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Latest On Clayton Kershaw, Hyun-jin Ryu

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The Dodgers received mixed news on two key starting pitching injury situations today, as Andy McCullough of the Los Angeles Times was among those to report (links to Twitter). While Clayton Kershaw is making some positive progress, per manager Dave Roberts, fellow southpaw Hyun-jin Ryu is likely done for the year.

Kershaw, who led the N.L. in ERA in four of the last five years and is doing so again this season, is ready for a bullpen session on Saturday. That’s certainly a good sign, as the southpaw had been working only off of flat ground. Kershaw has been out since late June with a back injury, with his initial attempt at a return pushed back when the problem flared up.

To call Kershaw’s injury situation a difference-making factor in the NL West race (and, thereafter, the post-season) would surely be an understatement. He had already racked up 121 innings of 1.79 ERA pitching over 16 starts, with 10.8 K/9 against 0.7 BB/9, somehow improving over his already best-in-class track record. Anything close to Kershaw’s typical production would provide a huge boon to L.A. down the stretch.

Things are somewhat more concerning with regard to Ryu, with Roberts suggesting he doesn’t foresee a return in 2016. The 29-year-old did make it back to the majors for the first time since 2014 earlier this summer, but was bombed in his only appearance and promptly slotted back onto the injured list.

Shoulder and (more recently) elbow issues are eating up some of the prime years of Ryu’s career. Los Angeles has probably already received fair value on its six-year, $36MM commitment to Ryu, given his outstanding first two campaigns. But for the deal to turn back into the screaming value it once was, the Korean hurler will need to return to health.

The remaining contract — which guarantees Ryu $14MM over two years — may or may not prove to be beneficial to L.A. But that would be a paltry sum if he can return to being even a merely solid MLB starter, and it’s obviously far too soon to lose hope. Ryu did finally return to the big league mound, with his average fastball in his lone outing clocking just one mile per hour lower than his career average. And it is worth noting that he managed 23 strikeouts against just a single walk over his eight rehab starts, so he it would appear that he has not lost his impeccable command.

Dodgers Place Hyun-jin Ryu, Casey Fien On 15-Day DL

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The Dodgers have announced that lefty Hyun-jin Ryu is headed back to the 15-day DL, this time with elbow soreness. Jon Heyman of Fan Rag had reported earlier that Ryu would miss his scheduled start tomorrow. He’ll be joined there by righty Casey Fien, with center fielder Joc Pederson and lefty Luis Avilan taking their respective places on the active roster.

[Related: Updated Dodgers Depth Chart]

Ryu had only just returned from a lengthy absence caused by shoulder troubles. Now, it seems, he has a new area of concern. The team is labeling it tendinitis, though the DL placement suggests that Ryu could require a reasonably lengthy rest. On the other hand, it’s retroactive to July 9th, so Ryu will be eligible to return in short order.

It’s obviously far too soon to know how long Ryu will be out, but there are some positive signs. An MRI showed “no notable changes” from prior looks at the joint, per Andy McCullough of the Los Angeles Times (via Twitter).

Regardless of the near-term prognosis, though, it’s yet another troubling sign for a pitcher who has struggled to return to health. It also wasn’t promising to see Ryu scuffle through 4 2/3 innings in his lone outing of the year earlier this month, allowing six earned runs on eight hits.

Whether there’s any impact on L.A.’s deadline plans remains to be seen, but there are other options already on hand and filtering back to the major league mix. If anything, the move on Fien could be just as notable in regard to trade plans. The pen will now be without a pitcher who had contributed 22 innings of 4.09 ERA pitching (with 7.8 K/9 against 2.0 BB/9) since being claimed earlier this year.

Dodgers Activate Hyun-Jin Ryu, Designate Will Venable For Assignment

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The Dodgers announced tonight that they’ve activated left-hander Hyun-jin Ryu from the 60-day disabled list and designated veteran outfielder Will Venable for assignment in order to clear a spot on the 40-man and 25-man rosters. The Dodgers also optioned Luis Avilan to Triple-A and recalled right-hander Carlos Frias.

Venable, 33, has appeared in just 12 games and totaled 19 appearances for the Dodgers this season. This marks the second time in the past two weeks that Venable has been designated for assignment by the Dodgers, though last time he accepted an outright as opposed to electing free agency. He’ll again have the opportunity to opt for free agency if he’s outrighted by L.A., which is a fairly likely outcome.

