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Marcell Ozuna Arrested On Assault, Battery Charges

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June 1: Michael Seiden of WSB-TV Channel 2 News in Atlanta obtained an arrest affidavit, providing additional details on the highly troubling incident. Of note, the court filings indicate that “the strangulation was witnessed by an officer” upon arrival at the scene.

Ozuna has been released on a $20,000 bond for the time being and is under court order to avoid contact with his wife, according to the Associated Press. The couple was in the process of divorcing at the time of Ozuna’s arrest, per the AP. Ken Rosenthal and David O’Brien of The Athletic lay out the reasons that it’s unlikely the Braves will be able to simply void Ozuna’s contract.

May 29, 8:52pm: The Braves released a statement: “We learned of Marcell Ozuna’s arrest earlier this evening and immediately informed the Commissioner’s Office.  The Braves fully support Major League Baseball’s policy on domestic violence which stresses to the fullest that our society cannot and will not tolerate domestic violence in any form.  Until the investigation is completed, we will have no further comment and all inquiries into the matter should be referred to the Office of the Commissioner.”

8:27pm: Marcell Ozuna was arrested today in Sandy Springs, Georgia on charges of aggravated assault strangulation and misdemeanor battery – family violence, according to WSB-TV’s Miles Garrett and ESPN.com’s Jeff Passan (Twitter links).  Passan provides a transcript of the police report detailing the allegations (on Twitter). Ozuna is expected to be investigated by the league under the provisions of the MLB/MLBPA’s joint domestic violence, sexual assault and child abuse policy.

Under the provisions of the joint policy, the league has the authority to issue discipline regardless of the outcome of the criminal charges leveled against Ozuna, though Ozuna could challenge any discipline to an arbitration panel.  Since the policy was instituted in 2015, suspensions have ranged from anywhere from 15 games to a full season, as per the discretion of the Commissioner’s Office.

Ozuna was placed on the 10-day injured list yesterday due to two dislocated fingers on his left hand, and he was expected to miss at least six weeks.  Should Ozuna be suspended, he would forfeit any salary owed to him during the missed games.  Ozuna re-signed with the Braves on a four-year, $65MM deal this past offseason, and he has roughly $8.12MM remaining on his $12MM salary for the 2021 season.

MLB Planning To Reinstitute Pitcher Limit On Active Rosters In 2022

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Major League Baseball will again limit teams to carrying thirteen pitchers on the active roster when the 2022 season begins, reports Bob Nightengale of USA Today. MLB instituted a 13-pitcher limit in February 2020, but the rule has been waived in each of the past two seasons as part of the MLB-MLBPA agreements on COVID-19 health and safety protocols. Interestingly, the 13-pitcher limit may just be the beginning. The league is open to capping the number of hurlers on an active roster at twelve or perhaps eleven further down the line, per Nightengale.

Teams have become more aggressive in deploying relievers in recent seasons. Fresher arms have contributed to increased velocity across the board. The league is averaging 93.4 MPH on fastballs, 84.5 MPH on sliders and 79.5 MPH on curveballs this season, per FanGraphs. In 2002- the first year for which FanGraphs has pitch data- those offerings averaged 89.0 MPH, 80.4 MPH and 75.0 MPH, respectively.

More frequent reliever usage isn’t the only reason pitch speeds have dramatically accelerated in recent years; teams are also selecting for and training velocity in a more targeted way than ever. Nevertheless, there seems to be merit to the belief that shorter per-game stints for pitchers has some role in the uptick. By limiting the number of relievers a team can carry at any given time, the hope is teams will be compelled to stick with pitchers (predominantly starters) longer in games, thereby leveling off or decreasing the continued improvement in the quality of pitchers’ repertoires.

That’s all done in an attempt to curb the strikeouts that have become so prevalent in today’s game. Hitters are punching out in 24.2% of plate appearances this season, a 0.8 point increase relative to last year. Some of that is a result of the return of pitcher hitting in the National League after a 2020 season with a universal DH, but it’s certainly not a new development. The leaguewide strikeout rate has risen every year since 2006, setting a new all-time high each time. (Again using 2002 as a reference point, the strikeout rate is up more than seven points from that year’s 16.8% mark). The lack of balls in play has led to concerns about the quality of the on-field product, with the game more static than ever before.

