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Brewers Notes: Woodruff, Hall, Ashby, Civale

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It’s been a difficult start to the season in Milwaukee, as the Brewers have posted a lackluster 16-18 record and currently sit five games back of the Cubs in the NL Central. The losses of Willy Adames and Devin Williams this offseason certainly haven’t helped matters, but perhaps the most glaring issue with the club this year has been the starting rotation. Only Marlins and Orioles starters have posted a worse figure than Milwaukee’s 4.94 rotation FIP, and while they’ve outperformed their peripherals so far a 4.02 ERA is still below average and a far cry from the days of Corbin Burnes and Brandon Woodruff helping carry the team to the postseason.

Burnes is long gone, already on his second team since departing Milwaukee prior to the 2024 season, but Woodruff remains in the organization after missing 2024 rehabbing surgery to repair a capsule tear in his shoulder. He’s yet to make his 2025 debut while finishing up his rehab process, but the right-hander’s return to the majors appears to be imminent. As noted by MLB.com’s Adam McCalvy, Woodruff is expected to make two more rehab starts before he makes his return to the majors: one this coming Tuesday, and one on May 11. At that point, Woodruff will run out of time on his 30-day rehab assignment and need to be reinstated to the big league roster unless he suffers a setback that necessitates the team pulling him back from his rehab assignment.

Woodruff’s return can’t come soon enough, given how talented the right-hander is. One of the best pitchers in the majors since his breakout 2019 season, the right-hander has looked good in four rehab starts this year, with a 2.45 ERA in 18 1/3 innings. His strikeout rate of 21.6% is well below his usual mark, though it’s worth noting that figure has jumped to a much more robust 29.4% since he was promoted to Triple-A, suggesting his stuff is improving as he shakes off the rust from more than a year away from the mound. If Woodruff can offer Milwaukee ace-level production in his age-32 season, it would be a game changer for their chances in the NL Central and give the club an elite 1-2 punch alongside Freddy Peralta.

While no other pitcher in the organization can be expected to offer the sort of elite production Woodruff has posted when at his best, he’s far from the only potential rotation arm on the mend. Southpaw DL Hall began a rehab assignment yesterday and, as noted by Curt Hogg of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, is being built up as a starter with an eye towards a return later this month or early next month. Acquired alongside Joey Ortiz in the Burnes trade, the 26-year-old struggled to a 5.02 ERA in 43 innings of work with the Brewers last year but is a former first-round pick with impressive stuff and plenty of potential. If Milwaukee can harness Hall’s arsenal, it would hardly be a surprise to see him emerge as a quality piece as Tobias Myers did last year and Chad Patrick appears to be doing this season.

Meanwhile, veteran right-hander Aaron Civale appears to be nearing a rehab assignment of is own, with Hogg suggesting that the soon-to-be 30-year-old hurler is poised to begin a rehab assignment next week. That would seemingly put Civale, who made just one start this season before going on the shelf due to a hamstring strain, behind Hall in terms of preparedness to return, though perhaps after having a full spring training Civale won’t need as long of a rehab stint as the southpaw. The righty posted a 3.53 ERA in 14 starts for the Brewers after being acquired from the Rays last July, and would be a solid addition to the middle of Milwaukee’s rotation upon his return.

While Civale seems all but guaranteed to return to the Brewers rotation when healthy and Hall is at least being stretched out as a starter, the future is murkier for southpaw Aaron Ashby. He’s been sidelined since Spring Training by an oblique injury, and was expected to build up as a starter at that point, but has yet to begin a minor league rehab assignment. Hogg suggests that a return this month isn’t “out of the question” for the southpaw, but such a short window for return would seem to require the Brewers to bring him back into the fold without fully stretching him out. Given that the club has added Jose Quintana and Quinn Priester to its rotation mix since Ashby last pitched, it’s possible that the club is changing gears with the lefty and plans to use him in long relief this season. It’s a role Ashby looked quite good in last year, as he posted a 2.86 ERA and 2.81 FIP despite being limited to just 28 1/3 innings of work.

Yankees Notes: Schmidt, Volpe, Chisholm, Lombard

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The Yankees were expected to send right-hander Clarke Schmidt to the mound against the Rays yesterday, but the right-hander wound up scratched from his start. MLB.com’s Bryan Hoch notes that Schmidt told reporters that he’s dealing with some soreness in his left side, but fortunately it appears to be fairly minor. Hoch adds that Schmidt even told the Yankees he would be able to take the ball yesterday, but the club opted to scratch him and push his start back to this coming Tuesday. Chris Kirschner of The Athletic notes that, per manager Aaron Boone, Schmidt underwent an MRI that came back clearn, suggesting the issue is a minor one.

That Schmidt’s soreness appears to be fairly manageable is surely a huge relief for New York. With Gerrit Cole out for the year and both Luis Gil and Marcus Stroman currently shelved with injuries of their own, losing Schmidt just three starts into his 2025 season would be a brutal blow for the Yanks. Allan Winans remains in Triple-A as a potential spot starter option, but the club’s depth is largely being used in the rotation already with Carlos Carrasco and Will Warren currently getting regular starts.

