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Central Notes: Mondesi, Twins, Moroff, White Sox

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Before this afternoon’s game against the Twins, the Royals placed shortstop Adalberto Mondesi on the 10-day injured list, retroactive to June 4, with a left hamstring strain. It’s a tough blow for the speedy shortstop, who missed almost all of the season’s first two months with an oblique issue. In between the injuries, Mondesi has gotten off to a productive start, hitting .360/.360/.720 with a pair of homers in seven games. To replace him on the active roster, Kansas City recalled outfielder Edward Olivares from Triple-A Omaha.

More from the game’s central divisions:

  • Twins center fielder Byron Buxton could embark on a minor league rehab assignment at some point next week, manager Rocco Baldelli told reporters (including Betsy Helfand of the St. Paul Pioneer-Press). Buxton has missed the better part of a month with a right hip strain, a devastating development considering his incredible start to the season. Before the injury, the 27-year-old looked well on his way to putting himself in early AL MVP conversation, hitting .370/.408/.772 with nine homers in his first 98 plate appearances. Righty Kenta Maeda, meanwhile, threw a 35-pitch bullpen session this morning and looks to be nearing a rehab assignment of his own, per Do-Hyoung Park of MLB.com (Twitter link).
  • Cardinals utilityman Max Moroff will require season-ending surgery on his left shoulder, manager Mike Shildt announced (via Jeff Jones of the Belleville News-Democrat). The procedure comes with a seven-month recovery timeline, so Moroff figures to be ready for next Spring Training. Moroff, selected to the St. Louis roster last month, went just 1-16 with ten strikeouts in six games. The Cardinals figure to transfer him to the 60-day injured list when the need for a 40-man roster spot arises.
  • The White Sox announced this morning they’ve reinstated outfielder Adam Engel from the injured list to make his season debut. He’s starting in center field this afternoon against the Tigers. Fellow center fielder Billy Hamilton is going on the 10-day IL due to a right oblique strain in a corresponding move. Engel has missed the first two months of the year with a right hamstring strain. Hamilton has been among the depth outfielders the Sox have relied upon in center without Luis Robert and Engel. Over 75 plate appearances, the speedy Hamilton is hitting .217/.247/.406 with a pair of home runs.

COVID Notes: 6/6/21

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The latest on the coronavirus-related situations around the league:

  • The Phillies announced they’ve placed right-handers Chase Anderson and David Hale on the COVID-19 injured list. Lefty Cristopher Sánchez was recalled from Triple-A Lehigh Valley, while reliever Héctor Neris was reinstated from the paternity list in corresponding moves. Anderson has made eleven appearances (eight starts) this season, pitching to a 7.34 ERA/5.21 SIERA. Hale, meanwhile, has managed a 5.64 ERA/4.20 SIERA over 13 appearances.

NL Injury Notes: Muncy, Guillorme, Blandino

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Let’s check in on a couple of injury situations in the National League…

  • The Dodgers got some good news today as X-Rays on Max Muncy’s ankle came back negative, per Bill Plunkett of the Orange County Register (via Twitter). Muncy is suffering from a mild ankle sprain, but he should be available to pinch-hit. Muncy has perhaps been even better than usual this season with a 165 wRC+ while handling 72 percent of the workload at first base and 12 percent of the playing time at second.
  • Luis Guillorme began a rehab assignment in Triple-A on Friday night as he recoveres from a right oblique strain, per Deesha Thosar of the NY Daily News (via Twitter). The Mets expect Guillorme to be healthy enough for activation by the end of the week.
  • Alex Blandino has a broken right hand, but no surgery will be required, so he could return to the Reds in three to six weeks, per Bobby Nightengale of the Cincinnati Enquirer (via Twitter). A first round pick back in 2014, Blandino has appeared at every infield position and left field while also toeing the rubber four times this season for the Reds. He owns a .200/.317/.257 in 82 plate appearances.

AL Notes: Orioles, Twins, Red Sox, Astros

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John Means left his start today in the first inning with what’s currently being identified as “left shoulder fatigue,” per Rich Dubroff of Baltimorebaseball.com. Said Means after the game, “This is something I’ve been battling the last few weeks. Not really during the games, but after games. I felt it more so in warmups when I was out there, the last couple of pitches when I really started to let it eat.” The O’s lefty will undergo an MRI on Sunday morning. Elsewhere in the American League…

