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Mets Injury Updates: Cespedes, Wright, Conforto, Harvey

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The Mets have announced injury updates on a variety of notable players, as covered by James Wagner of the New York Times (Twitter links).

Outfielder Yoenis Cespedes, who recently hit the DL with a hamstring strain, is expected to require a six-week layoff and will therefore not make it back to the field this season. That’s not terribly surprising, as the veteran was said to have suffered a reasonably significant injury. He’ll surely focus on returning to health and finding a way to avoid further leg muscle problems in the 2018 season.

Meanwhile, the rehab assignment of third baseman David Wright has been halted after he again experienced shoulder pain. He’s set to be examined further tomorrow. The apparent setback makes it hard to imagine that Wright will be able to return to the majors this year. More broadly, it only continues to build upon the uncertainty about his future. New York owes the veteran $47MM over the next three seasons, though it can attempt to recoup 75% of his salary for any time during which he’s unable to play. But the Mets will also need to consider pursuing a replacement option at the hot corner for 2018 and beyond.

Perhaps the team’s most concerning open medical situation is that of young outfielder Michael Conforto, who had looked like a star before dislocating his shoulder and suffering a capsule tear in the joint. He has reportedly been weighing whether or not to undergo surgery, and is set for a second opinion on that decision. It’s not yet known what kind of outlook he faces, but the injury is plainly a serious one that will require plenty of care and a lengthy rehab process regardless of how it’s treated.

Finally, on the positive side, the Mets are set to welcome righty Matt Harvey back to the rotation on Friday. He has been out since the middle of June with shoulder problems that seemingly trace back to the thoracic outlet procedure he underwent last year. Beyond the health concerns, Harvey has struggled on the mound this year, with a 5.25 ERA over 70 1/3 innings. The Mets will surely hope that he can regain some positive momentum over the final month of the season.

NL Notes: Harvey, Fedde, Pirates

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Mets righty Matt Harvey is set to return from the disabled list Friday against the Astros, as Mike Puma of the New York Post notes. Harvey has been out since mid-June with a shoulder injury and hasn’t overwhelmed in his four rehab starts, but the Mets were enthused about his last outing, Puma writes. “When he threw in Double-A last time, the reports weren’t all that glowing,” says pitching coach Dan Warthen. “But [minor league pitching coordinator] Glenn Abbott was raving about this last one. Matt’s delivery was the same every pitch, and everything was coming out cleanly.” Harvey has seen most of his last two seasons derailed by injuries, but he’ll have a chance to salvage something from the 2017 season after pitching to a 5.25 ERA, 6.9 K/9 and 4.5 BB/9 in 70 1/3 innings before hitting the DL. Here’s more from the National League.

  • Nationals righty Erick Fedde threw with less velocity than usual on Sunday, pitching in the 89-91 MPH range after previously throwing around 94, Chelsea Janes of the Washington Post writes. Fedde says he’s “not too worried about” the loss in velocity and attributes it to the approaching end of the season. Fedde, though, is still just under 100 innings for the season between the minors and the Majors after throwing 121 last year. Janes does note that Fedde has lately demonstrated a better-rounded repertoire than he showed in Spring Training, with a slower curveball and changeup to go along with his fastball and slider.
  • The Pirates’ rotation hasn’t been overwhelming this season, but they have had good depth they largely haven’t needed, as Stephen J. Nesbitt of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette writes. The Bucs have only used six starters, and one of those, Tyler Glasnow, has a 1.99 ERA with Triple-A Indianapolis and hasn’t pitched in the big leagues since early June. Steven Brault (1.94 ERA, 8.2 K/9, 3.3 BB/9, 52.2 GB%) has also fared well at Triple-A, with Drew Hutchison, Clay Holmes and Nick Kingham all also getting fairly good results. “It’s a good lesson in humility and patience,” says Brault. “You have to realize it’s not what you’re doing that’s wrong. Sometimes there’s just not a spot.” The Pirates control the rights to everyone in their current rotation for at least two more seasons beyond this one, so an offseason move or two could be a possibility, with Gerrit Cole perhaps being on the trading block. Kingham will be out of options next season, making his name one to watch as well. Of course, rotation depth charts have a way of changing quickly.

