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AL Injury Notes: Astros, L. Bard, Ray, Pinder

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Astros southpaw Framber Valdez hasn’t pitched in the majors this season on account of a broken finger, though he did return to throwing from flat ground Thursday, per Chandler Rome of the Houston Chronicle. While general manager James Click called Thursday’s session a “tremendous step forward” for Valdez, there still isn’t a clear timetable for a potential 2021 debut. Valdez broke out last season with 70 2/3 innings of 3.57 ERA/3.23 SIERA ball, an elite 60 percent groundball rate, and terrific strikeout and walk percentages of 26.4 and 5.6, respectively.

More injury-related items from Houston and a couple of other American League teams…

  • Angels right-handed reliever Luke Bard will undergo season-ending hip surgery, Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic was among those to report. He’ll need six to eight months to recover from the procedure. Bard was already set to miss a significant amount of time this season, as the Angels sent him to the 60-day injured list shortly before the campaign began. Although the 30-year-old’s high spin rate has made him a potential breakout candidate since he debuted with the Angels in 2018, he has only managed a 5.05 ERA through 66 innings – including 5 1/3 frames in 2020.
  • The Blue Jays hope lefty Robbie Ray will return to the rotation this week, according to Gregor Chisholm of the Toronto Star (via Twitter). The southpaw threw 63 pitches in a simulated game yesterday. The last hurdle to clear is just seeing how he feels over the next couple of days.
  • The Athletics placed infielder/outfielder Chad Pinder on the IL because of a left knee sprain, but it appears he’ll sit out for a lot longer than the 10-day minimum. Pinder is is week to week and not participating in any baseball activities, per Martin Gallegos of MLB.com. The 29-year-old opened the season as one of the Athletics’ main outfielders before going down, and they’ve since used Ka’ai Tom, Stephen Piscotty, Tony Kemp and Seth Brown in the corners to help fill the void.
  • Astros reliever Enoli Paredes left their game Thursday with a trainer, Rome tweets. The righty exited after throwing just three strikes out of 13 pitches and walking the only two batters he faced. Control has been a problem in all three appearances this year for Paredes, who has walked six hitters in 1 1/3 innings. Paredes also put up a below-average walk rate of 12.2 percent in his rookie year in 2020, but he still notched a 3.05 ERA (with a much less inspiring 4.63 SIERA) over 20 2/3 frames. [UPDATE: Paredes “did something to his side,” manager Dusty Baker said (via Rome). The Astros should know more Friday.]

Angels To Sign Steve Cishek, Tony Watson

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The Angels continue adding to their bullpen: The team announced Monday that it has agreed to deals with right-hander Steve Cishek and left-hander Tony Watson. Both Cishek and Watson will get one-year, $1MM contracts, Mike DiGiovanna of the Los Angeles Times reports. The Halos placed injured RHP Luke Bard on the 60-day IL to help make room for these pickups.

Cishek and Watson are among four notable bullpen additions since Sunday for the Angels. They previously brought back old friend Noe Ramirez and then acquired James Hoyt in trade with the Marlins. It’s clearly a late-spring attempt by first-year general manager Perry Minasian to add as much depth as possible to a bullpen which has other newcomers in Raisel Iglesias, Alex Claudio, Junior Guerra and Aaron Slegers.

Cishek and Watson certainly boast the best track records of the quartet of relievers the Angels have brought in over the past couple days. The 34-year-old Cishek had a rough go with the White Sox in 2020, and he didn’t make the Astros’ roster this spring, but he proved himself as a durable option who could keep runs off the board before then. Since his career began in 2010, the former closer has logged a 2.78 ERA, registered an above-average strikeout rate of 25.2 percent and recorded a 48.9 percent groundball rate in 576 innings.

Watson, 35, failed to crack the Phillies’ roster in spring training, but he has also established himself as an effective big league reliever. He owns a 2.80 ERA with a decent strikeout-walk percentage (15.4) across 591 frames. Watson spent last year as a member of the Giants and continued to hold hitters at bay (2.50 ERA), all while limiting hard contact (84.8 mph exit velocity against) and walks (4.1 percent), and inducing grounders at a 50 percent clip in 18 frames.

