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Injury Notes: Abreu, Britton, Kershaw

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The Yankees placed right-hander Albert Abreu on the 15-day injured list today due to right elbow inflammation. The club didn’t provide any estimated timeline for Abreu’s absence, but an issue with a pitcher’s throwing elbow is always somewhat concerning.

Abreu went from the Yankees to the Rangers in the offseason as part of the Jose Trevino trade. He lasted less than two months in Texas, getting designated for assignment and then traded to the Royals. About three weeks later, he was designated again and returned to the Yankees on waivers. Between the three teams, he has a 3.32 ERA on the year in 38 innings.

Other injury notes from around the league…

  • Though losing Abreu isn’t good news, the Yankees got much better news elsewhere on the roster. Manager Aaron Boone tells Joe Trezza of MLB.com that lefty Zack Britton recently threw a bullpen and is nearing a rehab assignment. Now 34, Britton was one of the best relievers in all of baseball from 2014 to 2016 while with the Orioles. His strikeout rate tapered off after that, though he still got grounders on over 70% of balls in play. 2021 was a down season, as he registered a 5.89 ERA before hitting the injured list in August. He eventually required surgery to repair his UCL, which wiped out what was left of that season and threatened his 2022 as well. In November, general manager Brian Cashman said it was “probable” that Britton would miss all of this season, though it seems he’s still got a shot of returning. There’s just over six weeks remaining in the regular season, but the Yanks are a virtual lock for the postseason, giving Britton a bit more time to make an impact. He’d no doubt love to get back on the hill and help the team, while also showcasing his health before reaching free agency this winter.
  • The Dodgers could potentially get Clayton Kershaw back sooner than expected. Just yesterday, it was reported that he could soon go out on a rehab assignment and return in the second week of September. Manager Dave Roberts now tells J.P. Hoornstra of the Southern California News Group that the plan is for the lefty to throw a bullpen on Monday, followed three or four innings in a simulated game later in the week before being activated without a rehab assignment. That would seem to open the door to Kershaw returning before the month of August is complete. Kershaw’s return would only further strengthen the rotation, which also welcomed Dustin May back yesterday. Kershaw’s been dealing with back issues this year, but has a tremendous 2.64 ERA in 85 1/3 innings when healthy.

Giants Claim Patrick Mazeika From Mets

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The Giants have claimed catcher Patrick Mazeika off waivers from the Mets, tweets Maria I. Guardado of MLB.com. The Mets had designated him for assignment a few days ago. To open a spot for Mazeika on the 40-man roster, infielder Donovan Walton has been recalled from Triple-A Sacramento and placed on the 60-day injured list due to right shoulder inflammation.

Mazeika, 28, was drafted by the Mets and has spent his entire career with the organization until now. He made his MLB debut last year and has gotten into 61 games between 2021 and 2022. He’s hit just .190/.236/.279 in that time but has much better numbers in the minors. In Triple-A this year, he’s hit .261/.383/.333 for a wRC+ of 105.

The Giants thinned out their catching depth by trading Curt Casali to the Mariners at the deadline. Joey Bart and Austin Wynns are with the big league club, while Yermin Mercedes and Ford Proctor are in the minors, though those latter two also play other positions and are only part-time catchers. Mazeika is also capable of playing some first base, meaning the Giants now have a collection of versatile depth catching options jockeying for playing time.

As for Walton, he was acquired from the Mariners in a May trade, with the Giants optioning him to the minors and recalling him multiple times this year. He was in the minors when injured but has been called up in order to be transferred to the 60-day injured list. This means he will no longer occupy a spot on the 40-man roster, but he will earn major league pay and service time for as long as he’s there.

Yasmani Grandal To Miss 10-14 Days With Knee Injury

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Aug. 21: The White Sox announced that further testing revealed “no acute damage to the ligaments, tendons or cartilage around the knee.” They diagnose the issue as “inflammation caused by the hyperextension of the knee” and say that Grandal should return to action in 10-14 days.

Aug. 20, 10:58PM: Grandal will be going on the injured list and Perez will be called up from Triple-A, manager Tony La Russa told reporters (including Daryl Van Schouwen of the Chicago Sun-Times).

