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Injury Notes: Loaisiga, Peraza, Hedges, McCann

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The Yankees made a series of roster moves earlier today, one of which involved placing right-hander Jonathan Loaisiga on the 15-day IL due to elbow inflammation. A pitcher going down with any sort of elbow problem is always a concern, and manager Aaron Boone spoke with reporters (including Jack Curry of the YES Network) and said Loaisiga had an MRI that did not show any structural damage.

The Yankees say Loaisiga does have some swelling in the joint though, and he won’t throw for a couple of weeks. With that in mind, even Loaisiga returns to throwing in two weeks he’ll need a bit of time to ramp up before the Yankees can call on him out of their big league bullpen, so while it doesn’t appear that this is an overly serious injury it seems Loaisiga’s stay on the IL will extend a bit beyond the minimum 15 days.

That’s a blow for a Yankees bullpen that is already without Tommy Kahnle, and has seen the usually dominant Michael King dealing with some drops in velocity. Loaisiga has been one of the best relievers in the game, and as Curry notes, owns a 1.56 ERA over his past 37 games.

Here’s some more injury notes from around the game:

  • Sticking with the Yankees, and Boone said infield prospect Oswald Peraza is dealing with a hamstring issue which is why he hasn’t played the last few games for Triple-A Scranton (via Curry). While Boone says it’s not a serious injury, it probably ruled the youngster out of being called up to the big leagues when they placed Josh Donaldson on the IL today. The team opted to instead select the contract of Willie Calhoun, but it’s also possible they’d have rather kept Peraza at Triple-A getting everyday at-bats. Peraza’s gone 7-24 with three walks and seven strikeouts over his first six games with Scranton.
  • The Pirates provided an update on catcher Austin Hedges today, with manager Derek Shelton telling reporters (including Justice delos Santos of MLB.com) that Hedges is “trending in the right direction.” The veteran catcher caught a bullpen today and will hit in the cage. Hedges was placed on the seven-day concussion list during the week. It’s still unclear if the Pirates will be comfortable activating Hedges immediately after the seven days are up. Hedges has appeared in three games so far, failing to tally a hit in nine plate appearances. In his absence, the Pirates called up Tyler Heineman to catch alongside regular backup Jason Delay.
  • Finally, the Orioles should have veteran backstop James McCann back with the team shortly, per Roch Kubatko of MASN. McCann is yet to debut for the Orioles as he works his way back from an oblique strain. McCann has been playing in an rehab assignment at High-A, and will catch there again tonight. Kubatko suggests it’s possible that McCann is activated as early as tomorrow.

Phillies Outright Jhailyn Ortiz

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The Phillies announced that outfielder Jhailyn Ortiz cleared waivers and has been outrighted to their Triple-A affiliate Lehigh Valley. Ortiz had been designated for assignment earlier in the week.

Ortiz was added to Philadelphia’s 40-man roster ahead of the Rule 5 draft at the end of 2021, but is yet to appear in the big leagues. A high-profile international signing with a $4MM bonus in 2015, Ortiz moved up the Phillies’ minor league system as one of their better prospects. His raw power was always his big calling, but that came with a concerning strikeout rate as well.

He slugged 19 home runs in 74 games at High-A in 2021, but took a slight step back last year at Double-A, hitting 17 home runs across 119 games for a .237/.319/.415 line. That line came with 165 strikeouts over his 505 plate appearances. Nonetheless the Phillies started Ortiz in Triple-A this year, and having cleared waivers it appears that’s where he’ll continue.

While the power is intriguing, it’s clear it wasn’t enough to tempt the other 29 clubs to offer him a 40-man roster spot, even though Ortiz has a couple of option years remaining.

Dodgers Sign William Cuevas To Minor League Deal

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The Dodgers have signed right-hander William Cuevas to a minor league deal. The signing was announced by the Diablos Rojos, Cuevas’ team in the Mexican league. Cuevas will pitch tonight for the Dodgers’ Triple-A affiliate Oklahoma City.

Cuevas, 32, last appeared in the big leagues in 2018 in a brief stint with the Red Sox. He’s spent the past four seasons in Korea with the KT Wizz, working to a 3.89 ERA over 82 starts and 489 1/3 innings.

