Tony Gonsolin, Ryan Pepiot Likely To Be Sidelined Into May
The Dodgers look likely to be without starters Tony Gonsolin and Ryan Pepiot into May, skipper Dave Roberts told the beat this evening (relayed by Fabian Ardaya of the Athletic and Jack Harris of the Los Angeles Times).
Both hurlers opened the season on the injured list. Gonsolin sprained his ankle after a pitcher-fielding practice in Spring Training. Pepiot had earned the vacated spot in the starting five but suffered an oblique strain just prior to Opening Day. That pushed Michael Grove into the rotation while robbing Pepiot of a chance to break camp for the first time in his career.
Gonsolin seems the further ahead of the two. He’s throwing to hitters at the team’s spring complex. He’ll do so at least once more before the team considers sending him out a minor league rehab assignment, which could still be multiple weeks away. There’s no indication Gonsolin has suffered any kind of setback but his recovery has moved a little slower than anticipated. Pepiot, on the other hand, has yet to resume throwing. There’s still no public timetable as to when he might be able to pick up a ball, much less return to big league action.
Losing Gonsolin, in particular, has thinned Los Angeles’ rotation early in the season. Grove has gotten hit hard in his first two starts, surrendering 12 runs across 7 1/3 innings. That’s been a big factor in the Dodgers’ uncharacteristically middling 4.47 rotation ERA through the first couple weeks. Grove is one of the organization’s more interesting pitching prospects but hasn’t found success yet in his brief big league career. He allowed a 4.60 ERA over seven appearances (six starts) as a rookie, bringing his career mark to 6.63 in 36 2/3 frames.
Big Hype Prospects: Adell, Jones, Lawlar, Green, Holliday
Full-season minor leagues are all active. This week on Big Hype Prospects, we’ll take a look at some of the early-season leaders at various levels.
Five Big Hype Prospects
Jo Adell, 24, OF, LAA (AAA)
42 PA, 7 HR, .353/476/1.088
We’ve been here before with Adell, a prospect who isn’t technically a prospect anymore. Over the last three seasons, Adell has amassed 561 plate appearances at Triple-A. In that time, he’s hit 43 home runs. Though he’s yet to make an impact at the Major League level, his batted ball characteristics are encouraging. Adell enjoys above-average exit velocities. He’s battled inconsistency with his launch angle in the Majors, an issue that hasn’t been as apparent in the minors. Optimists, myself included, still believe he can make the adjustments necessary to make a splash on the big stage. Presently, he has one single, four doubles, and seven home runs.
Spencer Jones, 21, OF, NYY (A+)
15 PA, 1 HR, .462/.533/.846
A hulking outfielder with mammoth power, Jones will inevitably be compared to Aaron Judge. The left-handed hitting slugger also has surprising mobility as evidenced by 10 steals in 95 Low-A plate appearances last season. He’s expected to stick in center field despite his size. Scouts fret about his hit tool – much as they once did with Judge. It’s also fair to note that Jones only began to play like a true prospect partway through his draft season. We’re working with a short track record of success. In the low minors, he’s managed a swinging strike rate around 12 percent, a figure similar to that managed by Judge last season and better than most power-over-contact sluggers.
Jordan Lawlar, 20, SS, ARI (AA)
13 PA, 1 HR, 2 SB, .300/.462/.600
Considered one of the best athletes in the minors, Lawlar could surge to top overall prospect status later this summer. The only drawback with Lawlar is a below-average hit tool which could affect his consistency at the dish. Otherwise, he’s a disciplined batter with burgeoning power and above-average speed. He’s defensively adept. Few prospects are as blue chip as Lawlar. He has a chance to force the Diamondbacks hand this season, much as Corbin Carroll did in 2022. Worth noting, his home venue with Double-A Amarillo is considered one of the friendliest for hitters.
