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NL Notes: Lindor, Blackburn, Barnes, Payamps

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After exiting early on Friday and sitting out on Saturday, Mets superstar Francisco Lindor was pulled in the second inning of today’s series finale against the Phillies. Back discomfort has been a problem for the NL MVP candidate all weekend, and as it turns out, significantly longer. Lindor told reporters, including Tim Britton of The Athletic, that he has been playing through back pain for the past two weeks. Ever since he further irritated the injury on Friday, it has become too difficult to ignore.

Lindor will go for an MRI tomorrow, after which the Mets will have a better sense of the severity of his condition. Needless to say, they’ll be hoping it’s nothing serious and the star shortstop can get back on the field as soon as possible. The Mets are in a dead heat with the Braves in the race to secure the third and final NL Wild Card berth.

In further injury news out of Queens, starting pitcher Paul Blackburn is dealing with a spinal fluid leak in his back (per Anthony DiComo of MLB.com). President of baseball operations David Stearns suggests the injury isn’t quite as bad as it might sound, but nonetheless, the team does not know when Blackburn will be able to return. The right-hander has not pitched since August 23. Thankfully for the Mets, their pitching staff, and particularly their starting rotation, has been a strength as of late. Their starters rank third in MLB with a 2.32 ERA since Blackburn landed on the IL. Meanwhile, Blackburn had a 5.18 ERA in five starts after joining the Mets at the trade deadline.

More from around the National League:

  • Dodgers manager Dave Roberts says he would be “shocked” if catcher Austin Barnes doesn’t wind up on the injured list tomorrow, according to Juan Toribio of MLB.com. The veteran backstop got hit by a foul ball on his left big toe and was forced to make an early exit from today’s game against the Braves. Barnes spent time on the IL with a fracture in the same toe in August, and while Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic points out that today’s contusion is in a “different spot,” it’s quite possible Barnes re-aggravated his old injury. Ardaya notes that Hunter Feduccia – one of four catchers on the Dodgers’ 40-man roster – is already on his way to join the big league club.
  • Brewers reliever Joel Payamps felt discomfort in his forearm during his appearance today against the Diamondbacks, manager Pat Murphy told reporters (including Curt Hogg of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel). The right-hander recorded one out in the bottom of the seventh inning and did not return for the eighth. The Brewers have not yet provided any further details about Payamps, who has been one of the team’s most trusted and dependable relievers over the past two seasons. Across 130 games with Milwaukee, he has a 2.90 ERA and a 3.45 SIERA in 124 innings pitched. He has not looked quite as sharp in 2024 as he did the year before. Still, his 3.38 ERA and 3.73 SIERA are respectable numbers, while his six saves, 18 holds, and high average leverage index are proof that the Brewers continue to rely on him in plenty of important spots.

NL Central Notes: Hudson, Steele, Cruz

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For most of the 2024 season, Bryan Hudson was one of the most effective relievers in the major leagues. Out of 58 relievers who have thrown at least 60 innings this year, his 1.73 ERA ranks fifth. However, since September 3, Hudson has been pitching not for the Milwaukee Brewers but for the Triple-A Nashville Sounds.

According to Curt Hogg of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, the Brewers decided to option Hudson to Triple-A due to concerns about his velocity and durability. The left-hander suffered a minor oblique strain at the of July and came back in mid-August. While his surface-level numbers remained impressive upon his return (2.13 ERA in 12 2/3 IP), his velocity was noticeably lower on all three of his pitches. What’s more, his strikeout rate dropped, his walk rate rose, and his 4.38 SIERA was significantly higher than his 2.98 SIERA pre-injury.

Thus, with the Brewers sitting comfortably atop the NL Central standings, it made sense to send Hudson to the minors, where he could rest up and work on his stuff away from the pressure of the show. He has made just two outings so far for the Sounds, tossing a couple of scoreless innings with four strikeouts, two hits, and no walks allowed. His fastball velocity is still down compared to where it was earlier in the season, but it’s been a little better than it was in his last few outings before his demotion. Perhaps more importantly, his fastball velocity was higher in his second Triple-A outing this month than it was in his first.

