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West Notes: Miller, Kershaw, Graterol, Scherzer

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The Dodgers have suffered more than their fair share of injuries this season, but they have received several positive updates in recent days. For one, young right-hander Bobby Miller could soon rejoin the rotation. After a strong rookie season in 2023, Miller has missed most of his sophomore campaign with a shoulder injury. However, his latest rehab appearance last Friday went well, and afterward, manager Dave Roberts suggested Miller could be ready to return without another rehab start – although, as more time passes without an update, it seems that Miller will likely make one final rehab start after all (per MLB.com)

Miller allowed seven runs on 11 hits and six walks over 11 2/3 innings across his first three starts in 2024 before landing on the IL. However, he is coming off a breakout 2023 season in which he pitched to a 3.76 ERA and 3.93 SIERA over 22 starts (124 1/3 innings). Still just 25 years old, he looks to be a fixture in the Dodgers rotation for years to come.

The Dodgers currently have a starting five of Tyler Glasnow, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Gavin Stone, James Paxton, and Walker Buehler, so they don’t need to rush Miller back from the IL. That said, with no off days in their schedule until June 23, the Dodgers could certainly use a sixth starter to help shoulder the workload.

More injury updates from around the NL and AL West…

  • Sticking with Dodgers starting pitchers, Clayton Kershaw could soon begin a minor league rehab assignment of his own. The long-time Dodgers ace has yet to pitch this season after undergoing shoulder surgery last November. However, Jack Harris of the Los Angeles Times reported on Saturday that Kershaw was scheduled to throw a third simulated game, and after that, he could be ready to start a rehab assignment. This seems to put him on track to come back sometime next month. “Sometime in July” was always considered the earliest possible timeline for Kershaw’s return.
  • Meanwhile, Bill Plunkett of the Orange County Register reports that reliever Brusdar Graterol will throw a bullpen session this week. The right-hander has been out since spring training with a shoulder injury, and he suffered a setback in late April, forcing him to shut down his throwing program. Graterol played a key role in the Dodgers bullpen last season, pitching to a 1.20 ERA and 3.31 SIERA over 68 appearances, racking up seven saves, 19 holds, and leading the pitching staff in Win Probability Added (WPA).
  • Finally, moving over to the American League, Max Scherzer could rejoin the Rangers rotation as soon as next week (per Jeff Wilson of Rangers Today). The three-time Cy Young winner is scheduled to make a third rehab start on Friday, after which he could be ready to return to the majors. His second rehab appearance went well, and barring a setback, his outing with Triple-A Round Rock on Friday could be the last rehab start he needs. Wilson reports that Scherzer could make his 2024 debut as early as June 19, although he suggests the Rangers could opt to give Scherzer some extra rest, pushing his start back to June 21.

Rangers Notes: Scherzer, Gray, Jung

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TODAY: Scherzer began his rehab assignment today, tossing 53 pitches over four scoreless innings for Triple-A Round Rock.  As noted by Shawn McFarland of the Dallas Morning News, Scherzer’s sinker was averaging 93mph, and he threw the pitch 22 times among his 53 overall offerings while allowing only one hit and one walk in the five-strikeout outing.  The Rangers plan to build Scherzer up to a 75-pitch count before evaluating whether or not he might be ready to return to the majors.

JUNE 8: The Rangers activated right-hander Jon Gray from the 10-day injured list this afternoon, just over two weeks after he was initially shelved due to a groin strain. That quick turnaround has left Gray not fully stretched out to start, and Evan Grant of The Dallas Morning News wrote this afternoon that the right-hander would be eased back into his role with the club in a relief role before later rejoining the starting mix. According to Grant, the decision to first use Gray in relief before adding him back to the rotation mix his next time up allowed the Rangers to skip a minor league rehab stint for the 32-year-old hurler.

