Notes

NL Central Notes: Steele, Votto, Adames, Miley, Velasquez

By Nick Deeds | June 3, 2023 at 9:39am CDT

Cubs fans received some positive news regarding left-hander Justin Steele yesterday. The 27-year-old hurler was pulled from his start on Wednesday after just three innings of work due to forearm tightess and underwent an MRI on Thursday to determine the severity of the issue. As noted by MLB.com’s Jordan Bastian on Twitter, Steele described the result of the MRI as “good news” and said that the plan is for him to play catch today before determining the path forward. With that being said, WSCR-AM’s Bruce Levine notes that a source considers Steele “likely” to miss his next start, which he would otherwise be on schedule take Tuesday against the Angels.

After securing a spot in the starting rotation to open the 2022 campaign, Steele ended last season looking like an above-average, mid-rotation or better starter over 24 starts, posting a 3.18 ERA, 3.20 FIP, 24.6% strikeout rate, 9.8% walk rate, and 51.2% groundball rate in 119 innings of work. Only budding Rays ace Shane McClanahan managed to post a higher strikeout rate while maintaining a groundball rate over 50% last year. What’s more, Steele has managed to build on his strong first season as a regular starter for the this season, with a 2.65 ERA that’s only bested by rotation-mate Marcus Stroman and Braves youngster Bryce Elder in the National League.

The news that his forearm strain isn’t anything serious and he’s unlikely to miss significant time is surely a relief for a Cubs team that has relied on the young lefty to carry their pitching staff alongside Stroman, with the duo representing 18 of the club’s 25 quality starts in 2023. With that said, it seems likely that right-hander Hayden Wesneski will fill in for Steele in the event the injured left-hander does miss a start. Wesneski struggled to a 4.81 ERA and 5.65 FIP this season after earning the fifth spot in the club’s rotation with a dominant performance in spring training, leaving the Cubs to remove him from the rotation when Kyle Hendricks returned to the mound from injury.

More from around the NL Central:

According to MLB.com, Brewers shortstop Willy Adames has resumed baseball activities for the first time since he was struck by a foul ball in last week’s game against the Giants, landing him on the 7-day concussion IL. Adames is currently working out with the the club’s High-A affiliate rather than joining the club on their flight to Cincinnati in order to avoid the wear-and-tear of air travel, according to manager Craig Counsell. The club plans to decide whether or not Adames, who has struggled to a 84 wRC+ in 51 games this season, needs a minor league rehab assignment before he can return to big league action later this weekend. In the meantime, they figure to continue going with a combination of Brice Turang, Owen Miller, and Andruw Monasterio up the middle.
Sticking with the Brewers, MLB.com’s Adam McCalvy notes that left-hander Wade Miley is making good progress on his rehab from a posterior serratus strain. While he was initially expected to be shelved for six to eight weeks, McCalvy reports that if Miley is able to avoid any setbacks he’s currently set to return from the IL after just four weeks after throwing a bullpen session on Thursday. Miley posted eight solid starts for the Brewers prior to his injury as the veteran lefty threw 41 2/3 innings of 3.67 ERA baseball.
Reds first baseman and future Hall of Famer Joey Votto is set to begin a rehab assignment with the club’s Triple-A affiliate in Louisville today, per MLB.com’s Mark Sheldon. Votto has been on the shelf since he underwent surgery on his rotator cuff back in August, and posted a wRC+ of just 92 in 91 games prior to the surgery. Still, he figures to share first base and DH duties with Spencer Steer upon his return to big league action.
Right-hander Vince Velasquez was activated from the injured list and returned to the Pirates’ rotation just last week, but immediately felt discomfort in his right elbow and returned to the injured list. According to Jason Mackey of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, his current IL-stay will not be a short one, as the veteran is expected to be transferred to the 60-day IL in the near future. Velasquez had pitched well for the Pirates across eight starts this season prior to his injury, with a 3.86 ERA in 37 1/3 innings. Velasquez’s return to the IL leaves the club with a rotation of Mitch Keller, Roansy Contreras, Johan Oviedo, Rich Hill, and Luis Ortiz.