Pitchers’ widespread use of foreign substances on the ball is another potential driver of the uptick in whiffs. Grip enhancers have been shown to increase pitchers’ ability to spin the ball, leading to sharper movement and more swings and misses. MLB has suggested in the past they planned to crack down on foreign substance usage, and Nightengale reports the league has now ordered umpires to be “vigilant” in that effort, with increased enforcement expected in the next two weeks.

Earlier this week, umpire Joe West confiscated the cap of Cardinals reliever Giovanny Gallegos based on a belief the righty had applied a foreign substance to the brim. That drew the ire of St. Louis manager Mike Shildt, who called foreign substance use “baseball’s dirty little secret” and argued the decision to single out Gallegos for such a widespread practice was “the wrong time and the wrong arena to expose it” (via Ryan Wormeli of NBC Sports Chicago). With the league now pushing umpires to intervene to limit foreign substance use, it wouldn’t be a surprise if similar situations arose in the coming days.

It also seems electronic calling of balls and strikes will be in play in the not too distant future- Nightengale suggests it could be in the majors within three years from now- with a corresponding modification of the rulebook strike zone. “When (the electronic strike zone) comes, it’s really easy to make adjustments in the strike zone,” MLB consultant Theo Epstein tells Nightengale. “We’re trying to optimize contact. So, the way the strike zone used to be a little bit wider and a little bit shorter, which was better for contact. Now, it’s really tall, but narrow. So you can shrink the zone a little bit, especially the upper boundary, which might be better for inducing more contact.’’

Nightengale’s piece is well worth a full read for those interested in the state of the game. Epstein explains his perspective on why the sport has trended the direction it has, offering some hypotheses about ways to incentivize a more traditional, contact-oriented style of play. The former Red Sox and Cubs executive also explains the thought processes behind the experimental rules changes currently being tested at various levels of the minor leagues and in independent ball.

Latest On Mike Soroka

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1:10 pm: Despite Snitker’s assertion that Soroka is “down for the year,” the Braves haven’t yet officially ruled out Soroka this season, O’Brien hears. He’ll be reevaluated in two weeks to define a potential timetable for his recovery.

12:46 pm: Braves manager Brian Snitker confirmed this afternoon during an interview on the MLB Network that right-hander Mike Soroka is out for the remainder of the season (h/t to David O’Brien of the Athletic). Soroka underwent exploratory surgery on his right Achilles a couple weeks ago.

It’ll go down as a completely lost season for Soroka, his second consecutive injury-wrecked year. The 23-year-old originally tore his Achilles last August, just three starts into the abbreviated campaign. While there had been hope Soroka would return to the rotation relatively early in 2021, further health woes prevented that from happening. He was shut down from his rehab process in early April due to shoulder inflammation before renewed trouble with the Achilles resulted in the aforementioned surgery.

That series of injuries has stalled a brilliant start to Soroka’s MLB career. The former top prospect held his own in his first seven MLB starts in 2018 before an All-Star 2019 effort. Soroka tossed 174 2/3 innings of 2.68 ERA/4.28 SIERA ball as a 21-year-old that year, finishing second in NL Rookie of the Year balloting and sixth in NL Cy Young award voting. He’ll now unfortunately miss nearly two full seasons of action, although he’s certainly still young enough to regain his prior form if he returns to full strength in 2022.

Soroka had already been placed on the 60-day injured list. Players on the MLB injured list accumulate service time, so he’ll be credited with a full year of service for the 2021 season. Soroka will reach arbitration eligibility for the first time this winter and is under team control through 2024.

Cardinals To Re-Evaluate Miles Mikolas In 4-6 Weeks

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Cardinals right-hander Miles Mikolas left his start on May 22 with forearm tightness, leading to concerns that he would need Tommy John surgery. That won’t be the case, Jeff Jones of the Belleville News-Democrat was among those to report, but the Cardinals will have to go without Mikolas for the foreseeable future. Mikolas received a stem cell injection to address calcification in his flexor tendon, and he’ll be re-evaluated in four to six weeks.

The Cards expect Mikolas to pitch again this season, per Jones, but the recovery timeline suggests he’s a long way from taking the mound again. Even if he’s ready to go four to six weeks from now, Mikolas will still need time to build his arm strength back up, meaning St. Louis might not see him until sometime in July or August. The team has already gone almost the whole season without Mikolas, who made just the one start and lasted four innings. He missed all of 2020 after undergoing flexor tendon surgery and began this season behind schedule because of shoulder problems.

