James Kaprielian Undergoes Season-Ending Shoulder Surgery
Athletics right-hander James Kaprielian underwent successful right shoulder arthroscopic surgery today with Dr. Neal ElAttrache in Los Angeles to repair his posterior labrum, per a club announcement relayed by Martín Gallegos of MLB.com. There’s no timetable for a return but Kaprielian will miss the remainder of the season.
It’s yet another injury setback Kaprielian, 29, who has had more than his share. A first round pick of the Yankees back in the 2015 draft, he required Tommy John surgery in 2017. He was flipped to the A’s a few months later but didn’t make his debut in the Athletics’ system until 2019. He seemed to finally be on a good track in recent years, as he tossed 253 1/3 major league innings over 2021 and 2022. He still made a few trips to the IL but took on a decent workload and posted a 4.16 ERA in that time.
But he’s dealt with a series of setbacks since then. He required shoulder surgery in December of last year and then was rocked for 23 earned runs in 16 innings through his first six outings in 2023. He’s since been optioned and recalled a few times with slightly better results, though he landed on the IL at the end of June due to a shoulder strain. He’ll now miss the remainder of the season, with updates likely to come on his future status. He’ll be transferred to the 60-day IL whenever the club needs his roster spot.
He came into this season with his service time clock at 2.004. He spent enough time on optional assignment that he’ll come up just shy of the three-year mark but will still be eligible for arbitration this winter as a Super Two player, though the A’s are probably not guaranteed to tender him a contract. Although he’s a former first-round pick and one of the most seasoned pitchers on the roster, his constant health issues will likely give them pause. They will have the next few months to assess his progress before making that decision in the offseason.
Cubs Place Marcus Stroman On IL With Hip Injury
The Cubs have placed right-hander Marcus Stroman on the 15-day injured list with right hip inflammation, retroactive to August 1, with Meghan Montemurro of The Chicago Tribune among those to relay the info. His roster spot will go to right-hander José Cuas, who was acquired from the Royals yesterday.
Stroman, 32, got off to a great start this year, as he carried a 2.28 earned run average after his start on June 20. With him succeeding and the club floundering, he became a popular trade candidate leading up to the deadline but their fortunes have flipped in recent weeks. Stroman has allowed 30 earned runs in 30 innings over his last seven starts as the Cubs have surged back into contention, eventually deciding to buy instead of sell. They held onto Stroman and Cody Bellinger, in addition to acquiring Jeimer Candelario.
Now the club will have to proceed with their postseason race without Stroman, at least for a little while. He told reporters today, including Maddie Lee of the Chicago Sun-Times, that he received a cortisone shot and the plan is for him to miss just one start. If he can get back to health and back to his previous form, that would obviously be a boon to the club.
For now, they will proceed with a rotation of Justin Steele, Drew Smyly, Jameson Taillon and Kyle Hendricks. They will need a fifth starter at some point, which could be Hayden Wesneski, though he’s been pitching out of the big league bullpen of late. Some of the other options on the 40-man roster include Ben Brown and Caleb Kilian. They are currently three games back in the National League Wild Card race.
Stroman is in the second season of a three-year deal that he signed with the Cubs prior to 2022. He can opt out of the final year of that pact, leaving $21MM on the table. If he returns healthy and effective, it should be an easy decision for him to turn that down and secure himself a larger guarantee on the open market this winter. If the issue were to linger into the offseason, that could perhaps change his calculus, though there’s been nothing to suggest that’s likely to be the case.
Mets Select Jonathan Araúz
The Mets announced a series of roster moves today, selecting the contract of infielder Jonathan Araúz and activating right-hander Phil Bickford, the latter of whom was acquired at the deadline yesterday. In corresponding moves, catcher Michael Pérez and right-hander Vinny Nittoli were optioned to Triple-A. The club already had many vacancies on their 40-man roster after making several trades in recent days.
Araúz, 24, has played parts of three seasons at the big league level. A former Rule 5 pick of the Red Sox, he’s suited up for Boston and Baltimore in the majors. The switch-hitting infielder brings plenty of defensive flexibility but has a meager .200/.269/.314 slash through 169 career plate appearances.
