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Players Avoiding Arbitration Prior To 2019 Non-Tender Deadline

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With tonight’s 8pm ET deadline to tender contracts to arbitration-eligible players looming, there’ll be several players who agree to one-year contracts for the 2020 season today. It’s common for the day of the non-tender deadline to be a big one for arbitration agreements, though it’s also worth noting that many of the players who agree to terms today will do so at a rate that’s lower than the salary figures projected by MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz.

Broadly speaking, players who agree to terms on a salary this far in advance tend to be those who were at risk of being non-tendered, and their teams are able to use tonight’s deadline as leverage in bringing about a deal that saves them a bit of cash. A look at some of the early instances of players agreeing to terms reveals this to be true already; Mike Zunino ($4.5MM salary vs. $4.9MM projection), Wilmer Difo ($1MM salary vs. $1.2MM projection) and Scott Alexander ($875K salary vs. $1MM projection) have all agreed to lesser terms rather than risk being cast out into the free-agent market.

We’ll keep track of today’s players who avoid arbitration in this post and update throughout the day…

  • The Padres have a deal for $1.5MM with infielder Greg Garcia, Bob Nightengale of USA Today tweets. That’s a shade under his $1.7MM projection for the 30-year-old.
  • Infielder Orlando Arcia has avoided arbitration with the Brewers, per Bob Nightengale of USA Today (via Twitter). Though he’s set to lose some playing time, it seems Arcia will be expected to retain a notable role. He’s considered a talented defender at short and was long expected to come around with the bat, but it hasn’t happened yet.
  • Dodgers catcher Austin Barnes is in agreement on a $1.1MM deal, per Robert Murray (Twitter link). It’s a guaranteed deal, which isn’t standard for arbitration pacts. Barnes had projected at $1.3MM on the heels of a disappointing season. It seems he’ll be asked to function as the club’s second backstop in 2020.

Earlier Moves

  • The Rangers have a deal in place with right-hander Nick Goody, the club announced. He’ll earn $915K, according to MLB.com’s TR Sullivan (via Twitter). Goody projected to earn $1.1MM, so he’s taking a discount on that mark with his new club.
  • Just-acquired righty Jharel Cotton has agreed to a $640K deal with the Cubs, Rosenthal tweets. Cotton had projected at $800K but he’s surely focused first and foremost on getting a significant MLB opportunity. He didn’t quite make it back to the majors in 2019 after a long injury layoff but figures to represent a swingman option for the Chicago club in 2020.
  • Outfielder Alex Dickerson and lefty Wandy Peralta are in agreement with the Giants, per Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic (Twitter links). Dickerson settled for $925K, which is well under his $1.2MM projected earning power. The 29-year-old has had trouble staying healthy but usually hits when he is on the field. He rewarded the San Francisco organization for taking a shot on him last year by turning in a .290/.351/.529 batting line in 171 plate appearances. As for Peralta, he lands right at his projected value with a $805K salary. The 28-year-old was claimed off waivers late in the 2019 season.
  • The White Sox and James McCann avoided arbitration with a one-year deal worth $5.4MM, tweets ESPN’s Jeff Passan. McCann’s deal checks in a half million dollars north of his $4.9MM projection. Chicago’s addition of Yasmani Grandal has likely relegated McCann to backup duties, so he’ll be a rather expensive second catcher for the South Siders. A free agent next winter, McCann hit .273/.328/.460 with a career-high 18 home runs, but his bat went dormant in the season’s final few months and his .359 BABIP seems particularly ripe for regression.
  • The Athletics avoided arbitration with left-handed reliever T.J. McFarland by agreeing to a one-year contract worth $1.8MM, USA Today’s Bob Nightengale tweets. That salary effectively puts McFarland in line for the same salary he’d have received had he had his $1.85MM club option exercised by the Diamondbacks. Arizona, however, bought him out for $50K and then ran him through waivers, at which point the A’s claimed him. The 30-year-old posted a 4.82 ERA with a middling 5.6 K/9 and 3.2 BB/9 in 56 2/3 innings this past season, but he’s a ground-ball behemoth (61.1 percent). He’ll be a free agent next winter and had been projected at $2.1MM.
  • Infielder Ehire Adrianza and the Twins agreed on a $1.6MM salary for the upcoming season, Nightengale tweets. The versatile utilityman hit .272/.349/.416 in 236 plate appearances while appearing at all four infield spots and both outfield corners. Adrianza, a free agent next winter, was projected at $1.9MM.
  • Outfielder Travis Jankowski agreed to a rare arbitration pay cut with the Reds, Bobby Nightengale Jr. of the Cincinnati Enquirer tweets. After earning $1.165MM in 2019, he’ll be owed $1.05MM in 2020 if he makes the club. A fractured wrist cost him much of the season in 2019, and he was just 4-for-22 when healthy and in the Majors. Jankowski did have a nice season in Triple-A, though (.393 OBP in 39 games), and the Reds gave up some international funds to acquire him, which seemingly indicated that they planned to tender him a contract. He was projected to earn $1.2MM.

