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Brad Peacock Undergoes MRI, Returns To Injured List

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Just 10 days after being activated from the injured list, Astros righty Brad Peacock is headed back to the IL with right shoulder discomfort, the team announced. No timetable for his return has been provided, though Peacock told reporters that he’s undergone an MRI and is awaiting results (Twitter link, with video, via FOX 26’s Mark Berman). Right-hander Cy Sneed has been recalled from Triple-A in a corresponding move.

Peacock described a persistent “sharp pain” in his shoulder and acknowledged that the discomfort “got a lot worse” in last night’s outing. The right-hander hopes to pitch again in 2019 but won’t know his next steps until he meets with the club’s doctors later this afternoon. Previous MRIs have not revealed any structural damage.

The 31-year-old Peacock originally went on the IL in late June due to the same issue, and his rehab was slowed by a setback prior to last week’s return. It’s a worrisome injury for an Astros club that is already without one of its top relievers, Ryan Pressly, due to knee surgery. As The Athletic’s Jake Kaplan points out (via Twitter), Peacock’s velocity has been diminished since his return. The right-hander averaged 92.2 mph on his fastball prior to his original IL placement but, despite a move to shorter relief stints upon being activated, averaged just 91.3 mph on the pitch in his past three outings.

So far in 2019, Peacock has totaled 88 2/3 innings of 4.06 ERA ball, averaging 9.5 K/9, 2.9 BB/9 and 1.42 HR/9 to go along with a 38.3 percent ground-ball rate. He’s earning $3.11MM in 2019 after avoiding arbitration last winter and will be arb-eligible for the finale time this coming offseason. Peacock can become a free agent following the 2020 season.

Pressly Confident In 2019 Return

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All-Star Astros relief ace Ryan Pressly underwent surgery on his right knee Friday, but the right-hander is determined to make it back to action before the end of the season, as detailed in a piece from Brian McTaggart of MLB.com. “It’s always frustrating when you miss time, rather it being in Spring Training or offseason, or even now,” Pressly said. “Stuff like this happens. It’s a baseball injury and you just have to figure out a way to get back as fast as you can.”

Pressly had already missed time with a knee injury this summer, so Astros fans are surely hoping that this direct address of the hurler’s nagging injury will get him ready for the postseason. Statistically speaking, there’s basically nothing to dislike about Pressly’s 2019 output. With a 2.50 ERA, 11.62 K/9 rate,  and SwStr% exceeding 17% in 50.1 innings this year, Pressly should give October opposition another thing to fear aside from the Stros’ vaunted starting trio of Gerrit Cole, Zack Greinke, and Justin Verlander.

  • Speaking of Verlander, Chris Thomas of the Detroit Free Press has details on a recent, bizarre incident in Houston involving the veteran pitcher and journalist Anthony Fenech. In a possible violation of the MLB’s collective bargaining agreement, the Astros denied clubhouse access to Fenech (a Detroit Free Press writer) this week, after being requested to do so by Verlander. As Thomas’ report lays out, Verlander is apparently still sour over several perceived violations on his privacy by Fenech during the pitcher’s days in Detroit, including Fenech’s tweeting of a private, astronomy-centric conversation between Verlander and Al Kaline in 2017. Obviously, readers should bear in mind that this Free Press article is likely to advocate for an employee facing possibly unfair public scrutiny, but it does offer interesting insight into the fiery, vigilant personality that Verlander employs both on and off the mound.

Astros Release Brady Rodgers

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Aug. 23: Houston has released Rodgers, per the MLB.com transactions list. That was the only outcome for the right-hander following yesterday’s DFA; teams are no longer permitted to make trades involving players who’ve been on the 40-man roster this season, and Rodgers was on the minor league injured list, meaning he couldn’t be placed on outright waivers.

Rodgers will now have the opportunity to explore interest from new clubs, though Houston could very well have interest in re-signing him to a minor league deal as a depth piece — particularly with several members of the current big pitching staff ticketed for free agency this winter.

Aug. 22: The Astros announced today that they have designated righty Brady Rodgers for assignment, as Chandler Rome of the Houston Chronicle was among those to tweet. That creates roster space for the surprising promotion of prospect Abraham Toro.