Venable hasn’t hit much in any of the past three seasons, though he was a very solid and underrated outfield piece for the Padres for many years prior to the onset of his struggles. From 2008-13, Venable batted .257/.322/.431 and averaged 17 homers per 162 games despite playing half of his games at the spacious Petco Park. Since 2014, however, he’s limped to a collective .229/.298/.331 line in 857 plate appearances.

Ryu is slated to start for the Dodgers tonight, and when he does so, he’ll be toeing the rubber on a Major League mound for the first time since Sept. 12, 2014. Ryu opened the 2015 season on the disabled list due to an impingement in his throwing shoulder that ultimately required surgery, and he’s been on the shelf ever since. A healthy Ryu would be a boon for the Dodgers, as from 2013-14 Ryu made the club’s six-year, $36MM investment in his left arm look like a bargain. In 344 innings across those two seasons, Ryu pitched to a stellar 3.17 ERA while averaging 7.7 K/9 against 2.0 BB/9 to go along with a strong 49.2 percent ground-ball rate. He’s made eight minor league rehab starts this season and posted a 4.23 ERA with a brilliant 23-to-1 K/BB ratio in 27 2/3 innings of work.

NL West Notes: Friedman, Ryu, Giants, Rockies

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Some news from around the NL West…

  • While Clayton Kershaw’s health status will surely be the biggest factor in the Dodgers’ deadline plans, the club has “a number of target guys we are interested in irrespective of what’s going on,” president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman tells ESPN.com’s Doug Padilla.  “Of course, as things play out the next few weeks, the importance of certain areas will grow and others will decrease. But it’s still pretty early on in those conversations.”  L.A. has already made one notable move for pitching (picking up Bud Norris) in the wake of Kershaw’s back injury.
  • The Dodgers could also get an internal pitching boost with Hyun-Jin Ryu’s return, as Friedman told reporters (including MLB.com’s Ken Gurnick) that Ryu could be back soon after the All-Star break or perhaps even this week.  Ryu missed all of 2015 and all of this season due to shoulder problems, including recovery from labrum surgery in May 2015.
  • The Giants will be getting Sergio Romo, Joe Panik and other notable regulars back from the DL within the next couple of weeks, though as Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle notes, it will create a bit of a roster crunch due to the number of out-of-options players on the current 25-man.  Schulman speculates that Ruben Tejada could be the first of the out-of-options crew to be designated for assignment since Tejada has cleared waivers twice this season.
  • Rockies GM Jeff Bridich tells Patrick Saunders of the Denver Post that the team is “going to keep our eyes and ears open to everything” heading into the trade deadline.  While Bridich was excited that the Rockies are still within striking distance of the NL wild card race, Saunders figures the club will ultimately end up being deadline sellers, rather than buyers.  Saunders cites Jorge De La Rosa as “Colorado’s most realistic trade possibility,” with the likes of Daniel Descalso, Nick Hundley, Boone Logan and Mark Reynolds also possible candidates to be moved.  Carlos Gonzalez will garner the most trade buzz but Saunders believes Gonzalez will remain with the team not just through the rest of this season but into the 2017 campaign as well.

Injury Updates: Teixeira, Felix, Hill, Dodgers

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Yankees first baseman Mark Teixeira, who went on the disabled list last Saturday with a cartilage tear in his right knee, is progressing toward a return and expects to start running next week, he told Randy Miller of NJ Advance Media. Teixeira didn’t reveal when he could rejoin the Yankees, but the fact that it’s a possibility is undoubtedly welcome news for him and the team. The fear when Teixeira suffered the injury was that he’d need surgery. As of now, though, it appears the 36-year-old will avoid going under the knife. In addition to Teixeira, the Yankees have recently lost two other first base options – Chris Parmelee and Dustin Ackley – to injuries.

Here’s more on some big-name players dealing with health troubles:

  • Mariners ace Felix Hernandez is making progress with his strained calf, but there remains no timetable for his return, said manager Scott Servais (Twitter link via Greg Johns of MLB.com). Hernandez, who landed on the DL retroactive to May 28, was originally supposed to miss only two starts with the injury. But he’ll now need to go on a rehab stint when he’s deemed healthy enough to return to the mound, tweets Ryan Divish of the Seattle Times. Hernandez posted a 2.86 ERA, 7.57 K/9 and 3.71 BB/9 in 63 innings prior to going on the shelf.
  • Athletics left-hander Rich Hill won’t throw off a mound until the middle of next week at the earliest, per John Shea of the San Francisco Chronicle (on Twitter). Before hitting the DL on Thursday with a right groin strain, the 36-year-old threw 64 frames of 2.25 ERA, struck out 10.41 batters per nine innings and established himself as an appealing summer trade candidate.
  • Dodgers starters Hyun-jin Ryu and Brandon McCarthy will both begin four- to five-start rehab assignments this weekend, according to manager Dave Roberts (via Bill Plunkett of the Orange County Register). This will be the second time Ryu has attempted a rehab assignment; in May, he suffered a setback in his surgically repaired left shoulder after making three rehab starts. The 29-year-old southpaw underwent surgery on a torn labrum in May 2015 and hasn’t appeared in a major league game since October 2014. Given the time Ryu has missed, he’ll need to prove himself worthy of a rotation spot, Roberts said. McCarthy, meanwhile, had Tommy John surgery a year ago after racking up just four starts on the season.

