Pirates Designate Roansy Contreras, Place Ke’Bryan Hayes On 10-Day IL
2:18PM: The Pirates have officially announced the selection of Skenes’ contract and the other transactions. Hayes’ IL designation is listed as low back inflammation.
12:53PM: Pirates GM Ben Cherington announced to Kevin Gorman of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review (links to X) and other reporters that right-hander Roansy Contreras has been designated for assignment. This move opens up a roster spot for Paul Skenes, as the star prospect is set to make his Major League debut in today’s game against the Cubs. Cherington also revealed that third baseman Ke’Bryan Hayes has been placed on the 10-day injured list due to a bad back, and infielder Alika Williams has been called up from Triple-A to take Hayes’ spot on the active roster.
It wasn’t long ago that Contreras was a notable prospect in his own right, checking into the back end of top-100 lists from Baseball Prospectus, Baseball America, and MLB Pipeline prior to the 2022 season. Acquired from the Yankees as part of the four-player return in the Jameson Taillon trade in the 2020-21 offseason, Contreras elevated his stock in his first season in Pittsburgh’s farm system, culminating in reaching the big leagues for one game before the 2021 campaign was over. The righty then posted a 3.79 ERA in 95 innings (starting 18 of 21 games) in 2022, and looked like a promising building block within the Pirates’ rotation heading into 2023.
Unfortunately, things then went south for Contreras during a disastrous season. He posted a 6.59 ERA over 68 1/3 MLB innings, and first lost his rotation job with a demotion to the bullpen, and then was optioned back to Triple-A altogether and didn’t pitch again in the majors after July 5. The move to Triple-A didn’t get Contreras on track, as he had a 4.96 ERA over 32 2/3 frames for Indianapolis. Contreras also spent some time going fully back to the drawing board with the Pirates’ Complex League team, trying to work out the mechanical problems that led to such issues a drop in his strikeout rate, an increase in his walk rate, and a minor velocity drop on his fastball.
Pitching out of the Pittsburgh bullpen this season, Contreras’ bottom-line numbers improved to the tune of a 4.41 ERA in 16 1/3 innings, and his strikeout rate rose from 18.2% in 2023 to 21.6% this year. It still isn’t exactly an eye-catching set of results, and the Pirates have seen enough to feel comfortable in possibly losing Contreras to the waiver wire. While the righty is out of minor league options and thus had to be DFA’ed in order to be sent to Triple-A, it still counts as a bit of a surprise to see the Bucs potentially move on from a 24-year-old who showed such potential as recently as 2022. Odds are that Contreras will be claimed away for nothing unless the Pirates can get some kind of trade return from a particularly interested team before the end of Contreras’ DFA period.
Skenes’ first taste of the majors will come without the luxury of the game’s best defensive third baseman behind him. Hayes hasn’t played since May 7 and he is only 2-for-26 in his last seven games, dropping his slash line to .240/.322/.318 over 149 plate appearances for the season. Hayes has only hit one home run after he hit 15 taters in 2023, and his Isolated Power total of .078 is less than half of his .182 ISO from last year.
While Hayes has both increased his walk rate and reduced his strikeouts, it is fair to wonder if his back problem is the cause of these offensive struggles. Hayes only had a 101 wRC+ in 2023, but getting even league-average offense from such an elite defender makes Hayes a very valuable player. Speaking of glovework, a -9.1 UZR/150 for Hayes this season is perhaps the bigger red flag that he isn’t physically right, even if other defensive metrics (+2 Outs Above Average, +3 Defensive Runs Saved) still have a positive view of Hayes’ defense.
Jared Triolo is the only other Pirate to get any time at third base besides Hayes this season, so Triolo could be shifted from his usual second base spot over to the hot corner while Hayes is sidelined. This would make Williams and Nick Gonzales the top options for second base, leaving the Bucs quite thin on the infield. Llover Peguero and Ji Hwan Bae are on the 40-man roster and could be called up more easily from Triple-A if a need develops, or the Pirates could look to obtain more experienced infield help on the open market or via a minor trade.