Soon to turn 29, Rodgers has seen limited MLB action in two of the past three seasons. The game’s best hitters have not been gentle, rocking Rodgers for 23 earned runs in his 13 1/3 innings of action. He carries an ugly 7:10 K/BB ratio in the bigs.

Rodgers, a former third-round pick out of Arizona State, raced to the upper minors upon becoming a professional and has generally succeeded there. Through 365 1/3 innings of Triple-A pitching, over parts of seven seasons, he carries a 3.67 ERA with 7.1 K/9 and 1.9 BB/9. Rodgers has at times been ranked on the back half of Houston’s top 30 prospect rankings at Baseball America, though not since undergoing Tommy John surgery in early 2017.

Latest On Carlos Correa, Ryan Pressly

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Astros shortstop Carlos Correa missed over a month last year because of a back problem. With this season’s playoffs approaching, the Astros placed Correa on the injured list Wednesday with more back issues, though he and the club are optimistic he won’t stay on the shelf for long this time. Correa underwent an MRI that showed no structural damage, and he doesn’t think his injury’s “serious,” Brian McTaggart of MLB.com tweets.

General manager Jeff Luhnow took a fairly optimistic tone when discussing Correa’s status Thursday, saying (via Mark Berman of Fox 26): “We’re waiting to see how he responds to treatment. So we’ll know more in the coming days. In my mind the calendar I have, is that he’s gonna be rehabbing and probably playing in minor league games the first week of September and hopefully back with the big league team the second week of September. If that happens I think it means that he’ll have three weeks of regular season left and whatever’s after that.”

For Houston, which owns the American League’s second-best record (81-47), “whatever’s after” the regular season will surely be at least one playoff series. The Astros rank among this year’s most dominant teams thanks in part to Correa, who has slashed .278/.358/.556 with 19 home runs and 2.9 fWAR in 340 plate appearances. However, they’ve shown little let-up in the face of injuries to Correa, who previously missed over a month with a broken rib, or other mashers such as George Springer and Jose Altuve. The club selected Abraham Toro from Triple-A Round Rock on Thursday, and he’ll initially get a chance at the hot corner while all-world third baseman Alex Bregman slides from third to short to cover for Correa.

The Astros are also dealing with significant adversity in their bullpen, which just lost right-hander Ryan Pressly for four to six weeks on account of arthroscopic knee surgery. Luhnow acknowledged Thursday that the injury to Pressly is “a blow,” though the executive’s taking a “glass half full” approach and hoping the 30-year-old will be back to tune up before the playoffs (via Chandler Rome of the Houston Chronicle). Pressly has been marvelous this year, his first All-Star campaign, having recorded a 2.50 ERA/2.83 FIP with 11.62 K/9, 1.97 BB/9 and a 50.8 percent groundball rate over 50 1/3 innings. It’s fair to say the Astros won’t be operating at full strength come playoff time without Pressly at 100 percent.

Ryan Pressly To Undergo Knee Surgery, Miss 4-6 Weeks

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The Astros have placed right-hander Ryan Pressly on the 10-day injured list, amidst a series of roster moves.  (MLB.com’s Brian McTaggart was among those to report the news.)  Astros GM Jeff Luhnow told Chandler Rome of the Houston Chronicle and other media that Pressly will miss four-to-six weeks after undergoing arthroscopic knee surgery.

Infielder Jack Mayfield was optioned to Triple-A, while right-hander Joe Biagini was recalled from the minors and third baseman Abraham Toro’s contract has been selected for his Major League debut, as reported earlier today.

This is the second time that Pressly’s right knee has sent him to the IL this season, as he missed about two weeks in late July and early August due to soreness in the joint.  The problem first arose when Pressly was hit in the knee by a ball off the bat of Andrelton Simmons back on July 18, and Luhnow said today that Pressly felt some more soreness after his latest outing.  A previously-undiscovered “small issue” was found after a span of Pressly’s knee, and a surgical procedure seems to have been the decided course of action to fix the problem once and for all.

Luhnow is hopeful that Pressly will be able to return to action before the postseason begins, though the four-to-six timeline will make it a close call if Pressly’s recovery time is anything more than minimal.  It also creates uncertainty as to whether Houston will have arguably its best bullpen arm fully healthy and ready to go come time for the playoffs.

