Dodgers Rumors

IL Placements: Verdugo, Kintzler, Duffy, Luplow

By Steve Adams | August 6, 2019 at 6:50pm CDT

The Dodgers announced Tuesday that outfielder Alex Verdugo has been placed on the 10-day injured list due to a right oblique strain. Corner infielder Edwin Rios is up from Triple-A Oklahoma City to give the club another bat in his place. Los Angeles also optioned right-hander Tony Gonsolin to Triple-A Oklahoma City and recalled lefty Caleb Ferguson to add a fresh arm. The Dodgers have the NL West all but wrapped up in early August, so the Dodgers have every reason to proceed with caution regarding Verdugo’s recovery. The longtime prospect has turned in a very strong .294/.342/.475 batting line with a dozen home runs, 22 doubles, two triples and four steals through 377 plate appearances in his first full big league season. Oblique injuries can often take a month to heal, though manager Dave Roberts kept things vague regarding Verdugo, simply telling reporters he’ll need 10 days or more to recover (Twitter link via Ken Gurnick of MLB.com).

Some more notable injury list placements from around baseball…

The Cubs swapped out one right-hander for another Tuesday, placing Brandon Kintzler on the 10-day IL due to right pectoral inflammation and activating righty Pedro Strop in his place. The 35-year-old Kintzler has rebounded from an awful 2018 run with Chicago (7.00 ERA in 18 innings) to post a 2.33 ERA with 7.8 K/9, 1.9 BB/9, 0.78 HR/9 and a 53.3 percent ground-ball rate in 46 1/3 innings out of the ’pen in 2019. Right-handers must wonder whether to bother stepping into the box against Kintzler, as they’ve managed just a .133/.200/.233 batting line against him this season. Lefties have had more success but still own a lackluster .245/.297/.382 line against Kintzler.
Left-hander Danny Duffy was placed on the 10-day IL (retroactive to Aug. 4) due to a strained hamstring, the Royals announced. Kansas City has recalled right-hander Jake Newberry from Triple-A Omaha in his place. The 30-year-old Duffy is in the midst of his second straight rough season, having logged a 4.93 ERA with 8.1 K/9, 3.2 BB/9 and 1.70 HR/9 in 100 1/3 innings of work this season. The five-year, $65MM contract signed by Duffy prior to the 2017 season looked plenty affordable at the time, but he’s been hampered by elbow and shoulder impingements since signing that deal (in addition to this more recent, and minor, hamstring issue).
Indians outfielder Jordan Luplow is headed to the 10-day IL due to a hamstring strain, the team announced. Speedster Greg Allen is back up from Triple-A in a corresponding move. Acquired in an offseason trade with the Pirates, Luplow has proven to be an outstanding platoon outfielder in Cleveland. While he’s only mustered a .230/.269/.322 line against right-handers, he’s laid waste to left-handed opponents with a .305/.407/.667 slash. Luplow has blasted 10 homers and eight doubles in just 105 plate appearances while holding the platoon advantage. The timing of the injury isn’t great for Cleveland, as the Indians are slated to face four lefty starters in the next eight days.

NL Injury Notes: Dodgers, Cubs, Phillies, Brewers

By Connor Byrne | August 6, 2019 at 12:13am CDT

Dodgers southpaw Rich Hill has made just one appearance in relief since he revived his career in 2015, but it’s possible he’ll finish the season in bullpen when he comes off the injured list, Bill Plunkett of the Orange County Register relays. Hill has been out since June 20 with a flexor tendon strain, and while his recovery’s going well, he may not have enough time to build up his arm strength for a return to the Dodgers’ rotation. “Ideally, starting is the priority,” said Hill, but he’s just eager to “get back to pitching” in some capacity. Meanwhile, utilityman Chris Taylor – who fractured his left forearm July 14 – remains hopeful he’ll come back at the low end of the four- to six-week period the Dodgers said he would miss. Taylor will first have to embark on a rehab assignment, though, and he hasn’t progressed to that point yet.

