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Injury Notes: Loaisiga, Peraza, Hedges, McCann

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The Yankees made a series of roster moves earlier today, one of which involved placing right-hander Jonathan Loaisiga on the 15-day IL due to elbow inflammation. A pitcher going down with any sort of elbow problem is always a concern, and manager Aaron Boone spoke with reporters (including Jack Curry of the YES Network) and said Loaisiga had an MRI that did not show any structural damage.

The Yankees say Loaisiga does have some swelling in the joint though, and he won’t throw for a couple of weeks. With that in mind, even Loaisiga returns to throwing in two weeks he’ll need a bit of time to ramp up before the Yankees can call on him out of their big league bullpen, so while it doesn’t appear that this is an overly serious injury it seems Loaisiga’s stay on the IL will extend a bit beyond the minimum 15 days.

That’s a blow for a Yankees bullpen that is already without Tommy Kahnle, and has seen the usually dominant Michael King dealing with some drops in velocity. Loaisiga has been one of the best relievers in the game, and as Curry notes, owns a 1.56 ERA over his past 37 games.

Here’s some more injury notes from around the game:

  • Sticking with the Yankees, and Boone said infield prospect Oswald Peraza is dealing with a hamstring issue which is why he hasn’t played the last few games for Triple-A Scranton (via Curry). While Boone says it’s not a serious injury, it probably ruled the youngster out of being called up to the big leagues when they placed Josh Donaldson on the IL today. The team opted to instead select the contract of Willie Calhoun, but it’s also possible they’d have rather kept Peraza at Triple-A getting everyday at-bats. Peraza’s gone 7-24 with three walks and seven strikeouts over his first six games with Scranton.
  • The Pirates provided an update on catcher Austin Hedges today, with manager Derek Shelton telling reporters (including Justice delos Santos of MLB.com) that Hedges is “trending in the right direction.” The veteran catcher caught a bullpen today and will hit in the cage. Hedges was placed on the seven-day concussion list during the week. It’s still unclear if the Pirates will be comfortable activating Hedges immediately after the seven days are up. Hedges has appeared in three games so far, failing to tally a hit in nine plate appearances. In his absence, the Pirates called up Tyler Heineman to catch alongside regular backup Jason Delay.
  • Finally, the Orioles should have veteran backstop James McCann back with the team shortly, per Roch Kubatko of MASN. McCann is yet to debut for the Orioles as he works his way back from an oblique strain. McCann has been playing in an rehab assignment at High-A, and will catch there again tonight. Kubatko suggests it’s possible that McCann is activated as early as tomorrow.

Yankees Place Josh Donaldson, Jonathan Loaisiga On Injured List; Recall Jhony Brito, Select Willie Calhoun

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The Yankees announced five roster moves prior to today’s game with the Orioles.  As expected, Josh Donaldson was placed on the 10-day injured list (retroactive to April 6) due to a right hamstring strain and right-hander Jhony Brito was called up from Triple-A to make his scheduled start against Baltimore.  New York also placed righty Jonathan Loaisiga on the 15-day IL with a retroactive April 6 date, as Loaisiga is suffering from right elbow inflammation.  In corresponding moves, the Yankees selected Willie Calhoun’s contract from Triple-A and officially signed him to a big league deal, while Tommy Kahnle was moved to the 60-day IL to create space for Calhoun on the 40-man roster.

Any elbow issue for Loaisiga is of particular concern given that he has a Tommy John surgery in his past, but it doesn’t yet appear as though his current issue is anything more than soreness.  Shoulder problems have also hampered Loaisiga over the years, but the 28-year-old has generally been a pretty solid reliever and spot starter over his six MLB seasons (all with the Yankees).  Loaisiga has been a full-time reliever for the last three seasons, and he also become much more of a groundball specialist, posting a 60.5% grounder rate since the start of the 2021 campaign.

With an ability to generate grounders and a knack for inducing soft contact, Loaisiga has a 2.95 ERA over his last 122 innings, and he has one of the best chase rates of any pitcher in baseball despite a below-average strikeout rate.  This arsenal put Loaisiga in line for more high-leverage innings, and he was seen as perhaps the Yankees’ top set-up option for closer Clay Holmes.  Unfortunately, he’ll now be sidelined on the IL along with fellow relievers Lou Trivino and Kahnle, creating another vacancy in New York’s bullpen.

