Mike Clevinger Violates Coronavirus Protocols
Indians right-hander Mike Clevinger has violated their coronavirus protocols, the team announced (via Ryan Lewis of Ohio.com). Clevinger was scheduled to start for the Indians against the Cubs on Tuesday, but they’ll go with fellow righty Adam Plutko instead.
Clevinger’s violations came on the road against the White Sox over the weekend, as did fellow starter Zach Plesac‘s. It turns out that the two were out on the town in Chicago together, and then Clevinger took a flight with the Indians, Jeff Passan of ESPN tweets. The Indians ended up dismissing Plesac from the team on a temporary basis. Clevinger, for his part, must quarantine for 72 hours and test negative for the coronavirus before he’s eligible to rejoin the club.
The main hope is that neither of these players’ decisions will negatively affect others, including their teammates. On the field, the two have been rather effective parts of the Indians’ rotation. Clevinger has generally offered the Indians front-line results since 2017.
Marcus Stroman Opts Out Of 2020 Season
The Mets announced Monday that right-hander Marcus Stroman has opted out of the remainder of the 2020 season. The right-hander, who is a free agent at season’s end, called the move a family decision and cited the many “uncertainties” and “unknowns” of playing in the current health-and-safety atmosphere.
This obviously represents a major blow to the Mets’ hopes in 2020. While Stroman will forgo the remainder of his $12MM salary, it isn’t as if there’s an obvious way for the team to reinvest it for a player of similar quality — at least, not without giving up substantial prospect value via trade.
The decision puts a bow on the Mets’ end of last summer’s trade that brought Stroman to Queens. Adding him cost two promising young starters: Anthony Kay and Simeon Woods Richardson. The club remained competitive late in 2019 but was already in too deep a hole to make a postseason run. And now Stroman won’t throw a pitch in the 2020 campaign.
It all sets up several intriguing contract situations in the future. Stroman, who had been on the injured list, did not opt out until after he had reached six full years of MLB service. That means he’ll still qualify for free agency. Whether the Mets will extend Stroman a qualifying offer, as once seemed sure, remains to be seen. And it’ll be interesting to see how the open market treats the high-quality 29-year-old.
Stroman is now listed among the players around the game that have opted out of the 2020 season.
Indians Send Zach Plesac Home After Violating Health Protocols
Aug. 10: Plesac issued the following statement late last night (link via Mandy Bell of MLB.com):
I would like to apologize to my teammates, the entire Cleveland organization and all of our fans for my actions Saturday evening. I realize I made a poor choice to leave the hotel, which broke protocols and could have endangered other people. I understand that in these times of uncertainty, I need to be more vigilant and responsible and I am determined to earn my teammates’ forgiveness and get back to work.
Aug. 9: The Indians have sent pitcher Zach Plesac home to Cleveland after discovering that Plesac violated MLB’s health and safety protocols by going out in Chicago on Saturday night, reports Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic. Per Rosenthal, Plesac has been isolated from the team and will be required to quarantine for at least three days, with daily testing, before the Indians decide how to proceed.
The Indians’ action against Plesac is illustrative of MLB teams’ heightened diligence in preventing outbreaks of COVID-19 similar to those that have cost the Marlins and Cardinals considerable portions of their respective seasons. We’ve seen how quickly one case can turn into fifteen or more, as in the Marlins case, and teams would do well to operate quickly and carefully in their efforts to prevent such a spread.
As ESPN’s Jeff Passan adds, the Indians have garnered a reputation as being one of baseball’s most committed organizations in upholding proper coronavirus protocols, and their swift discipline of an emerging star demonstrates that commitment. It’s encouraging to see teams exhibit a willingness to sacrifice their immediate interests in favor of protecting the long-term health of the baseball season.
Plesac pitched on Saturday afternoon against the White Sox, tossing six innings of scoreless ball and striking out seven batters. The 25-year-old has enjoyed a brilliant start to his season, emerging as an increasingly reliable member of the Indians’ already-strong rotation.
