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AL West Notes: Leclerc, Gallo, Trout, Upton

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The Rangers will deploy reliever Jose Leclerc as an opener in today’s game, the club announced. He’ll throw in front of Drew Smyly. The 25-year-old Leclerc will open for the second time this year. He entered the campaign as the indisputable closer after inking an extension over the winter, but lost that job when his prior control problems resurfaced. It seems the Rangers are looking to provide some stability for the live-armed hurler, who has dealt with minor shoulder and calf issues recently. Otherwise, he has been much more impressive of late, with a whopping 16:1 K/BB ratio in his last seven frames.

More from the AL West:

  • Though he departed last night’s game with wrist soreness, Rangers slugger Joey Gallo doesn’t seem to be at any risk of a trip to the injured list. As Jeff Wilson of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram reports, Gallo will get a day of rest today. That had already been planned, says Texas skipper Chris Woodward. Even as he has ramped up his offensive productivity by boosting his walk rate and continuing to launch prodigious long balls, Gallo has stretched his legs in the field. He has graded as a clear positive at all three outfield positions in recent seasons, though he had never before been utilized exclusively on the grass and had limited experience in center field. That modified deployment might itself warrant a few added days off to keep Gallo fresh over the course of the season.
  • The Angels seemingly dodged a bullet when superstar Mike Trout wore a foul ball off his foot. Though he’s dealing with some soreness, he says there’s no fracture, as Jeff Fletcher of the Southern California News Group tweets. The L.A. organization needed a break — of the other kind — after watching Andrelton Simmons hit the shelf, followed in short order by Zack Cozart.
  • In other Halos health news, outfielder Justin Upton suggested a return from his turf toe injury is now within sight, as Fletcher reports. Though Upton cited a three-week target, that may be on the optimistic side. He’ll still need to don his cleats and run at full tilt, then complete a rehab assignment, without any recurring issues.
  • In case you missed the late-night news, Mariners infielder J.P. Crawford appears to be headed to the injured list  after suffering an ankle injury in last night’s contest.

Angels Place Zack Cozart On IL, Select Cesar Puello

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The Angels have placed infielder Zack Cozart on the 10-day injured list due to a left shoulder inflammation and selected the contract of outfielder Cesar Puello from Triple-A Salt Lake. Outfielder Michael Hermosillo is being transferred to the 60-day injured list to open a spot on the 40-man roster. Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register reported a few minutes prior that those moves would be happening (Twitter links). As Fletcher points out, it’s the same left shoulder on which Cozart had season-ending surgery just under one year ago.

Cozart, 33, is in the midst of a second consecutive disappointing season with the Halos, hitting just .124/.178/.144 through 107 plate appearances. He hit just .219/.296/.362 through 58 games with the Angels last season. That’s nowhere near the .297/.385/.548 line he posted in his final year with the Reds, which directly preceded the three-year, $38MM contract he inked with the Angels. No timeline on Cozart’s injury was provided by the Angels, and his placement on the IL is retroactive to yesterday.

Puello, 28, is enjoying a big season in Salt Lake, where he’s slashed .299/.434/.507 with seven long balls, seven doubles and a pair of steals through 166 plate appearances. The former Mets prospect has just 39 plate appearances in the Majors, which was split between the Angels and Rays back in 2017. Puello is a career .295/.394/.450 hitter in 1563 plate appearances at the Triple-A level.

The Angels also announced that they’ve optioned right-hander Taylor Cole to Salt Lake in order to open a spot on the active roster for Nick Tropeano, who’ll make his season debut tonight when he follows opener Cam Bedrosian.

Sean Burnett Announces Retirement

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Veteran left-handed reliever Sean Burnett has announced his retirement from baseball in a lengthy, heartfelt statement via the New York Post’s Ken Davidoff (Twitter links). The 36-year-old southpaw had been pitching for the Mets’ Triple-A affiliate before deciding to call it career.

Burnett last saw big league action with the Nationals in 2016 — one of many comeback attempts from a clearly talented pitcher whose promising career was decimated by injuries. As Burnett notes in his statement, he underwent four different surgeries — two of them Tommy John procedures — over a professional career that spanned parts of 19 seasons.

Originally selected by the Pirates with the No. 19 overall pick in 2000, Burnett was regarded as one of the game’s pitching prospects prior to his MLB debut, twice landing on Baseball America’s Top 100 list (including a No. 25 placement in 2003). His rookie campaign in 2004 was rough around the edges, as evidenced by a 5.02 ERA in 71 2/3 innings, but Burnett also showcased his upside with a complete-game shutout in just his sixth career start. The fact that said shutout took place in Montreal against the Expos is a testament to the length of Burnett’s career and the tireless effort he put into striving to return from the injury woes he faced.

