MRI Reveals No UCL Damage For Reds’ Tejay Antone
JUNE 27: In encouraging news, Antone told reporters (including Bobby Nightengale of the Cincinnati Enquirer and C. Trent Rosecrans of the Athletic) that an MRI revealed no damage to his UCL. The righty suggested he’s targeting a return immediately after the All-Star break, although he’ll be shut down from throwing for the moment.
JUNE 26: The Reds announced that right-hander Tejay Antone has been placed on the 10-day IL due to a right forearm strain. Left-hander Cionel Perez was recalled from Triple-A Louisville in the corresponding move.
Antone only just returned earlier this week from an 11-day stint on the injured list due to inflammation in that same forearm. It certainly isn’t a good sign that the righty is so quickly headed back to the IL with what looks like an even more serious forearm issue, especially since Antone already has a Tommy John surgery in his health history. It certainly looks like Antone will miss more than just a minimal amount of time with his latest injury, as the Reds will want to be as cautious as possible in avoiding any more serious damage.
In part because of that earlier TJ procedure that wiped out his 2017 season, Antone didn’t make his Major League debut until 2020, but he has made up for lost time with some impressive numbers. Over 69 innings in the big leagues, Antone has a 2.22 ERA/3.32 SIERA, 32.5% strikeout rate, and 48% grounder rate. While a .194 BABIP has helped minimize the damage from all those ground balls, Antone also isn’t allowing much hard contact.
There was some speculation in Spring Training that Antone could win a rotation job, though a minor hip injury scuttled that idea and placed him in the Reds’ bullpen. It ended up working out for the best, given that Antone has been more or less the only consistent arm in a very shaky Cincinnati relief corps. Even with Antone’ s 1.60 ERA over 33 2/3 relief innings this season, the Reds bullpen ranks last in the majors in ERA. Assuming Antone misses a noteworthy amount of time recovering from this forearm strain, it will put even more pressure on the Reds’ front office to land some bullpen help before the July 30 trade deadline.
Minor MLB Transactions: 6/27/21
The latest minor moves around the league:
- Right-hander Joe Harvey has elected free agency after clearing outright waivers, according to his transactions log at MLB.com. The 29-year-old reliever was designated for assignment by the Rockies earlier in the week. He hasn’t pitched in an MLB game this season, but he combined for 21 1/3 innings of 4.22 ERA/5.25 SIERA ball with Colorado and the Yankees between 2019-20.
- Outfielder Mason Williams has also elected free agency after clearing waivers earlier this week, per his MLB.com transactions log. The 29-year-old garnered brief time with the Mets this season, appearing in 17 games while the big league team was dealing with a series of outfield injuries. Williams has reached the big leagues in each of the past seven seasons- logging time with both New York clubs, the Reds and the Orioles along the way- but he’s only tallied a total of 289 MLB plate appearances. The left-handed hitter owns a .265/.308/.366 line with four home runs at the highest level.
Dinelson Lamet Leaves Game With Forearm Fatigue
JUNE 27: Lamet felt some “fatigue in his forearm area” and had trouble getting the feel for his slider, manager Jayce Tingler said after the game (via AJ Cassavell of MLB.com). It’s not yet clear whether an injured list stint is under consideration.
JUNE 26: Dinelson Lamet was pulled after just 2 1/3 innings from his start tonight against the Diamondbacks, per MLB.com’s AJ Cassavell (via Twitter). The trainer came out to the mound after an apparent dip in velocity, and Lamet was removed from the game.
The Padres are on high alert when it comes to Lamet’s injury status. A UCL strain delayed Lamet’s start to the season. Forearm inflammation ended his first start of the season after just two innings. The Padres have remained conservative, limiting Lamet to three innings or less in each of his first six appearances. Only in June was he stretched out to four and five innings per start.
Watching his innings has worked in terms of performance. Lamet owns a 2.81 ERA/2.77 FIP in 32 innings with a 27.2 percent strikeout rate and 8.1 percent walk rate — both of which are better than league average. Those numbers did not hold against the last-place Diamondbacks on Saturday night, however, as he surrendered four earned runs on six hits — including two home runs — in 2 1/3 innings. He recorded one strikeout.