Mets Place Yoenis Cespedes On 10-Day DL With Hamstring Strain

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TODAY: Cespedes has been officially placed on the DL, the Mets announced.  In corresponding moves, the Mets have also activated Jose Reyes from the disabled list, optioned righty Kevin McGowan to Triple-A, and selected the contract of outfielder Travis Taijeron from Triple-A.

FRIDAY, 9:27pm: Cespedes will head to the DL, Mets GM Sandy Alderson said after the game, as Mike Puma of the New York Post tweets. Per Alderson, the injury is about as serious as the one that sent Cespedes to the DL earlier this year. He missed about six weeks, though that period was also impacted by the later-arising quad problem. Regardless, it seems possible that Cespedes may not make it back by the end of the year.

8:00pm: Mets outfielder Yoenis Cespedes was pulled in the middle of tonight’s contest with what the team is calling a right hamstring strain, as was first announced on the SNY broadcast.

It is not immediately clear whether he’ll require a DL placement, but that seems reasonably likely — especially since the Mets have no need to force the issue with the postseason long out of reach. Betsy Helfand of the Las Vegas Review Journal notes on Twitter that outfielder Travis Taijeron was scratched from the lineup from the top Mets’ affiliate, quite likely to provide an option if needed to replace Cespedes.

The injury is the latest leg muscle problem for Cespedes, who missed time earlier this year with a strain in his left hammy that was followed by a right quad problem. And the track record stretches back before that, though Cespedes has never missed any truly lengthy stretches in his career.

Since re-joining the Mets on a four-year, $110MM contract over the winter, Cespedes has appeared in eighty games and produced a .292/.350/.540 batting line. That’s just what New York was hoping for on a rate basis, though the club will surely enter the offseason looking hard at ways to keep Cespedes — and a whole lot of other players — on the field more frequently for 2018 and beyond.

NL East Notes: Zimmerman, Madson, Acuna, Conforto

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The Marlins’ victory over the Padres last night put them at 64-63 on the season, the first time Miami has been over the .500 mark since April 26.  The Marlins have now won 22 of their last 34 games and have quietly moved to just 4.5 games back of the Rockies for the last NL wild card slot.  Miami’s surge has been fueled by hot streaks from several hitters, though Giancarlo Stanton is setting the pace with an extraordinary .368/.455/.977 slash line and 16 homers over his last 101 PA.  As surprising as it would be to see a team that has been in seller mode all summer suddenly become buyers, it wouldn’t be out of the question to see the Marlins make a low-level trade addition before August is over if the Fish feel they have a legitimate postseason shot.  Here’s the latest from around the NL East…

  • Ryan Zimmerman missed Friday’s game due to a shoulder injury, and Nationals manager Dusty Baker told MLB.com’s Jamal Collier and other reporters that Zimmerman also isn’t expected to be in today’s lineup.  Baker did express hope that the first baseman would be back on Sunday, so it doesn’t yet appear that this could another significant DL absence for the injury-riddled Nats.  Zimmerman hurt his shoulder on a slide into home plate during Thursday’s game.
  • The right index finger injury that sent Ryan Madson to the DL last week could’ve been caused by his increased usage of the curveball this season, a source theorizes to Chelsea Janes of the Washington Post.  Madson has received treatment to calm the inflammation of the tendon sheath that runs through his index finger’s knuckle, and he recently visited a hand specialist.  The big-picture news is that while Madson’s DL stint will likely extend beyond the minimum 10 days, the Nationals expect him to be back in action before the postseason.
  • Ronald Acuna’s tear through the Braves’ farm system probably won’t result in a September callup, Mark Bradley of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution writes.  The 19-year-old outfielder began the season in high-A ball and been promoted up to Triple-A, raking all the while — Acuna has a combined .325/.376/.533 slash line, 20 homers and 41 steals over 558 combined plate appearances at three minor league levels.  This performance had firmly placed Acuna near the top of several midseason prospects rankings (MLB.com rates him the eighth-best prospect in the game, Baseball America 10th and Baseball Prospectus 11th).  While the Braves have been aggressive in promoting their top prospects, Bradley feels there isn’t any need to rush Acuna to the big leagues quite so soon, though Acuna may well be in line for regular duty for Atlanta as early as Opening Day 2018.
  • Michael Conforto’s posterior capsule tear in his left shoulder will be re-evaluated on Monday, though Newsday’s Marc Carig and Mike Puma of the New York Post hear from medical professionals that Conforto could be sidelined for several months if he undergoes surgery.  It’s important to note that neither of the doctors cited by Carig and Puma have personally examined Conforto and are basing their opinions simply on prior knowledge of similar injuries.  That said, both doctors commented on the unusual nature of Conforto’s injury, which came after swinging and missing a pitch.  “The problem in this case is that this player dislocated his shoulder without any major trauma,” Dr. Armin Tehrany of Manhattan Orthopedic Care told Carig. “It was his non-dominant arm. He was just swinging a bat. And that alone led to the dislocation, which means that the likelihood that it happens again after he heals is very high.”  Dr. Tehrany believes Conforto could face a four-to-six month rehab process if he opts for surgery, while Dr. Umer Dasti of the Ridgewood Orthopedic Group tells Puma that a six-to-12 month timeline could be necessary.  The latter projection, as Puma notes, would have a significant impact on the Mets’ offseason plans, as the team would likely have to check into acquiring another notable bat if Conforto is sidelined for a good chunk of 2018.

