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Mitch Haniger Likely Out Until July

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Mitch Haniger was placed on the injured list a couple of weeks ago due to a right ankle sprain, with the club not providing an estimate on his recovery period at that time. Haniger himself spoke to Ryan Divish of The Seattle Times and gave an update that won’t come as good news to Mariners’ fans, as he might be out until around the All-Star break.

“As far as getting back in games, I think like a rough estimate would be from date of injury is 10 to 12 weeks,” Haniger says. “But at the same time, I’ve heard it can go on the earlier end and I’ve also heard on the longer end.” As Divish notes, that 10-12 week timeline would mean a return to action somewhere in the window of July 10-24, with a rehab stint likely pushing his return to the big leagues another couple of weeks down the road.

This marks yet another frustrating development in the Haniger arc, as he has oscillated between excellent performance and extended absences in his career. Over 2017 and 2018, he hit 42 home runs and slashed .284/.361/.492 for a 134 wRC+. After 63 games in 2019, he fouled a ball off himself and ruptured a testicle, wiping out the rest of that season as well as the next. He returned last year and had a tremendous comeback, hitting 39 dingers and slashing .253/.318/.485, 120 wRC+. This year, he’s been limited to nine games, first by a bout with Covid, followed by this ankle sprain. Incidentally, Haniger thinks one issue might have led to the other, as he tells Divish that he had post-Covid struggles with congestion and pressure in his head, which affected his balance.

For Haniger personally, it’s very unfortunate timing for yet another serious injury. The 31-year-old is in his final year of club control, heading to free agency at season’s end. It seems now that his platform year will be reduced to the last two or three months of the campaign, assuming he can follow the prescribed timeline. Even if he can return to health and play well over the second half of the schedule, teams will no doubt use this injury as a way to try to tamp down their offers.

It’s also quite unfortunate for the team, as their hot start has been largely erased by a rough two-week skid. After going 11-6 in their first 17 games, the club has since gone 3-12 in their last 15 contests, winding up at 14-18. Although Julio Rodriguez has been heating up after a cold start, the rest of the regular outfielders haven’t provided much. Jesse Winker’s batting line is sitting at .202/.313/.275, 86 wRC+. Jarred Kelenic is even colder, with a line of .141/.221/.294, for a 58 wRC+. With Haniger not returning for a few months, that group will need to step up in order to help the team pull out of this recent tailspin. Some help is on the way, however, with 2020 AL Rookie of the Year Kyle Lewis currently out on a rehab assignment and likely returning in just over a week.

Rays Sign Three Pitchers To Minor League Deals

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The Rays announced that they have signed a trio of righties to minor league deals, as relayed by team broadcaster Neil Solondz. Shawn Armstrong, Kevin Herget and Joe Wieland are now all in the organization, with all heading to the Triple-A Durham Bulls. (Wieland will get built up in extended Spring Training before joining the Bulls.)

Armstrong is the most experienced of the bunch and likely the one most recognizable to Tampa fans, as he spent time with the club last year. After being acquired midseason from the Orioles for cash considerations, Armstrong was eventually selected to the roster and logged 16 innings of 4.50 ERA ball for the Rays. The team may have found a way to unlock a new gear for him, as his strikeout rate shot up 33.8%, well above his career rate of 23.4%, though in an obviously small sample size.

He was outrighted at the end of the year and elected free agency. He signed on with the Marlins on a minor league deal and made the Opening Day roster. He wasn’t able to transfer his 2021 performance across the state, however, as his 6 2/3 innings with Miami this year have resulted in a 10.80 ERA and just five punchouts. The 31-year-old will head to Durham and see if the Rays can work their magic again and get him back to where he was last year.

Wieland, 32, saw scattered MLB action from 2012 to 2016. Appearing for the Padres, Dodgers and Mariners, he logged 52 2/3 innings over ten starts and a couple of relief appearances with a 6.32 ERA. He then spent a couple of seasons in Japan, followed by one in Korea. He spent the 2017-18 campaigns pitching for the Yokohama Bay Stars of the NPB, where he worked to a combined 3.80 ERA. With the Kia Tigers of the KBO in 2019, things didn’t go quite as well, with his ERA jumping to 4.75. In 2020, Wieland signed a minor-league deal with the Cubs. Of course, the pandemic ended up wiping out the minors, and he was unable to crack the big league roster. He doesn’t appear to have pitched anywhere in 2021. Although he’s made the occasional relief appearance, the bulk of his work has come as a starter, meaning he could take a slot in the Bulls’ rotation and try to earn his way into the big leagues for the first time since 2016.

