Injury Notes: Hendricks, Dodgers, Nats, Tribe, German
Injured Cubs starter Kyle Hendricks played catch in the outfield Friday, though the righty “could miss another couple of turns” through the team’s rotation, Steve Greenberg of the Chicago Sun-Times writes. “We’re happy that the initial shutdown has been good, but we’re not ready to talk through a plan yet, or a progression,” general manager Jed Hoyer said of Hendricks, who has been out since June 15 with a right shoulder impingement. The Cubs started Tyler Chatwood in Hendricks’ place Thursday, but the next opportunity may go to prospect Adbert Alzolay, per Greenberg. Alzolay, 24, followed Chatwood in Thursday’s game and enjoyed a triumphant debut in a win over the Mets.
- Dodgers shortstop Corey Seager and center fielder A.J. Pollock could start rehab stints during next month’s All-Star break, manager Dave Roberts said Friday (Twitter links via Ken Gurnick of MLB.com). Meanwhile, reliever Scott Alexander still hasn’t returned to throwing since left forearm inflammation forced him to the injured list June 8. Seager went to the IL on June 13 with a left hamstring strain, which should cost him four to six weeks. Pollock underwent early May surgery on his troublesome right elbow. The expectation then was that he’d be back in July.
- Nationals first baseman Ryan Zimmerman began a rehab assignment Friday at the Double-A level, Jamal Collier of MLB.com tweets. Zimmerman has been out since April 28 with plantar fasciitis in his right foot, the latest in a long line of injuries for the 34-year-old. While Zimmerman posted a couple resurgent offensive seasons from 2017-18, he came out of the gates slowly this year before hitting the IL. Zimmerman’s a .213/.302/.373 batter thus far in 86 plate appearances. Matt Adams, Howie Kendrick and Gerardo Parra have been the Nationals’ most common first base choices in Zimmerman’s absence. Kendrick has been brilliant at the plate, while Adams and Parra have only put together replacement-level numbers.
- A few reinforcements are trying to work back for the Indians, as Mandy Bell of MLB.com details. Ace Corey Kluber, shelved since May 1 with a fractured right forearm, has an upcoming eight-week checkup that will determine whether he’ll be able to start throwing. Fellow righty Danny Salazar just threw a second two-inning simulated game, but he’s “waiting to advance to a real game in Arizona before he gets a rehab assignment,” Bell explains. Shoulder issues have kept Salazar out of action since 2017. Unlike Kluber and Salazar, reliever Dan Otero‘s not making progress. Already out almost three weeks with right shoulder inflammation, Otero is now dealing with a setback of unknown severity.
- Yankees righty Domingo German could rejoin their rotation before the All-Star break, manager Aaron Boone told reporters Friday (via Bryan Hoch of MLB.com). German has been out since June 9 with a left hip flexor strain. The 26-year-old struggled over a handful of starts leading up to his IL placement, though he still carries a respectable 3.86 ERA/4.05 FIP in 70 innings on the season.
Minor MLB Transactions: 6/21/19
Friday’s minor moves from around baseball…
- The Royals have signed infielder Chase d’Arnaud to a minor league deal, Jeffrey Flanagan of MLB.com tweets. D’Arnaud was last with the Rangers, who released him Tuesday. The 32-year-old opened 2019 with a .164/.275/.316 line in 178 plate appearances with Texas’ Triple-A affiliate. While the well-traveled d’Arnaud has primarily played at the Triple-A level as a professional, he has combined for 599 major league PA – 100 of which came with the Giants in 2018. He’s a .222/.273/.316 hitter in the bigs.
- The Mariners have inked infielder Jordan Pacheco to a minors pact, according to Triple-A Tacoma broadcaster Mike Curto. Pacheco saw action with the Rockies, Diamondbacks and Reds from 2011-16, but he has since made a few stops outside the majors – including Monclova of the Mexican League this season. The 33-year-old’s known for his defensive versatility, having lined up at catcher, first base, second, third and in the outfield in his MLB days. Pacheco hit .272/.310/.356 during that 1,149-PA span.
