Balelo: “Inevitable” That Ohtani Will Undergo Some Kind Of Elbow Procedure
Two weeks ago, the Angels announced that Shohei Ohtani was done pitching for the season after imaging revealed a tear in the UCL of his throwing elbow. Ohtani has yet to address that injury with that media, but his agent, CAA’s Nez Balelo, met with reporters this evening.
Balelo called it “inevitable” that Ohtani will need to undergo some type of procedure (relayed by Dylan Hernández of the Los Angeles Times). Whether that’ll be a full Tommy John surgery or something less invasive (e.g. an internal brace repair) is still to be determined.
According to Balelo, the tear is in a different area than the injury that necessitated Ohtani’s October 2018 Tommy John surgery. He called it a “best case scenario” given the situation (via Bill Shaikin of the L.A. Times). Balelo made clear that Ohtani plans to be in the lineup as a designated hitter next season. He stressed that “there’s not a question in (Ohtani’s) mind” he’ll eventually be able to return to pitching as well, though that timetable remains uncertain pending their decision on the specific treatment necessary (relayed by Alden González of ESPN).
Shortly after the UCL tear was discovered, Halos’ general manager Perry Minasian told reporters that Ohtani and CAA declined the team’s offer to undergo imaging after the two-way star reported finger cramping in early August. While that could be interpreted as a shot at Ohtani or his representation, Balelo said they had no issue with the Angels going public with that information (via Sam Blum of the Athletic). He confirmed that Ohtani declined imaging at the time.
Ohtani has continued hitting since the injury, raking at a .300/.500/.500 clip in 43 plate appearances. It seems he’ll continue as the DH, at least until the plan to address his elbow is finalized. The AL MVP favorite is up to an astounding .304/.412/.654 batting line and is tied with Matt Olson for the major league lead with 44 home runs.
Even with uncertainty about his short-term outlook on the mound, Ohtani stands as the clear top player in the upcoming free agent class. If he prioritizes the overall guarantee, the 29-year-old seems likely to eclipse the $360MM record which Aaron Judge established last winter. Teams will obviously closely monitor his arm health to assess the likelihood he’ll be able to recapture his top-of-the-rotation form whenever he’s healthy enough to again begin throwing.
Reds Outright Alan Busenitz
The Reds have sent reliever Alan Busenitz outright to Triple-A Louisville, according to the transaction tracker at MLB.com. He was designated for assignment on Friday when Cincinnati activated Tejay Antone from the injured list.
Busenitz has gotten into five games for the Reds this year. He has tossed five innings of two-run ball with three strikeouts and one unintentional walk. That brief look marked Busneitz’s first MLB action in five years. The right-hander worked to a 4.58 ERA through 57 innings for the 2017-18 Twins. Beginning in 2019, he pitched in Japan with the Rakuten Golden Eagles, posting a 2.83 ERA through 155 2/3 NPB innings.
The Reds brought Busenitz back to the affiliated ranks this season on a minor league pact. He has spent the bulk of the year in Louisville, throwing 43 2/3 innings over 40 outings. He owns a 4.53 ERA with a below-average 20.9% strikeout percentage and elevated 10.7% walk rate for the Bats.
Busenitz will try to pitch his way back into consideration for Cincinnati down the stretch. He’ll be a minor league free agent this offseason if the Reds don’t add him back onto the 40-man roster.
Chris Paddack Expected To Begin Rehab Assignment This Week
Twins right-hander Chris Paddack is in line to begin a rehab stint on Wednesday, tweets Do-Hyoung Park of MLB.com. He’ll go three innings in his first game action in 16 months.
Paddack underwent the second Tommy John surgery of his career last May. He began working off a mound 13 months later and has gradually built his throwing program since that point. The Twins have maintained throughout that process that they hoped to get him back for the stretch run.
Last week, Bobby Nightengale of the Minneapolis Star Tribune wrote that Paddack was targeting a bullpen return. That’s not surprising, as a relief role would reduce the amount of time Paddack needs to spend rehabbing as he builds toward a less demanding job. It’s also arguably more beneficial for the Twins generally. Minnesota’s rotation has been among the league’s best, while the bullpen is roughly league average.
Acquired from the Padres on Opening Day 2022, Paddack was limited to five starts during his first season with Minnesota. He has 66 MLB appearances (65 starts) over parts of four campaigns, pitching to a 4.20 ERA through 330 1/3 innings. His production dipped over his three years in San Diego, but he’d run an impressive 20:2 strikeout-to-walk ratio in his limited time with the Twins before the elbow procedure.