Elijah Green, 19, OF, WSH (A)
13 PA, 2 SB, .500/.548/.583
Green is the sort of prospect fantasy baseball fans love – a legitimate 30/30 threat with room to exceed even those heady aspirations. Over his brief pro career, a span of just 65 plate appearances, he’s made the most of his contact. He’s also susceptible to strikeouts, an issue that has plagued him since he gained prospect fame as a high school junior. Despite more than ample speed to remain in center field, early reports suggest he’ll be better suited to an outfield corner due to poor reads and inefficient routes. Time and effort could salve those concerns. Even if he lands in a corner, his power is more than ample. Now we wait to learn if he makes enough contact. The downside might look something like an outfielder version of Patrick Wisdom.
Jackson Holliday, 19, SS, BAL (A)
15 PA, .462/.533/.692
A left-handed hitter, Holliday has the talent and baseball acumen to carve out a long career. While I usually go out of my way to describe how a prospect might fail – public analysis is susceptible to unfettered optimism – there isn’t much to say about Holliday. If things go his way, he could finish 2023 at Double-A with a chance to debut in mid-2024. The Orioles have taken a more temperate approach with their other recent top prospects. Those players, like Gunnar Henderson, required considerable development before they truly looked like Major League players. Holliday seemingly doesn’t require a breakout or new skills development. He’s in want of experience and age-related strength.
Three More
Matt Liberatore, STL (23): Profiled last week, Liberatore’s second turn of the season was a near-mirror replica of his first start. In both cases, he pitched five innings allowing a pair of walks with seven strikeouts. The Cardinals are experiencing some difficulties with their starting pitchers so we might see Liberatore soon.
Chase Silseth, LAA (22): Silseth, like Liberatore, was profiled last week and held opponents scoreless for a second consecutive appearance. Overall, he’s pitched 11 innings with only three hits allowed, three walks, and 13 strikeouts. The Angels are accustomed to running a six-man rotation in the Shohei Ohtani era and could call upon Silseth.
Hao-Yu Lee, PHI (20): Lee has demonstrated discipline, feel for contact, and pull-oriented power. He doesn’t appear on Top 100 prospect lists mainly due to his size and modest mobility. Lee was developed as a utility fielder but could settle permanently at second base this season. He should reach the upper minors by mid-season.
Marlins Place JT Chargois On IL With Oblique Strain
The Marlins announced that they have placed right-hander JT Chargois on the 15-day injured list due to a right oblique strain. Fellow righty George Soriano was recalled in a corresponding move. Jordan McPherson of the Miami Herald reported on the moves prior to the official announcement and also relayed that Chargois will undergo an MRI to determine the severity of his strain.
Chargois, 32, is a late-blooming journeyman, having spent time in the big leagues with the Twins, Dodgers, Mariners, Rays and Marlins. He was traded from Seattle to Tampa at the 2021 deadline and posted a 1.90 ERA for the Rays down the stretch. He followed that up by registering a 2.42 ERA last year, striking out just 19.8% of batters faced but keeping his walks down to a 5.8% clip and getting grounders on 59.7% of balls in play. Those numbers from last year came over a relatively small sample of 21 appearances as left oblique tightness kept him on the injured list for about four months from April to August.
Despite that solid stretch of play, the Rays were facing a roster crunch at the end of last year. They had a batch of players that needed to be added in order to protect them from being selected in the Rule 5 draft and another big crop eligible for arbitration. They dealt with that logjam by making eight relatively minor trades in November and December, dealing away players like J.P. Feyereisen, Ji Man Choi and Brooks Raley. One of those deals saw Chargois and infielder Xavier Edwards become Marlins, with prospects going the other way. Chargois has made five scoreless appearances for the Marlins already in the young season, not even allowing a hit or a walk yet. He wasn’t going to sustain that forever, obviously, but it’s still a blow for the Marlins to lose a reliever who was off to a hot start. It’s unclear how long he’ll be out of action, with the upcoming MRI surely to provide more information, though even mild oblique strains usually lead to weeks-long absences. Chargois himself missed that lengthy stretch just last year due to issues with his left oblique.
As for Soriano, 24, he’ll be making his major league debut as soon as he gets into a game. He was a starter for most of his minor league career but worked exclusively in relief upon reaching Triple-A last year. In 32 appearances for the Jumbo Shrimp, he had a 2.49 ERA, 25.7% strikeout rate, 12% walk rate and 34.5% ground ball rate. Based on that performance, he was selected to the 40-man roster in November to protect him from being selected in the Rule 5 draft and was ranked the club’s #25 prospect by Baseball America.
