Multiple Teams Now Showing Interest In Eduardo Escobar
July 2: While a deal sending Escobar to the ChiSox was in the works recently, Heyman tweets that multiple other clubs jumped into the mix this week and began showing interest, which has slowed the process. An eventual Escobar trade still feels inevitable, given his status as a pending free agent on MLB’s worst club.
June 28: The White Sox and Diamondbacks have been discussing a potential Eduardo Escobar deal for the past week, and it seems as though talks could be accelerating. USA Today’s Bob Nightengale, who initially reported the talks between the two sides, suggests in his latest notes column that the D-backs are “on the verge” of starting a sell-off that will begin with an Escobar trade. MLB Network’s Jon Heyman tweets this morning that the two sides have made “progress” in a trade that would send Escobar from the D-backs to the ChiSox — the organization that originally signed Escobar out of Venezuela back in 2006.
Escobar is a sensible target for a Sox club that has lost Nick Madrigal for the season and now faces a notable hole at second base. The 32-year-old Escobar has spent more time at third base in recent years but has logged 227 innings at second base in 2021 and carries 849 career innings at the position. He’s also emerged as a reliable source of power and, over the past six weeks, been on a tear at the plate.
The switch-hitting Escobar fell into a considerable slump in early May, with his OPS bottoming out at .655 on May 14. In 152 plate appearances since that time, he’s mashed at a .306/.342/.563 clip with 10 homers, five doubles and a triple. That hot streak has boosted his season batting line to a respectable .253/.298/.481 and bumped his 2021 home run total up to 17. Escobar’s walk rate is down to 6.1 percent — a drop of some note from its 8.2 percent peak in 2018 — and he’s striking out at a career-high 22 percent clip. That’s still below the league average in today’s brand of strikeout-centric baseball, however.
Escobar is earning $7.5MM in 2021 — the final season of a three-year, $21MM contract extension he signed with Arizona in lieu of his first trip to the free agent market back in 2018. There’s still about $3.9MM yet to be paid out on that salary between now and season’s end. While rental players aren’t always ideal for contending clubs, it’s a rather sensible route for the Sox to take with regard to their infield needs. Yoan Moncada is locked in as the long-term answer at third base in Chicago, and the White Sox expect Madrigal back in 2022.
If a deal does ultimately get pushed across the finish line, Escobar would figure to be the first of multiple additions for a White Sox team that is in first place despite several injuries to key contributors. Eloy Jimenez hasn’t played in a game this season after suffering a ruptured pectoral tendon during a Spring Training game, and Luis Robert has been out since early May with a Grade 3 hip flexor strain. Fellow outfielders Adam Eaton and Adam Engel, meanwhile, are on the shelf owing to hamstring strains — the second of the season in Engel’s case.
As for the D-backs, Escobar is one of many veteran pieces who could change hands between now and the July 30 trade deadline. Asdrubal Cabrera, another pending free agent, seems all but assured to move. Outfielder David Peralta and right-hander Merrill Kelly are both affordably signed through the 2022 season. Backup catcher Stephen Vogt and reliever Joakim Soria aren’t having their best seasons, but they’re both impending free agents with solid track records and reasonable $3.5MM salaries. Ketel Marte, of course, is the Diamondbacks’ premier trade chip, as he’s controlled all the way through the 2024 season. That said, he’s also dealing with a hamstring issue and is undergoing additional imaging today as the team continues to evaluate that injury.
White Sox Activate Michael Kopech; Aaron Bummer, Evan Marshall Placed On 10-Day IL
The White Sox have reinstated right-hander Michael Kopech from the 10-day injured list, and also called up left-hander Jace Fry from Triple-A Charlotte. The moves come in response to a pair of bullpen injuries, as both southpaw Aaron Bummer (right hamstring strain) and righty Evan Marshall (strained right flexor pronator) are headed to the 10-day IL.
Due to a Tommy John surgery and then a COVID opt-out, Kopech’s 31 1/3 innings this season marked his first big league action since his debut campaign of 14 1/3 frames in 2018. One of the game’s more highly-touted pitching prospects, Kopech has displayed that potential with a 1.72 ERA and a 36% strikeout rate this season before a strained left hamstring sent him to the IL on a retroactive May 28th placement.
