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West Links: Maeda, Stripling, Padres, Skaggs, Astros, Rangers

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Some items from both the NL and AL West divisions…

  • The Dodgers are moving Kenta Maeda and Ross Stripling to the bullpen, manager Dave Roberts told reporters (including The Athletic’s Pedro Moura and the Los Angeles Times’ Andy McCullough).  The club was facing a rotation overload with Alex Wood and Hyun-Jin Ryu both coming off the DL this week, though Stripling’s role change is a bit of a surprise given how well he has pitched.  Roberts said he hopes to let Stripling start again at some point this season, though the Dodgers have a greater need in the bullpen with Kenley Jansen on the DL for the near future.  Maeda has also pitched well this year, though he “appears there [the bullpen] to stay,” McCullough said.  It’s probably safe to assume that the team’s pitching plans will continue to remain somewhat fluid, given how Dodgers seem to be constantly dealing with injuries, yet they also get consistently good results from just about everyone they slot into the rotation.
  • Baseball America recently released its updated organizational talent rankings, rating all 30 teams on the quality and depth of prospects in their minor league pipelines.  The Padres took the #1 spot, rising from third place in BA’s previous ranking from earlier in the season.  San Diego is deep enough is both pitching and position player prospects that “general manager A.J. Preller’s biggest task is sorting out which prospects are keepers and which ones should be traded to speed the big league club’s rebuild.”  The full 30-team ranking is available to Baseball America subscribers.
  • The Angels announced that left-hander Tyler Skaggs has been placed on the 10-day DL due to a left adductor strain, with righty Eduardo Paredes called up from Triple-A in a corresponding move.  Skaggs was only just activated yesterday from a DL stint with the same injury, and he also missed time in July due to a problem with his right adductor.  No stranger to injuries throughout his career, Skaggs has already tossed a career-high 116 2/3 innings this season, posting a 3.78 ERA, 3.51 K/BB rate, and 9.5 K/9.
  • Astros manager A.J. Hinch provided some updates on injured players to reporters today, including MLB.com’s Christian Boutwell (Twitter links).  Chris Devenski and Brian McCann are on pace to begin rehab assignments soon, while outfielder Jake Marisnick is facing a lengthy absence after being placed on the DL yesterday with a groin injury.  Marisnick will be out of action for “at least for the next few weeks,” Hinch said, possibly not returning until the September roster expansion.
  • The Rangers’ “de-load” program for pitching prospects focuses on “acclimation, education and, they hope, injury prevention,” for these prized young arms, Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News writes.  The idea behind the program is to help better prepare these minor leaguers, some of whom are just out of high school, as they begin their careers in professional baseball.  This includes sessions on everything from physical fitness to charting pitches to even just how to conduct oneself in a clubhouse.  Interestingly, there isn’t much actual pitching (whether in practice or games) involved in this program.  “Let’s get their bodies and minds right on a daily basis so that when they are ready to pitch, they’ve got building blocks,” said Paul Kruger, Rangers assistant director of player development.  “We wanted something that could be used to build a better routine from Day One.”

Injury Notes: Wright, Trout, Altuve, Judge, Bryant

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In a rare piece of encouraging news for the woebegone Mets, the team announced that injured third baseman David Wright will begin a rehab assignment on Sunday, when he’ll play five innings for the club’s Class-A affiliate in St. Lucie. It’s not clear whether the 35-year-old Wright has a real chance to return this season, but if he does come back, it would be one of the greatest triumphs of the 2018 campaign. After all, a laundry list of upper body injuries limited Wright to just 75 appearances from 2015-16 and have completely kept him out of MLB action over the past couple years. The seven-time All-Star hasn’t appeared in a major league game since May 27, 2016, or a minor league contest since Aug. 26, 2017.