That plan came to pass this evening, as Gray pitched 2 1/3 scoreless frames in relief of Andrew Heaney during this evening’s loss to the Giants. Regardless of the role he’s pitching in, Gray’s return figures to provide a huge boost to the Rangers pitching staff. After all, the righty boasted a 2.21 ERA and 2.52 FIP in 57 frames at the time of his placement on the IL with a solid 23.7% strikeout rate and a 44.4% groundball rate that represents his best work since joining the Rangers prior to the 2021 season. With starters Jacob deGrom, Max Scherzer, Cody Bradford, and Tyler Mahle all currently in the midst of lengthy absences, Gray’s speedy return from the shelf figures to be key for the Rangers as they look to get themselves back into the hunt for the postseason. The club has scuffled in recent weeks and currently sports a 30-34 record that puts them five games back of the Mariners for the AL West crown and three games out of the final AL Wild Card spot.

Fortunately, Gray isn’t the only key player who could return from injury in the near future. Grant also relays that third baseman Josh Jung, who has been shelved for the majority of the season due to a broken wrist, has begun taken live batting practice and could be slated for a rehab assignment as soon as this coming Tuesday. Grant adds that Rangers brass are expected to set a schedule for Jung tomorrow that could firm up those plans.

Jung made it into just four games with the Rangers before he was sidelined this year, but he was hitting a scorching .412/.474/.941 in that microscopic sample size before the injury put him out of action. Since the start of Jung’s 2023 campaign, he’s been a well above average offensive contributor for Texas at third base with a .271/.320/.483 slash line, 26 doubles, and 25 home runs in 534 trips to the plate across just 126 games. Josh Smith has performed well at the hot corner in Jung’s absence, although the 26-year-old’s return from the injured list would still improve the club’s offense by allowing the team to push Ezequiel Duran and his 92 wRC+ into a bench role.

Turning back to the pitching staff, veteran ace Max Scherzer also made progress in his rehab earlier this week, as MLB.com’s Injury Tracker notes that he threw 40-50 pitches across two innings of live batting practice earlier this week, with Scherzer himself telling reporters that he hopes to start a minor league rehab assignment soon. It’s been a rocky road to recovery for Scherzer this season as he entered the 2024 campaign projected to return from offseason back surgery around the All Star break before seemingly progressing ahead of schedule. That left him and the Rangers eyeing sometime in May for his return, although a nerve issue in Scherzer’s thumb ultimately required a cortisone shot and caused the club to shut the veteran righty down.

Now that Scherzer is throwing to hitters once again, he appears to be on a similar track to the one he was projected for at the time of his surgery, with a return later this month or in early July now a seemingly realistic target so long as he avoids additional setbacks. After being swapped from the Mets to the Rangers in exchange for Luisangel Acuna last summer, the future Hall of Famer pitched to a 3.20 ERA and 3.41 FIP in eight starts for the club down the stretch with an excellent 29.9% strikeout rate but dealt with injuries that limited both his availability and his effectiveness during the club’s postseason run that culminated in the first World Series championship in franchise history. Looking ahead, his return to action should further bolster the pitching staff in Texas while allowing the Rangers to shift the likes of Heaney and Jose Urena into relief after early season rotation injuries forced them into starting roles.

AL West Notes: Evans, Seager, Tucker, Athletics

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A few players from the 2023 draft have already made their MLB debuts, and Mariners prospect Logan Evans could potentially be coming soon due to his recent move to relief pitching.  As Adam Jude of the Seattle Times writes, Mariners president of baseball operations Jerry Dipoto recently called Evans with the idea of shifting from the Double-A rotation to the bullpen, since the M’s are currently in the enviable position of having a loaded rotation.  Working as a reliever could put Evans on the fast track to the Show, and give the Mariners an extra hard-throwing arm in an injury-depleted pen.

A 12th-round pick out of Pitt, Evans has a sparkling 1.16 ERA over 54 1/3 innings for Double-A Arkansas this season, with a 23% strikeout rate, 7.4% walk rate, and a 53.6% grounder rate.  MLB Pipeline’s scouting report also notes that the Mariners received trade interest in Evans as early as last offseason, after he posted an 0.60 ERA in his first 15 pro innings.

