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Cubs Place Addison Russell On Concussion IL

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The Cubs decided yesterday to place infielder Addison Russell on the 7-day concussion injured list, as Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun-Times reports. By doing so, the organization will avoid paying Russell a $100K roster bonus.

As Wittenmyer explains, this outwardly innocuous move makes for a complicated situation from a variety of perspectives. It’s even possible that it could ultimately lead to a grievance, he suggests, though it’s not clear whether that has specifically been contemplated.

With rosters expanded in September, the use of the injured list changes significantly. The 60-day IL remains relevant because it allows teams to open a 40-man roster spot. But the only real reason to use the 10-day or 7-day concussion lists is to make a recently optioned player eligible for an earlier recall.

In this case, the Cubs have nothing to gain beyond avoiding Russell’s next roster bonus. His arbitration contract includes a $4.3MM salary and $100K bonuses at 30, 60, 90, and 120 days on the active roster (plus $200K for 150, which he cannot meet).

The club issued an explanation centered upon respect for the concussion protocol. But as Wittenmyer explains, that wouldn’t seem to mandate this official roster move. While this brand of penny pinching at the expense of an employee isn’t generally justifiable, this contract was negotiated under unusual circumstances. Russell served the bulk of a 40-game suspension for violating the league’s domestic violence policy at the start of the 2019 campaign.

There isn’t any indication at this point of tension between team and player. But it’s tempting to wonder whether this hints at things to come. Even if Russell returns to action late this year and/or in the postseason, which remains to be seen, the Chicago organization could well be preparing to part ways at season’s end.

The Cubs already made the widely questioned decision to hang onto Russell despite the shameful circumstances of his suspension. He has been a significant part of this year’s team, spending time on optional assignment but also appearing in 76 MLB games. The Cubs control Russell’s rights for two more seasons and likely wouldn’t owe him a huge raise on his existing base salary. But he has not overcome his offensive struggles, turning in a .227/.303/.389 batting line in 229 plate appearances, so it’s amply possible that the club will simply determine that it’s time to move on from a pure baseball perspective.

NL Injury Notes: Baez, Weaver, Brewers, Rockies

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The Cubs will evaluate shortstop Javier Baez by week’s end to see when he’ll be able to start rehab activity, Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun-Times tweets. The club has been without Baez for just about all of September because of a hairline fracture in his left thumb, and it’s likely the injury will prevent the star from suiting up again in the regular season as Chicago tries to at least earn a wild-card berth. The Baez-less Cubs have been turning to recently recalled youngster Nico Hoerner at short, and fortunately for them, he has begun his career in outstanding fashion. Thanks in part to Hoerner’s contributions, the Cubs are 6-2 dating back to his Sept. 9 debut.

More injury updates from around the National League…

  • Diamondbacks right-hander Luke Weaver may be a “couple days” from returning to a major league mound, per Zach Buchanan of The Athletic. Weaver threw a successful bullpen session Tuesday as he works back from forearm and ulnar collateral ligament issues that have shelved him since late May. The offseason acquisition, who joined the D-backs via their Paul Goldschmidt trade with the Cardinals, had been amid a stellar campaign before landing on the shelf. Weaver owns a 3.03 ERA/3.11 FIP with 9.82 K/9 and 2.02 BB/9 in 62 1/3 innings on the season. While Arizona’s playoff hopes have faded this year, the hope is Weaver and fellow young righty Zac Gallen will be among those to help drive the team back into contention in 2020.
  • Brewers righty reliever Corey Knebel is “continuing to make progress” in his recovery from the Tommy John procedure he underwent in March, Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel relays. Knebel expects to return to throwing from a mound when spring training rolls around, per Haudricourt. It’s all the more impressive on the Brewers’ part that they’re in the thick of the wild-card hunt without having received anything from Knebel, who was one of their best bullpen options from 2017-18.
  • Rockies southpaw Kyle Freeland is nearing a late-season return, according to Nick Groke of The Athletic. A strained groin has kept Freeland from taking a big league mound since Aug. 20, but he’ll be able to make two more starts (albeit at just two to three innings per appearance) this year, Groke notes. Freeland will attempt to end his surprisingly dismal season on a high note when he suits up again. One of the NL’s premier pitchers just a year ago, Freeland has been just the opposite in 2019. The 26-year-old has logged a 6.98 ERA/6.13 FIP across 99 1/3 frames, and his struggles led the Rockies to demote him to the minors earlier in the season.

