Royals Place Carlos Santana On 10-Day Injured List
First baseman Carlos Santana has been placed on the Royals’ 10-day injured list due to right ankle bursitis. Emmanuel Rivera was called up from Triple-A to take Santana’s spot on the active roster.
Kansas City manager Mike Matheny told reporters (including MLB.com’s Anne Rogers) that Santana suffered the injury while running the bases in Monday’s game, and continued soreness caused Santana to be a late scratch from Tuesday’s lineup. No specific timeline was suggested for Santana’s return, but he might not be out of action too far beyond the 10-day minimum.
While it seems as though Santana has escaped a serious injury, the absence is still unlucky, as Rogers notes that Santana has finally started to produce at the plate. The veteran slugger’s four-game hitting streak is pretty modest, yet it still stands out as a positive sign after Santana hit only .104/.307/.188 over his first 62 plate appearances. After signing a two-year, $17.5MM free agent deal with the Royals in the 2020-21 offseason, Santana has still yet to get on track in a K.C. uniform, as he struggled through an injury-hampered 2021 campaign.
Hunter Dozier or Ryan O’Hearn are probably the likeliest candidates to fill in at first base during Santana’s absence. Top prospect Nick Pratto is hitting pretty well at Triple-A, though the Royals might not call Pratto up and start his MLB service clock if Santana is only going to miss a couple of weeks.
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Blue Jays, Derek Holland Agree To Minor League Deal
The Blue Jays are in agreement with Derek Holland, the left-hander playfully revealed on Twitter. It’s a minor league contract for the 35-year-0ld, who opted out of a non-roster deal with the Red Sox over the weekend.
Holland didn’t get a big league crack in Boston, and he’ll try to pitch his way onto the MLB roster in Toronto. If he eventually earns a call, it’d be the 14th consecutive year in which he reaches the majors. Holland spent the bulk of that time as a starter, but he’s moved to relief more or less full-time going back to 2019. Holland has just a 5.98 ERA in 174 2/3 innings over the last three years, but he’s held left-handed hitters to a paltry .211/.281/.294 line over 226 plate appearances.
Last season, Holland made 39 outings and tossed 49 2/3 frames of 5.07 ERA ball with the Tigers. He signed a minors deal with the Red Sox in mid-March and forwent his first opt-out opportunity at the start of the regular season. Assigned to Triple-A Worcester, he allowed nine runs in 11 1/3 innings. Holland punched out 13 batters but also issued seven walks in that stretch. He was one of a handful of veterans afforded a May 1 opt-out right by the collective bargaining agreement, and he triggered that provision. Boston elected to release him rather than add him to the major league roster.
The Jays already have a fair bit of left-handed bullpen depth, so Holland could have his work cut out for him getting back to the big leagues. Tim Mayza is locked in as the primary lefty set-up man, while offseason signee Andrew Vasquez is in the majors. Tayler Saucedo and Ryan Borucki are each on the injured list, but the latter has progressed to throwing live batting practice sessions. Borucki is out of minor league option years, meaning the Jays will have to keep him on the active roster when he returns or take him off the 40-man entirely.
Tigers To Promote Alex Faedo
The Tigers announced yesterday they’re recalling pitching prospect Alex Faedo to make his MLB debut. He’ll get the start in the second game of today’s doubleheader against the Pirates.
Faedo, 26, was Detroit’s first-round pick in the 2017 draft after a standout career at the University of Florida. Regarded as a potential top five talent at one point, he slipped to 18th after a bit of a slow start to his draft year. Faedo was excellent late in that season, though, helping the Gators to a national title. Between his college resume, strong sinker-slider combination and strike-throwing ability, he looked like a potential quick-moving rotation piece.
Things haven’t played out that way, in large part due to injury. Faedo didn’t pitch during his post-draft summer as the Tigers managed his innings following the deep postseason run in college. The following year, he got out to a decent start at High-A but struggled after a midseason promotion to Double-A. Faedo repeated that level in 2019 and fared better, posting a 3.90 ERA with a 28.3% strikeout rate in 115 1/3 innings. He looked as if he might be a potential MLB option by 2020, but Faedo suffered a forearm strain and was shut down that August.
While the team had initially hoped to avoid surgery, he required a Tommy John procedure in December. Faedo was nevertheless added to the Detroit 40-man roster to keep him from being taken in the Rule 5 draft, but he spent the entire 2021 season on the injured list. Baseball America ranked him the #20 prospect in the organization this past offseason, noting that his recent injury history and below-average changeup may eventually push him towards a bullpen role. For now, he remains a starting pitching option, where he should at least pound the strike zone and miss some bats with his slider.
