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West Notes: Giants, Mariners, Athletics

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Although outfielder Mike Yastrzemski suffered a mild oblique strain Sunday, the Giants are hopeful he’ll avoid the 10-day injured list, manager Gabe Kapler told Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle and other reporters. The Giants expect Yastrzemski to miss five to six games, but if he’s not ready beyond then, an IL placement may become necessary. Yastrzemski entered 2021 off back-to-back highly productive campaigns, and though he struggled at the outset of this season, his numbers began turning around before his injury. He has slashed .215/.303/.468 with four home runs in 89 plate appearances.

Here’s more regarding San Francisco and a couple other West Coast franchises:

  • The Giants put right-hander Johnny Cueto on the IL on April 15 with a Grade 1 lat strain, and he’ll sit out for at least a couple more weeks. Kapler revealed Cueto won’t return until May 9 at the earliest, which means he’ll wind up missing at least four starts, Slusser notes. San Francisco’s expectation was that Cueto would only miss two turns when he landed on the shelf. When healthy, Cueto has contributed to what has been an excellent Giants rotation with 20 innings of 1.80 ERA ball and a 24.3 percent strikeout rate against a 5.4 percent walk rate.
  • The Mariners have placed lefty Nick Margevicius on the 10-day IL with left shoulder inflammation and recalled righty Robert Dugger, the team announced. Margevicius’ IL trip comes one day after a disastrous performance in Boston, where he gave up four earned runs on two hits and four walks in a third of an inning. In five appearances (three starts) and 12 innings this year, Margevicius has been tattooed for 16 runs (11 earned) on 13 hits and seven walks. The Mariners are likely to plug righty Ljay Newsome into their rotation to take Margevicius’ place, manager Scott Servais suggested (via Ryan Divish of the Seattle Times). Newsome has held his own across four relief appearances this season, having allowed two earned runs on nine hits with 11 strikeouts against one walk over 10 2/3 frames.
  • The Athletics activated Mike Fiers from the IL on Monday, but the longtime starter will work out of their bullpen for the time being, manager Bob Melvin informed reporters (including Martin Gallegos of MLB.com). That means the A’s will stick with a five-man rotation consisting of Sean Manaea, Chris Bassitt, Frankie Montas, Jesus Luzardo and Cole Irvin. Fiers – who missed the first few weeks of the season with a lumbar strain – will try to bounce back from a disappointing showing 2020 showing in which he notched a 4.58 ERA/5.41 SIERA in 59 innings.

NL East Notes: Fried, Maton, Duvall

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Sunday was a day to forget for the Braves, as the team had only one hit in the first game of a doubleheader against the Diamondbacks, and then had zero hits against Madison Bumgarner in the nightcap.  As per the official record, Major League Baseball is not recognizing Bumgarner’s feat as a no-hitter since the game was only a seven-inning contest, so the Braves avoided being no-hit for the 18th time in their franchise history.  (Though there has already been enough controversy over the league’s ruling that one wonders if Bumgarner could be retroactively awarded a no-hitter in time.)  The Braves did achieve one infamous distinction, however, as they now hold the record for fewest hits by any team in a doubleheader.

