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NL Notes: Gilbreath, Eflin, Greene, Flaherty, Miley

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The Rockies announced that left-hander Lucas Gilbreath has been placed on the 15-day injured list due to a left elbow flexor strain. In a corresponding move, right-hander Alex Colome went the other direction, getting reinstated from the IL. Patrick Saunders of the Denver Post tweets that Gilbreath will undergo an MRI.

While the severity of the issue still isn’t known, it’s at least enough for Gilbreath to miss the next couple of weeks. An issue to a pitcher’s throwing elbow is always somewhat worrisome, though the club will surely get more information before deciding how to proceed. The Rox are in the basement of the National League West and won’t be in contention down the stretch, meaning there will be little incentive to rush him back to the mound.

Gilbreath has been an effective southpaw for Colorado over the past couple of seasons, registering a 3.78 ERA, not too shabby for someone who plays their home games at Coors Field. In 85 2/3 career innings, he has a 25% strikeout rate and 45.7% groundball rate, though an elevated 13.2% walk rate.

Some other injury notes from the Senior Circuit…

  • Phillies right-hander Zach Eflin is still trying to get back on the mound this season, having been on the injured list since late June due to a right knee bruise. Scott Lauber of the Philadelphia Inquirer tweets that Eflin might be able to throw a bullpen this week, with the aim of eventually returning as a reliever. Given that there’s just over a month remaining in the regular season, it would be difficult for him to build back up to a starter’s workload in time to make a significant contribution. The righty has quietly been an effective member of the rotation, having registered a 4.21 ERA over 98 games, 93 of them starts, going back to the beginning of the 2018 season. He is highly likely to reach free agency this year, as he and the Phils have a mutual option for 2023, with those provisions almost never being triggered by both parties. The club currently holds the second of three Wild Card spots in the National League and a postseason run could give Eflin more time to showcase his health before reaching the open market.
  • Reds righty Hunter Greene is set to head out on a rehab assignment, reports Bobby Nightengale of the Cincinnati Enquirer. He’s been out of action for over three weeks now due to a strain in his throwing shoulder, though appears to be slated to return after a couple of rehab outings. The highly-touted rookie is known for his tremendous velocity, though he’s yet to put it to great use at the big league level. He currently owns a 5.26 ERA after 102 2/3 innings in the majors, despite a strong 28.8% strikeout rate. When batters don’t strike out, they appear to be making good contact, as Greene’s barrel percentage is only in the league’s 10th percentile while his hard hit rate is in the 30th percentile. He’ll look to finish the season on a positive note before the winter begins. Greene, Nick Lodolo and Graham Ashcraft are all under 25 years old and showed intriguing skills in their debuts this year. The Reds will surely be hoping to maximize the talents of that trio in order to have a strong foundation of starting pitching to build around in the future.
  • Righty Jack Flaherty is going to throw another rehab start on Wednesday before rejoining the Cardinals on Labor Day, tweets Jeff Jones of the Belleville News-Democrat. After an elite season in 2019 wherein he threw 196 1/3 innings with a 2.75 ERA, Flaherty is now in his third straight injury-limited campaign. He’s made just three starts this year in between IL stints due to shoulder injuries. If he’s able to return and flash his 2019 form, he’d be a tremendous difference maker for the Cards down the stretch and into the postseason. The club is currently 5 1/2 games ahead of the Brewers in the race for the division crown. Flaherty hasn’t allowed more than one earned run in each of his last three rehab outings.
  • Cubs lefty Wade Miley is still looking to make his way back to a mound before the season is out, speaking to Maddie Lee of the Chicago Sun-Times about his year. “I can’t shut it down,” Miley said. “If I want to keep playing baseball beyond this year, I have to prove to people that I’m not broke. And I don’t feel like I’m broke by any means.” After throwing 163 innings with a 3.37 ERA with the Reds last year, he was claimed on waivers by the Cubs but has been limited to just four starts and 19 innings here in 2022, due to various ailments, primarily in his throwing shoulder. He will be hoping to return to action and show some effectiveness before the end of the season, when he will become a free agent and turn 36 years old in November.