Catching up on other notable injury news from around the majors…

  • The Angels placed center fielder Mike Trout on the 10-day disabled list Friday, retroactive to Aug. 6, with right wrist inflammation, Maria Guardado of MLB.com was among those to report. Trout’s balky wrist has kept him out of action since Aug. 1, perhaps derailing the perennial MVP candidate’s chances of taking home his third such award in 2018.
  • Speaking of AL MVPs, last year’s winner, Astros second baseman Jose Altuve, has been out since July 26 with right knee soreness. Unfortunately, Altuve will remain on the shelf at least through the Astros’ current homestand, which ends Aug. 15, per Chandler Rome of the Houston Chronicle. The Astros’ middle infield did get some good news Friday when shortstop Carlos Correa returned from a lower back injury that kept him on ice for six weeks.
  • Continuing with the theme of injured AL superstars, Yankees right fielder Aaron Judge is getting “better and better every day,” manager Aaron Boone informed George A. King III of the New York Post and other reporters Friday. Boone added he’s “optimistic” that Judge, who has been unavailable since July 26 with a chip fracture in his right wrist, will progress to picking up a bat “in the next couple of days.” New York has struggled to replace the great Judge, evidenced by its consistent use of the underwhelming Shane Robinson in the outfield during the slugger’s absence.
  • Cubs third baseman Kris Bryant, out since July 26 with left shoulder inflammation, told Patrick Mooney of The Athletic and other reporters Saturday that he “absolutely” expects to return in 2018. In order to preserve his body, Bryant noted that he “plans to alter his gameday routine,” writes Mooney, who adds that the 26-year-old would like to play until he’s 40.

AL Central Notes: Martin, Santana, Perez

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The Indians have not given much indication as to the medical issue that forced just-acquired outfielder Leonys Martin to the disabled list, but indications are that it’s a rather concerning health matter of some kind. As Paul Hoynes of the Plain Dealer writes, manager Terry Francona explained yesterday that Martin does not wish to publicize details of his situation at present, but the 30-year-old ballplayer is presently receiving treatment at the Cleveland Clinic. MLBTR joins those around the game in extending its best wishes to Martin and his family. We hope to see him back to full health as soon as possible.

Here are some other recent notes from the American League Central:

  • Twins righty Ervin Santana had some choice words for the front office after his start last night, as Mike Berardino of the St. Paul Pioneer-Press reports. Santana suggested that the organizational higher-ups have given up on the team despite the fact that the players are still “not giving upon” on the season. “They took our pieces away, and it’s difficult to play without our good pieces,” said the veteran hurler. It’s hard to argue with his characterization, of course, as the Twins have dealt away multiple quality veterans. Frankly, though, that has seemed an advisable course given the roster’s struggles in advance of the trade deadline. Santana himself could end up on the move, though he has struggled through four starts since returning from a lengthy stint on the disabled list.
  • Katie Strang of The Athletic took a worthwhile look at Tigers prospect Franklin Perez in a subscription piece. His injury-riddled campaign has impacted the team’s broader rebuilding efforts, as it has robbed one of the organization’s most promising players of a key season. While it’s never good to hear of lat and shoulder issues in a pitcher, the Detroit front office remains bullish on Perez. Fortunately, too, the organization is relatively rich in quality pitching prospects. Strang explains that the hope is to get him back to full health over the offseason, then launch him at Double-A to open the year. The post includes a lengthy chat with Astros international guru Oz Ocampo, who explains that Perez was “pretty much a finished product” from the time he entered the Houston system. Perez, of course, headlined the return in last August’s Justin Verlander swap.

Quick Hits: Bumgarner, Strasburg, Correa, Happ

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Kerry Crowley of The Mercury News boldly calls Madison Bumgarner’s contract situation the Giants’ “elephant in the room”. Crowley wonders whether Bumgarner must be traded in order to spark a rebuild for the club, who failed to make any significant moves at the trade deadline and now sit at 57-58 on the season after struggling to the league’s worst record last year (tied with the Tigers, of course). Whether the club ultimately decides to “rebuild or remodel”, Bumgarner’s the only player on the roster whose contract might warrant teams forking over a significant prospect return; something an aging Giants team could certainly use. Crowley describes Bumgarner’s future as “uncertain” in the amidst a mediocre team with a gargantuan payroll.

