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Twins Reinstate Trevor Larnach, Place Cody Stashak On IL

By Darragh McDonald | May 22, 2022 at 10:14am CDT

The Twins have made a one-for-one swap from their active roster to the injured list, per a team announcement. Outfielder Trevor Larnach has been reinstated after two weeks on the shelf with a groin strain. Heading in the other direction is right-handed reliever Cody Stashak, being placed on the IL with a right shoulder impingement.

The return of Larnach gives the Twins an embarrassment of riches in terms of their outfield mix. Prior to his injury, Larnach was hitting .313/.365/.448 for a wRC+ of 139. His absence has led to more playing time for Gilberto Celestino, who has stepped up admirably. Through 27 games on the season, he’s hitting .355/.420/.419, 154 wRC+. Byron Buxton, Max Kepler and Kyle Garlick are also all playing well, with each having a wRC+ above 130.

One way to spread at-bats around to all of that crew would be to use the DH slot, though that would lead to less playing time for either Gary Sanchez or Ryan Jeffers, as Sanchez has been taking the bulk of DH time of late, with Jeffers behind the dish. Thanks in large part to this abundance of strong bats, the club is off to a 24-16 start to the year, with a 4 1/2-game lead over the White Sox in the AL Central.

For Stashak, this is his second IL stint of the year, as he began the season on the injured list due to right biceps tendinitis. Since returning, he’s thrown 16 1/3 innings for the Twins with a 3.86 ERA and 23.1% strikeout rate. His 26% ground ball rate is below average, but he’s yet to issue a single walk on the year. No timeline was provided for his injury, though shoulder issues for a pitcher are always at least somewhat concerning.

Tigers Place Eduardo Rodriguez On IL With Ribcage Sprain

By Darragh McDonald | May 22, 2022 at 9:20am CDT

The Tigers have announced that left-hander Eduardo Rodriguez has been placed on the 15-day injured list with a left ribcage sprain. The move is retroactive to May 19. Another E-Rod is joining the team in a corresponding move, as righty Elvin Rodriguez has been recalled from Triple-A Toledo.

Eduardo was removed from his start on May 18 after recording just one out due to discomfort in his side. An MRI performed in the subsequent days didn’t find anything concerning about his oblique or intercostal muscles, making his ailment a bit of a mystery. It seems the team’s personnel have settled on a diagnosis, though no timeline was provided for his absence.

Regardless of how long he’s out of action, it’s a serious problem for the Tigers. After an aggressive offseason, it was expected that they could contend for a postseason berth this year, with their rotation standing out as a potential strength. Unfortunately, a slow start has been compounded by a truly staggering numbers of injuries to their starting pitchers. E-Rod joins Matt Manning, Casey Mize, Tyler Alexander, Michael Pineda and Spencer Turnbull on the IL. Eduardo and Tarik Skubal are the only Tigers to have made more than five starts this season, with Skubal now the last man standing in terms of rotation mainstays on the year.

Due to that rash of injuries, the club has had to lean on its depth, giving MLB debuts to Alex Faedo, Beau Brieske and Joey Wentz already this year. Elvin Rodriguez also made his big league debut, though in relief, throwing 2 2/3 innings back on April 10. He’ll make his first start in the show tomorrow. Since that lone MLB outing, he’s made six appearances in Triple-A, five starts, throwing 22 2/3 innings with a 3.57 ERA. In that time, he’s got a 21.6% strikeout rate, 13.4% walk rate and 37.7% ground ball rate. That walk rate is certainly high but is actually uncharacteristic for him, as he’s never had a rate above 8.8% before, perhaps suggesting small sample noise.

The club’s record is currently 13-26, the worst in the American League, but it can’t be entirely blamed on pitching injury woes. The team-wide ERA of 3.67 is actually 12th in MLB, though advanced metrics are a bit less bullish. The real culprit has been the lineup, as the team as a whole is hitting .219/.282/.313 for a wRC+ of 77, a figure that places them dead last across the majors.

Orioles Promote Adley Rutschman

By Darragh McDonald | May 21, 2022 at 11:12pm CDT

The Orioles announced that they have selected the contract of top prospect Adley Rutschman. Anthony Bemboom has been designated for assignment in a corresponding move.