Given the Indians’ schedule, Plesac was set to go next on Thursday in Detroit. Should Plesac consistently test negative in the coming days, it appears as though he could be cleared in time for that start, though of course the Indians may opt to take further preventative measures and hold Plesac out for a longer period in the interest of safety. And if Cleveland’s initial decision is indicative of their mindset, one figures that the club would not hesitate to err on the side of caution with such a timeline.
Astros Acquire Brooks Raley From Reds
The Houston Astros acquired Brooks Raley from the Reds for a player to be named later, the Reds announced. Raley was designated for assignment on Thursday.
In a corresponding move, the Astros transferred closer Roberto Osuna to the 45-day injured list, per Mark Berman of Fox 26. Osuna is likely to undergo season-ending Tommy John surgery.
Raley made four appearances for the Reds this season, giving up four earned runs in four innings. The 32-year-old appeared in the major leagues for the first time since his initial appearances with the Cubs in 2012 and 2013. The southpaw has been a reliable rotation arm in the KBO for the past five seasons, however. Raley made 30 or 31 starts in each season from 2015 to 2019 for the Lotte Giants, totalling a 48-53 record with a 4.13 ERA across 910 2/3 innings. That’s an average season of more than 182 innings per season.
The Astros have struggled to fill out their rotation after an early injury to Justin Verlander. Raley will likely jump into the Houston bullpen if he’s added to the active roster, though his ability to start or pitch multiple innings is certainly a plus for a team looking for length.
Lane Thomas Tests Positive For COVID-19
Outfielder Lane Thomas it the latest St. Louis Cardinal to test positive for coronavirus, per Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
Major League Baseball had already announced the cancellation of the Cardinals upcoming series with the Pirates, meaning they remain stuck on just five games played. They’ve now missed 13 consecutive games. It’s still unclear when they’ll return to play and just how severe any of the Cardinals cases are. President of Baseball Operations John Mozeliak did say that a couple of players went to the emergency room, per Jesse Rogers of ESPN, although they did not have to stay at the hospital.
The Cardinals have now had 10 players and 7 staff members test positive, per Bob Nightengale of USA Today. There aren’t believed to be any more positive tests coming, though the organization has extended its effort with contact tracing and vigorous testing will continue. If there are no more newly-discovered positive tests moving forward, it’s conceivable that the Cardinals could return to play this weekend. In order for that conversation to happen, however, the Cardinals will first look for consecutive days without a positive test, per Rogers.
Madison Bumgarner To Be Evaluated By Team Doctors
Arizona Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo told reporters including The Athletic’s Zach Buchanan that big-ticket free-agent acquisition Madison Bumgarner was removed from today’s game due to back spasms (Twitter links). Bumgarner is returning to Phoenix to be looked at by team doctors.
It’s been a disappointing start to Bumgarner’s career outside of San Francisco. The former Giants’ ace signed a four-year, $72MM deal with the rival Diamondbacks this offseason, and their union is off to a rocky start. Bumgarner is 0-2 with a 7.04 ERA/6.03 FIP through 3 starts. His strikeouts are down to 6.5 K/9 while walks are up to 3.5 BB/9, though feel free to apply any/all small sample size warnings here as Bumgarner has logged just 15 1/3 frames.
The big question with Bumgarner regards his velocity. The former World Series hero is averaging just 87.9 mph on his four-seamer this season after an average of 91.4 mph last season. The fear with this kind of velocity drop is that there’s an arm issue, though there’s been no indication of that from Bumgarner or the Diamondbacks.
Cardinals-Pirates Series Postponed; Cardinals Expect Additional COVID-19 Positive
August 9: This week’s series between the Cardinals and Pirates has been postponed in its entirety, as first reported by Jon Heyman of MLB Network. As a result, the Cardinals have had 15 consecutive postponements and will have just 46 days to make up 55 games if they are to play the entire 2020 schedule. In addition, Heyman reports that the Cardinals are expected to reveal “at least one” additional positive COVID-19 test after yesterday’s round of testing.