Masataka Yoshida Avoids Surgery On Thumb, Facing Extended Absence
Red Sox outfielder Masataka Yoshida was placed on the injured list at the start of May due to a sprained left thumb, but after he underwent an MRI it was reported that he would be receiving a second opinion on the injury, with surgery potentially on the table. That ominous signal eventually gave way to a more positive update yesterday after Boston received a third opinion on the injury, with Christopher Smith of MassLive among those to relay that manager Alex Cora told reporters Yoshida’s injury would not require surgery.
While the most worrisome outcome is now off the table for Yoshida, that isn’t saving him from an extended absence. Cora told reporters (including Smith) that the 30-year-old figures to return this season but also noted that the club will “see how he feels in a few weeks.” In the meantime, Cora added, Yoshida won’t be swinging the bat at all. With even the most optimistic reading of that language suggesting the earliest Yoshida could resume full baseball activities is early June, it appears safe to assume that he’ll have missed at least two months with the injury when all is said and done.
The lengthy absence comes at an unfortunate time for both Yoshida and the Red Sox. Now in the second season of his five-year, $90MM pact with Boston, Yoshida got off to a rough start this season with a .229/.302/.271 slash line in his first 53 trips to the plate this season but had begun to heat up in recent weeks, hitting a scorching .344/.417/.563 in his final ten games before being placed on the injured list. If Yoshida was beginning to get into a groove, it would’ve been a relief for a Red Sox offense that had recently lost young slugger Triston Casas to a rib fracture that figures to keep him out of action for the next several weeks, if not longer.
Without Yoshida and Casas in the mix for at-bats, the Red Sox have turned to players outside the organization to add some thump to the lineup. The club acquired first baseman Garrett Cooper from the Cubs and signed Dominic Smith to a one-year deal in recent weeks, though Cooper has hit a paltry .130/.231/.174 in 26 trips to the plate since arriving in Boston while Smith has similarly struggled to a .190/.227/.238 slash line so far in his Red Sox tenure. Both players’ struggles come in microscopic sample sizes and could certainly turn around in the coming weeks, but the tepid starts to their seasons do little to instill confidence in either player as quality options for regular at bats in the middle of the lineup.
Unfortunately, the club’s options in terms of internal help are fairly minimal. Infielders Bobby Dalbec and Enmanuel Valdez are on the 40-man roster at Triple-A, but both players faced even deeper struggles during cameos at the big league level than Cooper and Smith are currently scuffling through. First base prospect Niko Kavadas is hitting well at the Triple-A level this season and could be a potential solution, but the 25-year-old is not yet on the club’s 40-man roster and sports an unsustainable .375 BABIP that’s helped to bolster his numbers.
NL Central Notes: McLain, Carpenter, Almonte
The Reds lost a key piece of their starting lineup just before the season began when infielder Matt McLain underwent labrum surgery back in March. As relayed by Charlie Goldsmith of the Cincinnati Enquirer, McLain recently discussed his timeline for return with reporters, although he’s still a ways away from his name appearing in the Cincinnati lineup.
Per Goldsmith, McLain indicated that he’s still six weeks away from being cleared to swing a bat, indicating he can begin ramping up in earnest in early July. Given the length of his absence, McLain will surely require a rehab assignment in the minor leagues once he’s ready to return to game action, and given that the 24-year-old said that he’s targeting a potential return to the big league Reds sometime in August, just over four months after undergoing surgery. While that timeline still puts him around three months away from big league games, McLain indicated that his rehab is going well, telling reporters (including Goldsmith) that “Right now, [he’s] in a great spot.”