Pressly’s dominant work earned him the first All-Star appearance of his seven-year career, as the righty has a 2.50 ERA, 11.6 K/9, 50.8% grounder rate, and 5.91 K/BB rate over 50 1/3 relief innings this season.  Statcast credits him with the best curveball spin rate of any pitcher in baseball in 2019, and he is also in the 98th percentile of all pitchers in terms of fastball spin.  It’s possible Pressly’s numbers could be even more dominant if it wasn’t for some bad luck with the long ball, as he has a 23.1% home run rate.

Losing Pressly is a big blow to any relief corps, even one as deep and talented as the Astros’ bullpen.  Brad Peacock recently returned from the IL himself to add some extra depth, and Biagini will make a quick return after being optioned to Triple-A just last week.  Aaron Sanchez is currently on the injured list recovering from a pec injury, though once he returns, he is also likely to lineup as a reliever in the postseason since Houston won’t need a fifth starter.

It also wouldn’t be surprising to see the Astros scour the waiver wire for any late pickups, or perhaps try to swing a trade with another team for a pitcher on a minor league contract (players on MLB deals can’t be traded after the July 31 deadline, of course).  While Pressly’s loss isn’t likely to cost the Astros the AL West or anything, the team wants to have as many relief options as possible in preparation for what they hope is a long postseason run, especially if there’s any concern as to whether Pressly will make it back in time.

Astros To Promote Abraham Toro

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The Astros are calling up third base prospect Abraham Toro, according to reporter Jacques Lanciault (Twitter link).  As noted by The Athletic’s Jake Kaplan (Twitter link), it isn’t yet known what corresponding moves will be made to create room for Toro on either the 25-man or 40-man rosters.

As Kaplan observes, the promotion is rather unexpected, as Toro has only 16 Triple-A games under his belt.  However, Toro has absolutely raked in that short amount of time (a 1.112 OPS over 79 plate appearances), and also hit .306/.393/.513 with 16 home runs over 435 Double-A plate appearances this season.

While this breakout at the plate didn’t land Toro a spot on any top-100 prospect lists, MLB Pipeline currently ranks him as the sixth-best prospect in Houston’s farm system.  As per the MLB.com scouting report, many scouts have long considered Toro to be one of the Astros’ best hitting prospects, an evaluation that has seemingly been proven correct by his big 2019 numbers and a strong performance in the 2018 Arizona Fall League.

The 22-year-old Toro was a fifth-round pick for the Astros in the 2016 draft.  The vast majority of his pro experience has come at third base, though with Alex Bregman at the hot corner in Houston, Toro has also played an increasing amount of first base and second base this season.  For his first taste of the big leagues, however, Toro could very well see most of his time at his natural position, as Bregman could slide over to shortstop while Carlos Correa is on the injured list.  Alternatively, Toro could also handle some first base if the Astros use Yuli Gurriel at third base.

Astros Place Aaron Sanchez On Injured List

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TODAY: Right-hander Cy Sneed and shortstop/outfielder Myles Straw will be called up to replace Sanchez and Correa on the 25-man roster, as per multiple reports.

TUESDAY: The Astros have placed right-handed pitcher Aaron Sanchez on the 10-day injured list, according to Brian McTaggart of MLB.com. As expected, he’ll be joined by injured shortstop Carlos Correa. Per McTaggart, manager A.J. Hinch said that Sanchez felt a sore right pectoral during Tuesday’s start, which resulted in a dip in velocity for the starter. A pair of corresponding roster moves will be announced tomorrow.

Following tonight’s game, Sanchez told reporters (including McTaggart) that the pectoral is not a new issue; rather, he’s been experiencing soreness for several starts dating back to his time in Toronto. He’s been trying to pitch through the injury, which finally manifested itself in the form of diminished velocity during Tuesday’s game.

With Sanchez on the shelf, the Astros will once again need to fill the fifth starter spot on the fly. Brad Peacock is at least a theoretical candidate to make a spot start, though it seems that the Astros are intent to keep Peacock in a bullpen role coming off of an injured list stint and the acquisitions of Sanchez and Zack Greinke. More likely would be to see Framber Valdez, Jose Urquidy, or Rogelio Armenteros make a return to the big league roster. All of those three are currently in the minors—that trio has combined to make twelve starts for the Major League club.