More from the NL East…

  • Max Fried’s stay on the injured list has already gone beyond the minimum 10 days, though MLB.com’s Mark Bowman tweets that there’s a chance Fried could be available to pitch in this weekend’s series between the Braves and the Blue Jays.  Bowman wrote last Friday that there wasn’t yet a timeline on Fried’s recovery from a hamstring strain, though the southpaw was taking part in fielding drills and he threw a side session.  Facing the Jays in an AL ballpark would also keep Fried from having to take any at-bats — he suffered his hamstring injury while running the bases.  It has been a very rough start to the season for Fried, between the IL stint and the 11.45 ERA he has posted over his first 11 innings.
  • Nick Maton’s MLB career has gotten off to a dream start, as the 24-year-old has hit .500/.542/.636 over his first 24 plate appearances as a big leaguer.  Maton was initially called up to fill in for Didi Gregorius and then Jean Segura while the two were nursing injuries, though the Phillies are now looking for ways to get Maton into the lineup whenever possible.  “I told him to take flyballs everywhere.  You never know in the National League game what’s going to happen,” manager Joe Girardi told NBC Sports Philadelphia’s Corey Seidman and other reporters.  A seventh-round draft pick for the Phils in 2017, Maton mostly played shortstop in the minors and saw some action at second and third base, though he has never played the outfield as a professional.  Maton has been working out at all three outfield spots, though Seidman notes that center field has been the biggest problem area for the Phillies, as Adam Haseley, Roman Quinn, and Mickey Moniak have all struggled at the plate.
  • Speaking of new center fielders, Adam Duvall got his first-ever start at the position in yesterday’s 4-3 Marlins loss to the Giants.  Duvall played the first seven innings up the middle before moving over to right field for the bottom of the eighth.  Miami skipper Don Mattingly told MLB.com’s Christina De Nicola and other reporters that the move was made to add more offense, since “obviously we’re having a battle trying to put some runs on the board,” though Mattingly admitted that “it’s a catch-22 that we make ourselves a little different defensively in center.”  With Starling Marte on the injured list due to a rib fracture, the Marlins have mostly gone with Lewis Brinson as the center field replacement, but Brinson hasn’t been hitting.  Duvall has been mostly a corner outfielder and first baseman over his eight-year MLB career, though he did make one other appearance as a center fielder; Duvall played an inning at the position on August 11, 2020 when he was a member of the Braves.

Injury Notes: Pham, Cueto, Flores, Yaz, Springer

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Tommy Pham came up limping after grounding out in the second inning of tonight’s Padres game in Los Angeles, per AJ Cassavell of MLB.com (via Twitter). Pham stopped running about halfway down the baseline, clearly uncomfortable. Pham’s reaction, while muted, also suggested that he knew something was off as he reached for his ankle. An Achilles injury is the fear, but the injury appears to be left calf tightness, per Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union-Tribune (via Twitter). As for tonight, Jorge Mateo took over in left for Pham. Elsewhere…

  • Johnny Cueto is likely to miss a third start before returning from the injured list, per Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle (via Twitter). Cueto was placed on the injured list ten days ago with a grade 1 lat strain. The expectation at the time was that he would miss two starts, so it sounds like he’ll miss that target. That said, there was no indication that the injury was any more severe than originally diagnosed. Cueto should still be able to return shortly. In the meantime, Logan Webb will get at least one more turn in the rotation. Complicating matters in a good way for the Giants, Webb went seven scoreless against the Marlins today.
  • Also in San Francisco, Wilmer Flores missed today’s ballgame because he was under the weather, but after receiving fluids he’s on the mend. Mike Yastrzemski, meanwhile, was taken out of the game because of left oblique tightness, per the Athletic’s Andrew Baggarly (via Twitter). Because of their short bench, don’t be surprised if Yaz lands on the injured list tomorrow, but the team gave no indication one way or the other.
  • Blue Jays fans may finally get the chance to see offseason acquisition George Springer this week. Per Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sports.net.ca (via Twitter), manager Charlie Montoyo said, ““I’m optimistic that Springer’s got a good chance on Tuesday.” Springer’s return still hinges on his a final check-up, but the club hopes the 31-year-old will be in the lineup to face Max Scherzer in Dunedin on Tuesday.

East Notes: Andujar, Nelson, Smith, Turner

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The Yankees announced a pair of roster moves after today’s 7-3 loss to the Indians. For starters, they optioned Nick Nelson to their alternate site. The 25-year-old right-hander appeared in six games, once as an opener, giving up 10 earned runs in 8 1/3 innings. The demotion comes after a two-inning, three-earned-run outing in today’s ballgame. In addition, the Yankees activated third baseman Miguel Andujar from the injured list and optioned him to their alternate site. Andujar was beset by a bout of carpal tunnel syndrome in his right wrist. Slowed largely by injures, the 26-year-old has hit just .193/.219/.257 across 114 plate appearances since his breakout rookie season in 2018. Let’s stay on the East Coast, but move over to the Senior Circuit…

