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White Sox Place Jake Burger On Injured List

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The White Sox announced that third baseman Jake Burger has been placed on the 10-day injured list with a strained left oblique, which he sustained during his fourth-inning plate appearance in last night’s game. Fellow infielder Lenyn Sosa has been recalled from Triple-A Charlotte in his place.

Burger, 27, leads the White Sox with seven home runs and is hitting .224/.312/.612 overall in 77 trips to the plate. He’s walked at a solid 9.1% clip but has also punched out in 31.2% of his plate appearances so far. That early power display and a back injury to Yoan Moncada opened the door for Burger to see regular plate appearances over the past few weeks, but he’ll now join Moncada on the injured list.

The White Sox didn’t provide a specific timetable for Burger’s return, but even Grade 1 oblique strains can sideline players for upwards of a month. With both Burger and Moncada out, the White Sox’ options at third base are veteran Hanser Alberto, who’s had his share of defensive struggles at the hot corner this year, and the newly recalled Sosa. While Sosa has primarily played middle infield in his professional career, he does have 33 games of professional experience at third base and even logged a couple innings there for the Sox earlier this season. Alberto is getting the nod at third base today, with Sosa at second base and Elvis Andrus at shortstop, giving Tim Anderson a day off.

Sosa, 23, appeared in 16 games for the White Sox already this season but batted just .151/.167/.245 in 54 plate appearances. It’s been a completely different story in Triple-A, where in 11 games and 44 trips to the plate he’s posted a dominant .459/.545/.784 slash with two homers, two doubles and more walks (seven) than strikeouts (five). He obviously can’t carry over that level of production to the big leagues, but the Sox would surely be pleased with a mere middle ground between his tepid MLB production and torrid Triple-A output.

Braves Place Kyle Wright On 15-Day Injured List

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May 4: As expected, the Braves announced that Wright has been placed on the 15-day IL and that Dodd has been recalled in his place. The team classified Wright’s injury as right shoulder inflammation.

May 3: Braves right-hander Kyle Wright departed tonight’s game after throwing just 55 pitches in two-plus innings, with the club later announcing his ailment as right shoulder soreness. Manager Brian Snitker later told reporters, including David O’Brien of The Athletic, that Wright will go on the 15-day injured list.

To this point, the severity of Wright’s injury isn’t clear, but it’s noteworthy as an ongoing issue. He also dealt with some shoulder soreness during Spring Training, which put him behind schedule and caused him to start the season on the injured list. He eventually was activated and made five starts, including tonight, but will now return to the IL to figure out what’s going on with his shoulder.

Even if that ultimately ends up being a minor issue, the club will need to proceed without him for the next couple of weeks at least. Wright got some brief stints in the majors in each year from 2018 to 2021 but finally broke out last year by posting a 3.19 ERA in 180 1/3 innings. His 23.6% strikeout rate was right around league average but his 55.6% ground ball rate was quite strong.

The rotation should still be in decent shape, even without Wright’s contributions. Spencer Strider, Charlie Morton and Max Fried are well established and Bryce Elder seems to be running with his opportunity so far this year by posting a 1.75 ERA through six starts.

Even before the injury to Wright, the club was planning to give a spot start to Dylan Dodd, per Justin Toscano of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. That was to give everyone an extra day of rest after they played a double-header earlier this week, but Dodd could potentially stick around after that. He made two starts earlier this year, allowing just one earned run in the first but seven in the second. He has a 4.91 ERA in three Triple-A starts on the year. If Dodd isn’t kept around for the next few weeks, the club also has Michael Soroka and Jared Shuster as options on the 40-man roster.

Atlanta also got a bit of a scare when outfielder Michael Harris II departed with an apparent knee injury.  The news there is a bit more pleasant as Snitker says they aren’t currently planning to put him on the injured list but will evaluate him some more tomorrow. He’s been struggling this year but in a small sample of just 38 plate appearances due to having spent about three weeks on the IL with a back strain. Last year, he hit 19 home runs, slashed .297/.339/.514, stole 20 bases and provided excellent center field defense en route to winning National League Rookie of the Year honors.

