AL Injury Notes: Tigers, Maybin, Lucroy
The Tigers had a bit of a good news/bad news day in regards to some currently injured players. Gargantuan catcher Grayson Greiner has reportedly suffered a setback in his recovery process, per Chris McCosky of the Detroit News. Sidelined with a lower back injury since June 13th, Greiner experienced a “flare up” in that region during a rehab game with High-A Lakeland. Apparently, subsequent tests have revealed a deeper issue: “They took a scan and saw something,” said Tigers skipper Ron Gardenhire. “Not a break, but a stress area, so they’ve immobilized it.” Greiner has been shut down from all baseball activities for the moment, so catching duties will continue to be split between John Hicks and Bobby Wilson, while a potential call-up of prospect Jake Rogers still looms in the offing.
In more positive Motor City news, Gardenhire revealed in McCosky’s report that second sacker Josh Harrison (hamstring) is nearing a rehab assignment, with the club eyeing a return at the end of July.
More injury check-ins from around the junior circuit…
- Well-traveled Yankees outfielder Cameron Maybin has already had an eventful season thus far in 2019. After being cut by the Giants in the wake of a mid-spring DUI arrest and subsequently bouncing to the Indians Triple-A affiliate, Maybin was acquired by an injury-stricken Bombers team that was in sore need of outfield reinforcement. Though he provided superlative offensive performance in his first 42 games in pinstripes (138 wRC+), he hasn’t appeared in a game since suffering a calf injury on June 21st. According to Kristie Ackert of the New York Daily News, though, Maybin was running and participating in drills at Yankee Stadium today before the team’s game against the Blue Jays. No word has been given on a rehab date or possible return timeline for Maybin, but the club would certainly welcome back another outfield option given the current status of slugger Giancarlo Stanton.
- Of course, no team has had a more eventful or emotional season thus far than the Angels. The tragic death of Tyler Skaggs–to say nothing of Friday night’s combined no-hitter dedicated to his memory–would seem to overshadow any baseball-related news story in a given season. However, for a moment, last Sunday’s homeplate collision between Jake Marisnick and Jonathan Lucroy was perhaps the most hot-button topic in sports. “The last thing I remember, I was kind of inching my way up the line and reaching for the baseball,” Lucroy said in a report by the Los Angeles Times’ Mike DiGiovanna. “The first thing I remember after that is when they put me on the golf cart. He knocked me out.” The report goes on to mention that Marisnick–who is appealing a two-game suspension in connection with the collision–texted an apology to Lucroy last week. Lucroy, fortunately, doesn’t expect to be sidelined by his resultant injuries for “too long.”
Angels Activate Matt Harvey, Designate Jarrett Parker
The Angels have activated right-hander Matt Harvey from the injured list and designated outfielder Jarrett Parker for assignment, the team announced.
The 30-year-old Harvey is returning after missing almost two months because of an upper back strain. Signed to a one-year, $11MM contract in the offseason, the ex-Met and Red started this season with a nightmarish 7.50 ERA/6.22 FIP and 6.56 K/9 against 3.94 BB/9 in 48 innings before going on the IL.
Harvey will start for the Angels on Saturday against the Mariners, though he’ll have an extraordinarily difficult act to follow. The Angels’ pitchers, honoring fallen left-hander Tyler Skaggs, threw a combined no-hitter versus the Mariners on Friday in what will go down as one of the greatest team efforts in baseball history.
Parker, 30, didn’t last long on the Angels’ 40-man roster. They selected the former Giant’s contract from Triple-A Salt Lake on July 3, but Parker only collected 15 plate appearances as a Halo before losing his spot. Parker has slashed an outstanding .296/.424/.604 with 19 home runs in 283 PA with Salt Lake this year, however. Furthermore, although Parker had to settle for a minor league contract with the Angels last winter, he owns a solid .249/.330/.441 line with a 107 wRC+ and 15 home runs in 397 trips to the plate in the majors. Most of Parker’s success in the bigs occurred from 2015-16, though.
Zack Cozart To Undergo Season-Ending Shoulder Surgery
6:05pm: GM Billy Eppler says that Cozart will not return to action this year, as J.P. Hoornstra of the Southern California News Group was among those to tweet. The club is reinstating backstop Kevan Smith from the IL to take the place of injured catcher Jonathan Lucroy.
