Blue Jays Select A.J. Cole, Move Alejandro Kirk To 60-Day IL
MAY 9: Dolis is indeed being placed on the IL to open active roster space for Nate Pearson, who’s getting the start this afternoon, Mitchell tweets.
MAY 8, 4:18 pm: Dolis isn’t yet heading to the injured list, manager Charlie Montoyo told TSN’s Scott Mitchell and other reporters. Dolis has a Grade 1 calf strain but the team is hopeful that he can recover within a few days.
MAY 8, 3:11 pm: The Blue Jays will place reliever Rafael Dolis on the 10-day injured list after he injured his calf in yesterday’s ballgame. A.J. Cole will be added to the roster, per Ben Wagner of Sportsnet (via Twitter). Ty Tice, meanwhile has been optioned to Triple-A after four appearances, and Alejandro Kirk was moved to the 60-day injured list, per Scott Mitchell of TSN sports (via Twitter).
It seems that the back end of Toronto’s bullpen is a touch snakebit this season. It started with losing free agent signing Kirby Yates to Tommy John surgery, but since the season started, alternative high-leverage options Jordan Romano, Julian Merryweather, and now Dolis have all spent time on the injured list.
Dolis has been a workhorse early on, appearing in 15 of the Blue Jays’ 31 games so far this season. He’s totaled 12 2/3 innings with a 4.26 ERA/4.66 FIP, three saves and a hold. Dolis has been the acting closer of late, though Romano is now back off the injured list and could take on a bigger role in Dolis’ absence.
Cole could also be an option for some high-leverage opportunities, as the 29-year-old has performed well the past couple of seasons. With Toronto in 2020, Cole logged 23 1/3 innings in 24 appearances with a 3.09 ERA/4.31 FIP.
Pirates Place Colin Moran On Injured List, Select Troy Stokes Jr.
The Pirates are placing first baseman Colin Moran on the 10-day injured list with a left groin injury, Rob Biertempfel of the Athletic was among those to relay. The club has selected the contract of outfielder Troy Stokes Jr. in a corresponding move. To create 40-man roster space for Stokes, Pittsburgh transferred third baseman Ke’Bryan Hayes to the 60-day injured list.
Moran left yesterday afternoon’s game against the Cubs after suffering the injury trying to dive to the first base bag. His absence leaves the Pirates without one of their most productive hitters in the season’s early going. The 28-year-old is hitting .297/.352/.468 with four home runs over his first 122 plate appearances. He was a productive offensive player last year as well, when he slashed .247/.325/.472 with ten homers in 200 plate appearances.
As an arbitration-eligible player on a rebuilding Pirates’ squad, Moran could find himself on the trade market this summer. He has been more patient at the plate this year and is hitting far fewer ground balls, which could pique the interest of contending teams. Moran certainly won’t sustain a .392 batting average on balls in play, and he’s mostly been limited to first base over the past two years after breaking in as a third baseman. Still, it’s easy to see clubs having interest in a more patient and productive lefty power bat come July. The Pirates didn’t provide a timetable for Moran’s return, but there’s no indication at this point he’s in danger of an extended absence that could impact his trade value.
He’ll be replaced on the active roster by Stokes, whom the Pirates outrighted over the winter. The 25-year-old has bounced from the Brewers to the Tigers to the Pittsburgh organizations in recent seasons. He has a .233/.340/.390 mark in 391 career Triple-A plate appearances and will be making his major league debut if/when he gets into a game. Stokes likely would’ve played in the majors with Detroit last season, but an ill-timed hand fracture cost him the year.
Hayes’ transfer to the 60-day IL may raise some eyebrows, but the procedural move isn’t cause for alarm. The 60-day IL placement means Hayes must miss at least 60 days from the time of his initial IL placement (April 4), not today’s transfer. Manager Derek Shelton stressed there’s been no change in Hayes’ prognosis. The 24-year-old was known to have suffered a setback in his recovery from a wrist injury last month and has made incremental progress in the weeks since, but he was apparently not in position to return anytime before early June.