The Opener: Verlander, Taillon, Braves

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As the second month of the 2023 regular season continues, here are three things we’ll be keeping an eye on around the baseball world throughout the day today:

1. Verlander’s Mets debut:

Reigning AL Cy Young award winner and future Hall of Famer Justin Verlander is set to be activated from the injured list ahead of this afternoon’s game against the Tigers. Verlander signed with the Mets on a two-year deal ahead of his age-40 season, replacing longtime ace Jacob deGrom in the Mets’ rotation, but he has yet to throw a pitch for the club during the regular season due to a teres major strain. Verlander’s debut comes at an opportune time for the Mets, who are 2-8 in their last 10 games and fell to 16-15 after the Tigers swept yesterday’s doubleheader. Verlander will take the ball at 12:10pm CT, looking to help the Mets avoid a series sweep against the Tigers’ Eduardo Rodriguez.

2. Taillon to be activated:

The Cubs are set to activate right-hander Jameson Taillon from the IL  ahead of today’s game against the Nationals. Taillon, who’s been out the past two weeks with a groin strain, signed with the Cubs this past offseason on a four-year, $68MM deal. In his three starts to this point in a Cubs uniform, Taillon posted 4.50 ERA (seven runs in 14 innings) — but with a far more encouraging 16-to-4 K/BB ratio (25.8 strikeout rate, 6.5% walk rate) and 1.93 FIP. Taillon rejoins the Cubs as they’re in the midst of a slide in the standings, going 4-9 over their last 13 games, including a 1-5 record on their current road trip.

3. Braves dealing with injuries:

Braves right-hander Kyle Wright left yesterday’s start with a shoulder injury and is headed to the injured list, his second trip of the young 2023 season. Aside from his expected return to the IL, manager Brian Snitker provided few details regarding Wright’s condition, though more information could be available as soon as today. More information could also be made available regarding outfielder Michael Harris II, who left last night’s game with a knee injury. He isn’t currently set to make a trip to the IL, but he’ll be further evaluated today.

The club is expected to call up left-hander Dylan Dodd, who was tagged for eight runs in 9 1/3 innings in two early season starts, to start this afternoon against the Marlins. It’s currently unclear if Dodd is simply going to make his pre-planned spot start before returning to the minors, or if he’ll stick in the rotation for the length of Wright’s absence. Fellow lefty Jared Shuster and right-hander Michael Soroka are among the other options to take over Wright’s spot in the rotation while he’s on the shelf.

MLB Trade Rumors Podcast: White Sox Struggles, Red Sox Options, Managers On The Hot Seat

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Episode 5 of the MLB Trade Rumors Podcast is now live on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and wherever you get your podcasts! Make sure you subscribe as well! You can also use the player at this link to listen, if you don’t use Spotify or Apple for podcasts.

This week, host Simon Hampton is joined by Steve Adams of MLB Trade Rumors to discuss:

  • The state of the White Sox, and why they find themselves in a deep hole in the AL Central after one month of the season (3:20)
  • If they opt to sell at the deadline, who could they look to move and who might be off limits? (8:10)
  • Whether the Cardinals could look to trade Tommy Edman as Masyn Winn nears the big leagues (18:35)
  • Options for the Red Sox to improve their roster over the next few months (21:54)
  • Plus, are there any managers on the hot seat at this early stage of the season? (25:41)

Check out our past episodes!

The podcast intro and outro song “So Long” is provided courtesy of the band Showoff.  Check out their Facebook page here!

Guardians Top Prospect Daniel Espino Undergoes Shoulder Surgery

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The Guardians announced Wednesday that right-hander Daniel Espino, the top pitching prospect in their system and one of the top pitching prospects in all of baseball, underwent a right shoulder anterior capsule repair. He’ll miss the remainder of the season. Dr. Neal ElAttrache, who performed the surgery, projects a return to game activity in 12 to 14 months.