Kahnle was sidelined by biceps tendinitis during Spring Training, and what was initially seen as a pretty minor issue will now keep the veteran right-hander away from the MLB roster until the end of May.  Kahnle didn’t start playing catch until earlier this week, indicating that he has quite a ways to go in ramping up his arm strength and making up for the time lost in spring camp.

Calhoun brings a left-handed bat to a New York roster that is loaded with right-handed hitters, and mention of a lefty swinger joining the club merits a mention of the short porch in right field at Yankee Stadium.  Calhoun his 21 home runs with the Rangers in 2019, but has otherwise only gone yard 11 times over his five other MLB seasons with Texas and San Francisco.  For his career as a whole, Calhoun has hit .240/.299/.404 in 936 plate appearances.

Once a top prospect in the Dodgers’ farm system, Calhoun’s solid 2019 campaign was undone by injury-shortened seasons in 2020 and 2021, and he was openly hoping for a trade away from the Rangers after being sent down to Triple-A early in the 2022 season.  He didn’t receive much of a look from the Giants at the MLB level following a June trade, but he’ll now get another chance in the Bronx.

Playing mostly as a left fielder during his MLB career, Calhoun looks to join Oswaldo Cabrera and Aaron Hicks in the corner outfield position.  Cabrera might get some infield time with Donaldson on the IL, though New York has third base pretty well covered with DJ LeMahieu getting most of the starting time and Isiah Kiner-Falefa also available to back up.  Calhoun’s addition might further reduce Hicks’ playing time, as Hicks already hasn’t seen much action over the Yankees’ first seven games.

Yankees “Likely” To Place Josh Donaldson On 10-Day Injured List

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Josh Donaldson made an early exit from the Yankees’ game on Wednesday due to right hamstring tightness, and still didn’t play in Friday’s 7-6 loss to the Orioles even with the benefit of an extra recovery day due to a rainout on Thursday.  Prior to Friday’s game, Yankees manager Aaron Boone told ESPN’s Marly Rivera and other reporters that Donaldson would “likely” require a trip to the 10-day injured list, even if the hamstring issue is minor enough that the third baseman didn’t receive imaging.

“[We] don’t feel like it’s too serious, but enough in there that it would probably knock him down for four or five days,” Boone said.  “So, we’re going to likely be cautious in this situation.  Looks like it’s probably shorter than [ten days], but probably err on the side of caution in this month of April.”

Since the Yankees are calling right-hander Jhony Brito up from Triple-A to start today’s game in Baltimore, it seems logical that Donaldson’s IL placement will be the corresponding move for Brito’s return to the majors.  Brito looked very impressive in his Major League debut, allowing two hits and a walk over five shutout innings in New York’s 6-0 win over the Giants on April 2.  In terms of replacing Donaldson at third base, the Yankees have plenty of depth — Boone said DJ LeMahieu “will get the bulk of” work at third base, with Oswaldo Cabrera and Isiah Kiner-Falefa also in the mix.

The IL stint might effectively act as a reset to Donaldson’s season, as he has hit only .125/.176/.313 with one home run in his first 17 plate appearances.  While a small sample size, it isn’t an encouraging follow-up to Donaldson’s underwhelming 2022 season.  The Yankees naturally have plenty of incentive (i.e. the $29MM owed on Donaldson’s contract) in getting the former AL MVP on track, but since LeMahieu is already an everyday option without a set position, Donaldson won’t find himself part of New York’s first-choice lineup unless he can get going at the plate.

Injury Notes: Haniger, Taylor, Severino, Rodon, Moore, Trammell

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The Giants have been without offseason signee Mitch Haniger thus far. The veteran outfielder opened the season on the 10-day injured list with an oblique strain. He tells Evan Webeck of the San Jose Mercury News his recovery timeline was slightly delayed by recent back tightness, which shut him down for around a week (Twitter link). Haniger is back to hitting off a tee now but still a bit off from potentially beginning a minor league rehab assignment.