Angels’ Gerardo Reyes, Brendan McCurry To Undergo Tommy John Surgery

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Angels right-handers Gerardo Reyes and Brendan McCurry will undergo Tommy John surgery and miss the 2021 season, the team announced to reporters (Twitter link via Rhett Bollinger of MLB.com). Reyes was already known to be dealing with a UCL sprain and was recently removed from the 40-man roster. McCurry, a former Astros and Athletics farmhand, signed a minor league deal with a spring training invite over the winter.

Reyes, 27, came to the Halos in the August trade that sent veteran catcher Jason Castro to the Padres. He appeared in one game this spring but departed early. The righty didn’t pitch in the Majors for the Padres or Angels last season but did log 26 frames with San Diego in ’19. He was knocked around for a 7.62 ERA in that time, but Reyes also showed a blistering heater that averaged 97 mph while punching out 32.5 percent of opponents (against a passable 9.4 percent walk rate).

Reyes has kept his ERA at 3.57 or better in every minor league stop since 2017, steadily increasing his strikeout rate along the way. A second straight season without pitching in a conventional game setting won’t do him any favors, but he’ll give the Angels a potential power arm out of the ’pen in 2022 and beyond, assuming he successfully rehabs the injury.

McCurry, 29, has yet to make his big league debut but carries a career 4.03 ERA with quality 26.2 percent strikeout and 7.2 percent walk rates in 205 2/3 innings of Triple-A ball. He’s slated to be a minor league free agent again next winter.

The Angels announced a few other injury updates, including a hip injection for righty Luke Bard that will slow his spring progression. He’s expected to be re-evaluated in 72 hours, tweets MLB.com’s Jack Harris.

Angels Place Luis Rengifo On 10-Day Injured List

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Prior to tonight’s game, the Angels announced that infielder Luis Rengifo had been placed on the 10-day injured list due to a right hamstring strain.  Righty Jaime Barria was also optioned to the team’s alternate training site, while the two open roster spots were filled by infielder Jahmai Jones and right-hander Luke Bard, both called up from the alternate site.

It’s been an altogether tough year for Rengifo, who hit only .156/.269/.200 over 106 PA and also had another IL stint due to hamstring problems at the start of the season.  Rengifo didn’t do much with quite a bit of regular playing time this year, as he was needed at second base since Tommy La Stella often played at first base and Andrelton Simmons’ injury meant David Fletcher moved over to shortstop.

This performance came after Rengifo was on the verge of being traded back in February, as the Angels walked away at the last moment from a deal that would have sent Rengifo to the Dodgers as part of a trade package for Joc Pederson and Ross Stripling to Anaheim.  While Rengifo is only 23 and has less than two years of MLB service time to his name, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see his name again surface in trade talks this winter.

Jones is back in the big leagues after a one-game cup of coffee earlier this season that saw him make his MLB debut as a pinch-runner but not actually take the field or receive an at-bat.  (Jones was in the Angels’ starting lineup and doubled in his first plate appearance tonight, however.)  A second-round pick for the Angels in the 2015 draft, Jones was a consensus top-100 prospect as recently as the 2017-18 offseason, though a pair of unimpressive years at Double-A lowered his stock.  The 23-year-old Jones has a career .258/.338/.386 slash line over 2159 PA in the minors, and has mostly played second base over the last two years but has plenty of experience in the outfield.

Angels Outright Taylor Cole, Option Four Players

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The Angels announced a series of roster moves Wednesday, revealing that recently designated right-hander Taylor Cole cleared waivers and was assigned outright to Triple-A Salt Lake. The Halos also optioned right-hander Luke Bard, left-hander Ryan Buchter, outfielder Michael Hermosillo and first baseman Jared Walsh to Salt Lake.

Cole, 30, will technically have the right to reject the assignment in favor of free agency due to the fact that he’s been previously outrighted (by the Blue Jays in 2017), but given the uncertain state of the game it’d be a surprise to see him venture into the open market. The righty posted an ugly 5.92 ERA in 51 2/3 innings with the Halos last year and doesn’t have a history of success in Triple-A (4.96 ERA in 81 2/3 innings).

That said, Cole probably wasn’t as bad as his ERA appeared; Cole was weighed down by a .366 average in balls in play and a fluky low 60.3 percent strand rate. Assuming he does indeed head to Triple-A, he’ll provide some experienced depth to an organization that has been utterly hammered by injuries to the pitching staff over the past few years.