Herget, 31, has yet to make it up to the show. He was drafted by the Cardinals in the 39th round in 2013. He worked his way up to Triple-A by 2016 but never got the call to join the big league team. After eventually reaching free agency, he was signed by Cleveland and spent last year with the Triple-A Columbus Clippers. He appeared in 28 games, seven of them starts, throwing 80 1/3 innings with a 4.48 ERA, 24.6% strikeout rate, 6.7% walk rate and 41.9% ground ball rate.

Twins Select Yennier Cano

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The Twins announced they’ve selected reliever Yennier Cano onto the big league roster. Southpaw Danny Coulombe was placed on the 15-day injured list with a left hip impingement in a corresponding move. To open space on the 40-man roster, Minnesota transferred reliever Jhon Romero from the 10-day to the 60-day injured list.

Minnesota signed Cano out of Cuba in June 2019, when the 6’4″ righty was already 25 years old. He’d had some professional experience in Cuba’s Serie Nacional, but he nevertheless began in the low minors during his time in the farm system. Cano didn’t reach Double-A until last season, but he earned a bump to Triple-A by mid-June. He finished the season with the Twins’ highest affiliate in St. Paul, pitching to a 3.86 ERA in 51 1/3 innings over 30 appearances. Cano showed the ability to work multiple innings and induced ground-balls at a hefty 60.9% clip, but he also walked an alarming 12.8% of opposing hitters.

Over the offseason, Eric Longenhagen and Tess Taruskin of FanGraphs slotted Cano the #38 prospect in the Minnesota organization, praising his surprising velocity (94-97 MPH) from a lower arm slot. Assigned back to St. Paul to open the 2022 season, he’s worked 12 innings of one-run ball. Cano has 14 strikeouts and a more manageable four free passes in that time, while he’s induced grounders on three-quarters of batted balls. That strong start earns Cano his first crack against big league hitters.

Minnesota grabbed Romero off waivers from the Nationals in Spring Training. He made four appearances during the season’s first couple weeks, allowing two runs in five frames. The right-hander landed on the injured list retroactive to April 20 due to biceps tendinitis. He’ll apparently require an extended recovery period and won’t be eligible to return until late June — 60 days from the time of his original IL placement.

Francys Romero first reported Cano’s forthcoming promotion last night.

Manny Pina To Undergo Season-Ending Wrist Surgery

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Braves catcher Manny Piña has suffered ligament and cartilage damage in his left wrist, the team informed reporters (including David O’Brien of the Athletic). He will undergo season-ending surgery. The 34-year-old was placed on the injured list late last month with what the team called wrist inflammation, and a recent MRI revealed the issue was more serious than first believed.

Atlanta somewhat surprisingly inked Piña to a two-year, $8MM deal over the offseason. Brought in as a veteran #2 option behind Travis d’Arnaud, he only appeared in five games during his first season with the Braves. William Contreras is the only other catcher on the 40-man roster. Contreras had a nice showing in 44 Triple-A games last year, but the Braves nevertheless prioritized experience in adding Piña behind d’Arnaud — who has had some injury issues throughout his career.

Piña was coming off a decent season backing up Omar Narváez in Milwaukee. The longtime Brewer hit 13 home runs in 208 plate appearances to help compensate for a lackluster .293 on-base percentage. As he has throughout his career, he also rated very well defensively. Piña turns 35 in June and is under contract for $4.5MM next season.

Atlanta has Chadwick Tromp as a non-roster catching option with Triple-A Gwinnett. He’s off to an incredible .367/.400/.750 start over 16 games with the Stripers, so the Braves could call him up if they want the 24-year-old Contreras to see regular reps in the minors. (Selecting Tromp would require a 40-man roster spot, but that could be freed by transferring Piña to the 60-day injured list). It’s certainly possible the Braves could look outside the organization for catching depth via waivers or minor trade, as well.

Giants Acquire Donovan Walton, Designate Mike Ford

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The Giants have acquired infielder Donovan Walton from the Mariners in exchange for pitching prospect Prelander Berroa, according to announcements from both teams. San Francisco has designated first baseman Mike Ford for assignment to clear space on the 40-man roster.

Walton, 28 later this month, has appeared in the majors in each of the past four seasons. He’s tallied just 102 cumulative plate appearances across 37 games, though, and his only MLB outing this year saw him enter as a pinch-runner. A left-handed hitter, Walton has posted a modest .196/.260/.315 showing in the majors.

