Ryan Pressly To Undergo Knee Surgery, Miss 4-6 Weeks
The Astros have placed right-hander Ryan Pressly on the 10-day injured list, amidst a series of roster moves. (MLB.com’s Brian McTaggart was among those to report the news.) Astros GM Jeff Luhnow told Chandler Rome of the Houston Chronicle and other media that Pressly will miss four-to-six weeks after undergoing arthroscopic knee surgery.
Infielder Jack Mayfield was optioned to Triple-A, while right-hander Joe Biagini was recalled from the minors and third baseman Abraham Toro‘s contract has been selected for his Major League debut, as reported earlier today.
This is the second time that Pressly’s right knee has sent him to the IL this season, as he missed about two weeks in late July and early August due to soreness in the joint. The problem first arose when Pressly was hit in the knee by a ball off the bat of Andrelton Simmons back on July 18, and Luhnow said today that Pressly felt some more soreness after his latest outing. A previously-undiscovered “small issue” was found after a span of Pressly’s knee, and a surgical procedure seems to have been the decided course of action to fix the problem once and for all.
Luhnow is hopeful that Pressly will be able to return to action before the postseason begins, though the four-to-six timeline will make it a close call if Pressly’s recovery time is anything more than minimal. It also creates uncertainty as to whether Houston will have arguably its best bullpen arm fully healthy and ready to go come time for the playoffs.
Pressly’s dominant work earned him the first All-Star appearance of his seven-year career, as the righty has a 2.50 ERA, 11.6 K/9, 50.8% grounder rate, and 5.91 K/BB rate over 50 1/3 relief innings this season. Statcast credits him with the best curveball spin rate of any pitcher in baseball in 2019, and he is also in the 98th percentile of all pitchers in terms of fastball spin. It’s possible Pressly’s numbers could be even more dominant if it wasn’t for some bad luck with the long ball, as he has a 23.1% home run rate.
Losing Pressly is a big blow to any relief corps, even one as deep and talented as the Astros’ bullpen. Brad Peacock recently returned from the IL himself to add some extra depth, and Biagini will make a quick return after being optioned to Triple-A just last week. Aaron Sanchez is currently on the injured list recovering from a pec injury, though once he returns, he is also likely to lineup as a reliever in the postseason since Houston won’t need a fifth starter.
It also wouldn’t be surprising to see the Astros scour the waiver wire for any late pickups, or perhaps try to swing a trade with another team for a pitcher on a minor league contract (players on MLB deals can’t be traded after the July 31 deadline, of course). While Pressly’s loss isn’t likely to cost the Astros the AL West or anything, the team wants to have as many relief options as possible in preparation for what they hope is a long postseason run, especially if there’s any concern as to whether Pressly will make it back in time.
Chris Sale Out For Remainder Of Regular Season
5:17pm: The team update does have some bad news: Sale has received a platelet-rich plasma treatment and will be shut down for at least six weeks. He’ll be reevaluated at that time.
Whether there’s any possibility of Sale appearing in the postseason isn’t known. But with less than six weeks to go before the end of the regular season, it’s now certain he will not be able to help the club make a last-ditch run at sneaking into Wild Card position.
The update doesn’t fill in any blanks regarding the underlying issues in the joint. But given the course of treatment, it seems reasonable to presume that the medical team has identified something beyond inflammation alone.
4:04pm: If you’re a Red Sox fan, you may now safely exhale. Boston lefty Chris Sale will not require Tommy John surgery, according to Jeff Passan of ESPN.com (Twitter link).
Precisely what is wrong with Sale’s elbow isn’t yet clear. But it seems that a visit to Dr. James Andrews did not reveal anything beyond the inflammation that initially sent the southpaw to the injured list.
We’ll keep updating the situation as further information emerges. Peter Abraham of the Boston Globe notes (via Twitter) that the club is preparing to release a statement on the topic of Sale’s health.
Braves Claim Billy Hamilton
The Braves have claimed outfielder Billy Hamilton off waivers from the Royals, per a club announcement. The Atlanta organization will be responsible for the remainder of Hamilton’s $4.25MM salary along with a $1MM buyout on a mutual option.