NL Notes: Taillon, Masterson, Bryant, Phillies, McCarthy

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Jameson Taillon’s much-anticipated Major League debut will come tomorrow, as the Pirates announced earlier today, but GM Neal Huntington implied that the young right-hander’s promotion may be rather short-lived in nature. Via Rob Biertempfel of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review (Twitter link), Huntington said: “This may be a spot start for Jameson. A lot of that decision will be beyond his control.” Taillon has utterly dominated Triple-A Indianapolis this season, posting a 2.04 ERA with a 61-to-6 K/BB ratio in 61 2/3 innings, spanning 10 starts. One has to imagine that innings are a concern for the Pirates when it comes to Taillon, as injuries prevented the former No. 2 overall pick from pitching in both 2014 and 2015.

Here’s the latest from the National League:

  • Right-hander Justin Masterson will take Taillon’s spot on the roster at Indianapolis, tweets the team’s media communications coordinator, Ryan Sheets. Masterson sat down recently with Charlie Wilmoth of MLBTR and SB Nation’s Bucs Dugout to discuss his rehab from shoulder surgery, his decision to sign with the Pirates and the long-term talks he had with Cleveland prior to hitting the open market in the 2014-15 offseason. Masterson acknowledged that his shoulder hasn’t been in great shape for quite some time and implied that it could’ve derailed an agreement in Cleveland even if one had been reached. He also praised the Pirates organization as an appealing landing spot and added that the location of the club’s Triple-A affiliate, in Indianapolis where he makes his home, was alluring as well.
  • Service time considerations played an oft-noted role in the promotional timeline of young Cubs star Kris Bryant, leading to a still-pending grievance. As Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun-Times reports, though, Bryant calls the matter a thing of the past. While the actual grievance proceeding has yet to reach a hearing, with all involved seemingly waiting for the new CBA to be negotiated, Bryant says it “never even crossed [his] mind” entering the season. “For me it’s just important to continue to go out there and do what I do, so that I can help the team in any way possible in where we’re at today,” Bryant said. “It’s just important for me to not even worry about it right now because it takes away from so much of what we have going this year. And that was last year’s news.”
  • Phillies manager Pete Mackanin says that he’s nearing a resolution of the team’s first-base situation, as Corey Seidman of CSNPhilly.com reports. It seems quite possible that Tommy Joseph will receive the official designation as the starting first bagger, which is essentially the way things have been trending anyway. That would put Ryan Howard in a tenuous position, though it’s not at all clear whether Philadelphia has any intentions of cutting him loose. The 24-year-old Joseph is off to a nice .311/.313/.590 start over his first 64 MLB plate appearances, while the 36-year-old Howard is mired in a .150/.210/.333 opening to the year. In years past, we’ve talked about the former star slugger as a possible trade chip who might allow the Phillies to save some cash. Now, however, it seems he’ll either finish out the season in a limited role or end up hunting for another team on the open market.
  • Dodgers right-hander Brandon McCarthy will begin a minor league rehab assignment within a week, manager Dave Roberts told reporters, including Andy McCullough of the Los Angeles Times (Twitter link). McCarthy had Tommy John surgery just weeks into the first season of a four-year, $48MM contract with the Dodgers and has been rehabbing since undergoing the operation late last April. A return to health would be a nice boost to a Dodgers rotation that has been ravaged by injuries, though he’ll of course need some time to build up innings in the minors. As for another of the Dodgers’ injured starters, Hyun-jin Ryu, Roberts said the team still doesn’t know when the left-hander will appear in a game at any level. Shoulder problems have sidelined Ryu for much of the past two years.

NL Notes: Padres, D-backs, Dodgers, Nats

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Padres general manager A.J. Preller told reporters – including AJ Cassavell of MLB.com – that four to five clubs called him with interest in right-hander James Shields, whom San Diego ended up trading to the White Sox on Saturday. With the Shields trade out of the way, Preller doesn’t expect to do much else until things heat up around the trade deadline, he added.