It’s unclear if the Brewers are planning to recall Hudson anytime soon, but manager Pat Murphy suggested the 27-year-old will be back in Milwaukee eventually. As Hogg reports, Murphy is “pleased” with what Hudson has accomplished in Nashville, and there’s nothing more he needs to prove. The skipper didn’t provide a timeline for Hudson to get back in the Brewers’ bullpen, but he implied that a return was on the horizon, saying  “I think you’ll see him again.”

The Nashville Sounds’ season ends next Sunday. If the Brewers are hoping to have Hudson for the postseason, it would make sense to call him up once the Triple-A campaign comes to a close. That would give him a week to reacclimate to big league competition before October.

More from around the NL Central:

  • After completing a 40-pitch bullpen session yesterday, Cubs starter Justin Steele described it as “a really good day” (per Maddie Lee of the Chicago Sun-Times). The All-Star hurler landed on the injured list earlier this month with left elbow tendinitis, but he says he is no longer feeling any symptoms of the injury (per Patrick Mooney of The Athletic). As Lee adds, the Cubs still need to monitor Steele’s recovery over the next few days, but as long as he remains healthy, he should be able to return sometime soon, potentially for the four-game series against the Nationals at the end of this coming week. Sitting 5.5 games back of the final NL Wild Card spot, the Cubs are still clinging onto their slim playoff hopes. This late in the season, their fate is probably out of their hands, but it certainly won’t hurt to have their co-ace back for a couple more turns through the rotation.
  • Oneil Cruz exited the Pirates game this afternoon with discomfort in his left ankle, manager Derek Shelton told reporters (including Andrew Destin of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette). He suffered the injury slipping in the outfield. The 25-year-old recently began playing center field for the first time in his professional career, and it will surely take him some time to get used to the new position. Cruz has started 13 games in center over the past three weeks, and he already has two errors and -3 defensive runs saved. Thankfully for Cruz and the Pirates, this injury doesn’t appear particularly serious. Indeed, he was able to stay in the game initially, but, as Shelton puts it, the ankle later “stiffened up.” Cruz is day-to-day for now, but the Pirates certainly aren’t going to take any chances with the young star over the final two weeks of another lost season.

AL Central Notes: Moncada, Lorenzen, Larnach

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The White Sox told reporters (including James Fegan of Sox Machine) that third baseman Yoán Moncada will be activated for tomorrow’s game against the Angels. Moncada has been out with a left adductor strain since April 9. Prior to his injury, he was off to a relatively strong start in 2024, going 11-for-39 (.282) with a 122 wRC+ in 11 games.

Moncada has dealt with injuries in almost every season of his career, and outside of a phenomenal performance in 2019, he has struggled to live up to his top prospect billing. However, if he can be just a league-average hitter and a capable defender at third base, the 29-year-old will represent a huge upgrade for the White Sox lineup over the final two weeks of the season. Miguel Vargas, who has been starting for the club at third base since the trade deadline, is batting .112 with a .395 OPS so far in his brief tenure on the South Side. He has made four errors in just 27 games at third base, accruing -2 OAA and -2 DRS. The White Sox aren’t going to give up Vargas (himself a former top prospect) just yet, but there is no denying that Moncada should make for a significant improvement.

Chicago doesn’t have much to play for this year, but the club is still hoping to avoid setting a new modern-day record for most losses in a season. Meanwhile, Moncada is looking to make a strong impression before most likely entering free agency in the offseason; the White Sox are all but certain to turn down his $25MM club option for 2025 in favor of a $5MM buyout.

More from around the AL Central:

  • Michael Lorenzen was dominant over his first five starts with the Royals after the trade deadline (1.85 ERA in 24 1/3 IP) before a left hamstring strain forced him to the 15-day IL. He has not pitched since August 27. Lorenzen made his second rehab appearance this past Friday, and prior to the game, Anne Rogers of MLB.com noted the right-hander was likely to rejoin the team this coming week.  However, Rogers reported today that he was “more sore than normal” following his rehab outing, so the Royals will need to wait and see how he feels in the coming days before determining his next steps. The phrasing “more sore than normal” doesn’t necessarily suggest a serious setback, but it’s far less likely Lorenzen will be pitching in Kansas City this week.
  • Twins manager Rocco Baldelli revealed that outfielder/DH Trevor Larnach is playing through a hamstring injury (per Aaron Gleeman of The Athletic). That explains why he hasn’t played the field since last Tuesday. It also explains why, in Gleeman’s words, he’s running “at way less than full speed.” It’s surely concerning for the Twins that their cleanup hitter is nursing an injury, but Baldelli suggests the hamstring issue hasn’t had an impact on Larnach’s swing. That’s certainly a relief for Twins fans, considering how important Larnach has been to this offense. He rarely plays against left-handed pitching, but he has been one of Minnesota’s better bats when he has the platoon advantage. He boasts a team-leading 15 home runs and 47 RBI against right-handed pitching, with a .792 OPS and a 125 wRC+. The Twins will have to hope his hamstring injury doesn’t turn into anything more serious.