Mike Soroka To Undergo Season-Ending Achilles Surgery
11:53AM: While an official recovery timeline won’t be known until after the surgery, MLB.com’s Mark Bowman (via Twitter) estimates that Soroka will be out for a full year, until July 2022.
11:11AM: Braves right-hander Mike Soroka will undergo surgery to fix a torn Achilles tendon, the team announced (Twitter links). This will be the second season-ending Achilles procedure in as many years for Soroka, as according to the Braves’ announcement, he suffered “a complete re-tear of the tendon” while walking to the team’s clubhouse on Thursday.
It is another brutal turn of events for Soroka, who already underwent exploratory surgery on his Achilles back in May. Atlanta manager Brian Snitker initially thought Soroka would be done for the season after that surgery, though more recent reports had the team hopeful that the righty could return to action some time in August.
The 23-year-old Soroka was a breakout star of the 2019 season, posting a 2.68 ERA, 20.3% strikeout rate, and 51.2% grounder rate over 174 2/3 innings en route to finishing second in NL Rookie Of The Year voting and sixth in NL Cy Young Award voting. Just when it seemed as though Soroka had established himself as one of baseball’s top young arms, however, he tore his Achilles while covering first base on a fielding play during a game on August 3, 2020, ending his season after just three starts.
Between some shoulder inflammation and the May surgery, Soroka hasn’t pitched since that fateful August 3 game, and in the wake of these repeated major Achilles injuries, it is fair to wonder just when he might able to get back to action. A return by Opening Day 2022 doesn’t seem likely, as an increased amount of rehab and recovery will undoubtedly be required after this second surgery.
Soroka is under team control through the 2024 season, as he still has three years of arbitration eligibility remaining due to earning Super Two status. Despite tossing only 13 2/3 innings in 2020, Soroka still won an arbitration case with the Braves this past offseason, earning him a $2.8MM salary for 2021 in his first time through the arb process. He’ll be projected to earn that same salary for 2022, so there isn’t much of a chance Atlanta would non-tender Soroka given the low price tag and his big upside if he is able to stay healthy.
In the shorter term, the Braves now know they won’t be getting Soroka back as a late-season rotation boost. Charlie Morton, Ian Anderson, and Drew Smyly comprise Atlanta’s current top three, with Max Fried expected to return this week from a blister. Huascar Ynoa (broken hand) and Tucker Davidson (forearm inflammation) are both on the 60-day IL and won’t be back until August, while the likes of Kyle Wright, Bryse Wilson, and Kyle Muller haven’t distinguished themselves in starting roles. It’s safe to assume Atlanta was looking for starting pitching help even prior to today’s news about Soroka, though with a 36-39 record, the Braves will have to start stringing together some wins over the next month to ensure that they’ll be buyers whatsoever at the trade deadline.
Injury Notes: Harper, Higgins, Hoerner, Topa
Phillies star right fielder Bryce Harper was hit in the left leg by a Jacob deGrom change-up during a bunt attempt today. He ran the bases, but Travis Jankowski replaced him in the field for the bottom half of the inning. The ball skipped off the ground before hitting Harper’s leg, so it’s likely to be a short layoff for Harper. That said, nothing is certain at this point, including Harper’s availability for Sunday, writes Jim Salisbury of NBC Sports Philadelphia.
While we await an update on Harper, let’s circle up and check-in elsewhere around the Senior Circuit…
- Cubs backup catcher P.J. Higgins has been diagnosed with a partially torn UCL that will require Tommy John surgery, per Meghan Montemurro of the Chicago Tribune (via Twitter). Luckily for the Cubs, starter Willson Contreras was back in the lineup today after getting hit by a pitch on the hand yesterday, Montemurro adds. Higgins collected his first Major League hit this season but went just 1-for-23 at the plate in nine games. [UPDATE: Higgins is actually getting right forearm flexor tendon surgery, Montemurro was among those to report, not a Tommy John procedure.]
