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Evan White Out Two Months With Groin Strain

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Mariners first baseman Evan White recently suffered a Grade 2 groin strain and will be out of action for the next two months, per Ryan Divish of the Seattle Times.

This news is the latest in a series of frustrating setbacks for a player who was once a highly-touted youngster. Selected 17th overall in the 2017 draft, White thrived in the lower levels of the minors and got himself onto Baseball America’s top 100 list in 2019 and 2020. It was in that time, November of 2019, that he and the club agreed to a six-year, $24MM extension. It was a vote of confidence in a young player who had yet to crack the majors but seemed on the verge of a breakout after hitting .293/.350/.488 in Double-A.

White was promoted to the big leagues in 2020 but struggled in his first taste of the majors, hitting .176/.252/.346. He also struck out in 41.6% of his plate appearances over 54 games in the shortened season. Since that time, White hasn’t been able to play much at all due to injuries, requiring hip surgery and sports hernia surgery. He played just 34 games in 2021 between Triple-A and the majors, then just 28 Triple-A games last year.

Here in 2023, White came into spring healthy, but the club optioned him to the minors. Since Ty France had taken over the first base job in his absence, it made sense for White to get everyday reps in Tacoma to get back into a groove after so much missed time. But now, after just a couple of games with the Rainiers, White is facing yet another significant stretch of time on the shelf.

Should the two-month timeline prove true, that will still give White a few more months to finish the season strong, though it’s surely not ideal or welcome for him to hit another speed bump after already going over so many. This won’t have an immediate impact on the big league club, but it does subtract from their first base depth, which could be an issue if France deals with an injury as the season goes along.

White’s contract runs through 2025 with three club options beyond that. The first of those is a $10MM option for 2026 with a $2MM buyout. As of right now, the odds of White being worth that kind of investment seem low. He still has a few years to change that perception, though that will have to wait at least another couple months.

NL Notes: Alvarez, Chisholm, Sánchez

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Mets catching prospect Francisco Álvarez is joining the club in case fellow backstop Omar Narváez has to go on the injured list, per a report from Mike Puma and Ted Holmlund of The New York Post. The latter was removed from yesterday’s game with calf tightness and replaced by Tomás Nido. The Mets will have an extra day to let Narváez rest and assess the situation since their home opener was postponed until tomorrow due to inclement weather, though Andy Martino of SNY adds that the club is not optimistic about Narváez avoiding the IL.

Álvarez, 21, is one of the top prospects in the sport and is generally considered to be ready for the majors when it comes to his offense. He hit 27 home runs in the minors last year and also walked in 14.1% of his plate appearances, leading to a .260/.374/.511 and 136 wRC+. He also got promoted to the big leagues late in the year, getting into five regular season games and one postseason contest. He’s currently ranked among the top 10 prospects in the league by Baseball America and MLB Pipeline, and just outside the top 10 at FanGraphs.

However, he’s still quite young and his glove is considered to be a bit behind his bat. He also struggled a bit in spring on the heels of October ankle surgery. All those factors led the club to option him to Triple-A to start the season, relying on the more established players in Narváez and Nido. If the tightness in Narváez’s calf doesn’t clear up and he needs a spell on the injured list, Álvarez might get another crack at the big leagues sooner than expected.

Some more notes from the National League…

  • The Marlins got a bit of a scare yesterday when outfielder Jazz Chisholm Jr. departed their game against the Twins with an apparent injury. While sliding into second base on an attempted steal, his shoulder collided with the leg of Kyle Farmer. Chisholm was in obvious pain and left the contest after a visit from the trainer. The club later announced Chisholm’s injury as a stinger and listed him as day-to-day, per Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald. A “stinger” is a burning or stinging sensation of the nerves in the neck and shoulder area. Though the initial situation may have caused some hearts to skip a few beats, it seems he’s avoided a significant injury, which is great news for the club. Chisholm had a huge breakout last year, hitting .254/.325/.535 for a wRC+ of 139, though he was limited to 60 games by a stress fracture in his back. He’s now attempting to make the challenging transition from second base to center field this year, an experiment that might be put on hold for a few days. Bryan De La Cruz replaced Chisholm in center yesterday and could get more time there, though Jesús Sánchez and Garrett Hampson could also be options.
  • The Giants recently brought Gary Sánchez aboard on a minor league deal to bolster their catching depth and president of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi spoke to Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle about the move this week. “We’re excited to see how he does,” Zaidi said. “At his best, he’s been one of the handful of best offensive catchers in baseball. If he can show signs of that kind of feeling, I think he can really be an impactful addition.” Sánchez hit .284/.354/.568 in 2016 and 2017 for a wRC+ of 143 but has fallen off from those heights in subsequent years. Since the signing, Joey Bart went on the injured list due to back tightness but isn’t expected to be gone long. In the meantime, Roberto Pérez and Blake Sabol are handling the catching duties, though Sabol is also playing some outfield and Zaidi admits that Pérez is “not an everyday player at this stage of his career, and we have to make sure that whoever we have complementing him can carry a pretty big workload as well.” The club will have to make a decision on Sánchez fairly soon, as he has a May 1 opt-out on his contract, which would come with a $4MM salary if added to the big league club. “We have a few weeks before we have to make a decision. It’s all about: Does he have the chance to bring it all together?” Zaidi said. “And if he does, it’d be pretty good.”

