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Mariners’ Matt Magill Undergoes Shoulder Surgery

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Mariners reliever Matt Magill underwent an arthroscopic debridement surgery on his right shoulder on Tuesday, according to the team. The M’s expect Magill to be ready for the start of spring training in 2021.

The 30-year-old Magill joined the Mariners in a minor trade with the Twins in July 2019. He has since given the Mariners 32 2/3 innings of 4.41 ERA/4.22 FIP pitching with 10.74 K/9 and 3.03 BB/9.

Overall, Magill has recorded a combined 4.63 ERA/5.25 FIP and posted 9.5 K/9 against 4.93 BB/9 in 149 2/3 innings with the Dodgers, Reds, Twins and Mariners since he debuted in the majors in 2013. He’s slated for his first of three potential arbitration trips during the upcoming offseason.

Yankees Transfer James Paxton To 45-Day IL, Select Wynston Sawyer

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The Yankees have moved left-hander James Paxton to the 45-day injured list and selected catcher Wynston Sawyer, per a team announcement. Sawyer will join the Yankees’ alternate site.

This ends the regular season for Paxton, who has been on the 10-day injured list with a flexor strain since Aug. 20. While the Yankees appear likely to make the playoffs, Paxton won’t be available then from the outset.

Paxton turned in another effective (albeit injury-shortened) campaign in 2019, the former Mariner’s first in New York, and the Yankees were counting on more solid production from him this season. Instead, the 31-year-old totaled 20 1/3 innings of 6.64 ERA ball and saw his average fastball velocity drop from around 95 mph to 92.1. Even if the 31-year-old Paxton pitches again during the fall, he figures to head into free agency in an unfavorable position in a couple months.

Sawyer, previously with the Orioles, Dodgers and Twins organizations, signed a minor league contract with the Yankees in February. He topped out in Triple-A ball from 2018-19, during which he amassed 254 plate appearances and batted .277/.370/.405.

Twins Activate Jake Odorizzi, Option Randy Dobnak

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Twins right-hander Jake Odorizzi and catcher Alex Avila are returning from the injured list, Dan Hayes of The Athletic was among those to report. The club optioned right-hander Randy Dobnak and infielder Travis Blankenhorn, who will be part of its taxi squad, to clear roster room.

The Twins have gone most of the season without Odorizzi, who didn’t debut until Aug. 8 because of a back strain. Then, after three starts, he returned to the IL on Aug. 22 with a chest contusion. So far in 2020, the 30-year-old has only thrown 10 innings and allowed nine earned runs on 14 hits and two walks (nine strikeouts). That isn’t what the Twins or Odorizzi had in mind on the heels of his first All-Star season in 2019, after which he accepted the club’s $17.8MM qualifying offer. Odorizzi could once again have the option of free agency in the winter, but barring an incredible run over the next several weeks, he’ll get there in the wake of a disappointing season.

Odorizzi will take over in the Twins’ rotation for Dobnak, a rookie whose 2020 got off to a tremendous start. But Dobnak’s low velocity and lack of strikeouts have caught up to him recently, as the 25-year-old has allowed at least four earned runs in three of his four outings since Aug. 29. In fairness to Dobnak, however, he has still given the Twins respectable production with a 4.05 ERA/3.97 FIP, 5.21 K/9 against 2.51 BB/9, and a terrific 62.1 percent groundball rate through 46 2/3 innings.

Blue Jays Place Ken Giles On IL, Activate Teoscar Hernandez

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Blue Jays reliever Ken Giles has returned to the 10-day injured list with a right forearm strain, Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet reports. The team also placed outfielder Derek Fisher on the IL with a knee issue, optioned lefty Anthony Kay, activated outfielder Teoscar Hernandez, and recalled righties Jacob Waguespack and Hector Perez.

It’s an alarming situation for Giles, whom arm injuries have weighed down dating back to 2019. He was enjoying an all-world campaign last year before elbow troubles shelved him and prevented the Blue Jays from dealing him before the trade deadline. Giles came back healthy this year, but after making two appearances at the beginning of the campaign, he sat from late July until Sept. 11. The 29-year-old struggled in the two outings sandwiched between IL stints, and has given up four earned runs in 3 2/3 frames this season.