The surgery is the latest setback for Espino, 22, who entered the season ranked 33rd or better on the top-100 lists of MLB.com (No. 16), ESPN’s Kiley McDaniel (No. 18), Baseball America (No. 19), Baseball Prospectus (No. 25) and The Athletic’s Keith Law (No. 33). That fanfare is attributable to a devastating repertoire that includes a triple-digit heater, a plus slider and an average or better changeup and curveball.

Touted as he may be, Espino’s shoulder surgery means he’ll now pitch in just four total games from 2022-23. He opened the 2022 season with an overwhelming, dominant showing that saw him punch out 35 of his 68 opponents en route to a 2.45 ERA in 18 1/3 innings. He hasn’t pitched in a game setting since, however. Espino missed two months due to tendinitis in his knee and battled shoulder problems later in the summer. An offseason of rest was hoped to clear that issue up, but when he resumed throwing, he again felt discomfort and was eventually diagnosed with a subscapular tear and capsule tear. The team shut him down for eight more weeks, but that didn’t prove sufficient.

Espino was the No. 24 overall pick in the 2019 draft, but he’s managed only 133 2/3 professional innings to date thanks to last year’s injuries and the canceled 2020 minor league season. He’ll now have yet another lengthy layoff and won’t be back on the mound until he’s turned 23. That’s obviously young enough for him to have a long and fruitful career, but the persistent injury problems have obviously stalled what could’ve been a meteoric rise to the big leagues based on his sheer, raw talent.

Given injuries elsewhere on the roster, a healthy Espino would’ve had a good chance at debuting this season. Cleveland is already undergoing something of a youth movement in the rotation, with each of Tanner Bibee, Logan Allen and Peyton Battenfield making his MLB debut in the season’s first month while Aaron Civale and Triston McKenzie are on the injured list.

Roenis Elías Signs With KBO’s SSG Landers

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The SSG Landers of the KBO League announced that they have signed left-hander Roenis Elías, hat tip to Dan Kurtz of MyKBO.net. Elías will take the roster spot of fellow lefty Enny Romero and make a salary of $540K. Jeeho Yoo of Yonhap News had previously reported that these moves were close.

Elias, 34, has made 133 major league appearances dating back to the 2014 season, spending time with the Mariners, Red Sox and Nationals. He has a 3.96 ERA in 395 2/3 career innings, striking out 19.6% of batters faced, walking 9% and getting grounders at a 42% clip.

The lefty signed a minor league deal with the Cubs this winter but didn’t make the club out of camp. He made four starts in Triple-A this year, posting a 5.48 ERA, but will now get a chance to test himself overseas, earning a larger salary than he would have garnered if he stayed in the minors.

He’ll take the place of Romero, who signed with the Landers back in December. However, he injured his shoulder back in March, per Kurtz, and hasn’t pitched in an official game yet this season. KBO teams can only carry two foreign pitchers on their roster and the Landers have one spot taken by Kirk McCarty. Romero’s unfortunate injury will open the door for Elías to get an opportunity.

Angels Interested In Gary Sánchez

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The Angels are among the clubs that have interest in free agent catcher Gary Sánchez, reports Jon Heyman of the New York Post.

Sanchez, 30, had previously been with the Giants on a minor league deal. He would have earned a $4MM salary if he made the club but he also had an opt-out on May 1 if he didn’t. He hit just .164/.319/.182 for the River Cats and then triggered that opt-out after the Giants declined to give him a roster spot.

Despite that rough showing, it’s not terribly surprising that the the Angels would have interest, given their uncertainty behind the plate. Logan O’Hoppe was off to a hot start through the first few weeks of the season but was recently diagnosed with a torn labrum in his left shoulder that will keep him out of action for the next four to six months. Max Stassi began the year on the injured list due to a hip injury but has also been waylaid by an unknown personal issue and has no timeline for return, per Sam Blum of The Athletic.

That’s left the club with Chad Wallach and Matt Thaiss as the only healthy backstops on the roster. Wallach is hitting an excellent .261/.292/.522 on the year for a 121 wRC+ but in a small sample of 24 plate appearances. His career batting line is a much more modest .203/.267/.316, leading to a 61 wRC+. It’s somewhat similar for Thaiss, who is slashing .207/.343/.379 this year for a 108 wRC+ but his .205/.304/.374 career slash translates to an 84 wRC+.