Dodgers Plan To Start Julio Urias In 2020

By Connor Byrne | August 5, 2019 at 9:46pm CDT

Dodgers left-hander Julio Urias has spent the majority of the season working out of their bullpen, but the club expects to change his role in 2020, manager Dave Roberts told Alden Gonzalez of ESPN.com and other reporters Monday.

“We project him to be a starter for us next year,” Roberts said, “and many years to come.”

Urias entered the majors as a hyped 19-year-old prospect in 2016. He started in 15 of 18 appearances that season, but because the Dodgers were monitoring his workload as a rookie, he only totaled 77 innings. Urias nonetheless thrived over that span, pitching to a 3.39 ERA/3.17 FIP with 9.82 K/9 against 3.62 BB/9. The hope then was that Urias would offer similar or better production over a larger number of innings going forward, but he instead underwent a major procedure – anterior capsule surgery on his left shoulder – in June 2017 and combined for just 27 1/3 innings between that year and last season.

Set to turn 23 next week, Urias has returned from his injury (and a May domestic violence arrest, for which charges weren’t filed) to serve as one of the strongest members of a somewhat shaky bullpen. He’s hands down the top lefty option in a relief corps that has dealt with significant injuries to veteran southpaws Scott Alexander (our since June 7 with forearm inflammation) and now-Cardinal Tony Cingrani (out all season because of shoulder issues). Through 37 1/3 innings as a reliever, Urias has notched a 1.93 ERA/3.59 FIP with 8.44 K/9, 3.13 BB/9 and a 44.6 percent groundball rate. Adding to his value, Urias has given the Dodgers more than one inning in most of his appearances.

As the NL-leading Dodgers take another shot at a World Series this year, they’ll consider deploying Urias as one of their main setup men, per Roberts. Beyond that, with Hyun-Jin Ryu and Rich Hill scheduled to become free agents over the winter, there will be room for Urias in the Dodgers’ rotation.

Pitcher Notes: Kluber, Stripling, Alvarado

By Dylan A. Chase | August 4, 2019 at 12:54am CDT

Indians fans will be relieved to hear that Corey Kluber was back to throwing darts at Progressive Field again on Saturday–even if Kluber’s teammates weren’t set to take the field for several hours. Before Cleveland’s game with the Angels today, the decorated hurler threw roughly 35 pitches in a simulated game setting, according to a report from Anthony Castrovince of MLB.com. While facing three batters from the organization’s Double-A Akron affiliate, Kluber was able to get his fastball up to 89 mph, which manager Terry Francona saw as encouraging progress. “I was kinda surprised [Kluber] was actually at that point, just because [of] the lack of what he’s been doing for three months,” Francona told reporters. Kluber has been sidelined since May 1st with a non-displaced fracture to his arm’s ulna bone–an injury he suffered when struck by a comebacker off the bat of Miami’s Brian Anderson. After the Progressive session, Francona said Kluber would start his rehab assignment in the minors on Thursday.

More hurler hat tips from around the web…

Dodgers righty Ross Stripling was also seen on the mend today, as a “max effort” bullpen session didn’t seem to produce any pain in his injured neck and biceps, according to Orange County Register writer Bill Plunkett (Twitter link). Manager Dave Roberts later told Plunkett that Stripling would make an appearance with the club’s affiliate in Rancho Cucamonga on Tuesday, with the team still uncertain of his post-activation role on the roster (link). Of course, the Texas A&M product has shown comfort in his career thus far in both bullpen and starting roles: since his debut in 2016, Stripling has posted a 3.24 ERA in 125 career relief innings, contrasted with a respectable 3.70 ERA in 248 starting frames.
Sidelined Rays reliever Jose Alvarado told Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times that he will likely rejoin his team next weekend for a slate of games against the Mariners, after completing two scheduled rehab appearances with Tampa affiliates (Twitter link). Juan Toribio of MLB.com further elucidates that Alvarado (oblique) will pitch tomorrow for High-A Charlotte–welcome news for a Rays team that has been without the strikeout-inducing arm of Alvarado since July 7th. The Tampa pen unit has pitched well in the last week following a rough July, but would surely benefit from the inclusion of Alvarado into a mix that was augmented greatly by the team’s moves at the MLB trade deadline.