Dodgers Notes: Syndergaard, Stone, Grove, Betts

By Anthony Franco | May 31, 2023 at 9:25pm CDT

The Dodgers’ buy-low free agent flier on Noah Syndergaard hasn’t panned out thus far. The former All-Star righty has been tagged for a 6.54 ERA in 52 1/3 innings. After throwing quality starts in three of his first four outings, he’s only once since completed six innings — a start in which he surrendered six runs in Tampa Bay.

Syndergaard had another frustrating appearance this afternoon, allowing five runs in as many innings with three homers in a loss to the Nationals. After the start, manager Dave Roberts was noncommittal about Syndergaard making his next start (relayed by Juan Toribio of MLB.com). Los Angeles has off days on Thursday and next Monday, so they could bypass Syndergaard’s next turn without officially pulling him from the rotation.

Since returning from 2020 Tommy John surgery, Syndergaard has worked with diminished velocity. The one-time fireballer is averaging only 92.1 MPH on his sinker this season. That’s down nearly two ticks from last season’s work with the Angels and well below the upper-90s heat he’d featured early in his career. Not coincidentally, Syndergaard has seen his homer rate skyrocket and has punched out a well below-average 15.3% of batters faced.

Syndergaard’s struggles add to some uncertainty at the back of the L.A. starting staff. The Dodgers have gotten great work out of Clayton Kershaw and Tony Gonsolin but doesn’t have much present stability behind them. Walker Buehler is still rehabbing from last year’s Tommy John procedure. Julio Urías and Dustin May are both currently on the shelf, with May ruled out until at least July.

The Dodgers have leaned on some younger depth options to take the ball. Top prospects Bobby Miller and Gavin Stone have made their big league debuts this year. Stone has struggled, allowing 17 runs with more walks than strikeouts over his first ten innings. Los Angeles optioned him to Triple-A Oklahoma City yesterday, setting the stage for righty Michael Grove to return to the rotation.

Grove has been on the shelf for a little more than five weeks thanks to a groin strain. He’s expected to be reinstated on Saturday to take the ball against the Yankees, tweets David Vassegh of 570 AM in L.A. It’ll be Grove’s fifth start of the season. The 26-year-old has an 8.44 ERA through 16 innings but performed fairly well in Triple-A last season.

Depending on Urías’ and May’s health outlooks, the rotation looks as if it’ll be an area for the front office to monitor as trade deadline season gets closer. In spite of the starting pitching depth, L.A. leads the NL West at 34-23 and is positioned to buy this summer yet again.

President of baseball operations Andrew Friedman recently alluded to trade season, discussing the potential to bring in some offensive help over the coming months (relayed by Bill Plunkett of the Orange County Register). The front office head pointed to the defensive flexibility shown by Mookie Betts as opening additional trade avenues for the organization.

Bettes has mixed in middle infield work, including his first career shortstop appearances, with his customary corner outfield responsibilities. While the Miguel Rojas–Miguel Vargas tandem is still the primary middle infield, Friedman noted that Betts’ ability to move around the diamond could allow the Dodgers to look into various ways to bolster the lineup. That’d presumably be through scouring the corner outfield market while potentially increasing Betts’ shortstop reps at Rojas’ expense, though the market won’t come into clear focus for a few more weeks.

Yankees Notes: Bader, Trevino, Stanton

By Darragh McDonald | May 30, 2023 at 2:17pm CDT

Yankees outfielder Harrison Bader departed yesterday’s game with right hamstring tightness and it seems he’s unlikely to make a quick return. Manager Aaron Boone tells Talkin’ Yanks that Bader will miss at least a few games and could even require a trip to the injured list.