The Cardinals signed Mikolas, now 32, to a four-year, $68MM extension in 2019 after what looked like a breakout campaign in the previous season. Mikolas was effective again that year, but the deal didn’t kick in until last season. So, because of the injuries that have hampered Mikolas, the gamble hasn’t gone in the Cardinals’ favor at all thus far. He’s under their control through 2023 at annual salaries of $15.75MM.

Even without Mikolas, the Cardinals made the playoffs in 2020, and the National League Central leaders are on pace to do so again this year. The Cardinals’ starters rank a respectable 11th in the majors in ERA (3.63), though the group – largely Jack Flaherty, Kwang-hyun Kim, Adam Wainwright, Carlos Martínez and John Gant – has been closer to middle of the pack with respect to peripheral numbers.

Brewers Outright Josh Lindblom

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MAY 28: As expected, Lindblom has cleared outright waivers and been assigned to Nashville. He has indeed accepted that assignment, tweets Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

MAY 26, 5:19pm: The Brewers expect Lindblom to accept a minor league assignment and remain with the organization, according to president of baseball operations David Stearns (via Sophia Minnaert of Baily Sports Wisconsin).

MAY 26, 3:32pm: The Brewers announced that they have designated right-hander Josh Lindblom for assignment, recalled lefty Eric Lauer and outrighted infielder/outfielder Jace Peterson to Triple-A Nashville.

Lindblom spent time with a few major league teams from 2011-17, during which he posted up-and-down production, and he then left for the Korea Baseball Organization. The decision couldn’t have gone better for Lindblom, who thrived as a member of the Lotte Giants and Doosan Bears from 2018-19. Lindblom started 56 games during that stretch and recorded sub-3.00 ERAs in both seasons, also totaling 363 1/3 innings. He also earned the Choi Dong-Won Award — the top pitching award in the KBO – in each campaign, and took home MVP honors in 2019.

Convinced Lindblom’s high spin rate and KBO success would transfer to the bigs, the Brewers signed him to a three-year, $9.125MM pact prior to 2020. But the move didn’t go as planned for Milwaukee, as Lindblom has struggled to a 6.39 ERA with a 25.0 percent strikeout rate and a 9.4 percent walk rate over 20 appearances (10 starts) and 62 frames since returning stateside. As a result, the Brewers are willing to eat a fairly significant chunk of money – around $4.6MM, Adam McCalvy of MLB.com notes – in order to cut ties with Lindblom. They’ll have a week to trade, release or outright him.

Peterson – who has been with the Brewers since 2019 – has been an on-base threat with the club, albeit over a small sample of work. The 31-year-old has collected 89 plate appearances (28 this year) with Milwaukee and batted .203/.371/.391 with four home runs.

Marcell Ozuna Expected To Miss At Least Six Weeks

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MAY 28: The Braves have placed Ozuna on the IL. Utilityman Johan Camargo is up from Triple-A Gwinnett to take his place on the active roster.

MAY 26: Braves left fielder Marcell Ozuna revealed in his Instagram story today that he’ll likely be sidelined for at least six weeks after dislocating two fingers on his left hand during yesterday’s win over the Red Sox (hat tip: MLB.com’s Mark Bowman, on Twitter). The Braves have yet to formally provide their own timeline, though manager Brian Snitker will surely have more details when he meets with the media today.

It’s an unwelcome development for a Braves club that has lost several key players to injury in the season’s first two months. Mike Soroka required exploratory surgery after experiencing a setback in his recovery from last year’s Achilles tear, while Travis d’Arnaud underwent surgery to repair a thumb ligament and breakout righty Huascar Ynoa is sidelined with a broken pitching hand.

The 30-year-old Ozuna was one of baseball’s best hitters in the shortened 2020 season, pacing the NL in home runs, RBIs, total bases and plate appearances while hitting .338/.431/.636. His decision to sign with Atlanta on a one-year, $18MM deal rather than take a lesser multi-year offer elsewhere last winter paid off, as the “Big Bear” wound up securing a four-year, $65MM deal to return to the Braves this past winter.

