Health Notes: Paxton, Rays, Phils, Reds, Cards
Yankees southpaw James Paxton will go the next couple days without throwing after feeling soreness following Wednesday’s session, manager Aaron Boone told WFAN (via Kristie Ackert of the New York Daily News). It’s unclear how much longer Paxton will be sidelined from the flexor strain that sent him to the IL on Aug. 21, but as Ackert notes, time is running out for him to return – at least to the Yankees’ rotation – during the regular season. Paxton’s problems, both in terms of injury and performance, are among the reasons the Yankees’ starting staff has disappointed this year. Although the 31-year-old dealt with his share of injuries in prior seasons, he typically fared well when healthy. In 2020, though, Paxton has stumbled to a 6.64 ERA over five starts and 20 1/3 innings.
- Rays manager Kevin Cash hasn’t ruled out regular-season returns for third baseman Yandy Diaz or catcher Mike Zunino, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times tweets. Diaz went to the IL on Sept. 1 with a right hamstring strain, while Zunino has been down since Aug. 29 with a strained oblique. Diaz has been a major on-base threat with a .307/.427/.386 line in 138 plate appearances, whereas Zunino has gone through a second straight horrible season on offense (.133/.235/.383 with 29 strikeouts in 68 PA).
- The Phillies expect outfielder/designated hitter Jay Bruce to return this month, Matt Breen of the Philadelphia Inquirer relays. Bruce has been on the IL twice with quad problems going back to August, and his most recent placement came Sept. 6. He was a good power source before then with a .225/.276/.578 line and six home runs in 76 plate appearances. Meanwhile, Philly’s hopeful that left-handed reliever Jose Alvarez will make it back if they earn a playoff spot. Alvarez threw 6 1/3 innings of one-run ball before taking a 105 mph line drive off the groin on Aug. 20.
- Reds left-hander Wade Miley “took a step back today” in his recovery from shoulder troubles, manager David Bell announced (Twitter links via C. Trent Rosecrans of The Athletic). Consequently, the Reds don’t expect Miley back this weekend. He last took the mound Aug. 27. The news is better for outfielder Nick Senzel, who Bell said is “pretty close” to coming back. Senzel hasn’t played since Aug. 14, but the Reds haven’t disclosed a reason for his absence.
- Cardinals righty Johan Oviedo is in COVID-19 quarantine, according to Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Oviedo hasn’t tested positive for the illness, but he was exposed to someone who did. As a result, the Cardinals – whose season was halted for a couple weeks last month because of the virus – are taking a cautious approach. They placed Oviedo on the IL on Thursday. It seems righty Carlos Martinez will take over in the Cardinals’ rotation for Oviedo, a 22-year-old rookie who has put up a 4.66 ERA/4.26 FIP in his first four starts and 19 1/3 innings in the bigs.
Yankees Sign Ryan Buchter
The Yankees announced Thursday that they’ve signed left-handed reliever Ryan Buchter to a minor league contract and assigned him to their alternate training site. Buchter, who recently elected free agency over an outright assignment from the Angels, will join the Yankees’ 60-man player pool and immediately become a viable depth option.
Buchter, 33, pitched just six innings with the Halos before being designated for assignment. He surrendered three runs and just five hits in that time, but his six walks probably didn’t encourage the team’s decision-makers. That said, Buchter has a track record as a solid bullpen piece dating back to his 2016 debut campaign with the Padres. The southpaw posted a sub-3.00 ERA each season from ’16-’19, logging a combined 2.87 ERA and 4.01 FIP with 9.9 K/9, 4.0 BB/9, 1.1 HR/9 and a 26.5 percent grounder rate along the way.
Despite those strong numbers, Buchter was non-tendered by the Athletics over the winter and had to settle for a minor league pact with the Angels in free agency. Last year’s results might’ve been a bit more smoke-and-mirrors than seasons prior, as Buchter’s 4.6 BB/9 and 1.59 HR/9 marks were easily career-worsts. His 2.98 ERA looked to be largely a function of a 91.4 percent strand rate, with fielding-independent metrics like FIP (4.96) and xFIP (5.08) casting considerably more negative light on his work.