McLain’s absence from the lineup has been a noticeable one for the Reds this season. The youngster was a key part of the club’s offense during his rookie campaign last season as he slashed an impressive .290/.357/.507 in 403 trips to the plate before an oblique strain ended his 2023 season at the end of August. That sort of offensive presence would be a miracle for the Cincinnati lineup this year, which has posted a lackluster 82 wRC+ that’s good for bottom-five in the majors this year despite strong performances from fellow youngsters Elly De La Cruz and Spencer Steer. Jonathan India has primarily handled the keystone in McLain’s place, but he’s struggled to a wRC+ of 83 despite solid strikeout and walk rates this season.
More from around the NL Central…
- The Cardinals welcomed back longtime infielder Matt Carpenter from the injured list this afternoon after he hit the shelf in early April due to an oblique strain. Carpenter, 38, was a 13th-round pick by the Cardinals back in 2009 and spent the first 12 seasons of his big league career with the club before departing following the 2021 season. He’s played for the Yankees and Padres in the majors since then but returned to the club on a one-year deal over the offseason. Carpenter will take the place of infielder Jose Fermin in the St. Louis bench mix, providing a second veteran left-handed bat alongside Brandon Crawford to complement the club’s heavily right-handed infield group that features Nolan Arenado, Paul Goldschmidt, and Masyn Winn.
- The Cubs‘ relief corps took a hit this afternoon as the club placed right-hander Yency Almonte on the 15-day injured list with a shoulder strain. Almonte has been a rare bright spot in a struggling Cubs bullpen this season, pitching to a solid 3.45 ERA with a 3.34 FIP in 15 2/3 innings of work since coming over from the Dodgers alongside first baseman Michael Busch in a trade this past offseason. Manager Craig Counsell told reporters (including Meghan Montemurro of the Chicago Tribune) that there’s no timeline for Almonte’s return to action, leaving the Cubs to piece together solutions in the bullpen while he joins Julian Merryweather, Daniel Palencia, and Drew Smyly in departing the bullpen for the injured list in recent weeks, though right-hander Ben Brown‘s recent move from the rotation to the bullpen in deference to Justin Steele could help to fortify the club’s relief corps.
Max Scherzer Receives Cortisone Shot Due To Nerve Irritation
Rangers right-hander Max Scherzer has spent the season to this point on the injured list while rehabbing from offseason back surgery. While it appeared earlier this season that the 39-year-old hurler would be able to return to action ahead of schedule, and perhaps as soon as the beginning of May, those plans were derailed by a bout of soreness in Scherzer’s right thumb that cropped up at the end of April.
Scherzer reportedly hasn’t thrown since then, and it appears that the issue is more serious than initially believed. As noted this afternoon by Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News, the Rangers now believe that Scherzer is dealing with nerve irritation in his thumb, rather than the previously-diagnosed issue of ligament inflammation. Grant adds that Scherzer received a cortisone injection in his neck that provided “some immediate relief” of the discomfort, which allowed Scherzer to resume playing catch on Friday. While the club has previously indicated that Scherzer won’t resume his rehab in earnest until he’s completely pain-free, it seems that the cortisone injection has allowed him to return to some light activities. If he continues moving in the right direction, it’s possible he could begin ramping back up in the near future.
A return from Scherzer would surely provide a massive boost to the club’s rotation, which has already lost Nathan Eovaldi, Dane Dunning, and Cody Bradford to injury during the season on top of Scherzer, Jacob deGrom, and Tyler Mahle, all of whom entered the season expected to miss at least the first half of 2024. While Jon Gray, Michael Lorenzen, Andrew Heaney, and Jose Urena have done an admirable job in cobbling together solid production for the Rangers amid all the injuries, the return of any injured arm would be significant for the club.
That surely goes double for a pitcher with the resume of Scherzer, an eight-time All Star and three-time Cy Young award winner who has tallied more than 3300 strikeouts in his career and has posted ERAs below 4.00 in each of the last twelve seasons. While Scherzer struggled somewhat early in the 2023 campaign, pitching to a relatively pedestrian 4.01 ERA and 4.70 FIP through 19 starts with the Mets, he appeared rejuvenated by a trade to the Rangers down the stretch as he dominated to the tune of a 3.20 ERA in 45 innings of work while striking out a whopping 29.9% of batters faced.
