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Injury Notes: Miggy, Jays, Rox, Britton, Griffin, Reds, Morin, Richards, Cedeno, Kazmir, Garza

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Star Tigers slugger Miguel Cabrera left tonight’s game with a groin strain, as Evan Woodberry of MLive.com reports on Twitter. For now, there’s no real indication of the severity of the injury; Detroit will take a closer look tomorrow.

Here’s more on the injury front:

  • Shi Davidi of Sportsnet.ca provides an update on some injured Blue Jays hurlers. While there had been some hope that J.A. Happ would be able to return after missing just one start, he was still feeling elbow discomfort when he played catch yesterday. There is still hope, though, that Aaron Sanchez will be ready to return from his blister issues to re-take his turn in the rotation.
  • The Rockies have received promising updates on the injury front, as Nick Groke of the Denver Post reports. Ian Desmond’s hand has healed to the point that he was able to hit off of a tee. He’ll soon be followed by David Dahl, whose latest medical check-brought positive news.
  • Likewise, the Orioles have reason to hope they’ll welcome back closer Zach Britton in short order. As Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com tweets, manager Buck Showalter says that Britton’s MRI results were very promising. Britton, who hasn’t been quite his dominant self thus far in 2017, hit the DL with forearm soreness.
  • Rangers righty A.J. Griffin is heading to the 10-day DL with what the team is describing as ankle inflammation caused by gout. It doesn’t seem likely to require an extended absence, but the issue arises at an unfortunate time for the 29-year-old (and the struggling ballclub). Griffin is off to a solid start, having allowed seven earned runs on nine hits — and an excellent 16:4 K/BB ratio — over 15 1/3 innings.
  • There were a few updates from the Reds, as provided by Zach Buchanan of the Cincinnati Enquirer (Twitter links). Righty Homer Bailey could be ready for mound work as soon as the end of the month, per skipper Bryan Price. Bailey has made just eight starts since the start of the 2015 season; he’s working back from surgery to remove bone spurs. Southpaw reliever Tony Cingrani, meanwhile, was placed on the 10-day DL with an oblique strain, with outfielder Phil Ervin taking his place on the active roster.
  • Alex Meyer made a start tonight for the Angels, taking the roster spot of reliever Mike Morin, who is headed to the DL with neck stiffness, as Maria Guardado of MLB.com tweets. Morin, who’ll soon turn 26, has been hit hard in his 6 2/3 frames to open the season.
  • Meanwhile, Angels righty Garrett Richards is said to be making some progress but isn’t yet able to begin throwing, Guardado tweets. Continued biceps weakness is still the culprit. The Halos are understandably taking care to ensure that Richards is at full health before pushing him forward.
  • Rays lefty Xavier Cedeno is experiencing forearm tightness will require at least a brief DL placement, as Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports. It’s not seen as a significant injury, but the loss of Cedeno does leave Tampa Bay without a southpaw in the pen. The 30-year-old has not looked sharp early; as Topkin notes, he has struggled to prevent inherited runners to score. And Cedeno has surrendered four walks without recording a single strikeout in his seven appearances.
  • Dodgers lefty Scott Kazmir is still dealing with hip tightness that is preventing him from progressing back to the hill, as Andy McCullough of the Los Angeles Times reports on Twitter. The veteran southpaw is not yet nearing a rehab stint, per the report.
  • The Brewers will welcome back righty Matt Garza from the DL to make a start on Monday, per a team announcement. Garza was not ready to open the year due to a groin strain. He’ll bump southpaw Tommy Milone to the bullpen.

Brewers Designate Kirk Nieuwenhuis

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The Brewers have designated outfielder Kirk Nieuwenhuis for assignment, per a club announcement. Lefty Brent Suter will come up to take his roster spot and bolster the club’s pen.

[RELATED: Updated Brewers Depth Chart]

Nieuwenhuis, 29, was off to a sluggish start in 2016. Over thirty trips to the plate thus far, he has just two hits and four walks. Nieuwenhuis was better last year, when he slashed .209/.324/.385 while appearing in 125 contests.

Parting with the left-handed-hitting Nieuwenhuis means that Milwaukee does not have a platoon option to go with center fielder Keon Broxton, who has struggled just as much in the early going. It’ll be interesting to see whether top prospect Lewis Brinson, who’s currently laying waste to Triple-A pitching, could end up getting a shot at some point in the near future.