The White Sox planned to keep Kopech in a hybrid swingman role a way of managing his innings, and it’s possible he could get more looks out of the pen in the near future considering the absences of Bummer and Marshall. Chicago manager Tony La Russa told reporters (including James Fegan of The Athletic) that the club is hopeful Bummer is able to return after a minimal stint on the IL, though Marshall will be out of action for a to-be-determined longer period of time.
Bummer has a 3.26 ERA over 30 1/3 innings, with his typically large ground ball rate (a career-best 74%) as well as a 32.1% strikeout rate that would be a career high by a large margin over a full season. Bummer has been an effective weapon out of Chicago’s bullpen for five years now, with the exception of an injury-shortened 2020 campaign.
Marshall pitched well last season to help account for Bummer’s absence, but 2021 has been a much tougher ride for the right-hander. Marshall has a 5.60 ERA over 27 1/3 innings, due to the combination of a larger-than-usual homer rate, a below-average strikeout rate, and a 40.8% grounder rate that is well south of his 52.6% career average.
AL Injury Notes: Robert, Lakins, Urquidy
Luis Robert could be roughly four weeks out from a rehab assignment, per The Athletic’s James Fegan (via Twitter). Assuming all goes well for Robert — a significant assumption this far out — and the White Sox could hope to have their star centerfielder back in the lineup for the stretch run late in August. The club itself has not put an exact timetable on his return, however. Still, an update of any kind is a positive sign for the first-place Sox. If Robert avoids any hiccups in the next few weeks, the White Sox could be emboldened enough to stick with their current roster, rather than make a move to add another centerfielder before the deadline. In the meantime,Brian Goodwin has been the latest replacement to man center, joining Billy Hamilton and Adam Engel as fill-ins.
Elsewhere in the American League, there were a couple notable injuries in last night’s games to check in on…
- The Astros/Orioles game saw a couple of pitchers leave early due to injury. Both starters, Jose Urquidy and Travis Lakins, left their respective outings in the second inning. The Orioles expect to have the results of an MRI on Lakins sometime today, per Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com. Lakins was making his first start of the season.
- As for Urquidy, he left with shoulder discomfort after 1 2/3 innings. For those wondering if this was a return of the shoulder discomfort that sidelined Urquidy for a couple weeks in May, that does not appear to be the case. The pain that forced Urquidy from Tuesday’s start was in a different area than his prior injury, per MLB.com’s Brian McTaggart. Urquidy has been a big part of the Astros’ strong first half, pitching to a 3.38 ERA/4.00 FIP across 14 starts while totaling 77 1/3 innings — more than five innings per outing.
Jose Abreu Day-To-Day With Bruised Knee, X-Rays Negative
Jose Abreu was in visible pain after being hit in the left knee by a JT Chargois pitch during today’s 3-2 White Sox loss to the Mariners, but the reigning AL MVP appears to have avoided a worst-case scenario. The Sox announced that Abreu had suffered a bruised knee, and that x-rays were negative.
Abreu had to be removed for a pinch-runner after his HBP in the sixth inning of the first game of the doubleheader, and obviously wasn’t in Chicago’s lineup for Game 2. Andrew Vaughn replaced Abreu at first base and Yasmani Grandal played first in the second game, and these two are likely to see the bulk of first-base duties while Abreu is recovering, or if a stint on the 10-day injured list is ultimately required.
As MLB.com’s Scott Merkin notes, Abreu has had to deal with several minor injuries this season, which could explain his dropoff in production from his big 2020 campaign. Abreu’s 111 wRC+ is still above average, but is hitting a comparatively modest .244/.323/.435 with 12 home runs over an even 300 plate appearances. It’s fair to wonder (as White Sox manager Tony La Russa recently did) whether or not these accumulated knocks were taking their toll on Abreu, since he entered today’s action with only a .523 OPS and one homer over his last 98 PA. It could be that the Sox decide a 10-day IL stint is warranted even if the knee bruise isn’t overly serious, just to give Abreu some time to recharge for the second half of the season.
If Abreu does have to miss time, it would represent yet another significant loss to Chicago’s starting lineup. The team’s entire projected starting outfield (Eloy Jimenez, Luis Robert, Adam Eaton) are on the injured list, as well as backups Adam Engel and Billy Hamilton. As well, second baseman Nick Madrigal‘s season is already over after undergoing hamstring surgery. After the loss in the first half of today’s doubleheader, the White Sox have dropped seven of their last eight games, reducing their lead in the AL Central to two games over the Indians.