The club can take a couple of days to decide since IL stints can be backdated by three days, provided that the player hasn’t participated in those intervening games. The Yanks can give Bader some time to see how his hamstring feels and then place him on the IL if it doesn’t improve. Of course, taking that path means playing shorthanded for a few days, but it could possibly allow them to avoid putting Bader on the shelf if his health improves.

Injuries have become a frequent thread in Bader’s career, as he’s spent some time on the IL in each full season from 2019 to the present. He played 103 games in 2021 and 86 last year, then started the 2023 season on the injured list due to an oblique strain. He eventually returned and has been playing very well of late, hitting .267/.295/.511 through 26 games while stealing six bases and providing quality glovework. However, he’s now at risk of having that production put on hold yet again, depending on how things develop in the coming days. Whether he goes on the IL or not, the club will have to fill center field in his absence, with playing time potentially going to Aaron Judge, Isiah Kiner-Falefa or Greg Allen.

Elsewhere on the roster, catcher Jose Trevino seems ready for a fairly quick return. Bryan Hoch of MLB.com relays word from Boone that the backstop could be activated during the club’s current series against the Mariners, which runs through Wednesday. He landed on the 10-day injured list May 18 with a hamstring strain, so it looks like his stint could wind up being just over the minimum.

The glove-first catcher led the league in Defensive Runs Saved last year with 21 and also had the best framing marks in the majors according to FanGraphs. He wasn’t quite at the same pace this year but was still above-average before straining his hamstring. Once he’s able to return, it could mean that Ben Rortvedt gets optioned back to the minors. He has done a good job filling in for Trevino, hitting .286/.444/.429 but in a small sample of nine plate appearances.

Lefty Carlos Rodón is also on track to return to the team, though his return won’t be as imminent as Trevino. He threw a 20-pitch bullpen session at high intensity, per Hoch, and will soon throw another bullpen before moving on to live hitters. Signed to a six-year, $162MM deal this offseason, the southpaw has yet to make his Yankee debut after suffering a forearm strain in the spring and then dealing with back problems.

With both Rodón and Frankie Montas having been absent all season so far, it’s opened some rotation work for other hurlers like Domingo Germán, Clarke Schmidt, Jhony Brito and Randy Vásquez. Germán also had to miss some time due to his 10-game sticky stuff suspension, though he has now served that and returned yesterday. That shuffling of arms has left the club’s rotation ERA at 4.38 for the year, placing them 15th out of the 30 clubs in the league. Rodón has a 2.67 ERA dating back to the start of the 2021 season and will undoubtedly provide the club with a boost once healthy, but he still has a long road ahead of him in building back up to a full starter’s workload, since he’s effectively just starting his delayed spring ramp-up now.

There are some other reinforcements that appear to be closer at hand, as the Double-A Somerset Patriots announced (Twitter links) that third baseman Josh Donaldson, outfielder/designated hitter Giancarlo Stanton and right-hander Tommy Kahnle are all joining that club for rehab work tonight. Donaldson and Kahnle were already rehabbing with other affiliates but this will be Stanton’s first game action in a while. He was out to a strong .269/.296/.558 start before suffering a hamstring strain about six weeks ago. He’s always been an excellent hitter but health has been a frequent concern lately, as he’s been on the IL in each season since 2018.

West Notes: Lamet, Munoz, Hudson, Rendon, Rodriguez

By Mark Polishuk | May 29, 2023 at 10:41pm CDT

The Rockies plan to activate Dinelson Lamet from the 15-day injured list to start their Wednesday game with the Diamondbacks, MLB.com’s Thomas Harding reports (Twitter link). Reports surfaced last week that Limet was being considered for a return to starting pitching, and with the Rockies increasingly desperate for rotation help, Limet will get a look as a starter for the first time since the 2021 season when he was still a member of the Padres. Karl Kauffmann has already been optioned to Triple-A, creating space for Lamet on the active roster. Lower back tightness has kept Lamet out of action for almost all of May, and he struggled to a 12.66 ERA over 10 2/3 relief innings this season prior to his injury.

