Injury Notes: Cano, Chirinos, Sanchez, Suter
Robinson Cano went 3-for-3 in the Mets‘ 13-2 win over the Pirates today, though the veteran infielder’s big day was tarnished by a left hamstring strain. Cano had to be removed from the game after suffering the injury while running the bases during a fourth-inning single. An MRI is scheduled for Monday, and it seems likely that Cano will face the third injured-list stint of the season due to his left leg — a pair of quad injuries sidelined the veteran second baseman earlier in the year. While Cano is still hitting only .252/.295/.415 over 346 PA this season, he was in the midst of a hot streak at the plate, as Sunday marked his fourth consecutive multi-hit game.
We’ve already had quite a bit of injury news from around the game today, and here are updates on some other situations…
- Yonny Chirinos‘ start was cut short after five innings and 63 pitches today due to right middle finger inflammation. Chirinos will undergo tests on Monday, though the Rays right-hander told MLB.com’s Juan Toribio and other reporters that he doesn’t think his finger is a major concern. Today’s outing boosted Chirinos to a 3.62 ERA and 7.82 K/9 (against just a 1.99 BB/9) over 126 2/3 innings this season, as Chirinos has increasingly been used in a traditional starting pitching role rather than as the “bulk pitcher” behind an opener. Chirinos’ emergence has helped a Rays rotation that has continued to rely heavily on openers and bullpen games, particularly with Blake Snell and Tyler Glasnow both on the injured list.
- Gary Sanchez is tentatively scheduled to return to the Yankees’ lineup during their series with the Blue Jays from August 8-11, MLB.com’s Bryan Hoch tweets. Sanchez is on the verge of beginning a rehab assignment, in the wake of a left groin strain that sent him to the IL on July 24. At the time of the injury, Sanchez was suffering through a brutal slump that had seen him post only a .370 OPS over his previous 93 plate appearances, which dropped his season slash line to .229/.299/.508 over 328 PA.
- After beginning a minor league rehab assignment for the Brewers‘ rookie league affiliate, left-hander Brent Suter will continue the process at Double-A, Todd Rosiak of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel writes. Suter underwent Tommy John surgery in late July 2017 and is still hopeful of returning to the hill for the Brewers before the season is over. The soft-tossing Suter posted a 3.91 ERA, 3.54 K/BB rate, and 7.2 K/9 over 204 2/3 innings for Milwaukee from 2016-18, overcoming his lack of velocity by becoming a master at generating soft contact from opposing batters.
Injury Notes: Heaney, Means, Elias, A’s
While there was an unfortunate spate of injuries covered at MLBTR yesterday, a few more have emerged in recent hours:
- Angels’ left-hander Andrew Heaney will throw a 60-pitch simulated game Monday, reports Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register. Assuming that goes according to plan, Heaney could take the mound for the Halos next weekend in Boston, as the organization isn’t planning on sending him on a minor-league rehab assignment. Heaney, who was placed on the injured list two weeks ago with shoulder inflammation, hasn’t had a banner season, pitching to a 5.09 ERA over nine starts despite a strong 27.3% strikeout rate, as he’s been particularly susceptible to the home run ball (1.76 HR/9).
- The Orioles are also set to welcome back a left-handed starter in the coming days. Manager Brandon Hyde tells Joe Trezza of MLB.com that All-Star John Means will be activated from the injured list to take the mound Wednesday. Means will miss just more than the 10-day minimum, having hit the shelf with rotator cuff inflammation in his throwing arm July 26. The previously-unheralded 26 year-old has emerged as the club’s best starter in 2019, working to a 3.12 ERA. While it’s tough to imagine him continuing that level of run prevention with a below-average 19.3% strikeout rate and 34.9% ground ball rate, Means is a volume strike-thrower who looks like a solid back-end starter, a welcome find for the pitching-starved club.
