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Injury Notes: Skubal, Bednar, Garcia

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The Tigers placed starter Tarik Skubal on the 15-day injured list, retroactive to yesterday, due to arm fatigue. The southpaw left his start on Monday after feeling the fatigue, and he’ll now be out for at least the next two weeks. Skubal indicated on Monday he didn’t anticipate missing any additional starts. That obviously won’t be the case, but there’s no indication the club is acting out of anything more than an abundance of caution in skipping a couple of his turns through the rotation. Detroit’s already looking ahead towards 2023, and there’s little reason to press the issue with one of their top young arms unless he’s completely healthy.

Few players in the organization are as impactful as Skubal, who has taken a significant step in his second full MLB season. Through 117 2/3 innings, he carries a 3.52 ERA with an above-average 24.5% strikeout rate and 45.7% ground-ball percentage. Skubal has demonstrated strong control, and, perhaps most importantly, is allowing just 0.67 homers per nine innings pitched. He allowed more than two homers per nine last season, the main contributor to a 4.34 ERA that’s almost a run higher than this season’s mark.

Some other notes on injured list placements:

  • Pirates closer David Bednar landed on the 15-day injured list, retroactive to July 31, due to lower back inflammation. There’s no specific timetable for his return, but Pittsburgh director of sports medicine Todd Tomczyk told reporters that Bednar had been pushing to pitch through the issue (via Mike Persak of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette). That’d seemingly indicate the 27-year-old Bednar doesn’t consider the issue too serious, but the club is taking a cautious approach. Bednar has cemented himself as one of the sport’s top relievers this season, his second with the Bucs after heading over from the Padres in the Joe Musgrove trade over the 2020-21 offseason. The big right-hander has a sub-3.00 ERA in both seasons as a Pirate, including a 2.70 mark with an excellent 33.5% strikeout rate through 46 2/3 frames this year.
  • The Marlins placed outfielder Avisaíl García on the 10-day injured list due to a left hamstring strain. Designated hitter/first baseman Garrett Cooper was activated from a minimal IL stint of his own to take the active roster spot. The club hasn’t provided a timetable on García’s absence. Signed to a four-year deal over the offseason, García has had a rough first season in South Florida. Across 342 plate appearances, he owns a meager .232/.269/.322 line with seven home runs — a marked drop in power production from last year’s 29-homer campaign with the Brewers. The 31-year-old is also striking out at a career-worst 27.8% clip and walking in only 3.8% of his trips to the dish. Miami had hoped that multi-year free agent signings of García and Jorge Soler would invigorate a lackluster offense, but both right-handed hitters have underwhelmed during their initial seasons of those deals.

Nationals Release Alcides Escobar

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The Nationals announced they’ve placed infielder Alcides Escobar on unconditional release waivers. The move clears an active roster spot for Luke Voit, who is expected to join the club tomorrow. Washington’s 40-man roster count drops to 39.

Escobar has spent the past season and a half in the nation’s capital. The veteran had been playing on a minor league deal when the Nats acquired him last July while Trea Turner was battling an injury. Washington brought Escobar almost immediately to the big leagues, and he became the primary shortstop after Turner was dealt to the Dodgers at the trade deadline. It was his first MLB action in three years, and the longtime Kansas City shortstop acquitted himself well.

Through 349 plate appearances, Escobar hit .288/.340/.404 with four home runs and a trio of steals. He didn’t walk often or hit for much power, but he only struck out at a 16% clip and hit for a high enough batting average to remain productive. Unsurprisingly, he no longer rated as highly with the glove as he had at his peak, but he was a valuable enough experienced presence that Washington signed him to a $1MM extension last October.

Escobar’s 2022 production hasn’t been good, however. He’s seen his offensive output plummet to .218/.260/.282 through 131 trips to the plate. He’s striking out more often than average (24.4%) for the first time in his career, and he’s collected just six extra-base hits (four doubles and two triples). Escobar has also been charged with five errors in 307 2/3 innings at shortstop, and he’s lost playing time as the rebuilding Nats have looked to younger players. Luis García has taken over as the primary shortstop, and while the 22-year-old is miscast there, Washington just brought in rookie shortstop C.J. Abrams in the Juan Soto trade.

Given Escobar’s struggles, it’s hard to envision another team claiming him on waivers. The 35-year-old would be a free agent if he passes through unclaimed and seems likely to explore minor league opportunities elsewhere.