Phillies Notes: Velasquez, Morgan, Bohm
The latest out of Philadelphia…
- The Phillies moved right-hander Vince Velasquez to their bullpen May 26, but they’re already giving him an opportunity to reclaim his old starting role. Velasquez will start Saturday, when he could “take control of the fifth spot for the time being,” manager Gabe Kapler told Scott Lauber of the Philadelphia Inquirer and other reporters. The 24-year-old Velasquez hasn’t performed well as either a reliever or starter this season, evidenced by a 4.71 ERA/5.57 FIP in 42 innings. But with no obvious answer behind Aaron Nola, Jake Arrieta, Zach Eflin and Nick Pivetta, the Phillies are turning back to Velasquez. For the most part, Nola, Arrieta, Eflin and Pivetta haven’t been great either, which helps explain the Phillies’ recent tumble down the NL East standings. They’ve lost 13 of 19 since sitting a season-best 11 games over .500 on May 29, and now trail the division-leading Braves by 4 1/2 games.
- Philadelphia announced Friday that it has reinstated reliever Adam Morgan from the 10-day injured list and optioned fellow lefty Cole Irvin to Triple-A Lehigh Valley. Morgan missed just under a month with a left forearm strain. Before that, the former starter pitched to a 1.96 ERA (with a less shiny 3.93 FIP) and logged 8.84 K/9 against 2.45 BB/9 in 18 1/3 innings. Morgan’s return is a bit of good news for a Philly bullpen which is still dealing with injuries to David Robertson, Seranthony Dominguez, Pat Neshek, Victor Arano, Jerad Eickhoff and Tommy Hunter.
- The Phillies have promoted young third baseman Alec Bohm to the Double-A level, per per the Inquirer’s Matt Breen. The 22-year-old Bohm opened the season at Single-A before jumping to High-A, where he raked with a .329/.395/.506 line (164 wRC+), four home runs, and 17 unintentional walks against 21 strikeouts in 177 plate appearances. Bohm, the third pick in last year’s draft and now MLB.com’s 39th-ranked prospect, could end up in the majors around September if he continues rolling in the minors, Breen writes. The Phillies are weak at third base, where Maikel Franco has managed awful production, though they could remedy that by the July 31 trade deadline instead of counting on Bohm as a late-season savior.
Injury Notes: Arenado, Simmons, Ahmed, Montgomery
After fouling a ball off his left foot today, Nolan Arenado left the game with what the Rockies described as a contusion on his big toe. The injury occurred in the top of the eighth inning, and the third baseman took his position in the bottom half of the inning before being subbed out in the bottom of the ninth. The Rockies’ announcement specified that the move was made “for precautionary reasons,” noting that Arenado suffered a similar injury against the Padres last week. Arenado told the Athletic’s Nick Groke and other reporters that today’s foul ball exacerbated the injury, though x-rays didn’t reveal any damage. Particularly with Trevor Story hitting the IL earlier today, the absolute last thing the Rockies need is to lose their other superstar infielder to injury, so it wouldn’t be surprising if Arenado misses a game or two to fully heal up.
Some more injury situations from around baseball…
- There was some thought that Andrelton Simmons could return to the Angels roster this weekend, though manager Brad Ausmus told reporters (including Maria Torres of the Los Angeles Times) that Simmons won’t be returning quite so soon after coming up limping during last night’s minor league rehab game. The shortstop could still potentially rejoin the club sometime next week, Ausmus said, and may not even play any more rehab games. A Grade 3 ankle sprain put Simmons on the injured list on May 22, so even pushing back a return until next week still represents a very quick recovery from such an injury.
- Diamondbacks shortstop Nick Ahmed suffered what the club termed as a left hand contusion after being hit by a Jeff Hoffman pitch in today’s game. The injury forced Ahmed out of the game in the fifth inning, though manager Torey Lovullo told MLB.com’s Steve Gilbert and other reporters that x-rays were negative and Ahmed could still potentially play tomorrow. The defensively-gifted Ahmed has started all but four of Arizona’s games this season, and Ketel Marte would likely move from center field to shortstop if Ahmed did need to miss any time.