- Nationals left-handed reliever Roenis Elías has “tweaked his hamstring,” tweets Jesse Dougherty of the Washington Post. There’s no indication yet the injury is serious, but any Elías absence would be a blow to his new employer, who acquired him from the Mariners for two relief pitching prospects at the trade deadline. A fly ball pitcher, Elías has given up his share of home runs this season and is fortunate to be carrying a 3.59 ERA, but he’s still one of the better pieces in a Washington bullpen that has been the worst in baseball at preventing runs.
- Melissa Lockard of the Athletic provides updates on a pair of A’s prospects (via Twitter). Triple-A catcher Sean Murphy, a gifted defender with some raw power, recently re-aggravated a preexisting meniscus tear. Fortunately, there doesn’t seem to be any new damage- just some pain and swelling- and Murphy could return to action by the end of August. More encouragingly, top left-handed pitcher Jesus Luzardo threw a simulated game this week as he looks to work his way back from a lat strain. Like Murphy, Luzardo has played his way to Triple-A and looked like he may be able to help the big league club this season before his injury.
Pitcher Notes: Kluber, Stripling, Alvarado
Indians fans will be relieved to hear that Corey Kluber was back to throwing darts at Progressive Field again on Saturday–even if Kluber’s teammates weren’t set to take the field for several hours. Before Cleveland’s game with the Angels today, the decorated hurler threw roughly 35 pitches in a simulated game setting, according to a report from Anthony Castrovince of MLB.com. While facing three batters from the organization’s Double-A Akron affiliate, Kluber was able to get his fastball up to 89 mph, which manager Terry Francona saw as encouraging progress. “I was kinda surprised [Kluber] was actually at that point, just because [of] the lack of what he’s been doing for three months,” Francona told reporters. Kluber has been sidelined since May 1st with a non-displaced fracture to his arm’s ulna bone–an injury he suffered when struck by a comebacker off the bat of Miami’s Brian Anderson. After the Progressive session, Francona said Kluber would start his rehab assignment in the minors on Thursday.
More hurler hat tips from around the web…
- Dodgers righty Ross Stripling was also seen on the mend today, as a “max effort” bullpen session didn’t seem to produce any pain in his injured neck and biceps, according to Orange County Register writer Bill Plunkett (Twitter link). Manager Dave Roberts later told Plunkett that Stripling would make an appearance with the club’s affiliate in Rancho Cucamonga on Tuesday, with the team still uncertain of his post-activation role on the roster (link). Of course, the Texas A&M product has shown comfort in his career thus far in both bullpen and starting roles: since his debut in 2016, Stripling has posted a 3.24 ERA in 125 career relief innings, contrasted with a respectable 3.70 ERA in 248 starting frames.
- Sidelined Rays reliever Jose Alvarado told Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times that he will likely rejoin his team next weekend for a slate of games against the Mariners, after completing two scheduled rehab appearances with Tampa affiliates (Twitter link). Juan Toribio of MLB.com further elucidates that Alvarado (oblique) will pitch tomorrow for High-A Charlotte–welcome news for a Rays team that has been without the strikeout-inducing arm of Alvarado since July 7th. The Tampa pen unit has pitched well in the last week following a rough July, but would surely benefit from the inclusion of Alvarado into a mix that was augmented greatly by the team’s moves at the MLB trade deadline.
Injury Notes: Carpenter, Contreras, Simmons
As our thoughts remain with those affected by the events in El Paso tonight, a few collected injury notes from around the game of baseball…
- It’s been a season to forget for Cardinals infielder Matt Carpenter, who, before being placed on the IL with a foot contusion on July 16th, was scuffling to the worst batting line of his accomplished career. Good news tonight, though, from Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, who reports that Carpenter will rejoin his teammates on Saturday night in advance of a possible Sunday activation. Carpenter has some work to do in the season’s remaining months if he wants to end up with a more characteristic batting line–his .215/.321/.372 slash and 86 wRC+ are a far cry from the production Cardinal nation has become accustomed to over the years (129 career wRC+).