MLB officially announced the cancellation with a press release that reads: “Major League Baseball announced today that the upcoming three-game series between the St. Louis Cardinals and the Pittsburgh Pirates, scheduled for Monday through Wednesday at Busch Stadium in St. Louis, has been postponed. In light of the most recent positive test results, MLB and the Club believe it is prudent to conduct additional testing while players and staff are quarantined before the team returns to play. More information regarding the Cardinals’ resumption of play will be announced later in the week.”
August 8, 9:57 PM: It’s been confirmed by Jeff Passan and Jason Mackey (via Twitter). The Cardinals and Pirates’ Monday meeting has been postponed.
6:17 PM: The St. Louis Cardinals have been told that they won’t be coming together again as a team for at least 3-5 days, per The Athletic’s Mark Saxon (via Twitter). Obviously, the implication here is that their upcoming series with the Pittsburgh Pirates will be canceled. Major League Baseball has not made an official announcement as of yet.
Cardinals players will continue with personal workouts for the time being – they haven’t seen game action in over a week. The Cardinals last saw the diamond on Wednesday, July 29th in a 3-0 loss to the Twins. They are likely to go more than two weeks before returning to the field. While most of the rest of the league is pushing towards (or already past) the quarter mark for the season, the Cardinals are stuck on a 2-3 record after dealing with the second major clubhouse outbreak of coronavirus since the game’s reboot. It remains unclear how/when/if the Cardinals will be able to make up the missed games.
Obviously, containing the virus is priority A through Z right now for the Cardinals, who released the names of 8 players who have tested positive for COVID-19. They have the benefit of the Marlins’ experience from earlier this season, but there’s no tried-and-true approach to handling an internal outbreak of this scale. There are, of course, protocols in place, but the nature of COVID-19 leaves a great deal of general uncertainty.
The Pirates will get a couple of days off after facing a scare of a different sort in their game with the Tigers today. Phillip Evans and Gregory Polanco collided on a pop fly in four territory resulting in Evans leaving the game on a stretcher, per Jason Mackey of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. It was described as a scary scene, and we will update you on Evans’ condition with a full post as more information about his current status is revealed. Polanco stayed in the game.
As of right now, it does appear that the Pirates (and Cardinals) will have the next couple of days off. The Pirates were scheduled to be in St. Louis on Monday night to begin a three-game series.
Cardinals-Cubs Series Postponed Due To Additional Covid-19 Positive(s)
7:27pm: Outfielder Austin Dean, righty Ryan Helsley and a staff member tested positive, Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch writes.
5:04pm: MLB will postpone this weekend’s Cards-Cubs series, Joel Sherman of the New York Post reports.
12:25pm: Major League Baseball has officially announced that tonight’s game is postponed due to one additional positive test. However, USA Today’s Bob Nightengale tweets that there’s “concern” of a second positive test beyond the one the league has confirmed. That could point to some yet-inconclusive results and also explain the discrepancy between the earlier reporting on the number of positive tests. Clarity on the matter should come later today.
12:10pm: MLB Network’s Jon Heyman tweets that there was only one new positive test. Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch (Twitter link) and a few others have heard the same, though SportsGrid’s Craig Mish tweets that there were two new positives. Whatever the exact number is determined to be, there figures to be additional testing and contact tracing performed before the league decides on the remainder of the Cubs/Cards series. The Cardinals had already been aiming to play 55 games in a span of 52 days, so the postponement of tonight’s game further adds to a notable scheduling challenge.
12:02pm: Tonight’s Cardinals game against the Cubs has been postponed due to new positive Covid-19 test(s) within the Cardinals organization, The Athletic’s Mark Saxon reports (via Twitter). The new positives dash the Cardinals’ hopes of getting back to the field for the first time since July 29. The St. Louis organization had seven players and several staff members test positive over the course of several days beginning last Friday.