NL East Notes: Albies, Marte, Bohm

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11:01am: The Mets told reporters (including Anthony DiComo of MLB.com) that Marte’s x-rays came back negative, though he’s out of the lineup due to soreness for today’s game. Meanwhile, the Phillies have activated Bohm from the IL ahead of schedule and will bat him fifth in today’s lineup.

9:15am: The Braves have been without second baseman Ozzie Albies for nearly two months now due to a fractured left wrist, and since then the club has had to rely on veterans like Whit Merrifield and Cavan Biggio who were added following his injury to handle the keystone. While Merrifield has performed admirably in Albies’s absence with a .269/.374/.370 slash line with Atlanta, the club is surely anxious to return the three-time All-Star to the lineup as the Braves fight to remain in a playoff spot with just two weeks to go in the regular season.

When manager Brian Snitker and Albies himself spoke to reporters on Friday about the second baseman’s status, the update was somewhat mixed. Snitker (as relayed by David O’Brien of The Athletic) raised some alarms for Braves fans by saying he wasn’t sure if Albies would play again this year before clarifying that because Albies is still feeling discomfort in his injured wrist only when he bats from the left side, the switch-hitter would be able to return if he was willing to bat from the right side exclusively down the stretch. Per MLB.com’s Mark Bowman, Albies is willing to drop switch-hitting for the time being in order to return to the lineup and hopes to be back sometime next week.

Albies, 27, has batted much better while hitting right-handed throughout his career, including this year where he’s posted a 151 wRC+ against left-handed pitching for the Braves compared to an 80 wRC+ against righties. It’s a similar but less extreme story over his career as a whole, as he’s posted a 146 wRC+ while batting right-handed and a 96 wRC+ while batting left-handed. It won’t be the first time Albies has faced right-handed pitching while as a right-handed batter in his career, although his experience in that regard has been limited to just 14 plate appearances throughout his MLB career. With that being said, that extremely small sample size has seen him find a great deal of success as he’s gone 3-for-11 with three walks and two homers in those handful of trips to the plate.

More from around the NL East…

  • The Mets suffered a bit of an injury scare last night when outfielder Starling Marte was struck by a pitch on the forearm from right-hander Jeff Hoffman in last night’s loss to Philadelphia. Marte remained in the game to run the bases and play the outfield, but manager Carlos Mendoza told reporters (as relayed by SNY) that the veteran was scheduled to undergo “precautionary” x-rays on his forearm to make sure that the 35-year-old hasn’t suffered a more serious injury. Marte has hit a decent .271/.320/.399 in 83 games with the Mets this year but has struggled a bit at the plate since returning from the IL last month, with a lackluster .241/.286/.328 slash line in 17 games since being activated. If Marte misses time, it seems likely that Jesse Winker will slide into a more regular role with the club down the stretch.
  • The Phillies have been without third baseman Alec Bohm since late August due to a strained hand, but it seems that may change in the coming days as manager Rob Thomson recently told reporters (including The Athletic’s Matt Gelb) that Bohm has “shown progress” in his recovery. He’s currently on a rehab assignment at Triple-A but could be back with the big league club as soon as Monday. The return of Bohm to the starting lineup would provide a huge boost for Philadelphia, as with Edmundo Sosa also on the IL (and, coincidentally, joining Bohm on his Triple-A rehab assignment) the big league club has had to rely on a combination of Kody Clemens, Weston Wilson, and Buddy Kennedy at the hot corner in recent weeks. 2024 has been something of a breakout season for Bohm, who has slashed a strong .290/.343/.462 in 131 games this year.