Dodgers Place Hyun-Jin Ryu On 10-Day IL

By Jeff Todd | August 2, 2019 at 4:36pm CDT

The Dodgers announced that they’ve placed southpaw Hyun-Jin Ryu on the 10-day injured list with neck soreness. His anticipated timeline to return isn’t yet known.

In other moves, the L.A. org announced the already reported arrival of exciting pitching prospect Dustin May while recalling fellow righty Tony Gonsolin. Reliever Dylan Floro was optioned out to create roster space. Southpaw Scott Alexander moves to the 60-day injured list to make 40-man space for May.

Ryu, 32, has been on an unbelievable run of success since accepting a qualifying offer to remain with the Dodgers. In 21 starts, he has run up 135 2/3 innings of 1.53 ERA pitching while maintaining 7.8 K/9 against 1.1 BB/9 along with a 51.5% groundball rate.

It’s unlikely the veteran lefty will be able to keep up quite that level of output the rest of the way, but he seems to be in top form at an important time for a Dodgers club that just placed a big bet on its existing pitching options at the trade deadline. Given his lengthy injury history and limited accumulation of innings in recent campaigns, it’s not surprising to see Ryu hit the shelf. There’s no indication of the seriousness of the injury, but it’s reasonably likely the Los Angeles organization was as concerned with finding Ryu some down time as it was worried about this particular malady.

Quick Hits: Salazar, Dodgers, Mets, Asdrubal

By Connor Byrne | August 2, 2019 at 1:21am CDT

Oft-injured Indians right-hander Danny Salazar took a major league mound for the first time since 2017 on Thursday, but it wasn’t a triumphant return. Salazar lasted just four innings, in which he allowed two earned runs on four hits and three walks (with two strikeouts), in a 7-1 loss to Houston. It turns out Salazar was attempting to pitch through a groin issue, Joe Noga of cleveland.com was among those to cover. Salazar, who had been out with shoulder troubles, threw mostly changeups during his 66-pitch comeback and never exceeded 88.3 mph on the radar gun. That’s an enormous drop for a hurler who often overpowered hitters with 95 mph average fastball velocity from 2013-17. Salazar expressed confidence after the game that he’ll be fine, but the Indians will re-evaluate him Friday. It’s a situation that bears watching with the wild card-leading Indians’ rotation now much shallower in the wake of this week’s Trevor Bauer trade.

Friedman: Dodgers Missed On Top Targets Despite Aggressive Approach

By Jeff Todd | August 1, 2019 at 9:10am CDT

Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman defended his organization’s approach to the trade deadline, as J.P. Hoornstra of the Orange County Register reports. There was some consternation as the team came away with only Jedd Gyorko and Adam Kolarek yesterday, but Friedman says he’s satisfied the front office played its hand correctly.

“I think our position was to be aggressive,” said Friedman. “As far as process, conversations and how aggressive we were, we feel really good about what we can control,” he added.

With a generally exemplary roster, there weren’t many areas for the Dodgers to upgrade, though the bullpen was certainly one. Perhaps it didn’t help that many of the top relievers were held by the rival Giants. A late injury to Ken Giles may have skewed the top of the market.

Most of all, the Dodgers seemed to be focused (quite understandably) on a few top assets — in particular, so far as was known publicly, ace Pirates closer Felipe Vazquez. Whether they’d ultimately line up wasn’t so much a matter of broad market considerations as individual negotiations.

It simply didn’t happen on Vazquez, with the Bucs reportedly demanding top Dodgers prospect Gavin Lux. Pittsburgh GM Neal Huntington says the team was simply “looking for what we felt was an appropriate return for one of the best relievers in baseball,” as Rob Biertempfel of The Athletic reports (subscription link). That characterization of Vazquez — an apt one, it’s worth noting, even before considering his exceptionally valuable contract situation — offers some insight as to why the deal wasn’t consummated.

Friedman did not address Vazquez specifically. But he hinted that the club was willing to go beyond its valuations to land such a talent — just not as far as would’ve been necessary.

“If you expect to win a deal from a value standpoint in July, you’re not going to make deals,” he said. “We made plenty of offers that were definitely underwater from a value standpoint but felt good about making because of the team that we have.”

