Cardinals Notes: O’Neill, Dickerson, Hicks, Thompson
Tyler O’Neill is back on the injured list, as the club put him on the 10-day IL before this evening’s contest with the Brewers due to a left hamstring strain. Lars Nootbaar was recalled from Triple-A Memphis to take his place on the active roster, while utilityman Brendan Donovan kicked out to left field for tonight’s game.
The team didn’t provide a timetable for O’Neill’s recovery. It’s the latest in what has been a very disappointing season for the slugging outfielder. He lost a couple weeks in May battling a right shoulder impingement, and he’s not been as productive as anticipated even when healthy. Through 185 plate appearances on the season, the 26-year-old (27 on Wednesday) owns a .241/.292/.361 slash with only four home runs. That’s on the heels of a 34-homer campaign, and O’Neill’s had a rather startling dip in batted ball quality (barrel rate, hard contact rate, etc.) to go along with the lesser results.
Donovan figures to step in fairly regularly in left in O’Neill’s absence. The lefty-hitting rookie has a .315/.424/.434 mark through 170 plate appearances. That relatively quiet excellence has earned him a spot in the regular batting order, although manager Oli Marmol has had to shuffle Donovan around the diamond with Paul Goldschmidt, Nolan Gorman, Tommy Edman and Nolan Arenado serving as the primary infield.
Nootbaar and the righty-hitting Juan Yepez will likely also cycle through the corner outfield and designated hitter. Veteran Corey Dickerson was signed to a one-year deal over the offseason to play a similar role, but he’s been out for a couple weeks with a calf strain. Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch writes that Dickerson felt continued discomfort after a rehab appearance in Memphis last Thursday, causing him to transition to non-game activities for a few days. The hope is he could resume the rehab stint as soon as tomorrow.
Dickerson would be joined by Jordan Hicks, who is set to start a rehab assignment of his own there tomorrow (relayed by Katie Woo of the Athletic). Hicks has missed the past three weeks with a forearm strain in his throwing arm, the latest issue for a pitcher who underwent Tommy John surgery in 2019 and missed two months with elbow inflammation last season. It’s a welcome development that Hicks is set to return to the mound in relatively short order this time around.
Woo adds that the club is planning to deploy Hicks out of the bullpen. The flamethrowing righty worked exclusively in relief for the first few seasons of his major league career, spending a chunk of the 2018-19 seasons as the club’s closer. He surprisingly lengthened out into a starter this year and cracked the season-opening rotation, making his first seven big league starts (in nine outings) before landing on the IL.
Hicks had a rough showing in that role, though, posting a 5.02 ERA through 28 2/3 innings. He’s struck out a decent 23% of opponents while racking up grounders on more than half the batted balls against him, but he’s also struggled significantly to throw strikes. Hicks walked almost 16% of batters faced, and the club seems set to transition him back to his more familiar relief role.
That could suggest Andre Pallante is ticketed for a longer look in the rotation. The rookie right-hander opened the season in the bullpen, but he’s started three of his four most recent appearances. Pallante, who started in college and in the minor leagues, reached 5 2/3 innings yesterday against the Red Sox — suggesting the Cards are comfortable with him turning lineups over at least twice in an outing.
The rest of the starting staff is established, with Jack Flaherty, Miles Mikolas, Dakota Hudson and Adam Wainwright making a strong top four. Offseason signee Steven Matz is on the IL with a shoulder injury, but Pallante seems to be settling into the #5 role. Former first-round pick Zack Thompson is also on the active roster and has worked as a starter this season with Memphis, but it appears the club views him as a primary relief option at the major league level for now. Marmol indicated this afternoon that Thompson could see more higher-leverage work moving forward (via John Denton of MLB.com).