Of course, this is a day that baseball fans in Baltimore and elsewhere have been looking forward to for quite some time. Even before he was a member of the Orioles organization, Rutschman was tantalizing the baseball world with his performance at Oregon State, shooting up draft boards and considered by many to be the top player available in the 2019 draft. Baseball America, for instance, gave him the #1 slot that year, with their report noting that the switch-hitting catcher had essentially every skill necessary to succeed going forward. Hitting for average, hitting for power, taking walks, strong arm, good receiving and blocking, he had all the tools except speed, which is hardly surprising for a catcher. “He is the best catching prospect since Buster Posey in 2008 and Matt Wieters in 2007,” their report concluded.

Although there were reports that the O’s were considering other players with the first overall selection in the 2019 draft, such as Bobby Witt Jr., Andrew Vaughn and JJ Bleday, it never seemed like there was much chance of anyone usurping Rutschman. When the big day finally rolled around, Rutschman was indeed the first player off the board.

Due to the struggles of the big league club, Rutschman instantly became the light at the end of the tunnel for Baltimore fans. The Orioles finished last in the AL East in both 2017 and 2018, and were in the process of repeating that feat when Rutschman was drafted in 2019. They somehow slipped past the Red Sox and into fourth place in the shortened 2020 season, but were back down in the basement in 2021, and also posted the worst record in baseball again (tied with the Diamondbacks). That means they have the first overall selection in the draft yet again this summer. With nothing inspiring happening at the big league level, all hopes were pinned on the stars in the farm system that would make up the next great Orioles team, with Rutschman being front and center.

Baseball America ranked Rutschman the fifth-best prospect in all of baseball in 2021, then bumping him up to #2 last year and #1 this year. He’s also considered the best prospect in baseball by FanGraphs, ESPN’s Kiley McDaniels, and The Athletic’s Keith Law.

It’s been an atypical rise through the minors for the 24-year-old. It started out normal enough, with Rutschman getting into 37 games in the lower levels of the Orioles’ system in the months after the draft. But the pandemic wiped out the minor leagues in 2020, meaning he wasn’t able to play in any official organized games. But that missed season didn’t slow him down any, as his 2021 proved the hype was for real. In 123 games between Double-A and Triple-A, he hit 23 home runs and produced an overall batting line of .285/.397/.502, walking at a 14.5% rate and striking out only 16.6% of the time. That all adds up to a wRC+ of 144, or 44% better than league average.

The Orioles did little to block his path to the big leagues this offseason. The catchers who got playing time behind the plate in 2021 were all jettisoned from the roster. Pedro Severino, Austin Wynns and Nick Ciuffo were all outrighted at season’s end and Chance Sisco was claimed off waivers by the Mets. There was a time in the offseason that the club actually had no catchers on the 40-man roster, although they eventually signed Robinson Chirinos to be in the mix.

Once the new collective bargaining agreement was agreed to and the lockout ended in March, it seemed there was a chance Rutschman could crack the Opening Day roster. The new CBA featured incentives to try and discourage teams from holding their best prospects down in the minors at the beginning of a season in order to manipulate their service time and gain an extra year of control over their services. Unfortunately, Rutschman suffered a triceps strain in mid-March that put him on the shelf for a few weeks, ending any chance of him being ready for the season opener. After recuperating from that injury, he made his 2022 debut in the minors on April 26 and has spent the past four weeks getting back into game shape. In 19 games this year across three different levels, he’s hitting .309/.427/.515, 159 wRC+, walking in 13.4% of his plate appearances while striking out in just 8.5% of them.

There are about 137 days remaining in the season, meaning he will be unable to accrue the 172 days necessary to count as a full year. There is a provision in the new CBA that grants a full year of service time to the top two finishers in Rookie of the Year voting, though it will be difficult for Rutschman to take that path now, given that his competitors in that race have a six-week headstart on him. Jeremy Pena has already produced 1.8 fWAR, while other prominent rookies like Bobby Witt Jr. and Julio Rodriguez have 0.8 fWAR during their first MLB seasons.

