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AL Notes: Encarnacion, Gallo, Buxton

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The Yankees dropped a 2-1 decision to the Dodgers in L.A. on Saturday, but the game wasn’t without one historic highlight for New York fans. Aaron Judge’s solo home run in the fourth inning was the club’s 58th dinger in August–tying the record for most team home runs in a single month. Judge’s homer put the club even with the 1987 Orioles, who hit 58 home runs in 28 games, and the 1999 Mariners, who accomplished this feat in 27 games. The Yankees, of course, have only played 23 games so far this month and will have six more August games to carve out a singular place in the power-hitting record books.

Their chances of doing so would be much aided by the return of slugger Edwin Encarnacion, who has been out of action since fracturing his wrist on Aug. 3. As it turns out, Encarnacion has at least resumed some baseball activity, as James Wagner of the New York Times relays that the 1B/DH has begun taking ground balls and hitting off a tee (link). It’s obviously doubtful that Encarnacion will get back before September, but his return could just as well power another historic Bronx power binge in the season’s final month.

More from around the American League…

  • T.R. Sullivan of MLB.com has several updates on injured Rangers players (link). In summary: Jesse Chavez may need season-ending elbow surgery, outfielder Hunter Pence will be sidelined for a few days with a back ailment, and, most notably, outfielder Joey Gallo is swinging a bat again in recovery from surgery to repair a broken hamate bone. “This is a tolerance thing,” manager Chris Woodward said. “If the pain is causing his swing to be off, I’m not going to play him. But he needs to play and finish the season, more for him than for us.” Gallo was experiencing his best season in the bigs before being waylaid by injury, as he increased his BB% to an Olympian 17.5% rate in 2019 en route to a .253/.389/.598 batting line (145 wRC+) through 70 games.
  • Darren Wolfson of KSTP reports that Twins centerfielder Byron Buxton is set to head out on a rehab assignment, according to manager Rocco Baldelli (link). Buxton will report to the Cedar Rapids Kernels, a Midwest League affiliate with a strong case for the award for “Best Minor League Team Name”. There, Buxton will work to shake off rust resulting from his nearly month-long absence due to shoulder issues. At 77-51, the Twins sit 2.5 games up on the Indians for pole position in the AL Central, and the club would certainly benefit from the reintegration of both Buxton’s defense (10 DRS in 2019) and bat (110 wRC+ in 295 at-bats this year).

Luke Voit Begins Rehab Assignment

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Yankees first baseman Luke Voit is set to begin a minor  league rehab assignment tonight, James Wagner of the New York Times reports. The Yankees are hopeful Voit will rejoin them when they begin a homestand next Friday, per Wagner.

This has been an injury-limited summer for Voit, who has been dealing with core problems since the end of June. He landed on the injured list July 2 with an abdominal strain, returned after 10 days off and then wound up back on the shelf July 31 on account of a sports hernia. There was fear then that Voit would require season-ending surgery, which looked all the more concerning when fellow first base option Edwin Encarnacion suffered a fractured right wrist in early August. But it appears the first-place Yankees will at least welcome Voit back this season.

Dating back to the most recent appearances of Voit and Encarnacion, New York has turned to DJ LeMahieu and Mike Ford at first. LeMahieu, of course, is a batting title contender who has proven himself as one of the best free-agent signings of last offseason. On the other hand, Ford has logged below-average production over the first 102 plate appearances of his career.

Yankees Claim Cory Gearrin, Release Domingo Acevedo

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The Yankees have claimed righty Cory Gearrin from the Mariners, according to Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic (via Twitter). In a corresponding move, the New York club announced that it has released fellow right-hander Domingo Acevedo.

Gearrin is a well-established hurler who has seen action in eight MLB campaigns. He has long been effective despite uninspiring peripherals, with a career 3.59 ERA. That’s much the story again in 2019, as he owns a 3.92 ERA in 41 1/3 innings while carrying 8.5 K/9 against 4.6 BB/9 and a 46.6% groundball rate.

[RELATED: So, What Can Teams Do In August?]

As we explained in our recent listing of possible August waiver candidates — which included Gearrin and others — teams have a variety of possible motivations for exposing players to waivers at this time of year. With respect to a player such as Gearrin, who wasn’t dealt at the deadline, it’s likely the club considered factors such as salary savings, roster space for younger players, and a desire to allow a veteran a chance to play in a postseason race.

Acevedo, 25, has at times been considered a significant prospect. But he has had some health issues and was moved into a relief role this year. Evidently, the Yanks didn’t really love what they saw. Acevedo has maintained 9.4 K/9 against 2.4 BB/9 in his 51 2/3 total innings over 32 appearances, but has also allowed 11 long balls and 4.35 earned runs per nine in that span.