4:55pm: The Angels announced today that infielder Zack Cozart will undergo an “arthroscopic debridement of his left shoulder.” He has been shifted to the 60-day injured list, making roster space for today’s earlier transactions.
It’s not clear at the moment just what the expectations are moving forward for Cozart, whose tenure in Los Angeles has been an unmitigated disaster. There is no indication at present whether he will attempt to return later this season, though there does not appear to be much cause for optimism at this point.
Cozart had already been out for about a month when he revealed that his attempt to return without surgery had stalled out. After a few more weeks of waiting, he’ll now go under the knife. His three-year, $38MM contract expires at the end of the 2020 campaign.
When they signed him, the Halos hoped that Cozart would team with Andrelton Simmons on the left side of the infield to form an outstanding defensive and solid offensive pairing. Instead, Cozart has struggled to stay on the field and performed miserably when he has been able to suit up. The 33-year-old owns a meager .190/.261/.296 batting line in his 360 plate appearances in Anaheim.
Angels Acquire Adam McCreery, Josh Thole From Dodgers
The Angels have added a pair of players out of the break, acquiring lefty Adam McCreery and catcher Josh Thole from the Dodgers in exchange for cash considerations.
The move will help bolster the Halos’ depth. It’ll also clear needed 40-man roster space for their cross-town rivals. The Dodgers activated outfielder A.J. Pollock today from the 60-day injured list. He’ll be joined by Corey Seager and David Freese in returning to the active roster.
Acquired last November, McCreery had yet to appear at the MLB level with the Dodgers but did hold a 40-man spot. In 35 2/3 upper-minors innings this season, he carries a 4.04 ERA with 9.8 K/9 and 5.8 BB/9. The southpaw briefly cracked the majors last year with Atlanta but has yet to receive a full opportunity — due in no small part to the fact that he has not yet conquered persistent walk problems.
The 30-year-old Thole was once a consistent presence in the majors, functioning mostly as a reserve backstop with the Mets and Blue Jays from 2009 through 2016. He hasn’t cracked the bigs since, however, and has mostly carried marginal offensive numbers at Triple-A that befit his lifetime .242/.313/.306 slash through 1,499 plate appearances at the game’s highest level.
Jake Marisnick Receives Two-Game Suspension
1:29pm: Marisnick is appealing the suspension, according to MLBPA communications director Chris Dahl (hat tip to Mark Berman of KRIV Fox 26).
12:28pm: Astros outfielder Jake Marisnick has been suspended for two games and fined an undisclosed amount as a result of the home-plate collision that fractured Jonathan Lucroy‘s nose and concussed the Halos’ catcher, the league announced Thursday. If Marisnick does not appeal the punishment, he’ll begin serving it tonight.
“After thoroughly reviewing the play from all angles, I have concluded that Jake’s actions warrant discipline,” MLB chief baseball officer Joe Torre said in a statement accompanying the announcement. “While I do not believe that Jake intended to injure Jonathan, the contact he initiated in his attempt to score violated Official Baseball Rule 6.01(i), which is designed to protect catchers from precisely this type of collision.”
The play in question (video link) saw Marisnick attempt to score on a flyout to Kole Calhoun. While the impact of the collision led Lucroy to drop the throw from right field, Marisnick was still ruled out due the collision. Lucroy appeared to have left a lane open, though Marisnick explained on Twitter after the incident that he misjudged the situation in making a split-second decision:
“Through my eyes I thought the play was going to end up on the outside of the plate,” Marisnick tweeted. “I made a split second decision at full speed to slide head first on the inside part of the plate. That decision got another player hurt and I feel awful. I hope nothing but the best for [Jonathan Lucroy].”
The suspension would cost Marisnick roughly $24K of this season’s $2.212MM salary (in addition to the fine). Through 72 games and 194 plate appearances this season, Marisnick is hitting .250/.309/.466 with eight home runs, 12 doubles, a triple and six steals.
Jonathan Lucroy Diagnosed With Concussion, Broken Nose
TODAY: Lucroy was diagnosed with a concussion and fractured nose, per a team announcement. It is not known at this point approximately how much time he will miss.
The veteran backstop is slated to visit with an ENT physician after the swelling has gone down, at which time perhaps more will be known. That visit is not expected to take place until after All-Star break.