While the club’s update regarding Scherzer was surely encouraging for Rangers fans, the same cannot be said about the status of right-hander Carson Coleman, who according to Grant club GM Chris Young said is “unlikely” to pitch in 2024. The 26-year-old righty joined the Rangers this past offseason by way of the Rule 5 Draft, where the club selected him from the Yankees. Coleman underwent Tommy John surgery and entered the season expected to miss at least the first half of the 2024 campaign but now appears to be ticketed for a much longer absence.
Whether Coleman manages to pitch in the majors this year or not, it seems very unlikely that he’ll manage to return quick enough to spend 90 days on the Rangers’ active roster. In the likely event that he doesn’t hit that benchmark, Coleman’s Rule 5 status will roll over into the 2025 season, meaning he must be carried on the Rangers’ active roster until at least 90 days on the active roster have been accrued. If Coleman can make a healthy return to action next season, it’s possible he’ll be an impactful arm for the Rangers out of the bullpen. The relief prospect was nothing short of dominant for the Yankees in 2022, when he pitched to a sterling 2.13 ERA in 63 1/3 innings between the High-A and Double-A levels with an incredible 37.8% strikeout rate.
Tigers Place Kenta Maeda On 15-Day Injured List
The Tigers announced this afternoon that they’ve placed right-hander Kenta Maeda on the 15-day injured list with a viral illness. Outfield Akil Baddoo was recalled from Triple-A Toledo in a corresponding move, though Evan Petzold of the Detroit Free Press reports that right-hander Matt Manning is set to be called up to the majors on Monday to take Maeda’s spot in the rotation.
The start to Maeda’s tenure in Detroit has been a difficult one, as he’s posted a 6.75 ERA in 30 2/3 innings of work across seven starts with the club this season. Of those seven starts, the majority of the damage has come in just three of them where the veteran was tagged for a combined 19 runs (18 earned) in just eight total innings of work. Now he’ll get the opportunity to rest up and reset on the injured list while he prepares to try and turn his season around. Maeda’s placement on the shelf is retroactive to May 8, meaning he could hypothetically return to action in less than two weeks. That being said, no timetable for his return has been made available.
Per Petzold, Manning is poised to take the ball against the Marlins on Monday, stepping into Maeda’s usual spot in the rotation. The right-hander was the Tigers’ first-round pick back in 2016 and has logged 48 starts in the majors since he first made his big league debut back in 2021. He struggled to a 5.80 ERA in his rookie season but as looked to be a solid back-of-the-rotation arm when healthy since then, with a 3.59 ERA (117 ERA+) and 4.40 FIP in 158 innings of work since then. That includes three starts in the majors this year, during which he’s posted a roughly league average 4.24 ERA with a 23.9% strikeout rate despite a somewhat lackluster 4.40 FIP. He’ll be returning to a rotation that’s gotten incredible performances from its young arms this season. Tarik Skubal‘s 1.90 ERA and 2.07 FIP have placed him firmly in the AL Cy Young award conversation through seven starts, while both Casey Mize and Reese Olsen have also impressed to this point in the year with above-average numbers.
Replacing Maeda on the roster for the time being is Baddoo. The 25-year-old had a breakout campaign as a rookie back in 2021 with a .259/.330/.436 slash line in 124 games but has generally struggled at the big league level since then, hitting just .213/.302/.331 in 582 trips to the plate since the start of the 2022 campaign. Baddoo has spent the entire 2024 campaign to this point at the Triple-A level after being squeezed out of the club’s outfield mix by the addition of Mark Canha as well as the emergence of youngsters like Kerry Carpenter, and Riley Greene.