AL Notes: O’s, Davis, Yanks, Happ, Angels

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Orioles first baseman Chris Davis has lost his role as a regular, at least for now, Joe Trezza of MLB.com writes. Manager Brandon Hyde said he’ll “continue to pick my spots” when it comes to playing Davis, who’s nearing the conclusion of a second straight horrific campaign and the end of the fourth season of a seven-year, $161MM contract. The rebuilding Orioles are aiming to give more at-bats to young players and a possibly returning Mark Trumbo than Davis, owner of a .179/.270/.312 line in 300 plate appearances this season. Notably, the 33-year-old Davis got into a dugout altercation with Hyde on Aug. 7, and has started just five games since. But Hyde complimented Davis on Thursday, saying that “he’s been a pro the entire way — 100% pro. He understands. He’s been in the dugout supporting our guys. He’s been real great in the clubhouse and he’s handled this situation really well.”

More from the AL…

  • After re-signing with the Yankees on a two-year, $34MM contract last winter, left-hander J.A. Happ has trudged through a rough season. The Athletics pummeled the 36-year-old on Wednesday over four innings, scoring five runs on four hits (including two homers) and a pair of walks. Factoring in that performance, Happ has pitched to a sky-high 5.58 ERA/5.69 FIP over 129 innings this season. “I haven’t struggled like this in a while,” Happ admitted after the Oakland loss, though he and manager Aaron Boone expressed hope the hurler will be able to right the ship this season (via Ken Davidoff of the New York Post). Even though Happ has been undependable, the World Series-contending Yankees have no choice but to run him out there, as they’re lacking better alternatives, Davidoff observes. Happ’s woes are among the reasons New York appears set to enter the playoffs with an iffy-looking rotation.
  • Angels righty Keynan Middleton is nearing a return to their bullpen, Maria Torres of the Los Angeles Times tweets. Middleton hasn’t pitched in the majors since May 2018, when he underwent Tommy John surgery, and has dealt with multiple setbacks during his recovery process. Just last month, mild ulnar neuritis forced Middleton to temporarily shut down his rehab. When healthy from 2017-18, Middleton looked like a potential building block for the Halos’ bullpen. The hard-throwing 24-year-old owns a 3.43 ERA/4.24 FIP with 9.36 K/9 and 3.2 BB/9 in 76 major league innings.
  • Meanwhile, injured Angels shortstop Andrelton Simmons could rejoin the club for its weekend series in Houston, though he’s not a lock to be activated then, Torres reports. A left ankle sprain and a bone bruise have prevented Simmons from playing since Aug. 2. He also missed a little over a month earlier this season with a sprain in that ankle, but the nature of the injury isn’t the same this time. While Simmons was durable from 2017-18 – arguably the two best offensive seasons of the defensive master’s career – his production at the plate has gone backward during this injury-plagued year. Simmons will try to improve on the .274/.315/.382 line he has put up across 305 PA when he returns.

East Notes: Nola, Stroman, Dansby, Riley, Deivi, Lowe

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As the Phillies quest for a playoff berth intensifies, manager Gabe Kapler looks poised to increase his ace’s workload in hopes that Aaron Nola can carry the team to the promised land. As Jim Salisbury of NBC Sports writes, the Phillies are considering starting the 26-year-old Nola every fifth day for the stretch run, regardless of intervening off days. Last year’s third-place NL Cy Young finisher has been far and away the most reliable of the Phillies’ starting rotation, which has sorely lacked for production outside of its ace. If the Phillies were to employ such a plan, Nola would make eight more starts over the next month-plus, which would place him at a total of 35 at season’s end. As Salisbury notes, though, Nola has often benefitted from a fifth day of rest and features considerably better career numbers with the extra day off. Of course, it’s undeniable that Nola is the Phillies’ best option to start games and the club is confident that, in a playoff race that may well be decided in the waning days of the season, their chances are maximized with Nola on the mound as often as possible.