Originally signed by the Red Sox out of Venezuela back in 2008, Cuevas worked his way through Boston’s farm system before earning his first big league call up in 2016. While never a top prospect, Cuevas had shown some amount of promise in the minors. His three game stint in the big leagues in 2016 amounted to five innings with three strikeouts, six walks and two earned runs surrendered.

Released at the end of that year by Boston, Cuevas latched on with the Tigers for the 2017 season. He’d only record a single out in his only big league appearance that year, as Cuevas was tagged for four earned runs and found himself released by the Tigers at the end of the year. He played out the rest of the 2017 season with Miami’s Triple-A affiliate.

2018 brought about a return to the Red Sox, and Cuevas’ longest run in the big leagues. The Venezuelan tossed 17 innings of 7.41 ERA ball for Boston, showing off a solid 23.8% strikeout rate alongside a troubling 13.8% walk rate. All told, Cuevas owns an ERA of 8.06 across 22 1/3 big league innings with a career 21.2% strikeout rate and a 15% walk rate.

Tigers Place Austin Meadows On 10-Day Injured List

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The Tigers placed outfielder Austin Meadows on the 10-day injured list (retroactive to April 7) due to anxiety.  Akil Baddoo was called up from Triple-A in the corresponding move.

President of baseball operations Scott Harris released a statement in regards to the transaction, saying that “the Tigers fully support Austin’s decision to step away from the team and prioritize his mental health.  As an organization, we have taken many steps to provide and destigmatize mental health resources, and we will do more to help our players tackle the mental and physical challenges they face on a daily basis.  We commend Austin for confronting these challenges head-on and ask for our fans in supporting him through every step of his journey back to the field.”

Meadows dealt with similar issues at the end of last season, saying in September that “I hope in sharing my experience I can touch at least one person who might be going through their own struggles and encourage them to reach out to someone for help.”  Just prior to the start of Spring Training, Meadows gave a positive update about both his mental and physical health, yet that battle is obviously still ongoing.  As Harris’ statement indicated, the Tigers will surely give Meadows all the time he needs to get himself to a better place with his anxiety.  We at MLB Trade Rumors wish Meadows all the best in his recovery.

The Rays traded Meadows to Detroit for Isaac Paredes just prior to the start of the 2022 season, and Meadows appeared in only 36 games in his first year with the Tigers.  Beyond his mental health struggles, Meadows also spent on the injured list with strains in both of his Achilles tendons, vertigo-like symptoms, and a bout of COVID-19.  The result was a .250/.347/.328 slash line over 147 plate appearances, but among all Detroit players with at least 140 PA, Meadows’ 101 wRC+ still ranked second on the team in an overall disastrous offensive year for Tigers hitters.

Rays Place Jose Siri On 10-Day Injured List

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The Rays have placed outfielder Jose Siri on the 10-day injured list due to a right hamstring strain.  Utilityman Vidal Brujan has been called up from Triple-A to take Siri’s place on the active roster.

Siri is one of several players off to a great start for the unbeaten Rays.  The 24-year-old Siri has blasted out of the gates with a .318/.333/.682 slash line and two home runs in his first 24 plate appearances of the season, while starting six of seven games as Tampa Bay’s apparent top choice in center field.  There wasn’t much doubt that Siri’s glovework was worthy of a regular lineup spot, though his breakout (albeit in a small sample size) is extremely promising to his overall ceiling.

Siri had shown some intriguing hitting potential in his minor league days with the Reds and Astros, but after an impressive 49-PA stretch in his 2021 MLB debut season, Siri hit a far more modest .213/.268/.339 over 325 combined PA with Houston and Tampa in 2022.  The Rays acquired Siri as part of the three-team swap last trade deadline that saw Trey Mancini head from the Orioles to the Astros.

Not much has gone wrong for the Rays in amassing their 7-0 record, but the club is certainly hope that Siri can be back on the field sooner rather than later.  As usual, Tampa Bay has depth options in place to fill in for injured players, as any of Manuel Margot, Josh Lowe, or Brujan are likely to see time in center field until Siri returns.  Brujan isn’t far removed from being a regular on top-100 prospect lists, though he has batted only .150/.207/.231 in 188 PA since making his big league debut in 2021.

Braves Select Danny Young, Designate Seth Elledge

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The Braves selected the contract of left-hander Danny Young from Triple-A, and designated right-hander Seth Elledge for assignment to open up a 40-man roster space.  A spot on the 26-man active roster was already open since Atlanta optioned Jared Shuster to Triple-A after yesterday’s game.