Red Sox Place Christian Arroyo On Injured List, Shut Down Tanner Houck
The Red Sox have placed infielder Christian Arroyo on the 10-day injured list, retroactive to May 7, due to a left hand contusion. Fellow infielder Jonathan Araúz has been recalled to take his place on the active roster.
Arroyo has picked up the majority of playing time at second base this season. The former top prospect has held his own at the dish, hitting .275/.333/.377 over 76 plate appearances. With Arroyo and Kiké Hernández both on the injured list, it seems Marwin González is in line to pick up the majority of starts at the keystone for now. As usual, the 32-year-old González has bounced around the diamond a lot this season, but he’s only hitting .208/.319/.313 over 113 plate appearances. González is starting at second and hitting leadoff this afternoon against the Orioles.
In other Red Sox injury news, they’re shutting down right-hander Tanner Houck after he experienced some soreness in his flexor muscle. Manager Alex Cora says the team “is not overly concerned,” telling reporters (including Steve Hewitt of the Boston Herald) that Houck is “actually feeling better right now” and the shutdown is one “we feel…is going to be short term.” The 24-year-old has worked to a 4.35 ERA with fantastic strikeout and walk numbers (26.7% and 2.2%, respectively) in 10 1/3 MLB innings this year. Because Houck was optioned to the alternate training site before suffering the injury, he won’t be placed on the MLB injured list, meaning he will not accrue major league service time while he recovers.
Mariners Select JT Chargois, Place Ljay Newsome On Injured List
The Mariners announced they’re selecting the contract of reliever JT Chargois. Right-hander Ljay Newsome has been placed on the 10-day injured list with right elbow inflammation.
Chargois, 30, was once a well-regarded relief prospect in the Twins’ and Dodgers’ systems. The righty has a power sinker/slider combination that allowed him to miss bats and induce ground balls at the major league level between 2016-19. Despite posting career-best strikeout and walk numbers in 2019, though, Chargois only managed a 6.33 ERA in 21 1/3 innings for Los Angeles. He then signed with the Rakuten Eagles of Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball but posted terrible numbers there last year, working to a 5.81 ERA with only 19 punchouts and 14 walks in 26 1/3 relief innings.
Seattle signed Chargois to a minor-league deal over the offseason, and he’s now in line for his first MLB action in two years. The opportunity presented itself after the Mariners used seven pitchers in last night’s 9-8 loss to the Rangers. Newsome left his appearance yesterday early with the aforementioned elbow injury (via Ryan Divish of the Seattle Times). The 24-year-old swingman has a 7.98 ERA/3.56 SIERA in 14 2/3 innings this season.
Marlins Select Luis Madero, Option Daniel Castano
The Marlins are selecting the contract of right-hander Luís Madero, Jordan McPherson of the Miami Herald was among those to relay (Twitter link). Lefty Daniel Castano was optioned to Triple-A Jacksonville, while right-hander Jorge Guzman was transferred to the 60-day injured list to clear 40-man roster space.
Madero has bounced between a few organizations in his pro career but has yet to make his MLB debut. Originally signed by the Diamondbacks as an international amateur, he was sent to the Angels at the 2017 trade deadline for reliever David Hernández. Madero eventually worked his way onto Los Angeles’ 40-man roster and was named the #19 prospect in the organization entering the 2019 season by Baseball America. He struggled at Double-A that year, though, working to a 5.72 ERA in a pitcher-friendly environment. The Angels designated him for assignment and lost him on waivers to the Giants after the season.
San Francisco passed Madero through waivers shortly thereafter, and he spent the 2020 season at their alternate training site. He didn’t make it back on the roster and wound up electing minor-league free agency. Miami signed Madero to a minors deal in January, and he’s earned a major league call after just one Triple-A appearance. Madero has plenty of starting experience in the minors, so he offers rotation and/or long relief depth for the Fish. The 24-year-old still has a pair of option years remaining, so he can be sent back-and-forth between Miami and Jacksonville if he keeps his spot on the 40-man.