- As Jordan Bastian of MLB.com points out, the Cubs might have erred in trading defensive backstop extraordinaire Martin Maldonado in a deadline deal–with the hamstring injury endured by starter Willson Contreras on Saturday, Chicago’s catching depth is likely about to be tested. Contreras grabbed his right leg while running out a fly ball in the seventh inning, but manager Joe Maddon was unwilling to place a firm prognosis on the injury. “I really don’t know at this point,” said the manager. “We’ll just wait and see how it plays out.” While Contreras is scheduled for an MRI on Monday, the club will look to Victor Caratini to man the dish in his absence. The call-up of Triple-A Iowa’s Taylor Davis is a definite possibility in the event of an eventual injured list placement.
- Early in the day, Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register reported that Angels shortstop Andrelton Simmons was a scratch from Saturday’s game due to “left foot soreness”. Fletcher later relayed that Simmons injured his foot in the batting cage before Saturday’s loss to the Indians and that an MRI was set to follow. Any extended loss of the defensively stingy Simmons would obviously be a blow to the beleaguered Los Angeles club, who turned to David Fletcher to man short in today’s action. Simmons had been hitting .274/.315/.382 on the year while turning in typically strong defensive marks.
East Notes: Nats, Scherzer, Jays, Mets, A. Rosario
A quick look around the East Coast…
- Nationals ace Max Scherzer is eligible to come off the injured list Monday, though that’s unlikely to happen, per Mark Zuckerman of MASNsports.com. Back troubles have limited Scherzer to one start since July 6, but he is making progress in his recovery. The three-time Cy Young winner began a throwing program Friday, tossing 25 balls at 70 feet on flat ground.
- One of Scherzer’s new Nationals teammates, just-acquired reliever Roenis Elias, suffered a right leg injury running down the first base line Friday, as Jesse Dougherty of the Washington Post was among those to cover. “He was told not to swing, about as many times as I could tell him in Spanish and English,” manager David Martinez stated. “But he’s competitive, you know? He said sorry to me.” While Elias suggested it’s not a serious ailment, he’s unsure if he suffered a hamstring pull or just a cramp. The Nationals will re-evaluate him Saturday. In better news, the left-hander did contribute to the Nationals’ victory over the Diamondbacks where he’s supposed to – on the mound – as he retired both batters he faced.
- This has been an injury-ravaged year for Blue Jays left-hander Ryan Borucki, whom elbow issues prevented from making his 2019 debut until July 22. Borucki’s season is only two starts old, but he’s already back on the IL with elbow inflammation. The Blue Jays now plan to consult with famed orthopedist Dr. James Andrews in regards to Borucki, Shi Davidi of Sportsnet writes. Andrews performed Tommy John surgery on Borucki in 2013, and the hurler required another procedure to remove bone spurs from the joint in 2015. The 25-year-old’s latest injury has stopped him from building on a solid 2018 in which he pitched to a 3.87 ERA/3.80 FIP in his 17-start, 97 2/3-inning major league debut.
- The Mets had been considering using shortstop Amed Rosario in center field, but that’s off the table for the time being, Tim Healey of Newsday reports. Rosario will stick at short because his recent performance at the position has encouraged the club, manager Mickey Callaway said Friday. Fielding metrics haven’t liked Rosario dating back to last year, his first full campaign in the majors, as the former top prospect has combined for minus-31 Defensive Runs Saved (minus-15 in 2019) and a minus-11.2 Ultimate Zone Rating (minus-6.0 this season). The 23-year-old Rosario has at least upped his offensive production this season, though, having hit a respectable .276/.316/.438 (99 wRC+) with 11 home runs and 12 steals (18 attempts) in 432 plate appearances.