More from around the AL West…

  • Corey Seager has now missed three straight games since leaving Wednesday’s contest with tightness in his left hamstring, though Rangers manager Bruce Bochy told MLB.com’s Kennedi Landry (X link) and other reporters that Seager is “making progress” and that an IL trip isn’t yet being considered.  Seager himself said he was feeling “fine” today but wasn’t sure if he would be back in the lineup Tuesday for Texas’ next game.  Between the scheduled off-days both tomorrow and last Thursday, Seager might’ve caught a break in having some rest built into the schedule, giving some hope he’ll be ready for Tuesday.
  • Astros star Kyle Tucker was placed on the 10-day IL earlier this week due to a shin contusion, and he expects to be fully off crutches within the next day or two, Tucker told The Athletic’s Chandler Rome (link to X) and other media.  From there, Tucker expects to restart baseball activities soon after, so he could conceivably be a candidate to be activated next week.  It seems as though Tucker and the Astros dodged a bullet in avoiding a more serious injury, which is a relief considering the MVP-caliber numbers Tucker has posted to date this season.
  • The Athletics provided MLB.com’s Martin Gallegos (X link) and other reporters with updates on several injured players, including the news that Ross Stripling and Paul Blackburn are expected to begin throwing within the next week.  Stripling has missed over two weeks due to a flexor strain his right elbow and Blackburn has missed over a month due to a stress reaction on his right foot, though Blackburn’s placement on the 60-day IL means he’ll be out until at least the All-Star break.  Kyle Muller also already started throwing this past week as he continues his recovery from a bout of shoulder tendinitis.  Among the injured position players, Esteury Ruiz (wrist sprain) and Darell Hernaiz (ankle sprain) will start strength programs this week.

Rangers, GM Chris Young Discussing Contract Extension

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Chris Young is nearing the end of his deal with the Rangers, as the executive VP and general manager will be out of contract once the season is over.  The team is taking steps to keep Young in the fold, however, as owner Ray Davis outlined in a statement to Kevin Sherrington of the Dallas Morning News.

“Chris Young and I have been meeting over the last couple of months to discuss a contract extension beyond the 2024 season.  I absolutely want him to continue overseeing baseball operations for the Texas Rangers for many years to come,” Davis said.  “I admire and respect CY’s leadership and vision very much and will always be grateful for the important role he played to help bring a World Series championship to Arlington for the first time.  While there is no final resolution at this time, we will continue to work towards coming to an agreement.  CY and I agree that our immediate focus is the 2024 season and defending our title.”

Davis’ final sentence implies that the two sides could be putting talks on the back burner until closer to the end of the season, or perhaps even until after the Rangers have completed their 162 games and whatever might await of another postseason run.  In technical terms, most executive contracts that expire “after the season” usually have an official end date at the end of October or the start of November, rather than the literal end of a team’s final game.

Assuming this situation exists with Young’s contract, the Rangers would have some extra time in their exclusive negotiating window to finalize a new deal before Young officially hits the open market.  It also isn’t uncommon for some front office heads (the Yankees’ Brian Cashman and the Dodgers’ Andrew Friedman are recent examples) to stay in their positions beyond the official end of their prior contracts, as it is understood that the executives will be staying even it might take weeks or even months into the offseason before a new deal is officially finalized or announced.

Davis’ statement plainly outlines the Rangers’ interest in retaining the 45-year-old Young, though the GM might have interest in testing the market to see what other opportunities await…or, to see what offers are on the table to provide more leverage in negotiations with Texas.  Baseball operations leadership jobs don’t come available too often, but among known contract situations within front offices, Angels GM Perry Minasian is entering the last year of his deal, and the Twins’ duo of chief baseball officer Derek Falvey and GM Thad Levine.  Speculatively speaking, it seems possible that Blue Jays GM Ross Atkins or Padres president of baseball operations A.J. Preller could be on the hot seat if their teams don’t reach the playoffs.