NL Central Notes: Cardinals, Brewers, Cubs

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The Cardinals are hopeful that Steven Matz will return from his stint on the injured list soon, but when he does, it will be as a reliever, per MLB.com’s John Denton (via Twitter). There simply isn’t time remaining in the season to build him back up as a starter. The switch is partly because of Matz, but also due to the expectation that Jack Flaherty will return to the rotation potentially next Wednesday or the following weekend, writes Rick Hummel of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Not to mention, deadline acquisitions Jose Quintana and Jordan Montgomery have excelled in the rotation since their arrival. In the bullpen, Matz can provide manager Oliver Marmol with another weapon from the left side to augment current southpaws Genesis Cabrera and JoJo Romero. Elsewhere in the NL Central…

  • Deadline acquisition Trevor Rosenthal left his latest appearance in Triple-A with lat soreness, per MLB.com’s Adam McCalvy (via Twitter). Picking up Rosenthal was certainly a bit of a lottery ticket for the Brewers, given that Rosenthal hasn’t pitched since 2020. Rosenthal had begun to show shades of his former self, posting a 1.90 ERA over 23 2/3 innings with the Royals and Padres. The hits keep coming for Rosenthal, who suffered a hamstring strain before the lat injury, which all came while recovering from thoracic outlet surgery.
  • The Cubs will be looking to add power this offseason, writes Paul Sullivan of the Chicago Tribune. That certainly tracks for a team with a middle infield consisting of Nico Hoerner and Nick Madrigal, both of whom boast contact-first profiles at the dish. Hoerner has stepped up this season, both on the field and from a leadership perspective, making himself a key part of the Cubs’ future. Madrigal has had a less memorable campaign, but he may yet establish himself as the second baseman of the future. The power will have to come from somewhere, however, especially with Willson Contreras slated for free agency. Contreras’ 20 home runs rank second on the team behind Patrick Wisdom’s 22, and the long-time catcher is the team leader in isolated power with a .222 ISO.

Cubs Reinstate Manuel Rodriguez From Injured List

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The Cubs announced they’ve reinstated reliever Manuel Rodríguez from the 60-day injured list. He’ll be on the roster for tonight’s game against the Brewers. Chicago optioned righty Kervin Castro to Triple-A Iowa to open an active roster spot, while starter Alec Mills was moved from the 15-day to the 60-day injured list to clear a spot on the 40-man roster.

Rodríguez, who recently turned 26, is in line for his first MLB action of the season. He made his big league debut last year, appearing in 20 games and throwing 17 2/3 innings. The righty scuffled to a 6.11 ERA during that brief look, walking an untenable 14.5% of opponents. He averaged more than 97 MPH on his fastball and induced ground-balls at a whopping 53.7% clip, though, showcasing some potential to emerge as a possible middle innings arm for skipper David Ross.

This season hasn’t gone according to plan, as Rodríguez made just five appearances in Iowa. He lost a good chunk of time with a strain in his throwing elbow, but he’s back and will look to stake his claim to a spot in the season-opening bullpen for next year. This is Rodríguez’s final minor league option year, meaning the Cubs will have to keep him on the active roster at the start of 2023 or make him available to other teams via trade or waivers.

Mills has been out since July 3 with a lower back strain. The righty’s IL transfer backdates to that point, so he’ll be eligible to return around a week from now. He’s unlikely to be ready by that point, as he’s yet to start a minor league rehab assignment.

Cubs Select Luke Farrell

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AUGUST 24: Chicago has formally selected Farrell’s contract, relays Meghan Montemurro of the Chicago Tribune (on Twitter). Hendricks, who is unlikely to pitch again this season after revealing the presence of a small capsule tear in his throwing shoulder, was indeed transferred to the 60-day IL to create the 40-man roster spot. Chicago also placed southpaw Steven Brault on the 15-day IL with a should strain, recalled reliever Kervin Castro from Iowa, optioned Anderson Espinoza and sent Padilla back to Triple-A after yesterday’s doubleheader.

AUGUST 23: The Cubs are adding right-hander Luke Farrell to the big league roster before tomorrow evening’s game against the Cardinals, manager David Ross told reporters (including Tim Stebbins of NBC Sports Chicago). He’ll get the start for the contest.

It’ll be the first MLB outing of the season for Farrell, who signed a minor league deal in April. He’s spent the entire season at Triple-A Iowa, starting 11 of his 17 outings. Over 59 innings, Farrell has a 5.03 ERA with a below-average 19% strikeout rate and a higher than average 10.9% walk percentage. It’s the first extended rotation stretch for the Northwestern product since 2018, also a stint in the Chicago farm system.

Farrell has come out of the bullpen for 58 of his 63 big league outings, working 87 2/3 innings between the Royals, Reds, Cubs, Rangers and Twins. He owns a 4.93 ERA at the major league level, including a 4.74 mark in 20 outings with Minnesota last season. Farrell typically runs solid swing-and-miss rates, but he’s had spotty control and given up quite a few home runs at the major league level.