More from San Diego and a few other NL cities:

  • There’s a “pretty good possibility” righty Erik Johnson, one of the two players the Padres received for Shields, will slot into their rotation as Shields’ long-term replacement, manager Andy Green said (Twitter link via Cassavell). For now, the Padres have optioned Johnson to Triple-A El Paso, according to Dennis Lin of the San Diego Union-Tribune (on Twitter).
  • Diamondbacks chief baseball officer Tony La Russa told Jon Heyman of FanRag Sports that the club has “no regrets” about the widely panned offseason trade that sent Dansby Swanson, Ender Inciarte and Aaron Blair to Atlanta for righty Shelby Miller. Nevertheless, La Russa believes that Swanson – the top pick in last year’s draft – “will be a star” in the majors.
  • Injured Dodgers starters Hyun-jin Ryu and Brandon McCarthy are unlikely to make it back before the All-Star break, per Bill Plunkett of the Orange County Register (Twitter links here). Ryu, who had a setback last week with his surgically repaired left shoulder, will need to make at least four rehab starts before he can return to the majors. He has to resume throwing first, however. McCarthy also isn’t ready to begin a rehab assignment. In the meantime, the 2015 Tommy John recipient will throw a three-inning, 60-pitch sim game at some point in the coming days.
  • Right-hander Bronson Arroyo is recovering well from partial tears in his rotator cuff tendons and hopes to pitch for the Nationals this season, Bill Ladson of MLB.com relays. Arroyo, whose injury forced him to use a sidearm delivery in early May, is now healthy enough to throw from a three-quarter arm slot, Ladson writes. “I guess my shoulder has turned the corner,” Arroyo told Ladson. “Now, the shoulder feels pretty good. It’s little less pressure throwing sidearm, but it has been OK throwing over the top. “ The 39-year-old, who hasn’t appeared in the majors since 2014, has been pitching intrasquad games at the Nationals’ spring training complex in Florida. He’s likely to make five more starts there before the team reevaluates him July 1. If all goes well, Arroyo could then begin a rehab assignment and perhaps join the Nationals down the stretch. Arroyo has started in the vast majority of his major league appearances (369 of 405), but he told Ladson he’d be willing to work out of the Nats’ bullpen.

Injury Notes: Hill, Ryu, McCarthy, Zimmermann, Ackley

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The Athletics suffered a bit of a scare today as surprise staff ace Rich Hill left his outing early. It’s being diagnosed as only a “real mild groin strain,” though, manager Bob Melvin told reporters including Joe Stiglich of CSN Bay Area reports (Twitter links). Hill himself suggested that he doesn’t expect to miss a start, let alone require a DL placement, though obviously that’ll depend upon how the injury progresses. Oakland will obviously hope that Hill can keep up his impressive start to the year — a 2.25 ERA through 11 starts, with more strikeouts than hits and walks allowed — in order to help keep the club alive in the AL West or otherwise turn into a prime trade chip.

Here are some more health-related matters of note around the game:

  • Dodgers lefty Hyun-jin Ryu needs to skip at least one start after experiencing shoulder soreness, as MLB.com’s Ken Gurnick reports. Manager Dave Roberts says that he’s not yet sure what to expect in terms of Ryu’s timeline, in a video tweeted by J.P. Hoornstra of the Los Angeles News Group. “We were kind of thinking middle of June,” Roberts said of Ryu’s anticipated return to the majors. “With this little setback, it pushes that back.”
  • Fellow Dodgers starter Brandon McCarthy is still making positive strides in his own rehab, as Hoornstra further notes on Twitter. The veteran righty is set to face live hitters tomorrow, marking an important point in his return from Tommy John surgery.
  • Tigers righty Jordan Zimmermann is nearly ready to return from his recent groin injury. Per Anthony Fenech of the Detroit Free Press, via Twitter, the veteran hurler will start on Friday so long as a bullpen session tomorrow doesn’t give rise to any concerns.
  • Dustin Ackley is out of action for the Yankees and may well be facing a DL stint after suffering a shoulder injury, Chad Jennings of the LoHud Yankees Blog reports. New York could turn to veterans Nick Swisher or Chris Parmelee, both of whom are playing at Triple-A, Jennings suggests. It appears, though, that the club will look to get Mark Teixeira back in the lineup rather than reaching into the minors for another option at first, per George A. King III of the New York Post. That could allow the team to shore up another area, without implicating the 40-man roster, if Ackley hits the disabled list.

