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Matt Shoemaker

Blue Jays Select Edwin Jackson

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The Blue Jays have selected the contract of righty Edwin Jackson, per a club announcement. Lefty Thomas Pannone was optioned out to create active roster space, with righty Matt Shoemaker moved to the 60-day injured list for a 40-man spot.

Jackson’s addition to the MLB roster was a foregone conclusion when he was acquired recently from the A’s. The veteran hurler had joined the Oakland organization on a minors pact that included an opt-out chance later this month. He was shipped to Toronto to help fill a need for innings on the Jays’ roster and will take the ball this evening.

By making it official, the Blue Jays have now become the 14th MLB team Jackson has appeared with in 16 seasons in the majors. He’s closing in on two thousand career innings with a cumulative 4.60 ERA.

Last year, the 35-year-old pitched to a 3.33 ERA in 92 frames for the A’s, though metrics suggested those results were based in no small part upon some batted ball fortune. Jackson ran up 19 strikeouts but also surrendered four home runs in his 14 2/3 minor-league frames to open the present campaign.

Once Jackson takes hill today, he’ll officially surpass righty Octavio Dotel for the all-time lead in number of Major League teams pitched for. The most well-traveled veteran in the game’s history has appeared for the Rays, Cubs, Dodgers, Nationals, White Sox, Diamondbacks, Cardinals, Braves, Athletics, Padres, Orioles, Marlins and Tigers prior to the 2019 season. And while he’ll make his Toronto debut this afternoon, Jackson has technically even been a Blue Jay in the past; he was traded from the White Sox to the Jays on July 27 but immediately flipped to the Cardinals just hours later.

Matt Shoemaker Has Torn ACL, Will Miss Remainder Of Season

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Matt Shoemaker has a torn left ACL that will keep him out of action for the rest of the 2019 season, tweets Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet. The Blue Jays right-hander was placed on the 10-day IL earlier today after suffering the injury during Saturday’s game. What was initially thought to be a knee sprain is evidently much worse than expected, and Shoemaker finds himself on the shelf in what seems to be the worst-case scenario.

The diagnosis comes as the latest in a frustrating set of seasons for Shoemaker, who managed just 21 starts in his final two seasons with the Angels. After he was unable to replicate the success that he enjoyed in 2014, his first full Major League season, the 32-year-old signed on with the Blue Jays last winter on a one-year deal, hoping that a change of scenery would coincide with a return to strength and a comeback season.

The news is that much more devastating when considered in context with Shoemaker’s extensive injury history and his early-season success with his new club. Through his first five starts of the young season, Shoemaker impressed his new organization and looked in position to make good on that return to form. His 1.57 ERA was accompanied by impressive peripheral numbers, with his 0.9 HR/9 on par with his best seasons. Unfortunately, though, 2019 will go down as another lost season for the veteran righty.

Of course, the injury is equally disappointing for the Blue Jays, who looked to Shoemaker to provide stability in a rotation that was one of the weakest in the American League last season. Entering the season, there were plenty of questions in the rotation, with Marcus Stroman and Aaron Sanchez both enduring disappointing seasons in 2018 and free-agent signee Clay Buchholz a relative unknown. The depth beyond that group of veterans is comprised of unproven young pitchers, one of whom will now have to step into the rotation in Shoemaker’s absence. Thomas Pannone and Sam Gaviglio, who started 24 games for Toronto in 2018, appear most likely to replace Shoemaker.

Though his contract will expire at season’s end, Shoemaker is still eligible for arbitration, so the Blue Jays will have priority to keep the hurler around for next season if both parties are interested, though his contractual status is surely the last thing on Shoemaker’s mind following his injury.

Blue Jays Place Matt Shoemaker On 10-Day IL

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The Blue Jays have placed righty Matt Shoemaker on the 10-day injured list due to a left knee sprain, as per a club announcement (via Twitter).  Infielder Richard Urena has been recalled from Triple-A in a corresponding move.