  • The Twins have not gotten the kind of production they need from Matt Shoemaker this season. The 34-year-old veteran gave up eight earned runs while recording just one out against the Royals on Friday. For the season, Shoemaker’s 7.28 ERA/5.98 FIP rank last by a fair margin among starters with at least 50 innings this season. He will continue to make his turns in the Twins’ rotation for now, per the Athletic’s Dan Hayes.
  • Even if the Twins wanted to make a move, they’re somewhat hampered by recent injuries in their minor leagues. Minor league hurlers Lewis Thorpe and Matt Canterino were placed on the injured list today, per Do-Hyoung Park of MLB.com (via Twitter). They are dealing with a left shoulder strain and right elbow strain, respectively. Canterino, pitching in High-A, was not likely to help out at the big league level this season, but Thorpe already has 14 innings in four appearances (three starts) with the Twins this season. He has pitched exclusively out of the pen at Triple-A.
  • J.D. Martinez was a late scratch from the Red Sox’ lineup with a sore wrist, per Pete Abraham of the Boston Globe (via Twitter). He appeared to jam his wrist sliding into second base during play on Friday. The injury does not appear to be serious. Per Christopher Smith of Masslive.com, manager Alex Cora commented on the situation, saying, “…we’ll take care of him today, get treatment. If he feels good and we need him late in game, then probably we’ll use him.”
  • Aledmys Diaz will undergo X-Rays after being hit by a pitch and suffering a left hand contusion, per Mark Berman of Fox 26 (via Twitter). Diaz would be missed. He’s posted a solid .281/.339/.439 line in 124 plate appearances this season.

AL East Notes: Zombro, Choi, Kluber, Blue Jays, Ward

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Rays pitching prospect Tyler Zombro was struck in the head by a line drive last night during the eighth inning of Triple-A Durham’s game against Norfolk.  Zombro was taken off the field on a stretcher and taken to hospital, as the game was suspended and then later officially halted.

The Rays released a statement on Zombro’s condition earlier today: “As of this morning, Tyler remains under the care of the nurses and doctors at Duke University Hospital. The updates from overnight have been positive, and he remains in stable condition. We are overwhelmed by the support for Tyler and the wishes for his full and speedy recovery from fans and the baseball community alike. We will provide additional updates as he progresses.”

We at MLBTR add our voices to the chorus of support for Zombro, and we’re hoping for all the best in his recovery.

More from around the AL East…

  • Ji-Man Choi has been battling left groin tightness and might require a trip to the injured list.  Choi missed Thursday’s game with the Yankees due to the issue, and Rays manager Kevin Cash told reporters (including Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times) that “I don’t think that he necessarily felt that great today” even after Choi received treatment throughout the game.  Arthroscopic knee surgery in March delayed Choi’s season debut until May 16, and he has been making up for lost time with a scorching .304/.448/.522 slash line in his first 58 plate appearances.  [UPDATE: the Rays have placed Choi on the 10-day IL with a left groin strain.]
  • Corey Kluber’s recovery from a rotator cuff strain is still projected to keep the righty out of action until around the last week of July, but Yankees manager Aaron Boone did provide some positive news in an update with reporters (including Kristie Ackert of the New York Daily News).  After receiving second and third opinions from doctors, Kluber is expected to start throwing on flat ground within a few days’ time — his initial diagnosis would have kept him from throwing whatsoever for four weeks.
  • Pitching is the most obvious need for the Blue Jays at the trade deadline, yet Sportsnet’s Ben Nicholson-Smith suggests that the Jays should also look to add bench help.  As much as the returns of George Springer, Alejandro Kirk, and Cavan Biggio will help matters, adding another bat would guard against any future injuries.  Specifically, a left-handed bat would also balance out a Toronto lineup that leans heavily to the right.
  • Red Sox pitching prospect Thad Ward recently underwent Tommy John surgery, Alex Speier of The Boston Globe reports.  A fifth-round pick for the Sox in the 2018 draft, Ward posted some impressive numbers in his first two pro seasons before making his Double-A debut this season (posting a 5.63 ERA over eight innings).  Both MLB Pipeline and Baseball America ranked Ward as a top-ten prospect in Boston’s farm system, but the right-hander will now be on the shelf for the next 13-15 months, and his entire 2022 could be in jeopardy in the event of a rehab setback.

NL Central Notes: Wong, Cardinals, Pirates

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Brewers second baseman Kolten Wong left last night’s game after three innings due to a left oblique strain, after striking out swinging in what ended up as his final at-bat of the game.  Brewers manager Craig Counsell told MLB.com’s Adam McCalvy and other reporters that “at this point, it’s day to day.  It’s not bad, but it’s concerning because it’s the same spot” that Wong previously felt a strain earlier this season.  That initial oblique issue sent Wong to the injured list and caused him to miss 11 games in April.

Wong has been a strong part of Milwaukee’s success this season, delivering his usual stellar glovework at second base while hitting .280/.343/.441 (114 OPS+, 115 wRC+) over 178 plate appearances.  Ideally, Wong could avoid the IL altogether, but even another relatively minimal absence would count as a minor victory considering how oblique injuries can often be longer-term problems.  Keston Hiura, Luis Urias, or Daniel Robertson are fill-in options at second base if Wong indeed has to miss significant time, but none can match Wong’s all-around contributions.