YESTERDAY: Angels catcher Jonathan Lucroy was taken out of today’s game after a scary-looking collision at home plate with the Astros’ Jake Marisnick. In the eighth inning of a tied 10-10 game, Marisnick attempted to score from third on a fly ball, and ran directly into Lucroy as the catcher had to move slightly up the line to pursue the throw. (Marisnick was called out for an illegal collision.) Lucroy had a bloody nose and attempted to get up after the play, though team trainers convinced him to stay down for examination.
Lucroy was taken to hospital for a CT scan, as per an Angels team announcement, and the catcher will be examined for a possible nose fracture and a possible concussion. More will be known after Lucroy is seen by doctors, though even with the All-Star break providing four days of recovery time, it would seem likely that Lucroy will face an injured list placement.
Lucroy was 2-for-4 with a double and a triple in the game, bringing his season total to .237/.307/.364 over 264 plate appearances. Signed to a one-year contract worth $3.35MM guaranteed over the offseason, Lucroy is in his third straight season of below-average offensive production after several years as one of baseball’s best-hitting catchers earlier in the decade. As per Baseball Prospectus, he is also near the bottom of the league in both pitch-framing and blocking numbers in 2019.
Kevan Smith has seen more time behind the plate for Los Angeles in the wake of Lucroy’s struggles, though Smith is currently on the injured list himself recovering from a hand strain. If both Lucroy and Smith are sidelined following the All-Star break, Dustin Garneau becomes the Halos’ top choice behind the plate, with Jose Briceno on the 40-man roster down at Triple-A. It remains to be seen if the 45-46 Angels will be buyers or sellers at the trade deadline, though catching could potentially be a target area if the club does decide to add pieces to make a wild card run.
AL West Notes: Astros, Pence, Harvey, Mariners
The Astros will have a difficult decision to make after the All-Star break, when they will need to find a fifth starter to join the current group. As The Athletic’s Jake Kaplan writes (subscription required), Houston has gotten by with only four starters lately, thanks to a schedule that has afforded the team some well-timed off days. Corbin Martin would ideally be the guy to step up, but his season was cut short by an elbow injury. As Kaplan notes, the Astros are widely expected to target starting pitching at the trade deadline, so whoever is chosen will only need to hold down the fort for the next few weeks. With the addition of a fifth starter, of course, someone will lose their roster spot, and that may just be Tony Kemp. Kemp has seen his role diminish of late, receiving only sparing playing time while fellow bench bats Myles Straw and Tyler White fill more essential spots. Notably, Kemp is out of options, meaning that he will need to clear waivers if the Astros would like to demote him while keeping him in the organization.
- It doesn’t look like Rangers designated hitter Hunter Pence will be ready to return to game action immediately following the All-Star break, according to TR Sullivan of MLB.com. As Sullivan notes, Pence, who is recovering from a right groin strain, has yet to get to back to running full speed. Pence hasn’t appeared in a game for the Rangers since the middle of June, when he landed on the injured list. A minor-league signing last winter, Pence has been a revelation for Texas, emerging as a force in the middle of the lineup. His efforts earned him a spot on the All-Star roster, though he won’t be able to participate thanks to the injury.
- After the break, the Angels expect to welcome Matt Harvey back to the starting rotation, according to Jeff Fletcher of the Southern California News Group. On Sunday, he made a start for Triple-A Salt Lake, striking out seven batters in 3 1/3 innings of work. An upper back strain has prevented the veteran from pitching in the Majors since late May. When he has pitched for the Halos, though, the results have not been good: he’s worked to an unsightly 7.50 ERA in 10 starts and has thus far failed to live up to the $11MM contract he received in the offseason. Of course, he’ll have the rest of the season to reverse that, and he certainly has the talent to boost the playoff-hopeful Angels into the Wild Card conversation.
- Mariners right-handed pitcher Dan Altavilla will avoid Tommy John surgery after receiving the results from an MRI, tweets Greg Johns of MLB.com. That MRI showed no damage to Altavilla’s UCL, though he did endure a flexor strain in his elbow. To be sure, there’s nothing encouraging about elbow injuries, but the silver lining is that Altavilla won’t need to undergo Tommy John. Altavilla landed on the injured list after he “felt something in his forearm” while pitching on Friday.
Injured Angels’ Pitchers Making Progress
The Angels are close to welcoming back a pair of starting pitchers, as Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic was among those to cover (Twitter links here). Matt Harvey is slated to rejoin the rotation out of the All-Star break, while JC Ramirez appears to be nearing activation as well after a typically lengthy Tommy John rehab process. Meanwhile, reliever and fellow Tommy John patient Keynan Middleton began a rehab assignment Friday.