This season’s results could also obviously lead some unexpected positions opening up in the coming months.  After all, Young’s elevation to the top job in Texas in August 2022 was itself something of a surprise after the club parted ways with longtime president of baseball operations Jon Daniels.  Young had been working as Daniels’ chief lieutenant since December 2020, and he suddenly became tasked with getting the Rangers back into contention after a big spending spree in the 2021-22 offseason led to another losing record in 2022.

Needless to say, Young’s first full season running the front office was a roaring success.  Texas went 90-72 and narrowly missed out on the AL West crown by losing a tiebreaker to the Astros, but then caught fire in the playoffs en route to the World Series title.  The long list of contributors to the Rangers’ championship included trade deadline pickup Jordan Montgomery and offseason signing Nathan Eovaldi, to cite two of the many moves Young made to add the final touches to the title-winning roster.

The follow-up hasn’t been as strong, as the Rangers carry a modest 30-33 record into today’s action.  The club has been hampered by injuries to almost every member of the starting rotation, though the pitching staff has somewhat remarkably still managed to post respectable numbers even in these short-handed circumstances.  The lineup, however, has disappointed — staples like Adolis Garcia and Jonah Heim have been average at best, highly-touted rookies Evan Carter and Wyatt Langford haven’t broken out, and Josh Jung has spent almost the entire season on the injured list.

The returns of injured players could help Texas dig out of this hole, and naturally there’s still well over half the season yet to be played.  Still, it hasn’t been the follow-up the organization wanted to its championship run, even if Young’s hands were somewhat tied by budgetary restraints during the offseason.  Since the Rangers don’t have a TV contract beyond the 2024 season to the ongoing Diamond Sports Group bankruptcy proceedings, ownership cut back on the spending last winter, so Texas didn’t see anything close to the mega-deals that landed Corey Seager, Marcus Semien, or Jacob deGrom.

It could be that this overarching broadcasting uncertainty also factored into Young’s own contractual situation, if ownership wanted a better sense of its future revenues before locking up Young.  It isn’t known if Young received any kind of a raise after being promoted to the top job in 2022, so with both a promotion and a championship ring now on his resume, Young certainly has a strong case for a very lucrative new deal.  Young might also conceivably be given the title of president of baseball operations and another exec could become the new GM, depending on how the Rangers want to officially set the hierarchy of their baseball ops group.

One of the few former players currently acting as a Major League front office boss, Young tossed 1297 2/3 innings over 271 career games with the Rangers, Padres, Mets, Mariners, and Royals from 2004-17.  His 13 seasons in the bigs included such highlights as an All-Star nod with San Diego in 2007, and another ring as a member of Kansas City’s World Series team in 2015.  After retiring, Young spent three years working in a variety of roles with Major League Baseball itself before becoming the Rangers’ general manager.

Rangers To Designate Derek Hill For Assignment

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The Rangers are recalling infielder Davis Wendzel from Triple-A Round Rock to give them some infield cover. Corey Seager is day-to-day after leaving Wednesday’s game with hamstring soreness. In a corresponding move, outfielder Derek Hill will be designated for assignment. Jeff Wilson of Rangers Today relayed the moves on X. The team’s 40-man roster tally drops to 39.

Hill is out of options, so Texas couldn’t send him back to Triple-A without the DFA. It’s an unfortunate situation for the speedster, who gets squeezed out by the need for another infielder. Hill signed a minor league contract over the offseason and was selected onto the MLB roster at the end of May. He appeared in five games, including a pair of starts in right field. Hill went 2-9 with a walk and a stolen base in what marked his fifth year logging MLB time.

A first-round pick of the Tigers in 2014, Hill played sporadically with Detroit. He combined for a .240/.291/.339 line in 95 games over parts of three seasons. Hill made a brief appearance with the Nationals a year ago, appearing in 13 games between late June and the early part of July. He’s a plus runner who can play all three outfield positions. He has never provided much in the batter’s box against MLB pitching though.

To his credit, the 28-year-old has been a productive Triple-A hitter. Hill owns a .295/.354/.502 slash in nearly 900 trips at the top minor league level. That includes a robust .333/.387/.659 showing over 142 plate appearances with Round Rock this season. Hill’s 6.3% walk percentage and near-25% strikeout rate were pedestrian, but he connected on eight homers, four triples and 10 doubles (albeit in a hitter-friendly setting).