Health Notes: Marwin, Kintzler, Marlins, Rockies

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The latest on a few notable health situations from around the majors…

  • The Twins welcomed utilityman Marwin Gonzalez back from injury Monday in their win over the White Sox. Gonzalez hadn’t played since Aug. 27 because of an abdominal issue. His presence should help make up for the absence of fellow utilityman Ehire Adrianza (down with an oblique strain) and give the Twins the ability to rest first baseman C.J. Cron – who’s dealing with a bruised thumb, per Brian Hall of MLB.com. Gonzalez, the Twins’ highest-paid acquisition of last winter (two years, $21MM), has gotten past a sluggish start to post a useful .262/.322/.418 line with 15 home runs in 441 plate appearances this season.
  • Cubs reliever Brandon Kintzler hasn’t pitched since Sept. 10, when the right-hander allowed two earned runs on three hits in a third of an inning in a loss to San Diego. It turns out that Kintzler has been out with a mild left oblique strain, as Sahadev Sharma of The Athletic was among those to tweet. There’s no word on how much more time Kintzler will miss, but the sooner he returns, the better for the playoff-contending Cubs. The 35-year-old has bounced back from a shaky 2018 to post a 2.82 ERA/3.60 FIP with 7.62 K/9, 2.15 BB/9 and a 56.6 percent groundball rate in 54 1/3 frames.
  • Marlins first baseman/outfielder Garrett Cooper isn’t likely to return this season, Craig Mish of FNTSY Sports Radio reports. The 28-year-old jammed his knee Friday, and though Mish notes it isn’t serious, the bottom-feeding Marlins don’t need to risk running Cooper out again this season. An ice-cold August has driven down Cooper’s numbers this year, but he has nonetheless been one of the hitter-needy Marlins’ top offensive players in 2019, having batted .281/.344/.446 with 15 HRs across 421 trips to the plate.
  • Rockies righty Chad Bettis, who underwent season-ending hip surgery Aug. 27, expects to go through “a normal offseason,” he told Kyle Newman of the Denver Post. That may be true from a health standpoint, but whether the winter will be conventional otherwise for Bettis is up in the air. After all, the Rockies could non-tender Bettis, who’s slated to go through arbitration for the third and final time. He made $3.325MM this season but only pitched to a 6.08 ERA/5.16 FIP in 63 2/3 innings – most of which came out of the Rockies’ bullpen.

Anthony Rizzo Diagnosed With Moderate Lateral Ankle Sprain

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Cubs first baseman Anthony Rizzo has emerged from a medical check with lukewarm news on his injured ankle. An MRI revealed a moderate lateral sprain, the team told reporters including Mark Gonzales of the Chicago Tribune (via Twitter).

Rizzo will not require surgery, which is promising. But he’s going to spend five to seven days in a walking boot, which seems to put a good bit of doubt on his ability to return to action before the end of the regular season.

A specific timeline isn’t known at this time; no doubt, more will be evident once the boot comes off. But it’s obvious the Cubs will go without the slugging first baseman for most or all of the stretch run, with his postseason availability also in question.

Unfortunately, Rizzo isn’t the only Cubs player to go down with an injury. The club is already missing Javier Baez and Addison Russel in the infield, which has forced youngster Nico Hoerner into earlier-than-anticipated action. Now, the team will need to dip into its depth further to fill in at first. Skipper Joe Maddon mentioned Victor Caratini, Ian Happ, and Jonathan Lucroy as possibilities (via Gonzales, on Twitter).

All that being said, the Cubbies remain in solid (though hardly certain) postseason position. They’re currently slotted into the second Wild Card slot, with the first WC position and the NL Central division still in play. While the Brewers are in hot pursuit, the rest of the pack has fallen four or more games back.

Injury Notes: Turner, Kipnis, Kimbrel, Gsellman

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Justin Turner is expected to return to the Dodgers’ lineup on Tuesday, MLB.com’s Ken Gurnick tweets.  The third baseman hasn’t played since September 7 due to a left ankle sprain, so it will end up being a seven-game absence for Turner.  Still one of the game’s better hitters (.291/.370/.514 with 27 homers in 538 PA) in his age 34 season, Turner is likely to get further rest time over the last couple of weeks if necessary, as the Dodgers obviously want him fully healthy and prepared for the postseason. [UPDATE: Turner’s return on Tuesday isn’t a sure thing, as manager Dave Roberts told the Los Angeles Times’ Jorge Castillo and other media that Turner’s ankle is still bothering him.]