Schmidt’s 14 2/3 innings of work so far this year have hardly been inspiring, but it’s worth remembering that he’s just one year removed from posting a sterling 2.85 ERA and 3.58 FIP across 16 starts. That strong performance in 2024 suggested front-half of the rotation potential within Schmidt, and perhaps being careful with the side issue he’s currently dealing with is the best way to tap into as much of that potential as possible in a season where little is working within the club’s rotation aside from Max Fried.

Turning to the other major Yankees injury news from yesterday, Anthony Volpe had a bit of an injury scare in the eighth inning of yesterday’s game. Hoch writes that Volpe heard a “pop” in his left shoulder while attempting to field a grounder.

“It happened quick and it was scary, but after that, I felt OK and I felt like I had my strength,” Volpe said, as relayed by Hoch. “I’ve never really had anything else pop or dislocate or anything like that, so I have nothing to compare it to.”

As Hoch notes, those encouraging early comments can’t necessarily be taken as gospel just days after Volpe’s double play partner Jazz Chisholm Jr. expressed optimism that his injury was a fairly minor one just before being placed on the injured list for what figures to be a four-to-six week absence. An MRI of Chisholm’s oblique revealed three high-grade tears in the area, though fortunately the volume of tears does not appear to have significantly altered Chisholm’s timetable for return as the second baseman still expects to return in that four-to-six week time frame.

Chisholm’s injury is already testing the club’s middle infield depth and forcing a combination of Jorbit Vivas and Pablo Reyes to handle the keystone for the foreseeable future. That makes the idea of an injury for Volpe all the more concerning, but Hoch suggested that the shortstop will likely be sent for an MRI before he’s fully cleared to play again despite the fact that he finished yesterday’s game and already underwent an x-ray that revealed no structural damage. (UPDATE: Manager Aaron Boone told reporters (including Hoch) this morning that Volpe is day-to-day after the club received “good news” from his MRI exam.)

Even if the Yankees weren’t already suffering from a dearth of infield depth, losing Volpe would be a serious blow given that he’s putting up such encouraging numbers on offense. After Volpe’s first two years saw him post well-below offensive numbers buoyed by Gold Glove-caliber defense at shortstop, the 24-year-old is actually hitting an impressive .233/.326/.442 with ten doubles, five homers, and a 10.6% walk rate in 33 games. That’s good for a 121 wRC+ so far this year, and Volpe’s excellent batted ball data suggests he may actually be producing less than his underlying performance would suggest he should be. It’s an exciting potential breakout performance for the Yanks, and the fans in the Bronx are surely waiting with bated breath for their potential budding star at shortstop to return to the lineup.

All the injuries piling up for the Yankees in the rotation and around the infield likely have many fans operating with one eye on the July 31 trade deadline. There’s plenty of room for improvement on this Yankees club, but there’s at least one prospect the club is expected to keep out of trade talks this summer as they pursue back-to-back World Series appearances after losing in five games to the Dodgers in last year’s Fall Classic. According to Brendan Kuty of The Athletic, that prospect is young infielder George Lombard Jr.

As relayed by Kuty, the club does not expect Lombard to help in the majors this year but nonetheless he’s viewed by some evaluators as the club’s only “untouchable” prospect, with Kuty suggesting that it would require a “Godfather” offer to convince the Yankees to part with the young infielder. Still just 19 until next month, Lombard was the club’s first-rounder back in 2023 and is so far hitting an excellent .329/.496/.488 at the High-A level this year, with a promotion to Double-A at some point in the near future potentially in the cards.

Given that the Yankees (per Kuty) viewed Lombard as untouchable last season, when he slashed just .231/.338/.334 across two levels of A-ball, it’s hardly a shock that they aren’t inclined to trade him now that he appears to have broken out in such a substantial way. Still, with controllable aces like Pablo Lopez already seeing their names swirl in the rumor mill, refusing to part with Lombard could make it difficult for the Yankees to land a top-flight starter this summer in what figures to be a very competitive market for pitching talent.

Twins Notes: Keaschall, Wallner, Lewis, Jeffers

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Top prospect Luke Keaschall provided a spark to a listless Twins lineup upon his initial call to the majors. The 2023 second-rounder has done nothing but hit since moving from Arizona State to pro ball, and the majors were no exception. Through the 22-year-old Keaschall’s first seven games, he hit .368/.538/.526 with more walks (five) than strikeouts (two) in 26 plate appearances. The former Sun Devil also tied a major league record with five stolen bases in his first five MLB games.

Keaschall landed on the injured list after an errant pitch from veteran Kyle Hendricks hit his forearm and resulted in a non-displaced fracture. For the time being, there’s no indication he’ll require surgery, but head trainer Nick Paparesta told the Twins beat last night that Keaschall is likely to miss multiple months nonetheless (link via Dan Hayes of The Athletic). Keaschall will be reevaluated in about one month.