Michael Conforto Suffers Dislocated Shoulder, Capsule Tear

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9:19pm: While Conforto did not suffer any fracture, an MRI revealed a posterior capsule tear, per a club announcement (via Adam Rubin, on Twitter). Surgery appears to be an option, though the team cautioned that the course of treatment is still under assessment.

Details, understandably, remain scant at this early stage. That sort of general injury can be devastating for a pitcher, but it’s not one that is commonly seen (or, at least, discussed)for hitters. While Conforto’s particular prognosis remains unknown, it seems rather clear that he won’t return this year and will at a minimum face a significant offseason rehab effort.

1:22pm: Injuries continue to pile up for he Mets, as outfielder Michael Conforto exited today’s game in the fifth inning with what the Mets have announced as a dislocated left shoulder. SNY’s Steve Gelbs first tweeted the diagnosis. Conforto swung and missed at a pitch and immediately fell to the ground before exiting with the trainer (video link via MLB.com). The Mets haven’t provided a timeline for the latest injury.

The 2017 campaign has proven to be a lost season for the Mets as a team, but Conforto’s breakout has been a bright spot in an otherwise bleak year. The 24-year-old former first-round pick has been the Mets’ best player, slashing an outstanding .279/.384/.555 with a career-best 27 homers. Conforto has played solid defense in the outfield corners and has also logged 328 innings in center field as a means of keeping his bat in the lineup.

The Mets’ outfield depth has been thinned by recent trades of Jay Bruce to the Indians and Curtis Granderson to the Dodgers. With Conforto likely down for the foreseeable future, it seems likely that Yoenis Cespedes, Juan Lagares and Brandon Nimmo will line up as the primary outfield contingent, but New York will still need to add another outfield option from its minor league ranks to help fill the void.

[Related: New York Mets depth chart]

Mets Shut Down Wheeler For Season, Will Activate Familia Friday

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The Mets announced a slew of medical updates on their roster in a press release this morning, with the most notable reveal being that right-hander Zack Wheeler will miss not pitch again this season. The Mets also announced that closer Jeurys Familia will be activated for tomorrow’s game, while righty Tyler Pill has undergone an arthroscopic debridement of his right elbow, which figures to end his season as well. The Mets also confirmed previous reports that Steven Matz has undergone surgery on his left elbow.

Matt Harvey, meanwhile, will make a Class-A rehab start on Saturday, and Noah Syndergaard will throw live batting practice on Friday. Seth Lugo is slated for a bullpen session Friday, and David Wright is continuing baseball activities in Port St. Lucie, Fla.

Wheeler’s shutdown comes one month to the day after he was placed on the disabled list with a stress reaction in his right arm. The 27-year-old made his return form a two-year layoff stemming from Tommy John surgery this season, and while he got off to a strong start (3.45 ERA through 11 starts), Wheeler wilted as the summer progressed. In his final six trips to the hill, Wheeler completed six innings just one time and posted a collective 9.89 earned run average. His 2017 season will come to a close with a 5.21 ERA, 8.4 K/9, 4.2 BB/9 and a 47.5 percent ground-ball rate over 86 1/3 frames.