Young made his Major League debut last season as a member of the Mariners, and then came to Atlanta on a waiver claim in August.  All in all, Young’s first taste of big league action consisted of 6 1/3 total innings over three games (two with Seattle, one with Atlanta), and the Braves then DFA’ed and outrighted Young soon after they added him on waivers.  Originally an eighth-round draft pick for the Blue Jays in 2015, Young has a 3.78 ERA over 309 2/3 career innings in the minors, almost entirely as a relief pitcher.

It might be another cup of coffee for Young in the Show, since Kyle Wright is projected to be activated from the 15-day injured list for a start on Tuesday.  Since Wright and Max Fried are both on the IL, the Braves have turned to Shuster, Dylan Dodd, and Bryce Elder to make starts thus far in the season, with Shuster being optioned back and forth from Triple-A Gwinnett after each of his two starts.  As the Braves don’t need that fifth spot in the rotation until Wright returns, they’ll add Young to give the club more bullpen depth in the interim.

The Braves selected Elledge’s contract to the 40-man roster back in November, as the righty had the option to become a minor league free agent.  Elledge signed a minors deal with Atlanta in March 2022 and spent all of last season at Triple-A, delivering a 3.88 ERA and an impressive 33.7% strikeout rate over 46 1/3 innings.  His past MLB experience consists of 23 1/3 total innings with the Cardinals over the 2020-21 seasons.

Twins Place Max Kepler On 10-Day Injured List

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The Twins have placed outfielder Max Kepler on the 10-day injured list (retroactive to April 5), with outfielder Matt Wallner called up from Triple-A to take Kepler’s spot on the active roster.  Kepler is suffering from right patellar tendinitis, and hasn’t played in any of Minnesota’s last three games after being forced out of Monday’s contest while running the bases.

It’s a disappointing setback for Kepler, especially after a big Spring Training raised some expectations that a nice season could be on the horizon.  Kepler hit only .219/.312/.382 over 936 plate appearances (96 wRC+) in 2021-22, but with the new rules limiting defensive shifts, there was a sense that Kepler’s extreme pull-hitting tendencies might result in more batted balls becoming hits rather than outs.  Obviously there’s still plenty of time left in the 2023 season for Kepler to produce, but he’ll first have to get his knee back to full health.

There is some added incentive for Kepler since 2023 is the last guaranteed season of the five-year, $35MM extension he signed with Minnesota prior to the 2019 season.  Kepler is earning $8.5MM this season and the Twins hold a $1MM buyout of a $10MM club option on the outfielder’s services for 2024.  Since the Twins discussed Kepler in trade talks this offseason and the team has a number of young outfielders on the way up, it might take a real offensive breakout for Kepler to keep himself in the Twins’ plans going forward.

Wallner is one of those other outfielders looking for a shot at the MLB level, and the 25-year-old made his big league debut with 18 games for Minnesota last season.  The 39th overall pick of the 2019 draft, Wallner is something of a classic three-true-outcomes slugger, with lots of power (51 homers, .511 slugging percentage), strikeouts (30.32 K%), and free passes (12.75% walk rate) over his 1184 career PA in the minors.

Heading into Spring Training with an apparent surplus of outfield talent, the Twins now have Kepler, Alex Kirilloff, and Gilberto Celestino all on the IL, and Byron Buxton has been limited to DH duty while the club has been easing him back into action after knee surgery.  Joey Gallo also left yesterday’s game due to soreness in his right side, though manager Rocco Baldelli told reporters (including The Athletic’s Aaron Gleeman) that Gallo is just day-to-day, as “[MRI] results were something we were hoping for.”  Michael A. Taylor will remain the starting center fielder with Trevor Larnach in everyday duty in one of the other corner spots, and the Twins will now turn to Wallner, Willie Castro, or Nick Gordon to fill in for Kepler.

Giants Place Roberto Perez On 60-Day Injured List

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The Giants placed catcher Roberto Perez on the 60-day injured list due to a right rotator cuff strain.  Austin Wynns’ contract was selected from Triple-A to take the vacancy behind the plate, and Perez’s placement on the 60-day IL automatically created an open 40-man roster spot for Wynns.  San Francisco also officially announced the signing of first baseman/outfielder Darin Ruf to a minor league deal, after news broke earlier today of Ruf’s return to the organization.