Shoemaker suffered the injury on Saturday, while participating in a rundown to record the last out of the third inning of Toronto’s 10-1 win over the A’s.  The right-hander was replaced by Sam Gaviglio to begin the next inning.  Shoemaker is scheduled to undergo an MRI to determine the severity of his injury, and the potential timeframe for his return.  A lengthy IL stint could scuttle Shoemaker’s value as a potential deadline trade chip for the rebuilding Blue Jays, given his strong early-season results.

After tossing only 108 2/3 total innings in 2017-18 for the Angels due to multiple forearm problems, Shoemaker had a 1.57 ERA, 7.53 K/9, 51.4% grounder rate, and 2.67 K/BB rate over his first 28 2/3 innings in a Blue Jays uniform.  There is certainly some good fortune baked into those results, as Shoemaker’s .335 xwOBA far outweighs his .243 wOBA and he has also received some good batted-ball (.183 BABIP) and strand rate (87.2%) luck.  That said, Shoemaker also has a career-best 13.4% swinging strike rate.

AL East Notes: G. Sanchez, Andujar, Shoemaker, Wendle, Schoop

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Injuries to cornerstone players have defined the season for the Yankees, who are likely to see right fielder Aaron Judge hit the IL next. But there is better news regarding banged-up catcher Gary Sanchez and third baseman Miguel Andujar, who, like Judge, are among New York’s offensive linchpins. Sanchez, on the IL with a left calf strain since April 11, will play a minor league rehab game Monday and should then return to the Yankees’ lineup Wednesday, per David Lennon of Newsday. Meanwhile, the Yankees “continue to be optimistic” that Andujar will come back this season, according to manager Aaron Boone (via Lennon). Andujar hasn’t played since March 31 because of a labrum tear in his right (throwing) shoulder, an issue the team has feared could require season-ending surgery. However, the majority of recent Andujar updates have been positive, and that’s all the more heartening for the Yankees given their injury-ravaged state.

Here’s more from the American League East…

  • Blue Jays right-hander Matt Shoemaker suffered a left knee sprain Saturday and will undergo an MRI on Sunday, Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet reports. A stint on the injured list looks like a legitimate possibility for Shoemaker, who was frequently on the IL during his Angels tenure. The first-year Blue Jay, whom they signed for $3.5MM in free agency, looked like a quality bargain pickup for the club prior to his latest injury. Shoemaker threw three scoreless innings against Oakland before departing Saturday, leaving him with a 1.57 ERA/3.80 FIP, 7.53 K/9, 2.83 BB/9 and a 51.4 percent groundball rate in 28 2/3 frames this year.
  • Rays second baseman Joey Wendle is nearing activation from the IL, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times tweets. A left hamstring strain has kept Wendle out since March 31 and given the keystone to Brandon Lowe, who’s enjoying an outstanding season thus far. Wendle was effective in his own right in 2018, when he batted .300/.354/.435 (116 wRC+) with 3.7 fWAR in 545 PA.
  • Second baseman Jonathan Schoop has spent nearly his entire career as a member of the Orioles, though they cut ties with him last July when they traded him to the Brewers. Schoop then became a Twin in free agency this past offseason, but he tells Steve Melewski of MASNsports.com that he was open to a reunion with Baltimore. “Honestly, there were a lot of teams that were talking to me,” Schoop said of his trip to the open market. “I was thinking about it if I had the chance to come back. This was the team that gave me a chance. So I was thinking about it. But they never reached out. So I go forward and the Minnesota Twins was the one coming out more. So right away I signed with them.” On the heels of a down 2018, Schoop joined the Twins on a one-year, $7.5MM deal in December. Even though we’re just a few weeks into the season, Schoop has bounced back to a degree in the early going, having hit .241/.317/.407 (97 wRC+) in 60 plate appearances.

Quick Hits: Stark, Blue Jays, Atkins, Astros

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The Athletic’s Jayson Stark (subscription required) has delivered his traditional year-end rundown of some of the weirdest stats and moments from the past baseball season.  Stark’s piece covers such oddities as Adrian Beltre’s eight straight seasons with exactly one stolen base, Framber Valdez’s oddly similar first two MLB starts, the Pirates pulling off a 1-3-4-2-5-8-7 double play, and how Juan Soto’s first career homer shattered the space-time continuum.