The Rangers will have a few days to gauge possible trade interest. It’s likelier he’ll land on outright waivers by next week. Hill has cleared waivers a couple times in his career and would have the ability to elect free agency if he does so again.

Texas evidently doesn’t anticipate placing Seager on the injured list, at least for the moment. He is out of the lineup tonight against the Giants. Josh Smith moves over to shortstop while Ezequiel Duran handles third base against Logan Webb and the Giants.

Rangers Notes: Carter, Mahle, Bradford, Foscue

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The Rangers placed Evan Carter on the injured list last week, initially announcing the issue as back tightness. Manager Bruce Bochy provided more specifics yesterday, telling reporters (including Kennedi Landry of MLB.com) that the rookie left fielder is dealing with a stress reaction. Texas expects Carter to miss upwards of a month.

It has been a challenging first full MLB season for Carter. The 21-year-old top prospect debuted late in 2023 and immediately cemented himself as a key piece of the franchise’s first World Series run. Carter hit .300/.417/.500 in 17 postseason games, making him a popular Rookie of the Year pick in 2024. He has had a much tougher go through this season’s first couple months, running a .188/.272/.361 line with a 26.5% strikeout rate over 162 plate appearances.

Carter admitted he played through back discomfort for a couple weeks before the IL placement. That certainly could’ve played a role in his middling offense. He remains an integral piece of the Rangers’ plans for this season and beyond, but he’ll be down for a few weeks. Wyatt Langford has stepped into left field, opening some DH at-bats for Robbie Grossman and Ezequiel Duran.

Texas received better news on a few other injured players this week. Offseason signee Tyler Mahle threw to hitters on Wednesday for the first time in his recovery from Tommy John surgery (link via Shawn McFarland of the Dallas Morning News). Mahle is ticketed for three more live sessions before he could head on a minor league rehab stint. If all goes smoothly, he should be on track for his Rangers debut a couple weeks after the All-Star Break.

Mahle is around 13 months removed from the elbow procedure that ended his tenure with the Twins. The right-hander was barely able to pitch for Minnesota. He was a mid-rotation starter with the Reds before that, pitching 180 innings of 3.75 ERA ball while striking out more than 27% of opponents three years ago. The Rangers guaranteed him $22MM on a backloaded two-year deal in December.

Texas has a full rotation on the injured list. Jon Gray has had a fairly brief stint related to a groin strain, but the other four pitchers have faced long recovery timelines. Mahle, Max Scherzer and Jacob deGrom are still rehabbing from 2023 surgeries. Cody Bradford has been out since mid-April with a stress fracture in his rib. The southpaw told reporters that he has progressed to throwing from 120 feet on flat ground (X link via Landry). Bradford opened the season as the fifth starter and turned in a 1.40 ERA over 19 1/3 innings in three appearances before the injury.

On the position player side, Texas has been without rookie infielder Justin Foscue for nearly the entire season. The Rangers called up the former first-round draftee on April 2. He took two plate appearances before sustaining a left oblique strain that pushed him to the 60-day injured list. Foscue will be eligible for reinstatement in the next few days and seems to be on track for a return. Texas assigned him to the Arizona complex league to begin a rehab assignment tonight. The Rangers might not have an immediate MLB roster spot for Foscue, as Josh Smith has played very well at third base while Josh Jung has been on the shelf.

Johnny Cueto Agrees To Push Back Opt-Out Date With Rangers

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Veteran right-hander Johnny Cueto, who signed a minor league deal with the Rangers in late April, had an early-June opt-out opportunity but has agreed to push his out dates back, Ari Alexander of KPRC-2 reports. Cueto’s opt-out dates now fall on June 14 and on July 1. If he’s not on the roster by either date, Cueto will have the right to trigger the clause, giving Texas 48 hours to add him to the big league roster or else grant him his release.