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Rangers Claim Nick Goody

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Dec. 2: Goody has accepted the assignment and been added to the Rangers’ 40-man roster, per a club announcement. The team’s 40-man roster is now full.

Nov. 26: Indians right-hander Nick Goody has been claimed off waivers by the Rangers, per an announcement from the Texas organization. (MLBTR reported that he’d been claimed by an unknown team this afternoon.) Players claimed off release waivers have five days to accept the assignment to their new club or reject in favor of free agency.

Goody, 28, is projected by MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz to receive a $1.1MM salary via arbitration this winter. The right-hander had a terrific 2017 season for the Indians, compiling a 2.80 ERA with 11.9 K/9, 3.3 BB/9 and 1.2 HR/9 in 54 innings out of the bullpen. Goody logged an eye-popping 16.1 percent swinging-strike rate that season and whiffed nearly a third of the hitters he faced. His slider, in particular, gave opponents fits, as evidenced by a 24.2 percent swinging-strike mark and an awful .147 opponents’ average against the pitch.

An elbow strain caused Goody to miss most of the 2018 season, however, limiting him to 11 2/3 innings of 6.94 ERA ball. He was healthy again for most of the 2019 season and turned out a solid 3.54 ERA with a 50-to-22 K/BB ratio in 40 2/3 innings. Control was an issue for Goody this past season, and his 25.7 percent fly-ball rate was a career-low. But the right-hander’s 92.8 mph average fastball was a career-high, and his slider, which was hammered in 2018, appeared to be back into good form in 2019 (.123 average against; 23.2 percent swinging-strike rate).

If Goody does indeed accept his assignment to the Rangers and go through the arbitration process, he’d be controllable for not only the 2020 season but also the 2021-22 seasons.

Interesting Players Designated In Advance Of Rule 5 Deadline

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Wednesday marked the deadline for teams to protect players from next month’s Rule 5 draft, and the evening didn’t pass without its fair share of activity. Dozens of prospects were ultimately provided shelter on their clubs’ 40-man rosters, but, as expected, many of those moves required some tough decisions on the part of parent clubs.

While gaining a spot on a 40-man roster marks an important step in a young player’s career, it often means that a veteran must be politely shown the organizational door. Sure enough, Wednesday saw several experienced position players and pitchers designated for assignment, traded to rival clubs, or outright released.

With the smoke still clearing on many of these moves, readers may simply be scrambling to make sense of which of their favorite team’s prospects were left unprotected in advance of the Rule 5. But what about the veterans who are currently left floating in DFA limbo as a result of the evening’s activities?

Today offers a good opportunity to examine a few players who, in the coming days, will be available for selection via waiver claim or trade after being designated by their teams last night. While we saw some well-known, oft-injured names either released (Jacoby Ellsbury) or traded (Jose De Leon) by their clubs, we’ll focus instead on DFA’d players who could soon find a place on another MLB roster.

Matt Duffy: Rays GM Erik Neander had a busy night on Wednesday, with his club adding five prospects to its 40-man. While the Rays’ trade of the oft-injured De Leon to the Reds was likely a tough roster-clearing pill for fans to swallow, Duffy’s own designation also brought about a few “what-if” questions. Originally acquired as part of the 2016 package coming back to Tampa in return for Matt Moore, Duffy projected as a controllable, well-rounded infielder who, true to the club’s modus operandi, could play a few positions while hitting well enough to justify his lineup spot. Unfortunately, injuries limited Duffy to just 199 games in a Rays uni since the middle of 2016, and he now hits the waiver wire as a 28-year-old just one year removed from his 2018 batting line of .294/.361/.366 production (107 wRC+).

