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Aaron Hicks To Undergo Tommy John Surgery

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Yankees GM Brian Cashman provided injury updates on several key players today, according to a tweet from Marc Carig of The Athletic (link). Starter Masahiro Tanaka had a procedure to remove spurs from his right elbow, and slugger Luke Voit had a procedure done to address an injury in his core. However, the most notable revelation is that outfielder Aaron Hicks will ultimately opt for Tommy John surgery to address the flexor strain in his right arm. That surgery will likely place him on an eight-to-ten month recovery timeline.

Needless to say, the last eight months have been something of a worst-case scenario in regard to the seven-year, $70MM extension Hicks signed with the club back in February. Coming on the heels of three mostly excellent years to start Hicks’ Yankees career, the extension appeared to lock in a defensively capable center fielder and top prospect finally rounding into offensive form. With Hicks sidelined for the majority of the upcoming 2020 season, the pact is now likely to be placed under the microscope by New York-area observers.

It’s fair to wonder how Cashman might proceed in attending to Hicks’ absence. Does this increase the chances of Brett Gardner resigning in New York? Gardner filled in capably in center for much of the 2019 season, logging acceptable UZR (3.1) and DRS (-2) metrics at the position. Mike Tauchman also shouldered a portion of the load in covering for Hicks this past season, but it’s uncertain if he would be counted on as a full-time option there for 2020.

In an injury-limited season that did see him manage a return for the Yankees ALCS appearance, Hicks logged a .235/.325/.443 batting line (102 wRC+) in 255 plate appearances. The outfielder will account for a base salary of $10.5MM in 2020.

AL Notes: Pressly, Tanaka, Gallo

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Astros relief ace Ryan Pressly was removed from tonight’s Game Six action after apparently re-aggravating his balky right knee while fielding a ball in the third inning. It was enough surely to make the Houston faithful hold their collective breath, since Pressly missed several weeks after having that same knee surgically repaired in August. For the time being, MLB.com’s Brian McTaggart relays that the righty is day-to-day with “right knee discomfort” (link).

With tonight’s game still hanging in the balance, it’s tough to know whether that “day-to-day” designation might be a moot point, as a win this evening would allow the reliever a few days to heal in advance of the World Series’ first game on Tuesday. Placement on the injured list, however, would likely force the team to turn to Wade Miley for their Fall Classic roster, who was left off the team’s ALCS roster after giving up two earned runs in a 2.2 IP appearance in the ALDS. The superlative Pressly pitched to a 2.32 ERA (2.66 FIP) in 54.1 innings in the 2019 regular season.

More notes from around the American League…

  • In other ALCS-related news, Yankees manager Aaron Boone indicated that Masahiro Tanaka should be available for a potential Game 7 scenario, according to Bob Nightengale of USA Today (link). Tanaka, much-hyped heading into Game 4 due to his impressive postseason resume to that point, ground through a five-inning, three-run performance on Thursday night.
  • How much is a home run worth, really? That’s a question that has become du jour in modern baseball, as the prevalence of longballs has seemed to diminish the on-field value–and off-field earning power–of power hitters like Joey Gallo of the Rangers. But, as Levi Weaver of The Athletic points out, Gallo is a player for whom it would be particularly difficult to draw up a contract extension. Gallo, the only player in MLB history to hit his 100th career homer before his 100th career single, presents a vexing extension case: he’s still young (26 on Opening Day 2020), unconventionally productive (recording a 144 wRC+ in 2019 despite a 38.4% strikeout rate), and he’s dealt with injury concerns (missing 92 games this past season with wrist issues). Perhaps, more than anything, Gallo’s meaty home run totals project to make him an expensive year-over-year arbitration case, further fueling the incentive to get a long-term deal done on the Rangers side of the negotiating table. In a courageous effort to pinpoint Gallo’s value, Weaver proposes a five-year, $85MM extension, perhaps with a sixth team option year valued at $25MM. For what it’s worth, the slugger is projected to earn $4.0MM in his first pass through arb this offseason, according to MLBTR’s projected arbitration models.

CC Sabathia Not On Yankees’ ALDS Roster

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The Yankees have yet to formally announce their full roster for their upcoming Division Series matchup with the Twins, but manager Aaron Boone announced today that veteran left-hander CC Sabathia will not be a part of the mix (Twitter links via Meredith Marakovits and Jack Curry of the YES Network).