The 38-year-old Cueto is looking for a rebound from last year’s rough showing in Miami, when he pitched in 13 games (10 starts) for the Marlins and posted an unsightly 6.02 ERA. The right-hander’s 17.9% strikeout rate was actually up from the prior season’s 15.7% mark but still well below average. His walk rate jumped from 5.1% with the 2022 White Sox to 6.9% last year, and despite working in a pitcher-friendly loanDepot Park setting, Cueto’s staggering 2.92 homers per nine innings were a career-worst mark (and the highest of any pitcher in MLB who tossed at least 50 innings).

Cueto has made four minor league starts with the Rangers: one at their Rookie-level affiliate in the Arizona Complex League and three with Triple-A Round Rock. Combined, he’s totaled 18 innings with a 2.50 ERA, a 20.5% strikeout rate and a microscopic 2.7% walk rate (two walks, 73 batters faced). He’s also kept the ball on the ground at a hefty 55.3% clip.

It’s a tiny sample of work against lesser competition, but the results are nevertheless broadly encouraging. Texas clearly wasn’t ready to add Cueto to the big league roster just yet but presumably has interest in doing so — hence the mutual agreement to extend the opt-out window. It’s only natural for the Rangers to want to preserve the depth and perhaps take a look at Cueto sooner than later, given the mounting number of injuries among the team’s big league staff.

The Rangers entered the season knowing that Jacob deGrom, Max Scherzer and Tyler Mahle all faced prolonged absences. Mahle (an offseason signee) and deGrom are recovering from 2023 Tommy John surgery. Scherzer underwent back surgery in December. Texas has since lost left-hander Cody Bradford to a stress fracture in his ribcage and more recently placed Jon Gray on the 15-day injured list due to a groin strain. Right-handers Nathan Eovaldi and Dane Dunning also had IL stints owing to a groin strain and shoulder strain, respectively, but both returned to the rotation in late May.

At present, the Rangers are going with a starting five that includes Eovaldi, Dunning, Michael Lorenzen, Andrew Heaney and minor league signee Jose Ureña. That quintet has delivered solid results on the whole, despite a spotty track record from Ureña and the late nature of Lorenzen’s signing with the team. However, the depth beyond those five names is suspect.

Former No. 2 overall pick Jack Leiter has pitched well in seven Triple-A appearances this season but has also been rocked for 17 earned runs through just 9 1/3 innings in his first three big league starts. He only just turned 24, so there’s plenty of time for him to figure things out, but he hasn’t looked ready for MLB opposition yet. Fellow righties Owen White and Cole Winn both ranked as top pitching prospects at one point, but neither has given ample reason to believe he can be a solution at the moment. Winn, a former No. 15 overall pick, has been moved to the bullpen and struggled in 11 MLB appearances this year. White has a 4.69 ERA in eight Triple-A starts with a lackluster 15.8% strikeout rate against a weighty 11.3% walk rate.

The Rangers’ hope is that Gray will only require a minimal stay on the injured list, thus allowing him to return in short order, but a setback for him or an injury elsewhere in the big league rotation would prove highly problematic. Keeping Cueto around gives Texas an additional option and affords the veteran righty the opportunity to continue ramping up. Cueto tossed six scoreless innings in his most recent appearance and for a second straight outing topped 80 pitches. He should be working without any pitch restrictions at this point, and it’s plenty feasible that a big league opportunity in Arlington will present itself before long.

AL West Notes: Semien, Schanuel, Erceg

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Marcus Semien went 1-for-4 in the Rangers’ 8-2 loss to the Marlins yesterday, marking his return to the lineup after sitting out Texas’ previous game.  While off-days aren’t normally worth mention, Semien’s absence from Wednesday’s lineup ended a streak of 349 starts for the star second baseman, and it represented only his ninth missed game since the start of the 2019 season.  The decision was made since Semien is dealing with a compressed nerve in his neck, as he told Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News and other reporters yesterday, and the hope is that resting both Wednesday and Thursday (when the Rangers didn’t have a game) will help get Semien back on track.

“I could have missed more time, but I’m trying to figure out how to fight through it,” Semien said.  “It feels better after a day off and another day of rest.  I’m happy about that.  I just want to come back strong.”