Baddoo has generally been very successful in the minor leagues this year, slashing .257/.366/.478 in 30 games with the club’s affiliate in Toledo. If Baddoo can carry that success forward at the big league level, it’s possible he could force his way back into the club’s outfield mix, where Opening Day center fielder Parker Meadows struggled badly to open the season, opening the door for rookie switch-hitter Wenceel Perez to take over up the middle in recent weeks.
Yankees Notes: Cole, Dominguez, LeMahieu
Yankees ace Gerrit Cole spoke to reporters (including MLB.com’s Bryan Hoch) about his rehab from right elbow inflammation, which has kept him from making his 2024 debut to this point. Cole indicated to reporters that he threw a 29-pitch bullpen session prior to the club’s game against the Rays this afternoon.
“The fastball profiles were good, and the location was good,” Cole said of the session. He added that his velocity, which averaged 89 mph, was “where we wanted it” at this point in his rehab.
In terms of next steps, Hoch indicates that Cole is scheduled for another session on the mound later this week but that, according to Cole, he does not yet have a set date for facing live hitters. Even so, Cole emphasized that he’s made “good progress” since he first resumed throwing off a mound at the beginning of the month, when reporting suggested that the veteran could be eying the middle of June for his return to the big leagues.
As a six-time All Star the reigning AL Cy Young award winner, Cole’s return to the Yankees rotation would obviously provide a massive boost for the club. With that being said, New York’s starting staff has handled itself well in the absence of its ace. Yankees starters rank seventh in the majors with a 3.36 ERA this season, thanks in part to strong performances from youngsters Luis Gil and Clarke Schmidt.
Cole isn’t the only key player for the Yankees whose rehab is progressing, as Hoch also notes that manager Aaron Boone told reporters this afternoon that young center fielder Jasson Dominguez is set to begin a rehab assignment at Single-A on May 14. Dominguez, who underwent Tommy John surgery back in September, is set to spend the first two weeks of his rehab as a pure designated hitter before returning to work in the outfield. Boone told reporters (including Hoch) that Dominguez’s recovery has been “smooth” with “very few hiccups” since he went under the knife.
A longtime consensus top-50 prospect in the sport, Dominguez made his debut last season to plenty of fanfare and slashed .258/.303/.677 with four home runs in just eight games before having his season cut short by surgery. The 21-year-old seems sure to impact the Yankees in some capacity this year once healthy, though with Juan Soto and Aaron Judge locked into everyday outfield roles and both Alex Verdugo and Giancarlo Stanton hitting well to this point in the season, the club’s top prospect could have a hard time breaking into the lineup on a regular basis.
Also making progress toward a return is veteran infielder DJ LeMahieu, who fouled a ball off his foot during Spring Training and has been sidelined by a bone bruise ever since. LeMahieu began a rehab assignment back in late April as he seemingly neared a return to action but was almost immediately sidelined by right foot soreness and returned from the assignment. The veteran has worked back up to the point of facing live pitching in the weeks since then, with Boone telling reporters that live batting practice against rehabbing righty JT Brubaker “went well” for the veteran.
There still appears to be no clear timeline for the veteran’s return to action, but the fact that he’s once again participating in field work and hitting against live arms is a positive sign for the club nonetheless. It’s been difficult for the Yankees to replace LeMahieu’s production in the lineup this season even has he’s posted roughly league average numbers in recent years. New York has relied on Oswaldo Cabrera and Jon Berti at the hot corner in the veteran’s absence, but Berti has slashed just .300/.344/.300 in ten games while Cabrera has fallen back to Earth after a hot start with a paltry .212/.257/.273 line in his past 20 games.
NL East Notes: Luzardo, Ortiz, Johnson, Nationals
Jesus Luzardo was reinstated from the Marlins‘ 15-day injured list today, with right-hander Eli Villalobos optioned to Triple-A in the corresponding move. Luzardo struggled to a 6.58 ERA over his first five starts and 26 innings before a mild left flexor strain (initially diagnosed as elbow tightness) sent him to the IL, so the three-week layoff between starts can hopefully set as a refresh of a tough season to date for the 26-year-old. The returns of Luzardo and Braxton Garrett this weekend will help the injury-riddled Marlins rotation, though Edward Cabrera has now also gone down with a shoulder impingement.