  • The Mets activated right-hander Drew Smith from the injured list and optioned him to their alternate site, per Anthony DiComo of MLB.com (via Twitter). The 27-year-old has been spotty, but intriguing in small samples for the Mets. Though he made just eight appearances last year, he has logged 35 innings in 35 appearances with a 4.11 ERA/4.08 FIP going back through 2018. Injuries have been the bugaboo for Smith, who missed all of 2019 after undergoing Tommy John surgery. His shoulder has been the issue of late, though hopefully, with some time at the alternate site, Smith can prove his readiness and soon get back to a big league mound.
  • Star shortstop Trea Turner was removed from today’s game after getting plunked in the arm. He has a contusion on his left forearm, but testing came back negative, per Jesse Doughtery of the Washington Post (via Twitter). Turner may miss a game, but it sounds as if the Nats expect him to be okay. That’s critical for the Nationals, as Turner has taken over as their 3-hole hitter with Juan Soto on the shelf. The speedy shortstop looks at home in the middle of the order with a 120 wRC+ and 1.0 bWAR produced through 75 plate appearances prior to today’s game.

Pitching Notes: Corbin, Odorizzi, Tepera, Ohtani

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Patrick Corbin was the subject of some trade discussions this winter, as ESPN.com’s Buster Olney (subscription required) reports that the Nationals had talks with other teams about the veteran left-hander.  It isn’t clear whether the Nats initiated these talks or if other teams were exploring Corbin’s availability, or if any of these discussions were anything beyond standard offseason “checking-in” types of conversations.  It could be that teams were trying to buy low on Corbin in the wake of a down year that saw him post a 4.66 ERA, 20.3% strikeout rate, and a career-low 90.2 mph average fastball velocity over 65 2/3 innings.  Between 2020’s shortened season and Corbin’s stint on the COVID-related injury list this April, it makes it hard to gauge whether or not Corbin’s struggles last year and in the early days of the 2021 season are truly due to a decline.

Trading Corbin would have been quite the pivot for a Washington team that planned on contending in 2021.  It’s possible the Nats could have looked to add Major League-ready pieces rather than prospects in any Corbin deal, or perhaps moved the southpaw for a comparably high-priced proven veteran.  Corbin is owed $106MM from 2021-24 in the four remaining seasons of his original six-year, $140MM free agent deal from the 2018-19 offseason.  The topic of a Corbin trade could be worth revisiting of the Nationals don’t get into the playoff race and become sellers at the trade deadline, though Corbin’s contract would seemingly make him one of the less-likely Nats players to be dealt, considering how D.C. has so many rental players available.

More pitching-related items…

  • Jake Odorizzi is being examined today after having to leave yesterday’s game after just five pitches.  More will be known when tests are complete, but Astros GM James Click gave an optimistic view on the injury during an interview on the team’s pregame radio show today (hat tip to Chandler Rome of the Houston Chronicle).  “The initial read yesterday was more of a muscle cramp in the pronator muscle, which is not the flexor mass,” Click said.
  • The Cubs announced that Ryan Tepera’s three-game suspension was reduced to two games on appeal, and the right-hander will begin serving his suspension today.  Tepera’s suspension was issued earlier this month after an incident that saw Tepera throw behind the Brewers’ Brandon Woodruff.
  • We’ll conclude this edition of Pitching Notes with an item on…an outfielder, sort of.  Shohei Ohtani played an inning of left field, moving from DH to the grass at the end of the Angels’ 16-2 loss to the Astros yesterday.  As Angels manager Joe Maddon told MLB.com’s Daniel Guerrero and other reporters, the move was made “out of necessity” due to a short-handed bench and outfielder Anthony Bemboom getting called to the mound for an inning of mop-up duty.  There has often been speculation that Ohtani could be deployed in the outfield as a way of keeping him in the lineup and opening up Anaheim’s DH spot, but Maddon stressed that using Ohtani as a position player is “not part of the plans” going forward.  Maddon did note, however, that Ohtani “is such a great athlete…I’m telling you he could do it.”