The injury to Keaschall is the latest for a Twins club that has been torched by health troubles this season. Third baseman Royce Lewis has yet to play in a regular-season game. Utilityman Willi Castro is out with an oblique strain. Ace Pablo Lopez missed two weeks with a hamstring strain. Top infield prospect Brooks Lee is healthy now but started on the shelf with a back injury. Relievers Brock Stewart and Michael Tonkin opened the year on the injured list due to hamstring and shoulder strains, respectively. Infielder Jose Miranda struggled early, was optioned to Triple-A, and has since gone on the minor league injured list with a strain in his left hand.

Most of those injuries have been relatively minor in nature. Keaschall is the most significant injury, but slugging corner outfielder Matt Wallner is also looking at a lengthy absence. Via Hayes, Paparesta added that Wallner is dealing with a moderate to severe strain of his hamstring. Wallner only first began light jogging on a treadmill yesterday, two weeks after his initial injury. He’ll be reevaluated next week, but it seems likely that the injury will sideline him well into May, if not longer.

Wallner, 27, is hardly a household name but has emerged as the Twins’ top power threat. The Twin Cities native, selected 39th overall in 2019, floundered through a catastrophically poor start to his 2024 season but mashed for the final three months after being recalled from Triple-A. In 228 plate appearances following last year’s recall, Wallner hit .282/.386/.559 with a dozen homers, 16 doubles and a triple.

A sky-high .410 average on balls in play and an ugly 34% strikeout rate point to plenty of regression in batting average for Wallner, but he draws enough walks and makes enough hard contact that he could be a productive overall hitter even if his average dips into league average territory (.241) or a bit lower. Between last year’s torrid finish and this year’s hot start, Wallner boasts a .278/.383/.540 line (164 wRC+) in 295 plate appearances. He’s walked in more than 10% of those trips to the plate and posted eye-popping batted-ball metrics: 92.4 mph average exit velocity, 16.1% barrel rate, 52.3% hard-hit rate.

With Keaschall and Wallner out for extended periods and injuries at multiple other positions, the Twins have turned to the DFA market to add some depth on the bench. Jonah Bride and Kody Clemens came over in cash swaps with the Marlins and Phillies, respectively, after both were designated for assignment. Both are out of minor league options, so it could be a short stay for one of them on the roster, particularly once Lewis returns. He’s played two Triple-A rehab games already and gone 3-for-6 with a double. A return next week wouldn’t be a surprise.

The Twins could opt to preserve their depth by instead optioning Lee or Edouard Julien so they can get regular at-bats in Triple-A. The ultimate move will come down to health and production among the current infield group. It’s a more straightforward scenario in the outfield, where Harrison Bader — signed to be an oft-used fourth outfielder — will see regular run alongside Byron Buxton and Trevor Larnach.

In general, the Twins’ lineup has begun to emerge from a dormant state. Facing clubs with poor pitching staffs like the White Sox and Angels surely plays a role, but Minnesota is hitting .276/.359/.432 as a team over the past two weeks. Unsurprisingly, they’ve gone 8-4 in that time. They’re still three games under .500, but the lineup is meshing and Lewis’ looming return creates reason for more optimism.

Part of that resurgence has been a blistering hot streak from catcher Ryan Jeffers. Bobby Nightengale of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune wrote last week that manager Rocco Baldelli is moving away from the largely even split in playing time between Jeffers and veteran Christian Vazquez. Jeffers is seeing an uptick in at-bats and will shoulder a larger portion of the catching workload. So far, it’s paying off. Jeffers is hitting .308/.426/.538 during this Twins hot streak; that looks more closely in line with the 27-year-old’s terrific 2023 season and strong start to 2024.

A slow finish last year dampened Jeffers’ numbers, but he’s a .247/.331/.449 hitter (120 wRC+) in 885 plate appearances dating back to ’23. Jeffers tells Matthew Leach of MLB.com that he feels some mechanical changes he’s incorporated in recent years have reached the point where he no longer even needs to think about them.

The move away from Vazquez is understandable, particularly at a time when the lineup was struggling. The 34-year-old remains a premier defensive catcher but has limped out of the gate with a .139/.200/.250 output in 14 games and 40 plate appearances. He’s in the final season of a three-year, $30MM contract that hasn’t panned out as the Twins hoped, but Vazquez’s glove is strong enough that he can hold a backup role even with a .218/.261/.318 slash in 710 plate appearances as a Twin. Jeffers, meanwhile, is in his second of three arbitration seasons and can be controlled through 2026.

Diamondbacks Notes: Lawlar, Marte, Infield

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Diamondbacks prospect Jordan Lawlar is doing everything he can to push for a major league promotion, as he’s currently mashing in Triple-A. Assuming he eventually cements himself in the majors, the question will be what position he plays.