The injury stems from a collision between Semien and Adolis Garcia while the two were chasing the same fly ball on May 18.  Semien has hit only .135/.200/.189 over 40 plate appearances in the nine games since the collision, and also made three errors in the field.  As Grant notes, Semien’s career splits indicate that he is generally a better hitter anyway later in the season, though this neck issue adds an unwelcome obstacle for a Texas club that has struggled to a 27-30 record in its defense of last year’s World Series championship.

More from around the AL West…

  • Speaking of lingering injuries, Nolan Schanuel was a late scratch from the Angels’ lineup yesterday due to left thumb soreness.  Manager Ron Washington told MLB.com and other media that Schanuel has been bothered by his thumb for an unspecified period of time, which could explain the first baseman’s underwhelming .224/.294/.328 slash line through 206 plate appearances.  It has still been less than a year since Schanuel was selected as the 11th overall pick in the 2023 draft, and his 2024 numbers have been a tough follow-up to his solid .275/.402/.330 mark over 132 PA last season, after the Angels fast-tracked him to the majors after just 97 minor league PA.
  • Lucas Erceg was placed on the Athletics’ 15-day injured list yesterday with what officially termed a forearm strain, and manager Mark Kotsay didn’t give reporters (including MLB.com’s Martin Gallegos) a timetable on when the reliever might be ready to return to action.  However, it does seem like Erceg’s injury might be of the relatively minor variety, as Kotsay indicated that Erceg might be able to start throwing “sooner than later.”  That’s certainly good news considering the ominous nature of forearm injuries, so it seems like Erceg could soon resume set-up duties in front of star rookie closer Mason Miller.  Erceg has a 2.86 ERA over 22 relief innings, with a set of impressive Statcast metrics that include a superb 31% strikeout rate and 28% hard-hit ball rate.

Marlins Acquire Shaun Anderson, Designate Woo-Suk Go

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The Marlins on Thursday acquired recently DFA’ed right-hander Shaun Anderson from the Rangers in exchange for cash, reports Craig Mish of SportsGrid (X link)*. In order to open a spot on the 40-man roster, Miami designated right-hander Woo-Suk Go for assignment.

Anderson, 29, appeared in only two games with Texas, logging 3 1/3 innings and yielding a pair of runs on six hits and a walk with three strikeouts. This marks the fifth MLB season in which he’s seen action at the game’s top level. Anderson has previously suited up for the Giants, Twins, Orioles, Padres and Blue Jays — in addition to a prior run in the Rangers’ minor league ranks. He’s pitched 139 big league innings but struggled to a 5.83 earned run average in that time. He’s intrigued several teams over the years thanks in large part to a high-spin slider that has the potential to be a true bat-missing offering, but the rest of his arsenal hasn’t helped him reach passable results.

Anderson split the 2023 season between the Phillies’ Triple-A club and the Korea Baseball Organization’s Kia Tigers, making 14 starts for the latter. During that brief KBO run, he notched a respectable 3.76 ERA with a 19% strikeout rate, 7.7% walk rate and 61.7% ground-ball rate (though ground-ball rates in the KBO always tend to be higher than in MLB, it should be noted). Anderson is in his final minor league option year, so he can be sent back and forth between Miami and Triple-A Jacksonville freely without needing to pass through waivers.

Go, 25, was one of the top relievers in the KBO in recent years and made his way to North American ball via the posting system this winter. The Padres signed him to a two-year, $4.5MM contract but almost immediately cut bait on him, sending him to the Marlins as a financial counterweight in the Luis Arraez trade earlier in the month. He’s pitched well in Triple-A since the trade, logging nine innings with a 3.00 ERA. However, he’s fanned only 8.3% of his opponents against a 5.6% walk rate.

During his outstanding run with the KBO’s LG Twins from 2019-23, Go posted a collective 2.39 ERA with 139 saves, a 30.2% strikeout rate, a 10% walk rate and a ground-ball rate north of 60%. He missed time in 2023 with a lower back injury but still pitched 44 innings of 3.68 ERA ball with a 31.1% strikeout rate, 11.6% walk rate and massive 65.8% grounder rate.