The Dodgers have long since punched their ticket for October, but let’s check in some teams still fighting to reach the playoffs and dealing with some injuries along the way…

  • Jason Kipnis will receive an MRI on Monday after leaving today’s game due to discomfort in his right wrist, as per multiple reporters (including MLB.com’s Mandy Bell).  Kipnis has been battling tendinitis in the wrist and missed a few games with the ailment earlier this month.  If Kipnis is forced to miss time, he’ll be not only miss some of the stretch run of the Indians’ pennant race, but also potentially his last two weeks in a Cleveland uniform.  The former All-Star has hit only .245/.304/.410 over 511 plate appearances as the Tribe’s regular second baseman, and after three straight years of subpar batting numbers, it is widely expected that the team will decline its $16.5MM option on Kipnis’ services for 2020.
  • Craig Kimbrel had no setbacks during a 20-pitch bullpen session today, Cubs pitching coach Tommy Hottovy told MLB.com’s Jordan Bastian and other reporters.  Right elbow inflammation has kept Kimbrel on the shelf since September 1, though he is now tentatively slated to toss a simulated-game scenario against hitters later this week.  Theo Epstein said earlier in the weekend that the Cubs are “pretty optimistic” that Kimbrel can return before the end of the season, but nothing is yet certain about the closer’s status.
  • Mets manager Mickey Callaway told Deesha Thosar of the New York Daily News and other reporters that there is “no timeline” on a potential return for Robert Gsellman, though they “haven’t ruled out him coming back” in 2019.  A partial lat tear seemingly ended Gsellman’s season back in mid-August, though the reliever has been playing toss with no ill effects reported.  With less than two weeks remaining in the regular season, the odds are still against Gsellman getting back into New York’s bullpen, though there’s at least some hope now rather than last month’s more grim diagnosis.

Anthony Rizzo Leaves Game With Sprained Ankle

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Cubs first baseman Anthony Rizzo left Sunday’s matchup with the Pirates in the third inning after he rolled his right ankle attempting to field a bunt. He underwent preliminary X-rays after the game, which revealed that he avoided a fracture, but suffered a sprained ankle, per The Athletic’s Sahadev Sharma. He’s ticketed for an MRI on Monday, which will determine with greater precision the severity of the injury.

Of course, Rizzo and the Cubs aren’t out of the woods yet: though he didn’t fracture the ankle, a sprained ankle could still keep the slugger out for an extended period of time, depending on its severity.

If indeed Rizzo is required to miss time, it would only compound the Cubs’ injury frustrations that have taken hold of late. As the team takes aim at a postseason berth, star shortstop Javier Baez has been ruled out for the regular season, with his replacement Addison Russell landing in concussion protocol shortly thereafter. Meanwhile, closer Craig Kimbrel is fighting through elbow inflammation and has been unavailable for the last two weeks.

And while the Cubs are deep enough to tread water without team leaders and lineup stalwarts Baez and Rizzo, such a formula is less than ideal for the September stretch run, let alone in a postseason series. As the Cubs collectively hold their breath on the results of Rizzo’s MRI, look for Ian Happ and Victor Caratini to cover for him in the near-term.

For the season, Rizzo has slashed .289/.402/.516 with 26 home runs. Since joining the Cubs, he’s been a paragon of consistency and durability, playing 140 games or more in every year from 2013-2018 (He currently sits at 139 for this year).

 

NL Notes: Dodgers, Brewers, Cubs, Padres

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It’s “very unlikely” outfielder Alex Verdugo will return for the Dodgers’ National League Division Series matchup, manager Dave Roberts told Ken Gurnick of MLB.com and other reporters Friday (Twitter links). The rookie originally landed on the injured list Aug. 6 with a right oblique strain, but a back injury has slowed him of late. Meantime, southpaw Rich Hill – who’s dealing with a strained left MCL – will undergo an MRI on Monday. It seems iffy at best that Hill will avoid a lengthy absence, as a strained left MCL previously shelved him for the first month of the season. The injury-prone 39-year-old then missed almost two months with a forearm problem. His start Thursday, when he recorded just two outs, was his first since June 19.