Sanchez has struggled in recent years and so far this season but was once one of the most potent backstops in the game. From 2016 to 2019, he hit 105 home runs and produced a line of .247/.328/.518 and a 123 wRC+. Unfortunately, his 25.2% strikeout rate in that time spiked to 29.5% in the 2020-2022 stretch. He still hit 49 home runs but his diminished .195/.287/.394 line amounted to a wRC+ of just 90 in that time. He’s long received shaky reviews for his defense but he was considered above average by Defensive Runs Saved last year in addition to getting strong marks for his framing from both FanGraphs and Baseball Prospectus.

Neither Thaiss nor Wallach can be optioned, so the Halos would likely be looking at cutting one of them if they gave a spot to Sanchez. But since he had to settle for a minor league deal last time he was on the market and didn’t perform especially well, he might be looking at another minor deal this time around unless injuries around the league have expanded the demand.

Robinson Chirinos Announces Retirement

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Veteran catcher Robinson Chirinos announced on Twitter today that he is retiring from professional baseball. “With a happy, yet heavy heart, I am announcing my retirement from professional baseball,” the statement reads. “After much contemplation and reflection, I have decided to close this chapter of my life. It has not been an easy decision, but I feel that it is the right one for me as I have given my heart and soul to this sport over so many years.” He then goes on to thank his family members, teammates, coaches, fans, team staff and many others who he crossed paths with over the years.

Chirinos, now 38 years old, originally signed with the Cubs as an amateur out of Venezuela back in 2000, shortly after his 16th birthday. An infielder at that time, he would toil away in the Cubs’ minor league system for a decade, starting his move to the catcher position in 2008. He was added to the club’s 40-man roster after 2010 but was traded to the Rays a few months later, going alongside Chris Archer and others as the Cubs acquired Matt Garza.

It was in that 2011 season that Chirinos was able to make his major league debut, getting into 20 games, but he had to miss the entire 2012 campaign due to a concussion.  He was traded to the Rangers in April of 2013 for a player to be named later and would eventually spend six years with that club. His role was initially limited but gradually grew over time as he provided some pop behind the plate. From 2013 to 2018, he hit 67 home runs in 442 games, slashing .233/.325/.443 during that time for a wRC+ of 104. That coincided with a good stretch for the club as well, as Chirinos was able to get into four postseason games with the Rangers between 2015 and 2016.

He reached free agency for the first time after 2018 and he eventually signed with the Astros for one year and $5.75MM. He had a nice season in Houston, launching 17 home runs and hitting .238/.347/.443 for a wRC+ of 112. He would get into 14 more postseason games that year as the Astros went to the World Series, ultimately falling to the Nationals in seven games.

He would go into journeyman mode for the next few years. He returned to the Rangers for 2020 on a one-year, $6.75MM deal but ultimately hit just .162/.232/.243 in the shortened season, which included a trade to the Mets. He signed a minor league deal with the Yankees for 2021 but fractured his wrist after being hit by a pitch in Spring Training. He was released and eventually got into 45 games for the Cubs after returning to health, then got into another 67 contests with the Orioles last year.

All told, it was an unusual career for Chirinos, who seemed to do everything a little later than normal. He didn’t start playing his primary position until his mid-20s, then didn’t make it to the majors until his age-27 season and didn’t really become a regular until he was 30. Both FanGraphs and Baseball Reference consider his best season by wins above replacement to be 2019, his age-35 campaign.

Despite that delayed trajectory, he still managed to get into 714 major league games and make 2,457 plate appearances. He tallied 480 hits, including 95 home runs, scoring 275 times and driving in 306. MLBTR congratulates Chirinos on a fine career and wishes him the best in the next stages of his life.

Nationals Sign José Ureña To Minor League Deal

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The Nationals have signed right-hander Jose Ureña to a minor league deal, per Bobby Blanco of MASNsports.com, relaying word from the Triple-A Rochester Red Wings.