Injury Notes: Crawford, Longoria, Rendon, Nola, Giolito

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The Giants made Brandon Crawford a late scratch from yesterday’s lineup due to quad tightness.  Evan Longoria also missed his second consecutive game with hamstring tightness, after the same issue forced him to make an early exit from last Thursday’s game.  To add some extra infield help, the Giants called up Jason Vosler from the alternate training site prior to yesterday’s game (reliever Jarlin Garcia was placed on the 10-day IL with a left groin strain).

San Francisco has more infield depth than most clubs, though even the Giants’ roster has been stressed with Crawford and Longoria both hurting and Donovan Solano already on the injured list recovering from a calf strain.  Mauricio Dubon is the top choice to fill in at shortstop if Crawford has to miss any more time, while Wilmer Flores has been handling third base in Longoria’s absence.  It also creates an opportunity for Vosler, who made his MLB debut last night.  The 27-year-old was a 16th-round pick for the Cubs back in 2014, and Vosler has spent his minor league career in the Cubs and Padres farm systems, also spending time at San Diego’s alternate training site in 2020.

The latest on some other injury situations from around baseball…

  • Anthony Rendon could return to the Angels’ lineup tomorrow or Tuesday, manager Joe Maddon told The Athletic’s Fabian Ardaya and other reporters.  Rendon hit the 10-day IL due to a left groin strain back on April 12, so the third baseman will likely end up missing only slightly more than the 10-day minimum.  Anaheim’s already-strong offense will be even more dangerous with the addition of a former All-Star in Rendon, who is entering his second season with the team.
  • Austin Nola could return to the Padres lineup next week, manager Jayce Tingler told reporters (including Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union-Tribune).  Nola has been out since mid-March after fracturing his left middle finger in Spring Training, though Nola is playing games at the Padres’ alternate training site.  San Diego has relied upon Victor Caratini and top prospect Luis Campusano to handle catching duties in Nola’s absence, though neither Caratini or Campusano have been very productive at the plate.
  • Michael Kopech will start for the White Sox today rather than originally-scheduled starter Lucas Giolito, who told reporters (including Vinnie Duber of NBC Sports Chicago) he has been “pushed back a couple of days” due to a cut on the middle finger of his throwing hand.  As Giolito explained in self-deprecating fashion, he suffered the minor injury because “I thought that a glass water bottle I had was twist-off, and it wasn’t twist-off.”  The team decided to hold Giolito out of today’s start just to be cautious, and the right-hander expects to pitch Tuesday when the White Sox open a series against the Tigers.

AL West Notes: Judge, Angels, Athletics, Kelenic

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The Angels had trade talks with the Yankees about Aaron Judge this winter, ESPN.com’s Buster Olney reports, though it sounds as if the discussions were little more than due diligence.  “It was the lightest of flirtations,” as Olney put it, “and perhaps a door-opener for other names.”  No details about the specific nature of the talks were mentioned, though it’s safe to assume the Angels explored some bigger outfield names like Judge before eventually landing Dexter Fowler in a salary-dump of a trade from the Cardinals.

Needless to say, a Judge trade would have been arguably the offseason’s biggest blockbuster, and it’s fun to speculate about what exactly Los Angeles would have had to give up to land the slugger.  (Cue the inevitable “Judge for Trout and Ohtani sounds about fair” jokes in the comments section.)  The Angels and Yankees were somewhat imperfect trade partners since both shared a need for starting pitching, which could be one of the reasons negotiations didn’t get very far.  Since getting under the luxury tax threshold seemed to be the Yankees’ primary offseason goal, finances would likely have played some factor in a hypothetical trade, though obviously the Yankees wouldn’t have just given Judge away to clear his relatively modest $10.175MM salary.  Olney also observed that discussion about Judge’s future in the Bronx will soon become more prominent, as Judge is only under team control through the 2022 season.