This will be the first schedule interruption for the first-place Cubs, and as has continually been the case, there are potential broad-reaching implications beyond the current series. Future opponents could be impacted — the Cards are set to begin a series against the Pirates on Monday — and depending on the outcome of the remainder of this series, the Cubs could now find themselves with multiple doubleheaders added to the schedule.
The Cardinals announced this week that catcher Yadier Molina, pitchers Junior Fernandez and Kodi Whitley, and infielders Paul DeJong, Edmundo Sosa and Rangel Ravelo had all tested positive for Covid-19. All but Ravelo were placed on the injured list the following day, as was right-hander Carlos Martinez.
MLB To Implement 28-Man Rosters For Balance Of 2020 Season, Postseason
AUG. 5: The league announced that it will go to 28-man rosters and, if clubs choose, five-man taxi squads for the regular season and playoffs beginning Thursday. Teams will be able to carry 29 players for doubleheaders.
AUG. 4: While the initial plan for the shortened 2020 season was for rosters to begin at 30 players, drop to 28 after 15 days and drop to 26 two weeks later, it appears that plan will change. The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal tweets that rosters will drop to 28 players as scheduled on Thursday, but they’ll remain at that level through the end of the regular season and through the postseason. The three-man taxi squad that teams have been allotted will also be expanded to five players. USA Today’s Bob Nightengale tweeted earlier today that some potential alterations to roster reduction were being discussed.
The implementation of 28-man rosters for the balance of the season comes in a direct response to the number of injuries that have popped up throughout the league and the Covid-19 outbreaks within the Marlins and Cardinals organizations. The hope is that carrying a pair of extra players over the standard 26-man rosters can help to reduce strain on players — pitchers in particular — after an abbreviated three-week ramp-up period during Summer Camp. There’s no indication that the change will carry over beyond the 2020 season.
Larger rosters will leave managers with more flexibility and reduce the need to put extra stress on pitchers, though the extra relievers being carried by each club won’t do any favors in terms of limiting game times, as MLB has sought to do in recent years. That’s far from a pressing concern at this point, however, as all involved with the league are prioritizing player health and simply being able to get through a 60-game regular-season schedule before playing an expanded 16-team playoff format.
Tommy Kahnle Undergoes Tommy John Surgery
Aug. 5: Kahnle’s surgery was performed yesterday, Heyman tweets.
July 31: Yankees manager Aaron Boone announced Friday that right-handed reliever Tommy Kahnle will undergo Tommy John surgery, Marly Rivera of ESPN reports.
This isn’t surprising news, as MLB Network’s Jon Heyman reported just minutes ago that Kahnle was probably going in this direction. Still, the fact that it’s now official is unfortunate for him and the Yankees. Kahnle, 30, has been an important part of their bullpen since they acquired him from the White Sox in a 2017 blockbuster trade. Since rejoining the Yankees, who selected him in the fifth round of the 2010 draft, Kahnle has logged a 4.01 ERA/3.23 FIP with 12.58 K/9, 3.69 BB/9 and a 44.8 percent groundball rate over 112 1/3 innings.
While Kahnle won’t be easily replaceable for the Yankees, the World Series contenders are well-equipped to soldier on without him. After all, the team also has Aroldis Chapman, Zack Britton, Adam Ottavino and Chad Green as other prominent late-game arms.
Kahnle’s season-ending injury takes a quality option away, though, and now it’s in question whether he will pitch for the Yankees again. Considering the timing of this surgery, Kahnle may not be ready to return until very late next season or at the beginning of 2022. In the meantime, the Yankees will have to decide whether to tender him a contract for his final arbitration-eligible season in 2021. He’s on a prorated $2.65MM salary this year, and that number should stay the same next season.