He came up as a shortstop prospect but the Diamondbacks don’t have much need at that position. Geraldo Perdomo took over regular shortstop duties in 2022. The Diamondbacks are evidently pleased with him there as they recently signed him to an extension that runs through 2029 with a club option for 2030. They could move Perdomo to second or third base, where he has some experience. However, his bat has only been around league average in recent years, as his speed and defense at short are his primary ways of providing value.

That has made it seem like Lawlar would eventually move to second or third. He has always had tremendous offensive numbers in the minors, so his bat should play elsewhere. The Snakes have had Ketel Marte as their regular second baseman for years and he’s signed well into the future as well, which seemingly made third base Lawlar’s best path. However, Bob Nightengale of USA Today says that some scouts think Lawlar will take over at second and bump Marte to first.

There hasn’t been any reporting to suggest that the Snakes do plan on moving Marte to first, but perhaps their usage of Lawlar this year is a tell. With Triple-A Reno, he has 123 innings at second base so far. He has just 36 innings at third base this year and just 95 in his entire minor league career. He has hundreds of innings at shortstop over the years but just 54 in 2025.

It would be an interesting pivot if the club is making it. The Diamondbacks acquired Eugenio Suárez ahead of 2024 to cover the third base position. He was going into the final season of his contract, so it seemed possible that he was simply a stopgap until Lawlar was ready. Suárez struggled badly in the first half of last year but Lawlar spent most of 2024 injured, dealing with thumb and hamstring injuries. He only got into 23 minor league games last year, giving Suárez a chance to get back on track. Suárez destroyed baseballs enough in the second half that the club picked up their $15MM option on him for 2025, instead of going for the $2MM buyout.

Coming into 2025, it was still fair to expect that Suárez would eventually give way to Lawlar. Suárez turns 34 in July and will be a free agent at season’s end. That could still be the plan but the fact that Lawlar is playing a lot of second base is interesting. Marte has had some injury absences in his career and is currently on the injured list with a hamstring strain. He is 31 years old and the club recently extended him through 2031, which would be his age-37 season. Perhaps they believe that moving him to first base would be the best thing for his long-term health.

Right now, Josh Naylor and Pavin Smith are sharing first base and designated hitter duties. Naylor is an impending free agent, so that could provide an opening for Marte to slide into as soon as next year.

This is all still fairly speculative but it’s a notable position for the Snakes to be in. It’s possible that they are simply moving Lawlar around to different positions, experimenting to see how things go. If he seems viable at multiple spots, that will give them more choice for how to proceed next offseason, with both first and third base set to be vacated going into the winter. Another factor could be that LuJames Groover is also one of the club’s top ten prospects and is currently hitting well at Double-A while playing third base regularly.

However it plays out defensively, Lawlar is generating a lot of excitement with his bat. He’s currently sporting a line of .356/.451/.644 with Reno this year. He won’t be able to maintain a .457 batting average on balls in play forever but he has five home runs and a 13% walk rate. He also has 12 stolen bases in 13 attempts through 26 games.

Photo courtesy of Michael Chow, Imagn Images

Pirates Notes: Horwitz, Lawrence, Rotation

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The Pirates are inching closer toward the 2025 debut (and Pirates debut) of first baseman Spencer Horwitz. The 27-year-old has yet to play this year after undergoing wrist surgery in February, but he set out on a minor league rehab stint yesterday and went 1-for-2 with a single and a walk in three plate appearances with Double-A Altoona. Horwitz will need several games in the minors before he’s up with the big league club, but it’s a positive sign to see him take the field.

With Horwitz injured, the Pirates have split first base reps up among Enmanuel Valdez, Endy Rodriguez, Jared Triolo and (more briefly) Matt Gorski. Valdez has connected on a pair of homers and held his own in 74 plate appearances. Rodriguez and Triolo have both struggled. Gorski was only just called up for his MLB debut a few days ago. He’s 1-for-4 with a homer. As a whole, Pittsburgh first basemen have combined for a .192/.286/.374 batting line on the season. The resulting 83 wRC+ (indicating they’ve been 17% worse than average at the plate) ranks 20th in the majors.

Horwitz, one of the Pirates’ key offseason acquisitions, should provide considerably more offense. In parts of two seasons with the Blue Jays, he slashed .264/.355/.428 with 13 home runs and 21 doubles in 425 plate appearances. He’s a .316/.433/.471 hitter in 945 Triple-A plate appearances.

Horwitz has primarily been a first baseman and started at first in yesterday’s rehab game, but he doesn’t necessarily need to take over full-time reps there. The former 24th-round pick has just over 600 innings of left field work in his pro career and another 434 frames at second base. Both positions have been even more problematic for the Bucs than first base.