- Nico Hoerner will begin a rehab assignment at Triple-A tomorrow, writes Tim Stebbins of NBC Sports Chicago. He strained his hamstring on May 25th after beginning to establish himself as a galvanizing presence on both sides of the ball. With slick glovework at the keystone, Hoerner is one of the Cubs‘ better defenders, and he brought his hot bat from spring training into the regular season, batting .338/.405/.432 in 84 trips. Hoerner projects to return to the big-league club sometime in early July.
- The Brewers don’t have an exact timeline for the return of reliever Justin Topa, but manager Craig Counsell sounds optimistic in saying, “He’s not crazy far from game action,” per Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel (via Twitter). Topa injured his elbow during spring training and has yet to make his season debut. He made six quality appearances as a 29-year-old rookie for the Brewers in 2020, pitching to a 2.35 ERA in 7 2/3 innings.
Tigers Option Isaac Paredes, Keep Zack Short On Active Roster
After splitting today’s doubleheader with the Astros, the Tigers announced that they are keeping 27th man Zack Short on the active roster and optioning Isaac Paredes to Triple-A. Paredes, 22, was given an opportunity to fill in for Niko Goodrum when the latter was placed on the injured list.
With a 17.1 percent walk rate and 14.3 percent strikeout rate in a small sample of 35 plate appearances, Paredes has shown a solid, contact-first approach. The bottom line results haven’t been there yet, however, as he slashed .143/.286/.321 in that time. His .130 BABIP suggests some poor luck, and his batted ball numbers (such as exit velocity, hard-hit percentage, and barrel rate) are a touch below average. Paredes will head back to the minors with hopes of producing more solid contact in regular playing time at Toledo.
Short, 26, is having a stellar season at the plate, both in Triple-A (.132 wRC+ in 124 plate appearances) and with the parent club (143 wRC+ in 16 plate appearances). The former Cubs’ farmhand can play all over the infield while filling Paredes’ role as a right-handed complement to switch-hitting infielders Jeimer Candelario and Willi Castro. Short may not have the long-term promise that Paredes does, but he has impressed in short-run samples this season, earning himself an opportunity.
Moving to the outfield, the Tigers have another roster decision coming soon, writes Evan Woodbery of Mlive.com. With Derek Hill and Victor Reyes close to returning from the injured list, the Tigers will have a surplus of outfielders. The most obvious move would be to activate Hill and option Reyes back to Triple-A, but Woodbery wonders whether Detroit might find this the right time to cut ties with Nomar Mazara.
Though still just 26, Mazara is seemingly running out of chances to prove himself a Major League hitter. After struggling through the shortened season with the White Sox, Mazara has put up similar production this year. Slashing .201/.273/.317 through 154 plate appearances, Mazara doesn’t have any trade value, and on a one-year, $1.75MM contract, he can be cut loose without significant financial consequence.
If the Tigers don’t see Mazara as a part of their future, there’s certainly some logic to allocating his playing time elsewhere. The Tigers can pull from a pool of outfielders that includes Robbie Grossman, Akil Baddoo, Daz Cameron, Hill, Reyes, JaCoby Jones, Christin Stewart, Jacob Robson. Infielders Castro and Goodrum (when he returns from the injured list) are also capable of playing the outfield.
Phillies Designate David Hale, Select Neftali Feliz
JUNE 26: David Hale has cleared waivers and elected free agency, per the Phillies. Hale is now free to explore an opportunity with any organization.
JUNE 25: The Phillies announced Friday that they’ve designated right-hander David Hale for assignment in order to open a spot on the roster for fellow righty Neftali Feliz, whose contract has been selected from Triple-A Lehigh Valley. Philadelphia also placed righty Sam Coonrod on the 10-day injured list due to tendinitis in his right forearm, recalled infielder Nick Maton to fill that roster spot and tabbed righty Enyel De Los Santos as the 27th man for today’s doubleheader.
It’s the first big league action for the now-33-year-old Feliz since 2017. The 2010 American League Rookie of the Year’s career was derailed by arm troubles that began with Tommy John surgery in 2012. That surgery wiped out nearly all of his 2013 campaign, and although Feliz returned with a 1.99 ERA in 2014, his velocity was diminished and his strikeout rate plummeted. Feliz struggled through a dismal 2015 season split between the Rangers and Tigers before enjoying a nice rebound effort with the Pirates in 2016. That bounceback effort, however, was truncated by an arm issue that ended his season in early September.