Mariners Designate Nick Solak, Select José Rodríguez
The Mariners have selected the contract of right-hander José Rodríguez, reports Ryan Divish of the Seattle Times. In a corresponding move, infielder/outfielder Nick Solak was designated for assignment. Right-hander J.B. Bukauskas was optioned in order to get Rodríguez onto the active roster.
Solak, 28, has spent the past four seasons with the Rangers. He had a strong major league debut in 2019, hitting five home runs in 33 games, leading to a .293/.393/.491 batting line and 126 wRC+. Unfortunately, he wasn’t able to carry that over, having hit just 16 homers in 220 games over the past three seasons and slashing .246/.317/.354 for a wRC+ of 88.
Early in the offseason, the Rangers flipped him to the Reds for cash considerations. Solak didn’t perform well in Spring Training with his new club and was designated for assignment on Opening Day. He was once again traded for cash considerations, this time going to the Mariners. He’s was optioned to Triple-A Tacoma and has appeared in four games for the Rainiers but has just a .077/.294/.077 to show for it. That’s obviously a tiny sample size but it doesn’t help a guy whose stock has been falling in recent years. In addition to his offensive struggles, his second base defense wasn’t well regarded either. When the Rangers signed Marcus Semien to take over the keystone, Solak got pushed into a corner outfield role. Since the offensive expectations are higher for a corner outfielder than a second baseman, that’s only magnified his struggles at the plate.
The Mariners will now have one week to trade Solak or pass him through waivers. Despite his big league struggles, he’s continued performing well in the minors, this year’s small sample aside. From 2019 through to the present, he has a .289/.368/.503 batting line for a 117 wRC+ in 198 Triple-A games. He still has one option year left, meaning that any acquiring club could keep him down on the farm if they’re willing to give him a 40-man roster spot.
As for Rodríguez, 27, he has a small bit of major league experience already. He got into 10 contests as an Angel in 2019 and 2020, posting a 2.53 ERA over 21 1/3 innings. That impressive ERA wasn’t sustainable, given his .226 batting average on balls in play and 100% strand rate in that small sample. He was outrighted off their roster in August of 2020 and has been pitching in the minors over the past few years. In Triple-A with the Mets last year, he tossed 76 1/3 innings over 11 starts and 18 relief appearances, posting a 4.95 ERA in that time. Signed by the Mariners to a minor league deal this winter, he has a couple of scoreless appearances for the Rainiers this year and will give the big league club a fresh arm. He still has options and can be sent back to Tacoma in the future without being exposed to waivers.
Rangers Select Sandy León, Place Mitch Garver On IL
The Rangers announced that they have selected the contract of catcher Sandy León. To make room on the active roster, fellow catcher Mitch Garver was placed on the 10-day injured list due to a mild left knee sprain. To open a spot on the 40-man, right-hander Spencer Howard was transferred to the 60-day injured list.
León, 34, has appeared in each of the past 11 major league seasons, suiting up for the Nationals, Red Sox, Marlins, Guardians and Twins. He is mostly viewed as a glove-first catcher, though he did have one tremendous season at the plate. With the Red Sox in 2016, he hit .310/.369/.476 for a wRC+ of 124. It seems fair to conclude there was some good fortune in there, as he had a .392 batting average on balls in play that season, compared to a career mark that’s now at .271. Even with that one stellar campaign, his career batting line is .210/.278/.314 for a wRC+ of 58. But on the other side of his game, he has racked up 34 Defensive Runs Saved and is considered a good pitch framer.
León will be taking the spot of Garver, 32, who lands on the shelf. It’s unclear how much time the club expects him to miss with this mild knee sprain, though he’ll now be ineligible to rejoin them for over a week. The slugging backstop has shown tremendous pop in his career, highlighted by a 31-homer campaign in 2019. However, injuries have hampered him significantly since then, going on the IL due to an intercostal strain, groin contusion, back tightness and forearm flexor muscle strain, with the latter issue ultimately requiring surgery. He was off to a hot start here in 2023, hitting a couple of home runs already while slashing .263/.364/.579 for a wRC+ of 160. Unfortunately, he’ll now have to put that on pause, with León stepping in to backup Jonah Heim. Getting back to health will be significant for both the club and Garver personally, as he’s slated to reach free agency at the end of this season.