Nick Goody: The 28-year-old Goody was jettisoned from the Indians roster when the club added outfielder Daniel Johnson, right-hander Triston McKenzie and left-hander Scott Moss to its roster. While the Indians boast enviable pitching depth, it’s easy to see where Goody could fit on a number of MLB rosters. Since making his debut with the Yankees in 2015, the LSU alum has logged a 3.81 ERA supported by a 10.9 K/9 rate; he was superlative in 2017 out of the Cleveland pen, in particular, notching a 2.80 ERA/3.45 FIP across 54 2/3 innings of work. Goody’s 4.62 FIP and 4.9 BB/9 rate in 2019 showed that there was perhaps a bit of rust beneath the veneer of his 3.54 ERA, but the longtime Statcast darling shouldn’t have trouble finding a big league job next season, given the collective strength of his track record.

Nestor Cortes Jr.: Cortes was culled from the Yankees’ active roster on Wednesday, on the heels of a rough 2019 campaign out of the New York bullpen. While his 5.67 ERA across 66 2/3 Bronx innings last year would likely tell you what you need to know, Cortes is still just 24 years old and possesses a solid track record of success in the upper minors. The lefty posited a 3.86 ERA across seven games and six starts for the Triple-A Yankees of Scranton Wilkes-Barre, with decent underlying metrics (9.5 K/9 and 2.5 BB/9). Cortes doesn’t throw hard, with a fastball sitting around 89 mph, but he offers a five-pitch mix and could represent an interesting depth flier for a rebuilding club in search of a back-end starter.

Jharel Cotton: Like Duffy, Cotton’s story is largely defined by injury. Since coming to Oakland from the Dodgers as part of the package received in return for Rich Hill and Josh Reddick, Cotton has loomed as a potential impact arm on the edges of the Athletics rotation. However, his unimpressive 2017 (5.58 ERA in 129 innings) was followed up by Tommy John surgery in 2018, and Cotton ultimately missed most of 2019 due to a hamstring issue that required surgery. The now-27-year-old righty hasn’t thrown a pitch in the majors in two years, but his relative youth and starter’s repertoire could see him latch on with a new team in short order. Cotton was removed from the A’s roster on Wednesday to make room for Daulton Jefferies.

Tim Mayza: Mayza doesn’t bring the former prospect pedigree of some of the other names on this list, and he’s a non-factor for 2020 specifically after undergoing Tommy John surgery.  But, for a team interested in signing Mayza to a low-cost two-year deal, what he does offer is a lefty arm and at least some record of effectiveness while pitching in the AL East. While the 27-year-old limped to a 4.91 ERA/4.73 FIP in extended action in 2019, he was far more effective in a more limited feature in 2018. That season saw Mayza log a 3.28 ERA/3.36 FIP through 35.2 innings; not exactly an overwhelmingly convincing sample size, but lefties are at a perpetual premium and Mayza does hold a 10.6 K/9 rate across 104 career innings. Lefties have managed just a 70 OPS+ against Mayza for his career, although it is fair to wonder whether next year’s introduction of a three-batter minimum rule may limit clubs in their deployment of LOOGY types.

Indians Designate Nick Goody For Assignment, Add Three To 40-Man Roster

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The Indians announced Wednesday that they’ve designated right-hander Nick Goody for assignment and selected the contracts of outfielder Daniel Johnson, right-hander Triston McKenzie and left-hander Scott Moss.

The 28-year-old Goody had a terrific 2017 season in Cleveland, pitching to a 2.80 ERA with 11.9 K/9, 3.3 BB/9 and 1.2 HR/9 in 54 innings of relief. He was a Statcast darling that season, ranking among the game’s best in terms of expected weighted on-base average (xwOBA), but he missed much of the 2018 season due to an elbow strain. Goody was seemingly back in solid form in 2019 when notched a 3.54 ERA with a 50-to-22 K/BB ratio in 40 2/3 innings (plus another strong .253 xwOBA), but Cleveland apparently didn’t have interest in paying him a projected $1.1MM arbitration salary.

Moss was acquired in the three-team deal that sent Trevor Bauer to Cincinnati this past summer and only allowed four runs in 28 2/3 minor league innings with the Indians. McKenzie, long one of the Indians’ best prospects, didn’t pitch in 2019 due to a back injury but enjoyed an excellent 2018 season in Double-A despite pitching most of the year at the age of 20. The Indians understandably weren’t willing to risk losing the former No. 42 pick, who has been a top-100 prospect three years running. Johnson, meanwhile, reached Triple-A for the first time in 2019 and posted a combined .290/.361/.507 batting line across the Indians’ top two affiliates.