Arm troubles shelved Burnett for the entire 2005 season, and he wouldn’t make it back to a big league mound until 2008, at which point he’d transitioned to a relief role on a full-time basis. He was eventually traded from the Pirates to the Nationals, alongside Nyjer Morgan, in the deal that sent Joel Hanrahan and Lastings Milledge to Pittsburgh. Burnett was already throwing well at the time of the swap but stepped up his game over the next three and a half seasons in D.C., working to a combined 2.81 ERA and handling plenty of high-leverage spots ( 71 holds, 10 saves).

That strong run led Burnett to ink a two-year, $8MM contract with the Angels in free agency. Unfortunately for both Burnett and the Halos, he pitched just 10 1/3 innings over the life of that contract due to one of the aforementioned Tommy John procedures. From that point forth, Burnett battled myriad health issues as signed numerous minor league deals in an effort to return to the big leagues — a goal he achieved in that brief 2016 showing with the Nationals.

All in all, Burnett’s career will come to a close with a 3.52 ERA in 378 1/3 innings of work at the MLB level, though on can only wonder what type of success he might’ve had with better health. That said, the majority of fans and players alike would be thrilled to appear in 380 Major League games, toss a shutout, collect 91 holds and 10 saves, and earn a bit north of $13MM in salary along the way. In addition to his time with the Pirates, Nats and Angels, Burnett also pitched in the minor league ranks for the Mets, Twins, Marlins, Dodgers and Braves (plus the Phillies in Spring Training 2017). Best wishes to the lefty in his post-playing endeavors.

AL West Notes: Gallo, Halos Hurlers, M’s, Herrmann, McHugh

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There’s little doubt that Rangers slugger Joey Gallo has drastically increased his career earnings outlook with a massive start to the current season. Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News takes a look at the state of affairs on the extension front for baseball’s reigning three-true-outcomes king. The organization is obviously impressed, with manager Chris Woodward tabbing Gallo the club’s “best player” and GM Jon Daniels saying that he’s “mentally in a great spot.” Gallo says he’s not thinking about contracts, but agent Scott Boras surely is. As Grant notes, Boras’s assessment of Gallo’s season to date — “we are seeing the evolution of a superstar player” — offers a hint as to the kind of contract it might take to lock him up.

More from the American League West:

  • Angels righty JC Ramirez is set to launch a rehab assignment later this week, Maria Torres of the Los Angeles Times tweets. Ramirez underwent Tommy John surgery last April. With his 30-day rehab clock set to be triggered, Ramirez is now back on the map as a near-term roster piece for the Halos. The club owes him $1,901,000 this year, with two more arb campaigns remaining. Though he has had some struggles in his time in the majors, Ramirez has given the Halos 200 1/3 innings of 4.04 ERA ball and showed he could stick in the rotation in 2017.
  • As ever, there are other updates to the Angels rotation mix. Nick Tropeano will beat Ramirez back to the big leagues; as Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register tweets, Tropeano is coming up to pitch today’s ballgame. He was optioned after working back from a shoulder strain, and has been tagged in the run-happy PCL, but the innings are needed now. That’s due in no small part to the issues surrounding Matt Harvey, who just hit the injured list with a back strain after an awful stretch on the hill. Harvey didn’t have much of a timeline to offer reporters, as Mike DiGiovanna of the Los Angeles Times reports (Twitter link). With more to sort out than an injury, there’s no reason to think Harvey will be rushed back.
  • For the Mariners, there are a few incremental health updates of note, as Ryan Divish of the Seattle Times reports (all links to Twitter). Rehabbing relievers Sam Tuivailala and Hunter Strickland are still a ways off. The former, who is working back from Achilles surgery, has come down with dead arm and may need to re-start his rehab rather than heading back to the majors. The latter is readying for his first mound work since leaving with a lat injury earlier this year. Starter Felix Hernandez, who’s on the IL with a shoulder strain, is also nearing mound work. The club is still taking it slow with corner infielder Ryon Healy, who has yet to resume baseball activity after recently hitting the shelf due to a balky lower back. That’s a less promising outlook than had been indicated when he was first sidelined, but the club no doubt hopes to avoid a lingering problem.
  • Athletics backstop Chris Herrmann is nearing a rehab assignment, per Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle (Twitter link). Herrmann inked a one-year, $1MM deal over the offseason but hasn’t yet debuted with his new organization owing to knee surgery. It remains to be seen how the Oakland club will manage its roster once Herrmann is ready; Josh Phegley has hit well all year and Nick Hundley has turned it on after a dreadful start. It’s possible the A’s could ultimately carry all three, at least for a stretch, as Herrmann does have experience playing in other parts of the field.
  • It still doesn’t seem the Astros have cause for alarm regarding righty Collin McHugh, but he’s not going to be ready to return within the minimum ten-day window. Manager A.J. Hinch tells reporters, including Chandler Rome of the Houston Chronicle (Twitter link), that McHugh is in need of “a little more down time” to let his elbow stop barking. “He’s played catch a couple days and has not seen any progress,” says Hinch. “He’s not any closer than he was a few days ago.” McHugh has been a bit homer-prone, which explains his rough 6.04 ERA on the year, but otherwise has impressive peripherals. That he has been moved out of the rotation and into a relief role is testament to the depth of the talent on hand in Houston.