Sabathia has been dealing with a shoulder issue and underwent a cortisone injection, but he hasn’t bounced back to the point where the team considers him an option to this pont. He could potentially factor into the ALCS roster if the Yankees advance beyond the ALDS. With Sabathia off the roster, the Yankees will go to a rotation featuring James Paxton in Game 1, Masahiro Tanaka in Game 2 and Luis Severino in Game 3. They’ll rely on that trio and an exceptionally deep bullpen, which Boone says he’ll be “aggressive” in deploying.

A full roster won’t be released until the Yankees need to formally release it (tomorrow morning), though Boone also indicated that Edwin Encarnacion is “expected” to be on the roster. The slugger hasn’t appeared in a game since Sept. 12 thanks to an oblique injury, but he’s apparently made sufficient progress that he’ll be an option in the best-of-five series that’ll kick off at Yankee Stadium tomorrow evening.

Depending on how the postseason plays out, then, it’s possible that Sabathia’s scoreless outing of relief against the Rays on Sept. 24 — the lone relief appearance of his illustrious 19-year career — could mark the final time he ever sets foot on a Major League mound. Even if the Yankees do advance to the ALCS, there’s no guarantee that Sabathia would be a part of the team’s pitching staff for that best-of-seven series. And, obviously, if the Yankees’ season comes to an end within the next week, Sabathia will head into retirement and take his first official steps toward Cooperstown a bit sooner than he or the organization had hoped.

Minor MLB Transactions: 6/8/19

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We’ll use this post to track some minor moves around the majors…

  • The Yankees placed Masahiro Tanaka on paternity leave so he could be with his wife for the birth of their second child, the team announced. He will miss his scheduled start on Sunday. Lefty Nestor Cortes Jr. has been called up from Triple-A in the meantime. This will be Cortes Jr.’s second stint with the big league club this season. He made four appearances in May, soaking up eleven innings as a long man with a 4.91 ERA. He is 2-2 with a 3.86 ERA in Triple-A, making six starts and one appearance out of the pen. Cortes could certainly slide in for a spot start on Sunday, but the Yankees have not yet made that determination. Tanaka leads the Yanks in innings pitched with 76 1/3 across 13 starts. He is 3-5 with a 3.42 ERA (4.09 FIP). He should be ready to rejoin the club by Tuesday.
  • The Rangers have called up lefty Joe Palumbo from Double-A, while David Carpenter has been designated for assignment, per MLB Roster Moves. Palumbo, 26, will be making his major league debut after pitching to a 3.38 ERA across nine starts for the Frisco RoughRiders. Carpenter, 33, made just one appearance with the Rangers after collecting a 1.76 ERA in 15 appearances for their Triple-A club. The veteran righty has pitched for the Astros, Blue Jays, Braves, Yankees and Nationals, though his lone appearance with the Rangers on Tuesday was his first in the majors since 2015. He owns a solid 3.74 career ERA, earned across 219 career appearances from 2011 to 2015.
  • The Orioles recalled Evan Phillips from Triple-A after optioning Branden Kline yesterday as they continue to seek personnel to get outs out of their bullpen, per MLB.com’s Joe Trezza (via Twitter). Phillips has struggled to find a foothold in the big leagues with a 9.85 ERA across 21 appearances, including a 6.92 ERA in 12 appearances for Baltimore this season. He came to Baltimore from Atlanta as part of the Kevin Gausman deal at last year’s deadline. Kline, for his part, heads to Triple-A with a 5.89 ERA in 15 appearances, though he has been particularly ineffective of late. He was tagged with an earned run in each of his last five appearances, taking two losses in that span. Of the ten pitchers who have pitched out of the Oriole bullpen and made at least 10 appearances on the season, only Gabriel Ynoa (4.96 ERA, 4.92 FIP), Paul Fry (3.51 ERA, 4.67 FIP), and Shawn Armstrong (1.93 ERA, 4.57 FIP) can boast an ERA under 5.00. Although, amongst those in that same group, Phillips actually holds the lowest FIP on the season at 3.76, helped by 11.8 K/9.

Injury Notes: Astros, Puig, Yankees, Rosenthal

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Astros second baseman Jose Altuve is eligible to return from the 10-day injured list Tuesday, but that won’t happen, according to Chandler Rome of the Houston Chronicle. Instead, Altuve – who has been on the IL with a strained left hamstring since May 11 – will embark on a rehab assignment in the coming days. Altuve’s injury forced the Astros to turn to Aledmys Diaz at second, which worked out initially during a Diaz hot streak, but the latter has been dealing with his own hamstring strain since Friday. Fortunately for Houston, Diaz could return early in the upcoming week, per Rome.