With Haniger out of action, the Giants have pushed Rule 5 draftee Blake Sabol into left field alongside Mike Yastrzemski and Michael Conforto. Sabol and Roberto Pérez are the only catchers on the active roster. Pérez left this afternoon’s loss to Kansas City with a right shoulder strain (as relayed by Maria Guardado of MLB.com), which could necessitate a roster move if he’s unavailable in the coming days.

In other injury situations around the game:

  • The Brewers lost Tyrone Taylor to a sprained right elbow at the start of Spring Training. Milwaukee announced at the time that Taylor would be sidelined into May. Manager Craig Counsell informed reporters today the outfielder recently had a minor setback and is midway through a week-long shutdown before he resumes a throwing program (via Adam McCalvy of MLB.com). It’s unclear to what extent Taylor’s recovery timetable is delayed but it doesn’t seem a significant concern. Milwaukee turned to Brian Anderson in right field with Taylor sidelined. After the Brew Crew lost third baseman Luis Urías to an Opening Day hamstring strain, they moved Anderson to the hot corner and brought up top prospect Joey Wiemer to man right field.
  • Yankees skipper Aaron Boone provided reporters (including Chris Kirschner of the Athletic) an update on a pair of rehabbing pitchers this afternoon. Luis Severino, who has been sidelined by a lat strain, will throw a bullpen session this weekend. Offseason free agent pickup Carlos Rodón will throw a live batting practice session on Monday. Rodón was diagnosed with a mild forearm strain during Spring Training, though the Yankees downplayed any long-term concern.
  • The Mariners provided updates on a pair of injured position players this afternoon (relayed by Ryan Divish of the Seattle Times). Utilityman Dylan Moore and outfielder Taylor Trammell are both going to start participating in extended spring training games at the start of next week. Manager Scott Servais indicated that Moore could potentially return during the club’s April 14-23 homestand. Trammell is further behind, as he fractured the hamate bone in his right wrist in mid-February. That robbed him of any Spring Training reps; Moore also didn’t appear in any exhibition games but he’d done some backfield work before straining his oblique in mid-March.

Yankees Outright Estevan Florial

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The Yankees announced that outfielder Estevan Florial has been outrighted to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. He had been designated for assignment last week when the club added Colten Brewer to its roster.

Florial, 25, has been on the Yankees’ roster since November of 2019. He’s hit just .185/.302/.278 in the big leagues so far for a wRC+ of 69, indicating he’s been 31% worse than the league average hitter. He also struck out in a third of his plate appearances at the big league level.

Despite that uninspiring performance, it comes as a surprise to see Florial pass through waivers unclaimed. Those tepid major league numbers have come in just 63 plate appearances scattered over four separate seasons, hardly worth reading too much into. He was a highly-touted prospect in his time in the minor leagues, with Baseball America ranking him #38 in the league in 2018. His prospect stock has fallen in subsequent years, but he’s still posted some intriguing numbers in the minors. In Triple-A last year, he hit 15 home runs and stole 39 bases in 101 games. His .283/.368/.481 batting line amounted to a wRC+ of 124. He’s also considered a strong defender in center field, making him a well-rounded performer in the minor leagues.

That’s not to say his profile is without blemish. The main concern with Florial is the strikeouts. He’s continued to get punched out at high rates at pretty much every level of the minors. Although his overall numbers in Triple-A last year were strong, they came with a 30.4% strikeout rate. He’s also exhausted his options over the past few years as the Yankees have continually transferred him to the big leagues and back to the farm. That meant that any claiming team would have had to plug Florial onto their active roster. Despite his obvious tools, it seems no club was willing to give him that shot.

Florial will now stick with the Yankees but without occupying a spot on their 40-man roster. Since this is his first career outright and he has less than three years of MLB service time, he doesn’t have the right to reject the assignment and elect free agency. He’ll report to the RailRiders and try to cut down on the strikeouts in order to earn his way back onto the roster.

The MLB Trade Rumors Podcast Is Back!