Dodgers Notes: Urias, O’Day, Ryu, McCarthy

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Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said Saturday that he doesn’t feel the need to ask the front office to promote left-handed wunderkind Julio Urias because the team’s executives already know Roberts wants it to happen, tweets Andy McCullough of the Los Angeles Times. Roberts stated May 7 that Urias was atop the Dodgers’ list of potential call-ups, but the club has since promoted Mike Bolsinger and Chin-hui Tsao instead, as noted by the Times’ Bill Shaikin (on Twitter). Urias, for his part, continued making his big league case Friday night by throwing five scoreless innings for Triple-A Oklahoma City. The 19-year-old has now worked 27 straight scoreless frames and has posted a 1.10 ERA, 44 strikeouts and eight walks in 41 innings on the season.

More on the Dodgers, who entered play Saturday at a disappointing 21-22:

  • Los Angeles heavily pursued Orioles setup man Darren O’Day when he was a free agent over the winter, reports Shaikin. President of baseball operations Andrew Friedman went so far as to have conversations with O’Day, not just his agent, but the 33-year-old elected to re-sign with Baltimore on a four-year, $31MM pact. “As persuasive as Andrew Friedman is, and the Dodgers are a great franchise, it’s a long way from home,” said O’Day. “If I was a single guy, I’d probably be wearing white and blue.” The Dodgers have shuffled through several eighth-inning options this year, as Shaikin writes, which perhaps could have been avoided had they landed O’Day.
  • Southpaw Hyun-jin Ryu will start for Oklahoma City on Wednesday, Bill Plunkett of the Orange County Register was among those to report (via Twitter), and could rejoin the Dodgers as early as June 9, according to J.P. Hoornstra of the Los Angeles News Group. Ryu, who hasn’t appeared in a major league game since October 2014, is working his way back from May 2015 shoulder surgery. The 29-year-old was a stellar part of the Dodgers’ rotation during his first two seasons, totaling 344 innings of 3.17 ERA/2.97 FIP/3.27 xFIP ball.
  • The news isn’t as positive on right-hander Brandon McCarthy, per Plunkett. McCarthy’s throwing program has been temporarily halted after he experienced arm-related discomfort following a recent live batting practice session, said general manager Farhan Zaidi. However, the Dodgers don’t think this setback will affect McCarthy’s scheduled early July return from 2015 Tommy John surgery.

NL Notes: Braun, Soler, Ryu

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If the Brewers shop star left fielder Ryan Braun this year, his contract will serve as a deterrent to many clubs, according to MLB Network’s Jon Morosi, who adds that Braun’s wrist is also a concern (Twitter link). The Brewers scratched Braun from their game Saturday because of a sore right wrist, the severity of which is currently unknown. Notably, he has dealt with significant right thumb issues in past seasons. Braun, 32, is hitting a red-hot .367/.434/.586 with seven home runs in 143 plate appearances this season and has another five years and $76MM, including a $4MM buyout in 2021, remaining on his contract after 2016.

More from the National League:

  • Outfielder Jorge Soler is one of the few Cubs performing poorly this season, and the 24-year-old was also a disappointment in 2015, but the organization isn’t concerned about his struggles. “Guys are asking Joe ’What do you need to see so you don’t give up on him?'” said president of baseball operations Theo Epstein, per ESPN’s Jesse Rogers. “That’s absurd. If we had walked away from him last year we probably don’t get out of the Cardinals series… That’s how good he is capable of being.” Epstein went on to add that Soler’s “going to get plenty of at-bats, he’s going to get hot and he’s going to carry us.” Manager Joe Maddon is similarly bullish on Soler, stating, “If you put your scout’s hat on you’ll see what the eventual reward will look like.” As Epstein alluded to, the Cuba native had a remarkable two-game stretch in last fall’s NLDS, during which he went 4 for 4 with four walks and a pair of home runs in wins over the Cardinals. This year, though, he has hit just .174/.263/.267 with two homers in 99 PAs.
  • Dodgers left-hander Hyun-jin Ryu will start a rehab assignment Sunday with Class-A Rancho Cucamonga and throw two innings, reports Andy McCullough of the Los Angeles Times (Twitter links) . Manager Dave Roberts expects Ryu to need five rehab starts before rejoining the Dodgers. Ryu, who hasn’t appeared in a major league game since October 2014, is working his way back from May 2015 shoulder surgery.
  • Injured Brewers reliever Sean Nolin looks poised to undergo Tommy John surgery, tweets Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. The left-handed Nolin, whom the Brewers claimed off waivers from Oakland in February, has been on the shelf all season because of a UCL sprain.

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