Tanner Rainey Undergoes Tommy John Surgery

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Nationals reliever Tanner Rainey underwent Tommy John surgery this afternoon, the club informed reporters (including Mark Zuckerman of MASNsports.com). It’s a predictable development after the hard-throwing reliever landed on the 60-day injured list with a UCL sprain in his elbow last month.

Acquired from the Reds heading into the 2019 season, Rainey has been one of Washington’s better relievers over the past couple years. He’s racked up huge strikeout and swinging strike numbers commensurate with a fastball that sits in the upper-90s and can get into the triple digits. Rainey’s control has wavered, but his high-octane arsenal has led manager Dave Martinez to progressively give him higher-leverage work the past three seasons.

This season’s 28.1% strikeout percentage was one of the lower rates of Rainey’s career, but it’s still a few points north of the league average. He’d trimmed his walk rate to a more manageable 10.2% after issuing free passes at a massive 16.6% clip last year, and he carried a 3.30 ERA through 30 innings before the injury. The rebuilding Nationals seemed likely to shop Rainey in advance of the trade deadline, but the elbow injury scuttled those plans.

Rainey will miss most or all of the 2023 campaign rehabbing, with Tommy John recoveries often taking 14-plus months. It’s a disappointing blow for the 29-year-old. Rainey has surpassed three years of service this year, and he’ll remain arbitration eligible through the 2025 campaign. He’s making $860K this year and will be in line for a small raise next winter if tendered a contract.

Rangers To Select Cole Ragans

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The Rangers are going to be starting left-hander Cole Ragans on Thursday, reports Jeff Wilson of rangerstoday.com. The southpaw will be making his major league debut. He is not currently on the club’s 40-man roster, meaning a corresponding move will be required.

It’s been quite the journey for Ragans, who was selected by the Rangers with the 30th overall pick in the 2016 draft. He had a nice season in the minors in 2017 but then required Tommy John surgery in March of 2018, wiping out that entire campaign. After rehabbing for over a year, he received the terrible news that he would require a second Tommy John surgery in May of 2019. Though he might have been theoretically able to return to a mound in late 2020, the pandemic wiped out the minor leagues that year, meaning the former first-rounder didn’t throw a pitch in an affiliated game for three whole seasons.

Finally able to return to action in 2021, he split his time between High-A and Double-A, putting up a 4.35 ERA in 80 2/3 innings. This year, he’s made ten Double-A starts and eight in Triple-A, with a combined 3.04 ERA, 29.3% strikeout rate and 8% walk rate.

Baseball America considered him one of the top Ranger farmhands in the earlier parts of his minor league career, though he slipped off the list during his extended absence. He return at the start of this year at #24 and jumped up to #11 at the midseason update.

If he’s able to find success at the major league level, there should be an opportunity for him to stay. While the Rangers have gotten strong results from Jon Gray and Martin Perez this year, the rest of the rotation has been flimsy. The other pitchers to make seven or more starts this year are Dane Dunning (4.30 ERA), Glenn Otto (5.50), Taylor Hearn (5.35) and Spencer Howard (6.82). Though there has apparently been some talk of a Perez extension, he’s currently slated to reach free agency at the end of the year. Furthermore, Gray is on the injured list and won’t return for about 4-6 weeks.

Giants Select Bryce Johnson

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The Giants announced to reporters, including Maria I. Guardado of MLB.com, a series of roster moves prior to tonight’s game. Trade acquisition J.D. Davis has been activated, while outfielder Bryce Johnson has had his contract selected. Left-hander Sam Long and infielder Jason Vosler were optioned to make room on the active roster. The club already had an opening on the 40-man roster, so no corresponding move will be required for Johnson’s addition.

Johnson, 26, was selected by the Giants in the sixth round of the 2017 draft. This is his first selection to an MLB roster and he will be making his major league debut whenever he gets into a game. As pointed out by Alex Pavlovic of NBC Sports Bay Area (Twitter links), the Giants have been trying to find ways to improve their defense and Johnson is a glove-first center fielder. The Giants as a whole have a -36 Defensive Runs Saved on the year, putting them 29th in the majors in that regard. Their -29 Outs Above Average is also second-last. Their -29 Ultimate Zone Rating is even worse, coming in dead last. Johnson can hopefully give them a boost in that department.