The Mets snagged Araúz in the minor league portion of the Rule 5 draft last offseason. He has spent the entire season at Triple-A Syracuse, hitting .244/.344/.429 across 395 trips to the plate. He’s hit 14 homers and walked at a strong 13.2% clip with a roughly average 21.8% strikeout percentage. He still has a minor league option remaining, so the Mets can bounce him between Flushing and Syracuse without putting him on waivers.
Nationals Option Luis García, Release Corey Dickerson
The Nationals announced after today’s game that they have requested unconditional release waivers on outfielder Corey Dickerson and optioned infielder Luis García to Triple-A Rochester. The corresponding moves haven’t been announced but Talk Nats reports that outfielder Blake Rutherford will be selected to the roster for one of them. Infielder Jeter Downs will be recalled for the other, per Jesse Dougherty of The Washington Post.
García, 23, was once a top 100 prospect but has continually struggled to hit in the big leagues. Dating back to the 2020 season, he’s appeared in 302 games and taken 1,169 plate appearances, coming into today’s action. He’s mustered a batting line of .263/.291/.388 in that time, which amounts to a wRC+ of 82. That includes a .260/.294/.363 showing this year, translating to a 74 wRC+.
Those numbers are especially concerning since his hit tool was supposed to be his standout feature as a prospect. Advanced defensive metrics don’t like his glovework at second base much, with García having tallied -2 Defensive Runs Saved there in his career, along with -14 Outs Above Average and a grade of -6.5 from Ultimate Zone Rating. His numbers at shortstop are worse.
The Nats will now send him back to Triple-A to get more work there, though he has little to prove at that level. In 82 games there in his career, he’s hit .306/.368/.554 but hasn’t been able to replicate that at the big league level. He’ll now try to get back in a groove and earn himself another chance.
From a service time perspective, he began this year with one year and 164 days of service. He’s already gone well past the two-year mark but his chances of reaching Super Two status at the end of the this year could go down, depending on how long he’s out. Perhaps more importantly, he has just one option year remaining. Once he spends 20 days on optional assignment, he’ll burn that last option here in 2023 and be out of options going into 2024. The Nats will likely still be rebuilding next year and could give him another shot, though his grasp on a roster spot would likely be more tenuous at that point.
As for Dickerson, 34, it’s hardly a surprise to see him lose his roster spot now. He was one of a handful of veterans that the Nats brought in over the winter on one-year deals to serve as veteran mentors and hopefully become trade chips. Jeimer Candelario showed the best-case scenario as he mashed and was able to be flipped to the Cubs for a couple of prospects. But Dickerson has hit just .252/.285/.357 for the year, producing a wRC+ of 71 that would be a career low for him. Now that the deadline has passed, the club will use his roster spot to give a chance to other players with a greater chance to help in future seasons.
One of those players the Nats will get a look at will reportedly be Rutherford. The 26-year-old was a first round pick of the Yankees, getting selected 18th overall in 2016. He was considered a top 100 prospect going into 2017 before getting flipped to the White Sox that summer as part of a seven-player deal that sent Todd Frazier, David Robertson and Tommy Kahnle to the Yankees.
The Sox added him to their 40-man roster in November of 2019 to prevent him from being selected in the Rule 5 draft, but he didn’t hit much in the years to come and was eventually outrighted off the roster, without getting a chance to make his major league debut. He cleared waivers in the process, meaning the other 29 clubs in the league had a chance to grab him and passed.
He reached free agency after last year, signing a minor league contract with the Nats in the winter and has seemingly been back in good form. He’s hit .345/.395/.583 in 62 games split between Double-A and Triple-A this year, producing a 153 wRC+. That’s obviously much better than his combined batting line of .262/.305/.399 from 2019 to 2022. The Nats will now give him a chance to see how he can handle major league pitching. If he succeeds, he still has no service time and can be retained for six seasons beyond this one. He also has an option year remaining, giving the club a bit of roster flexibility to use at some point.