Harvey went to the injured list with an upper back strain May 25 and then suffered a setback June 10, continuing a nightmarish season. The Angels took a one-year, $11MM flier on Harvey in free agency, but the decision has emphatically gone against the team thus far. Once an ace with the Mets, Harvey joined the Angels after finishing 2018 in respectable fashion with the Reds. In his first two months as an Angel, though, the 30-year-old performed like one of the majors’ worst starters, notching a 7.50 ERA/6.11 FIP with 6.56 K/9 against 3.94 BB/9 across 48 frames.
Ramirez, also 30, hasn’t taken the mound for the Angels since going under the knife last April. The righty managed effective results in 142 1/3 innings as a starter for the Angels in 2017, when he put up a 4.11 ERA (with a 4.67 FIP), 6.45 K/9, 2.97 BB/9 and a 51.4 percent groundball rate. A 95.5 mph fastball helped Ramirez achieve that success, though Triple-A Salt Lake broadcaster Steve Klauke tweeted last week that the hurler’s velocity has been far less imposing during his rehab work. That was again the case Friday, per Klauke, who reports Ramirez hovered around 88 to 92 mph while tossing six innings of three-run ball.
Sadly for the Angels, the upcoming returns of Harvey and Ramirez have taken on added importance in light of starter Tyler Skaggs‘ passing this week. At 45-44 and 4 1/2 games out of playoff position, the club has an outside chance at earning a wild-card spot. But the Angels will need more from a starting staff which is trying its best to carry on under terrible circumstances. None of the Angels’ current options have posted exemplary production to this point, though there’s plenty of promise in the form of Andrew Heaney and the young tandem of Griffin Canning and Jose Suarez.
Angels starters have handed off to a bullpen which has received quality late-game production from Ty Buttrey, Hansel Robles and Cam Bedrosian. When Middleton comes back, the 25-year-old will add another high-octane arm to the group. With help from a 96 mph heater, the right-handed Middleton logged a 3.43 ERA/4.24 FIP with 9.36 K/9 and 3.2 BB/9 in 76 innings from 2017-18. He underwent surgery last May.
West Notes: Yordan, Angels, Rangers, Padres
Rookie sensation Yordan Alvarez garnered some first base experience during his time in the minors, but the Astros have no intention of trying him there in the majors this year, per Chandler Rome of the Houston Chronicle. The team wasn’t “comfortable” with Alvarez’s performance at first in the minors, according to manager A.J. Hinch. Thanks in part to that, the Astros will stick with the hot-hitting Yuli Gurriel as their starter, with Rome noting Aledmys Diaz will serve as the backup when he comes off the injured list. Alvarez will continue as a designated hitter/left fielder, a role which has suited him well during what has been a brilliant introduction to the majors. Through his first 69 plate appearances, the 22-year-old has slashed .317/.406/.733 (196 wRC+) with seven home runs.
More from the majors’ West divisions…
- The Angels received an encouraging second opinion this week on infielder Zack Cozart‘s problematic left shoulder, manager Brad Ausmus revealed (via Dave Sessions of MLB.com). The doctors “seem to be narrowing it down to a couple things it could be, and I guess the MRI is to further narrow that down,” Ausmus said. Cozart has been down since May 28 with inflammation in his shoulder, a joint that also cost him a significant chunk of 2018. He underwent season-ending surgery on a torn labrum last season, ending his first year with the Angels after just 58 games. Cozart will visit Dr. Neal ElAttrache, who performed his surgery a year ago, for more imaging tests Friday, Sessions relays.
- The Rangers were within a week of summoning reliever Matt Bush back to the majors before he was diagnosed with a torn ulnar collateral ligament in his right elbow, Jeff Wilson of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram reports. Bush had been rehabbing a prior UCL injury all season, but this week’s news means he’ll wind up missing the entire campaign and surely a large portion of 2020. The Rangers plan on sticking with in-house relievers to help fill Bush’s void in the immediate term, according to Wilson, though he suggests the injury will place a greater urgency on the club to acquire outside help before the July 31 trade deadline.
- Padres left-handed reliever Jose Castillo – out all season because of a flexor strain – could be one bullpen session away from restarting a rehab assignment, manager Andy Green said Thursday (via AJ Cassavell of MLB.com). The 23-year-old was pitching in what was supposed to be his final rehab appearance June 10 when he suffered a setback. Castillo was a quietly outstanding piece of the Padres’ bullpen as a rookie in 2018, when he pitched to a 3.29 ERA/2.64 FIP with 12.21 K/9 and 2.82 BB/9.
