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Andrew Heaney To Undergo Tommy John Surgery

By Jeff Todd | June 30, 2016 at 7:55pm CDT

The Angels have announced that lefty Andrew Heaney will undergo Tommy John surgery. He is expected to miss the rest of this season and all of next — though GM Billy Eppler says the team won’t pre-determine whether a late-2017 return is possible, per Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register (via Twitter).

Los Angeles had been holding out hope that Heaney’s ulnar collateral ligament would respond to growth hormone treatment, but the team says that has not been the case. Per the statement, Heaney also continued to experience discomfort while attempting to throw, leading to the decision to go through with the procedure.

Heaney is a critically important piece of the picture for the Halos both now and into the future. He was acquired for Howie Kendrick in a deal that the organization hoped would provide a strong rotation piece for years to come. Now, the team is left crossing its fingers that the same fate does not await Garrett Richards, who is also undergoing a similar treatment in an effort to stave off a UCL replacement.

The results had been promising. Heaney, 25, completed 105 2/3 innings of 3.49 ERA pitching last year, with 6.6 K/9 against 2.4 BB/9. The results may have been a bit fortunate — he carried a 3.73 FIP, 4.41 xFIP, and 4.31 SIERA on the year — but all told he seemed to be making good on his pedigree as the former 9th overall pick and a top-100 prospect.

With just 150 days of service coming into the season, Heaney won’t cost Los Angeles more than the minimum for some time. He’ll accrue service time while he’s out, of course, which will set him up for Super Two status heading into 2018. But given the minimal innings he has thrown, he won’t command much of a salary.

Needless to say, this is a disappointing development for Heaney, though it had been expected for some time. It’s also disheartening for the Fantex player investment model, which had made the young lefty its first affiliated player.

Dodgers To Place Clayton Kershaw On Disabled List

By Steve Adams | June 30, 2016 at 4:47pm CDT

4:47pm: Kershaw has been diagnosed with a “mild disc herniation” in his back, the team announced. He is not expected to require surgery, per the announcement, but his recovery timeline remains unclear.

11:23am: Dodgers ace Clayton Kershaw received an epidural injection to treat his ailing lower back yesterday and will be placed on the 15-day disabled list, manager Dave Roberts told reporters, including Andy McCullough of the L.A. Times (Twitter link). He adds that the team is hopeful that Kershaw will be ready to be activated following the All-Star break, though MLB.com’s Ken Gurnick tweets that Roberts said he’s uncertain if Kershaw would be ready after the minimum 15 days. There hasn’t been a decision made regarding the starter for Friday’s game, when Kershaw was scheduled to take the hill.

For the Dodgers, Kershaw is the latest in a deluge of injuries that have contributed to the team’s second-place positioning behind the division-leading Giants. Kershaw will join fellow starters Brett Anderson, Brandon McCarthy, Hyun-jin Ryu and Alex Wood on the disabled list. On the position-player side of the equation, the Dodgers are currently without Andre Ethier and Enrique Hernandez, and there’s a possibility of Joc Pederson landing on the DL as well following a collision with the outfield wall on Monday night that has left his shoulder with extremely limited mobility.

Kershaw is in the midst of a historic season, having worked to a 1.79 ERA, 10.8 K/9, 0.7 BB/9 and a 49.8 percent ground-ball rate through an MLB-best 121 innings thus far. He’s on pace to shatter Phil Hughes’ MLB record for strikeout-to-walk ratio (11.63), having posted an otherworldly 16.1 K/BB ratio to this point. Kershaw appeared to be a lock to start the 2016 All-Star Game in San Diego, but this injury obviously takes that honor off the table.

From a broader perspective, the injury to Kershaw merely underscores the Dodgers’ need for pitching help. Without Kershaw atop the starting five, Los Angeles is looking at a rotation consisting of Scott Kazmir, Kenta Maeda, Julio Urias, Brock Stewart and a yet-undetermined fifth starter. (Mike Bolsinger and Carlos Frias stand out as possible internal options.) That group will be thinned even further following the All-Star break, as the expectation is that Urias will be shut down for a time in order to avoid a significant increase from last year’s limited 80 1/3 inning workload.