Scouting reports on Go had his fastball topping out at 98 mph in the KBO, but when he reported to spring training reports out of Padres camp suggested he was in the 92-94 mph range, topping out just shy of 95 mph. Though the Friars had envisioned him as a potential entrant into their late-inning mix, the decision to instead option him (to Double-A) and then include him in the Arraez trade suggests they quickly became less enamored of him once he joined the organization. That the Marlins are now jettisoning him from the 40-man roster suggests they’re similarly unenthused about the right-hander’s chances of contributing at the MLB level.

Because of that $4.5MM contract, Go seems like a lock to clear waivers if he makes it there. Miami will have five days to explore trade possibilities before placing him on waivers becomes a necessity. Waivers themselves would then be a 48-hour process. If Go clears, he’d likely accept an outright assignment to Jacksonville, allowing him to continue collecting his salary while endeavoring to pitch his way into the Marlins’ big league bullpen plans.

*MLBTR originally mistakenly indicated the Marlins had formally announced the trade for Anderson and DFA of Go. The team had not done so yet at the time. We regret the error.

Rangers Place Evan Carter On Injured List; Reinstate Wyatt Langford, Nathan Eovaldi

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The Rangers have reinstated outfielder Wyatt Langford and right-hander Nathan Eovaldi from the injured list, with Eovaldi starting tonight’s contest. In corresponding moves, outfielder Evan Carter lands on the 10-day IL due to back tightness while righty Yerry Rodríguez has been optioned out. Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News was among those to relay the news prior to the official announcement on X (link one and two).

Carter’s back has been bugging him for a few weeks. Between May 8 and May 18, he only took two plate appearances for the Rangers. He’s been in the lineup more regularly of late but still hasn’t had a hit in about three weeks. It seems like the back problems have contributed to his lackluster results on the year. He was hitting .236/.328/.472 through May 4 but has a batting line of just .053/.100/.053 since then.

Coming into the season, it was possible to envision Texas having two regular players battling each other for the Rookie of the Year crown, but it hasn’t played out that way thus far. Carter’s recent slide has dropped his season-long batting line to .188/.272/361. Langford, meanwhile, hit just .224/.295/.293 through 129 plate appearances before landing on the IL due to a right hamstring strain. Langford will now get a chance to improve his numbers while Carter takes some time to rest up and get healthy for later in the season.

Injuries have also been a key storyline for the Texas rotation all year long. They knew long ago that Jacob deGrom and Tyler Mahle would be on the IL for the first half, as each of them underwent Tommy John surgery in the middle of last season. Then Max Scherzer required back surgery in the offseason. There was a time when it seemed like he could come back in mid-May but he has been delayed by thumb soreness and his timeline is still up in the air.

Since the season started, the Rangers have also seen Eovaldi, Jon Gray, Dane Dunning, Michael Lorenzen and Cody Bradford miss time on the injured list. All that has left Andrew Heaney as the only consistent member of the rotation this year.

Some of those IL stints have now ended, including Eovaldi’s today, so the rotation currently consists of him, Heaney, Dunning, Lorenzen and José Ureña. The club used Gerson Garabito for a spot start on Sunday and it seemed he could stick around for now as a long reliever.

The various injuries up and down the roster have seemingly prevented the defending champions from charging out of the gate this year, as they are currently 25-29 on the season. But the American League West is surprisingly weak so far this year, as the Astros are also struggling. The Rangers are second to the Mariners, just 3.5 games back and still very much in it.

Getting Eovaldi back on the mound is obviously helpful, as he had a 2.61 ERA prior to hitting the IL with a groin strain and had a 3.63 ERA for the Rangers last year. Langford could slot into the designated hitter role that Adolis García has been in recently, pushing García back to the outfield next to Leody Taveras and a rotation of Ezequiel Durán, Robbie Grossman and Derek Hill, with Carter hopefully jumping back into that mix once he’s healthy.

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