That said, his track record and ability to miss bats in bunches makes him a fine depth pickup. An extreme fly-ball pitcher like Buchter isn’t necessarily an ideal fit for Yankee Stadium and the AL East in general, but it’s worth pointing out that he generates harmless infield flies at a higher rate than most pitchers. From 2016-19, 16.4 percent of the fly-balls he allowed were characterized as infield flies — just shy of seven percent better than the league average in that span. He’s surely benefited from playing his home games at the pitcher-friendly parks in San Diego, Kansas City and Oakland for much of his career, but the extreme fly-ball tendencies may not be quite as concerning as one would initially expect.
Injury Notes: J. Ramirez, Hosmer, Stanton, A. Dickerson
Indians third baseman Jose Ramirez exited their win over the Royals on Monday with left thumb discomfort, Mandy Bell of MLB.com relays. The Indians replaced Ramirez, who Bell notes has been dealing with the issue for weeks, with Mike Freeman. Whether Ramirez will miss any more time remains to be seen, but the Indians can only hope he won’t, as he has played an important role in their 26-15 start. The 27-year-old Ramirez has followed up a so-so 2019 (by his standards) with a .248/.350/.478 start and nine home runs in 183 plate appearances this season.
- Padres first baseman Eric Hosmer departed their game Monday against the Rockies with a left finger injury, AJ Cassavell of MLB.com tweets. San Diego plugged in the just-acquired Mitch Moreland in place of Hosmer, who’s in the third season of an eight-year, $144MM contract and has easily enjoyed his best campaign as a Padre. Thanks in part to an increase in fly balls, Hosmer has slashed .291/.346/.547 (a career-high 138 wRC+) with eight home runs in 127 plate appearances. Hosmer’s rebound from a couple of mediocre seasons has contributed to the Padres’ 25-17 start.
- Yankees designated hitter Giancarlo Stanton “ran bases, hit off a machine and threw today,” Bryan Hoch of MLB.com tweets, but it remains unclear when or if he’ll return in 2020. Even if Stanton does play again this year, it will go in the books as the second straight injury-ruined season for the ex-NL MVP, as he missed almost all of 2019 with health issues and has been on the IL since Aug. 9 with a left hamstring strain. The Stanton-less Yankees have struggled over the past few weeks and are now fighting for their playoff lives.
- Giants outfielder Alex Dickerson had to leave their game against the Diamondbacks on Monday after fouling a ball off his right leg (video via Alex Pavlovic of NBC Sports Bay Area). The Giants called on Darin Ruf to take over for Dickerson. There’s no word on Dickerson’s status, but he’s someone the Giants can ill afford to go without for an extended stretch. They’re surprisingly in playoff contention, and Dickerson has followed up last season’s solid showing with a .264/.342/.528 line and seven home runs this year, making him one of the Giants’ most valuable players [UPDATE: Dickerson’s X-Rays came back negative. He has a knee contusion, Andrew Baggarly of The Athletic relays].
Yankees Re-Sign Luis Avilan To Minor League Deal
The Yankees have reached an agreement on a new minor-league contract with LHP Luis Avilan, according to Kristie Ackert of the NY Daily News.
Avilan, who signed with New York on a minor-league deal last winter, was released from the Yankees organization in late August amidst a bit of a roster crunch due to the injury bug repeatedly striking in New York. At the time, though, it was expected that the Yankees would make an effort to bring Avilan back in some fashion.
Prior to his release, Avilan hit the 10-day injured list due to inflammation in his left shoulder. Outside of a dud (two runs and three hits in just one-third of an inning) in his last appearance before going on the IL—which may be connected to his shoulder issue—Avilan has really been quite solid for the Yankees this year. All told, he has managed a 4.32 ERA in 8 1/3 innings in pinstripes, while striking out more than a batter per inning, on average.
Minor MLB Transactions: 9/5/20
Wrapping up some minor moves from around the game…
- The Mets outrighted Hunter Strickland to their alternate training site, the team announced. Strickland was designated for assignment earlier this week and cleared waivers, then accepted the outright assignment. This is the second time the veteran hurler has been outrighted this season. After signing a minors contract with the Mets in June, Strickland has an 8.10 ERA over 3 1/3 innings with the team.
- In another Mets move, the Amazins released right-hander Pedro Payano, as per the MLB.com transactions page. Payano made his Major League debut in 2019, posting a 5.73 ERA over 22 innings for the Rangers before signing a minor league deal with the Mets over the offseason. The New York-born Payano, however, didn’t see any big league action for his hometown team in 2020. Payano is a veteran of eight seasons in the Rangers organization, posting a 3.68 ERA, 2.46 K/BB rate, and 8.2 K/9 over 686 1/3 minor league innings (starting 125 of 142 games).