Assuming Rutschman isn’t able to catch up and finishes this season with less than a year of service time, the O’s will control his services through the 2028 season, though he does have a very good shot at qualifying for arbitration after the 2024 season as a Super Two player. (The Super Two cutoff moves from year to year but has only been above 2.137 three times since 2009, with the last instance coming back in 2012.) Now that he’s reached the big time, the club will be hoping that he and the other prospects that are still to come will help the Orioles start turning the page from rebuilding to competing over those coming years.

With Rutschman injured to start the year, the club selected Bemboom’s contract, pairing him with Chirinos as the club’s catching duo. In 22 games on the year, he’s hit a meager .115/.207/.212. Since he’s out of options, the club had little choice but to designate him for assignment in order to make room for their star prospect. Bemboom will likely hit the waiver wire in the coming days and see if there’s another club in the league that’s interested in his services.

Image courtesy of USA Today Sports.

Mets Notes: Paddack, Hosmer, Smith, Bassitt

By Mark Polishuk | May 21, 2022 at 10:52pm CDT

Chris Paddack’s recent Tommy John surgery has brought a new focus on the rumored offseason trade between the Mets and Padres that would have seen San Diego move Paddack, Eric Hosmer, Emilio Pagan, and over $30MM (to help cover Hosmer’s salary) to New York in exchange for Dominic Smith. Trade talks reportedly got pretty deep between the two sides, but ultimately fell apart due to what The New York Post’s Jon Heyman reports as concerns from the Mets’ medical staff about Paddack’s health records.

With Paddack now on the shelf until at least partway through the 2023 season, it appears as though New York’s team doctors made the right call. Interestingly, Heyman reports that the Mets were also planning to flip Hosmer in another trade with an unknown team, rather than use the first baseman in their own lineup. Given the difficulties that the Padres have had for months in finding a taker for Hosmer, it would’ve been a little surprising to see him moved twice in short order, though it is also easy to imagine Hosmer’s market picking up with the Padres eating so much of his contract.

NL Central Notes: Carlson, Brewers, Cousins, Pirates, Kuhl

By Mark Polishuk | May 21, 2022 at 10:06pm CDT

Brewers right-hander Jake Cousins has been shut down for the next 4-6 weeks after receiving a PRP injection, Cousins told Curt Hogg of The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel and other reporters. Cousins has been on the IL since May 1, though an issue with his UCL was detected two weeks ago and the reliever was known to be seeking out a second opinion before deciding on his next treatment. Both of the consulting doctors recommended the injection, and Cousins will now embark on what will still be a pretty lengthy absence, even if he has been able to avoid surgery. If Cousins’ arm problems weren’t enough, he also told the media that he recently recovered from a case of COVID-19.

Depending on when Cousins is cleared to begin throwing or if a 40-man roster spot is required, it is quite possibly that the Brewers could shift him to the 60-day IL at some point. The righty made his MLB debut last season and made an immediate impact in Milwaukee’s bullpen, and Cousins has a 3.08 ERA over 38 total innings of big league action, with hefty strikeout (35%) and walk (14.7%) rates.

Mets Scouting Frankie Montas, Tyler Mahle

By Mark Polishuk | May 21, 2022 at 8:51pm CDT

The Mets have recently had scouts watching Athletics right-hander Frankie Montas and Reds right-hander Tyler Mahle, the New York Post’s Jon Heyman reports. With the aggressive Mets clearly focused on a championship this year, it isn’t surprising that the club is already looking ahead to possible trade candidates on struggling teams.

Montas is over 18 months older than Mahle, but the two have quite a bit in common. The two righties are under control through the 2023 season via a third and final arbitration year, both have already been mentioned in trade speculation for months, and both have already made it through an offseason of payroll cuts by their respective teams. In fact, the Mets and A’s already combined on a big pitching deal during the offseason when Chris Bassitt was brought to Queens.

Thus far in 2022, Montas has clearly been the better of the two pitchers in terms of bottom-line numbers, with a 3.67 ERA in 49 innings to Mahle’s 5.23 ERA over 43 innings. The advanced metrics also generally favor Montas, though Mahle’s 4.28 xFIP and 4.15 SIERA paint a bit more of an optimistic view of his 2022 performance, and Mahle appears to be on the upswing with a 2.60 ERA over his last 17 1/3 frames.

