Lance McCullers Jr. Diagnosed With Forearm Strain
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
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
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
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
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.
Lance McCullers To Have Elbow Examined
Houston’s the only team in the majors that has used the same five starting pitchers all season, but that may be on the verge of changing. Right-hander Lance McCullers Jr. left his start against the Dodgers on Saturday in the fifth inning with discomfort in his pitching elbow, the team announced. McCullers will head back to Houston on Sunday for a medical examination, Brian McTaggart of MLB.com was among those to report.
McCullers cruised during his abbreviated outing Saturday in what proved to be a rout for the reigning champion Astros, who rolled to a 14-0 victory over their World Series opponent from 2017. The 24-year-old tossed four innings of scoreless, two-hit ball, also notching five strikeouts against two walks. But McCullers was unable to throw a single pitch in the fifth, and he told reporters after the game that there was “some abnormal soreness and stiffness” around his forearm.
Forearm issues often serve as a precursor to Tommy John surgery, a procedure McCullers hasn’t undergone to this point. The fourth-year man hasn’t been the picture of durability in the majors, though, having dealt with elbow and shoulder troubles in 2016 before going on the disabled list twice on account of back problems last year. He has only gone past the 125-inning mark twice in a season, including his career-best 126 frames in 2018.
Despite his injuries, McCullers has always posted strong production, which has continued this year with a 3.93 ERA/3.57 FIP, 9.86 K/9 and 3.57 BB/9 and a 54.8 percent groundball rate. That type of output won’t be easy for the Astros to replace if McCullers does land on the shelf, though the team’s rotation would still be a loaded group without him, evidenced by the unit’s league-leading ERA (3.00) and fWAR (16.2). Statistically, McCullers has been the worst of the Astros’ starters this year, but that’s less a knock on him than a compliment to the work Justin Verlander, Gerrit Cole, Charlie Morton and Dallas Keuchel have done.
Now, if Houston does lose McCullers, it’s unclear how the team would fill out its rotation. Fellow Astros righties Collin McHugh and Brad Peacock each bring plenty of starting experience, but they’ve been entrenched in bullpen roles all season and, with a few exceptions, have typically worked a maximum of two innings per appearance. Other 40-man options include Triple-A starters Brady Rodgers and Francis Martes, though neither looks ready for the big leagues right now. Rodgers has struggled in his first action since undergoing TJ surgery last year, and Martes is on the mend from elbow issues of his own.
At the Double-A level and not on the 40-man roster, the Astros have one of the premier pitching prospects in baseball in towering righty Forrest Whitley. However, he’s also working back from an injury (a strained oblique) and has only amassed 35 2/3 innings above the Single-A level since 2017. Astros manager A.J. Hinch did suggest last week that Whitley could garner consideration for a September promotion, though (via Christian Boutwell and Alyson Footer of MLB.com). In the meantime, Houston’s hope is that McCullers won’t miss any time – let alone a substantial amount – as it continues trying to maintain or build on its five-game lead over the Athletics in the AL West.
Injury Notes: Deal Medicals, Matz, Devenski, Nicasio, Kinsler
WEEI.com’s Rob Bradford took an interesting look at changes that have been made to the process of assessing health in trades. The 2016 Drew Pomeranz swap, and more particularly the fallout from it, sparked the development of a much more robust system for documenting and assessing medical matters. While thee’s obviously an advantage in enhancing the scrutiny, it also leads to what Bradford calls a “tremendously tedious process.”
Here’s the latest on some injury situations around the league:
- The Mets announced today that they have placed lefty Steven Matz on the 10-day disabled list with a flexor pronator strain. That sounds a bit frightening, though indications are that it’s not a terribly concerning injury situation. Still, any arm troubles are somewhat more worrisome for a young hurler that has experienced so many already since his 2015 debut. Matz, who will be replaced on the active roster by right-hander Corey Oswalt, joins Phillip Evans on the shelf. The 25-year-old infielder suffered a non-displaced fracture of his tibia, though it is perhaps still possible he’ll be able to return to action this season.
- The Astros have placed reliever Chris Devenski on the 10-day disabled list with left hamstring tightness, the club announced. He’ll be replaced on the active roster by southpaw Cionel Perez. Devenski had been cruising through another dominant season before he imploded very recently. Devenski had a 1.32 ERA as of July 1st, but has since allowed 13 earned runs in seven outings — including eight without recording an out over his past two appearances. Clearly, something isn’t quite right, so the ‘Stros will give him a chance to get back to full health before the stretch run.
