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.
Marlins Place 13 Players On Injured List
The Marlins announced today that they’ve placed 13 players on the injured list. Those going on the IL include right-handers Sandy Alcantara, Jeff Brigham, Robert Dugger, Yimi Garcia, Jordan Holloway, Nick Neidert and Ryne Stanek; left-handers Adam Conley, Caleb Smith and Alex Vesia; infielders Sean Rodriguez and Miguel Rojas; and catcher Chad Wallach.
Miami also made official a previously reported slate of roster moves. Lefty Richard Bleier was acquired from the Orioles in exchange for a player to be named later or cash. Right-hander James Hoyt was acquired from the Indians for cash. The club also claimed relievers Justin Shafer and Josh D. Smith from the Reds, claimed reliever Mike Morin from the Brewers and claimed reliever (and former Marlin) Brian Moran from the Blue Jays. Veteran infielder Logan Forsythe signed a one-year, Major League deal.
As for internal moves, the Fish called up right-hander Jorge Guzman, outfielder Monte Harrison and righty Jordan Yamamoto. The club also selected the contracts of left-hander Dan Castano, right-hander Josh A. Smith, right-hander Nick Vincent, catcher Ryan Lavarnway and infielder Eddy Alvarez. Outfielders Matt Joyce and Lewis Brinson were activated from the injured list.
It’s a dizzying sequence of moves brought about by the Covid-19 outbreak that decimated the organization’s Major League roster. Miami ultimately wound up with a reported 18 players and two coaches testing positive, and the outbreak caused scheduling delays with the Phillies, Yankees, Blue Jays and Nationals in addition to the Marlins. Miami was left with a depleted roster and forced to scramble to simply cobble together a roster and continue its season.
The losses of Alcantara and Smith will remove two of Miami’s top rotation options from the mix for the time being, while Rojas was the team’s starting shortstop. Stanek had been expected to occupy a high-leverage late-inning role, and Conley is one of the team’s most experienced bullpen pieces.
Cardinals Place Yadier Molina, Paul DeJong, Carlos Martinez On Injured List
4:00pm: Molina, DeJong, Sosa, Fernandez, Whitley and Carlos Martinez have all been placed on the injured list, the Cardinals announced. Veteran infielder Brad Miller, meanwhile, has been activated from the IL. Corresponding roster moves will be announced in the coming days, per the club.
The Cardinals also announced that minor league hitting coordinator Russ Steinhorn, who has been working at the team’s alternate training site, will join the Major League coaching staff. Assistant minor league hitting coordinator Joey Hawkins will head to the alternate site in his place.
10:50am: Mainstay Cardinals backstop Yadier Molina announced today that he is among the players that has tested positive for COVID-19. Starting shortstop Paul DeJong is also among the players to test positive.
The team further announced (with the players’ approval) that infielders Edmundo Sosa and Rangel Ravelo and pitchers Junior Fernandez and Kodi Whitley have been infected with the coronavirus. That would appear to leave one additional player unidentified based upon prior indications of seven positive tests.
Each of these players will obviously be sidelined while recovering, which will hopefully occur in short order. They’ll have to test negative twice before being allowed to resume baseball activities with the organization. Depending upon the amount of time that takes, each player could potentially require some training time before rejoining the active roster.
The most important thing here, obviously, is the health of the players involved and those that have potentially come into contact with them. Based upon recent testing results, the team is hopeful that the spread has been limited to these players and the various staff members that have already tested positive.
From a baseball standpoint, it’s obviously a significant blow to the team’s roster. The 38-year-old Molina has long carried a huge burden behind the dish. DeJong is a high-quality younger player. While the other players had lesser roles, they’re all part of the depth picture. And Whitley seemed primed to emerge as a potentially important part of the club’s bullpen.
Andrew Knizner and veteran Matt Wieters will presumably share duties at the catching position. Filling the void at short could prove tricky, particularly with all three infielders departing the roster at the same moment. There’s no clear option in the 60-man player pool. Utility candidate Max Schrock lacks substantial experience at short. Elehuris Montero and Nolan Gorman are young infielders with talent, but they’re still fairly raw and are both limited to third base.
Padres Promote Luis Patino
3:40pm: Patino’s contract has been selected to the Major League roster, per a club announcement. Righty David Bednar was optioned to the Padres’ alternate training site in a corresponding move.
12:10pm: The Padres are set to promote top pitching prospect Luis Patino. It appears the ADN Barranquilla Twitter account first posted the news, which has since been confirmed by other outlets.
Patino is just twenty years of age, but he’s widely considered one of the most electric young arms in baseball. He’s expected to work out of the bullpen to begin his tenure, MLB.com’s AJ Cassavell tweets.