It’s a fairly significant price to pay, but understandable under the circumstances. The Braves have lost their two best left-handed-hitting outfield options, Nick Markakis and Ender Inciarte, to injuries that may not heal by the end of the season. Lacking the ability to strike a trade for a MLB contract, the club had limited avenues for acquiring a replacement. The
As we noted when Inciarte’s injury arose, Hamilton is in the same general sub-category of player. Both are speedy, defensive-oriented center fielders who hit from the left side. If Inciarte is something of an archetype, Hamilton is an extreme version of the class. Hamilton has been an exceedingly valuable fielder and baserunner, though he has minimal power and has rarely reached base at palatable rates.
This year, Hamilton’s bat has sunk even further. At the time of his departure from the K.C. roster, he had produced 305 plate appearances of 44 wRC+ output. He’s still valued as an excellent defender and baserunner, though there has been a bit of erosion in Hamilton’s most notable physical skill. By measure of Statcast, his sprint speed has fallen from a 99+ percentile placement in recent years to the 97.5th percentile this season.
While Hamilton hasn’t been at his best in 2019, he ought to help shore things up down the stretch. And he’s a fascinating postseason roster piece as a potential late-inning pinch runner and/or defensive replacement. That’s arguably worth a premium to a team that’s all but assured of a postseason appearance. As we discussed in profiling some August waiver claim candidates, the Braves can perhaps afford to splurge on a needed addition given that they were bailed out of the remainder of their obligations to Kevin Gausman.
Athletics To Promote A.J. Puk
The Athletics will promote left-hander A.J. Puk from Triple-A Las Vegas prior to tomorrow’s game, Martin Gallegos of MLB.com reports (via Twitter). Puk, the No. 6 overall pick in the 2016 draft, will need to have his contract formally selected. Oakland has an opening on its 40-man roster to accommodate him.
Puk, 24, is considered by virtually every major prospect outlet to be among the game’s top 50 prospects. He’s viewed as a potential key piece to the Athletics’ rotation down the road, but he’s been working primarily in relief this season as he works back from 2018 Tommy John surgery. The towering 6’7″ southpaw has a lackluster 4.97 ERA in 25 1/3 minor league innings this season, but he’s also punched out 38 hitters against 10 walks in that time.
Fangraphs currently rates Puk as baseball’s No. 21 prospect, putting a 65 grade on his fastball, a 60 on his slider and giving him the potential for two more average or better offerings in his changeup and curveball. MLB.com lists Puk 43rd among MLB prospects and dropped a 70 grade on his heater with a 65 on his slider. Puk, who paced all minor league starters with 13.2 K/9 in his last full season back in 2017, is touted as a potential No. 2 starter at the Major League level. He’ll likely get the opportunity to make good on those bullish forecasts in 2020, alongside the likes of Sean Manaea, Frankie Montas and perhaps fellow ballyhooed left-hander Jesus Luzardo, but for now he’ll step into Bob Melvin’s bullpen and look to help shut things down in the late innings.
Oakland has three left-handers in the ‘pen at the moment, with Jake Diekman, Wei-Chung Wang and Ryan Buchter all giving Melvin southpaw options. All three of those southpaws have had issues with commanding the strike zone, though, and none can match Puk’s overall ceiling as a game-changing relief weapon. Taking a broader look, Oakland has seen closer Blake Treinen follow up a dominant 2018 campaign with a dismal 2019 showing. Fellow righty Lou Trivino has taken similar steps backward, leaving the A’s with a bullpen that’s been weaker than they anticipated.
By promoting Puk now, the A’s will be positioning themselves to control him through 2025 season, although future optional assignments to the minors could yet impact that timeline. If he’s in the big leagues from Tuesday through season’s end, he’ll accrue 41 days of big league service, though, meaning in order to push his path to free agency back until the 2026-27 offseason, the A’s would need to keep him in Triple-A for nearly two months next season. In other words, this appears quite likely to be a chance for Puk to cement himself as a big leaguer and leave the minor leagues behind. If he is indeed in the Majors for good, he wouldn’t be eligible for arbitration until after the 2022 season.
Reds Place Joey Votto On IL
The Reds announced today they have placed first baseman Joey Votto on the 10-day injured list with a lower back strain. Brian O’Grady has been recalled to replace Votto on the 25-man roster.
