Byron Buxton Suffers Fractured Hand
11:11am: The Twins announced that Buxton has been placed on the 10-day IL — he’ll obviously miss more than the 10-day minimum — and Celestino has been recalled from Triple-A St. Paul. Celestino is playing center field and batting ninth for today’s noon rematch against Cincinnati.
12:58am: Twins center fielder Byron Buxton suffered a “boxer’s fracture” — a fracture at the base of the fifth metacarpal in his left hand — when he was hit by a pitch during Monday night’s game against the Reds, manager Rocco Baldelli announced to reporters after the contest (Twitter link via Betsy Helfand of the St. Paul Pioneer Press).
It’s a deflating injury for a Twins club that only just welcomed Buxton back from a month-long absence due to a hip flexor strain this past weekend. Buxton appeared in three games, going 4-for-10 with a home run and a double, before getting hit by a pitch in tonight’s contest. Baldelli was vague when asked about an expected recovery period for Buxton, who is batting .369/.409/.767 with 10 homers, 11 doubles and five stolen bases in just 110 plate appearances this year.
Injuries have been a frequent hindrance for Buxton in recent years, although there’s little he could’ve done about an errant Tyler Mahle fastball that ran up-and-in on his hands (video link). It’s a tough-luck injury for both Buxton and for the Twins, who have rattled off five straight wins as they hope for a season-saving push in the standings in advance of next month’s trade deadline. Clearly, a Buxton injury will do them no favors in that uphill battle.
The Twins have cycled through various options in Buxton’s absence this year, although two in-house alternatives — Jake Cave and Rob Refsnyder — are on the injured list themselves at the moment. Cave’s injury, a fracture in his back, will keep him out for the foreseeable future. Refsnyder is currently mending a hamstring strain. Longtime infield prospect Nick Gordon has been getting his feet wet in center field recently, and right fielder Max Kepler has proven capable of playing a solid center field over the years. Prospect Gilberto Celestino got a brief look as well, but he was making the jump straight from Double-A and struggled considerably in 10 games and 33 plate appearances.
Even with five straight wins under their belts, the Twins are still 10 games under .500, which makes it highly unlikely the organization would sacrifice any young talent for an immediate option to help bridge the gap in Buxton’s latest absence. An in-house patching of the problem, at least in the short term, seems the likeliest route, which likely means some combination of Kepler and Gordon for the time being. Veteran Keon Broxton is on hand in Triple-A St. Paul, but he’s batting just .169/.260/.215 with the Saints and has fanned in nearly half of his plate appearances. He’d give the Twins a competent defensive option, but his offensive woes against Triple-A pitching are rather glaring, to say the least.
It’s worth noting that while the Buxton injury will only further fuel speculation about the Twins’ trajectory at the trade deadline, they’ll at least have one more chance to control their own fate, so to speak. Once the Twins wrap up a brief two-game series against Cincinnati tomorrow, they’ll play exclusively AL Central opponents for nearly a month.
Minnesota hosts the Indians for four games this weekend before a seven-game road trip to Chicago and Kansas City. They’ll close out the first half with seven at home against the South Siders and Tigers before opening the second half with four on the road in Detroit and three more in Chicago. It’d obviously take quite a run in that stretch of divisional play — especially early on — to turn the tides in their 2021 season. But with such a lengthy slate within the AL Central on the horizon, it’s doubtful the Twins will jump the trade market, even in the wake of a potentially crushing injury.
Mets’ Joey Lucchesi Diagnosed With UCL Tear
10:23pm: Manager Luis Rojas acknowledged after tonight’s game that surgery is a possibility for Lucchesi but said the left-hander will receive a second opinion before making a final decision (Twitter link via Newsday’s Laura Albanese).
7:34pm: Mets left-hander Joey Lucchesi, who went on the injured list this weekend, underwent an MRI and was diagnosed with a “significant” tear in his left elbow’s ulnar collateral ligament, reports Steve Gelbs of SNY (Twitter link). The Mets haven’t formally announced an update, but any UCL tear obviously comes with the possibility of Tommy John surgery. He’ll seek a second opinion before making any decisions.