Though he lacks extensive experience in the upper minors, Patino did reach Double-A last year after an impressive run at the High-A level. He’s still ironing out his full secondary arsenal, but possesses the kind of elite stuff that ought to play right out of the gates, especially in a relief role.
The 2020 season sprint creates opportunity for the Friars, who have started out with a nice 7-4 stretch. The up-and-coming club is hoping to hit on a variety of talented but fairly inexperienced players. Patino now joins that mix.
The timing of the promotion is such that Patino cannot accrue enough service time to reach a full year. Accordingly, the San Diego club can control his rights through at least 2026. He will, however, likely qualify for arbitration after the 2022 campaign as a Super Two player — if he can grasp ahold of a permanent roster spot from this point forward.
Nationals Activate Juan Soto
The Nationals have activated outfielder Juan Soto and right-hander Wander Suero from the injured list, the team announced. Outfielder Andrew Stevenson was optioned to the alternate training site to open one roster spot, while the team’s recent placement of Will Harris on the IL left them with an existing vacancy.
Soto isn’t in tonight’s lineup, manager Dave Martinez told reporters (Twitter thread via Mark Zuckerman of MASNsports.com), but he’s available to pinch-hit. Soto himself told the club that he felt he needed at least another day to get up to speed for a full nine-inning game. The 21-year-old has yet to play this season since testing positive for Covid-19 on Opening Day and also missed much of the team’s Summer Camp, so he’s a bit behind. Recently signed utilityman Josh Harrison is getting the nod in left field in Soto’s place tonight.
The Nats have gone 3-4 in Soto’s absence. Their schedule has been partly interrupted by the Marlins’ Covid-19 outbreak, as the Nats were scheduled to face the Fish over the weekend but saw that series postponed due to ongoing health concerns with the Miami organization. In a way, the Nationals will benefit from that postponement, as they’ll now likely have Soto back in the fold for three games he’d have otherwise missed. For the time being, they’ll host the Mets for the first of a two-game set. Washington’s next dozen games will come against the Mets and the Orioles. Soto won’t be back in the everyday lineup right out of the gate, but he’ll be back in the heart of the order before long.
Mike Soroka Suffers Season-Ending Achilles Tear
Braves ace Mike Soroka suffered a torn right Achilles on Monday and will miss the rest of the season, Jeff Schultz of The Athletic was among those to report. The injury forced the right-handed Soroka out of his start early in a loss to the division-rival Mets.
Not only is this development horrible news for Soroka and the Braves, but it’s a blow to baseball fans who have been treated to his outstanding performance since he debuted in 2018. Still just 22 years old when he took the mound tonight — his birthday is tomorrow — Soroka was an All-Star last season who has registered a 2.72 ERA/3.34 FIP with 7.27 K/9, 2.17 BB/9 and a 50.4 percent groundball rate in 211 2/3 innings in the majors. Monday was just his third start of the current season, and considering the severity and timing of it, it seems fair to wonder whether Soroka will miss a chunk of time in 2021 as he works his way back.
Soroka’s year-ending injury continues a run of terrible luck in Atlanta’s rotation, which dealt with multiple problems before losing him. Righty Felix Hernandez opted out of the season over coronavirus concerns, and then big-money offseason pickup Cole Hamels went on the 45-day IL because of a triceps injury. After that, the Braves booted one-time All-Star Mike Foltynewicz from their roster in the wake of an alarming drop in velocity. Foltynewicz is still part of the organization, though, and may stand a greater chance of getting back to the majors this year in light of Soroka’s injury.
If Folty isn’t an option, the Braves could still look within, seek a trade or scour a rather uninspiring free-agent market to complement Max Fried, Sean Newcomb, Touki Toussaint and Kyle Wright in their rotation. One thing’s for sure: Even though Atlanta’s 7-4 and atop the NL East, this season has not gone according to plan for its group of starters.
Mike Soroka Helped Off Field With Lower-Leg Injury
Braves starter Mike Soroka had to be helped off of the field after suffering an evident injury. He was attempting to cover first base when he came up limping and ultimately could not bear weight on his right leg.
While it’s obviously far too soon to know what kind of prognosis Soroka will face, replays suggest he may well have suffered damage to his Achilles tendon. That could be a potentially devastating injury to the hurler, who turns 23 tomorrow.
Soroka was excellent last year, his first full campaign in the majors, as he earned an All-Star nod and came in second in the A.L. Rookie of the Year voting. He finished the season with 174 2/3 innings of 2.68 ERA pitching.
It had been more of the same early in 2020, as he carried a 1.59 ERA through his first two outings. While Soroka is anything but overpowering, he has succeeded to this point in his young career by keeping batters off balance and limiting the long ball.