Some more from around baseball as we kick off 2019…

  • Blue Jays GM Ross Atkins discussed several topics during a conference call with reporters (including Sportsnet.ca’s Ben Nicholson-Smith and MLB.com’s Gregor Chisholm), including his team’s recent acquisitions of Matt Shoemaker and Clayton Richard.  Atkins said the two veteran hurlers will likely be used in the rotation if physically able, though he stopped short of fully confirming that usage, noting that “both guys have the potential to start,” and “I do think there could be a scenario where either one of them or potentially both could be used in a (different) role.”  The Jays still have a need for pitching, and Atkins said that the club will continue to look at adding more starters and relievers as the offseason continues, both in free agency and perhaps in trades, as Toronto continues to receive interest from other teams.  “We’ll continue to consider any opportunities to move players potentially off of our roster.  It’s not something we are proactively looking to do, but we do have a great number of players that other teams are interested in,” Atkins said.  He also specifically noted that catcher Russell Martin is “interesting to a lot of teams.”
  • Though the Astros have been linked to several first base/designated hitter types this winter, The Athletic’s Jake Kaplan (subscription required) notes that the team could be in good shape as it stands by having Tyler White get a regular share of DH at-bats.  White posted a .276/.354/.533 slash line over 237 PA last season, and he could join with the Astros’ left-handed outfielders (Michael Brantley, Josh Reddick, or Tony Kemp) in a timeshare at DH to keep everyone fresh.  However, Kaplan also feels Houston will need to move an outfielder before Opening Day to alleviate a playing time crunch, which means that Kemp, Jake Marisnick, or possibly top prospect Kyle Tucker could all be trade candidates.  There were also some rumblings about Reddick on the trade market last month, so it could be that Brantley and George Springer are the only two untouchable outfielders on Houston’s roster.  Kaplan’s mailbag piece is well worth a full read, as it covers several other topics about the Astros’ offseason and potential long-term moves for the club.

Blue Jays Sign Matt Shoemaker

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3:25pm: Shoemaker will earn an additional $250K if he gets to 150, 160, 170 or 180 innings, Jon Heyman of Fancred tweets.

12:20pm: The Blue Jays have announced the signing.

10:24am: Shoemaker can earn an additional $1MM via incentives, Passan tweets, which would push his 2019 earnings up into the same range as his previous arbitration projection.

9:50am: The contract will pay Shoemaker $3.5MM, tweets Shi Davidi of Sportsnet.

9:25am: Shoemaker’s guarantee falls in the $3MM to $3.5MM range, tweets MLB.com’s Jon Morosi.

8:51am: The Blue Jays are in agreement on a one-year, Major League contract with free-agent righty Matt Shoemaker, reports Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports (via Twitter). Toronto has an open spot on the 40-man roster, so a corresponding roster move won’t be necessary. Shoemaker is represented by ISE Baseball.

Matt Shoemaker | John Hefti-USA TODAY Sports

Shoemaker, 32, was a late addition to the free-agent market on Nov. 30 after the Angels decided to non-tender the oft-injured righty rather than pay him a projected $4.3MM salary in arbitration.Because of that non-tender, he ht the open market with four years, 166 days of Major League service time under his belt, meaning he’ll be controllable through the 2020 season, via arbitration, if he can reestablish himself in Toronto.

A series of forearm strains torpedoed Shoemaker’s 2017-18 seasons, limiting him to just 108 2/3 innings over that two-year span. He wasn’t especially effective in that time, either, pitching to a combined 4.64 ERA (4.62 FIP) with 8.4 K/9, 3.1 BB/9 and an ugly 1.5 HR/9 mark.

That said, there’s also reason for optimism with Shoemaker. Though his 4.94 ERA in 31 innings this past season won’t impress anyone, he averaged a career-high 9.6 strikeouts per nine innings in that brief span and recorded a career-best 13.6 percent swinging-strike rate, as well. Perhaps there’s some small-sample noise at play there, but Shoemaker’s splitter was a demonstrably more effective pitch in his limited time on the mound in his final season with the Halos.

It’s also worth noting, of course, that Shoemaker was a solid mid-rotation starter for the Angels from 2013-16, working to a combined 3.75 ERA (3.76 FIP) with averages of eight strikeouts, 1.9 walks and 1.2 home runs per nine innings pitched.