Giles’ season could be over at this point, though he may have a chance to return if the Blue Jays qualify for the playoffs. For now, though, his loss is a blow to their bullpen and potentially to his bank account. As a pending free agent, Giles could have been in for a sizable contract had he been healthy and effective this season. That could still prove to be the case when the offseason rolls around, but Giles’ value certainly hasn’t risen in 2020.

The good news for Toronto is that it’s getting back Hernandez, who was among the league’s top hitters before he went on the IL on Sept. 7 with a left oblique strain. So far, Hernandez has slashed .308/.358/.637 with 14 home runs in 159 plate appearances.

Latest On Dellin Betances

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The Mets have been without reliever Dellin Betances since he went on the injured list Aug. 30 with right lat tightness, and it doesn’t appear a return is imminent. Manager Luis Rojas said Wednesday that Betances’ “timeline is uncertain,” Tim Britton of The Athletic relays.

With little time left in the regular season and the 21-27 Mets looking unlikely to make the playoffs, it’s possible Betances has thrown his last pitch of 2020. Either way, this will go down as the second straight injury-shortened year for Betances, a former Yankee who missed almost all of 2019 with shoulder and Achilles problems. The four-time All-Star then signed for a guaranteed $10.5MM with the Mets last winter, but thanks largely to a couple of rough outings, Betances hasn’t put up his usual numbers.

Before going on the IL, the 32-year-old Betances pitched to a 6.10 ERA/4.27 FIP with by far a career-worst 6.97 (he owns a lifetime 14.44 K/9) and 6.1 BB/9 in 10 1/3 innings. Along the way, Betances averaged 93.3 mph on his fastball – well below his personal mean of 97.2.

The deal Betances inked with the Mets includes options for 2021 and ’22. For next season, he’ll be able to return to the club on a $6MM player option. Considering how this year has gone for him, it seems unlikely Betances will reject that sum in favor of a $3MM buyout.

Cardinals Designate Rob Kaminsky Amid Flurry Of Roster Moves

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The Cardinals announced a series of roster moves Wednesday, perhaps most notably designating left-hander Rob Kaminsky for assignment. The Cards also reinstated Johan Oviedo from the Covid-19 injured list and recalled both infielder Max Schrock and righty Junior Fernandez from the alternate training site. Right-hander Nabil Crismatt and outfielder Lane Thomas were optioned to the alternate site in a pair of corresponding moves, while outfielder Justin Williams is up from the alternate site as the 29th man for today’s doubleheader.

Kaminsky, a former first-round pick of the Cardinals (28th overall in 2013) made his Major League debut as a 26-year-old this season. He didn’t take the most direct route, as he was traded to the Indians for Brandon Moss several years ago, eventually released in Cleveland and returned to the Cards on a minor league deal. The rocky journey likely only made his return to the organization and 2020 MLB debut that much sweeter for Kaminsky, but it appears his time in the big leagues will be short-lived — at least in this go-around.

Kaminsky tossed 4 2/3 innings of relief for the Cards this year, allowing two earned runs on three hits and a pair of walks with three strikeouts and a 60 percent ground-ball rate. The Cards can’t explore trades involving him at this point, so if they hope to keep Kaminsky in the organization, they’ll have to count on him clearing outright waivers. Kaminsky wouldn’t be postseason-eligible if another club claimed him, but he can be controlled through at least the 2026 season if a team was impressed by his big league work in a limited sample this year.

Phillies To Promote Mickey Moniak

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The Phillies are set to call up former No. 1 overall draft pick Mickey Moniak, per Jim Salisbury of NBC Sports Philadelphia (Twitter link). It’ll be the Major League debut for the 22-year-old outfielder.

Moniak wasn’t initially included in the Phillies’ 60-man player pool to begin the shortened season, but he was added shortly before the trade deadline. Now, with Kyle Garlick sustaining an apparent oblique injury, Moniak join the club for his first taste of the Majors. He spent the 2019 season in Double-A, where he posted a .252/.303/.439 batting line. Those numbers don’t immediately stand out, but in the pitcher-friendly Eastern League, that was actually 15 percent better than the league average (115 wRC+). Moniak connected on 11 home runs and piled up extra-base hits, adding 28 doubles and 13 triples to his ledger. He also swiped 15 bases in 18 tries.