Of the players optioned to Triple-A, Buchter is the most surprising. The former Athletics, Royals and Padres southpaw inked a minor league deal with the Angels this winter but was selected to the MLB roster on Sunday, making it seem like he’d punched his ticket to the big league roster. Instead, it appears that whenever the season does begin, he’ll bide his time in Triple-A as he waits for an MLB look. In 214 MLB innings, Buchter has a 2.86 ERA with nearly 10 strikeouts per nine innings pitched.

Bard pitched 49 innings with the Angels last year but narrowly kept his ERA under 5.00. The former second-round pick is proof that spin rate alone won’t bring about success — he led the Majors in fastball spin — and he’ll head down to Salt Lake for additional work. Hermosillo has yet to hit in the Majors and saw his production dip in a second Triple-A season last year. Walsh hit 36 home runs in 98 games with Salt Lake last year, slugging nearly .700 amid Triple-A’s own juiced ball bonanza. The 26-year-old’s output didn’t carry over to the Majors, but he received only 87 plate appearances. He’ll probably get another shot in the big leagues at some point in 2020.

Angels Place Simmons, Canning And Pena On IL

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11:20 am: DiGiovanna provides further updates on Simmons (via Twitter). The star shortstop has a bone bruise and left ankle sprain (in a different area of the ankle which sidelined him earlier in the season) and will be out “a least a couple of weeks,” according to manager Brad Ausmus.

10:36 am: Peña and Canning each have worrisome prognoses, DiGiovanna relays. Peña tore his ACL and is out for six to nine months, ending his season and putting his 2020 start in jeopardy. Canning, meanwhile, has inflammation in his throwing elbow. Fortunately, DiGiovanna adds that Canning’s UCL does not appear to be injured, so it seems he’ll avoid an especially serious absence.

9:38 am: The Angels have lost three key contributors, announcing the IL placements of Andrelton Simmons, Griffin Canning and Félix Peña, reports Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register (via Twitter). To replace that trio on the active roster, the club has recalled Wilfredo Tovar, Jared Walsh and Luke Bard, tweets Mike DiGiovanna of the Los Angeles Times.

The news represents a devastating series of blows for the Halos, particularly the loss of the unmatchable Simmons. The defensive whiz was scratched from yesterday’s lineup with foot soreness, which has evidently proved more serious than initially hoped. It’ll be the second IL stint of the season for Simmons, who has otherwise put together a decent season. His .274/.315/.382 slash (88 wRC+) is unremarkable, but even that is reasonable when coupled with his otherworldly glove. Simmons also boasts one of the league’s lowest strikeout rates and had been a slightly above-average hitter over the past two seasons, so there was reason to believe he could offer even more offensively. That’ll be on hold for an undisclosed amount of time.

Peña left yesterday’s start with a sprained right knee, so it’s unsurprising to hear he’ll hit the shelf. He’s been serviceable in a swing role for the club this season, logging 96.1 innings with a 4.58 ERA. Peña’s strikeout, walk and ground ball rates are all solid but unremarkable.

The Canning news comes most surprisingly, as he just polished off a strong start against the Tigers Tuesday, although it explains the upcoming call-up of prospect Patrick Sandoval to start tomorrow night in his place. Canning, a former first-rounder, had some injury concerns as a draft prospect stemming from a heavy workload at UCLA, but his professional health record had been spotless until today. Regarded as a potential #3 starter as a prospect, Canning hasn’t been quite that good as a rookie but has nevertheless been dependable. Like Peña, Canning’s strikeout and walk numbers have hovered around average, although his 37.3% ground ball rate has led to some home run worries. Canning’s injury and prognosis aren’t yet clear.

Tovar is a utility infielder who can offer some shortstop assistance in Simmons’ absence. He’s never hit much, but he’ll be on hand to back up David Fletcher, who seems likely to handle the position in the near term. Walsh is a two-way player, a power bat who has raked in Triple-A this season and has come out of the Angel bullpen four times this year. He’s a uniquely versatile asset for the club. Bard, meanwhile, is a more traditional, fastball-slider reliever who’s been up-and-down during a challenging season.

Angels Place Cody Allen On 10-Day IL

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The Angels have placed reliever Cody Allen on the 10-day injured list, Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register was among those to cover on Twitter. He’s said to be dealing with a lumbar spine strain, though details remain scant.

It’s one of several Halos pitching moves. Matt Ramsey was sent down on optional assignment, leaving two openings to accommodate the return of starter Tyler Skaggs and activation of Luke Bard.