The Dodgers have already seemed like a probably candidate to pursue rotation upgrades on the trade market, with Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports connecting them just yesterday to Rays right-hander Erasmo Ramirez. A three-start absence for Kershaw (the best-case scenario) doesn’t necessarily mean that the Dodgers need to target an ace-caliber pitcher to insert into the top of their rotation, but it could certainly hasten the front office’s efforts to add a reliable option for the back end of the starting mix.

Dodgers Acquire Bud Norris

By Steve Adams | June 30, 2016 at 2:19pm CDT

The Dodgers on Thursday officially acquired right-hander Bud Norris, minor league outfielder Dian Toscano, a player to be named later and cash considerations from the Braves in exchange for minor league right-hander Caleb Dirks and minor league lefty Phil Pfeifer. Norris should step right into an injury-plagued rotation that saw Clayton Kershaw hit the disabled list with a back injury earlier today. Norris last pitched on June 26, so he could start in place of Kershaw tomorrow.

Norris, 31, began the season in the Atlanta rotation and pitched dreadfully throughout the month of April, logging an ERA just under 9.00 and losing his spot in the rotation. However, Norris made some alterations while working out of the bullpen and forced his way back into the Atlanta rotation, and he’s been a revelation since. As Fangraphs’ Jeff Sullivan recently examined, Norris ditched an ineffective changeup for a cutter that has been scintillating since its adoption, and the results have been stunning. In 29 1/3 innings since rejoining the rotation, Norris has pitched to a 2.15 ERA with a 29-to-8 K/BB ratio and an enormous 59.2 percent ground-ball rate. Overall, since losing his rotation spot in late April, Norris holds a 2.08 ERA in 47 1/3 innings.

While finances are rarely of concern for the Dodgers, they’re particularly negligible in the case of Norris, who inked a one-year, $2.5MM contract with Atlanta this offseason. Of that sum, Norris is still owed about $1.3MM through the end of the season. Toscano, meanwhile, is owed $1.3MM in 2016, $1.5MM in 2017 and $1.5MM in 2018 plus a $200K buyout of a $1.7MM option for the 2019 season. The outfielder, signed out of Cuba a couple of years ago, had already been removed from the Braves’ 40-man roster, so presumably the Dodgers have agreed to take on some of that salary in order to entice the Braves to part with Norris and the PTBNL.

The Dodgers essentially have an entire rotation on the disabled list, as Kershaw is joined there by Alex Wood, Brett Anderson, Brandon McCarthy and Hyun-jin Ryu. Norris will join healthy starters Scott Kazmir, Kenta Maeda, Julio Urias and Brock Stewart in the L.A. rotation, though that group figures to be thinned once again when Urias is shut down for a time following the All-Star break. Then again, the Dodgers’ hope is that Kershaw can return following the Midsummer Classic, so in a best-case scenario they’ll swap Kershaw out for Urias following the break.

Dirks, 23, was a 15th-round pick by the Braves back in 2014 but was traded to the Dodgers last summer for international slot money. He currently ranks 30th among their prospects in the eyes of MLB.com’s Jim Callis and Jonathan Mayo and will now return to the organization that originally selected him out of the draft. Dirks has a 1.44 ERA and a stellar 35-to-7 K/BB ratio through 31 1/3 innings out of the ’pen for the Dodgers’ Double-A affiliate in Tulsa this season. Callis and Mayo write that Dirks has a fastball with good sink that sits in the low 90s and tops out around 94 mph as well as a slider in the low 80s that grades out as an average pitch. The MLB.com duo notes that the Dodgers “love” Dirks’ competitive streak and ability to handle high leverage situations, adding that he could be a setup man in the Majors if everything clicks.

Pfeifer, also 23, was Los Angeles’ third-round pick just last season. He’s split the year between Class-A and Class-A Advanced, where he’s worked to a 2.67 ERA with 42 strikeouts against 18 walks in 30 1/3 innings out of the bullpen.