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The MLB Trade Rumors Podcast, last heard in 2016 hosted by the esteemed Jeff Todd, has relaunched!  Simon Hampton is now your host, and we’re very excited to bring the new show to you every week.

Episode 1 is now live on Spotify, Apple Podcasts and wherever you get your podcasts! Make sure you subscribe as well; use this link to find the show on Spotify and this one for Apple.  You can also use the player at this link to listen, if you don’t use Spotify or Apple for podcasts.

This week, host Simon Hampton is joined by Anthony Franco to discuss a wide range of topics around the baseball world:

  • An early look at the trade deadline possibilities, particularly focusing on Shohei Ohtani and what it make take for the Angels to listen to offers on the two-way star (3:19)
  • Jake Cronenworth signed a seven-year, $80MM extension with the Padres, so what does that mean for San Diego’s chances at extending other players such as Juan Soto, Josh Hader and Blake Snell? (7:31)
  • It’s easy to over-react to results in the first week of the season, so at what point is it reasonable to become concerned with a team’s performance? And what about the players? (12:30)

Plus, we answer your questions, including:

  • Could the Marlins match up with the Yankees on a trade involving Oswald Peraza? And which of Miami’s pitchers could be in play at the deadline? (16:56)
  • Will the Cardinals make a move to bolster their rotation at some stage this season? And if so, which players could be in play? (21:24)
  • The Dodgers took a step back this winter, so how aggressive will they be at the deadline this year? And are they clearing payroll space for a crack at Shohei Ohtani? (26:09)

The podcast intro and outro song “So Long” is provided courtesy of the band Showoff.  Check out their Facebook page here!

Yankees Select Ian Hamilton

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The Yankees selected right-hander Ian Hamilton to their roster, per a team announcement. Brendan Kuty of The Athletic reported earlier that Hamilton was listed on the club’s roster for tonight’s game. The club opened a spot on the active roster by optioning Jhony Brito after yesterday’s game, which Bryan Hoch of MLB.com had previously relayed. To make room for Hamilton on the 40-man, righty Frankie Montas was transferred to the 60-day IL.

Hamilton, 28 in June, has some scattered MLB experience, making 15 appearances since the start of 2018. One of those appearances was with the Twins last year but he otherwise spent most of the season in Triple-A. Splitting his time between the Triple-A teams of the Twins and Guardians, he posted a 3.61 ERA over 47 1/3 innings, striking out 30.6% of opponents while walking 9.7%.

Hamilton signed a minor league deal with the Yankees this offseason and performed well in spring. He threw nine scoreless innings while striking out six batters and walking three. It was reported last week that he had an opt-out in his deal but agreed to kick it down the road to April 5. It seems the Yanks didn’t want him to get away and have now added him to their roster.

Brito just made his major league debut yesterday, tossing five scoreless innings, striking out six, while allowing just two hits and one walk. As noted by Hoch, the Yanks only need four starters for the next little while since they have an off-day on April 7, which led to Brito getting sent down despite his strong debut. Pitchers that have been optioned cannot return until 15 days later, though they can come back in less time if someone else is placed on the injured list or the club needs a 27th man for a doubleheader.

As for Montas, this move was an inevitable formality. He required shoulder surgery in February and was given an estimated 12-week shutdown period before he could even start throwing. That means he’ll potentially start tossing again in May, but he’ll then need to ramp up to a starter’s workload at that point.

Yankees Designate Estevan Florial For Assignment

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The Yankees announced they’ve designated outfielder Estevan Florial for assignment to make room for right-hander Colten Brewer to be added to the big league roster.

It seems highly unlikely that Florial, once one of the game’s top prospects, passes through waivers unclaimed, so this is almost certainly the end of his tenure in the Bronx. The Yankees could look to trade him before he’s exposed to waivers, and given he’s still only 25 and has hit well in the minors, it’s likely teams – particularly rebuilding ones – would have interest in taking a flier on the outfielder.