Here’s all the latest from baseball’s East divisions…

  • Mets starter Marcus Stroman left today’s start against the Indians after just four innings because of left hamstring tightness. Tim Healey of Newsday has an update, with Stroman undergoing an MRI that showed no reason for concern. Indeed, it’s only hamstring tightness for the new Met, who has now made four starts with his new club. All indications are that the injury is nothing serious, so it seems as though Stroman should be good to go for his next start.
  • A pair of young Braves regulars are slated to begin rehab assignments in the coming days, per Mark Bowman of MLB.com. Shortstop Dansby Swanson will join the Class-A Rome Braves on Thursday for a rehab stint, with rookie slugger Austin Riley joining him the following day. Swanson has been out since late July with a heel issue, while Riley has missed about two weeks with a partially torn right LCL. While the Braves have found capable replacements for both young stars and has gotten by without the pair, the club would no doubt welcome Swanson and Riley back to the lineup as soon as possible. Swanson has put together his best offensive season, while Riley has gotten his career off to a blistering start, slugging 17 home runs in just 66 Major League games.
  • Yankees pitching prospect Deivi Garcia has been moved to the bullpen for Triple-A Scranton-Wilkes Barre, according to Connor Foley of the Scranton Times-Tribune. While the organization has not given an explicit explanation for the move, it seems likely that it’s motivated by one of two things: most likely, the Yankees are limiting the workload for Garcia, who is just 20 years old and has already eclipsed 100 innings pitched for the season, a threshold that he never reached prior to 2019; or, less likely, the team is preparing Garcia for the role he would have in the Majors as a potential September call-up. The club has taken a similar course of action in the past with Justus Sheffield and Chance Adams, though both were further along in their development than Garcia.
  • Injured Rays rookie Brandon Lowe may have hit a roadblock in his recovery from a right shin contusion, as he exited his rehab game with Triple-A Durham with a left quad strain, according to Juan Toribio of MLB.com. That injury, of course, is separate from the shin contusion, though the severity is not yet known. Lowe will return to St. Petersburg tomorrow to be further evaluated, at which point more details will likely be made available. Lowe, who has generated buzz as a Rookie of the Year candidate, has not played for the Rays since July 2. He had previously been expected to return in late August or early September, but that timeline may have been complicated by the introduction of another, unrelated injury.

Yankees Reportedly Set To Sign Trevor Rosenthal

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The Yankees are set to sign free agent reliever Trevor Rosenthal to a minor league deal, according to a tweet from MLB Daily Dish’s Andersen Pickard later backed up by Jon Heyman of MLB Network (Twitter links). The veteran elected free agency on August 10th after being designated for assignment by the Tigers organization.

Rosenthal, if nothing else, has certainly bolstered his frequent flyer accounts this year, as New York will represent his third organization of the 2019 season. Rosenthal’s signing of a one-year, $7MM deal with Washington was intended to bolster the D.C. relief corps with veteran experience, but the 29-year-old righty was thoroughly shellacked (22.74 ERA) in 6.1 innings in a Nats uni before being released on June 23rd. The Tigers then signed him on June 29th, perhaps hoping that his early-season struggles were just signs of rust understandable for a pitcher who had sat out the 2018 season in rehabilitation from Tommy John surgery. Those hopes were dashed over 9 summer innings, as Rosenthal again allowed nearly more walks (11) than strikeouts (12).

Perhaps Rosenthal can find a remedy for his struggles working in the New York organization. Though this deal is reported as being of the minors variety, it stands to reason that, with the end of the minor league schedule just weeks away, this signing is likely a precursor to Rosenthal’s late-season integration into the Yankees bullpen mix. For several reasons, there are worse gambles for Yankees GM Brian Cashman to make at this juncture in the season.

After all, Rosenthal is still youthful, and formerly effective. The last time we saw him pitch a full season, Rosenthal threw 47 2/3 innings of 3.40 ERA ball with a career-high 14.3 K/9 against 3.8 BB/9 for the 2017 Cardinals. Walks have always been a bugaboo for the Missouri native, with a career 4.5 BB/9 rate that is truly anxiety-inducing in a late-inning reliever, but his 12.0 career K/9 rating helps explain how a pitcher with that weakness could wind up stranding more than his fair share of runners. If the Yankees recent run of success with scrap heap vets is any indication, it may not be the strangest development of the 2019 season to see Rosenthal regain some of his old St. Louis form in New York.

 

Yankees Place Thairo Estrada On IL, Recall Tyler Wade

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10:18 am: Estrada suffered the injury running the bases in yesterday’s game, manager Aaron Boone tells Bryan Hoch of MLB.com (via Twitter).

10:06 am: The Yankees announced today they have placed infielder Thairo Estrada on the 10-day injured list with a right hamstring strain. Utiltyman Tyler Wade is up from Triple-A Scranton Wilkes-Barre to take his place.

Estrada, 23, made his MLB debut in April. He’s been up-and-down from Scranton all year, totaling his first 61 MLB plate appearances. Regarded generally as a utility prospect, Estrada’s .266/.313/.452 line in Triple-A is unremarkable. It was encouraging to see him healthy until today, though, as he lost most of 2018 after being shot in a robbery attempt in his native Venezuela after the 2017 season.

Wade’s ridden the Scranton-New York shuttle multiple times over the past three seasons. The 24 year-old has put up a .177/.250/.257 line (37 wRC+) in the big leagues, although he’s never gotten an extended run to get into a rhythm. Instead, he’s mostly spent time in Triple-A, where he’s hit fairly well and stolen a few bases but never shown enough power to play his way into the Bronx full-time.