Here’s more from the National League…

  • Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel provided a couple injury updates Friday on the Brewers, who are now a game behind the NL’s second wild-card position (Twitter links). Top starter Brandon Woodruff is still on track to return in the next week, but it’s unclear whether he’ll start or relieve. Woodruff will throw a bullpen session Saturday as he continues working back from the oblique strain he suffered July 21. And catcher Manny Pina, out with a concussion since Sept. 5, isn’t recovering as quickly as the team hoped he would, according to manager Craig Counsell. The Brewers have “to stack some good days in a row” for Pina before he’s capable of returning, Counsell said. Milwaukee has been in fine shape behind the plate without Pina, of course, as it boasts one of the game’s elite catchers in Yasmani Grandal.
  • The Cubs promoted executive Jason McLeod to senior vice president of player personnel, which could keep him in their front office for at least a little while longer. But McLeod said this week that his goal is to run a team’s baseball department, per Patrick Mooney and Sahadev Sharma of The Athletic (subscription required). “I do aspire to someday lead an organization,” said McLeod, who has been on GM-needy clubs’ radars in the past. He interviewed for that position with the Giants last year, though they instead went on to hire Farhan Zaidi as their president of baseball operations.
  • Padres rookie Chris Paddack will make at least one more start this season, AJ Cassavell of MLB.com tweets. Shutting Paddack down for the year looked like a possibility after he threw six scoreless innings against the Cubs on Wednesday. The rookie standout, 23, has now racked up 135 2/3 innings this season, easily surpassing the previous professional high of 90 he set in 2018 as a minor leaguer.

Digging Into The Cubs’ Looming Decision On David Phelps

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When David Phelps signed with the Blue Jays this past offseason, his $2.5MM contract contained a club option for the 2020 season initially that was valued at $1MM — a likely reflection of the fact that his performance and general health were question marks coming off Tommy John surgery. Unsurprisingly, the contract allowed for him to boost the value of that option with a solid showing in 2019.

Activated from the IL on June 17 and traded to the Cubs on July 30, Phelps has been terrific for both teams, working to a combined 3.18 ERA with a 30-to-12 K/BB ratio in 28 1/3 innings (33 appearances). When he took the mound for the 30th time in 2019, he boosted the value of his 2020 option from that initial $1MM baseline to $3MM. He’s also already earned $500K of incentives and will earn another $250K when he makes his 35th appearance. If Phelps takes the ball seven more times before the end of the regular season, he’ll again boost the value of his option, this time to $5MM, and secure another $350K bonus.

The level at which his 2020 option settles is of particular intrigue because that will also determine the amount of incentives available to him next year. Phelps’ contract came with three different possible tiers of incentives, each of which was based on the option’s ultimate value. MLBTR has learned some of the specifics surrounding those incentive packages. If his option is valued at $3MM (i.e. he appears in 39 or fewer total games), Phelps would be able to earn an additional $2.75MM in appearance-based bonuses: $250K for reaching 25, 30 and 35 games as well as $400K for reaching 40, 45, 50, 55 and 60 games.

Were he to reach that 40-appearance threshold in 2019 and boost the value of the option to $5MM, he’d be able to earn an additional $1.5MM in appearance-based bonuses: $150K for reaching 25, 30 and 35 games as well as $210K for reaching 40, 45, 50, 55 and 60 games. Both tiers contain added incentives for games finished, but the Cubs’ signing of Craig Kimbrel doesn’t bode well for Phelps’ chances of an extended run as the team’s closer.

All of those factors will be weighed by the Cubs when they determine whether to bring Phelps back for the 2020 season, as will the fact that they stand to see a large chunk of their ’pen depart via free agency. Brandon Kintzler, Pedro Strop, Steve Cishek, Derek Holland, Xavier Cedeno, Tony Barnette and Brandon Morrow (who didn’t throw a pitch in 2019) are all off the books at season’s end.

From a pure performance standpoint, Phelps has improved as the season has worn on. His fastball averaged 92.1 mph with the Jays but is up to 92.8 mph with the Cubs. That’s still less than the 94.4 mph he averaged prior to Tommy John surgery, but the life on that heater does seem to be coming back. Phelps also managed just a 5.4 percent swinging-strike rate in Toronto but has seen that rate leap to 11.1 percent in Chicago — a rate that would represent a career-high. He’s also benefited from a sky-high 98.6 percent strand rate with the Cubs, though, which no pitcher can be expected sustain over a larger body of work. Phelps has held righties in check nicely (.232/.311/.377) but struggled against opposing lefties (.263/.349/.553).