Some more items from both the NL and AL West…

Andres Munoz will start a Triple-A rehab assignment on Tuesday, as the Mariners reliever is on the way back from a deltoid strain that has sidelined him since April 8. Thought to be a minor injury at the time, Munoz was then bothered by a sore shoulder that required a PRP injection, extending his time on the IL to just shy of two months. Munoz only pitched 3 1/3 innings over four appearances before heading to the injured list, but assuming everything goes as planned, he’ll be back in the Seattle bullpen and looking to follow up his outstanding 2022 season.
Dodgers reliever Daniel Hudson told reporters (including Mike DiGiovanna of the Los Angeles Times) that he will throw a bullpen on Tuesday. It’s a positive step for Hudson, who hasn’t pitched since tearing his left UCL last June. During the last update on Hudson two weeks ago from Dodgers manager Dave Roberts, the veteran righty was throwing but without any specific plans for a rehab assignment due to some continued discomfort in his knee. Hudson said today that he’d received a cortisone injection in his knee, and was hoping that the bullpen session would be the first step towards a “ramp up” of his recovery.
Angels GM Perry Minasian provided some news on some injured Halos players to the Orange County Register’s Jeff Fletcher and other reporters, though neither Anthony Rendon or Chris Rodriguez seems close to a return. Rendon has been taking part in some light baseball activities, but even with more than two weeks passed since Rendon hit the 10-day IL due to a groin strain, Minasian wasn’t sure of a timeline for when Rendon might return or take on a fuller rehab process. Rodriguez underwent shoulder surgery in November 2021 and didn’t pitch at all in 2022, then had a setback in early April after starting the season on the 15-day IL. It doesn’t appear as though there was any further damage to Rodriguez’s shoulder, as Minasian said the team has “done what we need to do medically” to assess the situation, and Rodriguez is throwing again but not off a mound.

Cardinals Notes: Mozeliak, O’Neill, Carlson, Nootbaar

By Mark Polishuk | May 29, 2023 at 9:46pm CDT

The Cardinals’s record dropped to 24-32 after today’s loss to the Royals, but unsurprisingly, St. Louis president of baseball operations John Mozeliak isn’t giving up on the season as the calendar approaches June. In an interview with Jim Hayes of Bally Sports (video link) today, Mozeliak said his team is preparing to make additions at the trade deadline, and “I don’t anticipate us [selling] at all. I think…where our division is headed, it’s going to remain very competitive. So really we’re going to be looking at ways that can really help this club.”

Despite their lackluster record, the Cards are still only 5.5 games out of first place in the NL Central, with the Brewers holding the top spot with a modest 28-25 record. Also, the National League as a whole is still very compact, so the Cardinals are only five games out of a wild card berth.

It’s therefore far too early for a team with World Series aspirations like the Cardinals to reload for 2024, especially considering that St. Louis has made a habit of second-half surges in recent years. It’s possible the Cards have already bounced back in some fashion from their brutal start, as St. Louis is 14-8 in its last 22 games and can clinch a winning record in May with a victory over the Royals on Tuesday.

Mozeliak also provided an update of sorts on Tyler O’Neill, though not positive news for a player who has already been out since May 5 due to a lower back strain. O’Neill is still “feeling discomfort” in his back, so Mozeliak noted that “until he’s cleared to do more baseball activity, it’s hard to push him through that.” As a result, Mozeliak said “we’re doing to do a little bit of a pause” on O’Neill’s rehab work, and “do a few additional tests, and then decide what those next steps look like.”

Dylan Carlson has been sidelined with an ankle injury for the last two weeks but Mozeliak mentioned he could begin a minor league rehab assignment as early as this week. That would provide some help for a Cardinals outfield that looks like it’ll be missing O’Neill for the foreseeable future, and another injury concern emerged today when Lars Nootbaar left the game due to back spasms.