Feliz latched on with the Brewers on a one-year deal for the 2017 campaign but was hit hard in 27 frames with Milwaukee before being cut loose. The Royals signed him for the remainder of the year and got slightly better results. Feliz signed with the D-backs on a minor league deal that winter, but he was unable to make the team in Spring Training and cut loose at the end of camp. He followed a similar path with the Mariners in 2019.
From 2018-20, Feliz’s only work on the mound came in the Dominican Winter League. His showing there in the 2020-21 season — 3.07 ERA, 22-to-6 K/BB ratio in 14 2/3 innings — was enough for the Phillies to take notice and bring him in on a minor league pact. And his work thus far in Triple-A has certainly been impressive enough to merit a return to the Majors for the first time in nearly four years. Through 14 1/3 frames with Lehigh Valley, Feliz has yielded just a pair of earned runs on eight hits and six walks. He’s punched out 23 of the 58 batters he’s faced so far in Triple-A (39.6 percent).
Turning to the 33-year-old Hale, he never quite found his footing this season. He game the Phils 11 solid frames down the stretch last year, but Hale has surrendered at least one earned run in 10 of his 17 appearances this year and pitched to a 6.41 ERA through 26 2/3 innings of work.
Hale was a viable long relief/spot start option from 2018-20 — mostly with the Yankees, who signed him to a staggering five minor league deals in that time — as he tallied 68 1/3 innings with a 3.56 ERA. Hale has never missed many bats, but he’s generally shown good command and kept the ball on the ground at an above-average clip.
Coonrod, 28, got out to a brilliant start this season but hit a rough patch beginning in mid-May. He’s been tagged for 11 runs over his past nine innings, so it’s perhaps not entirely surprising to see that there’s some degree of an arm issue. Even with that slump, he’s still sporting a respectable 4.18 ERA with a 24.8 percent strikeout rate and an 8.3 percent walk rate.
The 24-year-old Maton returns after a brief stretch in Triple-A. He began his rookie season on an absolute tear in the big leagues, slashing .313/.337/.458 through his first 86 trips to the plate. However, Maton fell into a woeful 0-for-21 slump and lost playing time over the next few weeks, ultimately leading the Phils to send him down for some additional work. He’d never played above the Double-A level prior to the 2021 season.
AL East Notes: Mancini, Kirk, Anderson, McKay, Kluber
In a bit of good news for Orioles‘ fans, Trey Mancini will participate in this year’s Home Run Derby, per The Athletic’s Dan Connolly (via Twitter). Mancini should provide some feel-good coverage for the 2021 All-Star festivities. Having missed last season while being treated for stage 3 colon cancer, Mancini has returned to lead the Orioles with a .260/.337/.466 triple-slash line with 14 home runs and 52 runs batted in, good for a 121 wRC+. Let’s check in with the other clubs in the AL East…
- Alejandro Kirk has joined the Blue Jays‘ Triple-A club in Trenton with the possibility of returning from the injured list as early as July 1, per Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet.ca (via Twitter). Kirk must first prove himself ready in Triple-A. After making the team out of spring training, Kirk has been out since May 2nd with a flexor strain. The Jays have also been without starter Danny Jansen for almost three weeks now. Riley Adams, who has three options remaining, will head back to Trenton whenever Kirk is ready.
- Nick Anderson threw his second bullpen session for the Rays, and he appears on track for an August return. per Adam Berry of MLB.com (via Twitter). Anderson’s value as a bullpen ace is well-known after last year’s breakout campaign — 0.55 ERA in 16 1/3 regular-season innings. The Rays leaned hard on Anderson to get them to the World Series: he appeared in both games of the Wild Card sweep of the Blue Jays, two of the five games in their ALDS win over the Yankees, and three more apiece in the ALCS and World Series.