Diamondbacks Notes: Moreno, Gurriel, Thomas, Lawlar

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After a shocking run to the World Series last October, the Diamondbacks once again find themselves inching towards the playoffs with a 1.5-game lead over the Braves and Mets in the AL Wild Card race. Arizona is in the second of three spots, leaving Atlanta and New York in a tie for the third spot. While there’s still room for things to change, Fangraphs gives the Snakes a strong 86.4% chance of making the postseason for the second consecutive year when all is said and done. Even with those solid odds, the club will surely want all the help it can get to secure its positioning and head into the playoffs strong.

Fortunately, reinforcements are on the way as manager Torey Lovullo told reporters (including Alex Weiner of AZSports) that both catcher Gabriel Moreno and outfielder Lourdes Gurriel Jr. are “very close” to being activated from the injured list. The duo were scheduled to play in a game at the club’s Spring Training complex today where Moreno was set to both hit and catch while Gurriel would hit without playing the field. That leaves Moreno, who has been out for six weeks due to a groin strain, a bit closer to playing in the majors than Gurriel, who’s been out two weeks now with a strained calf.

Moreno, 24, is in his second season with the Diamondbacks after being acquired from the Blue Jays alongside Gurriel in the Daulton Varsho trade prior to the 2023 campaign. Moreno has established himself well as a solid two-way catcher and has posted a .262/.344/.385 slash line with a 105 wRC+ while playing excellent defense behind the plate. That two-way talent has left the Snakes missing Moreno dearly, as they’ve utilized a combination of the light-hitting but defensively gifted Jose Herrera alongside youngster Adrian Del Castillo, who sports a 138 wRC+ but questionable defense behind the plate.

As for Gurriel, the 30-year-old has hit .274/.316/.428 with a 105 wRC+ that’s identical to not only Moreno’s own figure from this year but also the production Gurriel posted in his first season with Arizona last year. Fortunately for Arizona, however, Gurriel’s absence hasn’t been felt as much as may have been initially expected due to an offensive explosion on the part of Pavin Smith, who has slashed an incredible .286/.385/.905 with four home runs in nine games since taking over for Gurriel in left field alongside Randal Grichuk. While Smith’s 72-homer pace is obviously not sustainable long-term, his hot streak has allowed the club to post MLB’s best offense by wRC+ (138) in September despite losing a key cog in their lineup for whom they didn’t have an obvious replacement at the ready.

Gurriel and Moreno aren’t the only two players who could be called upon to help the Diamondbacks headed into the postseason, however. According to a conversation between GM Mike Hazen and MLB.com’s Steve Gilbert, outfielder Alek Thomas and top infield prospect Jordan Lawlar are both regarded as “possible” contributors down the stretch and into the postseason. Thomas was optioned to the minors back in August and subsequently suffered an oblique strain at Triple-A but, per Gilbert, is nearly ready to return to action. Thomas has had another disappointing season offensively with a .191/.248/.362 slash line in 32 games at the big league level, but he offers excellent defense in all three outfield spots that could make him an asset in a bench role.

Lawlar, meanwhile, made it into just 13 games before the calendar flipped to September this year between thumb surgery and a hamstring strain but finally made it back into Triple-A earlier this week. Per Gilbert, Lawlar is expected to play winter ball this offseason to make up for the reps he lost to injury this year, but it’s not hard to imagine the club preferring the 22-year-old to their other bench infield options like Luis Guillorme and Kevin Newman headed into the postseason. Lawlar was similarly included on the club’s postseason roster last year, when he appeared in three games and went 0-for-1 with a walk and a run scored.

AL Central Notes: Twins, Kwan, Olson

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The Twins recently welcomed a pair of key players back from the injured list, returning both center fielder Byron Buxton and shortstop Carlos Correa to the starting lineup. Buxton was activated in advance of yesterday’s game after missing the past month with a hip injury, while Correa has been out for the past two months due to plantar fasciitis in his right foot. The duo’s return to action is surely a relief for Twins fans. After all, only Matt Wallner’s 162 wRC+ surpasses Correa’s 152 and Buxton’s 142 figures among the club’s regulars, and the two stars also play key defensive roles at shortstop and center field respectively.