So continues a shockingly difficult season for the former NL MVP. Votto’s .262/.352/.410 line is the first below-average offensive performance of his career. In an era where seemingly every hitter is a threat to launch 20 home runs, Votto’s power has taken a massive dip over the past two seasons, as he’s sitting on 12 homers for the second consecutive year. As recently as 2017, though, Votto hit 36 homers and was arguably the Senior Circuit’s best hitter.
While Votto still has elite plate discipline (albeit not quite to the levels he once did), that lack of impact has to be concerning to Cincinnati, which still owes him $107MM over the next four seasons. There’s reason to believe the 35 year-old can still be a valuable player (projections, at least, believe he’s still a quality hitter based on his track record), the end of that extension certainly doesn’t seem favorable for an organization finally seeing the light at the end of the tunnel after a difficult decade.
O’Grady is a 27 year-old first baseman with five career MLB plate appearances, so he’s unsurprisingly not near the top of any Reds’ farm rankings. Nevertheless, he’s had a strong run at Triple-A the past year and a half.
Nationals Likely To Activate Max Scherzer Thursday
The Nationals will likely activate ace Max Scherzer on Thursday, manager Dave Martinez tells Jamal Collier of MLB.com (via Twitter). Scherzer threw a simulated game yesterday and came out unscathed.
Of course, a Scherzer return will be a boon to a Washington club holding onto a 2.5 game in the Wild Card standings. The Nats just lost their closer and have one of the game’s worst bullpens, so their starting rotation takes on outsized importance. Scherzer, meanwhile, remains arguably baseball’s best pitcher. His 2.41 ERA is tied for second leaguewide (minimum 100 innings), while his combination of strikeouts (35.3%) and walks (4.7%) is the best in MLB. Scherzer’s been among the best pitchers of this decade, having accrued 200+ innings with an ERA of 3.15 or below every year between 2013 and 2018. While the injuries will keep him from that 200 inning mark this season, he remains dominant as ever on a rate basis, making his return one of the most noteworthy around the league as we approach the season’s stretch run.
Nationals Place Sean Doolittle On Injured List
The Nationals announced today they have placed reliever Sean Doolittle on the 10-day injured list with right knee tendinitis. Righty Kyle McGowin is up from Double-A Harrisburg to take Doolittle’s active roster spot.
We just heard Washington was considering cutting Doolittle’s workload back in recognition of his recent downturn in performance. Doolittle and manager Dave Martinez attributed his recent struggles to a heavy workload, but evidently there’s more than mere fatigue at play.
As we covered more fully this morning, Doolittle’s results and stuff have both gone backwards in recent weeks. This will mark the sixth consecutive season in which the 32 year-old hits the IL. It’s not immediately clear where the Nationals will turn in late-game situations, but Daniel Hudson and Hunter Strickland each have closing experience. As Jesse Dougherty of the Washington Post points on (on Twitter), perhaps this opens the door for veteran Greg Holland, who signed a minor-league deal with the D.C. organization after being cut loose by the Diamondbacks. Holland had a strong end to the 2018 season with the Nats after an abysmal start in St. Louis. Any Holland promotion would require a 40-man roster move.
Immediately, though, it’ll be McGowin coming up. A starter throughout his time in the minors, the 27 year-old has been used in relief in eight of his ten MLB appearances with Washington. A former fifth-rounder of the Angels, McGowin’s a sinker-slider arm, the type who typically ends up in relief, but he’s been quite good in 15 minor-league starts in 2019 split between Harrisburg and Triple-A Fresno.
For Doolittle, this seems to all but ensure he’ll be back in Washington in 2020. Doolittle’s contract comes equipped with a $6.5 million club option which turns into a mutual option if he records the final out of 16 more games this season. Even considering his abysmal August, he surely would have topped that minuscule sum on the open market, so the ability to elect free agency would’ve greatly impacted his 2020 earning power and potential destination. While there’s no timetable for his return, it’s almost impossible to imagine he’ll close out 16 games from August 27, when he’d be eligible for activation if everything goes perfectly, through the end of the season.
Julio Urias Suspended 20 Games
Dodgers lefty Julio Urias has been suspended 20 games under MLB’s Joint Domestic Violence, Sexual Assault, and Child Abuse policy, MLB.com’s Ken Gurnick reports. Per Jorge Castillo of the LA Times, the suspension includes the five games Urias served while on administrative leave. Urias will not appeal the decision and will be eligible for postseason play.