Unfortunately, the first year of that season couldn’t have gotten out to a much worse start. Ozuna was hitting just .213/.288/.356 through 208 plate appearances. He’s still connected on seven homers and six doubles, but Ozuna’s .144 isolated power (slugging percentage minus batting average) is less than half last season’s career-high .298. His walk rate, exit velocity and hard-hit rate have all tumbled thus far in 2021 as well.

With Ozuna now sidelined, the Braves can lean on a combination of Ronald Acuna Jr., Cristian Pache, Ender Inciarte, Guillermo Heredia and Ehire Adrianza in the outfield, though the Braves also have toop outfield prospect Drew Waters looming in the upper minors. The 22-year-old Wates is out to a .250/.342/.453 start through 73 plate appearances in Gwinnett.

Mets Shut Noah Syndergaard Down For Six Weeks

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Mets right-hander Noah Syndergaard will be shut down from throwing for the next six weeks due to inflammation in his right elbow, manager Luis Rojas announced to reporters Thursday (Twitter link via Anthony DiComo of MLB.com).

Syndergaard, who is working his way back from 2020 Tommy John surgery, exited his most recent minor league rehab start due to elbow discomfort. Tests did not reveal any damage to Syndergaard’s ulnar collateral ligament, but today’s announcement still marks a substantial setback. He’ll need to build back up once he resumes throwing in mid-July, meaning the earliest he’d be able to return to the big league rotation is likely some point in August.

The Syndergaard setback is the latest in a rather remarkable deluge of injuries the organization is attempting to weather. While the pitching staff hasn’t been hit as hard as the lineup, the looming promise of a Syndergaard return nevertheless stood as a potential boon for the club as it tries to patch the roster together while a whopping 17 players are on the injured list.

The Mets’ rotation has been excellent, anchored by yet another dominant performance from two-time Cy Young winner Jacob deGrom. Mets starters have pitched to a collective 2.94 ERA on the season, ranking fifth in baseball. They also have the game’s fifth-best strikeout percentage (28.1 percent) and the seventh-lowest walk percentage (7.1 percent).

That said, it’s been a top-heavy group. Each of deGrom, Taijuan Walker and Marcus Stroman has turned in a sub-3.00 ERA (sub-1.00, in deGrom’s case), but young David Peterson has worked to a 4.91 mark in 44 innings while the fifth spot has been a revolving door. Carlos Carrasco, like Syndergaard, has yet to pitch this season and is said to still be “weeks” away from his potential Mets debut, and another rotation option, Jordan Yamamoto, was placed on the 60-day injured list yesterday.

The setback, of course, is worrisome for Syndergaard on a personal level as well. He’s in his final season of club control and was already facing a best-case scenario of just under four months to showcase his health in advance of free agency. He could now be looking at closer to a six-week audition window — perhaps longer if the Mets reach the postseason.

Mickey Callaway Placed On Ineligible List Through At Least 2022

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Major League Baseball has placed Angels pitching coach Mickey Callaway on its ineligible list through at least the 2022 season, commissioner Rob Manfred announced. The league made the decision after investigating Callaway for harassment allegations that were levied against him. The Angels have fired Callaway, per a team announcement. Maanfred issued the following statement on his ruling:

My office has completed its investigation into allegations of sexual harassment by Mickey Callaway.  Having reviewed all of the available evidence, I have concluded that Mr. Callaway violated MLB’s policies, and that placement on the Ineligible List is warranted.  We want to thank the many people who cooperated with our Department of Investigations (DOI) in their work, which spanned Mr. Callaway’s positions with three different Clubs.  The Clubs that employed Mr. Callaway each fully cooperated with DOI, including providing emails and assisting with identifying key witnesses.  Harassment has no place within Major League Baseball, and we are committed to providing an appropriate work environment for all those involved in our game.

The allegations against Callaway first came to light in a report from Brittany Ghiroli and Katie Strang of The Athletic, who explained that five women in sports media accused him of lewd behavior. The Angels subsequently suspended Callaway, and Ghiroli, Strang and colleague Ken Rosenthal soon reported that even more women had come forward to make allegations against Callaway. In one case, Callaway was said to carry on an extramarital affair with a woman whose husband found out and made Cleveland president of baseball operations Chris Antonetti and general manager Mike Chernoff aware. The husband also reportedly contacted another of Callaway’s former employers, the Mets, to make a complaint, but nothing was done back then.