Angels Reinstate Andrew Heaney, Option Jaime Barria

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The Angels have reinstated left-handed pitcher Andrew Heaney from the injured list, per an official club announcement. Heaney will start Sunday’s game against the Rangers in his season debut. To make room for Heaney on the active roster, right-hander Jaime Barria has been optioned to Triple-A.

The 27-year-old Heaney is prepared to make his 2019 season debut, which couldn’t come sooner for the struggling Angels—the team’s own starting pitching has perhaps been the most substantial impediment to the Halos’ postseason aspirations. On Sunday, though, the club will welcome back Heaney, who enjoyed a breakout 2018, which marked the first time in his Major League career that the injury-riddled southpaw was able to make 30 starts in a season.

Last year, Heaney struck out 180 batters in as many innings, leading many to express optimism that he could anchor the 2019 Angels rotation, a development that has been years in the making due to Heaney’s injury-marred past, which included a Tommy John surgery that cost him most of the 2016 and 2017 seasons. For that reason, the elbow issues that landed him on the IL to open this season were that much more troubling. However, Heaney has served his time and is in position to provide a considerable boost to an Angels team that has endured more than its fair share of health-related misfortune.

Barria, who will go the minors, has kicked in 14 1/3 innings for the Halos, mostly coming out of the bullpen. Following a rookie season in which he posted a 3.41 ERA in 26 starts, Barria has worked out of a long-relief role this year, though he has gotten work as a starter in Triple-A Salt Lake, where he has a 6.58 ERA in 5 games.

Angels Place Matt Harvey On Injured List

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The Angels announced that right-hander Matt Harvey is heading to the 10-day injured list with an upper back strain. In other moves, the Angels recalled righty Taylor Cole from Triple-A Salt Lake, optioned reliever Luke Bard and reinstated reliever Luis Garcia from the IL.

Harvey’s injury continues what has been a disastrous campaign for the ex-Met and Red, whom the Angels signed to a one-year, $11MM guarantee in the offseason. Early in his Mets stint, Harvey was among the game’s brightest stars. However, he suffered multiple significant arm injuries as his New York tenure progressed and hasn’t been much more than a back-end starter in recent seasons.

To Harvey’s credit, after the Reds acquired him from the Mets last May, he pitched well enough to lock in a decent payday with the Angels. But the move hasn’t paid off at all for Los Angeles, which has seen the 30-year-old average fewer than five innings over his 10 starts and pitch to a horrid 7.50 ERA/6.11 FIP with 6.56 K/9 against 3.94 BB/9 across 48 frames. Among pitchers who have thrown at least 40 innings this season, Harvey ranks last in ERA, sixth worst in fWAR (minus-0.3) and 11th from the bottom in K/BB ratio (1.67).

Fortunately for the Angels, they’re set to welcome back Andrew Heaney to take Harvey’s place in their rotation. Heaney hasn’t pitched yet this season on account of elbow inflammation, but he was one of the Angels’ most effective starters a year ago. If his 2018 performance is any indication, Heaney should be an easy upgrade over Harvey.

Angels To Activate Andrew Heaney; Latest On Justin Upton

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The Angels will activate lefty Andrew Heaney for his first action of the season, as Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register was among those to cover (Twitter links). He’ll take the ball Sunday after opening the season in the injured list due to elbow inflammation.

Though he’s a bit further off, outfielder Justin Upton can now begin working in earnest toward his own activation. His turf toe injury has healed to the point that he can “run on 100 percent of his weight” and participate in batting practice and outfield work on the field.

It’s nice to see some positive health news for the Halos, who have become accustomed to crushing blows in recent years. Unfortunately, the team just sent shortstop Andrelton Simmons to the injured list with a significant ankle injury.

Heaney, who’ll soon turn 28, had Tommy John surgery in July of 2016. It was quite promising, then, to see him turn in thirty starts and 180 innings of 4.15 ERA pitching last year. And the elbow issues that cropped up this spring were all the more concerning.