More on a few interesting items from around MLB this evening…

  • The Nationals received some welcome news on Stephen Strasburg today, as the right-hander reportedly “felt good” after tossing a 42-pitch bullpen session. According to Jorge Castillo of the Washington Post, he’s likely to throw another one tomorrow and could potentially embark upon a rehab assignment soon thereafter. He’s been on the DL since June 26th with a cervical nerve impingement, but on the bright side he was cleared of any structural damage in his shoulder shortly thereafter.
  • The Astros appear to be even closer to getting a valuable asset back on the field, as Carlos Correa was spotted at Minute Maid Park today, with Christian Boutwell of MLB.com among those eye witnesses. Though he was inactive for today’s game, the former Rookie of the Year shortstop believes he could be back on the field as soon as tomorrow. Correa’s having a down season by his standards, hitting .268/.352/.480 with a slightly-bloated 24.4% strikeout rate.
  • The Yankees, for their part, already got a notable player back from the DL. J.A. Happ was activated today, filling the roster spot left vacant after they optioned Chance Adams to Triple-A last night. Happ’s been on the DL with hand, foot and mouth disease for the past week plus, but will return to the rotation and attempt to provide the value the Bombers envisioned when they traded Brandon Drury and Billy McKinney in order to obtain him. Happ’s posted a 4.05 ERA through 21 starts

Pirates Claim Buddy Boshers, Designate Chris Bostick

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The Pirates have claimed lefty reliever Buddy Boshers off waivers from the Astros. Paul Braverman (Communications Personnnel for the Fresno Grizzlies) originally announced the move, and the Astros have since confirmed.

Boshers, who has exactly 100 major league appearances to his name since his debut in 2013, has been stuck with the club’s Triple-A affiliate all season. There, he’s struck out an impressive 9.71 batters per nine innings against just 2.65 walks per nine across 41 appearances. The performance result is a 3.18 ERA (with a more ordinary 3.84 FIP), though that doesn’t entirely describe his value. Boshers has actually pitched 51 innings across those 41 appearances, implying he’s been relied upon to get more than three outs on several occasions.

The Pirates will be Boshers’ third team already this season. Though he began the year with the Twins, they barely waited half a month into 2018 before designating him for assignment (in order to make room for offseason signee Addison Reed). Though the Astros claimed him and used a 40-man roster spot to house him throughout the entire season, they evidently decided that he was either expendable or deserved a major-league opportunity elsewhere. Boshers has certainly proved that he warrants at least a chance to prove himself at the major league level once again.

Bostick, 25, made his major league debut only last season, when he collected eight hits and four walks in 32 plate appearances  while being hit by a pitch en route to a .406 OBP. Evidently the Pirates didn’t feel as though he’d be a useful piece this season, as they’ve given him just two major league at-bats in 2018 despite a respectable .295/.351/.436 batting line across 327 PA at the Triple-A level. Capable of playing second base and the outfield, it seems likely that the 5’10” right-handed hitter will latch on with another major league club following his placement on the waiver wire.

Lance McCullers Jr. Diagnosed With Forearm Strain

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Astros starter Lance McCullers Jr. has been diagnosed with a muscle strain in his right forearm, Chandler Rome of the Houston Chronicle reports on Twitter. McCullers had already been placed on the 10-day disabled list.

The 24-year-old McCullers has worked to a 3.93 ERA with 9.9 K/9 and 3.6 BB/9 through a personal-high 126 innings on the season. He is earning $2.45MM this year as a Super Two.

While this diagnosis certainly isn’t the best news, it’s also not the worst. McCullers is said to be likely to miss the remainder of the month of August, but it appears there is good reason to hope he’ll be able to return during the present season.

That’s not to say that McCullers and the ’Astros are out of the woods just yet. Any setbacks could threaten his availability down the stretch and in the postseason. And, in the long run, this is the latest of several injury issues that have combined to limit him to 199 2/3 innings over the prior two campaigns.

Focusing on the immediate picture, the Astros have several former starters working in their bullpen in Collin McHugh and Brad Peacock, though both are excelling in their current roles. Youngster Cionel Perez, who’s currently also in the MLB relief corps, could be among the internal options. It’s certainly also possible that the club could pursue a depth option on the August trade market, though a few possibilities have already left the shelves.

Astros To Place George Springer On 10-Day DL

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The Astros will place outfielder George Springer on the 10-day disabled list due to a left thumb sprain, with MLB.com’s Brian McTaggart (Twitter link) and others reporting the news.  Derek Fisher will be called up to take Springer’s spot on the 25-man roster, as The Athletic’s Robert Murray tweeted earlier today.

Springer suffered the injury yesterday, when his thumb was clipped by the glove of Dodgers shortstop Chris Taylor while Springer was attempting to steal second base.  X-rays taken yesterday on Springer’s thumb were negative, and he is only expected to miss around two weeks, as he avoided a more serious UCL sprain.

