southpaw has posted strong numbers in parts of two Double-A campaigns, working to a combined 3.04 ERA with an outstanding 4.6 percent walk rate and a 52 percent grounder rate — albeit with a below-average 18.8 percent strikeout rate.

Flores will give the Cardinals some depth both in the rotation and the bullpen. He has a pair of minor league options remaining, so he can be shuttled between Triple-A (or the Cards’ alternate site) and the big leagues over the next two seasons if he sticks on the 40-man roster.

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