NL Notes: Bryant, Marte, Severino
Kris Bryant is set to begin his rehab assignment on Tuesday, per Danielle Allentuck of the Denver Gazette (via Twitter). The club hopes he’ll be ready to rejoin the team when they head to Minnesota, per MLB.com’s Thomas Harding (via Twitter). Bryant’s first season with the Rockies certainly hasn’t gone as planned. The 30-year-old left fielder has slashed .270/.342/.333 in a mere 73 plate appearances. Needless to say, the former MVP has yet to really make his impact felt on the last-place Rockies.
- Ketel Marte suffered a grade 1 lateral hamstring strain, per MLB.com’s Steve Gilbert (via Twitter). Marte is day-t0-day for now. The Diamondbacks’ second baseman is hitting .269/.341/.435 over249 plate appearances this season. Unlike in years past, Marte has really been able to settle in at second base this season.
- Pedro Severino began his rehab assignment playing first base, per The Athletic’s Will Sammon (via Twitter). The Brewers will have a bit of a logjam at catcher when Severino is ready. Victor Caratini and Omar Narvaez have both posted 0.9 rWAR while splitting time behind the dish for the Brewers. It’s not inconceivable that the team could carry three catchers, but doing so wouldn’t necessarily maximize their offense, even if Severino or Caratini spent time at first base.
Giants Notes: Boyd, Wade Jr., Cobb
Giants starter Matthew Boyd suffered a flexor strain while rehabbing from surgery, and he’ll now be shut down for at least four weeks, per MLB.com’s Maria I. Guardado (via Twitter). Boyd is a free agent at the end of this season, and at this stage, one has to wonder what, if anything, Boyd will be able to offer the Giants this season. San Francisco signed Boyd as a free agent after he was released by the Tigers.
- LaMonte Wade Jr.‘s return, however, does appear imminent as the outfielder/first baseman has begun a rehab assignment. Wade Jr. is coming off a breakout season in 2021 in which he slashed .253/.326/.482 with 18 home runs over 381 plate appearances. It will be interesting to see where Wade Jr. fits in upon his return. The Giants mix and match with the best of them, but on the surface level, the lefty-swinging trio of Mike Yastrzemski, Joc Pederson, and Luis Gonzalez would seem to have the outfield covered for the time being. For that matter, veterans Brandon Belt and Tommy La Stella, also left-handers, have been taking at-bats at first base and designated hitter, respectively. Still, it’s a long season, and the Giants will no doubt find a way to return Wade Jr. to the mix when he’s ready.
- Alex Cobb is set to make his return to the rotation on Sunday. A roster move will likely come sometime after tonight’s game. The Giants have thrived at regenerating former starters in low-power mode, but Cobb struggled through his first eight starts, serving up a 5.73 ERA, though a 2.63 FIP suggests he may have had some bad luck. He did, after all, post a strong 47-to-12 strikeout-to-walk ratio across 37 2/3 innings.
AL Notes: Moncada, Blue Jays, Verlander, Athletics
Yoan Moncada left tonight’s game due to right hamstring tightness, an injury seemingly suffered when Moncada was running out a grounder in the top of the second inning. Moncada returned to play third base in the bottom half of the frame but was replaced in the field by Josh Harrison in the next inning.
More will be known about Moncada’s status after further tests take place, but another injury is the last thing Moncada and the White Sox need. An oblique strain suffered near the end of Spring Training kept Moncada from playing until May 9, and he is hitting a mere .179/.230/.292 over his first 113 plate appearances. Should Moncada need to miss time, the Sox would at least have a ready replacement in the hot-hitting Jake Burger, and Danny Mendick could also find more playing time once Tim Anderson returns from the IL next week and regains his normal shortstop position. However, a Moncada injury would represent yet another setback for a White Sox club that hasn’t been able to play with its ideal first-choice lineup all season.