Sanchez, after falling out of favor with a Blue Jays organization for whom he was once an All-Star, has engineered an encouraging turnaround with his new club. While he’s made just four starts, his arrival to Houston has given way to important adjustments in his approach—almost certainly not a coincidence, given the Astros’ savvy in maximizing pitchers’ potential. While it’s far too early to draw conclusions about Sanchez’s reformation and viability, his acquisition has the early makings of one that could factor heavily into Houston’s postseason success.

 

Carlos Correa Likely Headed To IL

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Astros shortstop Carlos Correa is likely to land on the 10-day injured list after exiting last night’s game with back discomfort, manager A.J. Hinch told reporters including Brian McTaggart of MLB.com. An official decision won’t be made until later tonight, but Hinch and the Astros are “not optimistic” that the star shortstop, who isn’t available for tonight’s contest, will avoid an IL stint.

Hinch was quick to point out that the team hasn’t seen anything to indicate that Correa’s injury is a serious one, but it will likely take several days to heal fully, a time in which the Astros would prefer to carry a full bench.

While it looks as if Correa’s latest stay on the IL will be a quick one, the injury is nonetheless concerning for the Astros and Correa, who dealt with a back injury last season that cost him six weeks and bothered him into the postseason. Furthermore, it will be the second time the 24-year-old has had to go on the injured list this season, after a fractured rib forced him out of action for nearly two months this summer.

With Correa and reserve shortstop Aledmys Diaz both on the shelf, shortstop duties should fall on Jack Mayfield and Myles Straw, who is currently in the minor leagues but is a candidate to be recalled to replace the ailing Correa. Needless to say, either substitute represents a considerable offensive downgrade from the stellar Correa, who has posted a .914 OPS on the season.

When Correa has been on the diamond, he has been one of the Astros’ most productive offensive players while defending at a premium position. Unfortunately for the former first overall selection, availability has at times eluded Correa, for whom 2019 will mark the third consecutive season in which he will fail to eclipse 110 games played.

 

Carlos Correa Leaves Game With Back Discomfort

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The Astros defeated the Tigers on Monday to improve to 80-46, but the World Series hopefuls didn’t escape unscathed. Star shortstop Carlos Correa left the game with discomfort in his back, the team announced. Manager A.J. Hinch said afterward Correa’s day-to-day, but he admitted: “I don’t like it. It’s not comfortable.” (Twitter links via Mark Berman of Fox 26).

Hinch’s trepidation stems from the fact that back issues have been a past problem for Correa, who missed over a month last summer because of them. With this year’s playoffs just around the corner, a similar absence would be cutting things awfully close for Houston. Plus, the Astros just lost fellow shortstop option Aledmys Diaz to the injured list Sunday, though they’ve passed plenty of tests without him and Correa this season. Both players have spent weeks on the IL to this point, yet the Astros still own what should be an insurmountable eight-game lead in the AL West.

Correa previously suffered a fractured rib in a massage gone wrong May 28, causing him to sit out until July 26. While the Astros managed an impressive 31-19 record during that span, it’s obvious they aren’t at the height of their considerable powers without Correa. The 24-year-old has been brilliant over 310 plate appearances this season, slashing .278/.358/.556 with 19 home runs and 2.9 fWAR.

Tucker Likely To Be Recalled In September, Have Larger Role in 2020

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  • Astros top prospect Kyle Tucker’s wait to return to the big leagues will be over in the near future, writes Jake Kaplan of The Athletic (subscription required). At the very least, the 22-year-old will be in line for a September call-up (perhaps after the Triple-A season ends), and he could factor into Houston’s postseason plans as well, depending on how many pitchers the club plans to carry. Tucker took a professional tone when discussing the fact that he understands why he’s still in Triple-A, given then outfield depth the Astros have on the big league roster, adding: “…obviously, I wish I’d be up there helping out, too.” Tucker’s recent exposure to playing first base came at his own request in an effort to enhance his versatility, Kaplan notes, and that added position could be a ticket to carving out more regular at-bats in the Majors next season. Houston has Josh Reddick, George Springer, Michael Brantley and Jake Marisnick all under control for next season and has Yordan Alvarez, Yuli Gurriel and Aledmys Diaz in the mix as first base/DH options. Despite that wealth of options, though, president of baseball operations Jeff Luhnow has effectively made Tucker off limits when other teams have inquired about his availability, signaling that he’ll eventually be leaned upon as a key contributor in the Astros’ lineup.
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