As for Howard, he was placed on the 15-day IL on Opening Day due to a lat strain. It’s unclear how long he’ll be out of action, though he’s now ineligible to return until late May at the earliest. The 60 days are counted from his initial IL placement, not from today’s transfer. Though he was a highly-touted prospect during his time with the Phillies, he has a 7.09 career ERA through his first 111 2/3 innings. He was pushed way down the club’s depth chart when they remade their rotation this winter, acquiring Jake Odorizzi while signing Jacob deGrom, Nathan Eovaldi and Andrew Heaney. Howard wasn’t going to be the most essential member of the staff, but he’s now the third depth starter on the 60-day IL, alongside Odorizzi and Glenn Otto. The rotation is still in good shape for now, with Martín Pérez and Jon Gray joined by those three offseason signees, but those guys have some notable injury histories of their own, meaning the weakened depth could be an issue down the road.
Giants Designate Austin Wynns, Reinstate Joey Bart
The Giants announced that catcher Joey Bart has been reinstated from the 10-day injured list, with fellow backstop Austin Wynns designated for assignment in a corresponding move.
Wynns, 32, was selected to the club’s roster on the weekend as they dealt with a sudden catching shortage. They selected the contract of Roberto Pérez towards the end of March, preventing him from opting out and returning to the open market. He gave the club three catchers, joining Bart and Rule 5 pick Blake Sabol, though Sabol’s ability to play the outfield made the setup workable. However, Bart was placed on the IL due to a mild back strain after just one game and Pérez recently suffered a shoulder strain that sent him to the 60-day IL. With Sabol suddenly the last catcher standing, Wynns was added to help the club out, though he’s now lost his roster spot after two plate appearances yesterday.
The club will now have one week to trade Wynns or pass him through waivers. Any player that has previously been outrighted in their career can reject an outright assignment and elect free agency. Since Wynns has multiple previous outrights, he will have that opportunity, though it wouldn’t be a shock to see him stick around. He was designated for assignment by the club in January but accepted an outright assignment after clearing waivers at that time.
The veteran spent most of his career with the Orioles until losing his roster spot after the 2021 season. He then signed a minor league deal with the Phillies, though that club traded him to the Giants without calling him up to the big leagues. Between the O’s and Giants, Wynns has a .230/.274/.335 batting line for a 67 wRC+ in 182 career games.
Bart, 26, will now look to get back on track after that brief injury setback. With Pérez set to miss the next couple of months at least, Wynns off the roster and Sabol in the mix for some outfield time, Bart’s path to playing time behind the plate is clear for the time being. That could change in a few weeks, as Gary Sánchez recently signed a minor league deal with the club. Given that Sánchez can opt out of that deal on May 1 and president of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi recently spoke highly of him, it seems well within the realm of possibility Sánchez gets a roster spot after a few weeks of pseudo Spring Training in the minors.
For now, Bart will have some runway to get into a groove. Once a highly-touted prospect, he’s struck out in 38% of his 408 career plate appearances in the majors thus far. He hit 11 home runs last year in just 97 games but his career batting line of .222/.294/.351 amounts to a wRC+ of just 84. He also hasn’t been graded especially well behind the plate, earning a -5 mark from Defensive Runs Saved to this point.
Oneil Cruz Expected To Miss Four Months Due To Ankle Surgery
2:00pm: The Pirates announced that Cruz has been placed on the 10-day injured list with Mathias recalled to take his place.
12:40pm: The Pirates issued a statement to announce the surgery on Cruz’s ankle from director of sports medicine Todd Tomczyk: “Oneil Cruz had surgery last evening at Allegheny General Hospital by Dr. Greg Altman and Dr. Darren Frank. The surgery stabilized the fractured fibula and addressed the injury to the syndesmosis. The Pirates anticipate a return to action in 4 months.”