More from around the American League…
- The Blue Jays were known to have interest in Justin Verlander last winter, and as Verlander tells ESPN’s Jeff Passan, it seems as though Toronto was Verlander’s second choice before he ultimately rejoined the Astros on a two-year, $50MM contract. The Jays “were very proactive to the point that when I signed with Houston, I made sure to let them know that I appreciated it all,” Verlander said, noting that former teammate George Springer pushed hard to try and recruit him. “Ultimately, when it came down to it, Houston had the same offer. It was all kind of ballpark between them and Toronto, and New York [the Yankees) was kind of always just a step behind.” With Verlander off the board, the Blue Jays instead signed Kevin Gausman and Yusei Kikuchi to augment the rotation. Verlander also added that the Yankees were “kind of always just a step behind” those top suitors — reports surfaced in November that the Yankees were willing to offer Verlander $25MM over one year, but weren’t willing to add a second season to the contract.
- The new collective bargaining agreement temporarily restored the Athletics‘ status as a revenue-sharing recipient, though that status is dependent on whether or not the A’s can finally secure a new ballpark by January 15, 2024 (in Oakland or any other city). Even with these caveats in place, the New York Post’s Jon Heyman reports that some owners weren’t pleased that the A’s were again receiving revenue-sharing funds, especially given that the A’s then slashed their payroll by moving several notable players after the lockout. “The idea of revenue sharing is not to make money, it’s to field a competitive team,” one owner told Heyman. “That money is supposed to go toward player salaries. [The A’s] took the money and put it in their pocket.”
Injury Notes: Zunino, Buehler, Woodruff
The Rays have been without backstop Mike Zunino for a week, as he landed on the injured list with left shoulder inflammation last Friday. The club has worked to pin down the diagnosis in recent days, and manager Kevin Cash indicated yesterday that Zunino may be dealing with thoracic outlet syndrome (via Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times). He’ll receive a Botox injection in hopes of alleviating the symptoms, and the club expects to have a more defined treatment program by next week.
If the injection doesn’t have the desired effect, it’s possible Zunino would need surgery to address the issue. A thoracic outlet procedure would come with a months-long rehab process and end his 2022 campaign. TOS surgery has become more prevalent around the league in recent years, although it’s been a far more common issue for pitchers than for position players. The Rays have relied on a Francisco Mejía – René Pinto pairing behind the dish in Zunino’s absence, and a long-term or season-ending issue could inspire them to turn to the trade market for help. Tampa Bay could arguably stand to upgrade even if Zunino is able to rehab and work his way back quickly, as the impending free agent is hitting only .148/.195/.304 through 36 games this season.
The latest developments on some other notable injury situations around the game:
- The Dodgers placed Walker Buehler on the injured list last week after the righty was diagnosed with a flexor strain in his forearm. Shortly after landing on the shelf, Buehler underwent an arthroscopic procedure to remove a bone spur from his elbow, he told reporters this week (via Bill Plunkett of the Orange County Register and Jack Harris of the Los Angeles Times). The two-time All-Star indicated he’s been pitching through the spur for years and decided it best to remove it while he’s already shut down from throwing because of the flexor issue. The procedure isn’t expected to affect his recovery timeline, and Buehler reiterated he expects to be back on a major league mound 10-12 weeks from now. It’s not clear whether he’ll have enough time to build up as a prototypical starter for the stretch run, but if all goes as planned, he should be available as a postseason weapon for manager Dave Roberts.
- Brewers starter Brandon Woodruff will join Triple-A Nashville for a rehab start tomorrow, tweets Will Sammon of the Athletic. It’ll be the first of two likely minor league appearances before the right-hander is set to return to American Family Field. Woodruff has been out since suffering a right high ankle sprain in late May. While he recovered quite quickly from the leg issue, he was dealt a bit of a setback when a battle with Raynaud’s syndrome — a condition that causes decreased blood flow to a person’s fingers — resulted in some numbness on his throwing hand. Fortunately, he was able to restart a throwing program within days and is apparently in good enough shape to progress to game action.