In the second inning, Nootbaar collided with the wall while making a catch, leaving the outfielder visibly sore. Nootbaar tried to stay in the game but in the next inning, he dropped to his knees while in pursuit of a Nick Pratto fly ball, and had to be removed. In postgame interviews with Ben Frederickson of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch and other reporters, Nootbaar didn’t seem too worried about the injury, but it would seem likely that the Cardinals will keep him out of at least tomorrow’s lineup for precautionary reasons. The Cards have a rare two-day schedule break on May 31 and June 1, so if Nootbaar could get three full days off to heal up before a potential return to action.

Quick Hits: Astros, Santana, Pagan, Muncy, Miller

By Mark Polishuk | May 28, 2023 at 10:34pm CDT

The Astros don’t have an off-day until June 12, so the team had been considering moving to a six-man rotation to help keep their starters fresh during this busy stretch of the schedule. However, manager Dusty Baker told reporters (including the Houston Chronicle’s Danielle Lerner) that the team might be forced to stick with a five-man alignment just due to a lack of available starting depth, since prospect Forrest Whitley has been placed on the Triple-A injured list due to a right lat strain. Whitley was the team’s top option for a spot start or two, and now Ronel Blanco might be the next candidate if Houston does indeed opt for a sixth starter.

Jose Urquidy and Lance McCullers Jr. aren’t expected back until around the All-Star break, while Luis Garcia’s season has already been ended by Tommy John surgery. The injury situation has left the Astros short on starting pitching, and Whitley’s lat strain has again delayed his MLB debut. Once one of the sport’s top prospects, Whitley’s minor league career has been interrupted by a 50-game PED suspension in 2018, and by a Tommy John surgery that cost him the entire 2021 season.

More on other injury situations that arose from today’s games…

Carlos Santana left during the sixth inning of the Pirates’ 6-3 loss to the Mariners today due to what the Bucs described as lumbar spine muscular tightness. It would certainly seem like Santana will miss a couple of games to recovery, and a trip to the injured list is possible if his back problem doesn’t subside. Connor Joe is the likeliest candidate for first base duty in Santana’s absence, but Pittsburgh might now be facing a depth problem at first base since Ji-Man Choi isn’t eligible to return from the 60-day IL until at least mid-July.
Twins reliever Emilio Pagan faced only one batter in today’s 3-0 loss to the Blue Jays before departing due to a left hip flexor strain. Both Pagan and manager Rocco Baldelli expressed hope that an IL stint wasn’t necessary, with Pagan telling the Minneapolis Star Tribune’s Jerry Zgoda and other reporters that “hopefully we caught it early enough, that I’m good to go in a day or two. I think I’ll be ready to go tomorrow if need be.”
Max Muncy left today’s game with a cramp in his left hamstring, and the Dodgers infielder told MLB.com and other media that he has been dealing with cramps throughout the weekend. Muncy will undergo an MRI to further examine the issue, but for now, he is day to day. Between a scorching-hot April and then a big slump for much of May, Muncy is still hitting .208/.340/.530 over 203 plate appearances this season, and he belted his 17th home run before his early exit today.
X-rays were negative on Owen Miller’s right forearm, after the Brewers infielder was removed as a precautionary measure after being hit by a pitch in today’s game. Manager Craig Counsell told Curt Hogg of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel and other reporters that Miller is day to day, and could be back for the team’s next game on Tuesday (Monday is an off-day for the Brew Crew). Miller’s hot bat has earned him more playing time, and after collecting two more hits today, Miller is slashing .330/.371/.513 over 124 PA.

AL East Notes: Fairbanks, Rizzo, Blue Jays

By Mark Polishuk | May 28, 2023 at 8:46pm CDT

In the words of Rays manager Kevin Cash, Pete Fairbanks’ “hip locked up” while the reliever was getting ready to enter today’s game with the Dodgers. Instead, Fairbanks halted his warm-up and went to the dugout once the inning was over. Cash told Kristie Ackert of the Tampa Bay Times and other reporters that according to the team trainer, Fairbanks’ “muscles look to be okay, but we saw him walk very gingerly from the bullpen and he was in some pain.” More will be known after Fairbanks undergoes further examination.