Familia, meanwhile, hasn’t pitched since May 10 due to an arterial clot in his right shoulder that required surgery. Between that and the suspension that he served under Major League Baseball’s domestic violence policy earlier this year, Familia has been limited to 9 1/3 innings this year, during which time he’s logged a 10-to-8 K/BB ratio.

Pill, 27, made his big league debut with the Mets in 2017 after posting a solid ERA but more questionable secondary numbers in the hitter-friendly environment of Triple-A Las Vegas this season. He made three starts and four relief appearances with the Mets, totaling 22 innings with a 5.32 ERA, 16 strikeouts, 10 walks and a 49.5 percent ground-ball rate.

Steven Matz Undergoes Elbow Surgery

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TODAY: Matz’s surgery took place today and went as expected, Carig tweets.

MONDAY, 8:36pm: Matz will indeed undergo a procedure to reposition his ulnar nerve, the Mets have announced. That will be scheduled in the coming days, per the announcement.

4:52pm:Mets lefty Steven Matz is dealing with a nerve issue in his pitching elbow that will likely lead to a DL stint and may require surgery, according to reports from Kristie Ackert of the New York Daily News and Marc Carig of Newsday. It seems the problem is similar to the one experienced last year by teammate Jacob deGrom.

Matz, 26, has struggled through a disappointing campaign after showing immense promise in his first two seasons of MLB action. Through 13 starts, he has pitched only 66 2/3 innings with a 6.08 ERA, recording 6.5 K/9 against 2.6 BB/9 while surrendering a dozen long balls. Arm health has been a longstanding concern for Matz, and he has already missed time this year for an elbow injury.

It seems that Matz has been skipping pen sessions between starts to help manage the issue, which has caused him pain all year long. There was at least some concern that the southpaw was experiencing arthritis; it’s not apparent whether that has been ruled out. Matz received treatment in the form of a shot earlier today, so perhaps his response will dictate the course of treatment.

It’s worth emphasizing that there’s no evidence of a structural problem in Matz’s elbow. And while it’s never good to hear of possible elbow surgery, deGrom has not shown any ill effects from the nerve repositioning procedure he underwent last September.

Still, this represents the latest jolt to a Mets’ rotation that was expected to be one of the game’s very best. If Matz hits the DL, only deGrom will remain standing among the hurlers that were expected to comprise the staff entering the year.

David Wright Begins Rehab Assignment

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Mets third baseman David Wright will begin a rehab assignment this evening, per a club announcement. He is in the lineup as the DH for the organization’s High-A affiliate.

A succession of shoulder, neck, and back injuries have conspired to limit the 34-year-old in recent years. Wright has yet to play this year and has appeared in only 75 games since the start of the 2015 campaign.

While it’s promising to see the initiation of a rehab assignment, there’s still vast uncertainty surrounding the former All-Star. For one thing, the bigger hurdle will come when Wright attempts to play the field; after all, throwing issues thwarted his progress this spring. For another, Wright will need to show that he can not only get healthy but stay that way, as each of his prior attempts at returning have ended with yet more maladies.

NL East Notes: Asdrubal, Phillips, Phillies, Koehler

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The latest from around the NL East…