NL Notes: Nationals, Diamondbacks, Cubs
With veteran Alcides Escobar sidelined with a hamstring strain, the Nationals had little choice but to turn to Luis Garcia, a former top prospect who came into the year sporting a 79 wRC+ through 386 career plate appearances. Despite a host of veteran signings that seemed to block Garcia from regular playing time, his time has come. Manager Dave Martinez has made clear that Garcia is his starting shortstop from here on out, per Jesse Dougherty of the Washington Post. Since taking over, Garcia has hit .352/.368/.519 over 57 plate appearances. That’s obviously above and beyond what the Nats can expect from Garcia, but even developing into an average regular would be a boon for a Nats team with few offensive building blocks beyond Juan Soto and Keibert Ruiz. Elsewhere around the National League…
- The Diamondbacks don’t yet know what their approach will be when it comes to the trade deadline, per MLB.com’s Steve Gilbert. GM Mike Hazen wants to see a little more from his club, who at 30-35 sits 6.5 games out of a wild card spot. It does not sound like the Diamondbacks are willing to move any heralded prospects, no matter how the next few weeks go, but if they remain in the race, Hazen could augment his current roster around the periphery, certainly when it comes to pitching, Gilbert notes.
- Cubs prospect Caleb Kilian is going to be in the rotation for the foreseeable future, and while that’s certainly their long-term hope for him, right now it’s more about need than performance, per The Athletic’s Patrick Mooney. With Wade Miley, Marcus Stroman, Adbert Alzolay, and Drew Smyly all on the injured list, the Cubs are going to let Killian earn his keep in the rotation, at least for a while.
- As for Stroman, he played catch today for the first time since going on the shelf, per Maddie Lee of the Chicago Sun-Times (via Twitter). That puts Stroman still aways from a return. No timetable has been put on his official return schedule.
Injury Notes: Rays, Cubs, Angels
The Rays placed starter Drew Rasmussen on the 15-day injured list yesterday (retroactive to June 12) with a left hamstring strain. Ralph Garza Jr. was recalled to take his roster spot. The 26-year-old Rasmussen has been solid for Tampa over 12 starts, posting a 3.41 ERA/3.90 FIP across 58 innings. Garza has been a frequent call-up for Kevin Cash‘s club, making 11 appearances with a 3.27 ERA/4.64 FIP over 22 innings. He’ll return to his spot in the bullpen for now. Elsewhere around the game…
- The Cubs placed second baseman Nick Madrigal on the 10-day injured list yesterday with a left groin strain. The move was retroactive to June 12th. The Cubbies were lauded for their acquisition of the 25-year-old, but he has yet to find his stride in Wrigleyville, hitting just .222/.263/.250 through 115 plate appearances. He’s been solid defensively, however, posting 3 DRS without making an error thus far. Veteran Jonathan Villar has taken over at the keystone in Madrigal’s absence, with Andrelton Simmons and rookie Christopher Morel also seeing some run there.
- The Angels are nearing a decision point about Anthony Rendon, per Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register. Rendon has missed four games because of the same wrist that caused him to miss 12 games earlier this month. If he can’t get back in the lineup soon, the Angels won’t have much choice but to put him back on the shelf. A litany of setbacks has kept Rendon from achieving his Nationals form over his three-year tenure with the Angels. So far this season, he was slashing .228/.324/.383, not a bad mark overall (106 wRC+), though still lacking in the power department.
White Sox Notes: La Russa, Mendick, Anderson, Hendriks
The White Sox shocked most onlookers when they hired Tony La Russa as manager over the 2020-21 offseason, bringing aboard the three-time World Series champion a decade after the end of his previous managerial stint in St. Louis. Chicago didn’t announce specific terms of La Russa’s contract at the time, calling it only a “multi-year deal.” Jon Heyman of the New York Post added some specifics this week, reporting that the 77-year-old is under contract for 2023 and makes $3.75MM in annual salary.
La Russa is one of the most accomplished managers in MLB history, but he’s also been the subject of some controversy since taking the position. A four-time Manager of the Year award winner and a Hall of Famer, he oversaw a 93-win club that claimed the American League Central title during his first season at the helm. However, this year’s team has stumbled to a disappointing 30-31 start that has them third in the division. Like any manager, La Russa certainly isn’t entirely to blame for the team’s successes or failures, but he’s come under renewed scrutiny from outside observers after a controversial in-game decision last week.