Shoemaker figures to slot into a rotation that also includes Marcus Stroman, Aaron Sanchez and Ryan Borucki, with right-hander Sean Reid-Foley and southpaw Thomas Pannone vying for the fifth spot in new skipper Charlie Montoyo’s starting five.

Angels Non-Tender Blake Parker, Matt Shoemaker

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6:57pm: Matt Shoemaker has also been non-tendered, per a club announcement, which will keep an estimated $4.3MM off the Halos’ books.

6:21pm: The Angels are set to non-tender righty Blake Parker, per MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand (via Twitter). He was projected to earn $3.1MM by MLBTR & contributor Matt Swartz.

It’s surprising to see Parker kicked to the open market, given that he has worked to a 2.90 ERA in 133 2/3 frames over the past two years with the Halos. On the other hand, the 33-year-old did not sustain his 2017 bump in swinging-strike rate, coughed up quite a few long balls (1.63 per nine), and lost a tick of average fastball velocity in 2018.

Shohei Ohtani Will Start For Angels On Sunday; Matt Shoemaker To Start Monday

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SEPT. 1: Shoemaker will start Monday in Texas, Maria Guardado of MLB.com reports.

AUG. 30: The Angels announced today that Shohei Ohtani will return to the mound on Sunday, as Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register was among those to report on Twitter. He had not thrown in the majors since being diagnosed with a grade 2 UCL sprain in early June.

In other news, the Halos have activated outfielder Justin Upton from the DL. And the organization called up backstop Jose Briceno to take the roster spot and role vacated by the just-dealt Bobby Wilson.

Additionally, the team indicated that right-hander Matt Shoemaker is nearing his own activation, as Fletcher further tweets. That’s another good bit of injury news for an organization that needs as many as it can get.

Ohtani, 24, has been active on the MLB roster in the meantime, of course. He was cleared to resume performing his services as a designated hitter prior to being ready to return to the hill. While continuing to post impressive numbers with the bat, the Japanese star has been building up his stamina in hopes of making it back into the rotation.

For the Halos, the late-season return of Ohtani as a pitcher won’t make up for the club’s intervening struggles. But his showing will certainly be important for the future. If the right-hander can return to full strength this year without issue, then he and the organization can go into the offseason feeling reasonably confident that he’ll be able to ramp up next spring and turn in a full 2019 season. If things go south, then more drastic scenarios may need to be considered.

It’s not an altogether different scenario for Shoemaker, who has only made one start to this point of the season and was limited to 14 outings last year. The 31-year-old, who’ll be eligible for his third of four potential trips through the arbitration process this fall, had been a solid rotation presence for the club in the prior three campaigns.

Injury Notes: Shoemaker, Cubs, Ozuna, Pineda, Villanueva

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Angels righty Matt Shoemaker underwent forearm surgery earlier this summer — an operation that repaired the pronator teres tendon and also decompressed a nerve in his right arm. While that sounded ominous and called the remainder of his season into question, Shoemaker has thrown a pair of simulated games recently and tells Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register that he’s aiming to return to the Angels in September. Shoemaker has been battling injuries for much of his career and has only pitched once in the Majors since last June. As he explains it, the tendon damage in his arm was not initially revealed on an MRI and was not detected during a 2017 operation because that surgery was performed a few inches away from the tendon damage. It took exploratory surgery for doctors to discover a “split tendon,” which Shoemaker believes to have been the root of his troubles.