The 22-year-old Urias was arrested May 13 in Los Angeles after eyewitnesses and video reports showed the hurler “shoving a female companion to the ground.” He was placed on administrative leave the following day, during which time he missed the five aforementioned contests.
The former top prospect has enjoyed a solid 2019 campaign – mostly in a long relief role – after returning late last season from a gruesome shoulder injury that sidelined him for nearly 15 months. In 67 2/3 IP this season, the lefty’s posted a 2.53 ERA/3.59 FIP with an 8.91 K/9 against 3.06 walks per nine.
The Dodgers’ public statement on the matter reads as follows:
“While we are disappointed in what occurred and support the decision by the Commissioner’s Office, we are also encouraged that Julio has taken responsibility for his actions and believe he will take the necessary steps to learn from this incident.”
Jake Arrieta To Undergo Season-Ending Surgery
Phillies righty Jake Arrieta will undergo season-ending surgery later this month to remove a bone spur in his right elbow, Todd Zolecki of MLB.com reports.
Arrieta, 33, had been pitching through the injury since early in the summer, to less-than-stellar results. The 2019 season was the hurler’s worst since his days in Baltimore: though the righty somehow maintained a fastball velocity in the 92-93 MPH range despite the injury, he again struggled to miss bats, command the baseball, and keep it in the park. Though the second half of Arrieta’s season didn’t much differ from the first – apart from his outings often being truncated upon his reaching the 75-80 pitch mark – the pain seemed to intensify, and both team and player finally pulled the plug following a disastrous Sunday outing in San Francisco in which the 2015 Cy Young Award winner was touched for five earned in just three innings pitched.
Arrieta signed a three-year, $75MM deal prior to his age 32 season in 2018. The Chicago reclamation project anchored the Cubs staff for years, but his ERA, on the back of an otherworldly Cub defense, had long outpaced his peripherals, a gap which reached a head in his 2017 walk season, where ERA estimators pegged the righty at the top end of the fourth-starter range. He’s been about that or worse in Philly, where despite steady grounder and walk rates, the former fifth-rounder has seen his strikeout rates slide to worse than eight per nine and his gopher-ball rate ascend to below-league-average totals.
Like its bullpen, the Phillies’ rotation is mostly in shambles now. It can always count on ace Aaron Nola, but it’s now Vince Velasquez, Drew Smyly, Jason Vargas, and Zach Eflin beyond, a quartet that won’t inspire much confidence as the group charges toward its first playoff appearance since 2011.
David Robertson Undergoes Tommy John Surgery
Phillies righty David Robertson, who negotiated a two-year, $23MM deal prior to the season on his own behalf, has undergone Tommy John Surgery and will miss the rest of this season and all of 2020, Scott Lauber of the Philadelphia Inquirer reports.
Robertson, 34, had been one of baseball’s premier relievers for nearly the entire decade, posting 12.8 fWAR since his breakout 2011 season, fourth highest among all MLB relievers over that span. He’d also been among the most heavily-used, tying Kenley Jansen for fourth in the majors with 521 2/3 IP over the same stretch. Add 33 2/3 postseason innings to that mark, and only Indians righty Tyler Clippard has thrown more reliever innings this decade than the 5’11 righty.
Barring an unforeseen extension or re-up clause, Robertson’s tenure with Philadelphia has likely come to an end after just 6 2/3 total IP. It’s unclear if Robertson will aim to re-stake his claim at the back-end of a big-league bullpen in coming seasons, but elbow reconstructive surgery has not been kind to mid-30s arms, and Robertson’s cutter-heavy repertoire, the staple of a unheralded mix that baffled AL hitters for years on end, may be affected more than most.
It’s the second major elbow injury in the Philly bullpen this season – youngster Seranthony Dominguez also hit the shelf in June with a UCL injury of his own. The club’s also seen lynchpins Pat Neshek, Tommy Hunter, and Adam Morgan beset with maladies themselves in recent months, leaving a shaky back-end mix of Hector Neris, Nick Pivetta, Juan Nicasio, and Jose Alvarez. Not much was done to help the beleaguered pen at the deadline, so the club’ll have to hope its patchwork unit doesn’t come apart at freshly-stitched seams down the stretch.