- The Yankees have shut Jordan Montgomery down from throwing for two weeks, manager Aaron Boone told media (including MLB.com’s Bryan Hoch). The southpaw felt soreness while throwing a batting practice session as part of his rehab from Tommy John surgery in June 2018, and an MRI revealed inflammation in Montgomery’s throwing shoulder. Despite the setback, Boone didn’t close the door on Montgomery potentially being able to return to the Yankees at some point this season.
Quick Hits: C. Martinez, Rangers, Straily, Mercer
Cardinals right-hander Carlos Martinez has been a highly capable starter for most of tenure with the club, which dates back to 2013. But the Cardinals moved the then-injured Martinez to their bullpen in late April, and that’s where he’s going to stay for the time being, per manager Mike Shildt (via Rick Hummel of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch). Shildt suggested the Cardinals don’t have time to build up Martinez, who opened the season on the injured list with shoulder problems. “To put him back in that cycle again doesn’t make a lot of sense when he’s in a spot where he’s had success and he’s recovering,” Shildt said of Martinez, who has totaled 12 appearances and 13 1/3 innings with a 3.38 ERA/3.47 FIP, 8.1 K/9, 2.7 BB/9 and a 58.3 percent groundball rate since he made his season debut May 18. Even though Martinez has posted good numbers as a reliever, the Cardinals’ rotation has missed the 27-year-old. Their starting staff has been mediocre or worse this season.
Here’s more from around the majors…
- The Rangers were planning on giving left-hander Joe Palumbo a chance to audition for a role in their thin rotation, but that may not be the case anymore, Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News writes. The 22-year-old Palumbo has started twice, including in Wednesday’s 10-4 drubbing at the hands of the Indians. The Tribe lit up Palumbo for seven earned runs on six hits (two home runs) in two innings. Reliever Jesse Chavez came in after Palumbo and tossed five innings of one-run ball. Although Chavez, 35, hasn’t started extensively since 2017, the Rangers are so hard up for stability in the back of their rotation that they’ll “consider” shifting him there, manager Chris Woodward said.
- Orioles righty Dan Straily‘s place on the team’s roster may be in jeopardy, Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com suggests. The low-risk flier the club took on Straily on April 5, a little over a week after the Marlins released him, hasn’t worked out to this point. Straily, 30, was coming off a multiyear run as a useful starter when he joined Baltimore, yet he has worked to a hideous 9.82 ERA/9.30 FIP in 47 2/3 innings since then. While Straily began 2019 as a starter, his struggles convinced the O’s to demote him to their bullpen nearly a month ago. Straily has fared even worse in that role.
- Injured Tigers shortstop Jordy Mercer is nearing a rehab assignment and could return to the majors by the first week of July, according to manager Ron Gardenhire (via Chris McCosky of the Detroit News). Mercer, out since April 14 with a right quad strain, already began a rehab stint once. However, he suffered a setback three weeks ago and hasn’t returned to game action yet. When the rebuilding Tigers signed the soon-to-be 33-year-old Mercer to a $5.25MM guarantee in the offseason, they were likely hoping he’d perform well enough to emerge as a summer trade chip. Instead, the former Pirate got off to a brutal start – .206/.275/.317 (55 wRC+) in 69 plate appearances – and hasn’t played since.
MLB Draft Signings: 6/19/19
Here’s a look at the latest noteworthy draft signings, with the newest moves at the top of the post. Click here for the full list of slot values and draft pool bonuses, and you can find prospect rankings and scouting reports from Baseball America’s Top 500, Fangraphs’ Top 200, MLB.com’s Top 200, and the Top 50 of ESPN.com’s Keith Law….
- The Red Sox announced the signing of second-round pick Matthew Lugo on Tuesday. The high school shortstop from Puerto Rico will receive $1.1MM, a fair amount more than the $929,800 slot value accompanying the 69th pick, Jim Callis of MLB.com tweets. FanGraphs’ Kiley McDaniel and Eric Longenhagen ranked the 18-year-old Lugo as the 26th-best player available entering the draft, writing he has “50 or 55 tools across the board.”