Signed by the Yankees out of the Dominican Republic, Florial rose through the minors as a toolsy outfielder in the Yankees’ system. Last year at Triple-A, Florial slashed .283/.368/.481 with 15 home runs across 461 plate appearances, swiping 39 bags in the process. Unfortunately, those strong numbers in the top level of the minors haven’t translated to the big leagues, and Florial has hit just .185/.302/.278 over 63 plate appearances, striking out in exactly one third of those appearances.

In Florial’s defense, he’s never really been given an extended run in the majors to settle in, and so it’s entirely possible that a rebuilding team with less urgency could afford Florial some regular game time to find his groove.

With an off day immediately following Opening Day, the Yankees had obviously felt comfortable running a pitcher short and carrying three outfielders – Florial, Aaron Hicks and Franchy Cordero – on their bench. But with the team back in action today something had to give, and they’ll evidently remove Florial from the roster to make room for Brewer.

Brewer, 30, had been acquired from the Rays in exchange for cash last week, where he’d been in camp on a minor league deal. Brewer tossed 91 innings of relief for the Padres and Red Sox between 2018-21, working to a 5.04 ERA with a 20.3% strikeout rate and a 13.4% walk rate. He spent last season with the Royals on a minor league deal, but after working to a 4.76 ERA at Triple-A he was released in August after failing to crack the big league roster.

Yankees, Jose Godoy Agree To Minor League Deal

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The Yankees recently signed catcher José Godoy to a minor league contract, according to Baseball America’s Chris Hilburn-Trenkle. The backstop had been released by the Angels earlier this month.

Godoy has appeared in each of the past two MLB seasons. He’s played for three teams, logging brief action with the Mariners, Twins and Pirates. The left-handed hitting backstop has played in 26 games, compiling a .123/.194/.140 line over 62 trips to the plate. He’s a .271/.323/.405 hitter over parts of three Triple-A campaigns. That’s obviously not huge offensive impact, though he’s shown decent bat-to-ball skills in the minors. The bigger selling point is in his solid defensive reputation.

New York was dealt a hit to its catching depth in camp with the revelation that Ben Rortvedt required shoulder surgery. Jose Trevino and Kyle Higashioka are the only healthy catchers on the 40-man roster. Godoy joins Nick Ciuffo as non-roster players with some MLB experience who can head to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre as insurance in case Trevino or Higashioka suffer an injury.

Yankees Acquire Colten Brewer From Rays

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6:36pm: Both teams have announced the trade. Tampa Bay receives cash in return.

6:15pm: Right-hander Colten Brewer, who had been in camp with the Rays on a minor league deal, will instead go to the Yankees and be added to their 40-man roster, per Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times. He had recently been reassigned to minor league camp but Topkin reports he had an assignment bonus that allowed the Yanks to acquire him. Yankees manager Aaron Boone had previously indicated the club was working on a “potential deal” and it seems this is what he was referring to.

Brewer, 30, appeared in the big leagues from 2018 to 2021, with the Padres in the first of those years but then with the Red Sox for the next three. In 91 major league innings, he has a 5.04 ERA, 20.3% strikeout rate, 13.4% walk rate and 50.4% ground ball rate. He spent last year with the Royals on a minor league deal, tossing 39 2/3 innings at Triple-A with a 4.76 ERA, striking out 24.9% of opponents, walking 10.7% and getting the ball on the ground at a 51.9% clip.

As mentioned, Brewer was in camp with the Rays on a minor league deal. He tossed 9 1/3 innings over eight appearances this spring, not allowing any earned runs while striking out 15 hitters and walking three. Despite that strong performance, he didn’t crack Tampa’s roster, as he was reassigned to minor league camp yesterday.

While the Rays weren’t willing to afford him an immediate big league job, the Yankees will plug him into the bullpen. Brewer is out of minor league option years, so he’ll have to stick on the active roster or be offered to other teams once New York officially selects his contract. He has between two and three years of service and would be eligible for arbitration for the first time next winter if he holds his roster spot all year.

The Yankees have a full 40-man roster, so they’ll need to make a corresponding move once Brewer’s acquisition is final. New York has a number of players on the injured list — Ben Rortvedt, Lou Trivino and Tommy Kahnle among them — who could be moved to the 60-day injured list if the club anticipates a notable absence.

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