More from the AL West…

  • In figures released on Friday, the Athletics’ plans for their new ballpark at the Howard Terminal site in downtown Oakland will cost $1 billion for the stadium itself, and roughly $12 billion for development projects in the surrounding area.  (Bill Shaikin of the Los Angeles Times has the details.)  The bulk of the costs would be covered by the team and private developers, though the A’s asked the city to provide $855MM for infrastructure improvements.  That money would come from taxes related to the project, but a statement from Oakland mayor Libby Schaaf said that while “the city is willing to bring to bear its resources to help make this vision a reality…today’s proposal from the A’s appears to request public investment at the high end for projects of this type nationwide.”  The Athletics have requested that Oakland’s city council vote on the project before the end of the summer.
  • Mariners star prospect Jarred Kelenic will make his MLB debut at some point this season, though while GM Jerry Dipoto told MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand that Kelenic “is going to get here soon…I don’t expect that’s going to be in a matter of days.”  Enough time has passed in the season that the Mariners have gained an extra year of control over Kelenic’s services, a tactic mentioned as part of the infamous comments made by former team president/CEO Kevin Mather during a rotary club speech in February.  As expected, Dipoto made no mention of service time considerations, noting that the M’s wanted to see Kelenic get more experience facing left-handed pitching.  The GM also said that “when you break camp with a team, committing to those players for the first 30 or 40 games, it would be unfair to judge what they do without giving them that sample to work with.”  Looking at Seattle’s current outfield options, Mitch Haniger is off to a red-hot start, Taylor Trammell hasn’t hit but has looked strong defensively, and Kyle Lewis only just returned from the injured list.  Ty France is also hitting well and has taken most of the DH at-bats, but France could also see more time at first or second base when the time comes for Kelenic’s promotion.

COVID Notes: 4/24/21

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The latest coronavirus-related situations from around baseball…

Latest Updates

  • The Dodgers are placing reliever Dennis Santana on the COVID injured list after he experienced side effects related to the vaccine, manager Dave Roberts told reporters (including Juan Toribio of MLB.com). The right-hander pitched in mop-up duty against the Padres last night, allowing a pair of runs on two hits and two walks in one inning of work.

Earlier Notes

  • Jose Altuve was placed on the Astros’ injury list on April 14, and the second baseman confirmed to reporters (including the Houston Chronicle’s Danielle Lerner) today that his placement was due to a positive COVID-19 test.  Altuve isn’t in today’s Astros lineup but he did say he’s feeling better, so a return to the field shouldn’t be too far away.
  • The Marlins have closed down their minor league complex through the weekend due to multiple COVID-19 positives, Fox Sports Radio 640’s Andy Slater reports (Twitter link).  A team spokesman told Slater that the shutdown “will not have an impact on the start of the seasons” for Miami’s affiliates, all scheduled to begin play on May 4.  At least five players and staffers tested positive for the coronavirus, according to SportsGrid’s Craig Mish (via Twitter).
  • The Twins reinstated southpaw Caleb Thielbar from the COVID-IL, the team announced, with right-hander Luke Farrell optioned to the alternate site in a corresponding move.  Thielbar was placed on the IL on April 20 along with Max Kepler and Kyle Garlick, though while the two outfielders actually tested positive for the virus, Thielbar was noted only as a close contact.  Thielbar has a whopping 48.4% strikeout rate over seven innings this season but only a 5.14 ERA, thanks in large part to three home runs allowed.

Cardinals Notes: Molina, O’Neill, Carpenter

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Yadier Molina left Friday night’s game due to right foot soreness, after appearing to hurt his foot on a swing during a fifth-inning at-bat.  Molina struck out on the wayward swing, and was replaced by Andrew Knizner at catcher in the top of the sixth.  Molina will undergo testing to determine the extent of the injury, and any sort of absence would represent a big loss to the St. Louis lineup.  Over his first 68 plate appearances, Molina is hitting a scorching .339/.382/.661 with five home runs, with a 180 OPS+ that ranks tied for 14th among all qualified batters in the majors.  While this level of offensive production wasn’t expected to continue, it was at least a good sign that Molina was bouncing back from a pair of subpar years at the plate.