The Cubs will need to formally select Farrell’s contract tomorrow. He’ll be the third pitcher added to the 40-man roster in two days, as Chicago also brought up Javier Assad and Nicholas Padilla today. Those transactions brought the 40-man to full capacity, but the Cubs could easily transfer either Kyle Hendricks or Wade Miley to the 60-day injured list to free a spot.

Cubs Select Nicholas Padilla

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The Cubs have selected the contract of right-hander Nicholas Padilla from Triple-A Iowa and appointed him as the 27th man for today’s doubleheader, per a club announcement. Jason Heyward was moved from the 10-day injured list to the 60-day injured list in a corresponding 40-man move. Chicago also formally announced its previously reported selection of righty Javier Assad and optioned righty Kervin Castro to Iowa. Chicago’s 40-man roster is now at capacity.

Padilla, 25, was selected by the Cubs out of the Rays organization in the minor league phase of the 2020 Rule 5 Draft. He’s never ranked among the top prospects in either organization but has set himself up for this call to the big leagues with a strong showing across three minor league levels in 2022.

In 43 innings between High-A, Double-A and Triple-A, Padilla has logged a collective 2.30 ERA and fanned 31.5% of his opponents along the way. His 13.8% walk rate, four hit batters (2.2%) and seven wild pitches highlight some command issues that have plagued him dating back to 2019. Padilla’s hefty 55.5% ground-ball rate this season has helped him to mitigate the damage from those free passes, however, and he’s yet to allow a home run on the year. Through 232 career minor league innings, he’s yielded just nine home runs (0.35 HR/9).

Heyward’s move to the 60-day injured list was a pure formality. The Cubs already announced that he wouldn’t return this season, and president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer revealed earlier this month that the Cubs plan to release Heyward at the end of the season.

Kyle Hendricks Diagnosed With Capsular Tear In Shoulder

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Cubs right-hander Kyle Hendricks has been dealing with shoulder discomfort for more than a month, and while initial MRIs did not reveal any structural damage, a newer MRI and second opinion revealed a capsular tear, Hendricks explained to reporters yesterday (link via Meghan Montemurro of the Chicago Tribune). While capsule tears are often ominous injuries with quite lengthy recovery periods, Hendricks’ tear is relatively small and is not expected to require surgery.

It was already known that Hendricks would not pitch again in 2022, but the diagnosis of the tear obviously adds some additional uncertainty to his long-term outlook. For now, he’ll go through a strengthening program and set his focus on being ready for the 2023 season — the final guaranteed season in a four-year, $55.5MM contract. The Cubs hold a $16MM club option for a fifth season, which comes with a $1.5MM buyout.

From 2016-20, Hendricks was one of the best and most consistent starting pitchers in the National League, logging a combined 3.00 ERA with a 21.1% strikeout rate and an excellent 5.3% walk rate in 787 innings. Hendricks was one of the sport’s most durable arms in that time, requiring only a six-week IL stay in 2017 due to tendinitis in his pitching hand and a minimal 10-day stay in 2019 due to inflammation in his right shoulder.

Since that outstanding half-decade peak, however, Hendricks’ results have tumbled rather quickly. He made 32 starts in 2021 but logged a disappointing 4.77 ERA that was far and away the worst of his career. This year’s 4.80 mark through his first 16 starts was a near identical number. Hendricks, after averaging just 0.89 homers per nine innings pitched through the first seven seasons of his career, has surrendered an average of 1.56 long balls per nine frames since Opening Day 2021. His 17.3% strikeout rate is down nearly four percentage points from that previously mentioned peak, and his 6% walk rate, while still south of the 7.6% league average among starters, is up slightly from Hendricks’ best days as well.

The hope for the Cubs, of course, is that a healthier Hendricks can return to form and rejoin a rotation that also includes veteran Marcus Stroman and 27-year-olds Justin Steele and Keegan Thompson. Right-hander Adrian Sampson, 30, has been solid through 10 starts as well. Former top prospect Adbert Alzolay, who started 21 games for the Cubs last year, has missed the entire 2022 season thus far due to a lat strain. However, he embarked on a minor league rehab assignment just yesterday and could yet return before the end of the year.