In other injury news, manager Rocco Baldelli told reporters that Byron Buxton was staying with the team for treatment on his right knee (relayed by Betsy Helfand of the St. Paul Pioneer-Press). Buxton had started a rehab stint last Wednesday as he works back from a hamstring strain. Knee concerns have bothered him all year, with the Twins keeping him at designated hitter as a result.
Buxton saw his first game action in center field during a brief rehab stint with Triple-A St. Paul before reporting the renewed knee soreness. Baldelli left open the possibility of again trying Buxton in center field once he’s ready to get back to game action.
Luis Robert Jr. Is Delivering In His First True Full Season
Luis Robert Jr. has seemed like a staple of the White Sox for a long time now, having debuted back in 2020. However, he wasn’t able to have a full, healthy season in any of his first three campaigns. He avoided the injured list in 2020, but played only 56 games that year due to the schedule being shortened by the pandemic to just 60 contests. He would then miss significant time due to a right hip flexor strain in 2021, getting into just 68 games that year. That was followed by a 98-game season last year, with IL trips due to COVID-19, blurred vision and a wrist sprain.
By the end of 2022, he had certainly been able to showcase his talent. He came into this year with 36 home runs in 222 games and a batting line of .289/.334/.474, which translated to a wRC+ of 122, indicating he was 22% better than league average in that time. He had also stolen 26 bases and been given strong grades for his center field defense. FanGraphs calculated him as being worth 6.7 wins above replacement in that time, a strong tally on a per-game basis but a limited output in terms of volume.
The 2023 campaign has finally allowed us to see what Robert can do over a full, healthy season. He dealt with some quad cramping over the weekend and is still out of the lineup today, but hasn’t been placed on the injured list at any point this year. He’s appeared in 128 games with almost a month still remaining on the schedule. His 5.3% walk rate and 28.4% strikeout rate are both worse than league average, but he’s doing significant damage when he connects, with 35 home runs and 33 doubles. His .272/.324/.560 batting line amounts to a 135 wRC+.
Defensively, Robert has continued to shine as well. He as 7 Defensive Runs Saved this year, a figure bested by just five center fielders around the league. Outs Above Average is even more enthused, with Robert’s tally of 12 in that category tops at his position, tied with Brenton Doyle of the Rockies. Robert also has 17 steals in 21 tries, helping him put up 5.2 fWAR on the year already. If it weren’t for the amazing two-way exploits of Shohei Ohtani, Robert would be in the American League Most Valuable Player conversation alongside players like Corey Seager, Julio Rodríguez and Bobby Witt.
It’s been a dismal season for the White Sox overall, with the club sporting a record of 53-84. Those poor results promoted a deadline selloff, with players like Lucas Giolito, Lance Lynn and others getting sent out of town for prospects. That was followed by a front office shakeup that saw both president Ken Williams and general manager Rick Hahn relieved of their duties last month.
But the shining star of Robert has been a bright spot in the otherwise-gloomy season and perhaps a key reason why the club is hopeful of a quick return to contention. Assistant general manager Chris Getz was recently promoted to general manager, with owner Jerry Reinsdorf saying that part of the reason for staying in-house was that Getz is already familiar with the organization and will perhaps be able to deliver a quick turnaround, as opposed to an outsider who might take time before making bold moves.
Though the Sox sold some players at the deadline, they were mostly limited to those nearing free agency, holding onto more controllable pieces like Robert, Dylan Cease, Eloy Jiménez and Andrew Vaughn. There are still plenty of holes to fill on the roster and it will be a challenge to patch them all in one winter, but the club has a couple of things in its favor. One of them is the incredibly weak division, where the 66-71 Guardians are still in the playoff hunt in September this year, meaning the path back to contention isn’t quite as steep as it would be elsewhere. The second thing is that core of solid players, headlined by Robert.
Robert has two more guaranteed years on his contract, followed by a pair of $20MM club options that each come with $2MM buyouts. Those look bargains right now and will certainly be triggered, even if Robert were to drop back slightly from his MVP-caliber performance.