In further Mets injury news, the team announced prior to the second game of today’s doubleheader that Jeurys Familia has been placed on the injured list due to a right hip impingement. That injury comes just hours after the Mets placed righty Robert Gsellman on the 10-day injured list due to a lat strain that will reportedly sideline him for up to eight weeks. Right-hander Yennsy Diaz is up from Triple-A Syracuse to take Familia’s spot on the roster. The team has not yet provided a timeline on Familia’s injury.
Lucchesi, 28, has given the Mets 38 1/3 innings of 4.46 ERA ball with a 3.40 FIP, a 26.1 percent strikeout rate and a 7.0 percent walk rate. That’s solid production from any pitcher, let alone one who was viewed as a depth option and perhaps the sixth or seventh starting pitcher on the team’s depth chart when Spring Training commenced. That performance has certainly justified the Mets’ decision to part with catching prospect Endy Rodriguez to acquire Lucchesi from the Padres as part of the three-team, Joe Musgrove trade with the Pirates. Now, however, there are considerable doubts as to just when Lucchesi will throw his next pitch.
If Lucchesi indeed requires Tommy John surgery, the procedure is coming late enough in the 2021 season that it’ll jeopardize the majority, if not the entirety, of his 2022 season.. Tommy John procedures typically come with recovery periods in the range of 12 to 16 months, and as the Mets’ own Noah Syndergaard illustrates, a straightforward year-long recovery period is not necessarily a given.
A Tommy John procedure would put the Mets in a tough spot with Lucchesi. He’ll be arbitration-eligible for the first time this winter now that he’ll close out the current season on the 60-day injured list. Any raise will be suppressed by his current injury status, of course, but they’d still need to determine whether to dedicate a 40-man spot to him all winter and pay him a raise for the 2022 season despite the possibility that he won’t pitch at all. In that scenario, they’d again be faced with the decision of whether to again dedicate an offseason 40-man spot and likely match that salary in 2023 — most arb-eligible players who miss a whole season are re-upped at the same rate for the following year — or cut bait via a non-tender.
Obviously, the hope for the Mets, Lucchesi and their fans is that he’ll somehow be able to avoid surgery and return to the mound without going under the knife. However, the report of a “significant” tear indicates that even if surgery is avoided for now, Lucchesi is likely looking at a notable shutdown.
The loss of Lucchesi in the near-term is a blow to a Mets club that has been hit hard by injuries up and down the roster. Carlos Carrasco has still yet to pitch in 2021, owing to a hamstring tear a brief elbow issue in Spring Training, while Syndergaard’s return has been pushed back by at least six weeks due to inflammation in his surgically repaired elbow. Righty Jordan Yamamoto, meanwhile, is on the 60-day injured list due to shoulder woes.
With those injuries having taken their toll, the Mets turned to former Phillies righty Jerad Eickhoff to start the nightcap of today’s twin bill. Other options on the 40-man roster include recent waiver claim Nick Tropeano and 25-year-old prospect Thomas Szapucki, who has yet to make his MLB debut.
The Mets entered the season with a fairly impressive bit of pitching depth, but that depth has obviously been tested early and often. Given the news on Lucchesi, the setbacks in the recoveries of Syndergaard and Carrasco, and the minor injury troubles that Jacob deGrom and Taijuan Walker have faced, it wouldn’t be much of a surprise to see the Mets target rotation help on the summer trade market.
Turning to Familia, his injury places a temporary hold on what was shaping up to be a solid rebound effort. While the right-hander’s 14.3 percent walk rate has been far too high, Familiar has nevertheless pitched to a 3.63 ERA with a 23 percent strikeout rate in 22 1/3 frames. He’s also generated plenty of weak contact and induced grounders at a characteristically high 58.5 percent clip, which has helped to offset the penchant for free passes. It may not be the dominant form he displayed from 2014-18, but it’s nevertheless been a nice season for the righty.