As important as both Correa and Buxton are to the Twins’ pursuit of an AL Wild Card spot and impending postseason push, however, they won’t be in the lineup every day down the stretch. As noted by Aaron Gleeman of The Athletic, manager Rocco Baldelli told reporters earlier today that both players will be in the lineup on a truly game-to-game basis, with the team’s medical staff evaluating them both after each game to determine whether or not they’ll be available to play in the club’s next game.

That aggressive management of the club’s two top players might seem counter-intuitive for a Twins club that’s clinging to a 2.5-game lead over Detroit for the final AL Wild Card spot, but it’s fairly understandable given the pair’s significant injury woes. After all, Buxton’s injury woes throughout his career have been extreme enough that the next game he takes the field for will mean he’s played more games in 2024 with 93 than he has in any season of his 10-year big league career except 2017. While Correa’s injury woes haven’t been quite that extreme, the shortstop has been limited to just 75 games this year by injury and is now attempting to play through plantar fasciitis for the second consecutive September. For a Twins club that hasn’t made it to the ALCS since 2002, keeping Correa and Buxton as healthy as possible for the playoffs is clearly a top priority.

For his part, Correa seems to be on board. The shortstop told reporters (as relayed by Gleeman) that “Realistically, [he’s] not going to play every game” before adding that he wants to be on the field for the Twins “as much as possible” going forward this season. When Correa and Buxton are unable to play, Brooks Lee appears to be the club’s primary backup at shortstop while Willi Castro is the top option in center field.

More from around the AL Central…

  • The Guardians are dealing with an injury scare regarding one of their top hitters, as club manager Stephen Vogt told reporters (including Mandy Bell of MLB.com) that outfielder Steven Kwan has been out of the lineup in recent days due to what he described as “back soreness.” While that diagnosis may seem fairly benign, it’s at least somewhat concerning that Vogt added Kwan has been sent for testing to determine the severity of the issue. While it’s nearly impossible for the Guardians to miss the playoffs at this point, the club holds a fairly tenuous three-game lead over the Royals for the AL Central crown, which is likely to come with a bye through the first round of the playoffs. The loss of Kwan, who has excelled as the club’s leadoff hitter with a .291/.364/.419 slash line this year, would surely complicate the club’s hopes of holding onto its present playoff positioning and an lengthy absence could even jeopardize Kwan’s availability in the early rounds of the playoffs. Will Brennan, Angel Martinez, and Daniel Schneemann are among the club’s options in left field while Kwan is unavailable.
  • The Tigers have been without Reese Olson for virtually the entire second half this year after the right-hander went on the IL back in July due to a shoulder strain. Fortunately, manager A.J. Hinch told reporters (including Cody Stavenhagen of The Athletic) this afternoon that the club hopes to activate Olson from the IL during the club’s upcoming series against the Royals early next week. A healthy and effective return from Olson would be a huge boost for a Detroit club that sits just 2.5 games back of Minnesota for the final AL Wild Card spot, as the 25-year-old righty was in the midst of a breakout season with a 3.23 ERA and 3.13 FIP in 19 starts before being sidelined.

AL East Notes: Jansen, Yankees, LeMahieu, Webb, Mountcastle

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Kenley Jansen enjoyed ten straight years of playoff baseball before signing a two-year, $32MM free agent contract with the Red Sox during the 2022-23 offseason, and barring a late surge from Boston in the last two weeks of play, Jansen is now on pace for back-to-back without any postseason action.  As he heads into free agency this winter, it therefore isn’t surprising that Jansen is “always gonna look for winning.  Contending,” the closer told MassLive.com’s Chris Cotillo.  “That’s going to be my priority…I want to be in a situation where we can contend for a title.  That’s it.”  This doesn’t necessarily mean Jansen wouldn’t consider a return to the Sox, as Jansen praised the team’s young talent and said he “had a blast wearing this uniform, playing for these fans.”

Even as he approaches his 37th birthday, Jansen has no plans to retire, suggesting that he’d like to pitch “at least until I’m 40-42.”  There isn’t much on-field evidence that Jansen is running out of steam, as he remains an effective late-game weapon with a 3.48 ERA in 51 2/3 innings and 26 saves in 30 chances for Boston in 2024.  Jansen figures to get a lot of attention in free agency this winter, and Cotillo suggests that the Yankees could look at Jansen as a potential replacement for Clay Holmes.  The Red Sox and Giants were the only teams publicly linked to Jansen’s market in his prior stint as a free agent, but Cotillo writes that New York “made a serious run at Jansen before he” joined the Red Sox.