AL Central Notes: Salazar, Goody, Avisail, Castro

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As White Sox right-hander Reynaldo Lopez celebrates his 25th birthday today, let’s have a look at some items around the AL Central…

  • Indians manager Terry Francona told reporters (including Cleveland.com’s Joe Noga) that Danny Salazar is “not going to be on pace where…we know when he comes to Spring Training, he’s not going to be competing to make our club.”  Salazar missed all of 2018 dealing with shoulder problems, and underwent arthroscopic surgery to address the issue in early July.  Francona didn’t entirely rule out the possibility of Salazar returning to the Tribe’s roster relatively early in the season, though the team certainly won’t rush the right-hander: “To force it with somebody doesn’t make a lot of sense.”  Salazar and the Tribe agreed to an arbitration-avoiding $4.5MM salary for the 2019 season amidst some speculation that Cleveland could non-tender Salazar, though obviously the team still feels he is worth the risk as he continues to progress in his rehab.  Francona had better news about Nick Goody, saying the right-hander is “on target to be with everybody else” in camp following a 2018 season that saw Goody pitch only 11 2/3 innings while battling elbow problems.
  • Avisail Garcia “remains in the picture” for a potential return to the White Sox, MLB.com’s Scott Merkin writes, though not if the team makes a much bigger splash by signing Bryce Harper.  Chicago non-tendered Garcia rather than pay him a projected $8.0MM arbitration salary in 2019.  Garcia posted replacement-level production in three of his four full seasons with the Sox, seemingly breaking out with a 4.2 fWAR season in 2017 but then reverting to a 0.0 fWAR in 2018 while hitting .236/.281/.438 with 19 homers in 385 PA.  Knee injuries could have contributed to this subpar performance, so there is hope that Garcia is a rebound candidate with better health.
  • Twins catcher Jason Castro is on track for the start of Spring Training, The Athletic’s Dan Hayes (subscription required) writes in an update on the veteran backstop.  2018 was a lost season for Castro, who appeared in just 19 games before undergoing what ended up as a season-ending knee surgery in May, as Castro’s meniscus had to be fully repaired.  The rehab process has proceeded as planned, according to Twins chief baseball officer Derek Falvey, and Castro should be in line for a normal spring.  Castro is entering the final season of a three-year, $24.5MM contract with Minnesota.

Players Avoiding Arbitration Prior To Non-Tender Deadline

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Tonight marks the deadline for MLB clubs to tender contracts to arbitration-eligible players. As such, there’ll be a slew of pre-tender agreements announced today — particularly for arbitration-eligible players who might have otherwise been non-tender candidates. As we saw yesterday (and frequently in previous seasons), players agreeing to terms before the tender deadline will often sign for less than they’re projected, as the alternative in some cases may simply be to be cut loose into a crowded free-agent market.

We’ll track today’s pre-tender agreements here, with all referenced projections coming courtesy of MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz…