10:27PM: The White Sox announced that Grandal left the game due to left knee discomfort, and the catcher is still being evaluated.

10:18PM: White Sox catcher Yasmani Grandal left Saturday’s game with an apparent left leg injury after a play at the plate.  After Elvis Andrus singled in the seventh inning, Grandal was thrown out trying to score from second base, and seemed to hurt his knee on an awkward attempt to avoid the tag.  Grandal had to be helped off the field, and didn’t return to the game.

More will be known about Grandal’s status after the game, yet it would certainly appear as though the veteran catcher will miss at least some time.  Considering the calendar, anything beyond a minor injury could put the rest of Grandal’s 2022 season in jeopardy.

Grandal already missed five weeks due to back spasms earlier this season, and another significant injury would only add to a nightmarish year for the 33-year-old backstop.  Limited to 287 plate appearances over 73 games, Grandal is hitting only .202/.307/.258, career lows in all three slash-line categories.  His once-notable power has completely declined, with an Isolated Slugging statistic of only .056 (miles beneath the .211 ISO he carried over his first 10 seasons).  While Grandal still has one of the league’s best walk rates, his lack of other production at the plate has made him a sub-replacement player, with a -0.2 fWAR.

As rough as Grandal’s season has been, the White Sox won’t be helped by the possible loss of their starting catcher as the team continues to battle for a playoff spot.  Chicago dealt defensive specialist Reese McGuire to the Red Sox at the trade deadline, leaving Seby Zavala as the primary backup and now potential starter down the stretch.  Zavala (who turns 29 later in August) has posted big numbers at Triple-A this season and has an above-average 108 wRC+ in 142 PA in the majors this season, hitting .281/.329/.398.

Nick Ciuffo and Raudy Read are the only other catchers in Chicago’s farm system with MLB experience.  Neither are on the 40-man roster, and neither is Carlos Perez, a longtime member of the White Sox farm system who is hitting .259/.317/.448 with 17 homers for Triple-A Charlotte this season.  In the event that Grandal misses some of all of the season, the Sox would have to turn to one of these options, or perhaps seek out the waiver wire or minor league trade route to land more catching depth.

Pirates Select Cam Vieaux, Designate Jose Godoy

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The Pirates announced that they have selected the contract of left-hander Cam Vieaux. Righty Yohan Ramirez was optioned to make room on the active roster. To open a spot on the 40-man, catcher Jose Godoy was designated for assignment.

This will be the second time that Vieaux, 28, has been selected to the Pirates’ roster. They first called him up in June, letting him make five appearances. The first four went pretty well, with the southpaw only allowing a single earned run in that time. In his fifth outing, however, the Bucs sent him in to pitch the top of the eighth in a game they were losing to the Brewers 9-1. Despite Vieaux getting hit around badly, there was no help forthcoming to get out of the inning. The lefty ended up tossing 56 pitches in that one frame, allowing six hits, three walks and eight runs, seven of them earned. As a result, he has a 14.40 ERA through five innings this year.

As a reward for eating that inning, Vieaux was optioned to the minors and designated for assignment in the following days. He cleared waivers and was outrighted, sticking in the Pirates’ system. In 42 Triple-A innings this year, he has an even 3.00 ERA, with a 23.3% strikeout rate, 8.8% walk rate and 43.1% ground ball rate.

As for Godoy, 27, he’s surely racked up his share of frequent flyer miles this year. He began 2022 in the Mariners organization but was claimed off waivers by the Giants in March, who promptly lost him to the Twins on another waiver claim. He stuck with Minnesota until August, at which point he went to Pittsburgh on yet another trip to the waiver wire. He’s spent most of his time in the minors this year, getting into 44 Triple-A games and hitting .201/.272/.299 in that time.

Since the trade deadline has passed, the Pirates will have no choice but to put Godoy on outright waivers or release waivers in the coming days. If Godoy doesn’t get claimed for a fourth time this year, he can reject an outright assignment and elect free agency, by virtue of having been previously outrighted in his career. This leaves the Pirates with Jason Delay and Tyler Heineman as the only catchers on their 40-man roster.