Fairbanks already spent 15 days on the injured list due to forearm inflammation earlier this season, and missed a couple of other games due to his symptoms of Raynaud’s disease, which manifests in the form of finger numbness. Injuries have been a frequent setback for Fairbanks during his pro career, but he has been a very effective reliever when healthy, as indicated by his 2.84 ERA over 117 1/3 innings since joining the Rays during the 2019 season. Tampa is 13 games into a stretch of 16 games in 16 games, and while Cash is hopeful that his bullpen can hold up until Thursday’s off-day, the club doesn’t have much room to maneuver if Fairbanks has to miss even a couple of days to recover.

White Sox Activate Eloy Jimenez From 10-Day Injured List

By Nick Deeds | May 28, 2023 at 3:07pm CDT

TODAY: Jimenez was indeed activated off the 10-day IL today, with Chicago optioning outfielder Adam Haseley to Triple-A in the corresponding move.

MAY 27: White Sox fans have received a variety of positive injury news in recent days, led by progress for closer Liam Hendriks as he makes his way back to the mound after his battle with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. Hendriks threw a live bullpen session on Friday, following which manager Pedro Grifol noted to reporters (including Daryl Van Schouwen of the Chicago Sun Times) that Hendriks “feels great” and that they are “discussing as an organization to see when he’s going to be activated.”

While Grifol did not specify a timeline, that Hendriks’ return to game action appears imminent is not only a major win for the scuffling White Sox, but a personal triumph for Hendriks as well. The three-time All Star has been among the very best relievers in baseball since the start of the 2019 season, with a 2.26 ERA, 2.13 FIP, and 114 saves in 239 innings of work in that time. When Hendriks returns to action, he figures to reclaim the closer role, joining Kendall Graveman, Joe Kelly, and Reynaldo Lopez in the late inning mix on the south side.

There may not be a specific timeline for Hendriks’ return to action, but the same cannot be said for outfielder Eloy Jimenez, who Van Schouwen notes could return to action as soon as tomorrow, per Grifol. That tracks with last week’s report that Jimenez was “ahead of schedule” in recovering from his recent appendectomy and could return to the lineup over Memorial Day weekend.

The former top prospect broke out in a big way in 2022. Though he was limited to just 84 games by injuries, Jimenez slashed a phenomenal .295/.358/.500 with 16 home runs in that limited time on the field. The 26-year-old slugger hasn’t quite reached those same heights in 25 games this year, though he has managed a solid if unremarkable .258/.321/.423 slash line in 97 plate appearances across those games. Upon his return, Jimenez figures to spend most of his time at DH, though he will factor into the corner outfield mix as well.

With Jimenez returning to take over the DH slot on most days, it was recently reported that infielder Jake Burger would move from the designated hitter spot to begin taking reps at second base, allowing the club to keep his 144 wRC+ bat in the lineup. That decision puts into question the role of incumbent second baseman Elvis Andrus once he returns from his current oblique injury. The answer to those questions may end up coming in short order, as Van Schouwen notes that Andrus is set to begin a rehab assignment at Triple-A Charlotte tonight as Grifol revealed that the veteran infielder could return to the big league club later this week.

Andrus impressed with the Sox in 43 games down the stretch last season, slashing .271/.309/.464, but has struggled in 39 games this season after returning to the club on a one-year, $3MM deal during the offseason. In 151 plate appearances in 2023, Andrus has slashed just .201/.280/.254 with a wRC+ of just 50. Much of Andrus’s lost production comes from a power outage, as the veteran slammed nine home runs and eight doubles in 191 plate appearances with the Sox last year, but has mustered only a single home run and four doubles in just 40 fewer trips to the plate this season.