The Oklahoma State product has a more robust body of work in the minors, where he’s a .287/.375/.427 hitter in parts of six seasons. That includes a .302/.391/.518 line in just shy of 400 trips to the plate at Triple-A, and Walton’s hitting .294/.368/.510 through 12 contests there this season. Perhaps of greatest import to the Giants, he’s a versatile defender who has a ton of professional experience in the middle infield. He figures to bounce around the diamond in a utility capacity for a Giants team that has dealt with injuries to both Evan Longoria and Tommy La Stella (although Longoria is making his season debut today). Walton is in his final minor league option year, meaning the Giants can shuttle him between San Francisco and Triple-A Sacramento for the remainder of the season if he sticks on the 40-man roster.

Walton, somewhat ironically, becomes the third infielder the Giants have acquired from Seattle in as many weeks. San Francisco also picked up Kevin Padlo on April 26 and acquired Ford on April 30. Both those deals were for cash considerations, but the M’s recoup a minor league arm in exchange for Walton.

Berroa, a 22-year-old righty, originally signed with the Twins as an amateur out of the Dominican Republic. San Francisco acquired him at the 2019 trade deadline, and he’s spent the past few seasons in the lower levels of the farm system. Baseball America named Berroa the #29 prospect in the Giants’ system over the offseason, writing that he owns a mid-upper 90s fastball and a solid slider. The outlet suggested Berroa’s control is a work of progress but that he has a chance to develop into a back-of-the-rotation starter.

Over four appearances with High-A Eugene this season, Berroa has worked 13 1/3 innings of one-run ball. He has 16 punchouts and six walks, a continuation of the high-strikeout, high-walk ways he’s shown throughout his young career. Berroa will be eligible for the Rule 5 draft this winter if he’s not added to the Mariners’ 40-man roster.

Ford, meanwhile, suited up in just one game in black and orange. He collected a single in four plate appearances and has a .271/.417/.417 line over 60 Triple-A plate appearances this season. It’s the second time this year that Ford has been designated for assignment, as a DFA preceded the aforementioned trade from Seattle to San Francisco. The Giants will have a week to trade the 29-year-old or try to run him through outright waivers.

Giants Activate Evan Longoria, Place Jake McGee On IL

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The Giants reinstated third baseman Evan Longoria prior to this afternoon’s matchup with the Rockies. He’s at the hot corner and hitting third against Colorado starter Chad Kuhl in his season debut. In a corresponding move, reliever Jake McGee has been placed on the 15-day injured list due to lower back tightness.

Longoria underwent surgery to repair a ligament tear in his right index finger late in Spring Training. That procedure wound up costing him the first five weeks of the regular season, and the Giants have patched third base together in his absence. Five different players have started multiple games there for San Francisco, with Wilmer Flores and Jason Vosler picking up the bulk of the time. The group has acquitted themselves quite well, with Giants’ third basemen combining for a .277/.330/.436 slash line that translates to a 120 wRC+ (indicating offensive productivity 20 percentage points above the league average). That ranks 13th among the league’s 30 teams.

San Francisco is off to another nice start. Their 18-12 record is unsurprisingly short of last season’s 107-win pace, but it’s still the fifth-best mark in the National League. The entire NL West has come out of the gates well, though, and the Giants sit a few games behind the Dodgers and Padres in the division standings.

Longoria was a big part of the team’s incredible 2021 campaign. The veteran hit .261/.351/.482, improbably rebounding from four straight pedestrian seasons with a bounceback year at age 35. A shoulder injury kept the three-time All-Star to playing in exactly half the team’s games, but that marked Longoria’s best production on a rate basis during his time in the Bay Area.

McGee was also a pivotal player in last year’s success. The left-hander tossed 59 2/3 innings of 2.72 ERA ball, saving 31 games in the process. It was a continuation of the strong work he’d shown in the shortened 2020 season with the Dodgers, but he’s scuffled in the early going this year. McGee has been tagged for 12 runs in his first 10 1/3 frames, striking out just six batters on a personal-low 8.4% swinging strike rate. The team hasn’t provided a timetable for his return.

White Sox – Guardians Postponed Due To COVID Concerns Within Cleveland Organization

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12:43pm: Hale also winded up testing positive, reports Mandy Bell of MLB.com (Twitter link).