White Sox Reinstate Jace Fry, Outright Alex McRae
The White Sox have reinstated Jace Fry from the 60-day injured list and optioned the left-hander to Triple-A Charlotte. To create room on the 40-man roster, righty Alex McRae was outrighted to Triple-A.
Fry underwent back surgery (a microdiscectomy, specifically) during the offseason and has spent the entire season on the 60-day IL while recovering and getting ramped up to pitch. The early returns have looked good, as Fry has a 2.08 ERA over 13 Triple-A innings thus far, albeit with eight walks in those 13 frames.
Control has been an issue over Fry’s 132 2/3 career MLB innings, as he has a 13.7% walk rate over four seasons with the White Sox. Fry has a 4.75 ERA but a respectable 4.05 SIERA, as his 50.5% grounder rate and 28.3% strikeout rate have helped to somewhat limit the damage from his free passes. Fry has been very effective against left-handed batters, who are hitting just .184/.302/.257 in 243 plate appearances against the 27-year-old Oregon State product.
McRae has appeared in each of the last four Major League seasons, with the last two in the White Sox organization. He has amassed only five total innings in a Chicago uniform, and since he has been outrighted three times in his career, he has the option of electing free agency rather than accepting his latest outright assignment. McRae has a 7.34 ERA over 38 career innings with the White Sox and Pirates.
Injury Notes: Antone, Gray, Engel, Buxton
The Reds announced Tuesday morning that they’ve reinstated right-hander Tejay Antone from the injured list and optioned Scott Heineman to Triple-A Louisville to open a roster spot. Antone ultimately missed only 11 days due to a bout of forearm inflammation and will be returning at a perfect time; Cincinnati used every reliever on the roster during last night’s 12-inning marathon against after starter Tyler Mahle lasted just four innings. The 27-year-old Antone has been one of baseball’s best relievers in 2021, pitching to a minuscule 1.41 ERA with a lofty 34.5 percent strikeout percentage against a 9.5 percent walk rate. He’s worked multiple innings with regularity, though it remains to be seen whether the club will drop him right back into a multi-inning stint after an injury layoff — even in spite of the taxed bullpen.
Cincinnati right-hander Sonny Gray could also be closing in on a return, as C. Trent Rosecrans of The Athletic reports Gray will make a rehab start with the Reds’ top minor league affiliate Thursday. The 31-year-old hit the injured list a couple weeks ago due to a groin strain, and the team was hopeful at the time that he’d only need to miss a pair of starts. It may end up being a bit longer, but if all goes well with Gray’s rehab outing, he’d be looking at only about a three-week absence from the rotation. The veteran righty has a 3.42 ERA and a 30.1 percent strikeout rate in 50 innings for the Reds this season.
A couple more injury scenarios of note around the league…
- The White Sox announced Tuesday that outfielder Adam Engel is headed to the 10-day injured list due to a strain of his right hamstring. Outfielder Luis Gonzalez is up from Triple-A Charlotte in his place. It’s the second IL stint of the season for Engel, who opened the year on the shelf with this same injury and missed almost two months of action. Engel joins fellow outfielder Adam Eaton, who is also dealing with a right hamstring strain, on the injured list, further depleting a White Sox outfield that is also without stars Eloy Jimenez and Luis Robert. The 29-year-old Engel batted .241/.313/.552 in just 32 plate appearances between IL stints. The club didn’t place a timetable on his return, although this new IL stint was backdated to June 20.
- The Twins are still determining whether Byron Buxton‘s fractured left hand will require surgery, manager Rocco Baldelli said prior to today’s game (Twitter link via Betsy Helfand of the St. Paul Pioneer Press). Uncertainty as to whether the injury will require surgical repair likely contributes to the vague response Baldelli have when initially prompted for a timetable on the injury to Buxton, who was hit on the left hand by a Tyler Mahle heater last night and found to have a boxer’s fracture. For now, the team is still “looking into the best approaches for recovery,” per Baldelli. It’s common for players to get opinions from multiple doctors and/or specialists when a potential surgery of any kind is on the table.
AL Central Notes: Civale, Buxton, Duran, Burger
The Indians‘ rotation depth has been tested already, and they could now be facing another injury. Right-hander Aaron Civale exited tonight with two outs in the fifth inning with an injury to his right middle finger. The Score’s Travis Sawchik notes, via Twitter, that the medical staff was testing the mobility of Civale’s finger as opposed to looking at a potential blister. There’s no official diagnosis, but for a Cleveland club that already has Shane Bieber (shoulder strain) and Zach Plesac (fractured hand) on the injured list, any injury scare for the club’s most proven starter is particularly noteworthy.