It’s not yet known, of course, whether this will spell the end of Nieuwenhuis’s tenure in Milwaukee. If he clears waivers, he’d have the option to reject an outright assignment, though it’s also possible to imagine that he’d prefer to remain with the organization and wait for a roster spot to open.

Brewers Rumors: Braun, Peralta

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  • There’s “no evidence of any real trade talk” between the Brewers and Dodgers involving Ryan Braun, per Heyman. He notes that the Brewers may feel a slight sense of urgency due to the fact that Braun will achieve 10-and-5 rights on May 24 (thus allowing him full veto power over any trade). The improved production out of Yasiel Puig could make Braun a less appealing target, as Puig himself has the ability to be a dynamic weapon against lefties if he can return to form. Even if Braun does ultimately reach 1o-and-5 status, Heyman notes that the Dodgers are said to be his preferred destination in a trade, so he could very well approve the deal after that point.
  • Multiple teams inquired with the Brewers about right-hander Wily Peralta this spring, but Milwaukee clearly didn’t find an offer to its liking. “We’re very comfortable having him as part of our rotation,” GM David Stearns tells Heyman. The 27-year-old Peralta has a 2.65 ERA through his first three starts, though his strong work dates back further than Opening Day. While Peralta’s 2016 numbers look pedestrian at best, he posted a 2.92 ERA through 61 1/3 innings after being recalled from a Triple-A demotion early last August. In his past 13 MLB starts, Peralta has a 2.86 ERA with 7.3 K/9, 2.8 BB/9 and a 51.2 percent ground-ball rate. He’s controllable for two seasons beyond the 2017 campaign, and it’s easy to envision him emerging as a trade candidate this summer if he continues to perform anywhere near that level.

    [SOURCE LINK]

Thames Discusses Career Renaissance

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Eric Thames is the talk of baseball after his preposterous start to the season — Thames is hitting .426/.491/1.000 with seven homers and six doubles through 53 plate appearances with the Brewers — the former KBO superstar spoke to USA Today’s Bob Nightengale about his transformation at the plate. Thames, 30, explains to Nightengale that going to Korea forced him to better his plate discipline; while pitchers there will often top out at 91 mph, the barrage of breaking pitches with which Thames was faced necessitated that he improve his pitch recognition and lay off pitches outside the zone. Thames jokes to Nightengale that in his first stint in American ball, he’d swing at anything within three feet of the batter’s box, but he’s become eminently more selective. Thames’ new approach drew praise from Dodgers VP Alex Anthopoulos, who was GM of the Blue Jays when Toronto let go of Thames, and from Cubs manager Joe Maddon, who called Thames’ swing “lethal,” Nightengale writes.

Brewers GM David Stearns tells Nightengale that Thames was on their radar for quite some time, and Nightengale reports that their first attempt to sign him came in the 2015-16 offseason when he still had time left on his contract with KBO’s NC Dinos. Skeptics of Thames may be interested to learn that he has already been tested for PEDs early this season, in addition to the test he took at the onset of Spring Training.

  • On the subject of Thames’ selectivity at the plate, Fangraphs’ Jeff Sullivan breaks down the Brewers slugger’s newfound plate discipline at length. As Sullivan explains, Thames was well below the 25th percentile among Major Leaguers in terms of chasing out of zone pitches and was below the 50th percentile when it came to swinging at pitches in the zone during his first run in the bigs. Essentially, he was a free swinger that lacked the strike zone recognition to put himself in favorable counts and find pitches to drive. Now, Thames possesses one of baseball’s lowest chase rates and one of the best O-swing minus Z-swing percentages (that is to say, the percentage of pitches he chases minus the percentage of in-zone pitches at which he swings).

Eric Thames' Huge Return To MLB

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  • Eric Thames is one of the early stars of the 2017 season, as the Brewers slugger is leading the league in homers (seven), runs (15), and slugging percentage (an even 1.000) while also hitting .405 and posting a .479 OBP through 48 plate appearances.  USA Today’s Bob Nightengale profiles Thames’ unique personality and unlikely career path, as he bounced around several MLB organizations before becoming a Ruthian superstar in South Korea from 2014-16.

Ryan Braun Gains 10-And-5 Rights On May 14

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  • Ryan Braun will gain 10-and-5 rights on May 14, according to Rosenthal, not on May 24 as previous reports have suggested.  No matter the date that the Brewers slugger can gain full no-trade control, however, Rosenthal echoes earlier reports that suggest little will change with Braun’s trade status once he becomes a 10-and-5 player.