Some more injury updates from around the NL Central…

  • With Miles Mikolas and Jordan Hicks both on the injured list, Cardinals president of baseball operations John Mozeliak told reporters (including Jeff Jones of the Belleville News-Democrat) said the “best case” scenario is to have both right-handers back in August.  Mikolas is roughly 3-5 weeks from being re-evaluated after receiving a stem cell injection as he works his way back from forearm tightness, while Hicks is out until at least July 1 after being placed on the 60-day IL due to elbow inflammation.  Given that both hurlers have had significant long-term injury absences prior to these current health issues, the Cards will surely be as cautious as possible in bringing either Mikolas or Hicks back into action, despite the team’s pitching needs.
  • Max Moroff is considering surgery to address his ailing left shoulder, after the Cardinals infielder went on the 10-day IL with a shoulder subluxation last week.  If Moroff doesn’t opt for surgery, he’ll still be out of action for at least 4-6 weeks.
  • Pirates GM Ben Cherington hinted last week that outfield prospect Travis Swaggerty was leaning towards shoulder surgery, and the team announced yesterday (hat tip to The Athletic’s Rob Biertempfel) that Swaggerty indeed went under the knife and will miss the rest of the season.  Swaggerty is expected to be fully recovered in roughly five months, though it’s still a tough setback for the 10th overall pick of the 2018 draft.
  • Jose Soriano has also hit an injury speedbump, as the Pirates right-hander experienced “recurrent elbow discomfort” while on a minor league rehab assignment.  Soriano underwent Tommy John surgery in February 2020, though the Bucs still picked him off the Angels’ roster with the first pick in last December’s Rule 5 draft.  Despite the missed time, MLB Pipeline still ranked Soriano 24th among all Pirates prospect, highlighting his 70-grade fastball and a 55-grade curve.

Rangers Notes: DeShields, Yang, Allard, Jung

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Outfielder Delino DeShields Jr. has foregone the June 1 opt-out clause in his minor league contract and will remain with the Rangers for the time being, per Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News (Twitter link). Grant notes that the Rangers are still open to helping DeShields land on a big league roster if the opportunity presents itself. The Yankees reportedly looked into a trade involving DeShields but have thus far opted to go in another direction. Given Texas’ openness to helping DeShields back to the Majors, the Yankees probably wouldn’t have to give much of anything in return.

Of course, Texas could also opt to take another look at DeShields themselves. He’s batting .363/.433/.538 in Triple-A Round Rock, albeit in just 91 plate appearances and with a ridiculous .500 average on balls in play that won’t be sustained. DeShields has spent parts of five seasons as a Ranger, but Texas is currently committed to evaluating younger and/or more controllable players throughout the bulk of the lineup — hence the decision to move on from Elvis Andrus and Rougned Odor this season. Twenty-five-year-old Jason Martin is getting a look right now, and Texas also has Willie Calhoun, Adolis Garcia and Joey Gallo in the current outfield mix.

Some more notes from Arlington…

  • Lefty Hyeon-jong Yang is moving back into the bullpen after four of his past five appearances (including three in a row) were starts, Grant tweets. The former KBO MVP has been hit hard when working out of the rotation — particularly the second time through the order. Everything regarding Yang’s numbers so far comes with a small-sample caveat, given his limited innings count, but he’s pitched to a 3.55 ERA in 12 2/3 innings as a reliever while holding opponents to a .191/.255/.340 output. As a starter, he’s been tagged for 11 runs in 15 innings while yielding a .298/.388/.561 slash. One good start or one poor relief outing could obviously skew those numbers substantially at this point, so those numbers can be taken with a grain of salt. The 33-year-old Yang has tossed at least three innings in all of his appearances as a Ranger, so he’ll give skipper Chris Woodward a multi-inning option.
  • Stepping into Yang’s rotation spot will be left-hander Kolby Allard. The former Braves top prospect and first-round pick has worked primarily out of the bullpen this season but stretched to four innings in his most recent relief outing. Allard held his own as a rookie following the trade that swapped him and reliever Chris Martin in 2019, but he was clobbered for a 7.75 ERA in 33 2/3 innings last summer. He’s been sharp through his small sample of 11 1/3 innings in ’21, sporting a career-best 27 percent strikeout rate and a strong seven percent walk rate. It feels like Allard has been a prospect forever, but that’s common with high-profile high school draftees. He’s still just 23 years of age and has only 19 big league starts under his belt, so there’s time for him to yet emerge as a solid back-end starter for Texas.
  • Top prospect Josh Jung is expected to be cleared to return to action within the next two weeks, per Jeff Wilson of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. The 23-year-old Jung, selected eighth overall in 2019, has yet to play this season after suffering a stress fracture in his foot back in Spring Training. He underwent surgery that came with a recovery period of up to eight weeks. Jung has yet to play above A-ball because of last year’s canceled minor league season, but he hit .316/.389/.443 between Rookie ball and Class-A in 2019, his lone pro season thus far. He’s widely considered to be among the game’s top 100 overall prospects and is viewed as the club’s third baseman of the future.