Beyond the immediate help that Luzardo will bring to Miami’s pitching staff, today’s start figures to reignite the trade rumors that have swirled around the left-hander for months. If Luzardo recaptures his 2021-22 form, he would be a very hot commodity at the trade deadline, as he is arbitration-controlled through the 2026 season. The Luis Arraez trade has already signaled that the Marlins are in sell mode, but while the team pulled the trigger early on that deal, Luzardo’s suitors will want to see a larger sample size of healthy and productive starts before moving what would have to be a very substantial trade package to pry him away from Miami.
Some more from around the NL East…
- Phillies reliever Luis Ortiz is set to restart his throwing program today after he was shut down due to right shoulder inflammation. “We don’t think it’s anything, but we’re just taking it easy on him,” Phils manager Rob Thomson told MLB.com and other media. A sprained ankle in his first game of the season sent Ortiz to the 15-day IL back on March 31, and he made Triple-A rehab appearances on both April 23 and 25 before his new shoulder issue popped up. Ortiz had a 3.32 ERA in 19 relief innings for Philadelphia last season, amidst many shuttles up and down from the majors and Triple-A.
- Braves manager Brian Snitker told reporters (including Justin Toscano of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution) that Pierce Johnson is “looking really good” as he works his way back from a bout of elbow inflammation. Johnson was placed on the 15-day IL a week ago, but is already doing some low-intensity mound work, and appears to be on pace to miss only the minimum 15 days. Johnson has emerged as a key piece of Atlanta’s bullpen after being acquired by the Rockies at the last trade deadline, and the Braves extended the right-hander on a two-year deal worth $14.25MM in guaranteed money back in October to keep Johnson off the free agent market.
- Nationals fans received positive updates regarding a pair of injured young righties recently. As relayed by MLB.com’s Injury Tracker, manager Dave Martinez told reporters that both Josiah Gray and Cade Cavalli threw off a mound in their rehab processes yesterday. Gray hit the shelf with a flexor strain just two starts into his 2024 campaign and reportedly looked good in his 35-pitch bullpen session, throwing 32 of the pitches for strikes. Cavalli, meanwhile, threw 45 pitches in 2 2/3 simulated innings as he works his way back from last year’s Tommy John surgery. Gray appears to be closer to a return to action than Cavalli, who Martinez indicated is on track for a return sometime next month. Washington has relied on left-hander Mitchell Parker, who has posted a strong 2.67 ERA in five starts this season, to round out the club’s rotation in Gray’s absence.
Nationals, CJ Abrams Had “Substantive Discussions” About Extension
CJ Abrams and the Nationals “held substantive discussions” about a possible contract extension this past spring, Barry Svrluga of the Washington Post reports. It isn’t known how close the two sides might’ve gotten towards a long-term deal, or whether or not an extension could still be struck at some point during the season. Most players prefer not to negotiate to any great extent after Opening Day, but it’s possible Abrams might be more open to locking up the first big multi-year windfall of his pro career.
If Abrams and his reps at Roc Nation Sports wanted to more fully dive into extension talks after Abrams had a more established MLB track record, that strategy might well have paid off handsomely given the shortstop’s red-hot start to the season. Abrams is hitting .264/.329/.521 with seven home runs over his first 156 plate appearances, along with eight stolen bases in 10 attempts and an NL-best four triples. While his hard-contact and walk rates are a little subpar, Abrams’ strong .363 wOBA is actually lower than his .381 xwOBA.