Castano, 26, has started four games for the Marlins this year but hasn’t found much success. The soft-tossing lefty has been knocked around for a 5.19 ERA/5.47 SIERA over 17 1/3 innings. Castano prevented runs at a strong clip over seven games last season, but his peripherals always suggested that was unlikely to continue. He simply hasn’t missed enough bats to establish himself as a big league starter, compiling a minuscule 10.8% career strikeout rate.
Guzman, one of the Marlins’ better pitching prospects, has been battling elbow inflammation. General manager Kim Ng told reporters in March he’d be “out for a bit,” so it’s not particularly surprising to see him wind up on the 60-day IL.
Snitker: Ronald Acuna Jr. Could Return To Lineup Today After Hit-By-Pitch
MAY 9: Fortunately, it seems Acuna avoided any major injury. The Braves announced last night he was day-to-day with a left pinky contusion and that X-rays had come back negative. After the game, manager Brian Snitker told reporters (including Mark Bowman of MLB.com) the team “dodged a bullet” and said Acuna could be back in the starting lineup as soon as this evening if he feels fine during pregame batting practice.
8:59PM: Ronald Acuna Jr. was removed from tonight’s game in the seventh inning after the Braves star was hit in the left hand by a pitch. Phillies reliever Sam Coonrod hit Acuna with a 97.8mph sinker, and Acuna almost immediately left the field (in visible pain) after a visit from the trainer.
More will be known post-game, though the worst-case scenario would be a serious hand injury that would sideline Acuna for several weeks or months. Such a loss would be a potential disaster for an Atlanta lineup that has been inconsistent despite Acuna’s MVP-level performance thus far in the season.
Through 137 plate appearances, Acuna is hitting .313/.409/.652 with 10 home runs. Entering Saturday’s action, Acuna was leading the NL in both slugging percentage and OPS, and was leading the majors in both homers and runs scored (29). With Freddie Freeman, Ozzie Albies, Marcell Ozuna, Dansby Swanson, and (the currently injured) Travis d’Arnaud all off to slow starts in 2021, it isn’t a huge exaggeration to say that Acuna has carried the Braves’ offense.
This isn’t Acuna’s first injury scare of the season, as he suffered a mild abdominal strain that forced him out of a game back on April 18. That issue ultimately didn’t require a visit to the injured list, however, and Acuna was back in action by April 23. It should be noted that Acuna has hit only .200/.328/.400 in the first 61 PA since that abdominal injury, though some regression was probably inevitable after Acuna’s red-hot start.
Quick Hits: deGrom, Mets, Robert, Mondesi, Cron
Jacob deGrom is scheduled to start Sunday’s game against the Diamondbacks, as the Mets ace reported no ill effects after a bullpen session. DeGrom was scratched from his last start on Tuesday due to inflammation in his right lat, but “as we did the due diligence and work on it, it wasn’t something that anyone thought was a major issue,” Mets GM Zack Scott told The New York Daily News’ Deesha Thosar and other reporters.
In other Mets injury news, Scott said that Seth Lugo and Noah Syndergaard will begin rehab outings “in a week or so,” with Lugo (bone spur removal surgery) expected to make his 2021 debut by the end of May, and Syndergaard (Tommy John surgery) still ticketed for sometime in June. The news isn’t as good for infielder Luis Guillorme, as Thosar tweeted yesterday that Guillorme is still feeling discomfort in his injured right oblique when he takes swings. Guillorme is eligible to be activated from the injured list on Sunday, but he might not return for another week.
More from around baseball…
- Luis Robert is facing a long absence from the White Sox lineup, but the outfielder will apparently avoid surgery on his Grade 3 hip flexor strain, the team revealed in its pregame notes package (hat tip to MLB.com’s Scott Merkin). That likely counts as a small bit of good news for Robert, though it probably won’t materially change the possibility that his season could already be over. The Sox have already announced that Robert will need 12-to-16 weeks just to resume baseball activities.
- Adalberto Mondesi has yet to play this season due to a right oblique strain, though Royals manager Mike Matheny provided reporters (including MLB.com’s Bill Ladson) with another positive update on the shortstop’s condition. The switch-hitting Mondesi cannot yet hit from the left side of the plate, though he can take batting practice and swing normally as a right-handed hitter. Mondesi will soon be working out at the Royals’ Spring Training facility, and it isn’t yet known when he might embark on a rehab assignment.