Cleveland has cycled through myriad young options in hopes of churning out another quality starter, as they’ve seemingly been able to do at will in recent years. However, each of Triston McKenzie, Sam Hentges, Logan Allen, Eli Morgan and Jean Carlos Mejia has an ERA north of 6.00 after multiple starts. Swingman Cal Quantrill gave the Indians a much-needed five innings of shutout ball his last time out but hasn’t had much success overall in four starts. The Indians are still nine games over .500 despite those injuries and an offense that ranks among the worst in MLB (88 wRC+), but it’ll be increasingly difficult to maintain that standing if questions about the rotation continue to mount.
More news from the division…
- Twins center fielder Byron Buxton just returned from the injured list, but he exited tonight’s game against the Reds after five innings. Buxton was hit by a pitch on the left hand in his prior at-bat and played a couple innings of defense before ultimately exiting the game. Minnesota has won four straight games and can ill afford to lose Buxton if the team wants to cling to any faint hope of clawing its way back into the race. It stands to reason that the club would likely have Buxton undergo x-rays, even if his removal were deemed precautionary. They’ll presumably have an update after the game on Buxton, who is 4-for-10 with a homer and a double since returning from the IL two days ago.
- The Twins have shut down top pitching prospect Jhoan Duran due to an elbow strain, president of baseball operations Derek Falvey told reporters (Twitter link via Do-Hyoung Park of MLB.com). He’s undergoing imaging to determine the severity of the issue. Minnesota has been attempting to weather injury troubles for two of its top three starters (Kenta Maeda, Michael Pineda) while getting awful results from fourth and fifth starters J.A. Happ and Matt Shoemaker. The Twins’ miserable rotation performance is perhaps the primary reason for their surprisingly poor record, and an injury to Duran would rob the club of a high-profile prospect who entered the season as a candidate to make his MLB debut this summer. Duran ranked as the game’s No. 83 prospect at The Athletic and No. 86 at FanGraphs, but he’s been limited to just 16 innings this season. Duran allowed one run with a 14-to-3 K/BB ratio in his first seven innings but has since been tagged for eight runs on 11 hits and an alarming 10 walks in nine innings.
- The White Sox are without Nick Madrigal for the remainder of the season, and while it appears they’re exploring the market for infield help, they’re also taking some looks at creative in-house options. Third base prospect Jake Burger is getting some work at second base in Triple-A, writes Vinnie Duber of NBC Sports Chicago. Burger, 25, is in the midst of his first season since 2017 after a pair of Achilles injuries wiped out his 2018 and 2019 campaigns. The 2017 first-rounder has left little doubt that he’s a talented hitter, batting .277/.320/.555 with eight homers, 12 doubles and a triple in 147 plate appearances in his first in-game action after a three-year layoff. The 6’2″, 230-pound Burger would be one of the larger players you’d see at second base, but manager Tony La Russa notes to Duber that with Yoan Moncada hitting so well at the hot corner, at-bats there won’t be easy to come by if Burger’s bat does force its way to the big leagues: “I think it’s really smart, and it’s smarter if you do it down there where it’s not such a microscope. … I like that they’re exposing him to second base down there.”
White Sox Reportedly Discussing Eduardo Escobar Trade With D-backs
6:20pm: Escobar, notably, is out of tonight’s lineup for the D-backs, though Lovullo called the injury a “slight” quadriceps strain and said Escobar is available off the bench (Twitter link via The Athletic’s Zach Buchanan).
12:13pm: The White Sox and Diamondbacks have held discussions about a trade that would send infielder Eduardo Escobar to the Windy City, USA Today’s Bob Nightengale reports (Twitter link). It isn’t known if the two sides are deep in talks, or if this is exploratory on Chicago’s part as the Sox continue to look for second base help.
One immediate wrinkle is Escobar’s injury status, as he left yesterday’s game after four innings due to tightness in right quad, D’Backs manager Torey Lovullo told The Arizona Republic’s Nick Piecoro and other reporters. Escobar was scheduled to undergo tests today, and Lovullo noted that the removal was “precautionary” in nature.