The Braves signed Toscano, now 27, out of Cuba prior to the 2015 season. Visa issues significantly delayed his arrival to the Braves’ organization even after his signing, and he was outrighted off the 40-man roster last year. Toscano was once looked at as having the upside of a fourth outfielder, but he’s batted just .226/.310/.271 in 203 plate appearances for Atlanta’s Double-A affiliate this season.

Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports reported that Norris was going to Los Angeles (via Twitter). Joel Sherman of the New York Post reported that Dirks and Pfeifer were in the deal (via Twitter).

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Matt Moore Drawing Trade Interest; Rangers Among Possible Suitors

By Jeff Todd | June 29, 2016 at 11:35pm CDT

We’ve heard recently that the Rays could be willing to deal lefty Matt Moore, and Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports that the interest is building. The Rangers are “hot on Moore’s trail,” per the report, with three or four other rival organizations also showing signs of pursuit.

Moore struggled in his return from Tommy John surgery last year, and his current 2016 ERA of 5.04 isn’t exactly sparkling. But as Topkin details, the 27-year-old southpaw has shown signs of returning to being the type of quality starter he was before his new UCL was installed.

Thus far, Moore has boosted his strikeout rate (8.5 K/9) and lowered his walk rate (2.6 BB/9) as against his work last year. That reflects a return to his pre-TJ, double-digit swinging strike rate along with a reduction of his once-troubling tendency to issue free passes. Moore’s fastball velocity has moved back north, even if it’s still shy of what he once delivered.

Moore carried a 3.66 ERA into the month of May, then was banged up in his next seven starts. But he’s had only one dud in his last four outings, and that seems to have helped to fuel new interest. The biggest issue thus far has been the long ball, as Moore is coughing up 1.61 dingers per nine on a 15.0% HR/FB rate.

Performance is obviously hugely important in assessing Moore’s trade value, but the underlying contract rights are also critical. While much of the super-cheap portion of his early-career extension is already in the rearview mirror, he is still owed just $5MM this year and can be controlled for three more campaigns through a series of options. If all are exercised, he’d earn only $26MM over the three seasons to come, with $4.25MM in buyouts baked in if things turn south.

It remains to be seen what approach Tampa Bay takes at the deadline, but the club already looked like a plausible seller of starting pitching before it fell off the pace in the AL East. The Rays could have a bit of a rotation surplus, particularly once Alex Cobb comes back from his own TJ procedure, and a seller’s market beckons.

The club’s decision as to which, if any, starter to deal will be an interesting storyline to follow over the next month. Cobb has been the subject of trade chatter in the past. Jake Odorizzi looks like another quality, controllable arm that could draw a strong return; indeed, he placed eighth on the most recent list of MLBTR’s top trade candidates. And some have wondered whether even staff ace Chris Archer could be moved, though he is well off of his typical run-prevention numbers.

Royals Place Lorenzo Cain On Disabled List

By Steve Adams | June 29, 2016 at 1:21pm CDT

The Royals announced that they’ve placed center fielder Lorenzo Cain on the 15-day disabled list with a hamstring strain and recalled outfielder Brett Eibner from Triple-A Omaha in his place. Cain sustained a hamstring injury in last night’s contest while attempting to beat out an infield single.

The 30-year-old Cain hasn’t enjoyed quite as productive a season as he did in 2015, but he’s still been a very important piece for the Royals in 2016, batting .290/.336/.416 with eight homers, six steals and tremendous defense in center field. The injury to Cain could shift the fleet-footed Jarrod Dyson over to center field, leaving Kansas City with an alignment of Alex Gordon, Dyson and Paulo Orlando as its regular unit for the yet-unannounced length of time that will be missed by Cain. While that’s a defensively sound trio, Dyson doesn’t come with the same offensive prowess as Cain, and the Royals’ lineup (23rd in the Majors in runs scored, 15th in OPS, 17th in wRC+) isn’t exactly equipped to lose one of its better overall contributors after already seeing Mike Moustakas go down for the year due to a torn ACL.