Quick Hits: Castro, Kiermaier, Velasquez, Duvall, Chang

By Mark Polishuk | May 27, 2023 at 10:53pm CDT

The Mets and Red Sox each “pushed hard” to sign Willi Castro this past offseason, Darren Wolfson of SKOR North reports (Twitter link), but the utilityman chose to sign a minor league deal with the Twins. The move has nicely paid off for both the player and the team, as Castro has hit .258/.324/.452 over 103 plate appearances for Minnesota, with two of his four home runs coming in today’s win over the Blue Jays. Castro’s versatility has also been a boost to an injury-riddled Twins club, as he has seen action as a shortstop, second baseman, third baseman, and in all three outfield positions.

More from around the baseball world as we wrap up a busy Saturday…

Vince Velasquez was activated from the 15-day injured list earlier today, but the Pirates right-hander allowed four runs in two innings before being removed from the game due to discomfort in his right elbow. Velasquez had previously been sidelined by inflammation in that same elbow, and while he is being examined by doctors, it would seem likely that he might be headed back to the IL. If Velasquez is again out of action, it would continue Roansy Contreras’ time as a starter, since Jason Mackey of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported earlier today that Contreras could be headed into a relief role.
Kevin Kiermaier made an early exit from today’s Twins/Blue Jays game due to some lower back discomfort. Toronto manager John Schneider told Sportsnet’s Ben Nicholson-Smith and other reporters that Kiermaier was feeling sore after a pair of throws, and “with how important he is to us, we wanted to be safe and make sure we didn’t make it worse.” Kiermaier will receive further examination and is day-to-day for now. In his first season with the Jays, Kiermaier has been outstanding, hitting .319/.366/.511 over 154 PA while delivering his usual high-level defense in center field. Given Kiermaier’s long injury history, it makes sense why the Blue Jays would err on the side of caution, and it’s probably safe to assume that Kiermaier won’t play Sunday since Toronto also has a Monday off-day for additional rest.
The Red Sox told reporters (including Pete Abraham of the Boston Globe) that Adam Duvall is set to begin a Triple-A rehab assignment on Tuesday. Duvall was sidelined by a fracture in his left wrist, and a subsequent move to the 60-day IL means that June 9 is the outfielder’s earliest possible return date. Duvall was off to a huge start prior to his injury, posting a 1.544 OPS in his first 37 PA of the season. While Duvall is on the road to recovery, Yu Chang’s rehab assignment has been paused due to some soreness in his left hand while swinging. Chang has missed just over a month due to hamate bone surgery, and his setback isn’t expected to delay his rehab work by any more than a few days, pending further examination.

NL East Notes: Soroka, Sanchez, Garcia, Rogers, Phillies, Doolittle

By Mark Polishuk | May 27, 2023 at 9:49pm CDT

The Braves optioned Dylan Dodd to Triple-A today, creating a question about who might start against the Athletics on Tuesday during what was supposed to be Dodd’s next turn in the rotation. Whether Bryce Elder pitches on Monday or Tuesday, Atlanta will need another starter for one of those two games, and it seems possible that Michael Soroka might be on the verge of his return to the big leagues. Manager Brian Snitker downplayed the idea to Sarah K. Spencer of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution and other reporters, saying that Soroka was just one of “all options” the team was considering.

A decision will have to come relatively quickly, as Soroka is slated to start for Triple-A Gwinnett on Sunday. The right-hander has a 4.33 ERA, 23% strikeout rate, and 7.2% walk rate over 35 1/3 innings for Gwinnett this season, though one rough outing against Buffalo on April 30 (seven ER in three innings) somewhat skewed Soroka’s numbers. If Soroka does return against the A’s, it will mark his first MLB appearance since August 3, 2020, as Soroka has had his career interrupted for close to three years due to a pair of Achilles tears. It remains to be seen if Soroka can pitch anywhere near his 2019 All-Star form, but for an Atlanta team that will be without Max Fried and Kyle Wright for some time yet, the Braves would love to see Soroka at least eat some innings and stop a revolving door in the rotation.

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