9:40am: Pirates shortstop Oneil Cruz underwent surgery on his fractured left ankle last night, reports Jason Mackey of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. It had been previously reported by Kody Duncan of Rum Bunter that Cruz would be undergoing surgery. Kevin Gorman of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review reports that Cruz is expected to miss 10-12 weeks.
Cruz, 24, was removed from yesterday’s game after an attempt to score on a ground ball resulted in an awkward slide and a collision with White Sox catcher Seby Zavala. Cruz remained on the ground for a while in obvious pain and needed help getting off the field. After the game, manager Derek Shelton informed reporters that Cruz had a fracture in his left ankle, which has now resulted in surgery.
It’s a frustrating blow for the Pirates, given that Cruz is one of the most exciting young players on their roster. At 6’7″, he is one of the more unique shortstops in baseball history. Beyond just his height, he’s also a Statcast darling, showcasing incredible arm strength, sprint speed and exit velocity.
His obvious talent also comes with some concerns, understandable for a young player that is still developing. He hit 17 home runs and stole 10 bases in just 87 games last year but also struck out in 34.9% of his plate appearances. Cruz had shown some positive development in that category so far this season, striking out in just 20% of his trips to the plate. It’s been a small sample of just 40 plate appearances in nine game, but he also more than doubled his walk rate, going from 7.8% last year to 17.5% in the early going here in 2023. That progress will now be put on hold for a few months as Cruz rehabs from his procedure.
The rebuilding Pirates are off to a hot start this year, currently sporting a 6-3 record. They will now have to proceed without their planned everyday shortstop. Rodolfo Castro and Ji Hwan Bae have been splitting second base duties so far this year, but both have shortstop experience and could move to the other side of the bag. Castro told Gorman that he’s “gonna be ready for whatever position they need me to play and I’m gonna give 100%.” He has just 161 innings of major league experience at short but much more in the minors. He has a career batting line of .222/.287/.410 for a wRC+ of 93, hitting 16 home runs in 111 games so far but also striking out at a 27.7% clip.
As for Bae, he has only 18 big league games under his belt so far but has hit .295/.348/.426 for a wRC+ of 115 while stealing five bases. He can play the middle infield and also the outfield, though it seems fair to expect him to be on the dirt more going forward. He and Castro should split most of the middle infield duties in some capacity with the Bucs likely calling up someone like Mark Mathias or Tucupita Marcano to play a bench role since both of them are on the 40-man roster. Though with Cruz set to miss a few months, he could also be placed on the 60-day injured list, allowing the club to open a roster spot for someone like Chris Owings.
Guardians Place Aaron Civale On Injured List, Select Peyton Battenfield
The Guardians announced Monday that they’ve placed right-hander Aaron Civale on the 15-day injured list due to a strained left oblique and selected the contract of right-hander Peyton Battenfield from Triple-A Columbus. Righty Triston McKenzie was moved from the 15-day IL to the 60-day IL in order to open a spot on the 40-man roster for Battenfield. That doesn’t change the projected return date for McKenzie, it should be noted; the “60-day” term of his IL stint begins with his original IL placement and is not reset upon being transferred from the 15-day IL to the 60-day.
Civale, 27, was excellent in his first start of the season, tossing seven shutout frames against Seattle. The Mariners got their revenge over the weekend, however, tagging Civale for four runs on nine hits and a walk through 5 2/3 innings. Civale didn’t depart that start with an injury, but it seems something was amiss physically for the righty during that outing. This will be his fourth stint on the injured list dating back to Opening Day 2022, as he missed time last season due to glute, wrist and forearm injuries.
Those injuries cost Civale roughly 12 starts last season, limiting him to 97 innings and likely contributing to his lackluster 4.92 ERA on the season. Across parts of three prior campaigns, he’d given Cleveland a combined 3.76 ERA in 256 innings, stepping up to seemingly seize a long-term spot in the team’s rotation. The early signs in 2022 were promising, as Civale’s fastball had crept up nearly a mile per hour on average, but he’ll now be shelved for a yet-to-be announced period of time.