Yankees Notes: Severino, Garcia, Gregorius, Voit
A few items on the Yankees, who defeated archrival Boston on Friday to increase their advantage in the American League East to 11 1/2 over the Red Sox and 7 1/2 above the Rays…
- Injured right-hander Luis Severino is on track to begin throwing off a mound next Friday, manager Aaron Boone told James Wagner of the New York Times and other reporters. Severino has been out all season with shoulder and lat injuries, thus depriving the Yankees of their ace. Despite the Yankees’ resounding success as a team, their staff has been shaky without Severino, but general manager Brian Cashman was unable to make a deal to address it prior to the trade deadline. The eventual return of the 25-year-old Severino looks all the more crucial as a result, though he may not have enough time to build up his arm to work in his usual role when he comes back.
- Like Severino, fellow righty Deivi Garcia could be a late-season reinforcement for the Yankees’ pitching staff. If the highly touted 20-year-old does make his major league debut this season, he’ll function as a reliever, according to Cashman (via Bryan Hoch of MLB.com). Garcia, a popular target of other clubs prior to the trade deadline, dominated at the Double-A level this season but has endured some difficulty since a a promotion to Triple-A ball three weeks ago. However, that isn’t particularly surprising for someone who was the youngest player in Triple-A when the Yankees moved him up to the level.
- Shortstop Didi Gregorius is dealing with a knuckle issue, Wagner relays, and it’s not a sure thing he’ll avoid the injured list. Boone said Gregorius is “hopeful” he’ll stay off the IL, but the 29-year-old did miss the Yankees’ game Friday. With Gregorius down for at least one night, the Yankees had the luxury of plugging starting second baseman Gleyber Torres in at short and using infielder DJ LeMahieu at the keystone. They’ll likely continue with that setup if Gregorius needs an IL stint.
- First baseman Luke Voit, whom the team placed on the IL with a sports hernia on Wednesday, should know in roughly a week whether he’ll need surgery, Bryan Hoch of MLB.com tweets. A surgical procedure would put Voit’s season at risk, which would be a terrible pre-playoff development for a New York club that has seen the 28-year-old carry his late-2018 breakout into this season. Voit has slashed .278/.392/.493 (135 wRC+) with 19 home runs in 416 plate appearances. Fortunately for the Yankees, they do boast impressive depth at first with LeMahieu, Edwin Encarnacion and minor leaguer Mike Ford in the fold.
AL East Notes: Lowe, Mancini, Fisher
The Rays‘ decision to option Nate Lowe back to Triple-A Durham following the trade deadline was a “very tough call,” manager Kevin Cash tells Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times. With the acquisition of Jesus Aguilar, however, the Rays had three first basemen on the roster and Ji-Man Choi‘s lack of minor league options once again came into play. Tampa Bay seems loath to risk losing Choi on waivers, but Lowe has handily outperformed him at the plate so far, hitting .294/.362/.510 to Choi’s .265/.361/.423. Choi has shown better knowledge of the strike zone, but Lowe nevertheless appears to be the better offensive option between the two (even if he’s had some good fortune in terms of a .362 average on balls in play). Cash expects that Lowe will be back up with the club “soon,” but that redundancy will eventually be an issue the Rays need to address.
More out of the AL East…
- Trey Mancini remains in Baltimore after the trade deadline, but the decision not to move him doesn’t mean an extension is the next step for the slugger. “Looking at contract extensions is just not at the forefront of my plate right now,” Orioles general manager Mike Elias tells MASNsports.com’s Roch Kubatko, “but certainly he’s an attractive guy to have here for a while.” It’s not the first time that Elias, hired to spearhead the Orioles’ rebuild this offseason, has suggested that he views Mancini as a potential long-term piece. But Mancini is already controlled through 2022 — his age-30 season. Given that he won’t even reach arbitration until this winter, there’s simply not much urgency to extend Mancini, even if he’s in the midst of the best season of his young career. Through 443 plate appearances, Mancini has posted a robust .282/.343/.539 slash (130 OPS+) with a career-high 25 home runs. Elias also praised the recent play of outfielder Anthony Santander the manner in which he has begun to establish himself as a viable big league hitter.