The 23-year-old Abrams has been pegged for stardom since the Padres drafted him sixth overall in 2019, which is why the Nats insisted on the shortstop’s inclusion in the trade package received in the Juan Soto deal at the 2022 trade deadline. While Abrams hit a modest .246/.293/.383 over his first 916 MLB plate appearances in 2022-23, he also went yard 18 times last season, and stole 47 bases in 51 attempts. Back in February, MLBTR’s Nick Deeds profiled Abrams as a possible extension candidate, and floated the idea of an eight-year deal worth $60MM-$65MM, with one or two club option years attached.
If Abrams keeps up anything close to this level of production over the full 2024 season, his camp will surely have a higher figure in mind than $65MM. As Svrluga notes, the Nationals’ track record with extending cornerstone players is pretty spotty, as while some prominent names (i.e. Stephen Strasburg, Ryan Zimmerman, Keibert Ruiz) were locked up, other notables like Soto, Bryce Harper, Trea Turner, Ian Desmond, and Anthony Rendon were all either traded or let go via free agency. Ruiz’s extension was signed just last year and is therefore the most illustrative of how ownership and president of baseball operations Mike Rizzo might operate as the Nationals start to emerge from this rebuild period, and the organization continues to be willing to invest in certain players.
There technically isn’t any rush for either Abrams or the Nationals to reach a deal since Abrams is under arbitration control through the 2028 season. Since Abrams is looking very likely to qualify for Super Two status and an extra year of arb eligibility, signing the shortstop to an extension would give the Nationals some extra measure of cost certainty over the young star rather than watch his price tag continue to rise in his arbitration years. From Abrams’ perspective, he is setting himself up for a very nice first-time figure for his initial trip through the arb process, which should boost his earnings in each subsequent year if he continues to produce.
Giants Notes: Ahmed, Schmitt, Luciano, Bailey, Slater
1:54PM: The Giants officially activated Bailey and placed Slater on the concussion-related IL. In other moves, San Francisco called up second baseman/outfielder Brett Wisely, and optioned catcher Jakson Reetz to Triple-A.
8:29AM: The Giants placed shortstop Nick Ahmed on the 10-day injured list yesterday, as Ahmed is dealing with a sprain in his left wrist. The injury has been bothering the infielder “for a while now,” as Ahmed told MLB.com and other media on Thursday, when he had to make an early exit from San Francisco’s game with Colorado.
“I got a bunch of treatment and stuff before the game and it was OK going into the game,” Ahmed said. “And then on the first swing of the game, I just kind of aggravated it. It was hampering my ability to play defense, too. It was probably going to do our team more harm than good if I stayed out there.”
The issue seems relatively minor enough that Ahmed isn’t expected to miss too much time beyond the 10-day minimum, with the caveat that wrist-related injuries can sometimes linger (as was the case for Ahmed even prior to Thursday’s game). Of course, even 10 days is a significant amount of time for a club to be without its starting shortstop. After signing a minor league contract with San Francisco during the offseason, Ahmed has started 35 of the Giants’ 40 games, delivering his usual combination of strong defense and uninspiring offense. Ahmed has hit only .236/.274/.291 over his first 119 plate appearances, translating to a 66 wRC+.
This lack of pop has led some Giants fans to wonder why top prospect Marco Luciano hasn’t yet been given a longer look at the MLB level, though Luciano didn’t help his case with a lackluster Spring Training. Luciano made his big league debut with 14 games and 45 PA last season, and thus far has hit .273/.403/.355 over 149 Triple-A plate appearances in 2024. The OBP and a big increase his Luciano’s walk rate are nice signs of progress, though he has only slightly reduced his high strikeout rate, and has shown very little power even in the hitter-friendly environment of the Pacific Coast League.
Luciano might not be too far away from another call-up, however, even though fellow infielder Casey Schmitt got the call Friday to replace Ahmed on the active roster. Manager Bob Melvin implied to reporters (including the San Francisco Chronicle’s Susan Slusser) that Schmitt may have gotten the nod because the Giants were facing left-handed starters on Friday and Saturday. Though Luciano and Schmitt are both right-handed batters, Schmitt has better numbers against lefties at Triple-A this season.