Phelps’ usage over the regular season’s final couple of weeks will be worth monitoring, as it may ultimately play a large role in determining whether he’s back with the team in 2020 or searching for a new deal in free agency this winter. Neither the $3MM or $5MM price point is any sort of back-breaker, particularly with a fair bit of money coming off the books. But the Cubs also likely want to maintain as much flexibility as they can, and tacking on an extra $2MM to Phelps’ option is probably something they’d like to avoid, if possible, unless they’re planning to decline the option either way. There’s no buyout on the option, so this’ll be a straight $3MM or $5MM decision, depending on how many more times Phelps takes the ball prior to Sept. 29.

Scott Boras On Nicholas Castellanos’ Market

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There’s no doubt that outfielder Nicholas Castellanos has established himself as one of the majors’ best trade deadline acquisitions this year. Since he went from the Tigers to the Cubs on July 31, Castellanos has slashed .333/.359/.673 with 14 home runs in 167 plate appearances. He’s tied for 21st among position players in fWAR (1.5) dating back to the start of August, while his 160 wRC+ ranks an even better 18th.

Not only has Castellanos’ late-season production been beneficial to the Cubs, who are trying to grab a playoff spot in a hotly contested National League race, but it figures to help his cause on the cusp of a potential trip to free agency. The 27-year-old will be among the premier offensive players on the open market should he get there, which agent Scott Boras implied is likely to happen.

“He’s the youngest free agent, and he doesn’t have a qualifying offer,” Boras told Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun-Times. “So I would say he’s in position to be optimally observed because he fits, really, the m.o. of any team — whether you’re a rebuilding club, because of his age, whether you’re a club that’s close to winning and wants to win, or whether you’re a club that is an existing top-eight club that’s going to compete for the World Series. He’s one of those guys that fits all clubs.”

Whether Castellanos “fits all clubs” is up for debate. After all, his defense has been widely panned at multiple positions since his first full season in Detroit back in 2014. Castellanos spent the initial portion of his career at third base, but he had such difficulty there that the Tigers elected to move him to right field on a full-time basis a couple years back. He has since garnered negative reviews in right, including in 2019. Through almost 1,100 innings in the grass this season, Castellanos has accounted for minus-8 Defensive Runs Saved, a minus-4.8 Ultimate Zone Rating and minus-5 Outs Above Average.

Castellanos’ ongoing issues in the field may well tamp down his value in free agency, and they could turn off certain National League teams from pursuing him because of a lack of a designated hitter option. That said, Castellanos is a long-respectable hitter who has been highly valuable in the NL this year as a member of the Cubs. Plus, as Boras noted, there won’t be a qualifying offer weighing him down because he was part of an in-season trade. That probably won’t be the case for the Cardinals’ Marcell Ozuna – arguably the top corner outfielder nearing free agency – as he figures to receive a QO from his team.

Just how aggressive Chicago will be in trying to retain Castellanos is up in the air at this point. Unsurprisingly, though, Boras doesn’t seem as if he’s in the mood to give the Cubs a discount. While Boras informed Wittenmyer that it would be customary for a free agent to “want to listen to the Cubs” – one of the game’s highest-spending franchises – he expects Castellanos to “listen to everybody.” Castellanos isn’t ready to discuss his post-2019 future, which is to be expected, as he suggested his focus is on the current campaign. Despite Castellanos’ best efforts, the Cubs very well could miss the playoffs this year for the first time since 2014. They’ll head into Friday tied with the Christian Yelich-less Brewers for the NL’s second wild-card spot.

Royals Claim Randy Rosario

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The Royals have claimed southpaw Randy Rosario off waivers from the Cubs, as per a team announcement.  Rosario was designated for assignment by Chicago earlier this week.  To create a 40-man roster spot, Kansas City recalled infielder Kelvin Gutierrez and placed him on the 60-day injured list.

Rosario posted a 5.91 ERA over 10 2/3 innings for the Cubs this season, a decided step back from the 3.66 ERA he delivered over 46 2/3 relief frames in his 2018 rookie season.  Per ERA predictors, however, Rosario was fortunate (4.68 FIP, 4.60 xFIP, 4.74 SIERA) to escape at least an extra run’s worth of damage in 2018, as the grounder specialist only notched a 5.79 K/9.

This season saw Rosario miss more bats to the tune of an 8.4 K/9 in his brief time in Chicago, though his Triple-A numbers (3.11 ERA, 2.21 K/BB rate, 7.4 K/9) were almost an exact match for his career numbers over 413 minor league innings in the Cubs’ and Twins’ organizations.  Rosario has shown some very good splits against left-handed batters, giving him a possible path to regular work as a specialist in Kansas City’s bullpen.

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