  • Giants infielder Joe Panik settled at a $3.8MM price tag, per Heyman (via Twitter). That’ll represent a savings as against the $4.2MM projected salary. Many had wondered whether the new San Francisco front office would move on from Panik, who has one more year of arb eligibility remaining. Meanwhile, Heyman tweets that reliever Sam Dyson has agreed to a $5MM pact. That also comes in $400K below his projection.
  • The Padres settled with righty Bryan Mitchell for $900K, Heyman tweets. Mitchell had been a non-tender candidate at a projected $1.2MM sum.
  • Newly acquired first baseman C.J. Cron has agreed to a $4.8MM contract, the Twins announced. He projected to a $5.2MM salary; this becomes the latest of many indications of the unstable market position of defensively limited slugger types.
  • The Indians have settled with righty Danny Salazar for $4.5MM, Jon Heyman of Fancred tweets. He was projected at $5MM, with some wondering whether the Cleveland organization might non-tender him. The talented hurler missed the entire 2018 season. Meanwhile, righty Nick Goody is slated to earn $675K, Heyman tweets.
  • Southpaw Jonny Venters avoided arb with the Braves, David O’Brien of The Athletic tweets. It’s a $2.25MM deal, sitting well over the $1.5MM projection, though certainly his unusual career path could have led to some additional arguments for a stronger raise.
  • The Cardinals announced an agreement with lefty Chasen Shreve. Terms aren’t yet known. The 28-year-old had projected to take home $1.2MM for the 2019 campaign, but will settle at $900K per Heyman (via Twitter).
  • Pirates righty Michael Feliz has avoided arbitration with the club, Rob Biertempfel of The Athletic was among those to report on Twitter. Feliz projected at a $900K salary and will get $850K, Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports tweets. It’s a split agreement that promises $375K in the minors, per Bill Brink of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (via Twitter).
  • Infielder Tyler Saladino has agreed to a $887,500 salary with the Brewers, Jon Heyman of Fancred tweets. That comes in below the $1MM he projected to earn.
  • The Athletics settled at $2.15MM with Liam Hendriks, per Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports (via Twitter), all of which is guaranteed. That’s just where he projected ($2.1MM) on the heels of a fascinating 2018 season. Hendriks was dropped from the MLB roster in the middle of the season but returned late in the year in dominant fashion as the A’s “opener.”
  • Lefty Sammy Solis agreed to terms with the Nationals to avoid arbitration, the club announced. He profiled as a potential non-tender candidate, so it seems likely the organization pushed to get something done before the deadline. Solis, who has an intriguing power arsenal but struggled through a homer-prone 2018, projected at $900K. He’ll earn $850K, per Chelsea Janes of the Washington Post (Twitter link).
  • The Athletics announced that they’ve agreed to a one-year deal with righty Ryan Dull in advance of tonight’s deadline. He’ll get $860K, Fancred’s Jon Heyman tweets, which checks in pretty closely with his $900K projection. Dull, 29, posted a 4.26 ERA with 21 strikeouts and seven walks in 25 1/3 innings of relief in 2018.
  • Heyman also tweets that the Padres and Greg Garcia, whom they claimed off waivers earlier this offseason, settled on a one-year deal worth $910K that aligns with his $900K projection. Garcia hit .221/.309/.304 in 208 plate appearances with St. Louis last season and is a career .248/.356/.339 hitter in 860 plate appearances.

Earlier Agreements

  • The Brewers and Hernan Perez avoided arbitration by agreeing to a one-year deal worth $2.5MM, as first reported by Heyman. He’ll check in a bit shy of his $2.7MM projection but remain on hand as a versatile utility option in Milwaukee.
  • Left-hander Tony Cingrani and the Dodgers avoided arb with a one-year deal worth $2.65MM. That checks in just south of the lefty’s $2.7MM projection. Cingrani turned in a brilliant 36-to-6 K/BB ratio in 22 1/3 innings but was also tagged for a considerably less palatable 4.76 earned run average.
  • The Red Sox announced that they’ve agreed to terms on a one-year contract for the 2019 season with right-hander Tyler Thornburg. They’ve also tendered contracts to the remainder of their arbitration-eligible players, though the terms of those deals will be negotiated in the coming weeks. Evan Drellich of NBC Sports Boston tweets that Thornburg will earn $1.75MM i 2019 and can earn another $400K via incentives. I’m told that includes $100K for reaching each of 45, 50, 55 and 60 appearances. Thornburg, 30, was roughed up to the tune of a 5.63 ERA in 24 innings for the Sox this season — his first action for Boston since being acquired prior to the 2017 season. His Boston tenure has been utterly derailed by thoracic outlet syndrome and the ensuing surgery. Thornburg was excellent for the 2016 Brewers, and Boston parted with Travis Shaw in order to acquire him, so the Sox will surely hope that a regular offseason of rest and further removing himself from TOS surgery will get the righty back on track. This will be Thornburg’s final season of club control. He’d been projected to earn $2.3MM.

Indians Outright Brandon Barnes

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The Indians announced this morning that outfielder Brandon Barnes cleared outright waivers and elected free agency. Cleveland also reinstated Tyler Naquin, Cody Anderson, Nick Goody, James Hoyt, Danny Salazar and Leonys Martin from the 60-day disabled list in a series of procedural moves.

Barnes, 32, went 5-for-19 with a homer in a brief September appearance with Cleveland — his first big league action since the 2016 season. The former Rockies/Astros outfielder is a career .242/.290/.357 hitter in 1274 big league plate appearances and enjoyed a solid season with the Indians’ Triple-A affiliate in 2018 (.273/.347/.447, 14 homers, 19 steals in 132 games).