[Updated Astros depth chart at Roster Resource]

Still, even two weeks without the star outfielder is an issue for an Astros team that is suddenly missing several of its most notable names due to injury.  Springer joins Jose Altuve, Carlos Correa, Chris Devenski, Lance McCullers Jr. and Brian McCann on the disabled list, with only Correa potentially close to a return.  Houston’s lead over the streaking Athletics in the AL West has shrunk to just four games, so the Astros could find themselves as active players in the August trade market to bolster themselves down the stretch.  Outfield depth could be of particular concern, as some combination of Fisher, Tony Kemp, and Jake Marisnick will be handling center field and mostly left field duties for the time being.  Utilityman Marwin Gonzalez could also see some action in left field (though he has been filling in for Altuve at second base), while Josh Reddick will hold the fort in right field.

Springer has 19 homers and a .250/.335/.436 slash line over 485 PA this season.  While still solid numbers, they represent the lowest wRC+ (115) over Springer’s five-year career, and a marked step down from his .889 OPS in 2017.  He was off to a strong start to the year before hitting a prolonged slump in mid-June, as Springer has hit just .175/.281/.312 over his last 180 plate appearances.  Some bad luck has been involved, as Springer’s .353 xwOBA is notably higher than his .331 wOBA.

Injury Updates: Springer, Altuve, Sale, Devers, Erasmo

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The latest on some injury situations from around baseball…

  • George Springer left today’s game in the third inning with what the Astros described as “left thumb discomfort.”  Springer suffered the injury while sliding into second base on an attempted steal, with manger A.J. Hinch telling MLB.com’s Brian McTaggart (Twitter video link) and other reporters that Springer’s thumb was clipped by the glove of Dodgers shortstop Chris Taylor during the tag.  The severity of the problem isn’t yet known, though McTaggart tweets that Springer’s x-rays were negative.  Jake Marisnick took Springer’s spot in the lineup, and one would think Marisnick or youngsters Kyle Tucker or Derek Fisher would get the bulk of playing time if Springer had to miss significant time.  Losing Springer would be another blow to a Houston team that has suddenly been bit by the injury bug, as such key figures as Lance McCullers Jr., Chris Devenski, and (most of all) Jose Altuve have all been placed on the DL within the last two weeks.
  • Speaking of Altuve, he won’t return from the disabled list after the 10-day minimum, as he’ll instead head to Houston to have his right knee re-examined by team doctors (the Houston Chronicle’s Chandler Rome was among those who reported the news).  The star second baseman hit the DL on July 28, with a backdated placement of July 26, due to knee soreness.  “I don’t know that we can consider it a setback other than we can consider that he needs more time to heal,” A.J. Hinch said, while GM Jeff Luhnow said the team saw the re-examination as a “checkpoint on where [Altuve is] at.”  The absolute earliest Altuve could return is on Thursday for the start of the Astros’ series with the Mariners.
  • Chris Sale will also spend some extra time on the DL, as the Red Sox ace wasn’t listed as a probable starter during Boston’s three-game series in Toronto from Tuesday to Thursday.  (MassLive.com’s Christopher Smith was among those with the information.)  Mild shoulder inflammation sent Sale to the DL on July 31 (retroactive to July 28), and the expectation was that Sale would only miss one start, with a return targeted for Wednesday’s game.  Instead, Brian Johnson will take the hill for the Sox against the Blue Jays.
  • The Red Sox could get third baseman Rafael Devers back for that Wednesday game, as the Boston Herald’s Jason Mastrodonato tweets that Devers will rejoin the team in Toronto after playing in a minor league rehab game on Monday.  A hamstring strain sent Devers to the DL on July 28, and Wednesday is the first day he is eligible to return.  Devers also missed some time earlier this month with shoulder inflammation.  The young slugger has been inconsistent (.245/.295/.425 in 396 PA) over his first full Major League season, and his particular struggles against left-handed pitching could put Devers in platoon duty down the stretch rather than an everyday role at third base.
  • Erasmo Ramirez is slated for a rehab outing today and is expected to rejoin the Mariners sometime this week, the Seattle Times’ Ryan Divish writes.  Ramirez has been sidelined since April recovering from a teres major strain, and has only made two appearances this season after another DL stint (lat strain) to begin the 2018 campaign.  It isn’t yet clear if Ramirez will work as a starter or reliever when he is activated, as his role could hinge on whether the struggling Felix Hernandez can get on track.