Mets Select Nate Fisher, Designate Sam Clay

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11:30am: Tim Britton of The Athletic relays the full slate of moves. Fisher has been selected while Jose Butto has been recalled. To make room on the active roster, Zastryzny was optioned, righty Stephen Nogosek was placed on the 15-day IL with a left oblique strain and lefty Sam Clay was designated for assignment.

11:25am: The Mets are selecting the contract of left-hander Nate Fisher, reports Jeff Passan of ESPN. Fisher is not currently on the club’s 40-man roster, meaning a corresponding move of some kind will be required.

To say that Fisher is not a top prospect would be underselling his journey. As noted by Passan, he was out of baseball and working a finance job in Omaha last year. He joined the Mariners’ organization in 2019 but was released in May of 2020. He signed another minor league contract with Seattle in June of 2021, eventually throwing 37 1/3 innings with a 2.89 ERA cross multiple levels of the minors.

He reached free agency in the offseason and was signed to a minors deal by the Mets. He’s split his time between Double-A and Triple-A this season, throwing 72 innings with a 3.37 ERA, 23.2% strikeout rate and 10.1% walk rate. Now 26 years old, Fisher has made the improbable jump to the big leagues after not even being in the sport just over a year ago.

Though Fisher has made some starts this year, it seems the Mets likely try to utilize him for left-handed relief. Joely Rodriguez has been the only southpaw in the club’s bullpen for most of the year, with Rob Zastryzny just getting added yesterday.

Phillies Place Corey Knebel On 60-Day IL Due To Tear In Shoulder Capsule

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The Phillies announced that they have selected the contract of right-hander Tyler Cyr. To make room on the active roster, right-hander Seranthony Dominguez is heading to the 15-day injured list due to triceps soreness. A spot on the 40-man was opened up by Corey Knebel getting transferred to the 60-day IL with a tear in his shoulder capsule. He will not return to the club this season.

It’s yet another unfortunate setback for Knebel, 30, who has frequently oscillated between promising mound work and injury absences. After an excellent run with Milwaukee over the 2015-2018 seasons, he was able to throw only 39 total innings over the next three seasons due to various injuries. The Phillies took a shot on him by giving him a one-year, $10MM contract for 2022. Knebel threw 44 2/3 innings with a 3.43 ERA, which will now go down as his final results for the year, since he won’t return. He’ll head to free agency in a few months, but his recovery from this injury will determine the level of interest.

As for Dominguez, 27, it’s unclear exactly how long the Phillies expect him to be out of action. Regardless, it’s a frustrating setback in what has been a very encouraging season. After Tommy John surgery caused him to miss 2020 and limited him to just one inning in 2021, he has thrown 44 innings this season with an incredible 1.64 ERA. He’s striking out 32% of batters faced, walking just 8.3% of them and getting grounders on 49% of balls in play. That’s primarily come in high leverage situations as well, with Dominguez racking up nine saves and 13 holds on the season. His departure will definitely impair the Phillies’ bullpen for as long as he’s away.

Cyr, 29, was selected by the Giants in the 10th round of the 2015 draft. He showed enough promise in the lower levels of their system to crack Baseball America’s list of top San Francisco farmhands, coming in at #26 in 2018. However, he was met with some struggles when he got to the top of the minor league ladder.

He first reached Triple-A in 2019, getting a single appearance there as the season was winding down. Then the pandemic wiped out the minor leagues entirely in 2020. Cyr then returned to Triple-A in 2021 but registered a 4.91 ERA in 36 2/3 innings that year. He racked up strikeouts at an incredible 31.6% rate but also a 13.5% walk rate. His 52.5% ground ball rate was also quite strong, but he was knocked around by allowing four homers in that sample, a 17.4% HR/FB rate.

After reaching free agency, he signed with the Phillies for 2022 and has had a better showing. He has a 2.50 ERA through 36 innings. His strikeout rate has dropped to 24.8% and he’s still walking 12.1% of batters faced, but he’s still getting grounders on 51.1% of balls in play and hasn’t allowed a home run. Based on that strong showing, he’s been selected to a major league roster for the first time and will make his big league debut as soon as he gets into a game.