More from around the AL East….

  • Sticking with the Yankees, DJ LeMahieu discussed his hip impingement with The Athletic’s Brendan Kuty, saying that he received a cortisone shot on Thursday to hopefully aid the healing process.  LeMahieu hasn’t played since September 3 but he believes he’ll be able to return to New York’s lineup before the season is over.  While players generally have a more optimistic view of their injuries, this does represent a more positive outlook than manager Aaron Boone’s more non-committal answer earlier this week, when the skipper said “I wouldn’t necessarily rule it [a LeMahieu return] out, but I wouldn’t count on it, either.”  In between this injury and the foot issue that cost him the first two months of action, LeMahieu has struggled to a .204/.269/.259 slash line over 228 plate appearances this season.  Even if he is healthy enough to play, LeMahieu’s lack of production might well cost him a spot on New York’s playoff roster.
  • Jacob Webb’s activation from the Orioles’ injured list could happen during the team’s current series with the Tigers, manager Brandon Hyde told MASNsports.com’s Roch Kubatko and other reporters.  Before a bout of elbow inflammation sent him to the 15-day IL on August 4, Webb was one of Baltimore’s more solid relievers, delivering a 3.08 ERA over 49 2/3 innings and 53 appearances out of the Orioles bullpen.  Of the many players on the Orioles’ IL, Webb seems closest to returning, though Danny Coulombe is continuing a minor league rehab assignment and might not be far off.  Jordan Westburg has resumed baseball activities and is hitting in a batting cage as he works his way back from a fractured hand.
  • Ryan Mountcastle is still in the early stages of a hitting progression, but Hyde wasn’t sure if the Orioles first baseman will be back before the regular season is over.  Mountcastle’s IL stint due to a sprained left wrist began on August 23, and he has hit .265/.305/.425 with 13 home runs in 485 PA.  As Kubatko writes, the loss of Mountcastle’s steady production has been more glaring since first base replacement Ryan O’Hearn has been caught in an ugly slump.

AL Notes: Buxton, Correa, Lorenzen, Cortes

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Byron Buxton was feeling discomfort in his hip as recently as Wednesday, and Betsy Helfand of the St. Paul Pioneer Press writes that this setback scuttled the Twins’ plans for Buxton to begin a minor league rehab assignment this weekend.  Right hip inflammation has kept Buxton on the injured list since the middle of August, depriving the Twins lineup of a big bat with 16 homers and a .275/.334/.528 slash line over 335 plate appearances.  While Minnesota has dealt with a number of injuries this season, losing Buxton seems to have been a particular blow to the roster, as the Twins are only 6-14 over their last 20 games.

Reinforcements are needed, yet there’s no word on when either Buxton or Carlos Correa might be able to start a rehab assignment, as manager Rocco Baldelli told Helfand and other reporters today.  Correa hasn’t played since July 12 due to plantar fasciitis in his right foot, and the shortstop has been feeling good while taking part in running drills.  This is “some level of significant, but we still have a ways to go,” Baldelli said.  “We’ll see if we can build on that and keep moving in a positive direction.”

Some other items from around the American League….

  • While Minnesota is struggling, the Royals rebounded from a seven-game losing streak with a three-game sweep of the Twins this weekend.  Kansas City is also getting healthier, as manager Matt Quartaro told MLB.com’s Anne Rogers and other reporters that Michael Lorenzen is slated to begin a minor league rehab assignment on Tuesday.  Lorezen was placed on the 15-day IL on August 28 due to a left hamstring strain, so the right-hander looks like he shouldn’t miss much time beyond the 15-day minimum.  Acquired from the Rangers in a deadline trade, Lorenzen had great results in his first five starts as a Royal, delivering a 1.85 ERA in 24 1/3 innings.
  • The returns of Luis Gil and Clarke Schmidt gave the Yankees a rotation surplus, relegating Nestor Cortes to a relief role as a piggyback pitcher behind Schmidt on Saturday.  “I’m never going to leave my teammates out to dry.  You’re always going to get my best effort, no matter if I’m happy or not,” Cortes told ESPN and other media, yet the left-hander also made it clear that he was “upset” over the role change.  “I felt like I’ve been, amongst all the starters, the workhorse here,” Cortes said.  “Once [Gerrit] Cole went down, they picked me to be the Opening Day starter — not necessarily the No. 1, but the Opening Day starter.  I had to switch my routine there.  Now they do this.”  After an injury-plagued 2023 season, Cortes has a 3.97 ERA over 163 1/3 innings this year, with an unimpressive set of Statcast metrics except for an excellent walk rate.  Cortes will return to starting duty when the Yankees adopt a six-man staff for the next turn through the rotation, yet it remains to be seen how New York deploys Cortes, Cole, Gil, Schmidt, Carlos Rodon, and Marcus Stroman for the remainder of the regular season and into the playoffs.