Yankees Activate CC Sabathia From IL

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As expected, the Yankees announced they have activated left-hander CC Sabathia from the 10-day injured list. He’ll start today’s series finale against Cleveland after missing around three weeks with right knee inflammation.

It hasn’t been a banner final season for the 39 year-old, who has been especially plagued by the league’s home run surge. Sabathia’s 2.39 HR/9 is by far the worst mark of his career. While a career-worst 38% ground ball rate surely plays some part in that, an unsustainably high 21.1% HR/FB rate has contributed to that whiplash. Sabathia’s strikeouts (21.1%) and walks (7.7%) in 2019 are identical to those he put up in 2018, when he gave New York a 3.65 ERA over 153 innings.

Sabathia’s a back-end starter at this point, clearly, but it’d still be nice for the Yankees to get some volume from him down the stretch. The Bombers have ridden a power lineup and stellar bullpen to a league-best 83-42 record despite a mediocre rotation.

AL Notes: Cole, Astros, Voit, Jays, Twins, Tigers, Rays

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The Astros remain optimistic that right-hander Gerrit Cole will avoid a stint on the injured list, Brian McTaggart of MLB.com writes. Cole, who has been dealing with hamstring discomfort this week, played catch Friday and will do so again this weekend, manager A.J. Hinch said. Hinch added that the Astros are hopeful the AL Cy Young contender will return near the end of their upcoming series against Detroit, which runs from Monday to Thursday. Meanwhile, righty Brad Peacock could come off the IL as early as Sunday. Peacock had been in the Astros’ rotation before going down with shoulder discomfort June 28, but he’ll revert to his previous role as a reliever when he makes it back to the majors.

Here’s more from around the AL…

  • Yankees first baseman Luke Voit expects to start a Triple-A rehab assignment Thursday, per Jack Curry of the YES Network. Voit has been dealing with core issues since late June, which have forced him to the injured list multiple times and could’ve ended his season. Now, though, Voit “feels he’s in the clear,” Curry writes. He hasn’t suited up for the Yankees in almost three weeks, and they’ve turned to DJ LeMahieu and Mike Ford at first in the absences of Voit and fellow injured Bomber Edwin Encarnacion.
  • Blue Jays outfielder Lourdes Gurriel Jr. is hoping to return from the IL at the end of the month, Scott Mitchell of TSN reports. Gurriel went down Aug. 8 with a strained left quadriceps, cutting off a breakout campaign for the 25-year-old. With a .279/.331/.548 line and 19 home runs in 321 plate appearances, Gurriel has been one of several young Toronto hitters who look as if they’ll be long-term building blocks for the club.
  • Twins left-hander Ian Krol has received a 50-game suspension after his second positive test for a drug of abuse, J.P. Hoornstra of the Southern California News Group tweets. Krol last appeared in the majors a year ago with the Angels, though he only threw two innings for the club. He previously received far more MLB work with the Nationals, Tigers and Braves from 2013-17. The 28-year-old has spent this season in Triple-A ball, where he has struggled to a 5.67 ERA with 11.3 K/9 and 4.3 BB/9 in 46 innings between the top affiliates of the Twins and Reds.
  • The Tigers will reinstate righty Jordan Zimmermann from the IL on Saturday, the team announced. Zimmermann will end up missing two weeks with a right cervical spasm. The 33-year-old has missed time with injuries in each season since the Tigers awarded him an five-year, $110MM contract entering 2016. To make matters worse, the former Washington standout hasn’t been productive when healthy since he joined Detroit.
  • The Rays have turned infield prospect Jermaine Palacios into a two-way player – the fourth in their system – according to John Vittas, broadcaster for the High-A Charlotte Stone Crabs. The 23-year-old Palacios fired 95 to 96 mph fastballs during his debut on the mound, Vittas adds. Palacios joined the Rays in their Jake Odorizzi trade with Minnesota prior to last season. While Palacios boasted a decently regarded bat at the time of the deal, he hasn’t hit much since then, which likely played a role in the Rays’ decision to try him as a pitcher.

Outrighted: Yacabonis, Mantiply, Lail

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Let’s catch up on a few announcements regarding players who have been outrighted after clearing waivers …

  • The Orioles announced that righty Jimmy Yacabonis is destined for Triple-A after clearing. He had struggled in a 41-inning showcase this year, managing only a 5.40 ERA with 7.2 K/9 against 5.3 BB/9. Yacabonis has produced similar numbers in parts of two prior seasons in the majors.
  • A pair of hurlers are heading to the Yankees’ top affiliate via outright assignment. Southpaw Joe Mantiply struggled in his lone outing with the Yanks after being acquired from the Reds. That was his first time in the bigs since a brief 2016 debut. Righty Brady Lail also lost his 40-man spot after a single MLB appearance. He has worked to a 2.79 ERA with 11.8 K/9 and 2.8 BB/9 over 42 minor-league frames this year.
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