The bullpen has been one area where the Mets haven’t been bitten too hard by the injury bug, but back-to-back losses of Gsellman and Familia now threaten to begin testing the depth on that side of the pitching staff as well. The Mets are undoubtedly thankful that deGrom was able to breeze through five innings today after his own recent injury scare, but it’s still been a rough day for the pitching staff as a whole — one that could very well accelerate the team’s efforts to add from outside the organization.
Diamondbacks Place Carson Kelly On 10-Day IL With Fractured Wrist
TODAY: Kelly has been placed on the 10-day injured list. Varsho and infielder Josh VanMeter were called up from Triple-A to fill the spots left open by Kelly and right-hander Kevin Ginkel, who was optioned to Triple-A yesterday.
JUNE 19: Diamondbacks catcher Carson Kelly suffered a fractured right wrist after being hit by a pitch from the Dodgers’ Walker Buehler in tonight’s game. Kelly was hit in the bottom of the second inning, and stuck it out for an inning before being replaced behind the plate by Stephen Vogt to begin the fourth.
Depending on the severity of the fracture, Kelly’s season could potentially be in jeopardy, and at the very least he is looking at a lengthy absence. Kelly already missed time back in May with a toe fracture, though that resulted in only a 10-day minimum stint on the injured list.
It makes for yet another down note for Kelly and the Diamondbacks during what has become a nightmarish season in Arizona. Kelly’s performance was one of the few bright spots, as he has a .260/.385/.460 slash line and eight home runs through 187 plate appearances. It was a nice bounce-back showing after a lackluster 2020 season for Kelly, who was acquired from the Cardinals as part of the Paul Goldschmidt trade in December 2018.
Between his solid 2019 numbers and this year’s breakout, Kelly certainly looked to be living up to his billing as the Diamondbacks’ catcher of both the future and the present. Arizona’s miserable season notwithstanding, it didn’t seem like Kelly (if healthy) was a realistic trade candidate, as GM Mike Hazen recently suggested that the D’Backs would look to settle upon an “anchor” group of core players as they reload and hope for better things in 2022. Kelly would seem to fit that billing, as he is controlled through the 2024 season.
While Kelly is out of action, the D’Backs would get a chance to give top prospect Daulton Varsho more of a look behind the plate. Varsho has only 56 games and 159 PA at the big league level over the last two seasons, with more of that playing time coming as an outfielder rather than as a catcher. Varsho and Vogt could potentially split catching duties while Kelly is sidelined, with Varsho also playing the outfield on days when Vogt is starting.
Tigers Release Wilson Ramos
TODAY: The Tigers have requested unconditional release waivers on Ramos, the team announced.
TUESDAY: The Tigers have designated catcher Wilson Ramos and righty Beau Burrows for assignment, according to a club announcement. That opens up 40-man roster spots for additions Wily Peralta and Miguel Del Pozo, moves covered in this post.
Ramos, 33, is a 12-year Major League veteran. The Tigers signed him to a one-year, $2MM deal back in January, and Ramos started the majority of the team’s games at catcher until going on the shelf on May 7th with a back injury. Ramos started strong, with six home runs in his first nine games. However, Eric Haase and Jake Rogers have proven themselves capable. The 28-year-old Haase, who was removed from the Tigers’ 40-man roster back in January, has already blasted eight home runs in 100 plate appearances.
Ramos has had a long, successful career, with his finest years coming as a member of the Nationals. He’s generally been regarded as a bat-first catcher, and posted a 105 wRC+ over a career-high 141 games for the 2019 Mets. He’s reached double-digit home runs in nine different seasons and has a pair of All-Star appearances under his belt.
Burrows, 24, was drafted 22nd overall by the Tigers back in 2015 out of high school, two spots ahead of Walker Buehler. Not long after that, Burrows was rated as a 60-grade prospect by Baseball America. Though he wasn’t particularly successful in the high minors, prior to this season BA still gave Burrows a 45 grade, saying, “Without a true out pitch, it’s hard to project Burrows as much more than a low-leverage reliever.” Unfortunately, the most memorable part of Burrows’ lone MLB outing this season was his vomiting on the pitching mound.