Quick Hits: Realmuto, Marlins, Astros, Red Sox, Angels, Eloy

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Along with the previously reported Nationals, the Astros had interest in Marlins catcher J.T. Realmuto prior to the July 31 non-waiver trade deadline, according to Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe. Both teams’ interest in Realmuto dates back to at least last offseason, but neither they nor anyone else have been able to pry the star backstop out of Miami. Instead of Realmuto, the Astros ended up acquiring the much less exciting Martin Maldonado from the Angels before the deadline. He’s backing up Max Stassi, who has emerged as the Astros’ starter since Brian McCann underwent knee surgery a month ago. Stassi got off to a great offensive start this year before cooling off significantly over the past couple months, though he is having an elite season behind the plate.

  • The Red Sox inquired about Marlins closer Kyle Barraclough before the deadline, but Boston ultimately “backed off,” Cafardo writes. Barraclough wound up staying with the Marlins, who placed a high asking price on the flamethrowing right-hander. The 28-year-old hasn’t been good of late, as his ERA has skyrocketed from .99 to 3.28 since the beginning of July, but he still comes with a quality track record and affordable team control. As a result, the Marlins elected to keep Barraclough, who will make his first of three possible trips through arbitration during the winter.
  • In an interestingly timed move, the Angels announced Sunday that special assistant Eric Chavez will manage their Triple-A team in Salt Lake for the rest of the season. Previous manager Keith Johnson will finish the year on the Angels’ coaching staff, and GM Billy Eppler said Sunday that the Halos want him to work with their young infielders (Twitter link via Mike DiGiovanna of the Los Angeles Times). The decision to replace Johnson with Chavez raised eyebrows, though, given that the latter has come up as a potential replacement for Angels skipper Mike Scioscia, who’s reportedly going to retire at the end of the season. The 40-year-old Chavez, a longtime major league third baseman, had never managed at any level until the Angels handed him the Triple-A reins.
  • Standout White Sox outfield prospect Eloy Jimenez is “getting really close” to earning a major league promotion, director of player development Chris Getz said Sunday (via 670 The Score, on Twitter). The 21-year-old Jimenez, whom Baseball America, MLB.com and FanGraphs all regard as the game’s third-best prospect, has hit an astounding .376/.425/.679 with eight home runs and a .303 ISO in 120 plate appearances since the White Sox moved him to Triple-A Charlotte in late June.

Astros Reinstate Roberto Osuna, Place Lance McCullers On DL

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2:30pm: Houston issued a statement Sunday in regards to acquiring Osuna, all of which is available here via the team’s Twitter account. Here’s a portion of it: “Our decision to acquire Roberto was based on the entirety of information that we gathered during our extensive evaluation. That included as much information as we could gather about the specific incident and the charges that were filed but it also included as much information as we could gather about his actions before and after the incident, as well as his personal reputation among his former teammates and coaches. The information regarding this specific incident weighed heavily on our decision but when evaluating the entirety of the information, we felt that Roberto deserved a second chance.”

12:12pm: The Astros have reinstated reliever Roberto Osuna from the restricted list and sent starter Lance McCullers Jr. to the 10-day DL with right elbow discomfort, per a team announcement.

Osuna is now in position to make his debut with Houston, which acquired him in a headline-grabbing deal on the eve of the July 31 non-waiver trade deadline. To land Osuna, the Astros gave up three players – including their former closer, Ken Giles – in a move that hasn’t been received all that well from Houston’s point of view. While Osuna has been an excellent reliever since debuting in 2015, the 23-year-old’s career may be forever tarnished by an early May arrest on a domestic assault charge. Major League Baseball then issued Osuna a 75-game suspension, which he’s just returning from now.

Although Osuna has served MLB’s punishment, he’s not out of legal hot water in Canada. Osuna had a court date on Aug. 1, though there was no resolution at that hearing and he has another one scheduled for Sept. 5, Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet reported earlier this week. It’s not clear, then, whether Osuna will even be available toward the end of the season as the playoff-bound Astros vie for their second straight World Series title.

From solely an on-field standpoint, the Osuna addition figures to help the Astros’ cause. Osuna was a lights-out closer during his 223-inning Toronto tenure, saving 104 games on 124 tries and logging a 2.87 ERA.

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