The extent to which Hendricks progresses from the tear between now and the onset of free agency will, on some level, inform the Cubs’ approach to addressing their pitching staff over the winter. Solid as Steele (3.25 ERA, 3.75 SIERA in 113 2/3 innings) and Thompson (3.97 ERA, 4.21 SIERA, 104 2/3 innings), there’ll still be a need to bring in some reinforcements. Owner Tom Ricketts recently vowed to be “very active” in free agency, although those comments perhaps deliberately stopped short of forecasting an aggressive pursuit of top-tier free agents.

Cubs starters this season rank 21st in the Majors in ERA (4.33), 24th in FIP (4.41) and 20th in SIERA (4.23). They’re also 19th in strikeout rate (20.4%) but have the game’s 10th-highest walk rate (8%). Left-handers Drew Smyly and Wade Miley are both ticketed for free agency this winter. Smyly does have a mutual option on his one-year contract, but it’s quite rare for both sides of a mutual option to be exercised and Smyly has thrown well enough that he could seek a larger guarantee or perhaps a multi-year deal on the open market.

Cubs To Select Javier Assad

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The Cubs are planning to promote right-hander Javier Assad to start the first game of tomorrow’s doubleheader against the Cardinals, manager David Ross told reporters (including Mark Gonzales). Chicago will need to formally select his contract, although that’s a formality considering they already have an opening on the 40-man roster.

It’ll be the first MLB appearance for the 25-year-old Assad, who has spent the past seven years progressing up the minor league ladder. A member of the organization’s 2015-16 international signing class, the Mexico native has a 3.96 ERA in a bit more than 500 professional innings. That includes a sterling 2.66 mark in 108 1/3 frames this year, split between Double-A Tennessee and Triple-A Iowa. Assad has fanned a solid 24.8% of opponents between the minors top two levels against just a 7.8% walk percentage.

The 6’1″ hurler has never been a top prospect, and the Cubs left him off the 40-man roster last offseason and were prepared to make him available to other teams in the Rule 5 draft (which never happened as a consequence of the lockout). There’s little quibbling with his results at the upper levels of the system this year, however, and he’s earned an opportunity to try to carve out a longer-term role on the pitching staff.

Chicago is without Kyle Hendricks, Adbert Alzolay, Keegan Thompson, Wade Miley and Alec Mills at present. Justin Steele has developed into a solid starter, and the Cubs have veterans Marcus Stroman and Drew Smyly taking consistent turns through the rotation. Journeyman Adrian Sampson has done a nice job holding a spot at the back end, but Thompson’s placement on the injured list over the weekend leaves a vacancy in the regular starting five.

Kyle Hendricks Not Planning To Return During 2022 Season

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Kyle Hendricks hasn’t pitched since early July due to a strain in his right shoulder, and it appears as though his 2022 season is over.  The Cubs right-hander told reporters (including MLB.com’s Jordan Bastian) that he is trying to get healthy in order to have a normal offseason and ramp-up period for the 2023 season, and to that end, Hendricks plans to restart a throwing program at the Cubs’ training complex in Arizona this week.

Hendricks underwent an MRI earlier this month that didn’t reveal any structural damage, according to Chicago manager David Ross.  However, it seemed even at the time that Hendricks’ 2022 campaign was probably over, as Ross said that getting Hendricks back this season wasn’t “a top priority” compared to the bigger-picture desire to make sure the veteran is healthy.

As such, it looks like Hendricks will wrap up his ninth MLB season with a 4.80 ERA over 84 1/3 innings.  This marks two underwhelming seasons in a row for Hendricks, who has a 4.78 ERA/4.62 SIERA in 265 1/3 frames since the start of the 2021 campaign.  His once-elite walk rate fell to a still-decent 6.7% this year, but combined with a big increase in hard-hit ball rate, Hendricks’ low-velocity, contact-heavy arsenal wasn’t fooling many batters.

While the 2020 season was only 60 games long, Hendricks was still a capable front-of-the-rotation starter as recently as two years ago, when he finished ninth in NL Cy Young Award voting.  Sometimes underrated as a key piece of the Cubs’ success over the last decade, Hendricks was a very solid member of the rotation from 2014-20, with a 3.12 ERA over 1047 1/3 innings of an old-school approach that relied more on command and soft contact rather than missed bats.  The 2016 season was a peak for Hendricks, both due to his league-best 2.13 ERA and his big role in the Cubs’ World Series triumph.

With the Cubs now in a rebuild, it’s safe to guess that if Hendricks hadn’t been struggling with both performance and injury over the last two seasons, he might very well have joined the long list of veterans traded away.  Hendricks’ salary was also a big factor — 2023 is the final season of the four-year, $55.5MM extension he signed in March 2019, and he is owed $14MM for the 2023 season.