Assuming Escobar is healthy, he is a natural trade chip. The D’Backs have the worst record in baseball and are mired in an unfathomable 17-game losing streak, so their focus has already moved to selling at the trade deadline. Escobar is in the final season of a three-year, $21MM contract that pays him $7.5MM in 2021 (roughly $4.12MM is still owed for the remainder of the season).
The White Sox, meanwhile, suffered a big loss at second base when Nick Madrigal underwent season-ending hamstring surgery last week. Danny Mendick has been filling in at the keystone since Madrigal was sidelined and utilityman Leury Garcia is also on hand, but installing a veteran like Escobar would more fully stabilize the position (especially since the Sox are also still dealing with multiple injury absences in the outfield). Escobar has been more regularly used as a third baseman in Arizona, but he has logged plenty of time at second base over the years, including 30 games at the position this season alone.
A trade would represent something of a homecoming for the 32-year-old Escobar, who originally signed with the White Sox as an amateur free agent back in 2006 and then played his first 45 big league games in a Sox uniform. Chicago dealt Escobar to the Twins as part of a deadline deal for Francisco Liriano in 2012, and Escobar was then a thorn in the side of his old team for years as he developed into a regular in Minnesota’s lineup.
After a rough 2020 season, Escobar has bounced back to be an exactly league-average hitter (100 wRC+, 100 OPS+) over 295 plate appearances this season, hitting .240/.288/.455 with 15 homers. The power numbers have helped boost his overall production, as Escobar’s 6.4% walk rate is his lowest since 2016 and he isn’t making much hard contact. The switch-hitter’s numbers against left-handed pitching have still been solid, but his production against right-handers has tailed off over the last two years.
White Sox Place Adam Eaton On 10-Day Injured List
The White Sox placed outfielder Adam Eaton the 10-day injured list today due to a strained right hamstring. The placement is retroactive to June 15. Right-hander Zack Burdi was promoted from Triple-A to take Eaton’s spot on the active roster.
With Eaton sidelined, this means that Chicago’s entire projected Opening Day outfield is now on the injured list. While Eaton’s hamstring problem doesn’t seem nearly as serious as the injuries that have sidelined Eloy Jimenez and Luis Robert for the bulk of the season, it does underline how the Sox have managed to adapt and thrive despite these significant setbacks. In particular, hamstring and leg injuries have struck several White Sox players this season, with GM Rick Hahn recently discussing about how the team has been trying to figure out if there is any sort of root cause behind this unusual recurring issue.
Originally a member of the White Sox from 2014-16, Eaton returned to the Windy City this offseason after signing a one-year free agent deal worth $8MM in guaranteed money (including the $1MM buyout of an $8.5MM club option the Sox hold on Eaton for 2022). The results haven’t been good at the plate, as Eaton is hitting .195/.296/.345 over 203 plate appearances and his 25.1% strikeout rate is the highest of his career.
With Eaton gone, the Sox have Andrew Vaughn, Adam Engel, and Brian Goodwin as their starting outfield, with Jake Lamb and Leury Garcia able to fill in as part-timers. Outfield already seemed like a target area for the White Sox at the trade deadline given the uncertainty over Jimenez and Robert, and if Eaton ends up having to miss more time beyond the 10-day minimum, the club could be inspired to make a move sooner rather than later to shore up depth.
Nick Madrigal Out For The Season
White Sox second baseman Nick Madrigal “underwent successful surgery to repair the proximal tendon tears in his right hamstring,” the club announced today. He’ll be out for the season and is expected to be restriction-free in spring of 2022. Madrigal’s injury was known to be potentially season-ending last week, as he was placed on the 60-day IL.
The White Sox have done a remarkable job weathering major injuries already this year, sitting in first place in the AL Central with the league’s second-best record despite early-season losses of Luis Robert and Eloy Jimenez. Jimenez could potentially join the club in August after rupturing his left pectoral tendon in late March, while Robert suffered a Grade 3 right hip flexor strain. Neither player has an official timetable for return from the White Sox.
Madrigal, Chicago’s high-contact 24-year-old rookie second baseman, had a 117 wRC+ on the season that ranked seventh among qualifiers. Danny Mendick and Leury Garcia have taken over at second since Madrigal’s injury. Should the White Sox look to upgrade, Adam Frazier, Josh Harrison, Eduardo Escobar, and Jonathan Schoop could be among those available.