The Opener: Postponements, Phillies, New York

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

1. Four home openers postponed:

Four clubs have had their home openers, originally scheduled for today, postponed due to inclement weather. Fortunately, as is typically the case for northern teams, the clubs each had a scheduled off-day for tomorrow, when the games will be made up. The Mets will face the Marlins tomorrow at 12:10pm CT, the Phillies will face the Reds and the Orioles will face the Yankees tomorrow at 2:05pm CT, while the Twins will face the Astros at 3:10pm CT. All home opener pregame festivities will also be pushed back to tomorrow for each of the four clubs. If you’re a fan who had tickets to one of the postponed games, you can find your options with the Twins, Mets, Orioles, and Phillies at the links provided.

2. Phillies injury woes continue:

The Phillies have already struggled with injuries early in the season as Rhys Hoskins could miss the entire season with a torn ACL while the club’s starting depth has been tested to the point of Matt Strahm moving from the bullpen to the rotation. Those struggles continued yesterday, as the club announced that outfielder Brandon Marsh had been scratched from yesterday’s game and was day-to-day due to a left ankle sprain, while the Philadelphia Inquirer’s Alex Coffey noted that first baseman Darick Hall was removed from yesterday’s game due to a thumb sprain. While the Phillies described Marsh’s sprain as mild, the New York Post’s Jon Heyman indicates the same may not be the case for Hall, as the club is expected to call up utility player Kody Clemens in response to Hall’s injury. With today’s game postponed, the Phillies will have a little extra time to sort out their options and injuries ahead of the rescheduled game tomorrow afternoon.

3. Injuries to be re-evaluated in New York:

The Mets and Yankees each have an injured player whose status will be re-evaluated today. For the Mets, catcher Omar Narvaez is dealing with some discomfort in his left calf, while the Yankees pulled third baseman Josh Donaldson from yesterday’s game with right hamstring tightness, which MLB.com’s Bryan Hoch notes will be re-evaluated today. As both New York clubs have also seen their games today postponed, they too will have additional time to evaluate the health of their players and make a decision before their rescheduled games take place tomorrow afternoon.

If Narvaez requires a stint on the injured list, that could open the door for top prospect Francisco Alvarez to make his season debut, returning to the big leagues after a five-game stint with the Mets last season. As for Donaldson, any time he misses would likely stand to benefit the likes of Aaron Hicks and Isiah Kiner-Falefa, who have both been used somewhat sparingly to this point in the season while DJ LeMahieu and Oswaldo Cabrera have drawn more of the available starts.

The MLB Trade Rumors Podcast Is Back!

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The MLB Trade Rumors Podcast, last heard in 2016 hosted by the esteemed Jeff Todd, has relaunched!  Simon Hampton is now your host, and we’re very excited to bring the new show to you every week.