Faedo tossed five scoreless innings with eight strikeouts during his first start at Triple-A Toledo this year. That’s his only experience at the minors’ top level to date, and it’s possible he’ll head back out on optional assignment immediately after today’s outing. He figures to get an extended big league look at some point fairly soon, however, and Detroit’s recent spate of rotation injuries could force him to assume a significant role in the coming months.
The Tigers are without each of Casey Mize, Matt Manning and Tyler Alexander due to arm injuries. Eduardo Rodríguez, Tarik Skubal, Michael Pineda and rookie Beau Brieske are the top four currently-healthy arms. Detroit hasn’t expressed much concern about possible long-term absences for Mize or Manning, but both righties are in the early stages of throwing programs. The Tigers don’t have an off day until May 19, and they’re faced with doubleheaders both this afternoon and next Tuesday against Oakland.
Joey Wentz and Elvin Rodríguez are starting games in Toledo, as is non-roster veteran Chase Anderson. The Tigers also have former starters Drew Hutchison and Wily Peralta working as multi-inning bullpen options in the majors. Manager A.J. Hinch recently reiterated that he prefers Peralta in a relief role, so it doesn’t seem as if he’ll step into the rotation mix (link via Evan Petzold of the Detroit Free-Press).
Angels Option Jo Adell
The Angels announced this afternoon they’ve optioned outfielder Jo Adell to Triple-A Salt Lake. Utilityman Jose Rojas has been recalled to take his spot on the active roster.
Adell has been considered one of the sport’s most talented young players for some time. Baseball America slotted him among the top two prospects in the Angels’ system every year between 2018 (his first season after being selected 10th overall in the previous draft) and 2021, when he exhausted his prospect eligibility. Heading into last year, BA ranked him the game’s 13th-best prospect. Evaluators raved about his combination of power and speed, but the 23-year-old has yet to establish himself at the major league level.
During the shortened 2020 season, Adell broke into the majors and played 38 games. He hit just .161/.212/.266, and he spent the first half of last year on optional assignment. After beginning the season at the alternate training site, he was sent to Salt Lake. Through the end of July, he hit .289/.342/.592 in 339 plate appearances. That was above-average overall output highlighted by a massive 23 homers in 73 games, but Adell also struck out in 29.2% of his trips to the plate against a subpar 6.5% walk rate.
Upon being recalled to the big leagues in early August, Adell hit .246/.295/.408 in 35 contests. That marked a notable improvement over his 2020 production but was still ten percentage points below the league average, by measure of wRC+. He broke camp with the big league club this year but has gotten off to a disappointing start. Through 66 plate appearances, he’s hitting .231/.242/.431. Adell’s three homers and four doubles have led to a respectable slugging output — particularly in the context of a brutal offensive month leaguewide — but he’s punched out 24 times while drawing just a single walk.
In addition to those worrisome strikeout and walk numbers, Adell has had a rough go defensively. Statcast has pegged him as four outs below average to this point, tied for the second-worst mark among outfielders. The Angels will send him back to Salt Lake for further work on both sides of the ball in hopes that his next promotion to the big leagues can be permanent.
Adell entered this season with one year and 44 days of MLB service time. He has spent about 26 days on the active roster this year, bringing him up to around one year and 70 days altogether. Players are credited with a full year of service upon reaching 172 days on an active roster (or MLB injured list). If Adell is recalled before the last week of June and sticks in the majors from that point forward, he’d still remain on track to reach free agency after the 2026 season, as currently scheduled.
In the interim, the Angels will rely on Brandon Marsh, Mike Trout and Taylor Ward as their primary outfield. That group was the most productive in the majors through the season’s first month, with all three players off to fabulous starts. Rojas joins Jack Mayfield and Tyler Wade as infield/outfield hybrids who can over some depth on the grass.
Injury Notes: Lewis, May, Gray, Longoria, Giants
The Mariners announced that center fielder Kyle Lewis has begun a rehab assignment in Triple-A tonight, his first competitive assignment since he tore his meniscus last May. Foreshadowing what may come when the 2020 AL Rookie of the Year makes it back to the majors, the 26-year-old Lewis swatted a home run on his first swing back in minor league game action. Equally encouraging for M’s fans is manager Scott Servais’s assessment, who according to MLB.com’s Daniel Kramer notes the team can be “a little bit more aggressive than we’d normally be” in promoting Lewis.