Johnson has spent the entire year in Triple-A, playing 74 games and hitting .283/.352/.397 for a wRC+ of 91. He’s already stolen 24 bases on the year, something he has a penchant for, swiping at least that many bags in each season since he was drafted.

It seems that speed and defense might be the highlights of his game, with his bat a little less exciting. However, as Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle points out, there might be platoon opportunities. Though he’s a switch-hitter, Johnson has much better results this year against lefties. He has a .361/.446/.569 line against southpaws but a .249/.309/.321 on the flip side. The Giants have three lefty hitters in their outfield mix right now in Mike Yastrzemski, LaMonte Wade Jr. and Luis Gonzalez, which could allow the club to figure out ways to maximize Johnson’s efforts.

Yankees Notes: Severino, Lopez, Torres

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On Monday, shortly after the Yankees acquired Frankie Montas, they moved Luis Severino to the 60-day injured list due to his lat strain. That seemed to shine a light on why the acquisition of Montas was so important to the club, as the severity of Severino’s injury wasn’t publicly known at the time. Given that the Yankees don’t expect him to be back before mid-September, it made sense why the rotation upgrade was desired.

However, it seems that the seriousness of the injury came as a surprise to Severino himself, with Chris Kirschner of The Athletic reporting that Severino was unhappy with the transfer. “I was not happy. I was not expecting that,” Severino said of being moved to the 60-day IL.

Yankees general manager Brian Cashman spoke to Kirschner about the miscommunication. “When we tried to walk through it with a calendar, (Severino) just didn’t want to see it,” Cashman said. “He just wants to pitch. He’s not capable of pitching yet, and it’s going to take time to get him back on line. We both wish he was healthy right now. We both wish he was capable, but he’s not.”

Manager Aaron Boone tells Kirschner that the Yankees still plan to stretch Severino out as a starter when he returns. That suggests that Severino might need some kind of rehab once his lat has healed, to build back into a starter’s workload. Perhaps the confusion arose from the fact that Severino might start throwing again in about a month but then would need a few weeks to get fully geared up. A minor league rehab assignment for a pitcher can last as long as 30 days. “It just comes down to this is the program that gets him back and you can’t speed up or you risk breaking him again,” Cashman said. “That’s not in anyone’s best interest.”

Though it remains to be seen how Severino’s return progresses, the fact that he was surprised by his transfer suggests that he doesn’t expect to be out longer than the 60-day minimum, allowing him to return just in time for the final postseason push.

Elsewhere in Yankee rotation news, Barry Jackson and Craig Mish of the Miami Herald relay that the Yankees and Dodgers both pushed the Marlins for a Pablo Lopez trade, with the Yankees getting “closest” to a deal. Though the full trade scenarios that were discussed aren’t know, the report says that Gleyber Torres was mentioned.

It’s unclear if it was the Yankees or the Marlins that wanted to include Torres in trade talks, but it’s understandable why the Marlins would want him. Torres is hitting .257/.312/.466 on the year for a wRC+ of 120. He’s also making just $6.25MM this year and can be retained for a further two seasons via arbitration. However, the Marlins already have a star second baseman in Jazz Chisholm Jr., who is out for the remainder of this season but would be back next year. Torres was a shortstop when he came up but was moved to second by the Yanks after he failed to impress there. Even if the Marlins were willing to give him another try there, that would also be a bit of an awkward fit with Miguel Rojas still around for one more season.

Regardless of the various packages that were discussed, it is notable that the Yanks tried to get yet another starter. As mentioned earlier, they swapped in Montas to take the place of Severino, but then later flipped Jordan Montgomery to the Cardinals. That leaves them with a four-man rotation of Montas, Gerrit Cole, Nestor Cortes and Jameson Taillon. Domingo German has recently been called up from the minors and has made three starts but has a 6.39 so far.

Acquiring Lopez and bumping German back to the minors surely would have been a boon for the rotation, as Lopez has a 3.41 ERA through 21 starts on the year and fairly similar results in the previous two campaigns as well. A trade for Lopez was always going to be a challenge given that he can be controlled for two more seasons beyond this one, but perhaps the two clubs can revisit talks in the offseason and build off the conversations they’ve already had. Taillon is set to reach free agency after this season, potentially causing the Yankees to look for an extra hurler.