Episode 1 is now live on Spotify, Apple Podcasts and wherever you get your podcasts! Make sure you subscribe as well; use this link to find the show on Spotify and this one for Apple.  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 Anthony Franco to discuss a wide range of topics around the baseball world:

  • An early look at the trade deadline possibilities, particularly focusing on Shohei Ohtani and what it make take for the Angels to listen to offers on the two-way star (3:19)
  • Jake Cronenworth signed a seven-year, $80MM extension with the Padres, so what does that mean for San Diego’s chances at extending other players such as Juan Soto, Josh Hader and Blake Snell? (7:31)
  • It’s easy to over-react to results in the first week of the season, so at what point is it reasonable to become concerned with a team’s performance? And what about the players? (12:30)

Plus, we answer your questions, including:

  • Could the Marlins match up with the Yankees on a trade involving Oswald Peraza? And which of Miami’s pitchers could be in play at the deadline? (16:56)
  • Will the Cardinals make a move to bolster their rotation at some stage this season? And if so, which players could be in play? (21:24)
  • The Dodgers took a step back this winter, so how aggressive will they be at the deadline this year? And are they clearing payroll space for a crack at Shohei Ohtani? (26:09)

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

MLB Seeking Overdue Rights Payments From Diamond For Twins/Guardians Broadcasts

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Major League Baseball has filed a motion in the ongoing Diamond Sports Bankruptcy proceedings, reports Daniel Kaplan of the Athletic. The league is seeking payments on behalf of the Twins and Guardians.

According to MLB’s motion, a pair of the Diamond-operated regional sports networks — Bally Sports North (Minnesota) and Bally Sports Great Lakes (Cleveland) — informed those clubs they would not meet their April 1 installment under their local broadcasting deals. Those networks have continued to broadcast Twins and Guardians games, respectively, in the past few days. MLB is seeking a court order demanding payment to those two organizations by April 13, or alternatively, requesting the court terminate those contracts so the league could assume broadcasting rights for those clubs.

Diamond’s Bally Sports RSNs have broadcasting contracts with 14 MLB teams.* According to Kaplan, they’ve met their payments to 11 clubs. Minnesota, Cleveland and the Diamondbacks are the exceptions. The missed payment to the Arizona organization came before Diamond officially filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on March 14. As a result, the D-Backs are among the creditors seeking relief for pre-bankruptcy default. That was automatically paused once Diamond filed for bankruptcy, as the court proceedings will dictate how and to what extent its various creditors (which extend beyond MLB teams) can receive relief. That doesn’t apply to the Twins or Guardians, who are seeking relief for an alleged contractual breach that took place after the Chapter 11 filing.

With speculation about Diamond’s financial viability mounting for months, MLB has maintained it is in position to take over local broadcasts if necessary. Commissioner Rob Manfred has indicated on multiple occasions the league’s preferred outcome is for the Bally RSNs to honor all their existing commitments. That clearly isn’t going to happen with every team, though, which could necessitate MLB finding an alternative way to broadcast in-market games for clubs whose deals feel through.

According to Kaplan, MLB’s motion indicates they’re prepared to do that. Whether they’ll receive approval from the bankruptcy court — or if there’s a seemingly unlikely situation in which Diamond buys itself more time by making up its missed payments to the Twins and Guardians by next week — remains to be seen. Kaplan reports the Guardians’ broadcasting deal calls for $55MM in yearly rights fees, while the Twins’ agreement is supposed to pay them $42MM annually.

*The Angels, Braves, Brewers, Cardinals, Diamondbacks, Guardians, Marlins, Padres, Rangers, Rays, Reds, Royals, Tigers, and Twins are all broadcast by Bally.

Pirates’ Jared Triolo Undergoes Hamate Surgery

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Pirates infield prospect Jared Triolo underwent surgery to repair a hamate bone injury late last month, the club’s director of sports medicine Todd Tomcyzk informed reporters this morning (relayed by Jason Mackey of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette). He’ll be shut down for four-to-six weeks before potentially beginning baseball activities, meaning his absence from game action is likely to cost multiple months.

Triolo, 25, was selected by Pittsburgh with the 72nd overall pick in the 2019 draft. A right-handed hitter, Triolo put up a solid .282/.376/.419 line over 495 plate appearances for Double-A Altoona last season. He only connected on nine home runs but demonstrated strong strike zone awareness, walking at an excellent 12.7% clip against a 17.6% strikeout rate. He also swiped 24 bases in 29 attempts.

The University of Houston product is primarily a third baseman, where he draws strong defensive reviews from scouts. Pittsburgh gave him 19 starts at shortstop in Double-A as well, demonstrating they believe his glove can translate (at least on occasion) to the infield’s most demanding position.