The right-handed-hitting Barnes has traditionally been a bit more effective against left-handed pitching, as one might expect, and he’s logged considerable experience at all three outfield slots over the course of 14 professional seasons. He’ll likely find a minor league deal in free agency and head to Major League Spring Training as a non-roster invitee in 2019.

Injury Notes: Chapman, Judge, Sale, Santana, Goody, Iwakuma

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Yankees closer Aroldis Chapman went in for a platelet-rich plasma treatment on his ailing left knee, David Lennon of Newsday tweets. Skipper Aaron Boone indicated that the plan is to reevaluate the high-powered lefty in two weeks’ time. That’s a bit less promising than the initial suggestion that Chapman could be back after the minimum ten-day DL stint, though there’s no indication as of yet that there’s any real concern that the injury could carry over into the postseason. For a Yankees team that is all but locked into a Wild Card play-in game, getting Chapman up to full speed by the end of September is of much greater importance than having him available for the final month of the regular season.

  • Meanwhile, the Yankees are still waiting for a breakthrough from star outfielder Aaron Judge. As Boone stated, and MLB.com’s Bryan Hoch tweeted, the team has “stopped guessing” as to when Judge’s fractured wrist will be in good enough shape to allow him to resume swinging. In this case, perhaps, there’s a bit more reason to be anxious. It has been a long layoff for Judge, after all, and he’ll want to get as many plate appearances as possible before October arrives. Clearly, though, there’s not much the team can do but wait and hope the wrist improves.
  • The news is slightly more promising — though no less clear — on Red Sox southpaw Chris Sale. He’s “doing better” and “getting close,” per Boston manger Alex Cora, as Jason Mastrodonato of the Boston Herald reports on Twitter. With a healthy division lead, the Boston organization is in no need of Sale’s services for the next five weeks. But he’s essential to the team’s World Series hopes, so getting his balky shoulder sorted out is a top priority.
  • The injured finger of Twins hurler Ervin Santana won’t require surgery, skipper Paul Molitor said and Phil Miller of the Star-Tribune tweeted. That said, the veteran is going to remain shut down until “doctors come up with a plan.” With the Twins’ season sunk and Santana not looking himself since making a brief return to the majors, the objective here is to set him up as well as possible for the future rather than rushing him back in 2018. While no decision has been made as to whether Santana will pitch again for the Twins this year, it could well be that he has already taken the mound for the club for the last time. Minnesota is unlikely to pick up its $14MM option over the right-hander, who will presumably be a popular bounceback target in the offseason to come.
  • Indians righty Nick Goody isn’t in need of a new ulnar collateral ligament, Jordan Bastian of MLB.com tweets, but he is headed in for some kind of procedure. That’s rather promising news, given that the 27-year-old was making the rounds to several noted surgeons recently. Goody has missed much of the 2018 season with arm woes, making for a disappointing follow-up to his strong 2017 performance. Last year, Goody worked to a 2.80 ERA with 11.9 K/9 and 3.3 BB/9 over 54 2/3 frames. He had been on track to reach arbitration via Super Two status this fall. While he’ll have enough MLB service time to reach it, he won’t be eligible since he has not spent 86 days on the active roster this season.
  • It seems the Mariners and Hisashi Iwakuma haven’t given up entirely on the veteran hurler this year. Seattle GM Jerry Dipoto said in a regular appearance on 710 ESPN (write-up via Brent Stecker) that the 37-year-old is nearing a rehab stint, in fact, though it doesn’t sound as if there’s particular cause for optimism that he’ll be a real factor this year. Iwakuma only made six starts in 2017 and hasn’t made it back to competitive action this season. Still, Dipoto suggested he’d do everything possible to get him up to the majors as a reliever down the stretch.

Injury Notes: Upton, Abreu, Garcia, Ervin, Goody, Chisenhall

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The Angels announced Tuesday that they’ve placed outfielder Justin Upton on the 10-day disabled list due to a laceration on his index finger. Jack Magruder of MLB.com writes that Upton required stitches after he sustained a severe cut at his home on a wine glass that had broken. Upton expressed frustration and regret over incurring an off-field injury in this manner, though it sounds as if he’ll only require a short-term absence from the team. The Angels aren’t contending for the postseason anyhow, but Upton would surely like to be on the field competing and pursuing a third consecutive 30-homer season. The slugger is in the first season of a five-year, $106MM extension with the Angels and has batted .267/.352/.474 with 26 big flies on the year.