Braves Notes: Pache, Freeman, Greene

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The Braves announced Wednesday that outfielder Cristian Pache has been reinstated from the 10-day injured list and optioned to Triple-A Gwinnett. It’s the second time this year the top prospect has been sent to Gwinnett for further refinement, which isn’t a surprise given that the 22-year-old has batted just .111/.152/.206 in 68 plate appearances. Pache is considered an all-world defender with substantial upside at the plate, but his offensive game is nowhere near as polished as his defense at this point. With Pache down and Marcell Ozuna both injured and facing assault allegations, the Braves’ outfield mix is comprised by Ronald Acuna Jr., Ender Inciarte, Guillermo Heredia, Abraham Almonte and Ehire Adrianza. Top prospect Drew Waters is hitting reasonably well in Triple-A but is striking out at a rather unpalatable 28 percent clip there.

Some more news and notes out of Atlanta…

  • Braves icon (and current assistant hitting coach) Chipper Jones weighed in on Freddie Freeman’s contractual situation in a chat with The Athletic’s Jeff Schultz. Jones stresses that he’s only offering his own opinion but wonders whether the Liberty Media-owned Braves are waiting to see what 2021 attendance numbers look like before making a market-value offer to Freeman. The Hall of Famer also calls Liberty Media an “absentee owner” that is “rooted in trying to make money off the franchise” more so than conventional ownership structures. Atlanta fans will want to check out the column for Jones’ full, lengthy quotes on the matter. Freeman, 31, didn’t start the 2021 season particularly well, but he’s hitting a much more characteristic .284/.411/.527 over his past 20 games (90 plate appearances). He’s scheduled to become a free agent for the first time this winter after the $135MM contract extension he signed eight years ago draws to a close.
  • Right-hander Shane Greene’s most recent schedule appearance in Gwinnett was pushed a couple of days due to soreness in his back, manager Brian Snitker told reporters Monday (link via MLB.com’s Mark Bowman). The veteran reliever was able to take the mound yesterday for his third appearance since re-signing with Atlanta, however. Thus far, Greene has rattled off 3 1/3 shutout innings with five strikeouts and one walk allowed. Snitker noted Monday that there’s still no timetable for when Greene is expected to join the Major League bullpen. After sitting out until early May, Greene is effectively going through a makeshift Spring Training in Gwinnett right now.

Rockies Notes: Story, Joe, Trejo, Bowden

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The Rockies can breathe a sigh of relief: There is no structural damage to Trevor Story’s elbow, per the Athletic’s Nick Groke (via Twitter). The star shortstop’s MRI came back clean, so the Rockies can now look forward to his return as early as next Tuesday.

While the biggest news out of Colorado was no doubt results of that MRI, they also completed a couple of roster moves. The Rockies recalled infielder Alan Trejo from Triple-A and optioned Connor Joe.

Joe has done a nice job in 52 plate appearances, particularly getting on base with a .365 OBP, but the 25-year-old Trejo brings the ability to play up the middle. At least while Story is out, Trejo provides the Rockies with more defensive insurance, especially as they run with a four-man bench. Trejo made his Major League debut earlier this season, slashing .216/.268/.270 in 41 plate appearances.

Yesterday, southpaw Ben Bowden was reinstated from the injured list and optioned to Triple-A, per the team. The 26-year-old Vanderbilt product posted a 6.39 ERA/4.54 FIP in 15 appearances prior to the left shoulder strain that landed him on the injured list.

Minor MLB Transactions: 5/31/21

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The latest minor moves from around baseball:

  • The Orioles have released left-hander Josh Rogers, Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com tweets. Rogers, soon to turn 27, was part of the return the Orioles received from the Yankees in a July 2018 trade centering on reliever Zack Britton. He wasn’t regarded as a high-end prospect at the time, and his stock took a hit when he underwent Tommy John surgery in July 2019. Rogers did appear in the majors with the Orioles during his first two seasons with the organization, but he could only muster an 8.65 ERA in 26 innings. While Rogers has returned to the mound at the Triple-A level this season after his TJ procedure, his struggles continued before the O’s cut him loose, evidenced by a 7.79 ERA in 17 1/3 frames.
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