In response to the reports, Callaway admitted in March to multiple “infidelities” but maintained that some of the reporting was “inaccurate.” He also denied using his position to harass women, but MLB concluded otherwise during its lengthy investigation. Now, Callaway is facing a year-plus ban, and it seems hard to believe any MLB team will hire him when he’s eligible to return.

Corey Kluber To Miss At Least 8 Weeks; Luke Voit Suffers Oblique Strain

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4:30pm: It gets worse for the Yankees, as Boone has since said Kluber will miss at least eight weeks (via Jack Curry of YES Network). He’ll be shut down from throwing for four weeks and then will have to build up his arm strength for another four.

4:12pm: Yankees right-hander Corey Kluber has a sub-scapular strain in his rotator cuff and will miss at least four weeks, manager Aaron Boone told Bryan Hoch of MLB.com and other reporters. Meanwhile, first baseman Luke Voit has a Grade 2 oblique strain and will go on the 10-day injured list.

Kluber had to leave his start early on Tuesday as a result of this injury, which will at least put a temporary halt to what has been an outstanding season for the two-time American League Cy Young winner. After signing a one-year, $11MM contract with the Yankees in the offseason, Kluber has opened the year with 53 1/3 innings of 3.04 ERA ball, and he fired a no-hitter against Texas last week. It’s by far the best Kluber has looked since earlier in his career, which has been hampered by multiple injuries over the past few years. The former workhorse, 35, totaled just 35 2/3 innings in 2019, his last season with the Indians, because of a fractured forearm. And he was unable to bounce back last year as a member of the Rangers, with whom he threw one inning and was then shut down for good with a shoulder problem.

The loss of Kluber for at least two months (if not more) is obviously a significant blow to the Yankees’ rotation, which has been a strength during the team’s quality start. Ace Gerrit Cole, Domingo German and Jordan Montgomery have all pitched well, while Jameson Taillon’s peripherals are a lot more encouraging than his 5.06 ERA. The Yankees could also get back Luis Severino from Tommy John recovery sometime during the summer, but in the meantime, they’ll turn to Deivi Garcia to fill the last spot in their starting staff.

The loss of Voit is another troubling development for the Yankees, and it continues a difficult, injury-shortened campaign for him. After leading the majors with 22 home runs a season ago, he opened this year on the IL with a torn left meniscus that required surgery. Since he made his season debut in May, Voit has hit an uncharacteristically poor .182/.280/.250 with shockingly little power in 50 plate appearances. Voit has just one home run and a meager .068 ISO thus far. The Yankees seem likely to use Mike Ford and DJ LeMahieu at first base while Voit is absent.

In better news for the Yankees’ offense, slugger Giancarlo Stanton could come off the IL on Friday, Lindsey Adler of The Athletic was among those to report. Stanton, who has been out since May 14, slashed a superb .283/.347/.534 with nine homers in 144 PA before going down with a quad strain.

Nick Senzel To Undergo Knee Surgery

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Reds infielder/outfielder Nick Senzel will undergo arthroscopic surgery on his left knee, manager David Bell announced (via Bobby Nightengale of the Cincinnati Enquirer). The Reds expect Senzel to miss approximately four to six weeks.

The news come five days after the Reds placed Senzel on the 10-day IL, and it’s the latest injury-related setback the former second overall pick and premium prospect has endured in his young career. Senzel previously dealt with issues with his shoulder (including surgery), ankle, groin, and finger, and he also missed time with an illness last season.

Thanks in part to his ongoing health woes, the 25-year-old Senzel hasn’t yet established himself as hoped in the majors. Since he debuted in 2019, Senzel has batted .246/.308/.396 with 15 home runs and 18 stolen bases in 616 plate appearances. He was off to a .252/.323/.315 start this year with one long ball and two steals over 124 PA prior to this injury.

Defensively, Senzel has been quite versatile, having made starts this season at second, third and in center field (primarily the latter). Cincinnati has mostly used Tyler Naquin in center when Senzel hasn’t played there, while the Reds have Jonathan India and Eugenio Suarez as their current starters at second and third. However, their infield is also without regulars Joey Votto and Mike Moustakas, who are on the IL.

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