- Brendan McKay is in line for a 30-pitch bullpen soon, Berry also notes, and if that goes well, he’ll start to build his strength up to a starter’s workload. McKay last appeared in competitive action in 2019, when he threw 49 innings at the big-league level with a 5.14 ERA/4.03 FIP.
- The Yankees don’t expect to get Corey Kluber back until August at the earliest, but it could be as late as September, per MLB.com’s Bryan Hoch (via Twitter). Kluber gave the Yankees exactly what they’d hoped in his ten starts: 3.04 ERA/3.77 FIP in 53 1/3 innings. Unfortunately, he also realized their fears when he suffered a shoulder strain that will ultimately knock him out for more than half the year.
Diamondbacks Activate Brett de Geus, Option Corbin Martin
After claiming right-hander Brett de Geus off waivers from the Rangers yesterday, the Diamondbacks added him to their active roster today, the team announced. Because he was a Rule 5 pick, de Geus will need to remain on the active roster for the remainder of the season to stay in the Dbacks’ organization.
Arizona was 21-56 coming into today, owners of the worst record in baseball, and while that was hardly the plan for the Snakes, it does allow them to take a chance on a young player like de Geus. As a waiver claim, he’s a no-risk addition to the bullpen, which will also allow them to give more development time to other prospects.
Corbin Martin is one such arm. Martin was optioned to Triple-A to make room on the roster for De Geus. The 25-year-old Martin came to the desert from the Astros as part of the Zack Greinke deal.
Martin has appeared overmatched in five outings (three starts). The former second-round pick started yesterday’s game against the Padres, but he faced just seven hitters, recording one out while giving up four earned runs on three hits (two home runs), a pair of walks, and a hit batsman. He’s been tagged for 19 earned runs in 16 innings for a 10.69 ERA.
de Geus’ numbers with the Rangers don’t suggest he’s a huge upgrade — 8.44 ERA in 19 appearances — but an organization change always brings the possibility of a change in approach or mechanics that could spark something for de Geus, who’s still just 23 years old.
Pirates To Promote Max Kranick
5:15 PM: Right-hander Geoff Hartlieb will be optioned to Triple-A tomorrow to make room for Kranick, tweets Mackey. The 27-year-old has appeared three times out of the pen, struggling with his control, issuing five free passes en route to four earned runs in 3 2/3 innings. Control was Hartlieb’s bugaboo last season as well when he walked 18.8 percent of opposing hitters in 22 1/3 innings.
1:06 PM: The Pirates will promote right-hander Max Kranick to the majors tomorrow, according to Alex Stumpf of DK Pittsburgh Sports. Kranick will make his MLB debut as the Pirates’ starting pitcher for their game against the Cardinals. (Mackey also shared the amusing way that Triple-A manager Brian Esposito and pitching coach Joel Hanrahan told Kranick about the promotion in prank form.)
A Pennsylvania product born in Scranton, Kranick was an 11th-round pick for the Bucs in the 2016 draft, as the team went well above slot price to land him at a $300K bonus. He has started 54 of 58 career games in the minors, posting a 3.47 ERA over 280 overall innings, and he reached both the Double-A and Triple-A levels for the first time this season. Kranick has a cumulative 4.37 ERA, 24.65% strikeout rate, and 6.16% walk rate over 35 total innings (19 1/3 at Triple-A, 15 2/3 at Double-A) in 2021.
“While he doesn’t have one pitch that jumps off the page, Kranick does have good feel and has shown an ability to throw strikes with all of them,” according to MLB Pipeline’s scouting report, with Pipeline ranking him as the 26th-best prospect in Pittsburgh’s farm system. His fastball has the highest grade (55 on the 20-80 scouting scale) of any of his three offerings, and Kranick regularly hits the 94mph plateau with the ability to get up to 98mph on occasion.
Since the Pirates are firmly in rebuild mode, taking a look at a 23-year-old arm fits right into the organization’s plans about focusing on the future. Room opened up in the rotation when Trevor Cahill was placed on the injured list and Mitch Keller was optioned to the minors, so it makes sense that the Bucs would take a shot with Kranick after his solid (if unspectacular) showing at Triple-A.