At second base, the Pirates have seen Adam Frazier, Nick Gonzales, Tsung-Che Cheng and the aforementioned Valdez and Triolo combine to bat .200/.300/.303. In left field, the group of Tommy Pham, Jack Suwinski, Alexander Canario, Ji Hwan Bae, Frazier and Gorski has combined for a staggering .150/.220/.187. No team in baseball has received less production from its left fielders than the Pirates.

Wherever Horwitz slots into the lineup, he should give a boost to a Pirates team that is hitting .224/.304/.341 on the whole. Pittsburgh ranks 23rd in the majors in both runs scored and home runs. Pirates hitters are 26th in batting average, 23rd in on-base percentage and 28th in slugging percentage.

The pitching has been better in Pittsburgh, particularly in the bullpen. Pirates relievers rank 14th in the majors with a solid 3.65 ERA, and Pittsburgh has seven relievers who’ve tossed at least nine innings with an ERA of 3.38 or better. Unfortunately, their most dependable arm so far, righty Justin Lawrence, is out with an elbow injury. Pirates assistant GM Bryan Stroh rather ominously revealed yesterday that Lawrence is headed for a second opinion on that ailing elbow (link via Noah Hiles of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette). There’s still no firm timetable for Lawrence’s return, but Stroh already indicated that he’ll miss more than the minimum 15 days on this current IL stint.

Lawrence, 30, came to the Pirates via waivers this March and has been a terrific pickup. He’s fired 11 1/3 innings of one-run ball, holding opponents to just five hits. The former Rockies hurler has walked six batters and plunked another pair of hitters, casting some doubt on his ability to continue anywhere close to this level, but even with some expected regression in terms of ERA, the right-hander has looked quite intriguing thus far.

Lawrence is throwing more sliders than ever before and missing more bats than ever before. He’s also begun sporadically using a four-seamer after previously throwing a sinker as his only fastball. Lawrence has punched out a whopping 34.1% of his hitters, helping him to offset a 13.8% walk rate. His 14.5% swinging-strike rate is well north of league average and is way up from the 9.3% career mark he carried into 2025. An absence of some note would sting, and seeking a second opinion is an inherently worrisome update.

The rotation hasn’t been quite as sharp as the bullpen, due in no small part to Jared Jones’ elbow injury and early struggles from southpaw Bailey Falter and righty Carmen Mlodzinski . Falter gave up seven runs (five of them earned) in a start for the second time this season yesterday. The lefty blamed his inability to throw his offspeed pitches for strikes when assessing his performance after yesterday’s game (link via the Post-Gazette’s Colin Beazley).

Falter is now sporting a 5.93 ERA on the season. He and Mlodzinski (6.95 ERA) have both been weak points in an otherwise solid rotation. Each of Paul Skenes, Mitch Keller and Andrew Heaney have kept their ERAs under 4.00 — well under in the case of Skenes and Heaney.

The veteran Heaney has been an outstanding addition, giving the Bucs 31 1/3 innings of 1.72 ERA ball with a hearty 26.3% strikeout rate and a tidy 5.1% walk rate. The 33-year-old’s one-year, $5.25MM deal with the Pirates in March caught many off guard, but he’s been a godsend in the wake of Jones’ injury and has probably already made some clubs second guess themselves for passing on him when he lingered in free agency. The Pirates won’t want to talk about the trade deadline anytime soon, but as things stand, Heaney could be a nice arm for them to market if they can’t turn things around after an 11-18 start.

Naturally, with Jones ailing and both Falter and Mlodzinski struggling, there’s plenty of attention on the Pirates’ young arms. Thomas Harrington made a brief MLB debut earlier this season, but it’s top prospect Bubba Chandler who has Bucs fans buzzing the most. The 22-year-old righty is a consensus top-20 prospect in the sport and widely considered among the best four to five pitching prospects in particular.

Chandler is out to a brilliant start in Triple-A Indianapolis, tossing 20 1/3 frames with a 1.33 ERA, a 36.5% strikeout rate and an 8.1% walk rate. That comes on the heels of a 1.83 ERA in seven starts (39 1/3 innings) with Indianapolis late in the 2024 season. The Pirates have been cautious with the touted righty’s pitch counts early in the season, but he tossed a season-high 70 pitches in five one-hit frames his last time out.

Chandler may not be built up to the extent he was in his Triple-A run late last year, when he averaged 87 pitches and 5 2/3 innings per start, but he certainly seems stretched out enough to be a rotation upgrade in Pittsburgh. There’s no firm indication as to when Chandler might be promoted, but we’re fewer than two weeks away from the one-year anniversary of when the Pirates promoted Skenes under similar circumstances; Skenes made his MLB debut on May 11 last year.

West Notes: Arraez, Padres, Leiter, Tovar, Tellez

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It was a week ago tonight that Luis Arraez was carted off the field in Houston after he collided with Astros second baseman Mauricio Dubon during a play at first base.  Early concerns of a neck or jaw injury dissipated when Arraez was back in the Padres’ clubhouse later that night after a trip to the hospital, and though Arraez was placed on the concussion-related injured list, the three-time batting champ feels he will miss just the minimum seven days.