That puts something of a long-term target in front of the Sox, who should be able to bank on Robert being on the team through 2027 at least. Jiménez and Vaughn can be controlled through 2026 and Cease through 2025. That gives them at least two more years with that core four, three years with the Robert-Jiménez-Vaughn triumvirate and another year of Robert after that. Time will tell whether or not they can build on that in the years to come, but Robert has shown that they have a strong foundation to work with.
Image courtesy of USA Today Sports.
Astros To Seek Fourth Option Season For Forrest Whitley
It has been another injury-wrecked season for former top pitching prospect Forrest Whitley. The right-hander was diagnosed with a lat strain at the start of June, an injury that initially came with a three-plus month recovery timetable.
Over the weekend, general manager Dana Brown indicated that Whitley was unlikely to return this season (link via Chandler Rome of the Athletic). Brown pushed back against the notion that the 25-year-old hurler had suffered a setback but conceded he hasn’t been able to “get over the hump” in his rehab.
Initially added to the 40-man roster before the 2021 season, Whitley has yet to get to the big leagues. He has spent the past three years on optional assignment to the minors, where he’d spent an unfortunate amount of time on the injured list. Most players can be optioned to the minors in a maximum of three separate seasons. After that, the team is required to keep the player on the major league roster or take him off the 40-man entirely (thereby making him available to other teams via trade or waivers). This is Whitley’s third option year.
However, Brown said the Astros will petition MLB for a fourth option season on Whitley (via Rome). That’s available in the case of players who have exhausted their options before logging five full professional seasons — defined as 90+ days on a minor league or MLB active roster. That’s a rare occurrence but sometimes applies to players who have missed extended time with injuries and/or suspension.
Whitley has missed chunks of minor league action for both reasons. He was suspended for a violation of the minor league drug program in 2018, keeping him to eight starts that year. He battled shoulder issues the next season, then was kept out of game action by the pandemic cancelation of the minors in 2020. Whitley underwent Tommy John surgery in Spring Training 2021 and only returned towards the tail end of last season. It appears as though he won’t log any more game action this year, with his final appearance coming on May 25.
That’d seem to give the Astros a good shot of being granted an additional option, though the team won’t know for certain until the offseason. It’s not guaranteed he’ll be on the Houston roster next March regardless, as the Astros would have to keep him on the 40-man roster all offseason. Whitley’s prospect stock has plummeted thanks to the various injury concerns and performance questions during his intermittent game action. He was hit hard in 30 Triple-A innings this season, allowing a 5.70 ERA. He posted a solid 23.7% strikeout rate but walked almost 13% of opposing batters.
Big Hype Prospects: Holliday, Merrill, Jobe, Chourio, Crow-Armstrong
Big Jackson Prospects is back with another edition starring members of the new Jackson Four.
Five Big Hype Prospects
Jackson Holliday, 19, SS, BAL (AAA)
(A/A+/AA) 490 PA, 10 HR, 23 SB, .333/.451/.517
Holliday is the top-performing minor leaguer among players with more than 400 plate appearances. His 168 wRC+ is all the more impressive when considering his age relative to his competition. The question now on everyone’s lips – will he make his Major League debut this year? To me, that will depend on how he does in the next few weeks. One factor is outside of his control: will the Orioles have an injury to open a playoff roster spot for him? He’s likelier to get a taste of the Majors if he’s expected to contribute to the playoff push.
To date, Holliday has relied on hard, low-angle contact and high BABIPs to fuel his offensive success. Such an approach tends to be less effective in the Majors. At Triple-A, we’ll get our first public look at his exit velocities. I’ve heard some rumors but haven’t gotten my hands on the actual data yet.
Jackson Merrill, 20, SS, SDP (AA)
(A+/AA) 488 PA, 15 HR, 15 SB, .283/.331/.454
Merrill is having a nice time of it in Double-A. He was reportedly considered for a promotion to the Majors about 10 days back. The Padres seemingly decided against the aggressive move. As it stands, he’s positioned himself to skip a return engagement in Double-A next season. As to where he fits in the Padres long-term plans, he might need to wait for Ha-Seong Kim and Jake Cronenworth to open the door at second base. The FanGraphs prospect crew described Merrill as “Michael Brantley, except at shortstop,” and that’s exactly how he’s trending.