Pittsburgh added Triolo to the 40-man roster last winter to ensure they wouldn’t lose him in the Rule 5 draft. He’s yet to play a single game in Triple-A and would presumably have been ticketed for the Bucs’ top affiliate in Indianapolis to start the season. Triolo could factor into the MLB mix at some point later in the year, particularly if there’s an injury to either of Oneil Cruz or Ke’Bryan Hayes, but he’ll first have to get healthy himself. Given his recovery timetable, it’s possible the Pirates place him on the major league 60-day injured list at some point. Doing so would require paying him at the MLB minimum rate while he rehabs but would clear a spot on the 40-man roster should Pittsburgh require one for another transaction.

Braves Notes: Iglesias, Anderson, Wright

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The Braves have been without closer Raisel Iglesias in the early going. The veteran reliever was sidelined during the final week of March with inflammation in his throwing shoulder. The club announced he’d be shut down for at least a week and he opened the season on the 15-day injured list.

It appears that stint will linger beyond the minimal two weeks. Manager Brian Snitker informed reporters on Monday that Iglesias has yet to resume throwing (link via Justin Toscano of the Atlanta Journal Constitution). The Braves have continued to evaluate the righty’s progress, though Snitker noted they won’t have any kind of recovery timetable in place until Iglesias is able to pick up a ball.

A.J. Minter and Jesse Chavez have each picked up a save this season. The latter’s was a one-out appearance during today’s 5-2 win over the Cardinals after Collin McHugh had thrown 27 pitches. The highest-leverage work in the season’s first week has fallen to Dylan Lee, McHugh and Chavez. Minter and righty Joe Jiménez also figure to be in the mix for important work as the year goes along. They’ll all be up a peg in the pecking order so long as Iglesias is on the shelf.

Injuries have also been a story on the rotation front. Atlanta placed Ian Anderson on the minor league injured list this morning. Toscano tweets that Anderson has a right elbow injury and is being evaluated.

There’s no word on the issue’s severity, though any problem with a pitcher’s throwing elbow raises some amount of concern. Anderson will miss at least the next week of action at Triple-A Gwinnett. It’s possible he’s sidelined beyond the minimal stay, which would further thin an Atlanta rotation that has faced some questions early in the season.

The Braves were already set to rely on a pair of pitchers who had never previously pitched in the majors as part of the season-opening rotation. Jared Shuster and Dylan Dodd jumped Anderson and Bryce Elder on the depth chart in Spring Training. Ace Max Fried landed on the 15-day IL after straining his hamstring on Opening Day. The Braves recalled Elder, pushing Anderson into the #6 role on the depth chart before the elbow soreness.

Fortunately, Atlanta should soon welcome back Kyle Wright from an IL stint of his own. The righty was slowed in camp by a sore shoulder. He opened the season on the 15-day IL to buy him a bit more time to build strength. He made a rehab start for Gwinnett this evening. The bottom line results weren’t great — he allowed five runs in a 6-3 loss — but Wright worked six innings and tossed 84 pitches. That indicates he’s mostly stretched out and figures to make his next start at the MLB level. He’s first eligible to return on April 11, which would be a home start against Cincinnati.

Liam Hendriks Completes Chemotherapy Treatment

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White Sox closer Liam Hendriks announced this morning on Instagram that he’s finished his rounds of chemotherapy. The right-hander posted a brief video of himself ringing a hospital victory bell to a round of cheers, accompanied by a lengthy post.

“Five months ago my life changed forever,” Hendriks wrote. “You never think you will be the one who hears ’you have cancer’ but there I was … in shock and fear not knowing what comes next. I started treatment after so many life-altering appointments on January 9, 2023. Every 28 days, I would have another round. Every 28 days, I got closer to the PET scan that would dictate how many more rounds there would be. Every 28 days, I got closer to this moment.

These past five months have been both the quickest and slowest of my life. Being able to ring this victory bell has been one of the most emotional things I’ve ever done. I cannot thank my team of doctors and nurses enough for coming up with the best medical plan for me. No words can express the gratitude I have for them saving my life.”

Hendriks goes on to thank his wife for her support, as well as expressing gratitude to the rest of his family, friends and fans.

It’s obviously a welcome and heartwarming development. The White Sox announced on January 8 that Hendriks would begin treatment after being diagnosed with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. The team has understandably been reluctant to divulge much about the recovery, though general manager Rick Hahn provided reason for optimism last week when he told reporters Hendriks was responding well to treatment (relayed by Daryl Van Shouwen of the Chicago Sun-Times). Chicago refrained from placing the All-Star on the 60-day injured list, at least leaving open the possibility he could be back on an MLB mound by May.