With Civale joining McKenzie on the injured list, the Guards are now down two of their top five starters. They’ll look to Shane Bieber, Cal Quantrill, Zach Plesac and Hunter Gaddis to hold down the first four spots in the rotation, with Battenfield and long reliever Xzavion Curry the favorites to step into Civale’s now-vacated spot on the staff.
The 25-year-old Battenfield, acquired from the Rays in a trade sending Jordan Luplow back to Tampa Bay, has made 29 starts in Triple-A across the past two seasons, logging a combined 3.63 ERA with a 16.9% strikeout rate and 8.8% walk rate. Battenfield isn’t a hard thrower, sitting in the low 90s with his fastball, but he leans on a wide variety of secondary offerings, keeping hitters off balance with a deep five-pitch repertoire.
Submit Your Questions For The MLB Trade Rumors Podcast
The MLB Trade Rumors podcast is back, and we’re looking for MLBTR readers to submit questions to be answered in the next episode due out Wednesday morning.
This week, I’ll be joined by MLBTR’s Steve Adams. If there’s anything you’d like to get myself and Steve’s thoughts on then please submit your questions to mlbtrpod@gmail.com. We look forward to hearing from you!
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You can also listen to Episode 1 on Spotify, Apple Podcasts and wherever you get your podcasts! On that episode, Anthony Franco and I discussed Shohei Ohtani‘s future in LA, took a look at the Cardinals’ and Marlins’ rotation pictures and wondered what Jake Cronenworth‘s extension in San Diego means for other Padres players.
Injury Notes: McKenzie, Hernandez, Suarez
Guardians right-hander Triston McKenzie was shut down two weeks ago with a strain of the teres major muscle in his throwing shoulder. The club provided an update to reporters today, including Ryan Lewis of the Akron Beacon Journal, relaying that McKenzie would start a throwing program this week. His ultimate return will depend on how that throwing program goes.
McKenzie had a tremendous breakout season last year, posting a 2.96 ERA over 191 1/3 innings, striking out 25.6% of opponents while walking just 5.9%. He also made two postseason starts for the Guards last year with a 3.27 ERA over 11 innings. He’ll be looking to build on that strong campaign but will have to get healthy first. The two-week shutdown period appears to have helped alleviate the injury, allowing him to start building towards a return.
Despite the recent injury, McKenzie was listed as one of several players the Guardians were trying to sign to extensions. In the end, they got a deal done with Andrés Giménez and Trevor Stephan but not McKenzie. He will qualify for arbitration for the first time after this season and is slated for free agency after 2026. Hunter Gaddis took over McKenzie’s rotation spot in the wake of the injury, with mixed results so far. He allowed four earned runs over 3 2/3 innings against the Mariners in his first outing, but then tossed six shutout innings against the A’s in his second turn.
Some other injury situations from around the majors…
- Royals right-hander Carlos Hernández departed last night’s game accompanied by the trainer, as relayed by Anne Rogers of MLB.com, who noted that the issue appeared to be his hamstring. The hard-throwing Hernandez has averaged around 97 mph in his career thus far but has mixed results to show for it. He had a 3.68 ERA in 2021 but that number jumped to 7.39 last year. The latter figure was likely affected by some bad luck, given his .339 batting average on balls in play and 59.4% strand rate. He has started well here in 2023 with a 2.45 ERA in a small sample of 3 2/3 innings. The status of his health is still unclear at the moment, with updates surely to be revealed in the coming days.
- Padres right-hander Robert Suarez began the season on the injured list due to elbow inflammation and doesn’t appear close to a return. Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union-Tribune reports that Suarez has had his progression slowed because he “felt something” while playing catch recently. It’s not certain what the issue is or how long Suarez will be delayed, but it’s not an ideal start to his new contract. After many years in Japan, Suarez played for the Padres last year and posted a 2.27 ERA while striking out 31.9% of batters faced. He opted out of his contract but re-signed with the Friars on an aggressive five-year, $46MM pact. With Suarez out of action, the club has been giving its high-leverage work to pitchers like Josh Hader, Luis Garcia and Steven Wilson.