Arraez took part in a full workout with some other injured Padres players on the field today, and told MLB.com’s AJ Cassavell that he is free of concussion symptoms.  Tuesday would mark the earliest that Arraez is eligible to be activated, and he is now just “waiting for the doctor, whatever he says” about a possible okay to resume playing.

As for San Diego’s other injured players, Jason Heyward might also be activated Tuesday, as was working out on the field and is also nearing the 10-day minimum date after his IL placement for knee inflammation.  Jeff Sanders of the San Diego Union-Tribune writes that Jackson Merrill and Brandon Lockridge (both out with hamstring injuries) are expected to take part in a live batting-practice session at the Padres’ spring camp on Monday, and Merrill was also feeling good enough to take part in today’s defensive workout.  Jake Cronenworth (rib fracture) is feeling good enough to take part in some light fielding drills, but Sanders notes that Cronenworth hasn’t yet attempted diving for balls.

With the weekend wrapping up, here are some more items from the NL and AL West divisions…

  • The Rangers activated Jack Leiter from the 15-day IL today, with right-hander Gerson Garabito heading to Triple-A in the corresponding move.  A blister issue had kept Leiter from pitching since April 2, and some rust was apparent, as Leiter allowed two earned runs (on four walks and two hits) over 3 1/3 innings in Texas’ 3-2 loss to the Giants.  Leiter tossed 76 pitches and was on a pitch count anyway, though obviously the Rangers would’ve preferred to see the former top prospect get a bit deeper into the game.  Leiter still has an impressive 2.03 ERA over 13 1/3 innings this season, and will continue in the rotation at least until some of the club’s other injured starters return to action.
  • Ezequiel Tovar was eligible to be activated off the Rockies’ 10-day injured list this weekend, but manager Bud Black told the Denver Post’s Jeff Saunders and other reporters that Tovar will need another 7-10 days of recovery time.  Tovar is dealing with a left hip contusion and hasn’t played since April 15, leaving the struggling Rockies short one of their few breakout players from the 2024 season.
  • Rowdy Tellez was a late scratch from the Mariners’ lineup today, as the slugger is apparently still feeling sore after being hit on the hand by a pitch in Saturday’s game.  X-rays were negative on Tellez’s hand, he told Shane Lantz of the Seattle Times and other reporters, so it appears to be a precautionary move on the Mariners’ part.  Seattle has an off-day on Monday, so Tellez will receive two full days off before his next attempt to play.

Blue Jays Notes: Varsho, Scherzer, Burr

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Daulton Varsho will likely make his 2025 debut on Tuesday when the Blue Jays host the Red Sox at the start of a six-game homestand.  The Gold Glover and Fielding Bible award winner underwent surgery on his right rotator cuff last September, and started this season on the 10-day injured list to allow him extra time to get his throwing arm back up to full game readiness.  Varsho was still able to log some at-bats as a DH during Spring Training, and his appearance with Triple-A Buffalo today marked the seventh game of his minor league rehab assignment.

The Jays have remained a very strong defensive team even in Varsho’s absence, and since Toronto’s lineup has been sorely lacking in power, the bigger boost would come if Varsho can more consistently unlock the home run pop he has shown at times during his five MLB seasons.  Varsho’s biggest power season remains his 2022 campaign with the Diamondbacks, as he has only a .398 slugging percentage (but with 38 homers) in 1094 plate appearances in a Blue Jays uniform.

Varsho will resume his usual semi-everyday role in center field, only sitting when the Jays face some left-handed starting pitchers.  Manager John Schneider told Sportsnet’s Shi Davidi and other reporters that no decision has been made about who will be sent down to Triple-A to create space for Varsho on the 26-man roster, though left-handed hitting outfielders Nathan Lukes or Addison Barger seem the likeliest candidates.

Turning to the pitching staff, Max Scherzer threw a 27-pitch bullpen session on Friday, and threw again today.  It remains to be seen if this is the first step towards a potential rehab plan for Scherzer, as the recurring nature of his thumb injury has led to a lot of stops and starts over the better part of a year.  Scherzer’s Blue Jays history thus far consists of three innings pitched on March 29 before thumb discomfort forced him from the game, and it would appear as though Scherzer is still multiple weeks away from a possible return.

Speaking of longer-term pitching injuries, the Jays shifted Ryan Burr from the 15-day IL to the 60-day IL today.  Right shoulder inflammation has kept Burr from pitching this season, and since he is also a ways away from returning to action, it isn’t surprising that Toronto has taken the step of officially ruling him out until late May.

The 60-day placement appears to be just an on-paper move, as Schneider made no indication that Burr had suffered any kind of setback.  In moving Burr to the 60-day IL, the Blue Jays now have an open 40-man roster spot, which might hint at a potential secondary move coming.  The Jays might have wanted to make space for an upcoming waiver claim, perhaps just in general, or the front office may have their eyes on a particular player currently on the wire.