12:38pm: This afternoon’s game between the White Sox and Guardians has been postponed, Major League Baseball announced. Cleveland is dealing with multiple COVID-19 positives, and the teams won’t play today “to allow for continued testing and contact tracing.”

This marks the first game of the 2022 season postponed because of virus concerns. Under the MLB – MLBPA health and safety protocols for this season, the commissioner’s office has final authority on whether to postpone a game. Protocols state that “MLB intends to postpone games only if necessary to protect the health and safety of Club personnel, players and umpires. Games will not be postponed for competitive reasons provided the Club has a sufficient number of players available to substitute those players on the Active Roster who are unavailable to play as a result of COVID-19.”

The league has not yet announced rescheduling plans. Today would’ve marked the rubber match of a three-game set between the teams. The White Sox host the Yankees for four games starting tomorrow; the Guardians have a scheduled off day Thursday before heading to Minnesota for a weekend series. The division rivals have four more series on the schedule, so it seems likely today’s game will be made up as part of a doubleheader down the line.

The identity of any players affected by Cleveland’s outbreak is unclear. Jesse Rogers of ESPN reports (on Twitter) that the positive tests “mostly” involve coaches and other staff members. The team had announced this morning that manager Terry Francona tested positive for the virus, with bench coach DeMarlo Hale set to serve as acting manager. There’ll surely be forthcoming updates about other individuals who have tested positive. At present, Cleveland has one player — infielder Yu Chang — on the COVID injured list; Chang went on the IL in mid-April and has been on a rehab assignment with Triple-A Columbus for the past week and a half.

Cardinals Defeat Tyler O’Neill In Arbitration

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The Cardinals have won their arbitration hearing with outfielder Tyler O’Neill, reports Mark Feinsand of MLB.com (on Twitter). He’ll take home a $3.4MM salary in 2022; O’Neill had filed at $4.15MM.

This was O’Neill’s first of three trips trough the arbitration process. He’s on track to reach free agency after the 2024 campaign. Future arbitration salaries are based on the platforms established in previous years, so the slugger will be working from a lower baseline than if he’d won the hearing. The Cards and his representatives at the Boras Corporation had been discussing a potential long-term deal that could’ve avoided the process entirely, but the sides obviously didn’t come to an agreement. With the hearing now in the rearview mirror, it seems talks about a multi-year pact will be put on hold — at least until next offseason.

O’Neill told Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch last week the process was “definitely something that I am ready to have completed” but denied that its lingering into the season was having any effect on his performance. The 26-year-old is off to a rough start, hitting .198/.267/.317 with just a pair of home runs in his first 116 plate appearances.

Arbitration hearings are typically conducted over the offseason, but the unresolved cases were pushed into the season after the lockout halted winter dealings for more than three months. Arbitrators’ decisions are to be based solely off a player’s body of work up through 2021, so O’Neill’s slow start should not have been a factor in the result.

Jake Marisnick To Undergo Thumb Surgery

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MAY 11: Marisnick will require a surgical procedure, the team’s director of sports medicine Todd Tomcyzk told Jason Mackey of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. A season-ending reconstruction is on the table, although Tomcyzk indicated it’s likelier Marisnick will undergo a less serious surgery that “only” sidelines him for a matter of weeks, not months.

MAY 10: The Pirates placed outfielder Jake Marisnick, who injured his left thumb after crashing into the wall while making a catch in Monday night’s game against the Dodgers, has been placed on the 10-day IL, the team announced. He’ll be replaced on the active roster by right-hander Max Kranick.

A veteran of 10 big league seasons, Marisnick signed a major league deal with the Pirates this offseason to serve as the team’s fourth outfielder. In the early going Marisnick has looked no closer to replicating his career offensive performance from 2017 in Houston, slashing .163/.196/.204 (18 OPS+) through his first 22 games.

While even modest offensive production would be nice from the longtime outfielder, he has certainly lived up to his defensive reputation thus far, racking up three defensive runs saved in the early going. This feat is all the more impressive considering Marisnick has primarily played out of his customary center field position in deference to Bryan Reynolds.

In Kranick, the Pirates are calling up a 24-year-old pitcher who had trouble keeping runs off the board through nine starts last season. Aside from last year’s freshman struggles, however, the right-hander has generally proven a steady source of solid innings in the minors. Through four appearances and nearly nine innings of work in the Pirates’ system this year Kranick has yielded just three runs and less than a baserunner per inning. He’ll serve as an extra source of bulk innings out of the Pirates bullpen for the time being.

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