Mets Designate Kramer Robertson For Assignment

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The Mets announced to reporters, including Anthony DiComo of MLB.com, a series of roster moves prior to today’s game. Recent trade acquisitions Darin Ruf and right-hander Mychal Givens have been activated, while righty Trevor May has been reinstated from the 60-day injured list. To make room for those three on the roster, righties Yoan Lopez and Stephen Nogosek were optioned while infielder Kramer Robertson was designated for assignment.

Robertson, 27, has had his name attached to many transactions this year. He began the year in the Cardinals organization, getting selected to the big league club in May. He made his major league debut with the Redbirds, getting into two games but making just one plate appearance (RBI groundout). He was optioned back to the minors and then designated for assignment in June. He was then claimed off waivers by the Braves and the Mets in fairly quick succession. Both teams kept him in Triple-A for the most part, with the Mets calling him up yesterday but designating him for assignment without getting him into a game.

Between the organizations of the Cardinals, Braves and Mets, he’s gotten into 73 Triple-A games this year and has hit .241/.400/.362. He doesn’t have much power but has walked at an incredible 17.5% rate this year and enough defensive versatility to play second base, third base and shortstop. He’s already been claimed a couple of times this year and could be again, especially with many teams having just opened roster spots with trades in recent days. He will likely land on the waiver wire in the days to come.

As for May, 32, he’s been out of action for months due to a stress reaction in the humerus of his throwing arm. He started off the season in miserable form, likely due to his arm issues, logging an 8.64 ERA in 8 1/3 innings. Landing on the IL in early May, the prognosis was that he would be sidelined 8-12 weeks, with the hurler now returning at the longer end of that window. He’s in the second year of a two-year, $15.5MM contract with the Mets. He will look to get back on track before returning to free agency, as well as helping the Mets with the stretch run. The club is currently atop the NL East with a 2 1/2 game lead over the Braves.

Royals Select Michael Massey

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1:00pm: The Royals announced to reporters, including Alec Lewis of The Athletic, that Zerpa has a small tear in the patellar tendon of his right knee.

11:42am: The Royals announced Wednesday that they’ve selected the contract of second baseman Michael Massey and recalled catcher Sebastian Rivero from Triple-A Omaha. Massey will take Whit Merrifield’s spot on the active roster, while Rivero is up in place of backup Cam Gallagher. Both Merrifield and Gallagher were traded prior to yesterday’s deadline. Lefty Angel Zerpa was moved to the 60-day injured list to open a spot on the 40-man roster for Massey.

Massey, the Royals’ fourth-round pick in 2019, is in enjoying an outstanding season in the minors, posting a combined .312/.371/.532 with 16 home runs, 28 doubles and 13 steals through 391 plate appearances. That includes a massive .325/.392/.595 batting line (158 wRC+) in 143 trips to the plate at the Triple-A level. Baseball America tabbed him eighth among Kansas City prospects on their midseason ranking of the system, giving him above-average grades for his hit tool, power and glove at second base.

With Merrifield traded, there’s a clear opening for the 24-year-old Massey to join Bobby Witt Jr. as a staple in the Kansas City infield. He’s certainly not as ballyhooed a prospect as Witt was prior to his debut, but Massey was selected with the 109th overall draft pick not long ago and has done nothing but hit since making his professional debut. For a 41-63 Royals club that is clearly playing for the future for the remainder of the current season, Massey is just the type of promising youngster who ought to command everyday at-bats in hopes of seizing a spot on next year’s roster.

As for the 23-year-old Rivero, he’ll give Kansas City a third catching option behind Salvador Perez and MJ Melendez. With that duo on the roster for the foreseeable future, it’ll be tough for Rivero to carve out much of a role, but he has a minor league option remaining beyond the current season. Rivero hasn’t hit in a tiny sample of 58 big league plate appearances, but he has a .266/.322/.380 line in 171 Triple-A plate appearances that’s at least passable for a catcher, particularly an organization’s No. 3 catcher on the 40-man roster.

Zerpa, 22, is one of the organization’s more promising pitching prospects, but a move to the 60-day injured list could very well mean the end of his season. The Royals placed him on the 15-day injured list due to a right knee injury last week but have yet to provide more details surrounding today’s shift to the 60-day IL.