    [SOURCE LINK]

Dodgers Not Discussing Braun With Brewers, Eyeing Cody Bellinger

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  • On Saturday, it emerged that the Dodgers and Brewers had remained in touch about a potential Ryan Braun deal. But Bill Shaikin of the Los Angeles Times writes that the two sides are not currently discussing a trade. The Dodgers are, however, keeping tabs on one of their own prospects, 1B/OF Cody Bellinger, as a potential offensive upgrade. The 21-year-old Bellinger is batting .371/.436/.657 thus far for Triple-A Oklahoma City.

Dodgers, Brewers Have Stayed In Touch About Braun Trade

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  • The Dodgers and Brewers have remained in contact over a potential deal involving Ryan Braun, Cafardo reports. Last summer, the two sides reportedly engaged in serious talks about a deal involving Braun and Yasiel Puig. Trades involving big-name players don’t typically take place early in the season, although it’s worth noting that, at last check, the Dodgers were not one of the teams restricted by Braun’s no-trade clause, and that he will receive ironclad no-trade protection when he becomes a 10-and-5 player May 24.

Brewers Acquire Oliver Drake From Orioles

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The Brewers have acquired right-hander Oliver Drake from the Orioles in exchange for a player to be named later or cash, the teams announced. This is the second swap between the two teams tonight, as Milwaukee shipped recently designated right-hander Damien Magnifico to the O’s in exchange for an international bonus slot just minutes ago. The acquisition of Drake needn’t be accompanied by a 40-man roster move in Milwaukee, because the Brewers also designated right-hander David Goforth for assignment within the past hour.

Drake, 30, was designated for assignment by the Orioles earlier this afternoon — a seemingly innocuous move at the time that set off this moderately dizzying sequence of transactions for the two clubs. In 37 Major League innings, Drake has a 3.89 ERA with 10.0 K/9, 4.6 BB/9 and a 50.5 percent ground-ball rate. Drake doesn’t have minor league options remaining, so he’ll have to be inserted directly into the Milwaukee bullpen. The Brewers could quickly try to run Drake through waivers once again themselves, thus allowing him to be optioned to Triple-A, though in doing so, they’d risk losing him to another club.

Orioles Acquire Damien Magnifico, Designate Jason Garcia

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The Orioles have acquired right-hander Damien Magnifico from the Brewers in exchange for international bonus slot No. 15, the teams announced. The No. 15 international slot comes with an assigned value of $885,300, per Baseball America’s Ben Badler. To make room for Magnifico on the 40-man roster, the Orioles have designated fellow righty Jason Garcia for assignment. Magnifico, in turn, has been optioned to Triple-A Norfolk by the Orioles.

In addition to possessing one of the best baseball names you’ll come across, the 25-year-old Magnifico is the owner of a career 3.98 ERA with 9.0 K/9 against 5.0 BB/9 in 63 1/3 career innings at the Triple-A level. He’s logged three innings in the Majors, all with the Brewers last season, and yielded a pair of runs on two hits and three walks without a strikeout. In that brief MLB sample, however, Magnifico averaged nearly 97 mph on his heater, and he induced grounders at a hefty 62.9 percent clip last year in Triple-A.

Garcia, 24, was a Rule 5 pick by the Orioles back in 2014 and spent a good chunk of the 2015 season on the disabled list. He still saw enough time on the active roster to remain property of the Orioles without being subject to further restriction, but he didn’t make the strides the O’s were hoping for in 2016. Garcia jumped straight from A-ball in 2014 to the Majors in 2015, where he appeared in just 21 games and logged 29 2/3 innings in the Majors with a 4.25 ERA and an unsightly 22-to-17 K/BB ratio.

He’s actually yet to appear at the Triple-A level after struggling through the 2016 campaign in Double-A and opening the 2017 season there as well. In 142 career innings of Double-A work, he’s struggled to a 4.82 ERA with just 5.6 K/9 against 4.0 BB/9.

The decision for the Orioles to jettison even more of their international signing money rather than to invest the money into amateur talent acquisition is somewhat puzzling. Baseball America’s Ben Badler offered a harsh critique of the Orioles’ international efforts (or lack thereof) earlier today, noting that Baltimore spent a mere $260K on just five international prospects during the entire 2016-17 signing period, while most clubs sign 25 to 30 players.

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