It stands to reason that the Mets will probably at least monitor just about every available arm heading into the August 2 deadline, considering that Montas and Mahle figure to get attention from most or all pitching-needy clubs. Oakland or Cincinnati probably have some idea of what some suitors are already willing to give up for either pitcher, based on offseason talks — the White Sox, Twins, Yankees, Tigers, Mariners, Rays, and Royals all reportedly had interest in Montas over the winter, while the Blue Jays and Rangers were linked to Mahle.

Despite a number of rotation injuries this season, the Mets have gotten quality work from just about every starter who has taken the mound. However, health remains a concern, as Max Scherzer will miss 6-8 weeks with an oblique strain, Tylor Megill is on the IL with biceps inflammation, and Jacob deGrom has yet to throw a pitch this season due to a stress reaction his throwing shoulder. Jumping to swing a deal with the Reds or A’s now would cost the Mets a heavier price in prospects, and it could be that New York will wait until closer to the deadline to make a move, as the Mets already have a sizeable cushion of a lead in the NL East race.

Willson Contreras Leaves Game With Right Hamstring Tightness

By Mark Polishuk | May 21, 2022 at 7:41pm CDT

Cubs catcher Willson Contreras made an early exit from today’s game due to what the club described as right hamstring tightness. The injury occurred in the third inning, as after Contreras had singled and then stolen second base, he bolted for third on what ended up being a foul ball from Seiya Suzuki. The catcher immediately grabbed at his right hamstring and, following a visit from the team trainer, left the game.

Afterwards, manager David Ross told The Athletic’s Patrick Mooney and other reporters that “there’s definitely something going on,” with Contreras’ hamstring, and that “we’ll find out how extensive” after some tests.

At the very least, it would seem like Contreras will miss a game or two to monitor his leg problem. The Cubs’ next off-day is on May 27, so it’s at least possible the team might keep Contreras out of action (but not on the injured list) until then to see if a full 10-day IL stint could be avoided, though that would require Chicago to call another catcher up from the minors.

If an IL trip is required, Contreras and the Cubs can only hope that it’s a relatively short absence. The veteran backstop is off to a great start, hitting .258/.382/.458 with five home runs over his first 144 plate appearances. That would make for a career year for Contreras if he keeps hitting at that pace, and it would set him up nicely for a big contract this winter as the 30-year-old is eligible for free agency.

Missing several weeks or even months due to a hamstring injury would hamper Contreras’ ability to score top dollar on the open market, though given his track record, Contreras would still likely land a healthy contract even if his platform year is less than stellar. However, missing a lot of time prior to the trade deadline would certainly hurt or even erase the Cubs’ chance of a good return for the catcher, as trade rumors have swirled around Contreras for well over a year. One of the few Cubs veterans remaining after last summer’s deadline fire sale, Contreras recently said he hasn’t heard anything from the team about a possible contract extension.

Angels Notes: Suzuki, Stassi, Canning, Ward

By Mark Polishuk | May 21, 2022 at 6:42pm CDT

The Angels have reinstated catcher Kurt Suzuki from the COVID-related injury list. Austin Romine was optioned to Triple-A to make room for Suzuki on the active roster, while fellow catcher Matt Thaiss will also remain with Triple-A Salt Lake on option after being activated from the minor league version of the IL.

With both Suzuki and Max Stassi sidelined on the COVID list, the Halos found themselves quite shorthanded behind the plate, leading to Romine and Chad Wallach each getting plenty of action over the last 10 days. Suzuki is returning after a two-week absence, while Stassi hit the IL on May 10 and could himself be close to a return. Angels athletic trainer Mike Frostad told The Athletic’s Sam Blum (Twitter links), and The Southern California Newsgroup’s J.P. Hoornstra that Stassi will likely play two more minor league rehab games before being activated.

The outlook isn’t as positive for Griffin Canning, as Frostad said the right-hander is considering surgery to address a stress reaction in his lower back. No decision has been made, as Canning is meeting with a specialist on Monday and will then opt to go with a surgery or a less-invasive treatment.

It’s worrisome news for Canning, as these back problems have kept him from pitching from July 8, 2021 (when Canning last took the mound at Triple-A). He had worked his way up to the simulated-game stage of his rehab earlier this month, but he continued to feel discomfort after his latest outing. Depending on the type of procedure or how well Canning responds to rehab, it’s possible the entire 2022 season could now be in jeopardy for the 26-year-old.