Trailing by two runs in the sixth inning of last Thursday’s contest against the Dodgers, La Russa intentionally walked Trea Turner on a 1-2 count. The decision was meant to enable left-handed reliever Bennett Sousa to face the lefty-hitting Max Muncy, but it was a bizarre call considering Sousa has already worked himself into an advantage count over the right-handed Turner. The perplexing decision was made to look all the worse after Muncy launched a three-run homer to essentially put the game away.
One strategic lapse isn’t going to torpedo La Russa’s job security, particularly in light of the manager’s close relationship with owner Jerry Reinsdorf. The resoundingly-panned move was, however, the latest chapter in what has thus far been an underwhelming 2022 showing on the South Side. There’s still time to turn things around, of course. Chicago just completed a sweep over the Tigers to get within two and a half games of the final Wild Card spot and four and a half behind the division-leading Twins.
As part of that effort, they’ll need dramatically better performance from a few spots on the diamond. The Sox have received bottom five offensive production at both second and third base this year, by measure of wRC+. Leury García and Josh Harrison have both struggled mightily as a platoon at the former position, while Yoan Moncada went a month without a home run before snapping that streak as part of a five-hit day this afternoon. It’s hard to envision the Sox replacing Moncada given his pre-2022 track record, but there’s perhaps room for a shakeup at the keystone.
Utilityman Danny Mendick has hit .288/.337/.475 through his first 26 games of the season, far superior numbers to those of Harrison or García. Mendick has played shortstop recently with Tim Anderson on the injured list, but the latter kicked off a rehab assignment with Triple-A Charlotte yesterday and is likely to return to the MLB lineup fairly soon. James Fegan of the Athletic wrote this morning the Sox could kick Mendick over to second base upon Anderson’s return if they want to keep him in the lineup.
Anderson is one of three regulars on the shelf, as the club is also without left fielder Eloy Jiménez and catcher Yasmani Grandal. Chicago has also placed high-leverage relievers Aaron Bummer and Liam Hendriks on the injured list in recent days, with the latter hitting the IL yesterday with an ominous-sounding flexor strain in his forearm. General manager Rick Hahn suggested the preliminary timetable for Hendriks’ recovery was three weeks, and the two-time All-Star downplayed any additional worries.
Speaking with reporters (including Daryl Van Schouwen of the Chicago Sun-Times) this morning, Hendriks said he’s “not concerned with (the strain) long term at all.” He admitted he’s pitched through a tear in the UCL in his elbow for over a decade but stated the forearm strain hasn’t done any further damage to the ligament. Signed to a $54MM guarantee over the 2020-21 offseason, the righty has an excellent 2.61 ERA across 96 2/3 innings with 54 saves in a ChiSox uniform.
AL Injury Notes: Anderson, Tigers, Odorizzi, Chapman
As the injury bug continues to bite the White Sox, Tim Anderson is at least nearing a return. Manager Tony La Russa told reporters (including MLB.com’s Scott Merkin) that Anderson is scheduled to begin a Triple-A rehab assignment on Tuesday. Anderson suffered a groin strain in Chicago’s May 29 game, and at the time, La Russa estimated the star shortstop would need about three weeks of recovery time. This rehab assignment would seemingly put Anderson right on track to match or even beat that projection.
The South Side would love to have Anderson back as soon as possible, given how he was on pace for possibly the best season of his already-standout career. Anderson hit .356/.393/.503 with five home runs over his first 173 plate appearances, plus a perfect 8-for-8 mark in stealing bases. With Eloy Jimenez still on the IL and Yasmani Grandal now nursing a sore hamstring, Anderson’s return is a much-needed boost for a struggling White Sox lineup.