Allen’s health trouble comes amidst an exceedingly rough stretch on the mound. He has issued ten walks and three home runs in nine innings thus far. In light of those figures, his 6.00 ERA actually represents a merciful series of outcomes to date.

The risks were well known to the Halos when they signed Allen to a $8.5MM contract over the winter. Long a quality closer for the Indians, Allen exhibited newfound walk and long ball issues in his final season of arbitration eligibility.

Allen will take a step back and try to sort things out. His average fastball velocity is down to 93.1 mph thus far, the fifth-straight season of year-over-year decline. He has responded by going to his curve more than ever before (48.0%), but is out of the zone more than ever before (34.9% zone%) and generating only a 10.1% swinging-strike rate (his lowest level since his debut campaign).

Angels Select Contract Of Sam Freeman

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7:29pm: The move is now official. Justin Upton was shifted to the 60-day injured list to clear a 40-man roster spot. That doesn’t seem to reflect upon his outlook, as he was already expected to be sidelined for the first two to three months of the season with a turf toe injury.

5:59pm: The Angels will select the contract of lefty Sam Freeman in order to activate him for tonight’s game, Mike DiGiovanna of the Los Angeles Times was among those to tweet. It’s one of several pitching moves for the Halos this evening.

Righty Justin Anderson was recalled to join the roster along with Freeman. Right-handers  Taylor Cole and Luke Bard were sent down on optional assignment to clear space on the 25-man.

Freeman, 31, caught on with the Angels just before the start of the season after he was released by the Braves. He wasn’t at his best in 2018, pitching to a 4.29 ERA. Though he managed a 52.1% groundball rate and rung up 10.4 opposing batters per nine innings on strikes over his 50 1/3 frames, Freeman also permitted an unhealthy number of walks (5.7 BB/9).

Angels Select Luke Bard

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The Angels have selected the contract of right-hander Luke Bard to the 40-man roster, per a team release. In a corresponding move, the team’s placed righty Keynan Middleton on the 60-day injured list.

Los Angeles signed the 28-year-old Bard, a former Rule 5 selection of the team ahead of the 2018 campaign, to a minors deal in mid-February.

A Trackman dandy, Bard was coveted in the Rule-5 for his super-high spin rates – his 2770 average RPM on the four-seam ranked first among MLB hurlers with at least 100 fastballs thrown last season – and newfound ability to miss bats. In five minor league seasons before 2016, the Georgia Tech-product didn’t post a K-rate north of 8.08 per nine; since, he’s hovered around twelve, though the transition from heavy sink to top-of-the-zone heat has left him susceptible to the occasional gopher ball.

Bard still has minor league options left, so he’s no sure bet to crack the 25-man roster by March 28’s Opening Day. He’ll continue to jostle with a bevy of recycled and/or unproven arms for the last couple slots in the team’s pen, including Ty Buttrey, Hansel Robles, Noe Ramirez, Jake Jewell, and Taylor Cole.

Middleton, 25, is still recovering from a May 2018 Tommy John surgery and remains on track to return sometime in the middle of the season. The hard-throwing righty opened eyes in his 2017 big-league debut, striking out nearly 10 men per nine with solid command in 58 1/3 IP. He was shaky in 17 innings before the surgery last season, with the balky elbow perhaps in large part to blame.

Angels, Luke Bard Agree To Minors Deal

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The Angels have signed reliever Luke Bard to a minor league deal, per Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register.

Bard, 28, was a Rule V selection by Los Angeles last winter; after a lukewarm April audition, in which the righty was deployed mostly in mop-up duty, Luke was shuttled back to Minnesota, with whom he spent the rest of the season in AAA.

A Trackman dandy, Bard was coveted in the Rule-5 for his super-high spin rates – his 2770 average RPM on the four-seam ranked first among MLB hurlers with at least 100 fastballs thrown last season – and newfound ability to miss bats. In five minor league seasons before 2016, the Georgia Tech-product didn’t post a K-rate north of 8.08 per nine; since, he’s hovered around twelve, though the transition from heavy sink to top-of-the-zone heat has left him susceptible to the occasional gopher ball.

The organizational favorite would figure to be in the mix at the front end of the team’s pen, where he’ll curl neatly behind a number of similar-archetype low-budget finds.

 

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