A second-round pick in the 2017 draft, Canning has appeared in each of the last three seasons, starting 41 of his 43 MLB games and posting a 4.73 ERA over 209 1/3 innings. Even without surgery, it’s hard to figure on when Canning might make his 2022 debut, leaving the Angels short an important depth arm for their six-man rotation. Long a weak spot, the Anaheim rotation has been quite good thus far, but the club also has less margin for error given their need of an extra hurler. With Canning sidelined and Jose Suarez ineffective, that depth has already been tested, the Halos recently promoted Chase Silseth directly from Double-A to the majors.

The Angels entered today’s action with a strong 24-17 record, despite an ongoing four-game losing streak. Last night’s 4-2 loss to the Athletics also saw Taylor Ward leave the game in the ninth inning after colliding with the outfield wall following a catch. Fortunately, Frostad said Ward didn’t suffer a concussion and only had a stinger in his arm after making the play.

Ward isn’t in tonight’s lineup but is only day-to-day, and seems to have avoided any major injury. It has been a dream start for Ward, who leads the majors in all three slash categories (.370/.481/.713) and has hit nine home runs over his first 131 plate appearances.

Brewers Win Arbitration Hearing Against Adrian Houser

By Mark Polishuk | May 21, 2022 at 3:48pm CDT

The Brewers won their arbitration hearing over right-hander Adrian Houser, according to MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand (Twitter link). Hauser will earn $2.425MM in 2022, rather than the $3MM salary he was seeking in his first trip through the arb process.

Houser tossed a career-high 142 1/3 innings in 2021, starting 26 of his 28 games for Milwaukee and posting a 3.22 ERA. Despite some unimpressive strikeout (17.5%) and walk (10.7%) rates, Houser found plenty of success with a recipe of soft contact and lots of ground balls. Houser posted a 59% grounder rate and finished in the 89th percentile of all pitchers in barrel rate.

On a Brewers team full of high-strikeout arms, Houser represented a bit of a change of pace for opposing batters, and it earned him a regular spot in the rotation. The righty moved into starting work in the latter half of the 2019 season after working as a multi-inning reliever, and then had only a 5.30 ERA over 56 innings in the shortened 2020 campaign. Those struggles in 2020 spoke to the variance that grounder specialists can face, as Houser had a .325 BABIP in 2020, as opposed to a .259 BABIP last season.

Houser’s $2.425MM salary did beat the $2.3MM projection from MLBTR’s Matt Swartz, and Houser is off to a solid enough start in 2022 that he looks in good shape to earn a nice raise next winter. With Houser’s case now complete, the Brewers can finally close the books on a very busy arbitration class.

Marlins Win Arbitration Hearing Against Pablo Lopez

By Mark Polishuk | May 21, 2022 at 3:42pm CDT

The Marlins have won their arbitration hearing against right-hander Pablo Lopez, MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand reports (via Twitter). Lopez had been seeking a $3MM salary in his first year of arbitration eligibility, but the arbiter ruled in favor of the $2.45MM salary figure submitted by the club.

One of the many intriguing young arms in Miami’s organization, Lopez could be in the midst of a breakout season, with an outstanding 1.57 ERA, 27% strikeout rate, and 6.2% walk rate over his first 46 innings of the 2022 campaign. Statcast and fielding-independent metrics are also loving his work, though after shoulder problems limited Lopez in both 2019 and 2021, the biggest question down the stretch could be whether or not Lopez can last something close to a full season of work.

It could be that Lopez’s limited track record hampered his arbitration case, as he tossed only 102 2/3 innings last year due to a rotator cuff strain that sidelined him for virtually the entire second half. Needless to say, he’ll be lined up for a big raise in his second arb year if he stays healthy and effective. Since there is still some question about how much the Marlins are able or willing to spend on payroll, it’s possible that Lopez’s rising price tag might make him more of a trade chip, yet Miami didn’t have any interest in moving Lopez last winter despite plenty of interest from opposing teams.

With Lopez’s case completed, the Marlins are still slated for a hearing with Jacob Stallings unless they can reach an agreement to avoid arbitration. You can monitor all of the completed and still-pending arb situations around baseball via MLBTR’s Arbitration Tracker.

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