The club hasn’t provided further specifics about Hendriks’ potential return to game action. The pitcher’s health has of course taken precedence throughout the past few months, though Hendriks teased he’d “see (White Sox fans) on the South Side soon” in a video message released by the team earlier this week. MLBTR joins countless others throughout the game in congratulating Hendriks on his recovery and wishing him the best once he’s ready to begin building back into game shape.

Latest On Justin Verlander

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The Mets provided an update on Justin Verlander this afternoon. Their newly signed ace has been on the 15-day injured list after being diagnosed with a low-grade strain of the teres major muscle in his shoulder at the end of Spring Training.

New York sent Verlander for an MRI this morning, raising some amount of concern amongst the fanbase. Fortunately, imaging revealed diminished inflammation, according to the club. He remains without a firm timetable for a return to MLB action but is going to continue a throwing program.

It’s a solid update, all things considered. While there’s still some issue with Verlander’s shoulder and no specific return date, that imaging didn’t turn up any serious structural issues is a positive. The Mets are already going to be without José Quintana for a few months. That pushed David Peterson into the starting staff and Verlander’s injury led to Tylor Megill claiming a back-end job. Joey Lucchesi and José Butto are at Triple-A Syracuse as the presumed next options if any of the current five suffer an injury.

In other New York news, catcher Omar Narváez left this afternoon’s loss to Milwaukee in the ninth inning. After the game, manager Buck Showalter told reporters (including Tim Britton of the Athletic) Narváez had some discomfort in his left calf. He’s day-to-day for now and will presumably be further evaluated over the next few days.

Tomás Nido is the other backstop on the active roster. Top prospect Francisco Álvarez opened the year on optional assignment to Syracuse, with the Mets preferring to get him consistent reps in the minors as opposed to more sporadic MLB playing time. If Narváez requires an IL stint, Álvarez would be the most straightforward option to replace him on the active roster. The Mets don’t have any other catchers on the 40-man roster; veteran Michael Pérez is a non-roster option in Syracuse.

Aaron Ashby To Undergo Arthroscopic Shoulder Surgery

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Brewers left-hander Aaron Ashby will undergo arthroscopic surgery on his left shoulder this week, manager Craig Counsell told reporters after this afternoon’s win over the Mets (relayed by Todd Rosiak of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel). Ashby will be out for “significant time,” in the words of the skipper, and might not return at all in 2023.

It’s a brutal development for one of the sport’s more promising young starters. Ashby, a fairly recent top prospect, threw 139 innings between 2021-22. The former fourth-rounder has only managed a 4.47 ERA but posted more intriguing underlying numbers. He’s punched out an above-average 27.1% of batters faced while keeping the ball on the ground on a huge 57.8% of batted balls. That rare combination of strikeouts and grounders led Milwaukee’s front office to invest in Ashby last summer.

The Brewers guaranteed him $20.5MM through 2027 on a deal that contained club options through ’29. While it’s still possible for that relatively modest deal to pan out, Ashby hasn’t been able to contribute because of shoulder issues. He made just three starts after the extension before landing on the injured list with shoulder inflammation. That ended his 2022 campaign early. The problems unfortunately cropped back up this spring, as he was diagnosed with a small labral tear in mid-February.

Ashby and the club initially downplayed the long-term severity of the injury. He was expected to miss the first six weeks of the season but his timeline now gets pushed back by another setback. The team hasn’t indicated whether Ashby suffered a more severe injury or if the initial issue simply hasn’t progressed as expected.

The Brewers will be able to transfer Ashby from the 15-day to the 60-day injured list whenever they have a need for a 40-man roster spot. Milwaukee still has a strong front five of Corbin Burnes, Brandon Woodruff, Freddy Peralta, Eric Lauer and Wade Miley. Depth options Ashby, Jason Alexander and Adrian Houser are all on the IL, though, leaving Milwaukee fairly thin behind their top group.

It’s an obviously suboptimal development early in the season and at least raises some question about Ashby’s ability to cement himself in the rotation over the longer term. Miley is only guaranteed to be around this year, while Burnes and Woodruff are on track for free agency after the 2024 season. There’s surely still hope Ashby can join Peralta as longer-term impact starters but he’s now in danger of missing his entire age-25 campaign.

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