Jackson Jobe, 20, SP, DET (A+)
(A+) 30 IP, 12.30 K/9, 0.90 BB/9, 3.90 ERA
Jobe is a spin-rate boss with four average or better offerings. His weapons have allowed him to live in the strike zone in the low minors. A test in Double-A to open 2024 should help with the development of his command. Encouragingly, the Tigers are using Jobe like a traditional starter down the stretch. Since reaching High-A, he’s faced 20 or more batters in four of six outings. Compare that to other top pitching prospects around the league. Jobe hasn’t pitched much since he was drafted in 2021. It’s possible we see him finish out his season in the Arizona Fall League.
Jackson Chourio, 19, OF, MIL (AA)
(AA) 509 PA, 21 HR, 37 SB, .282/.336/.471
One of the few upper-echelon prospects younger than Holliday, Chourio has spent the entire season in Double-A where he’s held his own against much older competition. He’s been particularly effective of late, delivering four home runs and a .998 OPS in his last 45 plate appearances. Anyone hoping to see him promoted into the NL Central playoff race shouldn’t hold their breath. His defensive skills remain a work in progress. While he has the raw tools to stick in center field, his reads are still inconsistent. Were his glove ahead of his bat, he’d have a better case for a cheeky late-season promotion.
Pete Crow-Armstrong, 21, OF, CHC (AAA)
(AA/AAA) 474 PA, 18 HR, 35 SB, .278/.364/.499
Unlike Chourio, Crow-Armstrong’s impressive defensive ability must be weighing heavy on the playoff-aspiring Cubs. Though they’ve gotten good results from Mike Tauchman, that feels more like found money than a sustainable source of production. A promotion for Crow-Armstrong would be a lock if not for one bugaboo – a 30.3% strikeout rate in Triple-A. There’s considerable swing-and-miss to PCA’s game. He has pop, emerging discipline, and plenty of speed to make up for his lack of contact. There are some roster considerations working against Crow-Armstrong since he’s not Rule 5 eligible until after 2024. If the Central battle remains close come mid-month, I expect to see him.
Three More
Ronny Mauricio, NYM (22): In just 11 plate appearances, Mauricio has already delivered the Mets hardest-hit ball of 2023. There’s no question the switch-hitter shoots lasers. The issue is whether or not he makes enough contact to sustain a regular role. Though athletic, he’s not known for his defensive ability.
Emmet Sheehan, LAD (23): In the wake of today’s news, Sheehan has elevated importance for a Dodgers club with only two veteran starters. In limited action, he hasn’t had confidence in his changeup. He needs that to be his moneymaker. Below-average command hints at a relief future.
Masyn Winn, STL (21): When we covered Winn at the time of his promotion, we noted the bat didn’t seem ready despite a broad base of skills. He’s struggled to a 6 wRC+ in 49 plate appearances. Winn appears to be making a classic first-timer mistake – selling out for any contact at the expense of quality contact. He still has a dozen ways to grow into an average or better player.
Did I miss a detail or nuance? DM me on Twitter @BaseballATeam to suggest corrections.
Pirates Designate Rob Zastryzny, Select Hunter Stratton
The Pirates announced that they have selected the contract of right-hander Hunter Stratton from Triple-A Indianapolis, with left-hander Rob Zastryzny designated for assignment in a corresponding move.
Stratton, 26, was a 16th-round pick of the Pirates in the 2017 draft and has been working his way up to the majors since then. He generally posts high strikeout totals but with lots of walks as well, and that has continued to be the case this year. In 56 1/3 Triple-A innings this season, he has a 3.99 earned run average, striking out 30.6% of batters faced while giving out free passes at a 12.8% clip. He will now get a chance to get major league hitters out, making his big league debut as soon as he gets into a game.
Zastryzny, 31, is designated for assignment by the Bucs for the second time this year. He signed a minor league deal with the club in the offseason and cracked the Opening Day roster. He was designated for assignment in July and accepted an outright assignment after clearing waivers. He was added back to the roster a couple of weeks ago but has lost his spot again. Between those two stints, he tossed 20 2/3 innings with a 4.79 ERA, 15.5% strikeout rate and 13.4% walk rate.
The club will place him back on waivers in the coming days. He’s out of options, so any claiming club would have to add him to their active roster. He has just over a year of service time, meaning he could be retained for five more seasons if any club were willing to give him that roster spot. But the last time he was put on waivers, he passed through and stuck with the Pirates, which could perhaps happen again in the days to come.