The Royals are already facing a six-game deficit in the American League Central as they look to defend their World Series title, though they’re still four games over the .500 mark and just a half game back from one of the two American League Wild Card positions, so the loss of Cain doesn’t figure to dramatically alter the team’s thinking. Kansas City still seems like a reasonable bet to seek upgrades on the trade market this summer. If anything, the loss of Cain could create a greater sense of urgency to augment the current roster, though any speculation as to how the club will proceed is best curbed until the extent of Cain’s hamstring injury is known.

Jon Jay Suffers Broken Forearm

By Jeff Todd | June 28, 2016 at 11:09pm CDT

11:09pm: Dennis Lin of the San Diego Union Tribune writes that Jay will be re-evaluated three weeks from now and will be on the shelf for between four and six weeks total. A four- or even nearly a five-week absence could have Jay back just prior to this season’s Aug. 1 non-waiver trade deadline, but there’s also a very real possibility that he’ll be out beyond the deadline. Jay won’t require surgery, and the injury is described by manager Andy Green as a “slight” fracture of the radius in Jay’s forearm. Addressing the length of time between Jay being struck by the pitch and today’s diagnosis, Green offered the following explanation:

“He got hit on the ulna (bone), and it banged into the radius and actually got the radius. So it’s not the bone that actually got hit. The swelling was between those two bones, so you couldn’t get a clear picture of it. That’s what the X-ray wasn’t able to reveal.”

12:45pm: Padres outfielder Jon Jay has suffered a broken forearm, Darren Smith of Mighty1090.com reports on Twitter. He’ll be placed on the 15-day DL, with Alex Dickerson brought up to take his place on the active roster.

[Related: Updated Padres Depth Chart]

Jay was injured when he was struck by a fastball from Nationals lefty Gio Gonzalez a week back. He has not played since, but initial x-rays were negative, leading to hopes that Jay would not even require a DL stint. The prognosis remains unknown at present, but it certainly seems the injury is much more serious than had been anticipated.

While it’s wise not to jump to conclusions, this injury seems as if it could well take Jay out of the running as a trade piece this summer. With a reasonable $6.225MM salary, and no obligations after the year, he had seemed like a rather likely player to be dealt; indeed, he ranked 7th on MLBTR’s most recent list of the top trade candidates around the game.

Since coming over in exchange for infielder Jedd Gyorko over the winter, Jay had been a bright spot for a struggling Padres ballclub. Over 291 plate appearances, the 31-year-old was carrying a .296/.345/.407 batting line with two home runs and a league-leading 24 doubles. Defensive metrics were a bit down on his work in center in a short sample, but Jay has consistently rated as a quality up-the-middle defender over his career.

That strong start not only made Jay an interesting target for teams needing another solid outfielder, but seemed likely to set him up for a solid free agent payday after the season. He was coming off of a subpar, injury-marred 2015 season, but had returned to the solidly above-average offensive production that he has carried for most all of his time in the majors.

From the team’s perspective, losing Jay is the latest blow to its stock of trade assets. Two other prime candidates — righties Tyson Ross and Andrew Cashner — both remain on the DL as the August 1st deadline draws near.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Phil Hughes To Undergo Season-Ending Shoulder Surgery

By Steve Adams | June 28, 2016 at 7:00pm CDT

Twins right-hander Phil Hughes will undergo season-ending shoulder surgery, tweets Phil Miller of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune. The operation will alleviate thoracic outlet syndrome, according to Mike Berardino of the St. Paul Pioneer Press, who adds that GM Terry Ryan says the club expects Hughes to be ready for Spring Training (links to Twitter).

Hughes was already on the disabled list for the foreseeable future due to a femoral fracture above his kneecap that he suffered upon being struck by a line drive, but he’ll now definitively be out for the remainder of the year. The injury puts an exclamation point on a second consecutive disappointing season for Hughes, who has seen his velocity dip since a breakout 2014 campaign in his first year with Minnesota. That season, Hughes pitched to a 3.52 ERA in 209 2/3 innings and set a Major League record with an 11.63 K/BB ratio in the first year of a three-year, $24MM contract he’d signed the previous December. Minnesota rewarded Hughes by locking him up on an even longer-term deal, tacking on three years and $42MM to his existing contract.