The subtext here is a tough one for some to accept: it was only worth so much future value to improve in the immediate term. Every team has had to reckon with such considerations, even before the analytical explosion. The narrative of the Dodgers as prospect-clutching misers is not really a fair one. This club went big for Yu Darvish and Manny Machado in successive deadlines. There really wasn’t much need for the team to seek marginal improvements to this particular roster, given the monster lead it has already built in the NL West.

Still, it’s tough for Dodgers fans not to wish that this team had somehow managed to install a premium new relief arm at the back of the pen. That’s especially true given how agonizingly close the team has come to a championship in recent campaigns, and how good it is already. The L.A. front office is confident it handled the trade market in a responsible manner, but it’s also aware that one never knows how the picture will look until the games are played. “A year or two from now, that could end up being a really good thing,” Friedman said of the way the deadline played out. “We’re not sure.”

Dodgers To Promote Dustin May

By Mark Polishuk | July 31, 2019 at 7:40pm CDT

The Dodgers will call up prized right-handed pitching prospect Dustin May in time for Friday’s game against the Padres, ESPN.com’s Jeff Passan reports (Twitter link).

The 21-year-old May only made his Triple-A debut on June 30, but he’ll now get his first taste of Major League competition after posting a 2.30 ERA over 27 1/3 innings for Triple-A Oklahoma City. Over his entire minor league career, May has a 3.50 ERA, 4.43 K/BB rate, and 8.8 K/9 rate in 403 2/3 innings.

A third-round pick in the 2016 draft, May emerged on multiple preseason prospect ranking lists, and his solid performance this year has only elevated his stock. Fangraphs currently ranks May as the eighth-best prospect in baseball, while ESPN.com’s Keith Law (13th), Baseball America (26th) and MLB.com (35th) were only somewhat less bullish.

May boasts a three-pitch arsenal that includes a two-seam fastball that can touch 97mph, a cutter that reaches the low-90s, and an impressive curveball. On the 20-80 scouting scale, MLB.com ranks all three pitches with at least a 60-grade, topped off with a 65-grade fastball. May throws a lot of strikes, and doesn’t allow many walks or home runs. While his 27 1/3 innings in Triple-A is a small sample size, May didn’t allow a single homer during his brief stint in the very hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League.

As one might expect, May’s potential has attracted a lot of attention from potential trade partners, though the Dodgers resisted all offers involving the young righty. May was reportedly heavily targeted by the Orioles last year when Baltimore and Los Angeles were in talks about Manny Machado, though the Dodgers were able to retain May while still landing Machado for a package of five other prospects. More recently, the Pirates had interest in May while discussing Felipe Vazquez deals with L.A.

With May still in the fold, he’ll now become a weapon for the Dodgers as they pursue another trip to the World Series. While the rotation hasn’t been quite as much of a revolving door for the Dodgers this season as in past years, May will slide into the fifth spot in the rotation with Rich Hill and Ross Stripling both sidelined with injuries. Julio Urias most recently served as the fifth starter, though it seems as though he’ll return to his previous role in the bullpen. Given how flexible the Dodgers are with pitcher usage, May will likely see some time as a reliever himself later in the season.

40-Man Moves: 7/31/19

By Connor Byrne | July 31, 2019 at 6:40pm CDT

This has been a trade-filled day across Major League Basbeall, leaving plenty of smaller moves somewhat unnoticed. Here’s a look at the DFAs, contract selections and other 40-man transactions that came along with today’s action…