Ureña, 31, was signed by the Rockies this winter, securing himself a $3.5MM guarantee in the form of a $3MM salary for this year and a $500K buyout on a $4MM club option for 2024. Unfortunately, he was torched for a 9.82 ERA in his first five starts, getting designated for assignment and then released. The Rockies will still be on the hook for the majority of that money. If Ureña eventually earns his way onto the Nats’ roster, they will only have to pay him the prorated league minimum, with that amount being subtracted from what the Rockies dish out.

The righty has some good seasons on his ledger, but they are a bit in the rearview mirror now. He posted an ERA under 4.00 with the Marlins in both 2017 and 2018 but has seen it finish north of 5.00 in each season since then. He’s bounced from the Marlins to the Tigers, Brewers and Rockies in that time. For his career, he has a 4.92 ERA, 15.4% strikeout rate, 8.7% walk rate and 48.1% ground ball rate.

The Nationals have a bit of rotation uncertainty right now, with Stephen Strasburg on the injured list with no return in sight, Cade Cavalli set to miss the entire season due to Tommy John surgery and Chad Kuhl recently hitting the IL due to a toe injury. That’s left them with a rotation consisting of Josiah Gray, MacKenzie Gore, Patrick Corbin, Trevor Williams and Jake Irvin. Gray, Gore and Williams are posting good results so far but Corbin has a 5.74 ERA and hasn’t been below 5.00 in a full season since 2019. Irvin is just making his major league debut tonight.

Ureña will head to Rochester to try to get into a good groove and perhaps get himself in line to get called the next time the club needs a starter. The Nats also have depth options on the 40-man roster in Cory Abbott, Paolo Espino and Joan Adon.

Robbie Ray Undergoes Tommy John Surgery

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The Mariners provided an update today on left-hander Robbie Ray, who was reported last week to require season-ending flexor tendon surgery. “Ray, 31, had surgery today on his left elbow,” the press release reads. “The surgery was performed by Dr. Keith Meister at TMI Sports Medicine in Arlington, Texas. Dr. Meister performed a flexor tendon repair and reconstructed the Ulnar Collateral Ligament (UCL) in Ray’s left arm.” The flexor tendon surgery was already reported upon but the UCL reconstruction, also known as Tommy John surgery, wasn’t publicly known prior to today.

In the short term, this news doesn’t change much for the Mariners, as they’ve already been planning on operating without Ray for the remainder of the year. But since TJS typically requires a recovery period of 14 to 18 months, this update seems to indicate the club will be without Ray for even longer, likely a few months into the 2024 season as well.

That’s obviously unwelcome news, as Ray has been one of the better pitchers in the league in recent seasons. After some inconsistency earlier in his career, he had a tremendous season with the Blue Jays in 2021. He posted an ERA of 2.84 in 32 starts with a 32.1% strikeout rate, 6.7% walk rate and 37.2% ground ball rate. He won the American League Cy Young award and parlayed that performance into a five-year, $115MM deal with the Mariners.

His first year with Seattle was a bit of a drop-off from the previous season but still with plenty to like. He made 32 starts with a 3.71 ERA, striking out 27.4% of opponents, walking 8% and getting grounders at a 39.2% clip. That helped the Mariners break their postseason drought, making it into the playoffs for the first time since 2001. Unfortunately, he was only able to make a single start this year before landing on the injured list and likely won’t make another until midway through 2024.

The Mariners should still have a strong front four in the rotation between now and then as long as everyone is healthy. Luis Castillo and Marco Gonzales are both still under contract next year while both George Kirby and Logan Gilbert are still many years from qualifying for free agency. The final spot is a little less certain since Chris Flexen has been struggling and is slated for free agency after this season anyway. Prospect Bryce Miller was called up recently to start an audition and Ryan Divish of The Seattle Times reported that it wasn’t going to be just a spot start. That was before Miller debuted and tossed six innings against the A’s, allowing just one earned run on two hits and no walks while striking out 10. It’s best not to read too much into just one game, but given that the club planned on giving him a lengthy stay in the rotation anyway and he dominated his first time out, he seems to have a legitimate chance at securing a rotation spot going forward.

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