Rangers Notes: deGrom, Scherzer, Rocker

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Jacob deGrom’s 2024 debut finally appears imminent, after the two-time Cy Young Award winner completed his fourth and likely final minor league rehab outing on Saturday.  DeGrom has seemingly come out of that four-inning, 49-pitch appearance in good health, and is now set to make his return to the majors at some point during the Rangers’ upcoming six-game road trip that begins Tuesday.

“If it all goes well, he’ll be pitching for us next time around,” manager Bruce Bochy told MLB.com’s Kennedi Landry and other reporters.  “It’s pretty cool because it’s been a long road as these guys go through the rehab on the Tommy John.”

DeGrom had his Tommy John surgery in June 2023, and last pitched in a big league game on April 28, 2023.  After signing a five-year, $185MM free agent contract with Texas during the 2022-23 offseason, deGrom’s only contribution to the Rangers’ World Series season was six starts and 30 1/3 innings, albeit with a very impressive 2.67 ERA and his typically excellent strikeout and walk rates.

Statistics compiled during minor league rehab stints should always be taken with a grain of salt, but deGrom has looked quite sharp in posting an 0.84 ERA over 10 2/3 total innings in the minors.  As Landry noted, deGrom has been so dominant that he hasn’t been able to entirely hit his assigned rehab checkpoints.  In his start on Saturday, Bochy said deGrom was assigned for four innings or 60 pitches, yet deGrom breezed through Double-A opponents on just 49 pitches — the most he has thrown in any of his four rehab starts.

As the season enters its final three weeks, the Rangers’ title defense has resulted in only a 70-74 record and a longshot bid at a wild card berth.  DeGrom won’t be returning to a pennant race, but there’s some obvious benefit in getting back on a big league mound and shaking off some rust in advance of a hopefully normal offseason, and then a standard ramp-up in Spring Training.  At age 36 and with just 186 2/3 MLB innings pitched since Opening Day 2021, deGrom’s health history will always make him something of a question mark, yet he has continued to deliver whenever he has been able to pitch.

DeGrom could soon be joined by another veteran ace in Max Scherzer, whose minor league rehab stint got underway Saturday at Triple-A with four hitless innings of work on 53 pitches.  Right shoulder fatigue and then triceps discomfort has kept Scherzer on the injured list since the start of August, but a mechanical fix seems to have corrected his triceps issue, and Scherzer looked to be in good form on Saturday.

It seems possible that Scherzer could rejoin the Rangers as early as this week’s road trip, depending on whether or not the team feels he needs any more rehab work to more fully build his pitch count.  The Rangers could also activate Scherzer and then allow him to rebuild at the MLB level, either on a limited innings count or with a piggyback pitcher working behind Scherzer.

Heading into the season, Texas planned to have deGrom, Scherzer (who was then recovering from offseason back surgery), and Tyler Mahle (Tommy John surgery) all back around the middle of the year, providing the rotation with some reinforcements down the stretch.  While a few setbacks delayed these pitchers on that projected timeline, the bigger problem was other injuries and a lack of hitting that torpedoed the Rangers’ season.

Ironically, this planned surplus of pitching has now come at a time when the Rangers might prefer to look at their future arms.  One such hurler is top prospect Kumar Rocker, who has opened some eyes since his own return from a May 2023 Tommy John surgery.  The third overall pick of the 2022 draft has an 0.46 ERA over 19 2/3 innings in Double-A ball this season, and an 1.80 ERA in 10 innings since being promoted to Triple-A Round Rock.