Some more injury news from around the league…

  • The Cubs put Addison Russell on the disabled list today as a corresponding move for the activation of newly acquired Daniel Murphy. As MLB.com’s Carrie Muskat writes, the official announcement stated that a sprained left index finger was prompting the DL placement, but Russell has also been bothered by inflammation in his right shoulder. He’ll get some needed rest from the current DL stint, though there’s no indication that he’s expected to miss a prolonged period of time. There’s less certainty regarding closer Brandon Morrow, Muskat continues, explaining that the right-hander is headed for more tests on his ailing right biceps Friday and isn’t expected to return until September. Morrow has been sidelined since mid-July.
  • The Cardinals announced today that left fielder Marcell Ozuna has been placed on the disabled list due to inflammation in his right shoulder. It’s a tough loss for the Cards, even if it’s only an abbreviated stint, as Ozuna had hit safely in 22 of his past 27 games, batting a combined .315/.356/.532 with six homers, four doubles and a triple in that span of 118 plate appearances. Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch writes that Ozuna’s shoulder has been problematic dating all the way back to last season. The Cardinals were aware of the issue when trading for him, Goold writes, and the team has tried to limit Ozuna’s throwing outside of a game setting throughout the season in order to lessen the stress on said shoulder.
  • Michael Pineda is slated to make two more starts for the Twins’ Triple-A affiliate before joining the big league club in September, Mike Berardino of the St. Paul Pioneer Press reports. Signed to a two-year, $10MM deal that pays him $8MM in 2019, Pineda is in the final stages of recovering from 2017 Tommy John surgery and is expected to be an important piece in Minnesota’s rotation next season. Manager Paul Molitor wouldn’t rule out giving Pineda a start or two in September but said he doesn’t plan to get him too stretched out. Berardino suggests that Pineda won’t top 75 pitches in any appearance this year.
  • Padres third baseman Christian Villanueva has been diagnosed with a fractured finger and is headed to the 10-day disabled list, tweets AJ Cassavell of MLB.com. Villanueva wasn’t in today’s lineup due to some swelling in his hand after taking a tough grounder yesterday, and further testing appears to have revealed the fracture. A corresponding move will be announced tomorrow. It’s not clear how long Villanueva will be out. The 27-year-old Villanueva has utterly demolished left-handed pitching this season, hitting at an absurd .336/.392/.736 clip with 14 home runs through 113 plate appearances when holding the platoon advantage. Unfortunately, he’s mustered a feeble .189/.255/.319 slash against right-handed opponents.

Injury Notes: Snell, Dickerson, Fowler, Williams, Skaggs

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As expected, the Rays have activated left-hander Blake Snell to start tonight’s game against the White Sox. The first-time All-Star will be on a limited pitch count following a two-week DL stint for left shoulder fatigue. Following a trade of Chris Archer to the Pirates, Snell looks like the only reliable starter in a Rays rotation that continues to see relievers open games more often than the starters themselves. Snell’s pre-injury performance, of course, was phenomenal; his 2.27 ERA would be more than a run lower than his career best season.

Here are a few other disabled list transactions from around the league…

  • Pirates outfielder Corey Dickerson has been activated after a short stint on the disabled list; he’d been sidelined with a left hamstring strain. They’ll surely be glad to have him back after the club traded away notable outfield depth in the form of Austin Meadows at the July 31st deadline. While he’s active, Dickerson won’t be starting today’s game against the Cardinals (though he’ll presumably be available off the bench).
  • As expected after last night’s news, Cardinals outfielder Dexter Fowler will hit the DL after suffering a fractured foot. Fowler’s enduring a miserable season that’s by far his career worst; he’s managed to hit an absolutely wretched .180/.278/.298 across 334 plate appearances while playing middling outfield defense. Fangraphs rates him as being 1.2 wins below replacement level on the season after a 2.5 fWAR debut with the Cards last year.
  • Switch-hitting relief pitcher Taylor Williams is headed to the DL with right elbow soreness. It’s certainly bad news for a Brewers bullpen that’s seeing Corey Knebel struggle mightily of late. Williams has tossed 42 2/3 relief innings and managed to strike out 10.43 batters per nine innings, though he’s only managed to keep the ball on the ground 34.8% of the time and has walked a batter nearly every other inning on average. Williams is in the midst of his first full season in the majors after a 4 2/3 inning cup of coffee last year.
  • Angels hurler Tyler Skaggs is headed to the disabled list with a left adductor strain, the club has announced. Skaggs has described the injury as “extremely frustrating”, per Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register. He apparently sustained it during his last start. In his stead, the Angels have called up right-hander Taylor Cole. The Angels, of course, have already seen their rotation annihilated by injuries this year, with Garrett Richards, Shohei Ohtani, J.C. Ramirez and Matt Shoemaker among the affected starters.

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