- Also heading to the DL is Mariners righty Juan Nicasio, the team announced. He’ll be replaced by reliever Chasen Bradford. Knee problems have been an issue for the 31-year-old Nicasio this year. He’s now sporting a 6.00 ERA through 42 frames on the season, though he’s also carrying a sparkling 53:5 K/BB ratio.
- Just-acquired Red Sox second baseman Ian Kinsler is likewise set to hit the DL after leaving tonight’s game with a tight hamstring, Bradford tweets. The seriousness isn’t yet apparent, but it doesn’t appear to be a major source of concern. Kinsler will be replaced for the time being by infielder Tony Renda.
Astros Acquire Roberto Osuna, Send Ken Giles To Blue Jays
The Astros have struck a deal to acquire relief pitcher Roberto Osuna from the Blue Jays, as Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic first reported (links to Twitter). Former Astros closer Ken Giles is heading to Toronto along with righties Hector Perez and David Paulino. The Jays announced that they’ve designated righty Oliver Drake for assignment and moved Josh Donaldson to the 60-day disabled list in order to clear roster space for Giles and Paulino, each of whom is on the 40-man roster.
This is a rather jarring swap that’ll surely ignite quite a reaction. Both of these pitchers have been working at Triple-A recently, for rather different reasons, despite generally excellent track records in the majors.
Osuna is currently pitching on a rehab assignment while serving a suspension under the MLB-MLBPA Joint Domestic Violence, Sexual Assault and Child Abuse policy. He is also still facing domestic assault charges in Canada for alleged crimes against his girlfriend.
Up until his arrest in early May, Osuna was widely regarded as one of the game’s most exciting and valuable young relief pitchers. He was in typically excellent form to begin the present season, as he has been ever since breaking into the majors at the start of 2015. Osuna has worked as the Toronto closer for much of that time, accumulating 104 saves in 223 innings.
Despite the fact that Osuna is still in legal limbo for a despicable alleged crime, the defending World Series champions have decided to add him to their relief corps. The 23-year-old will be eligible to return from his suspension on August 5th and will not be precluded from participating in the postseason. (Unlike the rules involving players banned for PEDs, domestic violence-related bans do not come with limitations on the playoffs.) That said, his legal situation could still theoretically impact his availability, owing to trial involvement, potential prison time, and travel issues.
Houston GM Jeff Luhnow and Osuna have each released statements (via Mark Berman of FOX 26, Twitter links). Luhnow says the team is “confident that Osuna is remorseful, has willfully complied with all consequences related to his past behavior, has proactively engaged in counseling, and will fully comply with our zero tolerance policy relate to abuse of any kind.” Notably, there’s no specification of just what “past behavior” is at issue. Osuna, meanwhile, stated that he is excited to play for the team, but did not even reference his alleged malfeasance.
As for Giles, 27, his recent problems have been tied more closely to his performance on the mound. He had maintained a typically strong mix of strikeouts and walks (31:3) in his 30 2/3 innings to open the season and only allowed a pair of long balls. Yet Giles was also tagged for 17 earned runs on 36 base hits.
The struggles came to a head earlier this month, as Giles was pulled from an appearance and perhaps offered some choice words for his skipper. Regardless of just what happened, the decision was made that some time in the minors was on order for a reliever who had limped to a 4.99 ERA. It didn’t help, surely, that Giles struggled during the Astros’ World Series run.
There’s still plenty to like about Giles, of course. He’s averaging about 98 mph with his fastball and maintaining an excellent 16.4% swinging-strike rate, in line with his career numbers. He has never before been so stingy with free passes. While there has certainly been a rise in the hard contact Giles has surrendered, the tools seem to remain in place for a turnaround.
Though the two players’ once-similar paths have diverged in other ways, they remain a near-perfect match in terms of contract situations. Both are headed for free agency after the 2020 season. Giles is earning a bit less than Osuna this year ($4.6MM vs. $5.3MM), but those salaries will likely even out this fall since the former will have logged quite a few more MLB innings than the latter.
From a baseball perspective, Osuna seems clearly to be the most talented player in this deal. He has no real blemishes on his pitching record and could well be a critical piece of the Astros’ attempt to hang another banner while still maintaining its store of prospect capital. Of course, there’s also an unsavory reason that the club was able to achieve such potential value.
It seems the Blue Jays, in the midst of a failed season, decided to get what they could for a disgraced player. Though the team suggested otherwise publicly, MLB.com’s Jon Morosi tweets that the Jays had decided already to trade Osuna rather than allow him back on their active roster.