Orioles Designate Chance Sisco For Assignment
1:40pm: The Orioles announced that Sisco has indeed been designated for assignment. The move was necessary to open a spot on the roster for right-hander Thomas Eshelman, whose contract has been selected from Triple-A Norfolk. Eshelman will take the place of lefty Bruce Zimmermann and start tonight’s game for the O’s, while Zimmermann is headed to the injured list due to tendinitis in his left biceps.
1:07pm: The Orioles have designated former top catching prospect Chance Sisco for assignment, reports Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com (Twitter link). They’ll now have a week to trade him or attempt to pass him through outright waivers.
Sisco, 26, was a second-round pick back in 2013 and quickly played his way into top prospect status. Sisco raked at every stop through his first few minor league seasons, and Baseball America ranked him among the sport’s 70 best prospects in both 2017 and 2018. His 2016 season, in particular, was an impressive run through Double-A Bowie and Triple-A Norfolk, as Sisco combined to bat .317/.403/.430 with a 12.3 percent walk rate against a 17.7 percent strikeout rate. The O’s called Sisco up for a look late in the 2017 season, and he responded with a 6-for-18 showing that included a pair of homers and a pair of doubles. He looked very much like the organization’s catcher of the future.
That began to change in 2018, when Sisco received his first extended look at the MLB level. He played in 63 games for Baltimore that season and logged 184 plate appearances with just a .181/.288/.269 output to show for it. Sisco’s numbers improved to .211/.345/.389 in 2019-20, but he’s struggled mightily so far in 2021 both in the big leagues and down in Norfolk.
Sisco had a nice showing with Triple-A during the 2019 season, but he hasn’t consistently produced even at the sport’s top minor league level. He’s batting .205/.327/.341 through 52 plate appearances in Norfolk this season and carries an overall .264/.352/.421 slash there in parts of five seasons.
Those struggles have become more problematic as Sisco has gotten older and been unable to improve his ability to control the running game. Baseball America noted back in 2018 that Sisco would likely need “perfect footwork” to be a passable thrower from behind the dish, given bottom-of-the-scale pop times as he attempted to throw out runners on the bases. To his credit, he went 6-for-9 in thwarting thieves at the MLB level this season, but he’s also 1-for-16 in that department in Norfolk this year and has a career 21 percent caught-stealing rate in the minors.
Further complicating matters for Sisco is that he’ll be out of options next spring, meaning he’d need to either make the big league roster or go unclaimed on waivers. With his current struggles pushing him down the depth chart, that lack of future flexibility likely contributed to today’s decision to remove him from the 40-man roster.
Sisco’s status as a one-time top catching prospect who can be optioned for the remainder of the year could well hold appeal to another club, either via a small trade or a waiver claim. The most plausible scenario for him to remain with the Orioles beyond the current season would be one where he clears waivers and is later selected back to the MLB roster, but given today’s move, it may be likelier that another club takes a chance on the former top prospect.
With Sisco now in DFA limbo, the only catchers on the Orioles’ 40-man roster are Pedro Severino and light-hitting Austin Wynns. The club has an experienced option in Norfolk in the former of former Rays catcher Nick Ciuffo, but the organization’s hope at the position clearly shifted to Adley Rutschman the moment he was selected with the top pick in the 2019 draft. The switch-hitting Rutschman has utterly obliterated Double-A pitching thus far in 2021, hitting at a .287/.421/.554 pace with ten homers and five doubles through 171 plate appearances in what is typically a pitcher-friendly environment.
It’s not implausible that Rutschman could crack the Majors this season, although rebuilding clubs like the Orioles often seek to delay the arrival of their top prospects in order to gain an additional year of club control. Calling Rutschman up this season, or at any point in the first two weeks of the 2022 campaign, would give the Orioles’ control over him through the 2027 season. Waiting to call him up until 15 days of the 2022 season have elapsed would push that path to free agency back into the 2028-29 offseason.
Astros Place Alex Bregman On 10-Day IL With Quad Injury
TODAY: Bregman has been officially placed on the injured list, Dusty Baker told Mark Berman and other reporters. Outfielder/catcher Garrett Stubbs has been called up to take Bregman’s spot on the active roster.