It’s another tough injury setback for Perez, who played only 21 games with Pittsburgh last season due to hamstring surgery, and 44 games with Cleveland in 2021 due to right shoulder inflammation and a fractured right ring finger (the latter injury also resulted in a 60-day IL stint).  Perez had to make an early exit from yesterday’s game with what was initially described by the Giants as a shoulder strain, and now the 34-year-old backstop is facing another significant absence.

Perez’s abbreviated 2022 season meant he had to settle for a minor league deal this winter, but there wasn’t much doubt that San Francisco would select his contract (and lock in a $2.5MM guaranteed salary) sooner rather than later.  As it happened, Perez made the Opening Day roster, but his injury now adds more uncertainty to what has already been an unsettled catching situation for the Giants.

Wynns and Rule 5 pick Blake Sabol are currently the only catchers on the active roster, though Sabol has also been used as an outfielder to help fill in for other injured players (such as Mitch Haniger and Austin Slater).  With Ruf now in the picture, Sabol might return to more of a strict catching role for the time being, though the mix might get shuffled again when Joey Bart is activated from the 10-day IL.  The Giants announced today that Bart was starting a Triple-A rehab assignment, so he could be returning from his back strain in relatively short order.  San Francisco also recently signed Gary Sanchez to a minor league contract, and the former All-Star also figures to factor into the MLB roster at some point.

Wynns came to San Francisco in a trade from the Phillies last June, and hit .259/.313/.358 over 177 plate appearances in a Giants uniform.  This respectable offensive performance didn’t stop the Giants from designating Wynns for assignment during the offseason, but Wynns chose to accept his outright assignment off the 40-man roster rather than test free agency.

Yankees Place Josh Donaldson, Jonathan Loaisiga On Injured List; Recall Jhony Brito, Select Willie Calhoun

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The Yankees announced five roster moves prior to today’s game with the Orioles.  As expected, Josh Donaldson was placed on the 10-day injured list (retroactive to April 6) due to a right hamstring strain and right-hander Jhony Brito was called up from Triple-A to make his scheduled start against Baltimore.  New York also placed righty Jonathan Loaisiga on the 15-day IL with a retroactive April 6 date, as Loaisiga is suffering from right elbow inflammation.  In corresponding moves, the Yankees selected Willie Calhoun’s contract from Triple-A and officially signed him to a big league deal, while Tommy Kahnle was moved to the 60-day IL to create space for Calhoun on the 40-man roster.

Any elbow issue for Loaisiga is of particular concern given that he has a Tommy John surgery in his past, but it doesn’t yet appear as though his current issue is anything more than soreness.  Shoulder problems have also hampered Loaisiga over the years, but the 28-year-old has generally been a pretty solid reliever and spot starter over his six MLB seasons (all with the Yankees).  Loaisiga has been a full-time reliever for the last three seasons, and he also become much more of a groundball specialist, posting a 60.5% grounder rate since the start of the 2021 campaign.

With an ability to generate grounders and a knack for inducing soft contact, Loaisiga has a 2.95 ERA over his last 122 innings, and he has one of the best chase rates of any pitcher in baseball despite a below-average strikeout rate.  This arsenal put Loaisiga in line for more high-leverage innings, and he was seen as perhaps the Yankees’ top set-up option for closer Clay Holmes.  Unfortunately, he’ll now be sidelined on the IL along with fellow relievers Lou Trivino and Kahnle, creating another vacancy in New York’s bullpen.

Kahnle was sidelined by biceps tendinitis during Spring Training, and what was initially seen as a pretty minor issue will now keep the veteran right-hander away from the MLB roster until the end of May.  Kahnle didn’t start playing catch until earlier this week, indicating that he has quite a ways to go in ramping up his arm strength and making up for the time lost in spring camp.

Calhoun brings a left-handed bat to a New York roster that is loaded with right-handed hitters, and mention of a lefty swinger joining the club merits a mention of the short porch in right field at Yankee Stadium.  Calhoun his 21 home runs with the Rangers in 2019, but has otherwise only gone yard 11 times over his five other MLB seasons with Texas and San Francisco.  For his career as a whole, Calhoun has hit .240/.299/.404 in 936 plate appearances.

Once a top prospect in the Dodgers’ farm system, Calhoun’s solid 2019 campaign was undone by injury-shortened seasons in 2020 and 2021, and he was openly hoping for a trade away from the Rangers after being sent down to Triple-A early in the 2022 season.  He didn’t receive much of a look from the Giants at the MLB level following a June trade, but he’ll now get another chance in the Bronx.