Some more injury news from around the league…

  • The White Sox will be without Jose Abreu for the next two weeks after he underwent outpatient surgery on his groin area, writes Daryl Van Schouwen of the Chicago Sun-Times. Abreu reported to Guaranteed Rate Field on Tuesday complaining of pain in his abdomen and was hospitalized prior to the start of the game. He figures to be formally placed on the 10-day disabled list tomorrow, giving the Sox an open roster spot. The ChiSox also lost Leury Garcia to a Grade 2 hamstring strain that could end his season, as he’s projected to miss anywhere from three to six weeks with the injury.
  • There’s heightened “concern” regarding Ervin Santana following the right-hander’s visit with a hand specialist, tweets Phil Miller of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune. Twins skipper Paul Molitor told reporters that Santana is slated to undergo followup x-rays and an MRI to further determine the extent of the damage in his still-ailing right middle finger. The organization isn’t sure whether Santana will return in 2018, but Molitor said that it’s looking “less likely.” Santana has made just five starts in 2018 and struggled to an 8.03 ERA after undergoing surgery on that finger back in February. The Twins hold a $14MM club option on him, but given his injuries and poor performance, that seems unlikely to be exercised.
  • The Indians could welcome Edwin Encarnacion back to the lineup as soon as Thursday, writes MLB.com’s Jordan Bastian, but they’ve received less encouraging news on outfielder Lonnie Chisenhall and right-hander Nick Goody. Chisenhall hasn’t progressed as quickly as the team would’ve hoped as he rehabs a severe calf strain and is still working his way back at the team’s Spring Training facility in Arizona, per manager Terry Francona. Goody, meanwhile, suffered a setback in his rehab from an elbow injury. He’s been shelved for three and a half months and is slated to meet with Dr. Keith Meister and Dr. James Andrews later this week.

Injury Notes: Donaldson, Blue Jays, Ravin, May, Goody

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Former AL MVP Josh Donaldson is expected to miss “at least a few more days” before getting a chance to return to the Blue Jays’ lineup. A report from Gregor Chisholm of MLB.com indicates that Donaldson still hasn’t felt comfortable running at full speed, or as manager John Gibbons puts it, “he still couldn’t cut it loose,” during a series of running drills on Thursday. The third baseman has been out since May 28th with a sore calf muscle. Coupled with the shoulder injury he dealt with earlier this season, one has to wonder just how much these injury concerns will impact the 32-year-old Donaldson’s free agent stock headed into the 2018-2019 offseason. It’s not as though he’s produced while on the field, either: his .234/.333/.423 slash line (despite a .303 BABIP) is a far cry from his typical production, while his strikeout rate sits at a career-high 27.7%.

As for the Blue Jays, they’re at least likely to get Marcus Stroman and Steve Pearce back in the near future, as both are currently embarking on rehab assignments in the minor leagues.

Let’s take a look at some other injury situations around baseball…

  • Nate Rowan, beat reporter for the Twins’ Triple-A affiliate, tweets that Trevor May is headed to the DL with shoulder inflammation. The move is retroactive to June 14th. May’s only recently made his way back from Tommy John surgery, a recovery he wrote about for MLBTR; he was optioned to Triple-A immediately following his activation. There’s no word yet on the severity of the shoulder situation or how long May is expected to be out. In his most recent major league action, May pitched to a 5.27 ERA across 44 relief appearances for the Twins.
  • Another AL Central reliever received unfortunate news today as well. Nick Goody of the Indians visited Dr. James Andrews after feeling soreness during his throwing program. The diagnosis remains elbow hyperextension and posterior elbow inflammation, and though that’s far from the worst-case scenario, he’ll be shut down for at least three weeks after receiving a PRP injection. It’s bad news for an Indians club that has seen its bullpen go from the upper echelon in the league in 2017 to a bottom-dweller in 2018.
  • Braves reliever Josh Ravin (currently pitching for Triple-A Gwinnett) experienced a scare yesterday when he was struck in the face by a line drive. Ravin’s stable, however (at least enough so to tweet), and is set to be further evaluated on Sunday in Atlanta when the swelling goes down. The current diagnosis is five facial fractures and a concussion. Ravin has yet to allow a run in Gwinnett across 18 innings, during which time he’s struck out 30 batters and walked nine.
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