Blue Jays Place Bo Bichette On IL With Right Patellar Tendinitis
The Blue Jays announced that they have placed shortstop Bo Bichette on the 10-day injured list, retroactive to August 1, due to right patellar tendinitis. His roster spot will go to newly-acquired shortstop Paul DeJong, while the club also recalled right-hander Thomas Hatch and optioned righty Nate Pearson. Keegan Matheson of MLB.com and Shi Davidi of Sportsnet relayed the details prior to the official announcement.
The Jays haven’t released any information about how long they expect Bichette to be out of action, but it will be a blow to the club regardless. He suffered the injury on Monday, pulling up after rounding first and trying to stop to go back to the bag. Yesterday, manager John Schneider said there was “no significant structural damage” and that the club was still deciding on an IL stint. It now seems they have made the call to let Bichette have at least a week-plus to rest his knee.
The fact that the IL stint was a tough decision perhaps indicates he’s in for a quick stay, but that will still be an unwelcome development for the club. Bichette is hitting .321/.352/.494 this year for a wRC+ of 135, the highest such mark among qualified shortstops this year. The Jays will have to proceed without that production for a little bit as they have some key divisional matchups. They have two more games against the Orioles, after dropping the first two of the four-game set, before heading to Fenway Park for three against the Red Sox. The Jays hold a Wild Card spot in the American League but Boston are just a game and a half back coming into today’s action.
For now, the Jays will try to proceed with DeJong in Bichette’s spot. He was just acquired from the Cardinals at yesterday’s deadline, likely spurred on by Bichette’s injury, and is in the lineup at shortstop tonight. He has bounced back from a really rough showing last year, when he hit .157/.245/.286 while striking out in 33.3% of his plate appearances. He’s dropped the strikeout rate to 28.4% this year while slashing .233/.297/.412. His wRC+ of 96 is still a bit below average but is miles better than his 55 wRC+ from last year.
Even with the bounceback, DeJong’s offensive numbers still pale in comparison to Bichette’s. DeJong’s glovework is generally considered stronger between the two, which should make up some of the difference, but it’s unquestionably a challenge for the Jays. Once Bichette is healthy, DeJong could perhaps move over to second base. Whit Merrifield is having a solid season but can also play left field.
Phillies Designate Andrew Vasquez, Release Josh Harrison
The Phillies announced a series of roster moves today, adding infielder Rodolfo Castro and right-hander Michael Lorenzen to the roster, both of whom were acquired in trades yesterday. To open one roster spot, Josh Harrison was designated for assignment, as reported yesterday. He has now been released. The other spot was opened by left-hander Andrew Vasquez being designated for assignment.
Vasquez, 29, came to the Phillies in the offseason when they claimed him off waivers from the Giants. He is out of options but has managed to stick on the active roster for the entire season up until now. He’s tossed 39 2/3 innings over 30 appearances with a 2.27 ERA.
On the surface, that makes it somewhat surprising that he’s now lost his roster spot, but the numbers under the hood aren’t quite as impressive. His 8.2% walk rate and 43% ground ball rate are pretty close to league average, but his 20% strikeout rate is a few ticks below. He’s benefitted from a .274 batting average on balls in play and 86.8% strand rate, both of which are on the lucky side, leading to a 4.31 FIP and 4.29 SIERA.
The Phillies were apparently expecting some regression and have bumped him off the roster. Since he’s out of options and the trade deadline has passed, that left them little choice but to designate him for assignment and try to pass him through waivers. In the event he clears, he will have the right to elect free agency since he has a previous career outright. Despite his out-of-options status, he could garner interest from a club with more ability to keep him on the active roster. He has a career 3.60 ERA in 52 appearances and comes with five seasons of control beyond the current campaign.
As for Harrison, he’s making a $2MM salary this year and has played poorly, hitting just .204/.263/.291. He wasn’t going to be claimed off waivers and has more than enough service time to reject an outright assignment while retaining all of his salary. That means his return to the open market was inevitable and the Phils have simply skipped the formalities. He’ll be free to sign with the other 29 clubs for the prorated league minimum for any time spent on the roster, with that amount subtracted from what the Phillies pay.
Marlins Option Edward Cabrera
Amid the flurry of deadline moves yesterday, the Marlins optioned right-hander Edward Cabrera to Triple-A Jacksonville, with Jordan McPherson of The Miami Herald among those who relayed the info.