Giles certainly seems a worthwhile player to take a chance on, but the other pieces are notable as well. Paulino will bring his own baggage up north, as his once-bright prospect star faded after a PED suspension last year. He also had bone spurs removed from his elbow last fall and has been limited to seven appearances in the minors. He has allowed 11 earned runs in 18 Triple-A frames, but has also recorded a healthy 23:5 K/BB ratio.
Perez is another fairly advanced hurler of note. He has handed out far too many walks during his time on the Houston farm, but has also shown some swing and miss ability. Perez recently moved up to the Double-A level. In 89 1/3 total frames on the year, most at High-A, he’s carrying a 3.73 ERA with 10.2 K/9 and 4.8 BB/9. While there’s obviously some polish still needed, Perez has drawn plaudits from prospect hounds who love his pure stuff and think he could potentially still harness his command enough to make it into a MLB rotation — or, if not, turn into a nice high-leverage bullpen piece.
As for the corresponding moves made by Toronto, the DFA of Drake comes as little surprise, given that the righty was only recently claimed off waivers last week and had made just two appearances with the Blue Jays — his fourth MLB organization of the season. He’ll be traded, outrighted or released within the week. Moving Donaldson to the 60-day DL is merely a procedeural move; he’s not expected back until next month anyhow and will have missed far more than the requisite 60 days in total by the time he’s ready for activation.
Photos courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Indians Focused On Adding Center Fielder
The Indians are “focused” on adding a center fielder in the 23 hours leading up to Tuesday’s non-waiver trade deadline, tweets ESPN’s Buster Olney. His colleague, Jerry Crasnick, offered plenty of additional insight into the matter earlier this morning as well (all Twitter links).
As Crasnick points out, the market for center field upgrades is fairly limited in nature. Adam Jones reportedly isn’t planning on waiving his 10-and-5 rights to approve a trade away from the Orioles, Billy Hamilton is once again having a dreadful season at the plate, and Leonys Martin has battled injuries while struggling at the plate recently. Crasnick lists Houston’s Jake Marisnick as a potential rebound candidate who could pique the Indians’ interest, though the Astros have no plans of merely giving him away, and Marisnick isn’t hitting well at all in 2018.
Looking beyond that group, the Rays and Marlins would surely be open to deals involving respective outfielders Carlos Gomez and Cameron Maybin, though neither is performing well at the plate this season (especially in Gomez’s case). Speculating further, the Padres have a number of outfielders on the roster, and 27-year-old Travis Jankowski could conceivably be moved given San Diego’s depth. He’s not hitting especially well in 2018, either, but has gotten on base at a respectable clip and has a solid defensive reputation.
The Cleveland outfield has been slammed by injuries in 2018, as Bradley Zimmer is done for the year due to shoulder surgery while Lonnie Chisenhall will be sidelined into September by a calf issue. The Indians also just lost Tyler Naquin to a hip injury, only furthering the team’s need to add to the outfield. While there’s been speculation about the possibility of Cleveland adding a second baseman such as Minnesota’s Brian Dozier in order to shift Jason Kipnis to center field, Olney suggests a conventional addition of a more experienced center fielder to be a likelier option.
Astros Place Jose Altuve On DL
The Astros have placed second baseman Jose Altuve on the 10-day disabled list, retroactive to July 26, Brian McTaggart of MLB.com tweets. Altuve has been dealing with right knee soreness over the past few days.
Altuve hasn’t played since Wednesday, thus depriving the reigning world champion Astros of their much-ballyhooed double-play tandem of him and shortstop Carlos Correa, who’s also on the DL. A back injury has kept Correa out of action for just over a month, and he’s unlikely to return until sometime next month. Nevertheless, at 67-39, Houston continues to boast a 4 1/2-game lead over second-place Seattle in the American League West.
As has been the case over the past few seasons, the Astros’ success this year has come thanks in large part to Altuve. Last year’s AL MVP winner, Altuve has batted .329/.392/.464 with nine home runs and 14 stolen bases over 454 plate appearances in 2018. He’s also in the midst of his fifth straight season of at least 4.0 fWAR, having notched exactly that amount thus far. Altuve’s loss is obviously significant for Houston, then, though the 28-year-old suggested to reporters (via McTaggart) that his injury isn’t serious. Regardless, this marks Altuve’s first trip to the DL since the six-time All-Star debuted in the majors in 2011, and it should open the door for Marwin Gonzalez to handle second for as long as he’s out.