Suffice it to say, the Twins will hope for better results than Hughes has delivered the past two seasons. It’s not immediately clear how long this current injury, which will require a portion of Hughes’ rib to be removed, has been impacting his results on the mound, but after averaging better than 92 mph on his heater in the aforementioned 2014 campaign, he’s averaged just 90.6 mph on his fastball in the 2015-16 campaigns. That dip in velocity has likely contributed to Hughes’ diminished results in some capacity, as he’s logged a 4.83 ERA in 214 1/3 innings with just 5.4 strikeouts per nine innings across the past two seasons. Hughes has maintained his pinpoint command (1.2 BB/9 in that time), but his swinging-strike rate has plummeted along with his velocity.

Having just celebrated his 30th birthday four days ago, Hughes is certainly young enough to rebound and contribute to the Twins in the coming years if he can work his way back to health. He’s owed $13.2MM in each of the next three seasons.

Steven Matz, Noah Syndergaard Both Pitching With Bone Spurs

By Jeff Todd | June 27, 2016 at 11:01pm CDT

10:49pm: Noah Syndergaard is also pitching with a spur in his right elbow, Ackert reports. Though he denied that in his comments after his start tonight, multiple other reports suggest that it is indeed an issue, and Mike Puma of the New York Post tweets that the club is not acknowledging the spur at the pitcher’s preference.

Though Syndergaard was working in the triple digits in his outing against the Nationals, he seemed to be struggling with control. The big righty ultimately departed after just three innings of work having allowed a season-high five earned runs and three walks.

Syndergaard recently experienced discomfort that led to an MRI, but was given a clean bill of health. As with Matz, it seems that the spur is mostly a matter of tolerating pain and avoiding changes to mechanics that could lead to broader problems.

It’s important to emphasize that bone spurs are fairly common and aren’t necessarily major concerns if they do not cause ligament issues. And there’s no indication in his case that surgery is on the table at the moment in Syndergaard’s case. Ackert does note that the expectation is that both pitchers will ultimately require procedures — with hopes that they can be delayed until the season is over.

As for Matz, he has been battling through the issue for over a month and has been treated with a cortisone shot at some point, Jon Heyman of todaysknuckleball.com writes. The spur is “not small” and is quite painful, and Heyman suggests that there’s at least some concern that continuing to pitch through it could contribute to a more serious injury. Matz himself is said to be uncertain at this time whether to elect surgery.

4:43pm: Mets southpaw Steven Matz has been diagnosed with a bone spur in his pitching elbow, as Kristie Ackert of the New York Daily News reports on Twitter. The club is not only considering whether or not he’ll make his next start, but is assessing whether a surgical option will be pursued, per Marc Carig of Newsday (Twitter link).

GM Sandy Alderson will participate in a meeting to work through the options, per Carig’s report. The possibility of a procedure is just that at present, as no decisions have been made, but it appears to be very much on the table. While there’s no concern that pitching through the pain would lead to injury, at least directly, the club is said to be concerned that the pain has impacted his performance. Ackert notes that an operation after the season is also a possibility.

In the event that Matz does go under the knife in the near-term, Carig tweets, it would likely be six weeks before he is even able to begin throwing. He’d surely require a throwing program and rehab assignment from that point forward. While a precise timeline is difficult to guess, it could certainly represent a lengthy absence.

Matz had bounced back from a rough first start to post a long string of excellent outings — nine straight, in fact, in which he did not allow more than two earned runs. But things have been somewhat uneven in his three most recent starts, and his last effort set off some alarm bells. Matz not only allowed six earned runs, but failed to record a single strikeout in 4 1/3 innings. Glancing through the excellent Brooks Baseball database, it seems that Matz’s vertical release has dropped over the course of the season, though it’s unclear whether that’s connected at all.

This news represents another red flag for a Mets pitching staff that remains one of the game’s best. But heavy usage last season has, perhaps, shown up in several areas. Jacob deGrom isn’t throwing as hard, Noah Syndergaard has had a balky elbow, and Matt Harvey just hasn’t been his dominant self. The results are still excellent, on the whole, and it surely doesn’t hurt that Bartolo Colon has been magnificent while Zack Wheeler remains on the comeback trail (though the latter has been slowed of late). At the same time, there’s certainly some cause for concern with Matz, in particular — all the more so given that he dealt with lat issues in 2015.