Cabrera, 25, was generally considered one of the top 100 prospects in the league in his time in the minors but has yet to put together an extended stretch of big league success. He made his debut in the big leagues in 2021 with seven starts, posting an ERA of 5.81 in those. In 2022, he was able to get that down to 3.01, obviously a much better number, but that came in just 14 starts as he made multiple trips to the injured list. He was probably lucky to have that ERA, as his .207 batting average on balls in play and 86.1% strand rate were both on the fortunate side of average, leading to a 4.59 FIP and 4.68 SIERA.
Here in 2023, Cabrera was able to stay healthy for the first half of the season. He did land on the IL in mid-June due to right shoulder impingement, returning after just over a month. His 17 starts and 77 innings are already personal highs at the major league level, and he’s getting strikeouts at a strong 27.6% rate as well as grounders at a 54.4% clip. But he’s paired those with a 15.4% walk rate, the highest such rate of any pitcher with 70 innings pitched this year, almost a full percentage point beyond Alek Manoah‘s 14.6% rate. Despite a solid combination of strikeouts and grounders, those control issues have Cabrera’s ERA at 4.79 for the year.
Despite once having a rotation surplus, the Marlins have seen that thinned out this year. They traded Pablo López to the Twins in the offseason and currently have Trevor Rogers and Max Meyer on the 60-day IL. Their rotation mix is now Sandy Alcantara, Jesús Luzardo, Johnny Cueto and Braxton Garrett. With Cabrera nudged out, it’s possible that his spot goes to Ryan Weathers, who was just acquired from the Padres in the Garrett Cooper trade yesterday. Eury Pérez has been optioned himself to monitor his workload, but he could be back up at some point.
This option will likely put the Marlins and Cabrera in a bit of a bind since he only has one option season remaining. Once he spends 20 days on optional assignment, he will burn that last option, meaning he will enter 2024 out of options unless he’s quickly recalled in the coming weeks. It’s unlikely to affect his path to free agency, as he came into this season with 168 days, just under the 172 required for a full year. He’s already gone well beyond that one-year mark, though his chances of reaching Super Two status after 2024 might slip depending on how long he’s in the minors.
The Marlins have a bit of time to decide what to do. If they still believe Cabrera is capable of reining in his control and taking a step forward as a major league starter, they can keep him in that role. Cueto is likely to return to free agency this winter as his $10.5MM club option for 2024 will probably be spurned in favor of a $2.5MM buyout, since he’s mostly been injured and not at his best this year. That could reopen a spot for Cabrera next year, though Rogers and Meyer might be healthy and back in the mix by then as well.
If they think his true future is in the bullpen, they could consider giving him some time in that role now so that he goes into 2024 with a bit of preparation, but doing so would give them a bit less starting depth for the final months of this season. Once the offseason rolls around, they could perhaps pursue trading Cabrera to a rebuilding club with more willingness to give him a starting job at the big league level, though that will be an avenue to pursue in the future. For now, the Fish seem to be at a turning point with the former prospect, which will be an interesting situation to monitor.
Nationals’ Matt Cronin Undergoes Back Surgery
Nationals left-hander Matt Cronin announced on Instagram that he underwent surgery this week to repair a herniated disc in his back (hat tip to Talk Nats, on Twitter). Wrote Cronin:
“For those that don’t know, I had been dealing with pain in my left shoulder/arm for the last 2 years but could never seem to find anything wrong with them. That was up until about a month ago when we decided to have my spine checked out and found a large herniated disc at my C5-C6 level.”
Cronin, 25, is on the Nationals’ 40-man roster but has not yet made his Major League debut. He’s been limited to just 14 1/3 innings this season owing to that injury, logging a 5.02 ERA at the Triple-A level in that sample. Despite the pain apparently impacting him last year, he still posted a strong 2.42 ERA with a 26.9% strikeout rate and 10.6% walk rate in 52 innings of relief between the Double-A and Triple-A levels (including 16 1/3 scoreless frames at the former of those two levels).