162 Games Of Shohei Ohtani
The Angels had far more important things on their mind Tuesday, a night in which they mourned the loss of friend and teammate Tyler Skaggs, but their game against the Rangers marked Shohei Ohtani‘s 162nd as a part of their offense. Injuries have prevented the two-way phenom from making a greater impact since he emigrated from Japan entering the 2018 season, but in the full season he has played, Ohtani has more than matched the overwhelming hype that accompanied his arrival.
Although there wasn’t much question Ohtani would turn into a front-line starter when he left his homeland for the majors, there was plenty of doubt regarding how well he’d fare as a hitter. It turns out Ohtani has made more of a mark on the offensive end to this point, though the fact that he underwent Tommy John surgery last October is partially the reason for that. The righty-throwing Ohtani accumulated only 51 2/3 and 10 starts in 2018, when he logged a terrific 3.31 ERA/3.57 FIP with 10.97 K/9 against 3.83 BB/9.
Ohtani’s pitching numbers will stay in place until he returns to the mound from his TJ procedure in 2020. That same surgery stopped Ohtani from making his 2019 debut as a hitter until May 7, but the DH has more than made up for lost time in the nearly two months since then.
The lefty-swinging Ohtani burst on the scene last year with a .285/.361/.564 line (152 wRC+) and 22 home runs in 367 plate appearances. Thanks to that and his output on the mound, Ohtani rightly took home American League Rookie of the Year honors. While Ohtani hasn’t been quite as strong this year on a rate basis, he has still been a premier hitter, evidenced by his 142 wRC+.
Across 195 trips to the plate, Ohtani has slashed .303/.359/.554 with 12 homers. Now, 162 games and 562 PA into his career as a major league batter, Ohtani owns a .291/.360/.561 slash – good for an exemplary 148 wRC+ – with 34 homers. His .269 isolated power ranks 10th in the majors since 2018, wedging him between the powerful duo of Khris Davis and Luke Voit. The speedy Ohtani has added 14 steals on 19 tries for good measure, giving him a 3.9 fWAR over a full season as a major league offensive player.
Ohtani was marvelous last year and has been again this season, though there are some differences in the way he has compiled his production. Ohtani’s pulling pitches less, hitting far more grounders and far fewer fly balls, all of which has led to a power decrease. He’s still formidable in that department, though. An uptick in line drives has helped Ohtani rank near the absolute top of the majors in expected slugging percentage (86th percentile), expected weighted on-base average (89th percentile), hard-hit percentage (94th percentile), expected batting average (95th percentile) and average exit velocity (99th percentile), according to Statcast. The difference between his .378 xwOBA and .382 wOBA, both of which rank in the top 40 among hitters with at least 150 PA, is negligible.
It’s unwise to draw conclusions from such a small sample, yet it’s worth noting the lefty-swinging Ohtani has been much better against same-handed pitchers than he was a year ago. As FanGraphs’ heat maps indicate (2018, 2019), Ohtani showed no power versus lefties when they threw pitches belt high or lower on the outer half last season. That hasn’t been the case at all this year, on the other hand. At the same time, he has taken tremendous steps forward against breaking pitches in general – after managing a .292/.300 wOBA/xwOBA versus such offerings in 2018, he’s up to .414/.363 a couple months into the current season. Ohtani has shown further growth as a hitter by chasing less outside the zone, swinging and missing at fewer pitches and making much more contact than he did during his rookie campaign.
There is room for improvement when it comes to plate discipline for Ohtani, whose K/BB ratio has hung around the league average in each of his two seasons. And he could have a difficult time continuing to uphold a .350 batting average, which he recorded last year and has again this season. However, as a fast runner who hits the ball hard and amasses a lot of grounders and liners, his skill set is conducive to a high BABIP.
Several months before Ohtani’s much-ballyhooed free-agent derby began, MLBTR contributor Chuck Wasserstrom surveyed scouts on what type of major league hitter he’d become. They didn’t forecast an elite-caliber offensive player, but that’s what Ohtani has been through his first full season at the plate. The fact that the two-way force hasn’t really begun to realize his potential as a pitcher is all the more thrilling for the Angels and all the more concerning for the rest of the league.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.