Cutting a 20-day rehab assignment short would be a bold move for a player who played in just 36 games last season, but clearly speaks to the team’s confidence in Lewis’s recovery. For what it’s worth, the Mariners aren’t exactly hurting for offense at the moment, as they rank third in the AL in runs scored. The high-upside outfield trio of Jesse Winker, Julio Rodriguez, and Jarred Kelenic, as well as a mishmash of DH options, have yet to really get it going however, and seem likely to cede time to the right-handed Lewis in the coming weeks.
Some additional injury updates from around the league…
- Mets reliever Trevor May is headed to the 10-day IL with triceps inflammation in his throwing arm, per Tim Healey of Newsday Sports. The typically reliable right-hander is off to a rough start in the 2022 season, allowing sixteen batters to reach base and half of them to score across eight appearances. The Mets currently sit atop the NL win column with an 18-8 record but if there’s one nit to pick with the team’s outstanding play so far it’s the bullpen, who have been a bottom-half unit in terms of run prevention this season. A return to health and vintage form from May will go a long way to shoring up the bullpen and taking pressure off the team’s lineup and rotation, both of which rank as top-5 groups in the sport. Right-hander Adonis Medina, who was acquired from the Pirates in early April, has been recalled to fill the bullpen vacancy.
- The Rangers meanwhile welcomed back right-handed starter Jon Gray from the IL today after he sprained in his knee in his previous start. Gray, one of several splashy signings made by Texas this offseason, has yet to get into a groove with his new club. The 30-year-old has already been placed on the IL twice during the young season, and was pulled after 60 pitches in tonight’s match against the Phillies. A rough first inning ballooned his ERA up to 7.50 on the season, but a quiet pair of ensuing innings is what the Rangers and their beleaguered pitching staff will be looking for more of moving forward. Right-handed reliever Albert Abreu, acquired from the Yankees in April’s Jose Trevino trade, heads to the IL in Gray’s stead with a sprained ankle. Abreu has managed a solid 3.57 ERA on the year, albeit with a worrying 11 walks in just over seven innings of action.
- The Athletic’s Andrew Baggarly rolled out a cavalcade of positive health updates on ailing Giants players today. Notably, injured infielders Evan Longoria and Tommy La Stella will join recovering outfielder LaMonte Wade Jr. on a rehab assignment in Triple-A. Outfielders Joc Pederson and Mike Yastrzemski are nearing full-time returns as well after a right adductor strain and positive COVID test interrupted their respective seasons. Right-handed starter Anthony DeSclafani has also made progress in his recovery from the right ankle inflammation that recently landed him on the IL. Healthy returns from the listed players would be a boon for the club, who currently have several regulars out for COVID-related reasons. Despite sporting an IL that is more recognizable than the starting lineup, the Giants haven’t missed a beat from last season. The team is currently a half game out of first in the NL West, behind the Dodgers and Padres, with a top-3 bullpen and offense that only figures to get deeper in the next few days.
Cardinals Place Edmundo Sosa On COVID-IL, Recall Juan Yepez
The Cardinals have placed infielder Edmundo Sosa on the COVID-19-related injured list according to Jeff Jones of the Belleville News-Democrat. First baseman Juan Yepez has been called up to take Sosa’s spot on the roster, though he won’t join the team in Kansas City until tomorrow.
Sosa’s placement on the IL corresponds with a small COVID breakout among the Cardinals’ traveling party, as three staff members and a clubhouse attendant have also tested positive. Jones notes that Sosa is “mildly symptomatic” and will need to return a pair of negative tests and become asymptomatic before he is able to rejoin the team. Earlier today President of Baseball Operations John Mozeliak claimed that the club is “probably 95%” vaccinated, which lends some hope that this will be the only COVID-themed transaction for the team this week.
The 26-year-old infielder heads to the IL having started just six of the team’s first 22 games. In that brief showing, Sosa has slashed a tepid .160/.250/.160 with an uncharacteristic 42.9% strikeout rate. The team’s active roster is now a bit light on shortstop depth, but should be able to weather Sosa’s absence with starting shortstop Paul DeJong and versatile second baseman Tommy Edman on hand.
The 24-year-old Yepez meanwhile will see his first taste of big league action since a surprise cameo last October. The right-handed hitter is expected to see some action off the bench and in the corner outfield during his call-up, with Paul Goldschmidt entrenched at first base. There’s a case to get Yepez as many at-bats as possible, as he’s continued last year’s tear through the upper minors and Arizona Fall League with an 8-homer, .960 OPS showing across 21 Triple-A games this year.