Red Sox Notes: Wong, Narvaez, Yoshida, Crawford, Anthony

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Connor Wong started a Triple-A rehab assignment today, as the catcher appears to be nearing a return from the left pinkie finger fracture that sent him to the 10-day injured list back on April 8.  Speaking with MassLive.com’s Christopher Smith (multiple links) and other reporters today, Red Sox manager Alex Cora indicated the team will “play it day by day and we don’t have to rush” Wong, as the backstop will need more than one rehab appearance anyway.

Wong seemingly solidified his place as Boston’s first-choice catcher by hitting .280/.333/.425 with 13 home runs over 487 plate appearances last season.  He was ice-cold at the plate over his first 26 PA of 2025, so this early injury could serve as something of a fresh start for Wong’s season.

Carlos Narvaez has taken the bulk of the catching duties in Wong’s absence, and he has been impressive enough defensively that Cora said Narvaez will continue to get a good share of playing time even when Wong is back on the field.  “I’m not saying we split up the week but [Narvaez] will play a lot,” Cora said.

Known as a defensive specialist even during his time in the minors, Narvaez has lived up to that rep over his brief MLB career.  He has hit only .205/.279/.333 in 86 PA (15 with the Yankees in 2024, 71 with the Red Sox this year), but Narvaez has been outstanding in all facets of catcher-related glovework except for his ability to throw out baserunners.  With the Sox committing to Narvaez and Blake Sabol also on the roster as the current backup, Yasmani Grandal could trigger the May 1 opt-out clause in his minor league contract given the rather crowded path to big-league playing time once Wong is back.

Cora provided updates on some other injured Sox players, including something of a non-update on Masataka Yoshida.  The outfielder/DH began the season on the 10-day IL as he continued his recovery from October shoulder surgery, but though we’re now a month into the 2025 campaign, it doesn’t appear Yoshida is expected back any time in the near future.  Yoshida is still “just taking at-bats down there [at Boston’s Spring Training complex] and his throwing program,” Cora said.

Yoshida was healthy enough to hit during Spring Training but hasn’t been able to play the field, as he continues to build up his arm strength.  Given the amount of time Yoshida has already missed, it stands to reason that a shift to the 60-day IL might come sooner rather than later.  Such a roster move would sideline Yoshida until late May at the earliest, though that might not be an issue given Yoshida’s unsettled timeline.

Kutter Crawford has also yet to play in 2025, but the right-hander continues to make progress in his recovery from right patellar soreness.  Cora said that Crawford is set to throw a bullpen session at Boston’s extended spring camp, and Crawford will then advance to throwing a live batting-practice session later this week.  While Crawford looks to be on track, he might also be a candidate for a 60-day IL move if the Red Sox need the roster space, as the righty will still need to make multiple rehab starts to make up for all of the time he missed during the spring.

Star prospect Roman Anthony had an injury scare on Friday when the outfielder left a Triple-A game early after fouling a ball off his left foot.  X-rays were negative on Anthony’s foot, as Red Sox senior director of player development Brian Abraham said during an appearance on the Baseball Isn’t Boring radio show (hat tip to Rob Bradford), so it appears as though a worst-case scenario has been avoided.

Anthony is day-to-day for now, though all eyes will continue to monitor his status both in the short term and in regards to how any sort of injury might impact his inevitable MLB debut.  Between last season and this season, Anthony has a scorching .332/.459/.545 slash line over 266 Triple-A plate appearances, making it only a matter of time before arguably the sport’s best prospect arrives in Boston.  Where exactly Anthony would fit into a crowded Red Sox outfield has been a hot topic, though needless to say, Anthony might simply force the issue if his initial big-league production is anything close to his Triple-A work.

Dodgers Notes: Gonsolin, Snell, Ohtani

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The Dodgers are set to get some rotation reinforcements this week, as manager Dave Roberts told reporters (including Mike DiGiovanna of the Associated Press) yesterday that right-hander Tony Gonsolin is expected to return from the injured list to start Wednesday’s game against the Marlins.

It will mark Gonsolin’s first appearance on a big league mound in nearly two full years. The right-hander last pitched on August 18, 2023 (against the Marlins, coincidentally) but surrendered ten runs on five homers in 3 1/3 innings of work after having pitched through arm troubles for weeks. That final difficult start capped off a six-start stretch where Gonsolin surrendered an 8.01 ERA in 30 1/3 innings of work, so it’s not hard to see the impact Gonsolin’s woes had on his effectiveness. The right-hander was placed on the IL after that mid-August start and underwent Tommy John surgery on September 1.

He missed the entire 2024 season as a result of his rehab despite flirting with the possibility of a late-season return, and entered Spring Training fully healthy and ready to battle for a rotation job this spring. Unfortunately, the injury bug once again bit him when he was hit with a bout of back tightness late in the spring. That led to another season started on the injured list, but now he looks poised to finally get back on the major league mound as a starting pitcher. That’s the role he held for the entirety of his best season in the majors, when he made the 2022 NL All-Star team on the back of a 2.14 ERA in 130 1/3 innings of work across 24 starts.