Soroka is on track for likely arbitration qualification as a Super Two player after the 2020 season. His earning power would be reduced greatly if he’s unable to participate fully in the truncated season.
Any significant absence would obviously also pose a major problem for the Braves. They’re already missing Cole Hamels and Felix Hernandez from the anticipated rotation mix.
Shohei Ohtani Diagnosed With Strain Of Flexor Pronator Mass
Angels right-hander Shohei Ohtani has been diagnosed with a Grade 1-2 flexor pronator mass strain, the team announced. Ohtani is unlikely to begin throwing for at least four to six weeks. He’s day-to-day as the club’s designated hitter.
Considering the timeline the Angels provided, it doesn’t seem probable that Ohtani will factor into their rotation again this season. With so little time left in the season, a bullpen role might be a best-case scenario. Either way, it’s yet another awful blow to Ohtani’s attempt to become a two-way star in the majors. He has dealt with multiple injuries – including Tommy John surgery – that have limited him to 53 1/3 innings since he emigrated from Japan as a much-ballyhooed prospect prior to the 2017 season.
Ohtani didn’t pitch at all last season after undergoing TJS, and his return from the procedure didn’t go well this year before this latest issue. He made two starts and could only muster a combined 1 2/3 innings, in which the 26-year-old allowed seven earned runs on three hits and eight walks (with three strikeouts). Ohtani’s average fastball also fell below 94 mph, well under the near-97 mph mean he posted as a rookie.
Already off to a dismal 3-7 start this season, the Ohtani news is one of the last things the Angels needed at the 10-game mark. Fortunately for the Halos, there have been bright spots in their starting staff this season in the form of Dylan Bundy, Griffin Canning and Andrew Heaney. Some combination of Patrick Sandoval, Matt Andriese and Julio Teheran figure to round out their Ohtani-less rotation.
While the loss of Ohtani takes away a potential front-line starter from their staff, it shouldn’t stop him from factoring in as a DH option. Even when he was recovering from TJS last year, Ohtani turned in a solid .286/.343/.505 line with 18 home runs and 12 stolen bases across 425 plate appearances. He’s off to a rough start at the plate this year, though, having batted .148/.179/.407 with a pair of HRs in 28 PA.
Angels To Promote Jo Adell
The Angels will promote top prospect Jo Adell, per Jon Heyman of MLB Network (via Twitter). The club is off tonight, so he’ll have his first shot at playing in the majors tomorrow evening.
Adell entered each of the past two seasons as a consensus top-ten prospect leaguewide. Selected out of high school in the first round of the 2017 draft, he has certainly hit his ceiling as a prospect. Now we’ll see whether he can do so as a major leaguer.
Given the timing of the promotion, Adell will not be able to accrue a full season of MLB service this year. He’s now on track to reach free agency after the 2026 season. If he holds down a roster spot from this point forward, Adell will surely qualify for arbitration in advance of the 2023 season as a Super Two player.
The 21-year-old Adell has generally thrived on his way up the ladder. He didn’t impress at Triple-A last year after a late-season promotion, but he showed well in the Arizona Fall League and doesn’t really have anything left to prove. All told, Adell owns a .298/.361/.518 batting line in the minors.
Most prospect watchers expect Adell to grow into added power. He’s already driving the ball all over the field and has the wheels to take extra bases. That speed also serves Adell well in the outfield, where he also possesses a big arm.
There’s really not much not to like. Adell does have some swing and miss but not so much that it’s considered a likely hindrance. As with any prospect, there’s a wide variance of potential outcomes. But Halos fans have every reason to be excited to welcome another premium talent to the roster.
Phillies To Resume Season Tonight
The Phillies announced this morning that their latest wave of testing again revealed no new positive Covid-19 tests. The team is traveling to New York to play the Yankees in the Bronx tonight, per the announcement. Jake Arrieta is lined up to face Gerrit Cole in tonight’s series opener, and Aaron Nola is starting tomorrow night’s game, per the team.
It’ll be the first game for the Phillies since last Sunday’s game against the Marlins. The Miami organization housed Major League Baseball’s first team outbreak, prompting the Phillies’ season to be paused as the league conducted additional testing and contact tracing. The Phillies did wind up with positive tests among the team’s coaching and clubhouse staff, which might have served to further delay their return to the field, but their players have consistently tested negative. They’ll get back to game action tonight in New York but are well behind schedule, with just three games in the books to date.
In a season that would’ve only included six scheduled off-days, the loss of a full week right out of the gate is particularly tough for the Phillies. They’ll seek to make up for lost time with doubleheaders and some added games on what would’ve otherwise been days off. As it stands, they’re set for a four-game, home-and-home series against the Yankees this week before hosting the Braves at Citizens Bank Park next weekend.