The Nats haven’t formally announced the surgery or a timetable for Cronin’s return, though he surely won’t be getting back on the mound in 2023. If the Nats need a spot on their 40-man roster in the near future and don’t mind starting up his service clock, Cronin could be called up to the Majors and placed directly on the 60-day injured list as a means of opening that spot. Baseball America ranked Cronin 18th among Nationals farmhands this year, touting excellent carry on the southpaw’s low-to-mid 90s fastball and the potential in his slider and changeup. MLB.com has him 22nd among Washington prospects, calling him a “high-floor bullpen arm” whose secondary offerings should allow him to be effective against righties and lefties alike.
D-backs Grant Zach McAllister His Release
The Diamondbacks granted right-hander Zach McAllister his release from their Triple-A affiliate in Reno, MLBTR’s Tim Dierkes reports. He’d been with the Aces all season and is now a free agent.
McAllister, 35, hasn’t pitched in the big leagues since 2018. He spent six years as a steady back-of-the-rotation starter and then middle reliever in Cleveland, pitching to a combined 3.84 ERA with a 21.4% strikeout rate and 8% walk rate in 529 innings of work. McAllister fell off quickly, however; he was rocked for a 6.20 ERA in 45 frames during the 2018 season and hasn’t pitched at the MLB level since.
McAllister had brief stints with the Triple-A affiliates for the Dodgers (2019) and Phillies (2021) but didn’t reach 15 innings in either of those seasons. He tossed 67 2/3 frames of 3.99 ERA ball with the Cardinals’ top minor league club last year, striking out 30% of his opponents along the way, and has a 4.93 ERA in 38 1/3 Triple-A innings with Reno this season. It’s an ugly number on the surface, though it’s worth pointing out just how hitter-friendly the Pacific Coast League is; nearly two-thirds of PCL pitchers with 30 or more innings this year have an ERA north of 5.00. McAllister has again fanned 30% of his opponents in 2023, although his 11.2% walk rate leaves plenty to be desired.
With the D-backs not giving him a look before today’s out date, the veteran righty will head back to the market in search of a new opportunity with a club in clearer need of bullpen depth.
Padres Designate Brent Honeywell For Assignment
The Padres announced Wednesday that they’ve designated righty Brent Honeywell Jr. for assignment, optioned catcher Brett Sullivan to Triple-A El Paso and placed lefty Tim Hill on the 15-day injured list with a sprained finger on his pitching hand. That sequence of moves will create the necessary roster space to add trade acquisitions Garrett Cooper, Scott Barlow and Ji Man Choi to the roster.
Honeywell, 28, spent five years ranked among baseball’s top 100 prospects at Baseball America but was repeatedly set back by injuries. He’s had a stunning four elbow surgeries dating back to 2018, completely derailing what looked to be a potential fast-track to MLB stardom. The 2014 second-rounder was in the upper minors by 22 years of age, tossing 136 2/3 innings of 3.49 ERA ball with a 30.3% strikeout rate and 6.2% walk rate between Double-A and Triple-A in 2017. He didn’t throw another pitch in an official game until the 2021 season in Triple-A.
Eventually traded to the A’s and outrighted off the 40-man roster, Honeywell became a free agent last offseason and signed a big league deal with the Padres. He’s pitched in 36 games out of the bullpen for San Diego this year, working to a 4.05 ERA with a 20.6% strikeout rate, 9.8% walk rate, 48.9% ground-ball rate and 1.54 HR/9. The 46 2/3 innings he’s pitched this year are more than he threw in 2021-22 combined.
Honeywell is averaging 95 mph on his heater but also has a below-average 10% swinging-strike rate and 28% opponents’ chase rate. He’s out of minor league options, so the Padres weren’t able to simply send him to the minors.
Now that the trade deadline has passed, Honeywell’s fate is rather straightforward. He’ll head for outright waivers, where all 29 other clubs will have the opportunity to place a claim. Waiver priority is based on a simple reverse standings — worst record to best — and contrary to common belief is not league-specific. If he’s placed directly onto waivers today, the A’s would have the first chance to claim him, followed by the Royals. He can be controlled via arbitration for another five seasons.