Diamondbacks Select Tommy Henry

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The Diamondbacks announced that they have selected the contract of left-hander Tommy Henry. He is the starter for today’s game, making his major league debut. To make room for him on the 40-man roster, fellow lefty Tyler Gilbert was transferred to the 60-day injured list. Righty Taylor Widener was optioned to make room on the active roster.

Henry, 25, was selected by the Diamondbacks with the 74th overall pick in the 2019 draft. He tossed three innings in Low-A that year but then missed all of 2020 due to the pandemic. Last year, he made 23 starts in Double-A, putting up a 5.21 ERA with a 27.4% strikeout rate, 10.8% walk rate and 39.7% ground ball rate. Here in 2022, he’s been bumped up to Triple-A and made 20 starts so far, sitting on a 3.83 ERA with a 21.9% strikeout rate, 9.6% walk rate and 44.6% grounder rate.

Henry has appeared on Baseball America’s list of top Arizona farmhands since 2020, getting bumped up to #9 at the midseason update this year. Their report notes that he doesn’t have overpowering stuff, with his fastball sitting around 91 mph, but his best offering is his changeup.

As for Gilbert, he was placed on the injured list July 29 due to an elbow sprain. He won’t be eligible to return until 60 days from that initial IL placement, which would be late September at the earliest. He has a 5.24 ERA this season through 34 1/3 innings.

Twins Designate Joe Smith For Assignment, Select Sandy Leon

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The Twins on Wednesday selected the contract of veteran catcher Sandy Leon — acquired in a minor league swap with Cleveland yesterday — and designated veteran right-handed reliever Joe Smith for assignment (Twitter link via Do-Hyoung Park of MLB.com). Minnesota also reinstated lefty Caleb Thielbar from the 15-day injured list and optioned catcher Caleb Hamilton to Triple-A St. Paul.

Smith, 38, signed a one-year, $2.5MM deal with the Twins late in the offseason. He’s currently sporting a lackluster 4.61 ERA through 27 1/3 frames, though that number is disproportionately skewed by a nightmarish appearance on July 17, when Smith took a six-run drubbing at the hands of the White Sox in an 11-0 blowout loss. Setting aside that one awful outing, he’s otherwise pitched to a 2.67 ERA.

The Twins, however, rarely gave Smith eighth-inning work and often relied on him in innings five through seven, often entrusting higher-leverage innings to Jhoan Duran, Griffin Jax, and (with far less success) Emilio Pagan and Tyler Duffey. Smith has been homer-prone this year even if one is willing to charitably overlook that White Sox implosion, and lefties have absolutely torched him, posting a .303/.410/.606 batting line in 39 plate appearances.

In the past, the sidearming Smith has excelled in terms of limiting hard contact. After a brief hiccup in that regard in 2020, he bounced back in 2021 — not to his prior peak, granted, but an 87.9 mph average exit velocity and 35.2% hard-hit rate were both solid enough marks. This season, Smith has yielded an average exit velocity of 89.2 mph, however, and a hefty 42.1% of batted balls against him have left the bat at 95 mph or greater.

Smith is still owed about $879K of this year’s $2.5MM salary, and any team that claims him will be responsible for the remainder of that sum. If he goes unclaimed on waivers, he can reject a minor league assignment in favor of free agency while still retaining the entirety of that remaining salary. A new team would only be responsible for the prorated portion of the league minimum upon signing Smith and adding him to the big league roster. The Twins, of course, can no longer trade Smith now that yesterday’s deadline has passed, so he’ll be on either outright waivers or release waivers within the next few days.

As for Leon, he’ll give the Twins a defensive-minded backup who’s long drawn praise for his receiving skills and defense — even as they’ve been coupled with anemic offense. At this juncture of his career, the 33-year-old switch-hitter is the consummate veteran backup. He went 2-for-15 with a pair of singles but six walks earlier this season with the Guardians and has a .226/.340/.333 slash in 100 Triple-A plate appearances between Cincinnati and Cleveland on the year. He’ll give the Twins a solid glove and veteran game-caller while they await the return of 25-year-old Ryan Jeffers, who’s out several more weeks with a broken thumb.

It’s possible that the Twins will continue to roster Leon even after Jeffers returns, as Leon would still be a better defensive backup behind the plate than Gary Sanchez, who could revert back to a primary designated hitter role. Beyond that, Major League teams will get a couple of extra roster spots in September, making it easier to roster both Leon and Sanchez. The Twins have regularly carried three catching options in previous seasons.

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