A’s Activate Lou Trivino From Injured List
The Athletics announced this afternoon they’ve activated reliever Lou Trivino from the COVID-19 injured list. Infield prospect Nick Allen, who was promoted as a designated COVID substitute when Trivino went on the IL, has been returned to Triple-A Las Vegas in a corresponding move. (Martín Gallegos of MLB.com suggested last night that both moves were likely).
Trivino made four appearances before landing on the IL. He was a workhorse last year, tossing 73 2/3 innings of 3.18 ERA ball while collecting 22 saves. He’ll presumably step back into the ninth inning mix now that he’s again healthy. Trivino, who is making $3MM this season and controllable through 2024 via arbitration, could find himself as a midseason trade candidate if the A’s fall out of contention.
Allen, one of the better prospects in the Oakland system, made his first eight MLB appearances. He collected four hits and a pair of walks in 19 at-bats and will now head back to Las Vegas. The A’s had selected Allen onto their 40-man roster last November to keep him from being taken in the Rule 5 draft. He’ll continue to occupy a spot on the 40-man.
That isn’t the case for Drew Jackson, whom the club also reinstated from the COVID-19 IL and returned to Las Vegas. Jackson was also brought up as a COVID substitute last month, but unlike Allen, he wasn’t previously on the 40-man roster. The 28-year-old quickly contracted the virus himself and landed on the IL after appearing in just three games. Now that he’s healthy, he’ll lose his 40-man spot and head back to Las Vegas. The A’s 40-man roster is full, although they’ll need to create a vacancy for Ramón Laureano if he returns from his suspension when first eligible on May 8.
Reds Place Joey Votto On Injured List, Activate Tyler Stephenson
5:26pm: Votto has not tested positive; he self-reported symptoms, according to manager David Bell (via Charlie Goldsmith of the Cincinnati Enquirer). He is day-to-day.
3:37pm: The Reds announced they’ve placed Joey Votto on the COVID-19 injured list. Catcher Tyler Stephenson was reinstated from the IL to take his spot on the active roster. Cincinnati also recalled infielder Alejo López from Triple-A Louisville while optioning backstop Mark Kolozsvary.
The team didn’t specify whether Votto’s IL placement is reflective of a positive COVID test, virus-like symptoms, or exposure to someone who tested positive. Under the league’s 2022 health-and-safety protocols, players who test positive are subject to a 10-day absence from the club, though it’s possible to be reinstated in less time if the player has gone 24 or more hours without a fever, received a pair of negative PCR tests, and been given approval from a team physician and the MLB/MLBPA joint committee (a panel of one league-appointed and one union-appointed physician). If Votto is “merely” dealing with symptoms, he could return in shorter order. Players who test negative can return once their symptoms dissipate, so long as they’re cleared by the joint committee and the team doctor.
Stephenson returns after a two-week absence. The talented young catcher was injured in a collision with Padres first baseman Luke Voit at home plate during a game on April 19. Stephenson suffered a concussion, leaving the Reds to rely on an Aramis Garcia – Kolozsvary pairing behind the dish. It marked another blow to a Reds’ lineup that has been anemic through the season’s first month. Stephenson had been off to an impressive .267/.378/.467 start even as the club languished at or near the bottom of the league in most offensive categories.
Votto has been part of that miserable month, as he’d been off to a terrible start. Through 22 games, the six-time All-Star is hitting just .122/.278/.135 with a lofty 32.2% strikeout rate.
Nationals Place Anibal Sanchez On 60-Day Injured List
The Nationals announced the transfer of starting pitcher Aníbal Sánchez from the 10-day to the 60-day injured list. The move clears a 40-man roster spot for utilityman Dee Strange-Gordon, who has been reinstated from the COVID-19 IL. Infielder Lucius Fox was optioned to Triple-A Rochester to open active roster space.
Sánchez signed a minor league deal during Spring Training, making a comeback after he sat out the 2021 campaign. Washington selected him onto the major league roster shortly before Opening Day. The veteran righty locked in a $2MM base salary by making the team and seemed as if he’d be part of the season-opening rotation. Unfortunately, he experienced some neck soreness that caused his start to be delayed.
Eventually, the team placed Sánchez on the IL with a cervical neck impingement. There was no indication he’d need an extended absence, but that apparently proves the case. Sánchez’s original IL placement was backdated to April 8, meaning he’ll be eligible to return during the first week of June. Whether the 38-year-old will be ready for his first appearance in two years at that point isn’t clear.
Strange-Gordon has been out since mid-April. The veteran speedster also cracked the Opening Day roster after signing a minors deal; he has taken three plate appearances in four games.