- The Yankees released righty Adonis Rosa, the team announced. Rosa had been pitching at the Yankees’ alternate training site. Signing with the Yankees as a 19-year-old in 2013, Rosa has a 3.35 ERA, 3.79 K/BB rate, and 7.8 K/9 over 515 1/3 career minor league innings, starting 74 of his 114 career games in New York’s farm system. Rosa’s MLB resume consists of a single game, a two-inning appearance on August 13, 2019.
Injury Updates: Hamels, Soler, Rays, Ramirez, Yankees
Cole Hamels will throw a live batting practice session on Sunday, as the injury-plagued southpaw might yet still have a chance to factor into the 2020 season. Braves manager Brian Snitker told MLB.com’s Mark Bowman and other reporters that “We’re just looking to get through a couple live BPs and see how he is,” perhaps wisely not setting even a speculative timeline given that Hamels battled shoulder issues during Spring Training and is currently on the 45-day injured list recovering from left triceps tendinitis. Bowman speculates that Hamels likely won’t start pitching in simulated games until next weekend at the earliest, so the left-hander might not be able to join the Braves until roughly the last 7-10 days of the regular season.
It makes Hamels into a total wild card for Atlanta’s playoff drive, though with the club looking to have a good shot at the postseason, it isn’t out of the question that Hamels could be part of a playoff roster. Having a former World Series MVP coming out of the bullpen would be quite an interesting wrinkle for Atlanta, though Hamels has only worked as a reliever twice in his 439 career games in the regular season and postseason.
Some more injury situations from around baseball…
- Jorge Soler left tonight’s game due to what the Royals described as right oblique soreness. This is the second time in four days that Soler has exited a game due to such an injury, and perhaps on a related note, Soler is hitless over his last eight plate appearances. Soler has been a few steps behind his big 2019 numbers this season, though he is still hitting a solid .237/.333/.459 with eight homers over 159 PA.
- The Rays have been plagued by pitching injuries this season, and two more hurlers ran into potential issues on Saturday. Newly-acquired southpaw Cody Reed left tonight’s game during the eighth inning with an injury to his pinkie, though manager Kevin Cash told MLB.com’s Jose Toribio (Twitter links) that the problem doesn’t appear to be serious. The news isn’t as good for left-hander Shane McClanahan, as the prospect will miss around two weeks after suffering a hyper-extended left knee during a fielding play at the Rays’ alternate training site. The 31st overall pick of the 2018 draft, McClanahan got some top-100 prospect attention from Baseball Prospectus and Baseball American prior to the season, and there was some speculation Tampa Bay might give the 23-year-old his first taste of big league action sometime in September.
- Marlins outfielder Harold Ramirez had to be carted off the field tonight after suffering what the club described as a left hamstring strain. Ramirez suffered the injury while trying to beat out a grounder during the fifth inning of Miami’s 7-3 win over Tampa Bay. Playing in just his third game of the season, Ramirez was only activated off the injured list today, as he was one of the many Marlins players sidelined after positive COVID-19 tests.
- Yankees manager Aaron Boone provided reporters (including ESPN’s Marly Rivera) with updates on injured sluggers Giancarlo Stanton and Aaron Judge, saying that Judge will increase his baseball-activity work on Monday. Stanton, who Boone feels is “a little ahead of Judge” in terms of readiness, has already been taking part in baseball activities and is now running at 80 percent as he continues his recovery from a hamstring strain.
Yankees Reinstate Gleyber Torres
The New York Yankees have reinstated star shortstop Gleyber Torres from the injured list, per a team release.
Torres hit the injured list on August 24th with a left hamstring strain. The move was retroactive to August 21st. It had been a slow start on the year for Torres, who was hitting just .231/.341/.295 when he went on the injured list. The 23-year-old Torres was an All-Star his first two seasons in the league while posting a combined triple slash of .275/.338/.511 with 62 home runs in 267 games.
Tyler Wade has stepped in at shortstop while Torres has been out. The 25-year-old hasn’t done much at the plate, slashing .170/.250/.264 across 60 plate appearances. Wade is a fine utility piece for New York, but he has nowhere near the upside of Torres, who will look to regain his power stroke upon returning to the field.