More from The Gateway City…

  • In other Cardinals injury news, Tyler O’Neill was activated off the 10-day IL yesterday.  O’Neill saw some action in the 5-4 victory over the Reds, entering the game as the new left fielder during a double-switch in the sixth inning, though he didn’t start due to a minor foot injury.  Manager Mike Shildt told reporters (including Jeff Jones of the Belleville News-Democrat) that O’Neill fouled a ball off his foot during a simulated game on Thursday, though obviously the issue wasn’t serious enough to either prevent O’Neill’s IL activation, or to keep the outfielder from taking the field.  O’Neill hit the injured list due to a groin strain back on April 11, and is looking to get on track after hitting only .138/.167/.276 in his first 30 PA of this young season.
  • With O’Neill back and Harrison Bader also approaching a return from his forearm injury, Matt Carpenter looks like the odd man out of the Cardinals lineup.  President of baseball operations John Mozeliak told reporters (including Ben Frederickson of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch) that “those at-bats are going to be more difficult to find if production isn’t there” for Carpenter, who has an .077/.213/.154 slash line in 47 plate appearances.  Despite some outstanding hard-contact numbers, Carpenter is striking out and swinging-and-missing at a high volume, Frederickson notes, while also posting a career-worst walk rate.  It represents the low point of over two seasons of struggles for Carpenter, who has been a below-average hitter since the start of the 2019 campaign.  The Cardinals had already addressed this decline by relegating Carpenter to a part-time role at best heading into the season, and Mozeliak’s comments suggest that Carpenter could be hard-pressed to receive any significant playing time going forward.  Carpenter is in the final guaranteed year of a two-year, $39MM extension, and though Frederickson said that there wasn’t any indication that the Cardinals might simply eat the remaining salary by releasing Carpenter, it doesn’t make much sense to use a roster spot on a scuffling player who isn’t part of the team’s future plans.

Injury Notes: Lamet, Springer, Archer, Huff

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Padres right-hander Dinelson Lamet left his season debut Wednesday with forearm soreness and quickly went on the 10-day injured list, leading to concerns that he could require a second Tommy John surgery. A couple days later, those worries seem to be fading. Lamet went through his typical post-start routine Friday, Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union-Tribune writes, and manager Jayce Tingler called it “a positive day” for the 2020 Cy Young contender. If all goes according to plan over the next week-plus, Lamet could return from the IL when he’s first eligible on May 2.

Now for a few American League updates…

  • Center fielder George Springer may finally be on the cusp of his Blue Jays debut. Manager Charlie Montoyo told Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet and other reporters on Friday afternoon that there is “a chance” the Blue Jays will activate Springer on Sunday. The three-time All-Star then got through a sim game at the team’s alternate site without any problems, per Montoyo (via Shi Davidi of Sportsnet). An oblique strain and then a quad strain have prevented Springer from suiting up for Toronto, which signed the ex-Astro to a six-year, $150MM contract in free agency.
  • Rays righty Chris Archer has already missed two weeks because of forearm tightness, and a return is not imminent. Archer is likely a couple more weeks from rejoining the Rays’ rotation, manager Kevin Cash revealed (via Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times). Even though he endured a disastrous 2019 with the Pirates and then missed all of last season because of thoracic outlet surgery, Tampa Bay reunited with Archer – previously a Ray from 2012-18 – on a one-year, $6.5MM deal in free agency. The gamble hasn’t paid off so far, as Archer didn’t complete three innings in either of the two starts he made before he hit the IL.
  • Rangers catcher prospect Sam Huff will undergo surgery to remove a “loose body” from his right knee next Wednesday, Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News relays. The injury will sideline Huff for eight weeks and could prevent him from catching this season. The 23-year-old – MLB.com’s 68th-ranked prospect – produced eye-popping results during a 10-game, 33-plate appearance major league debut in 2020, when he slashed .355/.394/.742 with three home runs. Huff hadn’t even played above the High-A level when the Rangers promoted him last September.
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