Solid 2019 output notwithstanding, it’s also fair to say that Moniak’s career to date hasn’t quite gone as the Phillies would’ve hoped when taking him with the top overall pick. That’s not to say that he’s not a legitimate prospect — he ranks ninth among Phillies prospects at FanGraphs, 12th at Baseball America and 13th at MLB.com — but fair or not, the expectations for any top overall pick are understandably sky-high.

Moniak may not rank within the game’s top 100 prospects or even within his own club’s top 10 on some lists, but he’ll now be afforded the opportunity to prove his doubters wrong and establish himself as a piece of the Phillies’ future. He’ll join an outfield mix that features Bryce Harper, Adam Haseley, Roman Quinn, Andrew McCutchen ad Phil Gosselin, giving the clubs another left-handed bat capable of playing any of the three outfield spots.

As it stands, the Phillies will be able to control Moniak through at least the 2026 season, although that timeline could be altered depending on future optional assignments. The Phillies will need to make a move to select Moniak’s contract, as he’s not currently on the team’s 40-man roster.

Yankees Activate Aaron Judge

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The Yankees announced Wednesday that right fielder Aaron Judge has been reinstated from the 10-day injured list. His activation from the IL comes just one day after Giancarlo Stanton and Gio Urshela also returned from injury.

Calf injuries have limited the 28-year-old Judge to just 18 games in 2020, although he’s been as dangerous as ever when healthy enough to take the field. Through 71 plate appearances, the 2017 Rookie of the Year has slashed a Herculean .292/.343/.738 with nine homers and a pair of doubles. Unfortunately for Judge and for the Yankees, he’s now in his third straight season that has been considerably shortened by injuries. Judge went down with a calf injury in early August and returned about two weeks later. However, he aggravated that calf issue in his first game back and landed right back on the injured list.

Judge joins the Yankees amid a six-game winning streak that has all but eliminated any possibility of the team missing the playoffs. At 27-21, the Yankees are a virtual lock for a postseason berth — it’s now just a matter of which seed they’ll land in this year’s expanded format. They’re four games back from the Rays at the moment, which makes it unlikely that they’ll take the top seed in their division. But New York is also just a half game up over their current opponent, the Blue Jays. There are two remaining games in that series, which will prove pivotal as the two clubs jostle for the better postseason standing.

The Yankees will follow that series up with three games in Boston before traveling to Buffalo for four more games against the Blue Jays at their makeshift 2020 home site. They’ll close out the year hosting the Marlins for three games. The Blue Jays, meanwhile, play four against the Phillies this weekend, four against the Yankees next week and finish the season by hosting the Orioles for three.

Chris Devenski Undergoes Elbow Surgery

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Astros right-hander Chris Devenski underwent arthroscopic surgery to remove a bone spur from his right elbow yesterday, the team announced Wednesday. The recovery time on the procedure is expected to be about four months.

Devenski, 29, has struggled over the past few seasons, but from 2016-17, “The Dragon” was a major piece of Houston’s bullpen. In that time, he worked a combined 189 innings with a 2.38 ERA, 9.7 K/9, 2.2 BB/9, 0.71 HR/9 and a 35.9 percent ground-ball rate. He posted a swinging-strike rate better than 15 percent over that two-year stretch, including a gaudy 16.9 percent in a 2017 campaign that saw him punch out 31.6 percent of the hitters he faced.

Since Opening Day 2018, however, Devenski has a 4.88 ERA in 120 frames. He’s still averaging 9.6 strikeouts per nine innings pitched in that time, but his walk rate has ticked up slightly, his velocity has dipped, and he’s become vastly more prone to home runs (1.73 HR/9). Devenski managed just 3 2/3 innings in 2020 and was tagged for six runs on seven hits and three walks in that brief sample.

Heading into the offseason, Devenski will be at somewhat of a crossroads. His $2MM salary in 2020 was hardly outrageous, and his limited body of work this year means he’s unlikely to receive much of a raise — if any at all. Still, every club will be looking to trim some payroll where possible (to varying extents). Devenski’s late elbow procedure and his downward trend in 2018-20 will make him a non-tender candidate, particularly given that he’s only controllable through the 2021 season right now at present anyhow.

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