JUNE 16, 10:29pm: A more specific timeline for Bregman’s return will become clearer tomorrow, but it seems he’s looking at an injured list stint. Manager Dusty Baker told reporters (including Berman) the expectation is Bregman will be out “for a while.”
7:53pm: Bregman departed due to a left quad strain, relays Brent Zwerneman of the Houston Chronicle.
7:37pm: Astros star Alex Bregman left this evening’s game against the Rangers in the first inning. Bregman appeared to suffer a lower body injury while trying to beat out a ground ball (video provided by Mark Berman of Fox 26). Robel García replaced him at third base.
Bregman is amidst another very strong season, albeit not at his 2018-19 MVP-caliber level. The 27-year-old is hitting .275/.359/.428 (121 wRC+) with seven homers over his first 262 plate appearances. At 38-28, Houston sits three games back of the Athletics in the AL West, so a significant injury to Bregman would be a devastating blow. Of course, there’s no indication at this point he’s facing any sort of long-term absence.
If Bregman were to miss time, García and Abraham Toro would seem the likeliest options to pick up the slack at the hot corner. Primary utilityman Aledmys Díaz is out until at least late July due to a hand fracture.
Initial Testing Reveals “No Issues” With Jacob deGrom’s Sore Shoulder
3:14PM: Mets manager Luis Rojas told reporters (including Jesse Rogers of ESPN.com) that “We’re going to go day-by-day” with deGrom, and that an injured-list placement isn’t being planned. “Had an MRI, ran it through two doctors. Both had the same prognosis,” Rojas said.
TODAY, 1:22PM: Follow-up testing on deGrom’s shoulder showed “no issues,” reports Jon Heyman of MLB Network (Twitter link). New York is sending the star right-hander for a second opinion to confirm the initial diagnoses, but today’s follow-up coming back clean is certainly a relief for the Mets and their fans.
JUNE 16, 9:30Pm: deGrom met with reporters (including Deesha Thosar of the New York Daily News) after the game and downplayed the current issue. While he admitted he’s frustrated with the series of developments, deGrom suggested he didn’t believe the three health problems were related and, more importantly, sounded confident he’d avoided any serious injury. “I think it’s three separate issues. I think the lat was something to do with the swing. The elbow I didn’t think too much of, like I said I was pretty confident that that was nothing. And I’m pretty confident that this is nothing.” Manager Luis Rojas said deGrom’s prognosis will become clearer after he undergoes further testing tomorrow, but that the initial report was “encouraging” (via Tim Britton of the Athletic).
JUNE 16, 7:23 pm: Mets ace Jacob deGrom left this evening’s start after three innings due to right shoulder soreness, the team announced. Sean Reid-Foley replaced him to start the fourth frame.
It’s the second consecutive start in which deGrom has been forced out prematurely. Right flexor tendinitis knocked him out of his start last Friday. deGrom didn’t sound particularly concerned after that outing, and an intervening MRI came back clean. Nevertheless, it’s certainly alarming to see the game’s best pitcher removed early due to injury in back-to-back outings. deGrom also missed a couple weeks last month due to right side tightness, so he’s now dealt with side, forearm and shoulder issues this year.
As usual, deGrom was incredible tonight before he exited. He struck out eight of nine Cubs hitters across three perfect innings. The outing dropped his ERA to an unfathomable 0.54 in 67 innings on the year.
Dodgers Place Cody Bellinger On IL
The Dodgers placed center fielder Cody Bellinger on the IL for left hamstring tightness and recalled Mitch White, MLB.com’s Juan Toribio was among those to report. The timing of the injury is unfortunate, as tonight is the first full-capacity game at Dodger Stadium since before the pandemic. Bellinger is eligible to be activated on June 22nd, notes Eric Stephen of True Blue L.A.
Bellinger returned from a lengthy IL stint on May 29th after recovering from a hairline fracture in his left fibula. Now, he’s back to the IL due to a hamstring injury, which first cropped up last Friday. The Dodgers will again make do without the 2019 NL MVP. This year, that’s generally meant Chris Taylor and Mookie Betts in center field. With Max Muncy hitting the IL on Saturday, the Dodgers’ current first base tandem is Matt Beaty and Albert Pujols. In his 66 plate appearances with the Dodgers, Pujols has a 131 wRC+. The Dodgers are also without star shortstop Corey Seager, who might return early next month from a broken hand.