Matt Gelb of The Athletic tweeted out the news prior to the official announcement.

White Sox Select Carlos Pérez

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The White Sox announced they have selected the contract of catcher Carlos Pérez. Fellow backstop Yasmani Grandal has been placed on the 10-day injured list on the heels of last night’s injury, which created room for Pérez on the active roster. Grandal’s injury has been described as a left knee strain. To open a spot on the 40-man, right-hander Kyle Crick has been transferred to the 60-day injured list.

Pérez, not to be confused with the Carlos Pérez who is catching in the Rockies’ system, is a 25-year-old who has been in the White Sox organization for his entire career so far. He made his professional debut in rookie ball back in 2014 and has been working his way up the minor league ladder since. He has never been a highly-touted prospect, though he has frequently been an honorable mention on FanGraphs’ lists of top White Sox farmhands, with those reports noting his bat-to-ball skills and strong arm but lack of power.

This year, he’s played 91 games in Triple-A, trying his best to get rid of that lack-of-power reputation. He’s hit 17 home runs on the year after only hitting 20 total long balls in his seven previous minor league seasons. He’s also struck out in just 8.2% of his plate appearances, which is barely one third of the 22.3% MLB average. That’s led to a batting line of .257/.319/.446, wRC+ of 101, a hair above league average.

Pérez will make his MLB debut as soon as he gets into a game. It’s possible that he sticks around for a bit, joining Seby Zavala as the club’s catching tandem. Those two and Grandal are the only three catchers currently on the White Sox 40-man roster.

As for Crick, this won’t affect his timeline since he’s already been on the injured list for over 60 days. It was June 15 when he was first placed on the IL due to elbow inflammation, with no indications he’s close to returning.

Quick Hits: Maddon, Molina, Hernandez, Gilbert

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After being fired as the Angels manager in June, Joe Maddon would like to return to baseball, but “right now I need to get tired of what I’m doing in order to want to do something else,” Maddon told Marc Topkin of The Tampa Bay Times.  The veteran skipper is enjoying a rare “summer vacation” of sorts, and would only be interested in a managerial or advisory job with a team that had a “strong balance between the old and the new” approaches to the game, and not too tilted in favor of analytics.

It seems clear that Maddon didn’t feel this balance existed in Anaheim.  In general, Maddon felt the Angels’ “infrastructure needs to be improved….It’s the non-sexy stuff that has to get better. It’s not just bright, shiny objects — they have that.  They need to do the infrastructure better in order to get to where we had been in the past.”  Maddon also implied that the front office tried to have too much of an influence on baseball decisions, thus trying to turn the manager into a “middle man” rather than an actual leader in the clubhouse.

“It’s at the point where some GM should really just put a uniform on and go down to the dugout, or their main analytical membrane, he should go down to the dugout….And what happens is when the performance isn’t what they think it should be, it’s never about the acquisitional process,” Maddon said.  “It’s always about the inability of coaches and managers to get the best out of a player.  And that’s where this tremendous disconnect is formed.”

More from around the baseball world…

  • The Cardinals placed Yadier Molina on the restricted list today, and called up catcher Ivan Herrera from Triple-A to take Molina’s place on the active roster.  Molina is away for “business reasons” in Puerto Rico, Cards president of baseball operations John Mozeliak told Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch and other reporters, and the longtime catcher is expected to return to the Cardinals on Monday.  Goold notes that the pro basketball team Molina owns is playing in the finals of the Baloncesto Superior Nacional championship, Puerto Rico’s top league.  While seemingly an unusual reason to take time off during the season, Molina’s absence probably amounts to one game at most, as the catcher played on Friday and wouldn’t have played in both weekend games against the Diamondbacks.
  • X-rays were negative on Teoscar Hernandez’s left foot after the Blue Jays outfielder fouled a ball off his foot in the eighth inning of today’s 5-2 win over the Yankees.  Hernandez was replaced in right field for the bottom half of the eighth inning.  While it appears as though Hernandez has avoided any serious injury, it seems likely that he’ll miss Sunday’s game, thus leaving the Jays even more shorthanded in the outfield.  George Springer has been limited to DH duty since returning from the injured list, and Springer has also missed the last two games due to a sore right knee after a wayward foul ball of his own on Thursday.  While Toronto has outfield depth on the bench, the lineup would be hurt if both Hernandez and Springer each have to miss more time.
  • Drew Gilbert’s first pro season is already over due to a dislocation in his right elbow, the Astros announced.  (Hat tip to Chandler Rome of the Houston Chronicle.)  Gilbert hasn’t played since August 13, when he suffered a forearm contusion after a collision with the outfield wall in a game for the Astros’ A-ball affiliate.  However, according to the team, a further medical exam revealed that Gilbert “had sustained a dislocated right elbow that spontaneously went back into place before he was examined.”  The 21-year-old Gilbert was the 28th overall pick of the 2022 draft, and MLB Pipeline already ranks the University of Tennessee product as the second-best prospect in the Astros’ farm system.