- The Marlins have agreed to sign fifth-round right-hander Evan Fitterer to a deal worth far more than slot value, Jon Heyman of MLB Network reports. Fitterer will earn $1.5MM, even though his pick (No. 141) called for a bonus in the $390K range. Callis and Jonathan Mayo write that the 18-year-old high schooler from California “reminds some of a young Kyle Hendricks, perhaps with a bigger fastball, but with a similar feel to pitch.”
Minor MLB Transactions: 6/19/19
The latest minor moves from around baseball…
- The Rangers have re-signed right-hander Nick Gardewine to a minor league contract, the team announced. Gardewine’s back with the Rangers shortly on the heels of his release last Thursday, five days after they designated him for assignment June 8. A seventh-round pick of the Rangers in 2013, Gardewine reached the majors for the first time in 2017 and then pitched to a 4.85 ERA with 4.85 K/9 and 4.85 BB/9 (that’s a lot of 4.85s) in 13 innings through 2018. The 25-year-old has missed substantial time over the past couple seasons because of injuries, though he has pitched 323 innings of 3.71 ERA ball with 8.8 K/9 and 2.8 BB/9 during his minor league career.
Pitcher Notes: Zimmermann, Yanks, Cahill, Mariners, White Sox
The Tigers announced that they’ve reinstated right-hander Jordan Zimmerman from the 10-day injured list. Zimmermann, who hasn’t taken a major league mound since April 25 because of a sprained ulnar collateral ligament in his pitching elbow, will start Wednesday. Zimmermann’s nearly two-month absence added injury to insult in what has been a terrible Tigers tenure for the 33-year-old. A run as a front-line starter for the Nationals convinced the Tigers to give Zimmermann a five-year, $110MM contract entering 2016, but he has come up way short of expectations since then. Now 33, Zimmermann owns a 5.29 ERA/4.92 FIP with 6.34 K/9, 2.26 BB/9 and a 36.7 percent groundball rate in 427 innings as a Tiger.
- Yankees southpaw Jordan Montgomery seemingly isn’t recovering as hoped from June 2018 Tommy John surgery, as Kristie Ackert of the New York Daily News reports. Montgomery exited a live batting practice session Tuesday after throwing 15 pitches. Manager Aaron Boone said afterward Montgomery “had a little discomfort.” The Yankees hope Montgomery will be able to help their pitching staff later in the season, Ackert notes, but that seems even less likely now. The 26-year-old functioned as a full-time starter from 2017-18, a 182 2/3-inning span in which he recorded a solid 3.84 ERA/4.09 FIP with 8.23 K/9, 3.10 BB/9 and a 41.4 percent grounder rate.
- Angels righty Trevor Cahill will make a rehab start Friday with Triple-A Salt Lake, Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register was among those to report. Cahill has been on the IL since June 8 with soreness in his pitching elbow. The offseason signing got off to a horrible start before then, as shown by a 7.18 ERA/6.37 FIP in 57 2/3 innings.
- The shoulder MRI that Mariners righty Felix Hernandez underwent Tuesday didn’t show any new issues, per Greg Johns of MLB.com (Twitter links). As a result, Hernandez – out since May 11 – will resume his rehab, likely throwing a few bullpen sessions before taking the ball again in the minors. Meanwhile, teammate and fellow righty Sam Tuivailala will begin a rehab stint at the Single-A level Friday. Tuivailala, a July 2018 Mariners trade acquisition, has been out since last August with a right Achilles injury.
- The White Sox have placed southpaw Manny Banuelos on the 10-day IL with shoulder inflammation and recalled righty Carson Fulmer, Daryl Van Schouwen of the Chicago Sun-Times tweets. This is the second time in 2019 that shoulder issues have sent Banuelos to the shelf. Injuries have been a common theme throughout the pro career of Banuelos, once a well-regarded prospect with the Yankees. The 28-year-old has pitched to an ugly 6.90 ERA/6.78 FIP with 8.28 K/9, 5.91 BB/9 and a 33.3 percent grounder rate in 45 2/3 innings (13 appearances, eight starts) with the White Sox this season.