In a corresponding roster move, right-hander Albert Abreu was optioned to the team’s alternate training site. The 24-year-old Abreu made two appearances, surrendering 3 earned runs across 1 1/3 innings. Abreu is the Yankees’ 13th-ranked prospect per Baseball America.
Yankees Promote Clarke Schmidt
The Yankees have selected right-hander Clarke Schmidt‘s contract, Kristie Ackert of the New York Daily News was among those to report. They optioned righty Ben Heller in a corresponding move.
The 24-year-old Schmidt, whom the Yankees chose 16th overall in the 2017 draft, has become one of their highest-regarded prospects, owing in part to impressive minor league production. He divided last season between High-A and Double-A, combining for a 3.47 ERA with 10.1 K/9 and 2.8 BB/9 in 90 2/3 innings.
In the wake of his 2019 performance, Schmidt earned top 100 prospect rankings at The Athletic (No. 51), Baseball America (No. 64), ESPN.com (82), and MLB.com (94). Keith Law of The Athletic wrote that the former Tommy John patient has a chance to turn into a No. 3-4 starter in the majors.
If Schmidt’s able to provide mid-rotation type of production immediately, it would be a boost to the playoff-contending Yankees, whose starting staff hasn’t lived up to expectations in 2020. Gerrit Cole hasn’t given the club the elite production it anticipated when it signed him to a nine-year, $324MM contract last winter; James Paxton has dealt with injuries and struggled when healthy; and J.A. Happ and Jordan Montgomery have fallen flat. The Yankees’ best starter has been Masahiro Tanaka, who has logged a 3.38 ERA/3.85 FIP over 26 2/3 innings.
Yankees Place Gio Urshela, Jonathan Loaisiga On Injured List
The Yankees announced Friday that third baseman Gio Urshela and right-hander Jonathan Loaisiga have been placed on the 10-day injured list. Urshela is dealing with a bone spur in his right elbow, while Loasigia has “a medical condition that prevents him from playing and necessitates placement on the injured list,” per the team’s release. Manager Aaron Boone tells reporters (Twitter link via The Athletic’s Lindsey Adler) that Loaisiga’s condition is not Covid-19 related. Infielder/outfielder Miguel Andujar and righty Miguel Yajure are up from the team’s alternate site.
Urshela, 28, has continued last year’s breakout showing in 2020, getting out to a very strong .272/.358/.515 start at the plate and swatting six homers in his first 120 plate appearances. He heads to the injured list, alongside shortstop Gleyber Torres, less than a week after DJ LeMahieu returned from the injured list. The Yankees are also without key sluggers Aaron Judge (strained calf) and Giancarlo Stanton (strained hamstring).
There’s no further information on Loaisiga at this point. It’s a rather ominous update on the 25-year-old righty, who has pitched quite well in 17 frames with the Yankees in 2020. Loaisiga has a 20-to-4 K/BB ratio and a 3.18 ERA in that short time, and he’s also induced grounders at a solid 48.8 percent clip. His absence will be felt by the Yankee pitching staff, but the greater concern is his overall well-being. Best wishes to the young right-hander on a full recovery.
Jordy Mercer Accepts Outright Assignment
The Yankees announced that veteran infielder Jordy Mercer has accepted an outright assignment to the team’s alternate training site. He was designated for assignment Tuesday, just days after having his contract selected on Aug. 28. Mercer has enough service time that he could’ve rejected the assignment in favor of free agency, but he’ll instead head to the Yankees’ alternate site. As a result, he’ll remain in New York’s 60-man player pool and be eligible to return later in the season should the team wish to re-add him to the 40-man roster.
Mercer, 34, went 2-for-11 with a pair of walks in six games and 13 total plate appearances with the Yankees. The nine-year MLB veteran was Pittsburgh’s everyday shortstop from 2013-18, hitting .257/.317/.383 in 779 games along the way.
Mercer spent last year with the Tigers — his first anywhere other than the Pirates — and salvaged what was shaping up to be a dismal season with an excellent .312/.343/.512 slash in his final 48 games. He returned to the Tigers in 2020 but was cut loose early in the year when they opted to give younger talent a look as their rebuild progresses. He can play all over the infield, so it wouldn’t be a shock to see Mercer return later this month should an injury pop up in the Yankees’ infield.