  • Continuing with the Astros, outfielder George Springer left the team’s game Sunday with lower back stiffness, according to Rome. Astros doctors will examine Springer on Monday. In the meantime, all the Astros can do is hope Springer won’t miss any time. The 29-year-old has already posted 2.9 fWAR, the same total he accrued in 140 games last season, on the strength of a .313/.396/.654 line (179 wRC+) with an American League-leading 17 home runs.
  • Reds outfielder Yasiel Puig is hoping to avoid an IL stint after suffering a sprained right shoulder Sunday, Bobby Nightengale of the Cincinnati Enquirer writes. Puig incurred the injury against his former team, the Dodgers, on a leaping catch, though he doesn’t think it’ll lead to an absence from Cincinnati’s lineup. Regardless, Puig’s off to a rocky start in his first season outside of Los Angeles, having hit .206/.253/.358 (58 wRC+) in 178 plate appearances.
  • There were concerns over banged-up Yankees starters James Paxton and Masahiro Tanaka on Saturday, but both are making good progress, Sarah Langs of MLB.com explains. The same holds true for reliever Dellin Betances, who hasn’t pitched this season because of a bone spur in his right shoulder.
  • Nationals reliever Trevor Rosenthal is close to returning to the majors, manager Dave Martinez told Jesse Dougherty of the Washington Post and other reporters Sunday. Rosenthal went to the IL on April 26 with a viral infection, which came on the heels of an embarrassing start to the season for the former Cardinals closer. The 28-year-old Rosenthal didn’t record an out until April 10, his fifth appearance of the season, and has allowed 12 earned runs on seven hits and nine walks (against three strikeouts) in three innings.

Latest On James Paxton, Masahiro Tanaka

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Yankees southpaw James Paxton has been on the injured list since May 5 because of left knee inflammation, but it’s up in the air whether a return is imminent. Paxton said he still felt “something” in his knee during a bullpen session Friday, Kristie Ackert of the New York Daily News reports. While Paxton added he “woke up this morning feeling pretty good,” he’ll face an important test Sunday during another bullpen session.

As if injuries to Paxton and other key cogs haven’t troubled the Yankees enough this year, right-hander Masahiro Tanaka departed his start Saturday against the Rays after six innings with a right shin contusion, James Wagner of the New York Times was among those to tweet. X-rays came back negative, but Tanaka expressed uncertainty after the game whether he’ll be able to make his next start.

Although the Yankees have gone without injured ace Luis Severino all season, Paxton and Tanaka have done their best to keep the team’s rotation among the majors’ top staffs thus far. In the process, they’ve helped New York not only stay afloat in the standings, but thrive.

The heat-throwing Paxton, a former Mariner who’s in his first year as a Yankee, tossed 37 2/3 innings of 3.11 ERA/2.51 FIP ball and posted a lofty 12.42 K/9 prior to landing on the IL. Tanaka, meanwhile, was brilliant Saturday, continuing a strong season in which he has notched a 3.09 ERA/3.80 FIP across a team-best 58 1/3 frames. It’s unclear how the Bombers would replace Tanaka should he miss time. The Yankees are already set to deploy reliever Chad Green as an opener Sunday because they’re lacking a healthy fifth starter behind Tanaka, Domingo German, C.C. Sabathia and J.A. Happ, having just lost Jonathan Loaisiga for several weeks because of a shoulder strain.

Yankees Activate Masahiro Tanaka

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The Yankees have activated righty Masahiro Tanaka, per a club announcement. He ended up missing about a month with dual hamstring strains suffered while running the bases.

It’s obviously good news for the Yanks that Tanaka is back in action in relatively short order. In particular, the timing means that they’ll get to see him for a few starts before making final decisions in advance of the coming trade deadline.

It seemed a boon when Tanaka decided to opt into the final three years of his contract over the winter. Though the 29-year-old has had his share of injuries, and struggled in the results department last year, he has also generally been a quality hurler in New York.

Unfortunately, Tanaka’s home run issues have carried forward from 2017 into 2018. He has allowed 16 dingers this year in his 72 2/3 innings, though he has still managed a 4.58 ERA with 9.0 K/9 and 2.4 BB/9. If he can finally figure out how to keep the ball in the yard, Tanaka could again be a major part of the Yankees’ staff.