Nationals To Promote Lucas Giolito

By Steve Adams | June 27, 2016 at 2:40pm CDT

The Nationals will promote right-hander Lucas Giolito to make tomorrow’s start against the division-rival Mets, manager Dusty Baker told reporters, including Chelsea Janes of the Washington Post (Twitter link). The promotion of the 21-year-old Giolito, who entered the season rated as the game’s No. 5 overall prospect according to Baseball America and currently rates as the No. 1 prospect in baseball according to updated prospect lists from MLB.com and ESPN, means that injured ace Stephen Strasburg will be replaced, for the time being, by arguably the most interesting arm in all of minor league baseball.

MASNsports.com’s Pete Kerzel wrote about the possibility of a Giolito promotion earlier today, noting that it was likely to be either him or Triple-A righty Austin Voth replacing Strasburg for now. Giolito, who had Tommy John surgery the year he was drafted, is on an innings limit after throwing just 117 innings last year as his workload is slowly ramped up. Per Kerzel in his morning piece on Giolito and Voth, the Nats typically try to keep year-to-year innings increases to 20, so Giolito may not be allowed to go more than 140 or so innings this season. He’s already pitched 71 frames this year, working to a 3.17 ERA with 9.1 K/9 against 4.3 BB/9. And, as the Nats have demonstrated in the past with Strasburg, they’re not afraid to adhere to strict innings limits even in amid the spotlight of a postseason race.

As for how Giolito currently fits into the Nationals’ plans, the organization itself remains a bit unclear on that front. MASNsports.com’s Mark Zuckerman tweets that Baker told the media it’s “impossible” to know how long Giolito will remain in the rotation, and the decision will be handled on a start-by-start basis. Certainly, one would imagine that the health of Strasburg plays into the decision. That piece of information remains an unknown, though, as Baker informed reporters that Strasburg underwent an MRI today, and the team is awaiting the results of the examination. Even if it proves to be a short-term absence for Strasburg, it’s plausible that a strong performance from Giolito could unseat the struggling Gio Gonzalez in the starting five.

Washington selected Giolito with the 16th overall pick in the 2012 draft. He’d previously been considered one of the favorites to go with the No. 1 overall pick that year, but an elbow injury caused his stock to drop. The injury concerns proved valid when Giolito underwent Tommy John surgery, but he’s made a strong recovery and blossomed into the top-shelf prospect that most scouts expected him to become even after that injury.

Jim Callis and Jonathan Mayo of MLB.com write in their free scouting report on the 6’6″. 255-pound Giolito that he has the highest ceiling of any pitcher in the minors thanks to an elite fastball, a power 12-to-6 curveball and a changeup that has steadily improved over his minor league career. ESPN’s Keith Law noted that some delivery tweaks in Spring Training actually set Giolito back a ways, but he appears to be back on track at this juncture. BA rated him only behind Corey Seager, Byron Buxton, Yoan Moncada and Julio Urias entering the season, noting that he had some room to improve the command of his secondary pitches as well as other facets of his game like holding runners and fielding his position. Across the board, Giolito is regarded as an elite talent and a player with ace upside if everything clicks at the big league level.

The timing of Giolito’s promotion means that even if he’s in the Majors to stay, he’ll avoid Super Two designation. The most service time he could accrue through season’s end would be 97 days, which would leave him well shy of a fourth trip through the arbitration process. If he is indeed a big leaguer from this point forth, Giolito won’t be eligible for free agency until following the 2022 season.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Check Out ProHockeyRumors.com

By Tim Dierkes | June 27, 2016 at 10:27am CDT

NHL rumors will never be the same! Last week we launched Pro Hockey Rumors, extending our coverage into a fourth sport. Our team has been writing for two weeks, so there is plenty to read. We’ve launched the site just in time for the NHL’s free agency period, and we hope you’ll enjoy our coverage of all the latest news and rumors. Bookmark Pro Hockey Rumors today!

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