Latest On Yordan Alvarez

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Yordan Alvarez left Friday’s game in the fifth inning due to shortness of breath, and went to a local hospital for examination later that evening.  Both the Astros and manager Dusty Baker addressed the situation today, saying that Alvarez was released from hospital after tests revealed nothing abnormal, and the slugger was even back at the ballpark today, though he wasn’t in the starting lineup for the Astros’ game against the Braves.

Baker even suggested that Alvarez could play on Sunday, though “We still have to watch him. He’s still under (something) similar to a concussion protocol,” the manager told The Houston Chronicle’s Chandler Rome and other reporters.  “You don’t want him to maybe fall out.  They couldn’t find anything, but that don’t mean nothing’s wrong.  We’re just going to wait today, see how he is tomorrow.”

Any sort of breathing issue is naturally cause for concern, though it is a very good sign that Alvarez’s initial round of testing and observation didn’t reveal any more serious problem.  It could be that Alvarez was affected by playing in Atlanta in particular, with Baker noting that there is more smoke than usual in the atmosphere due to Truist Park’s tradition of shooting fireworks every time a Braves player homers, or every time a Braves pitcher records a strikeout.

Alvarez is also working through his first real slump of the 2022 season, as he has only one home run and a .572 OPS over his last 78 plate appearances.  However, even with his cold streak, Alvarez is still batting .295/.400/.612 for the season, and his 31 homers ties him for the third-highest total in baseball.  The season has cemented Alvarez as one of the game’s top hitters, and he will be a major factor for the Astros as they try to capture the World Series.

Dodgers Release Pedro Baez

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The Dodgers have released Pedro Baez, according to the right-hander’s MLB.com profile page.  Baez made his return to the organization when he signed a minor league contract in May.

Baez appeared in three games with the Astros before being released in late April, but didn’t return to the mound until July, when he pitched with the Dodgers’ Arizona Complex League affiliate.  Moving to Triple-A Oklahoma City at the end of July, Baez struggled to a 14.29 ERA over 5 2/3 innings in OKC, with much of that damage coming in his final outing.  Just yesterday, Baez allowed five runs without recording a single out against the Sugar Land Skeeters.

From 2014-20, Baez was a very dependable member of the Los Angeles bullpen, posting a 3.03 ERA over 356 innings with the Dodgers and helping the team capture the World Series in 2020.  However, Baez’s strikeout rate and fastball velocity both started to decline during that 2020 season, but that didn’t stop Houston from inking the right-hander to a two-year deal worth a guaranteed $12.5MM.

That deal ended up being a bust for the Astros, as Baez threw only 6 2/3 innings in a Houston uniform before being released in April.  Shoulder problems kept Baez on the sidelines for the majority of the 2021 season, and given his near-total lack of results over the last two years, there is certainly a fear that Baez may no longer be effective as a big league pitcher (or perhaps even as a Triple-A pitcher) at age 34.

The Dodgers would’ve only owed Baez the prorated portion of the Major League minimum salary if he’d reached their active roster, so with this release, the Dodgers cost themselves nothing by seeing if a familiar face could regain his old form.  The Astros are responsible for what remains of Baez’s $5.5MM salary for the 2022 season, and that figure will only lessen by a prorated minimum salary if another team should sign Baez and add him to the MLB roster.

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