Red Sox Claim Logan Gillaspie From Orioles
The Red Sox have claimed right-hander Logan Gillaspie off waivers from the Orioles, per Ian Browne of MLB.com, and optioned him to Triple-A. The O’s had designated the righty for assignment over the weekend. To open a spot on their 40-man, the Sox transferred outfielder Jarren Duran to the 60-day injured list.
Gillaspie, 26, tossed 26 1/3 innings for the Orioles between last year and this year. He had a 4.10 earned run average in that time, striking out just 15% of batters faced but limiting walks to a 6.7% rate. In Triple-A this year, he’s thrown 36 1/3 innings with a 4.71 ERA, 21.4% strikeout rate and 10.1% walk rate. His numbers at that level were stronger last year, despite a 5.09 ERA. He struck out 24.8% of Triple-A hitters he faced while walking just 5.9%.
The Sox essentially had a roster spot to burn, since it was announced last week that Duran would require season-ending surgery to deal with a turf toe injury. That made his transfer to the 60-day injured list inevitable and the club has now used his roster spot to add another depth arm to the system. Gillaspie will still have one more option year beyond this season and he has less than a year of service time.
Diamondbacks Select Andrew Saalfrank
The Diamondbacks announced that they have selected the contract of left-hander Andrew Saalfrank, with righty Slade Cecconi optioned in the corresponding move. To open a spot on the 40-man roster, outfielder Dominic Fletcher was recalled and placed on the 60-day injured list due to a fractured left index finger. Prior to the official announcement, Steve Gilbert of MLB.com reported that Saalfrank had a locker in the clubhouse and Cecconi did not.
Saalfrank, 26, was a sixth-round draft pick of the Diamondbacks in 2019. He made a brief professional debut in the lower levels of the system that year, but then the pandemic wiped out the minor leagues in 2020 and Saalfrank didn’t pitch in 2021. He split last year between High-A and Double-A, posting a combined 3.52 earned run average. He struck out 29.2% of opponents but walked 11.3%.
He went back to Double-A to start this year, tossing 33 1/3 innings with a 2.70 ERA. His 14.2% walk rate was quite high but he also struck out 31.9% of opponents while getting grounders on 64.9% of balls in play. He got promoted to Triple-A Reno and continued to thrive, despite that club playing in the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League. He’s thrown 30 2/3 innings for the Aces with a 2.35 ERA, 37.5% strikeout rate, 11.7% walk rate and 60.3% ground ball rate.
That strong showing in the minors will get him a shot at getting major leaguers out, joining Kyle Nelson and Joe Mantiply as the club’s southpaw relief mix. Saalfrank will be making his major league debut as soon as he gets into a game.
As for Fletcher, he’s been on optional assignment since early July. He landed on the minor league injured list in late August, evidently due to this finger fracture. It seems the club doesn’t believe he’ll be back this year, as he is now ineligible to return within the remainder of the season.
Julio Urías Arrested On Domestic Violence Charges
1:10pm: The Dodgers released the following statement: “We are aware of an incident involving Julio Urías. While we attempt to learn all the facts, he will not be traveling with the team. The organization has no further comment at this time.”
12:22pm: Dodgers left-hander Julio Urías was arrested and charged with felony domestic violence charges late last night, reports Jeff Passan of ESPN. The pitcher was booked late Sunday and released early this morning on $50K bond. Sam Blum of The Athletic reports that Urías was charged with “corporal injury on a spouse,” as relayed by his colleague Fabian Ardaya. Passan adds that Urías has a court date on September 27.
Urías, 27, has been pitching for the Dodgers since debuting in 2016. In 2019, he was arrested after reportedly shoving a female companion to the ground. He was placed on administrative leave at that time as the league began an investigation into the matter. The Los Angeles city attorney ultimately deferred prosecution in that matter, conditional on Urías completing a 52-week domestic violence counseling program, among other criteria. Under the joint domestic violence, sexual assault, and child abuse policy agreed to by Major League Baseball and the MLB Players Association, the league can impose discipline even in the absence of charges and Urías ultimately received a 20-game suspension.
The details of this latest incident aren’t clear at the moment, though it seems fair to expect a similar process to take place soon. Urías will likely be placed on administrative leave again as the league opens an investigation into this arrest. Administrative leave is not considered punitive and players continue to be paid and accrue service time while on leave, though both can be rescinded in the event of an eventual suspension. There’s no set length for administrative leave, which can last as long as an investigation into a matter takes.
Urías is slated for free agency at season’s end.