Though he has only made one formal rehab start, it was quite a good one. Heaney allowed just two hits and a walk while racking up ten strikeouts in 4 1/3 scoreless innings for the club’s top affiliate. Hopefully, he can build off of that showing and give a boost to a beleaguered rotation.

Heaney is earning $3.4MM this season. He’s eligible for arbitration twice more, with free agency beckoning after the 2021 campaign.

Andrelton Simmons Diagnosed With Grade 3 Ankle Sprain

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TODAY: Simmons updated Hoornstra (Twitter links) and other reporters on his status today, including the good news that surgery won’t be required.  Once the swelling around the ankle goes down in another week or two, Simmons and the team will have a better sense of how long it will be before the shortstop is able to return to action.

TUESDAY, 6:57pm: Simmons, moving around the clubhouse on crutches, didn’t have a timeline for his return when asked by reporters, J.P. Hoornstra of the Southern California News Group tweets. MLB.com’s Rhett Bollinger tweets that the typical recovery timeline would range from eight to 12 weeks, but the Angels won’t know for certain until tomorrow.

4:42pm: The Angels announced that shortstop Andrelton Simmons has been diagnosed with a Grade 3 ankle sprain and been placed on the 10-day injured list. He’ll see a specialist tomorrow, after which the team will provide more details on his expected timeline. However, a Grade 3 sprain is severe (indicating a ligament tear), so Simmons will quite likely be on the shelf for an extended period of time. Luis Rengifo is up from Triple-A Salt Lake to take his spot on the active roster.

It’s a huge blow for the Angels, who saw both Simmons and Shohei Ohtani exit last night’s game due to injury. Thankfully, there’s better news on Ohtani, who is feeling better today after being hit by a pitch last night. He’s in the lineup for the Angels tonight.

The 29-year-old Simmons, in addition to long being known as perhaps baseball’s premier defensive player, has progressed offensively in recent seasons as well. He’d been out to a .298/.323/.415 start with three home runs, 13 doubles and five steals through his first 195 plate appearances on the year. That’s a tough all-around asset for any team to lose, and Simmons’ absence will be felt all the more by an Angels club that is also still without left fielder Justin Upton in the middle of its lineup.

The Angels entered the season with aspirations of returning to the postseason for the first time since a 2014 trip to the American League Division Series (where they lost to the Royals). But between injuries to key players such as Upton and Andrew Heaney and poor performances from offseason rotation additions like Matt Harvey, Trevor Cahill and Chris Stratton (now with the Pirates), the Angels find themselves three games under .500 (22-25) and already nine and a half games back of the Astros in the American League West. The team’s three-and-a-half game deficit in the American League Wild Card race is far more manageable, but the loss of Simmons will obviously further lessen their chances.

Angels Select Dustin Garneau’s Contract, Place Kevan Smith On 7-Day Concussion IL

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The Angels have selected the contract of catcher Dustin Garneau from Triple-A, the team announced.  Garneau will take the spot of backup catcher Kevan Smith, who has been placed on the seven-day version of the injured list due to a concussion.  No additional roster move was necessary, as the Angels had an open 40-man roster spot.

Smith left last night’s game in the fifth inning after taking a C.J. Cron foul tip off his mask.  Selected off waivers from the White Sox roster last fall, Smith has played quite well in his first season with the Angels, hitting .290/.397/.435 over 73 plate appearances.  Between Smith’s strong numbers and Jonathan Lucroy’s comeback season, the Halos have been receiving both good production and good pitch-framing behind the plate.

Garneau inked a minors deal with Los Angeles over the offseason, and will look to at least get a bit more Major League action than he did in 2018, when he appeared in just a single game for the White Sox.  Garneau, 31, has a .194/.269/.321 slash line over 280 career plate appearances for the White Sox, A’s, and Rockies over the last four seasons.

Jo Adell Hires Boras Corporation

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Top Angels prospect Jo Adell has hired the Boras Corporatino to represent him, according to Jon Heyman of MLB Network (via Twitter). As always, you can find the latest agency information in MLBTR’s Agency Database.

Adell was chosen tenth overall in the 2017 draft. When he inked a deal that came with a $4,376,800 bonus, the consensus was that Adell would need a fair amount of time to hone his evident tools into MLB-ready skills.

As it turns out, Adell has moved much more quickly than anticipated. He finished the 2018 season at the Double-A level despite spending his entire first pro campaign at rookie ball.

The 20-year-old’s progress has made him one of the game’s best-graded overall prospects. Baseball Prospectus was especially bullish, ranking him second among all pre-MLB players leaguewide.

Unfortunately, Adell still hasn’t started his 2019 campaign owing to an ankle and hamstring injury suffered this spring. While he could resume his swift rise in short order, Adell likely won’t have a chance at forcing his way onto the MLB roster until relatively late in the 2019 season — if at all.

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