- The Blue Jays have a crowded outfield mix, but newly acquired Derek Fisher is going to get regular playing time and an opportunity to establish himself as a fixture in the Toronto outfield, Shi Davidi of Sportsnet writes. Most of Fisher’s reps will come in center or right field, as Toronto doesn’t want to disrupt Lourdes Gurriel Jr.‘s transition to left field (or his offensive breakout). That leaves Fisher, Teoscar Hernandez, Randal Grichuk and Billy McKinney vying for playing time between center, right and occasional reps at DH. Hernandez has been on an otherworldly tear, clubbing seven homers and three doubles in his past 15 games, which should help to keep him in the lineup. If there’s to be an odd man out, McKinney seems the likeliest candidate, given that he has minor league options remaining. But the semi logjam also serves as a reminder that Randal Grichuk hasn’t performed anywhere near as well as hoped in the first season of the head-scratching extension to which the Jays signed him back in April. He’s played solid defense, but Grichuk hasn’t exactly seized an everyday role with his .232/.290/.418 batting line.
Quick Hits: Salazar, Dodgers, Mets, Asdrubal
Oft-injured Indians right-hander Danny Salazar took a major league mound for the first time since 2017 on Thursday, but it wasn’t a triumphant return. Salazar lasted just four innings, in which he allowed two earned runs on four hits and three walks (with two strikeouts), in a 7-1 loss to Houston. It turns out Salazar was attempting to pitch through a groin issue, Joe Noga of cleveland.com was among those to cover. Salazar, who had been out with shoulder troubles, threw mostly changeups during his 66-pitch comeback and never exceeded 88.3 mph on the radar gun. That’s an enormous drop for a hurler who often overpowered hitters with 95 mph average fastball velocity from 2013-17. Salazar expressed confidence after the game that he’ll be fine, but the Indians will re-evaluate him Friday. It’s a situation that bears watching with the wild card-leading Indians’ rotation now much shallower in the wake of this week’s Trevor Bauer trade.
More on a couple other franchises…
- The Dodgers’ Joc Pederson first base experiment is over for at least the time being, manager Dave Roberts told Jorge Castillo of the Los Angeles Times and other reporters Thursday. The outfielder has picked up 20 appearances at first this year, and during that 149-inning span, Pederson has made six errors and posted minus-3 Defensive Runs Saved. Right fielder Cody Bellinger will now shift to first against right-handed starters, while Pederson will take left, A.J. Pollock center and Alex Verdugo right in those situations. Max Muncy could handle first on occasion versus lefties, according to Roberts (Tyler White manned the position versus Padres southpaw Joey Lucchesi on Thursday).
- More from Castillo, who writes that just-acquired Dodgers infielder Jedd Gyorko will begin a rehab assignment at the Double-A level Saturday. Gyorko, whom the Dodgers picked up in a trade with the Cardinals on deadline day, has been out since June 8 because of back and wrist issues. He’s eligible to come off the 60-day injured list next week, though he’ll first need to amass around 40 to 50 minor league at-bats, per Roberts.
- Infielder Asdrubal Cabrera enjoyed a successful stint with the Mets from 2016 until they traded him to the Phillies last summer. Cabrera, who signed with the Rangers over the winter, is about to become a free agent after they designated him for assignment Wednesday, but the Mets don’t appear to have interest in a reunion, Mike Puma of the New York Post tweets. Based on his subpar 2019 production, Cabrera wouldn’t be an upgrade over Mets No. 1 third baseman Todd Frazier. The rest of the club’s starting infield is spoken for with Pete Alonso at first, Robinson Cano at second and Amed Rosario at short, and reserve Adeiny Hechavarria is regarded as a much steadier defensive option than Cabrera.