The Cubs also have a $16MM club option on the right-hander’s services for 2024, but at this point, it would seem like Chicago will buy that option out for $1.5MM unless Hendricks can turn things around next year.  Or, if a bounce-back year is in the cards, that option decision could be in the hands of another team, if the Cubs looked to finally trade Hendricks after all.  Since it doesn’t seem like Hendricks has much trade value at the present, he’ll need to return healthy and pitch well in the first half of 2023 before we get more clarity on his future either in Chicago or as a potential trade chip.

Cubs Notes: Wisdom, Miley

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  • Brewers utilityman Jace Peterson told reporters (including Curt Hogg of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel) that he’ll start a three-game minor league rehab assignment on Tuesday, with an eye towards returning to the majors when the Brewers open a series with the Cubs on Friday.  A left elbow sprain sent Peterson to the 10-day injured list on July 20, and since he had been bothered by a UCL injury prior to that IL placement, there was some concern that he would be sidelined deeper into September or even that his season could be threatened.  However, Peterson is now on pace to continue what has been a quietly valuable season, as he has contributed both versatility all around the diamond and above-average offense (111 wRC+) in 241 plate appearances, batting .252/.325/.439 with eight home runs.
  • Cubs manager David Ross provided updates on some injured players, telling MLB.com’s Jordan Bastian and other reporters that x-rays were negative on Patrick Wisdom’s left ring finger, and Wisdom is day to day.  Wisdom suffered the injury on a slide into home plate in yesterday’s game.  Wade Miley will also get back onto the mound and throw tomorrow, after experiencing some tightness in his left shoulder on Friday.  Between two shoulder-related IL stints and some elbow tightness at the end of Spring Training, Miley has tossed only 19 innings in his first season in Chicago.  Before this latest setback, Miley has pitched four rehab outings and seemed to be nearing a return, so it remains to be seen how much more time (if any) this recent bout of soreness could cost the veteran southpaw.

Injury Notes: Walker, Thompson, Garcia

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Mets’ starter Taijuan Walker will not make his scheduled start tomorrow, manager Buck Showalter tells Tim Healey of Newsday. The righty has been dealing with a bulging disc in his back, which could push him back to Tuesday. Although it’s good that the injury isn’t significant enough to send him to the injured list, it still creates a short-term problem for the Mets.

Since they also sent Carlos Carrasco to the IL recently and are playing a doubleheader today, they will have to come up with some sort of solution to trudge through to their next off-day, which is on Wednesday. Max Scherzer can go on Monday. Jacob deGrom could start Tuesday but could also get some extra rest if Walker is ready to go. Chris Bassitt pitched last night and isn’t an option for a few days. David Peterson and Trevor Williams are scheduled to start today’s games, but Williams isn’t fully stretch out and was only able to throw four innings in the first game.

Jose Butto is the only starter on the 40-man roster that could be recalled, which seems to be in the cards since Healey relays that Butto is on the taxi squad. It would be a big jump for Butto if he is thrown into tomorrow’s game, since he’s been in Double-A all season and only got promoted to Triple-A on August 8. He has a 4.12 ERA on the year between the two levels.

Other injury tidbits from around the league…

  • The Cubs placed starter Keegan Thompson on the 15-day injured list today, tweets Jordan Bastian of MLB.com. Thompson is dealing with low-back tightness and will have to miss a few turns through the rotation. This will put at least a temporary hold on what has been a nice breakout season for the 27-year-old. Through 25 games this year, 17 starts, he has a 3.97 ERA, 20.5% strikeout rate, 8.3% walk rate and 40% ground ball rate. The Cubs have little reason to push Thompson if he’s not feeling 100%, given that they are well out of contention at this point in the season. They also have little certainty in their rotation going forward, with Marcus Stroman and Kyle Hendricks taking two spots next year, leaving plenty of room for less experienced pitchers like Thompson next year.
  • The Tigers have had nothing but miserable luck on the injury front this year, with just about every starting pitching option spending at least some time on the IL. Rony Garcia has made 16 appearances for the club this year, with eight of those being starts. However, he might not be able to add to that total, with manager A.J. Hinch telling Cody Stavenhagen of The Athletic that Garcia is likely done for the year. He’s been on the IL since late July due to shoulder soreness, the second time this year a shoulder issue landed him on the shelf. It seems it’s lingering long enough that he might not make it back to the hill this year. If that’s indeed the case, he’ll finish the season with a 4.41 ERA over 51 innings.
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