Regardless of Tanaka’s form, of course, the Yanks are seen as a clear potential buyer of starting pitching. But depth is much less of a concern if Tanaka is a positive part of the picture, which could impact the targets the club pursues on the trade market.

Quick Hits: Tanaka, Machado, Phillies, Mikolas, Twins, Padres

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The Yankees have placed right-hander Masahiro Tanaka on the disabled list with mild strains of both hamstrings, according to the team, which recalled infielder Ronald Torreyes in a corresponding move. Tanaka suffered the injuries on the base paths during the Yankees’ game against the Mets on Friday, forcing him to depart after five quality innings. He’s now the second member of New York’s season-opening rotation on the DL, joining lefty Jordan Montgomery, who’s out for the year.

Tanaka will miss “weeks,” manager Aaron Boone told Bryan Hoch of MLB.com and other reporters, though it’s unclear whom the Yankees will call on in his absence to join Luis Severino, CC Sabathia, Sonny Gray and Domingo German in their rotation. Two Double-A prospects – Domingo Acevedo and Jonathan Loaisiga – as well as Luis Cessa (who’s nearing a return from the DL, Brendan Kuty of NJ.com tweets) and A.J. Cole seem to be their most realistic 40-man options. The club has an open 40-man spot, however, and could take advantage of that by selecting the likes of Justus Sheffield, Chance Adams or David Hale from Triple-A.

A bit more from around the majors…

  • The Phillies are genuinely interested in Orioles shortstop Manny Machado, Todd Zolecki of MLB.com hears. Zolecki’s report jibes with one from FanRag’s Jon Heyman, who noted this week that Philadelphia had already reached out to Baltimore in regards to Machado. The 32-30 Phillies have been slumping lately, however, and may not be serious contenders when the July 31 non-waiver trade deadline arrives. Whether they end up vying for Machado and other veterans around the deadline will be determined over the next several weeks, general manager Matt Klentak suggested. “How we come out of June and how we transition into the month of July and what our placement in the standings is in the month of July will be what really dictates what our Trade Deadline strategy is,” Klentak said. “If we are contending and in a legitimate spot to make a run, then I would expect to address that and make moves. We just have to maintain the proper perspective on that and adjust as our performance suggests we adjust.”
  • Along with the previously reported Rangers, the Twins and Padres were among teams with offseason interest in right-hander Miles Mikolas, per Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe. Mikolas, who pitched in Japan from 2015-17, ended up signing a two-year, $15.5MM deal with the Cardinals. The 29-year-old is no stranger to the Padres, who selected him in the seventh round of the 2009 draft and then had him on their roster for parts of the 2012 and ’13 seasons. Mikolas was unheralded in San Diego, but he has turned into one of the NL’s most effective starters during his stint in St. Louis. Across 79 1/3 innings this season, Mikolas has notched a 2.27 ERA with 6.58 K/9, 1.02 BB/9 and a 50.2 percent groundball rate.

AL Notes: Tanaka, Hamels, Kiermaier, Orioles

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Yankees right-hander Masahiro Tanaka left his start against the Mets on Friday after five innings because of stiffness in both hamstrings. He’ll undergo an MRI on Saturday to determine the severity of the issue, though odds are he’ll require a stint on the disabled list, Randy Miller of NJ.com suggests. Tanaka suffered the injury on the bases, thus cutting short a performance in which he allowed one run on one hit and a walk and struck out eight. The 29-year-old’s amid a second straight underwhelming season from a run prevention standpoint (4.58 ERA), but losing him would still be a significant blow for the starter-needy Yankees, who already lost lefty Jordan Montgomery for the season (and some of 2019) earlier this week.