Playing mostly as a left fielder during his MLB career, Calhoun looks to join Oswaldo Cabrera and Aaron Hicks in the corner outfield position.  Cabrera might get some infield time with Donaldson on the IL, though New York has third base pretty well covered with DJ LeMahieu getting most of the starting time and Isiah Kiner-Falefa also available to back up.  Calhoun’s addition might further reduce Hicks’ playing time, as Hicks already hasn’t seen much action over the Yankees’ first seven games.

Cardinals Notes: O’Neill, Marlins, Naughton, Nootbaar, Wainwright

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Tyler O’Neill’s name was part of trade talks with the Marlins and other teams this winter, The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal reports.  Back in January, Rosenthal wrote that St. Louis had shown interest in the Marlins’ pitching, and since Miami was known to be looking for outfield help, it stands to reason that O’Neill was part of those discussions.  No trade materialized between the two sides, of course, and it isn’t known if O’Neill was necessarily one of the Marlins’ top targets on the St. Louis roster, or if the Cards were more open to moving O’Neill than any of their outfielders.

Given all of the Cardinals’ outfield depth and the Marlins’ rotation depth, any number of names or potential trades could’ve been floated in negotiations — likewise, any team engaging the Cardinals in outfield-related trade talks might’ve had a few options in mind.  While O’Neill was coming off a relative down year in 2022, that doesn’t mean rival clubs wouldn’t have still had trade interest, perhaps hoping to nab the two-time Gold Glover in a buy-low situation.

With this all in mind, Rosenthal wonders if O’Neill could potentially be tangled in trade talks again, perhaps in an outfielder-for-pitching swap similar to the deal that sent Harrison Bader to the Yankees for Jordan Montgomery at last year’s trade deadline.  As The Athletic’s Levi Weaver noted, Bader was traded within a couple of months after Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol removed him mid-game for a perceived lack of effort.  On Wednesday, O’Neill wasn’t in the Cards’ starting lineup, which Marmol publicly said was due to what the skipper felt was a lack of hustle on O’Neill’s part in running the bases in Tuesday’s game.  O’Neill both denied that charge, and also wasn’t pleased that Marmol went public with the criticism.

It should be noted that O’Neill still appeared in Wednesday’s game as a pinch-hitter, and after Thursday’s off-day, O’Neill was back as the starting center fielder in the Cardinals’ 4-0 loss to the Brewers on Friday.  Talking to Derrick Gould of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch and other reporters, Marmol said it was “one hundred percent” important to have O’Neill back in action, calling him “one of the most talented players in that clubhouse.  There’s a next step for Tyler in his career, and my job is to get him there.”

The manager also explained his perspective on “holding someone accountable” as it related to his decision to call O’Neill out, saying “it’s your ability to sit down with a player before the lights come on before the stadium is packed and ask them what they want for themselves and what they want for the team.  And allowing them to articulate that and then asking for permission to hold them to that.  And when it doesn’t look right, you hold them to that.”

Beyond O’Neill’s return and the shutout loss, Friday’s game was also notable for what might be a significant injury to left-hander Packy Naughton.  After pitching to three batters in his relief outing, Naughton left the game with what the club later described as forearm tightness.  Goold wrote that Naughton was slated to have his left arm examined last night.

It seems like Naughton is headed for the injured list at the very least, and he and the team can only hope that a serious injury has been avoided.  Naughton is just a few days shy of his 27th birthday, and he is in his third MLB season.  St. Louis claimed Naughton off waivers from the Angels in March 2022, and his first season with the Cardinals saw Naughton post a 4.78 ERA over 32 innings, working mostly as a reliever.

In other injury news, Lars Nootbaar might be activated from the 10-day IL as early as Monday, since Marmol told MLB.com and other reporters that the club will wait to see how Nootbaar’s injured left thumb feels after batting practice.  However, Nootbaar said that his thumb is more of an issue when trying to catch a ball or even when wearing a glove, moreso than any pain caused by taking swings.

Adam Wainwright is on the 15-day IL recovering from a groin strain, and is slated for his second 28-pitch bullpen session on Sunday.  If all goes well, Wainwright might throw more pitches in another bullpen tentatively scheduled for Wednesday, and a minor league rehab outing could then follow in the coming days.

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