In general, the team is open to all options with Ahmed out, as Melvin admitted “I’m not sure what [the shortstop position is] going to look like here every day.” Utilityman Tyler Fitzgerald is the only other player besides Ahmed and Schmitt to see any time at shortstop this season, and Fitzgerald has hit a solid .273/.319/.455 in 47 PA while bouncing all over the diamond. The Giants may prefer to to keep Fitzgerald available to chip in at multiple positions rather than make him a regular shortstop with Ahmed out, which could open the door for Schmitt to get more work, or for Luciano to perhaps enter the picture.
Elsewhere on the injury front, today marks Patrick Bailey‘s seventh day on the seven-day concussion-related IL, and the Giants are hoping he can be cleared prior to today’s game with the Reds. Bailey took a foul ball off the mask on May 3, but has resumed baseball activities, including catching Blake Snell‘s bullpen session on Friday. Slusser writes that Bailey will be taking the precaution of wearing a new style of mask, with some extra padding involved and a design similar to a hockey goalie’s mask.
Getting their regular catcher back is a nice win for the Giants, yet another position player might be taking Bailey’s spot on the concussion IL. Austin Slater collided with the wall while trying to make a catch in the first inning of yesterday’s game, and was replaced by a pinch-hitter before his first at-bat.
Melvin told reporters postgame that Slater was quite possibly headed to the IL, which is the latest setback in what has been a rough start to the season for the outfielder. Slater has hit only .128/.306/.128 in 49 PA while serving in his usual capacity as a platooner against left-handed pitching, a far cry from his career .278/.370/.447 slash line against southpaws. It could be just a small sample size issue to date, though Slater’s primary concern now is just getting healthy.
Astros Activate Cristian Javier, Designate Brandon Bielak
The Astros have activated right-hander Cristian Javier from the 15-day injured list, as Javier will get the start in today’s game against the Tigers. To make room for Javier on the active roster, right-hander Brandon Bielak has been designated for assignment.
Javier blasted out of the gates this season, posting a 1.54 ERA over his first 23 1/3 innings and four starts. While a 5.29 SIERA painted a much less favorable picture of Javier’s performance due to such factors as his .215 BABIP, 18.9% strikeout rate and 11.6% walk rate, the Astros can hardly argue with the results given how desperately the team has needed all the quality pitching it can get. Unfortunately, Javier joined several other Houston pitchers on the IL when he was sidelined just under a month ago due to neck discomfort.
With Javier, Justin Verlander, and Framber Valdez now all back from stints on the injured list, the rotation has slowly started to take on its intended form, even if Luis Garcia, Jose Urquidy, Lance McCullers Jr., and J.P. France are all still on the mend. The combination of the three healthy starters plus Ronel Blanco will be the top four starters in what could be a six-man rotation for the time being, since the Astros are in the midst of playing 29 games in a 30-day span. Neither Hunter Brown or Spencer Arrighetti has pitched well this season, but they could be penciled in as the fifth and sixth starters if Houston does decide to expand the rotation to give everyone more rest.
It doesn’t seem like Bielak will be involved in this plan, unless he clears DFA waivers and is quickly brought back to the 40-man roster after being outrighted. Bielak has thrown more than one inning in the majority of his 10 appearances this season, and 21 of his 70 overall MLB appearances have been as a starter, though the results have been spotty for the 28-year-old. Over his 191 2/3 career innings (all with Houston), Bielak has a 4.65 ERA, a modest 18.1% strikeout rate, and an 8.4% walk rate that is on the high side.
Bielak has been shuttled back and forth many times between Triple-A and the majors over the previous four years, though he is now out of minor league options. As a result, the Astros were forced to designate the righty for assignment in order to move him back to the minors, and it’s possible another team could claim Bielak away off waivers.