  • Given that it’s likely in the market for a starter, New York has come up as a speculative fit for Rangers left-hander Cole Hamels in advance of the July 31 non-waiver trade deadline. However, if Hamels’ home run issues don’t subside, the Rangers will have trouble getting much back for him in a trade, Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News observes. The 34-year-old is currently yielding 1.93 homers per nine, well above his career mark (1.04) and the American League average for starters (1.23). Hamels has still logged a respectable 3.86 ERA, but his secondary numbers are less encouraging. He’s not exactly teeming with trade value, then, especially considering Hamels’ ability to block deals to 20 teams and his $22.5MM salary this season (plus either a $20MM club option or a $6MM buyout in 2019).
  • Rays center fielder Kevin Kiermaier expects to return from the disabled list around June 20, according to Bill Chastain of MLB.com. The defensive standout has been on the shelf since suffering a torn ligament in his right thumb on April 15, thus limiting him to 48 plate appearances so far. Fill-in Mallex Smith has performed respectably in the aggregate (.271/.340/.351 with 11 steals in 211 PAs), but his production has dropped off a cliff this month. The Rays, meanwhile, have lost eight in a row since May 31 to fall six games below .500.
  • The Orioles will activate reliever Darren O’Day from the DL on Saturday, per Keegan Matheson of MLB.com. O’Day has been out for over a month with a hyperextended right elbow. With Baltimore well out of contention, the 35-year-old O’Day could spend the next several weeks auditioning for other teams as the deadline nears, though he’s still under contract at $9MM for next season. Meanwhile, teammate and impending free-agent reliever Zach Britton could return as early as Monday, Matheson notes. Britton hasn’t pitched at all this season after suffering a ruptured Achilles during the winter.

AL East Notes: Pomeranz, Orioles, Blue Jays, Tanaka

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Red Sox lefty Drew Pomeranz is a year from the open market — a reality that comes with added concern when viewed against the backdrop of the current free-agent landscape — but he tells Rob Bradford of WEEI.com that he’s more focused on the upcoming season than anything else. “Obviously, I know I’m a free agent at the end of the year and I want to have a good year,” says Pomeranz. “…I’m just worried about picking up where I left off and kind of continuing to get better every year like I have every year of my career.” Pomeranz is no stranger to the business of baseball, having been traded four times in his young career as he struggled to establish himself as a quality big leaguer. Since coming to Boston, though, he’s pitched to a 3.68 ERA with 9.1 K/9 against 3.5 BB/9 in 242 1/3 innings. Pomeranz says his biggest goal in 2018 is to get quicker outs so that he can work deeper into games. Doing so would almost certainly allow him to establish a new career-high in innings pitched; Pomeranz tossed 170 innings in 2016 and a career-best 173 1/3 frames in 2017.

Elsewhere in the division…

  • While the Orioles have been in touch with the majority of free-agent starters available, they’re content to wait out the market for now to see if they can ultimately secure some rotation help on shorter-term deals, tweets ESPN’s Jerry Crasnick. Owner Peter Angelos is wary of locking in another four-year deal just months after Ubaldo Jimenez’s four-year, $50MM landmine is finally off the books, he adds. Crasnick lists Lance Lynn, Alex Cobb, Jason Vargas, Andrew Cashner and Chris Tillman as some of the many possibilities on whom the O’s have been keeping tabs.
  • Aledmys Diaz tells Sportsnet’s Ben Nicholson-Smith that he informed the Cardinals early in the offseason that he’d prefer to be traded if the team couldn’t find more regular at-bats for him in St. Louis. The Cards obliged that wish, though the trade that sent Diaz to the Blue Jays doesn’t necessarily create an immediate path to regular playing time, either. Diaz, though, spent much of the 2017 season in the minors, and it seems certain that the Jays envision him as a big league piece to at least fill a reserve capacity. “It’ll be nice to look down the bench and see a little more firepower,” said manager John Gibbons of the additions of Diaz and Yangervis Solarte. Indeed, that duo should be a more productive pairing than Ryan Goins and Darwin Barney, each of whom signed minor league deals elsewhere this offseason. And, with a pair of injury question marks up the middle in the form of Troy Tulowitzki and Devon Travis, it’s certainly not difficult to see Diaz and Solarte both getting their fair share of reps in 2018 with Toronto.
  • Masahiro Tanaka again spoke about his decision to forgo his opt-out clause and return to the Yankees (link via Newsday’s Erik Boland). While Tanaka acknowledged that there were likely other possibilities for him in free agency, the righty doesn’t sound as if he ever gave serious consideration to testing the open market. “…[T]he important thing for me was to follow what my heart was saying, and that’s what I did,” said Tanaka. The right-hander, of course, now looks like he may have been well-served to remain with the Yankees, as nearly every starting pitcher that hit the open market this offseason remains unsigned, with a few exceptions (e.g. Tyler Chatwood, Jhoulys Chacin). “[Y]ou would never know it was going to turn into something like this,” said Tanaka of the stagnant market. Tanaka also spoke about his early struggles in 2017 and spoke about the disappointment over Shohei Ohtani’s decision to sign with the Angels, as well as his excitement to face his countryman down the line.

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