The Blue Jays have claimed right-hander Brock Stewart off waivers from the Dodgers, Jorge Castillo of the Los Angeles Times tweets. Once a well-regarded prospect, the 27-year-old Stewart has only managed a 5.46 ERA/5.71 FIP in 84 innings since he debuted in the majors in 2016. Stewart has also experienced a nightmarish 2019 at the Triple-A level, where he has mustered a 7.34 ERA/7.22 FIP with 7.93 K/9 and 4.74 BB/9 in 76 innings.
The Nationals announced that they’ve designated righties Javy Guerra and Michael Blazek for assignment. The 33-year-old Guerra has divided the season between Washington and Toronto, combining for a 4.50 ERA/3.86 FIP with 7.36 K/9 and 3.07 BB/9 across 44 innings. Blazek, 30, threw just five innings for the Nationals before his designation. Prior to his addition to the Nats’ roster, Blazek recorded a 5.54 ERA/4.91 FIP with 9.69 K/9 and 3.46 BB/9 in 26 Triple-A innings.
The Athletics have designated righty Andrew Triggs and outrighted fellow righty Brian Schlitter to Triple-A Las Vegas, the club announced. The 30-year-old Triggs was a promising piece for the Athletics a couple seasons ago, but health issues – including September 2018 thoracic outlet syndrome surgery – have prevented him from making an impact of late. He hasn’t pitched in the majors at all this season. Schlitter, meanwhile, lost his briefly held 40-man spot with the A’s when they designated him Monday.
The Indians have designated infielder Eric Stamets, who opened the season as their starting shortstop on account of Francisco Lindor’s calf strain. Stamets, 27, struggled to a hideous .049/.149/.073 line in 48 plate appearances while filling in for the great Lindor. He has been better – albeit far from spectacular – at the Triple-A level, where he has hit .232/.313/.378 with six HRs and 12 steals in 262 PA this season.
The Brewers have designated left-hander Donnie Hart, Adam McCalvy of MLB.com tweets. The 28-year-old has thrown 6 2/3 scoreless innings with the Brew Crew this season, though he has totaled more walks (four) than strikeouts (three). Hart has enjoyed a relatively productive campaign at the Triple-A level, where he has posted a 4.10 ERA/4.28 FIP with 7.23 K/9, 3.13 BB/9 and a 55.4 percent groundball rate in 37 1/3 innings.
The Mariners have selected righty Zac Grotz from Double-A Arkansas, the team announced. The 26-year-old Grotz, whom the Mariners signed to a minor league deal in the offseason, has registered a strong 2.51 ERA/2.74 FIP with 10.83 K/9, 1.73 BB/9 and a 57.9 percent groundball rate in 57 1/3 Double-A innings in 2019.
The Cubs have designated righty Oscar De La Cruz, Patrick Mooney of The Athletic relays. The 24-year-old De La Cruz entered the season as the Cubs’ 15th-ranked prospect, per FanGraphs, and has since pitched to a 3.89 ERA with 9.4 K/9 and 3.6 BB/9 in 81 innings divided between the High-A and Double-A levels.
The Diamondbacks have designated righty Joey Krehbiel, who had a brief MLB debut with the club last season. The 26-year-old has stumbled to an 8.25 ERA/7.25 FIP and notched 8.6 K/9 against 7.05 BB/9 in 52 1/3 Triple-A innings in 2019.
More on the Diamondbacks, who have transferred utilityman Blake Swihart to the 60-day injured list. Swihart has been on the IL with an oblique injury since the start of June, so this is just a procedural move on the D-backs’ part.

Dodgers Acquire Adam Kolarek

By Jeff Todd | July 31, 2019 at 3:39pm CDT

The Dodgers have acquired lefty Adam Kolarek, as first reported by ESPN.com’s Jeff Passan (Twitter link). Niko Hulsizer is heading to the Tampa Bay organization, as Robert Murray of The Athletic first tweeted.

Kolarek, 30, has seen action in each of the past three seasons. He’s through 43 1/3 innings of 3.95 ERA ball this year, with 7.5 K/9 and 2.9 BB/9 along with a big 64.3% groundball rate. Kolarek ought to represent a lefty-on-lefty option for the Dodgers. He has held eighty opposing southpaw hitters to a meager .187/.238/.293 batting line this year.

Hulsizer is a 22-year-old outfielder and 2018 18th-round draft pick. He’s showing well to open his professional career. After a strong start to the season at Class A, Hulsizer has slashed .259/.327/.506 in 98 plate appearances at the High-A level, though he has already compiled 33 strikeout as well.

« Previous Page

Load More Posts

Show all

Headlines

Dodgers Rumors

Navigation

MLBTR INFO

Connect