In recalling White, the Dodgers have gone to a nine-man bullpen after yesterday’s short start from Tony Gonsolin.
Tigers’ Matt Manning To Make MLB Debut Thursday; Matthew Boyd To IL
The Tigers announced a series of roster moves today, the most exciting of which is the planned MLB debut of acclaimed pitching prospect Matt Manning. Manning, 23, will start Thursday night in Anaheim against the Angels. Additionally, pitchers Matthew Boyd and Alex Lange hit the IL, Wily Peralta and Miguel Del Pozo had their contracts selected, and Jeimer Candelario was reinstated from the IL.
Manning was drafted ninth overall by the Tigers in 2016 out of high school. Prior to the season, Baseball America ranked Manning as the 33rd-best prospect in the game. The COVID-19 pandemic deprived Manning and many others of a minor league season in 2020, and he also dealt with a right forearm strain. Manning made his Triple-A debut on May 4th of this year. He’s scuffled to an 8.07 ERA in seven starts, with more than 27% of his flyballs leaving the yard. Still, Manning’s last outing was solid, and he retains “frontline starter potential” according to Baseball America. He’ll get a tough assignment, going up against Shohei Ohtani.
Boyd, 30, exited Monday’s start due to an arm injury that Tigers manager A.J. Hinch described today as “more toward the elbow.” Through 13 starts, he was experiencing a resurgent season with a 3.44 ERA in 70 2/3 frames. With a strikeout rate of just 18.8%, Boyd is likely still a 4.50 ERA type pitcher whose flyballs happened to stay in the yard over a brief sample. Still, he’s under team control through 2022 as an arbitration eligible player and should be a solid late July trade candidate if the injury turns out to be minor. Boyd joins rotation-mate Spencer Turnbull on the IL.
Lange, a 25-year-old rookie reliever, struggled to the tune of a 7.31 ERA over 18 fairly low-leverage outings before hitting the IL with a shoulder strain. He was rated as a 40-grade prospect by Baseball America prior to the season.
Peralta and Del Pozo will be new additions to the Tigers’ 40-man roster. One such spot was opened with the transferring of Rony Garcia to the 60-day IL. Peralta, 32, joined the Tigers on a minor league deal back in February. He was once a productive member of the Brewers’ rotation, peaking with a 3.53 ERA in 198 2/3 innings back in 2014. He managed to give the Mud Hens six mostly solid but brief outings and is an option to take Boyd’s spot Saturday in Anaheim, Hinch told reporters.
Del Pozo has 13 big league innings to his name. The 28-year-old southpaw inked a minor league deal with the Tigers back in January. He’s been dominant in a dozen Triple-A relief outings, punching out 34.7% of batters faced and walking only 6.1%.
Nick Madrigal Out For The Season
White Sox second baseman Nick Madrigal “underwent successful surgery to repair the proximal tendon tears in his right hamstring,” the club announced today. He’ll be out for the season and is expected to be restriction-free in spring of 2022. Madrigal’s injury was known to be potentially season-ending last week, as he was placed on the 60-day IL.
The White Sox have done a remarkable job weathering major injuries already this year, sitting in first place in the AL Central with the league’s second-best record despite early-season losses of Luis Robert and Eloy Jimenez. Jimenez could potentially join the club in August after rupturing his left pectoral tendon in late March, while Robert suffered a Grade 3 right hip flexor strain. Neither player has an official timetable for return from the White Sox.
Madrigal, Chicago’s high-contact 24-year-old rookie second baseman, had a 117 wRC+ on the season that ranked seventh among qualifiers. Danny Mendick and Leury Garcia have taken over at second since Madrigal’s injury. Should the White Sox look to upgrade, Adam Frazier, Josh Harrison, Eduardo Escobar, and Jonathan Schoop could be among those available.