These numbers have been impressive enough that Rangers GM Chris Young told reporters (including Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News) that the team hadn’t closed the door on the possibility of Rocker making his big league debut at some point before the 2024 campaign is over.  Grant ran through the various factors involved, including Rocker’s rough 50-inning cap in his first season back from TJ surgery, and the fact that Texas would be putting Rocker on the 40-man roster perhaps earlier than necessary.  With three weeks remaining in the season, there’s still time for Rocker to bank a few more Triple-A innings, and if he keeps forcing the issue, the Rangers still have time to perhaps have the right-hander make a cameo after the minor league season is over.

Orioles Notes: Rodriguez, Coulombe, Camden Yards

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It has been just over a month since the Orioles placed Grayson Rodriguez on the 15-day injured list due to a right lat/teres strain, and pitching coach Drew French provided reporters (including MLB.com’s Jake Rill) with an update on Rodriguez’s recovery process.  Rodriguez threw his first bullpen session earlier this week, and French said “we’re hopeful that we’ll get a live [batting practice session] in and a rehab assignment started pretty soon.“

This would seem to put Rodriguez on pace for the late-September return that was projected by GM Mike Elias last month, though French left some wiggle room in stating whether or not Rodriguez would return as a starting pitcher.  “We’re very hopeful to have him back in that capacity,” French said, but “obviously everything is on the table at this point, so [we] just kind of take it day-by-day and see where we’re at at the end.”

The calendar is naturally the issue, as the minor league season concludes on September 22.  The Orioles don’t want to rush Rodriguez’s throwing progression for fear of aggravating his injury or causing a setback, yet as French put it, “we know we’re coming up against it right now” in terms of having enough time for Rodriguez to build up his pitch count through minor league rehab starts.  On paper, Rodriguez could perhaps bank a minor league start and then continue his ramp-up in the majors, perhaps as a piggyback starter at first.

Since this would all have to come amidst the Orioles’ battle for the AL East title, it wouldn’t be an ideal situation for either the team or the player.  While Baltimore is a virtual lock to reach the playoffs, winning the division and earning a first-round bye is the Orioles’ preferred method of entry.  That bit of extra break would allow the O’s to line up their ideal postseason rotation, and gauge whether or not Rodriguez is fully fit enough to be part of said rotation.

Rodriguez’s spot as a playoff starter was all but assured at the time of his injury, as the second-year right-hander has a 3.86 ERA and above-average strikeout and walk rates over 116 2/3 innings.  Corbin Burnes and Zach Eflin have playoff rotation spots booked, and any of Rodriguez, Albert Suarez, or Dean Kremer could be line for other starts depending on health, effectiveness, matchups, or however long Baltimore’s playoff run lasts.

Another pitcher’s timeline is a little clearer, as Danny Coulombe is set to start a rehab assignment this Wednesday with Triple-A Norfolk.  Coulombe went on the 60-day injured list in June after undergoing surgery to remove bone chips from his left elbow, and appears to be on pace to return to the Orioles’ relief corps before the season is over.  Coulombe has been nothing short of outstanding since joining the O’s in March 2023, becoming a trusted setup man on the strength of a 2.68 ERA in his 77 1/3 innings in a Baltimore uniform.

Seranthony Dominguez has emerged as the Orioles’ top closing candidate since he was acquired from the Phillies at the trade deadline, helping stabilize a Baltimore bullpen that has been a relative weak link in terms of its overall middle-of-the-pack performance.  Losing Coulombe for a big chunk of the year didn’t help the bullpen’s cause, but his return should help further bolster the reliever depth chart heading into October.

In other Orioles news, chairman and CEO David Rubenstein shared some details on the renovations planned for Camden Yards as part of an interview with FOX 5’s Steve Chenevey (hat tip to Matt Weyrich of the Baltimore Sun).  The process is tentatively slated to begin during the 2025-26 offseason and “take about four years before it’s completed….hopefully by the end of ’28 we will complete all the retrofit of the stadium,” Rubenstein said.  The exact range of renovations isn’t yet known, though Rubenstein suggested that the work will add a few more modern touches and amenities to Camden Yards.

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