Pitcher Notes: EJax, J. Wilson, King Felix, Wainwright
The latest on a few injured hurlers…
- The Blue Jays placed right-hander Edwin Jackson on the 10-day injured list Tuesday with a lower back issue, Scott Mitchell of TSN tweets. Jackson has endured a nightmarish season with Toronto, the record 14th major league team for which he has pitched, having notched a 12.43 ERA/9.65 FIP with 6.04 K/9 and 4.26 BB/9 in 25 1/3 innings. The 35-year-old allowed seven earned runs on six hits (three homers) and two walks during a 2/3-inning shellacking at the hands of the Angels on Monday. For now, Jackson’s IL placement will stave off a potential designation for assignment.
- Mets left-handed reliever Justin Wilson had been nearing activation, but he has suffered a setback in his injured elbow, per Anthony DiComo of MLB.com. That’s yet another negative development for the woebegone Mets, who also received bad injury news on outfielder Brandon Nimmo and reliever Jeurys Familia on Wednesday. Like Familia, another of the Mets’ big-ticket offseason pickups, Wilson has trudged through a season to forget thus far. The 31-year-old Wilson has been on the IL twice – including since May 11 – with elbow troubles, and he has only logged a 4.82 ERA/5.96 FIP in 9 1/3 innings since the Mets signed him to a two-year, $10MM contract.
- Mariners right-hander Felix Hernandez underwent an MRI on his sore lat muscle on Tuesday, according to Greg Johns of MLB.com. Hernandez – who hasn’t pitched in the bigs since May 11 – had been on a rehab assignment, but concern arose when he exited a minor league start last Friday with shoulder fatigue. “Felix had some discomfort in the back of his shoulder,” manager Scott Servais said. “It’s concerning enough to get new images of that. Let’s find out exactly what is going on in there.” Thanks in part to Hernandez’s injuries, it appears the Mariners legend’s tenure in Seattle will go out with a whimper. The impending free agent, 33, has followed up his woeful 2018 production with an even worse 6.52 ERA/5.37 FIP in 38 2/3 innings and eight starts this season.
- Cardinals righty Adam Wainwright will come off the IL to start Thursday, Jenifer Langosch of MLB.com relays. Wainwright has been on the shelf since he departed a June 9 start with left hamstring tightness. Like most of St. Louis’ other starters, the 37-year-old Cardinals icon has registered unspectacular numbers this season. Wainwright owns a 4.46 ERA/4.59 FIP with 7.77 K/9 and 3.95 BB/9 in 70 2/3 innings.
MLB Draft Signings: 6/18/19
Here’s a look at the latest noteworthy draft signings, with the newest moves at the top of the post. Click here for the full list of slot values and draft pool bonuses, and you can find prospect rankings and scouting reports from Baseball America’s Top 500, Fangraphs’ Top 200, MLB.com’s Top 200, and the Top 50 of ESPN.com’s Keith Law….
- The Rangers announced the signing of second-round right-hander Ryan Garcia, the 50th pick in this year’s draft. The club gave him full slot value ($1,469,900), per TR Sullivan of MLB.com. Garcia came in at No. 98 in MLB.com’s pre-draft rankings. The former UCLA Bruin could develop into a No. 4 starter in the bigs, Jim Callis and colleague Jonathan Mayo write.
- The Diamondbacks have signed second-round pick Ryne Nelson to an above-slot deal, Callis tweets. Nelson’s pick, No. 56, came with a slot value of $1,276,400, but the Diamondbacks awarded him $1.1MM. Nelson’s a former two-way player from the University of Oregon who could end up as a major league reliever, according to Callis and Mayo.
- The Cubs have signed second-rounder Chase Strumpf (No. 64) for full slot value – $1,050,300 – Callis reports. Callis and Mayo ranked Strumpf as the 41st-best player entering the draft, noting the former UCLA second baseman’s a high-potential offensive player who should be able to handle the keystone going forward.