Whether he’ll keep that role long-term or move to the bullpen at some point this year remains to be seen. It wouldn’t be a shock to see a strong performance keep Gonsolin in the mix for starts all year long, but he does have some big league experience as a reliever and the Dodgers’ on-paper rotation is extremely crowded when anything close to fully healthy. When the club’s rotation mix is firing on all cylinders, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Blake Snell, Tyler Glasnow, Shohei Ohtani, Dustin May, and Roki Sasaki all seem likely to be ahead of Gonsolin on the organizational depth chart. With that being said, the Dodgers’ rotation mix is far from healthy at the moment, so Gonsolin should get a reasonably long runway as he looks to earn a more permanent spot on the starting staff.

Speaking of those rotation injuries, Roberts provided reporters (including ESPN’s Alden Gonzalez) with an update regarding Snell on Friday. Per Roberts, an MRI Snell underwent earlier in the week revealed “no new findings” beyond his previously-known shoulder inflammation. The manager added that he believes the club has “dodged a bullet” by shutting Snell down before the injury became more serious. The southpaw was set to receive an injection to help battle the inflammation but has yet to begin a throwing program. That leaves a timetable for his return to action somewhat murky, though Roberts suggested that the lack of structural damage leaves the door open for a somewhat quicker return to action.

Barring further setbacks, it seems as though Snell should at least be back on a big league mound before Ohtani. The two-way superstar threw his first bullpen session since returning from paternity leave yesterday, as relayed by MLB.com’s Sonja Chen. After not throwing last Saturday during his absence, Ohtani played catch rather than throw off the mound on Wednesday and limited his bullpen session yesterday to just 31 pitches, but he’s expected to resume his regular schedule of light mound work on Wednesdays and a full bullpen session on Saturdays this coming week.

While it’s good that Ohtani has resumed throwing, it appears that there’s been little progress in terms of his actual readiness of MLB games. He’s still limited to just fastballs and splitters for the time being, and won’t advance to facing live hitters until he’s utilizing his entire pitch mix. Club GM Brandon Gomes discussed Ohtani’s slow-going rehab with reporters (including Chen) yesterday, calling it “a week-by-week process.”

“We have a general sense, we’ve got to make sure that he’s feeling good and we’re being smart so we can’t lose the offensive side of it as well,” Gomes said, as relayed by Chen. “In a lot of these rehabs, you kind of set a date and work backward. I think on this one, you’re moving forward, because it’s a one-of-one type thing.”

While the Dodgers floated the month of May as a potential timeline for Ohtani’s return during the winter, Ohtani’s pitching build up was paused prior to L.A.’s series against the Cubs in Tokyo. That pushed back his timeline, and while no dates have been floated for his return since then it seems likely that he’ll resume pitching in the majors again at some point in the second half.

AL Notes: Mangum, Lewis, Clase

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The Rays announced today that outfielder Jake Mangum has been placed on the 10-day injured list due to a left groin strain. Infielder Coco Montes has been recalled from Triple-A Durham as the corresponding move.

It’s an unfortunate blow for the Rays. Mangum came into this season with no major league experience but is currently sporting a strong line of .338/.384/.397 in his first 73 plate appearances. Losing that production would be unwelcome at any time but it’s especially tough for the Rays given their other outfield injuries. Mangum joins Josh Lowe, Jonny DeLuca and Richie Palacios on the IL.

For now, the Rays are left with an outfield mix consisting of Chandler Simpson, Kameron Misner, Christopher Morel and José Caballero. Simpson and Misner each have less than 30 games of major league experience while Morel and Caballero have more experience in the outfield than the infield.

Some more notes from around the American League…

  • Twins infielder Royce Lewis is on the IL with a hamstring strain but will begin a rehab assignment at Triple-A Saint Paul tomorrow, per Dan Hayes of The Athletic. That’s good news for the Twins since they’ve been hit hard by injuries, particularly on the infield. Willi Castro joined Lewis on the IL earlier today. José Miranda and Austin Martin are both injured in the minors. Carlos Correa has also been dealing with a wrist issue, though he has not landed on the IL. Getting Lewis back into the mix would be a nice boost for a club that is floundering. They lost today’s game to the White Sox to fall to 9-16.
  • Guardians closer Emmanuel Clase hasn’t quite been himself lately and it might be because he’s not 100% healthy. Manager Stephen Vogt recently told Zack Meisel of The Athletic that Clase had some shoulder discomfort on Sunday. He has a 7.84 earned run average this year, which is miles away from the 0.61 ERA he posted last year. His strikeout, walk and ground ball rates have all moved in the wrong direction. The shoulder issue perhaps provides an explanation for his struggles but obviously raises the question of what comes next and whether he can get back on track.
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