  • The Mets are receiving more trade interest in Asdrubal Cabrera, Newsday’s Marc Carig reports.  Cabrera received some buzz prior to the deadline (with the Indians and Red Sox mentioned as two of the interested teams) though there haven’t been many rumblings about him yet this month.  The veteran infielder has shown additional versatility by playing second and third base almost exclusively over the last two months after beginning the year as New York’s everyday shortstop.  MLBTR’s Steve Adams listed Cabrera first in his recent ranking of the Top 25 August Trade Candidates.
  • Brandon Phillips has acquitted himself well as the Braves’ third baseman since moving over from second base to accommodate Ozzie Albies, and David O’Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution points out that the position switch may be a boost to Phillips’ future career.  The veteran infielder will have a better chance at finding a new contract this winter now that he has demonstrated more positional versatility, and O’Brien figures Phillips could also handle playing first base as well.
  • “Essentially, the Phillies are in rebuilding purgatory,” David Murphy of the Philadelphia Daily News writes.  The Phils find themselves in a bit of a catch-22 of needing some reliable arms to fill out next year’s rotation, as though it makes little sense to spend the significant dollars necessary for such pitching when the club is still in a rebuilding phase, though getting good pitchers at bargain prices will be difficult-to-impossible.  While the Phillies aren’t planning to contend yet, Murphy argues that “the goal should be to make next season watchable,” and a lack of pitching could undermine what appears to be some promising development from the team’s young hitters.
  • Tom Koehler was dealt from the Marlins to the Blue Jays yesterday, ending the right-hander’s career-long stint in the Miami organization.  As Koehler tells Tim Healey of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel, he is excited to go to Toronto, though it is a bittersweet feeling leaving the team that drafted him as an 18th-rounder in 2008.  “They [the Marlins] gave me an opportunity.  I don’t think a lot of people would have thought that I would’ve gotten as far as I have, and they gave me a chance to do it,” Koehler said.

NL Notes: Otani, Dodgers, Mets, Phillies

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Eight members of the Dodgers organization, including president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman, were in Japan on Sunday to watch Nippon Ham Fighters star Shohei Otani, according to a report from Sponichi (translation courtesy of Kazuto Yamazaki of Beyond the Box Score, on Twitter). The two-way standout threw a 58-pitch bullpen session before the game and then reached base in all four plate appearances during the contest, going 3 for 3 with a walk. Otani, 23, figures to be the most sought-after free agent available if he decides to immigrate to the majors in the offseason. The Dodgers seem likely to pursue him, but the international spending limits in the new collective bargaining agreement will prevent the big-spending franchise from steamrolling the competition with a massive offer. In fact, the Dodgers aren’t allowed to give out a bonus exceeding $300K to an international prospect in the 2017-18 signing period.

  • Mets general manager Sandy Alderson is a near certainty to return in 2018, but manager Terry Collins’ exit seems like a mere formality, David Lennon of Newsday suggests. While the Alderson-built Mets have been among the majors’ most obvious letdowns this season, the spate of injuries they’ve dealt with has likely given him some leeway, Lennon notes. One prominent Met who hasn’t played at all this year is third baseman and captain David Wright, whom neck, shoulder and back issues have limited to 75 games since 2015. The $47MM owed to Wright through 2020, including $20MM next season, could serve as a hindrance to Alderson during the upcoming winter as he tries to reshape the roster and make the team into a contender again, Lennon observes. While the Mets could recoup 75 percent of Wright’s money via insurance if he’s unable to play, Alderson has to operate as if the seven-time All-Star will return. The Mets’ third base situation without Wright this year hasn’t been ideal, which Alderson acknowledged. “We don’t have an everyday top-shelf third base option the way some teams do. Not that we have played terribly at third base. But we didn’t go into the season with a solidified situation in part because we’re not sure what David’s condition would be,” Alderson said. “Now, as we go into 2018, do we build on what we learned in 2017 and act accordingly and consider moving David to another position, that sort of thing? That’s all something that has to be evaluated as we get into the offseason.”
  • Given that they’ll need to add him to their 40-man roster over the winter, a promotion could come this year for Phillies shortstop prospect J.P. Crawford when Triple-A Lehigh Valley’s season ends, Matt Gelb of the Philadelphia Inquirer notes. If the Phillies do call up Crawford, he could see time at second and third base initially, assistant general manager Ned Rice told Gelb. Crawford lined up at third base Sunday, making it the first time he has played a position other than short in the minors. The Phillies still regard Crawford as a long-term shortstop, but incumbent Freddy Galvis is vying for a 162-game season there. Meanwhile, Maikel Franco is in the midst of a disappointing season, so he’s a candidate to cede playing time to Crawford. The 22-year-old topped out as Baseball America’s sixth-best prospect after the 2015 season, but he’s just 92nd on the outlet’s latest list. Crawford has improved his Triple-A output since last season’s unspectacular showing, though, having batted .242/.349/.406 with 13 home runs and 68 unintentional walks against 84 strikeouts in 485 plate appearances.
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