Cubs Notes: Deadline, Castellanos, Hamels, Morrow
The latest out of Wrigleyville…
- The Cubs’ acquisition of Nicholas Castellanos didn’t become a reality until around 20 minutes before yesterday’s 3pm CT trade deadline, 670 The Score’s Bruce Levine reports. The Cubs and Tigers had been in talks about Castellanos prior to Wednesday, though discussions didn’t reignite until almost literally the last minute, as the trade was finalized with eight minutes to spare. As Cubs GM Jed Hoyer told The Athletic’s Patrick Mooney and other reporters, the turning point was ownership’s decision to okay adding roughly $2.5MM of Castellanos’ remaining salary to Chicago’s payroll. The trade pushes the Cubs to the very edge of exceeding the $246MM maximum luxury tax penalty threshold, as Roster Resource estimates the Cubs’ luxury tax number as slightly less than $245.66MM.
- While the Cubs have played some inconsistent ball over the first four months, they’re still tied with the Cardinals atop the NL Central. Since the team was always in contention, Hoyer said his front office didn’t really think about a larger shake-up that would’ve seen Chicago subtract from its Major League roster. “There’s the idea-generation time and then there’s like: What deals are we actually going to work on? None of those deals actually made it to that point. Yeah, of course, people called about our players, but our focus was on trying to add to this group,” Hoyer said.
- While an official announcement has yet to come from the team, it is looking like Cole Hamels will be activated off the injured list to start Saturday’s game, MLB.com’s Jordan Bastian tweets. Hamels has been on the IL since June 29 due to an oblique strain, and has completed two rehab outings in the minors. Prior to his injury, the veteran southpaw was looking good in his first full season as a Cub, posting a 2.98 ERA, 8.76 K/9, 2.77 K/BB rate and a 51.1% grounder rate over 99 2/3 innings.
- Brandon Morrow‘s status is much less certain, as Hoyer said that while the Cubs are still “cautiously optimistic” that the reliever will be able to contribute, it would “be foolish at this point to make any decisions assuming that he was going to be a big part of this bullpen.” Morrow hasn’t pitched since July 15, 2018 due to a biceps injury and then offseason elbow injury. The former closer has experienced at least one setback during his recovery process from that procedure, and with only two months remaining in the season, Morrow is running out of time to get healthy and fully prepared for a return to Major League action.
Braves Notes: Pitching, Greinke, Jackson
The latest from the ATL…
- While the Braves were heavily linked to the starting pitching market, GM Alex Anthopoulos told reporters (including Gabriel Burns of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution) that the team was “never even remotely close” to landing an arm for the rotation. “At the end of the day, where we thought there were deals that made sense for us, we felt like the bullpen made the most sense,” Anthopoulos said. “We definitely tried for other areas, but we obviously couldn’t line up on a deal that made sense for our organization.” Of course, the Braves already made a noteworthy starting pitching addition in June when Dallas Keuchel was signed, and Anthopoulos’ front office heavily bolstered the pen over the last two days with trades for Shane Greene, Mark Melancon, and Chris Martin.
- One of the starters the Braves had interest in was the biggest name moved at the trade deadline, as ESPN.com’s Buster Olney reports (Twitter link) that the “Braves were in on” negotiations about Zack Greinke with the Diamondbacks. However, Atlanta ultimately decided “it was just too pricey, and too much risk on an older pitcher.” The Astros ended up landing Greinke for a big trade package that included four prospects and covering $53MM of Greinke’s salary obligations.
- Speaking of the Greene deal, the Braves were able to make that trade without including catcher Alex Jackson, as Anthony Fenech of the Detroit Free Press reports that Atlanta turned down the Tigers‘ ask for the 23-year-old prospect. Jackson is ranked as the the 26th-best prospect in Atlanta’s system by MLB Pipeline, and is in the midst of a huge season at Triple-A (.887 OPS in 283 PA). Picked sixth overall by the Mariners in the 2014 draft, Jackson’s prospect stock dropped after a slow start to his pro career, though a position switch to catcher three years ago and this season’s hitting breakout has gotten him back on the radar.