More injury updates from around the American League…
- Tigers manager A.J. Hinch told The Detroit News’ Chris McCosky and other reporters that Tyler Alexander (elbow sprain) could be activated from the 15-day IL as soon as Tuesday, though the team hasn’t yet decided on Alexander’s next step after the southpaw has seemingly completed his rehab work. Eduardo Rodriguez (ribcage sprain) was tentatively slated to return from his own rehab assignment this week, but that timeline is now up in the air since Rodriguez is away on a personal matter. Meanwhile, reliever Jose Cisnero (shoulder strain) was about to begin his own rehab assignment but has now been shut down for two weeks due to soreness in his right Achilles tendon.
- For the first since suffering a lower-leg injury almost a month ago, Jake Odorizzi joined the Astros‘ other pitchers in fielding drills today. Manager Dusty Baker told FOX 26’s Mark Berman (Twitter links) and other reporters that Odorizzi’s return to these drills is “kind of like the final hurdle” in determining the right-hander’s readiness. The next step is gradually bringing Odorizzi along, as the pitcher told Berman and company that he was going at around “50-60%” in his first workout, and he’ll continue to slowly ramp up.
- Matt Chapman has missed the Blue Jays‘ last two games due to a sore right wrist. Manager Charlie Montoyo told Sportsnet’s Ben Nicholson-Smith and other reporters that Chapman “couldn’t even pinch-hit today,” though the third baseman is still considered day-to-day with the injury. Imaging hasn’t yet been done on Chapman’s wrist, which Nicholson-Smith notes is an indication that the Jays believe the injury isn’t too serious.
Quick Hits: Canha, Escobar, Marte, Mets, Perez, Suarez
Starling Marte, Mark Canha, and Eduardo Escobar are all playing well for the first-place Mets, making the team’s investment in the trio look like a canny move. The New York Post’s Joel Sherman looks back at how the Mets added all three players during a frenzied span of around two days prior to the lockout, and how newly-hired GM Billy Eppler “emphasized on-base percentage, defense, versatility and players with strong reputations as good teammates,” with a particular focus on how well such free agents could adapt to Citi Field. Sherman’s piece contains several interesting details about the Mets’ pursuit of the three players, as well as some other info on some of the other suitors.
The Rangers (another of the winter’s more aggressive teams) and Dodgers were interested in Canha, while “the Mets saw the Giants as a threat” due to Canha’s ties to the Bay Area. As for Marte, New York was a relatively late entry into that chase, as agent Peter Greenberg said he met with roughly 20 other teams before touching base with the Mets, since Eppler wasn’t officially hired until midway through November. However, the Mets made up plenty of ground by offering Marte a big four-year, $78MM contract that outpaced the other bidders. “What stands out to me is that the Mets came in and in less than 24 hours we had a deal,” Greenberg said.
More from around baseball….
- Martin Perez has been one of the surprises of the 2022 season, as the veteran lefty has an AL-best 1.56 ERA over 69 1/3 innings, plus a 54.7% grounder rate and just a single home run allowed. With encouragement from Rangers coaches, Perez has re-established his sinker as a big part of his arsenal, Evan Grant of The Dallas Morning News writes, and Perez also took a tip from the legendary Pedro Martinez about throwing more pitches outside the strike zone, to induce more chases from batters. The results speak for themselves, as Perez is having a career year at age 31, and setting himself up for a much more lucrative trip to free agent this winter. After the Red Sox declined their club option on Perez last fall, he told Grant that the Pirates and Nationals each had interest prior to the lockout, but Perez instead chose to return to a familiar environment and signed with Texas for a one-year, $4MM pact in March.
- The Padres placed right-hander Robert Suarez on the 15-day injured list due to right knee inflammation earlier this week, and manager Bob Melvin told reporters (including reps from 97.3 The Fan radio) that Suarez recently had surgery to remove “loose impediments.” A specific recovery timeline isn’t known, but Suarez will miss “at least a couple of weeks before we see him back throwing.” The 31-year-old rookie has been a solid performer out of San Diego’s bullpen this year, with Suarez contributing a 3.09 ERA and 30.9% strikeout rate over 23 1/3 innings, though with a high 13.8% walk rate.