- Rockies first baseman C.J. Cron has missed the team’s last two games due to lower back tightness, and manager Bud Black told The Denver Post’s Patrick Saunders and other reporters that it isn’t yet clear if Cron will require an IL placement. “We’re hoping it resolves itself the next day or two, to avoid the injured list…I think tomorrow and Monday are really big days when we evaluate C.J.,” Black said. Signed to a minor league deal during the offseason, Cron has been a huge contributor for the Rockies, hitting .290/.394/.495 with five homers over his first 109 PA in a Colorado uniform.
NL Central Notes: Moran, Brewers, Baez, CarMar
Colin Moran left in the first inning of today’s 3-2 Pirates loss to the Cubs, as Moran experienced some left groin discomfort while making a play at first base. Moran snagged a line drive and then dove at the bag in an attempt to double Willson Contreras off of first base. Moran is officially day-to-day, and an injured-list placement would cost the Pirates their top offensive performer of the last two seasons.
Moran is hitting .297/.352/.468 with four home runs thus far in 2021. Given the forgettable state of his hard-hit ball numbers, it’s safe to say Moran has benefited greatly from his .392 BABIP, though he has been an above-average hitter (103 wRC+, 104 OPS+) since coming to Pittsburgh prior to the 2018 season. Moran has seen almost all of the action at first base this season, and Todd Frazier is probably the likeliest candidate to fill in should Moran indeed require an IL stint.
More from the NL Central…
- The Brewers have been hit hard by injuries this season but they’re finally starting to get some better health news. Catcher Manny Pina (left toe fracture) returned to the lineup today after being sidelined since April 27, while southpaw Brett Anderson (right hamstring strain) is expected to start on Sunday for his first action since April 23. Manager Craig Counsell also told MLB.com’s Anthony Castrovince and other reporters that Corbin Burnes will throw a bullpen session on Monday and in all likelihood return to the rotation during the Brewers’ upcoming homestand against the Cardinals and Braves. Burnes was placed on the IL for unspecified reasons on April 29 but the ace looks to make a fairly quick resumption of a possible Cy Young Award-caliber season. Over 29 1/3 innings, Burnes has a 1.53 ERA and 49 strikeouts, and he has yet to issue a walk.
- Javier Baez also left today’s Pirates/Cubs game in the seventh inning due to lower back tightness, though it was a “precautionary” removal, as Cubs manager David Ross told NBC Sports Chicago’s Tim Stebbins and other reporters. “I saw him moving a little bit stiff out there…He just wasn’t moving well, and it doesn’t make sense to push him there,” Ross said. Baez reported some improvement with his back even after the game ended, though since the Cubs aren’t playing on Monday, it wouldn’t be surprising if Baez is rested on Sunday to give him some extra recovery time.
- The Cardinals recorded a 9-8 victory over the Rockies today, despite a very shaky outing from Carlos Martinez that saw the starter allow five runs on six hits and five walks over five innings pitched. After the game, Martinez told Jeff Jones of the Belleville News-Democrat (all Twitter links) and other reporters that he was pitching on a twisted ankle. Manager Mike Shildt said trainers tested Martinez prior to the game and gave him the green light to make the start, and Martinez believes he’ll be ready for his next scheduled start. The injury occurred during Friday’s game, Martinez said, as he hurt his ankle while standing on the dugout steps to high-five Jack Flaherty after Flaherty hit a home run.
Angels Place Alex Cobb On 10-Day Injured List
The Angels placed right-hander Alex Cobb on the 10-day injured list due to a blister on his right middle finger. The team specified that Cobb’s placement was retroactive to May 5th. In other news, outfielder Scott Schebler and right-hander Ben Rowen were both outrighted to Triple-A after being designated for assignment earlier this week.
Cobb was lined up to start on Monday, though The Athletic’s Fabian Ardaya tweeted that Jose Suarez was scratched from his scheduled Triple-A start tonight, so Suarez could be in line for a call-up to fill Cobb’s place on Monday.
It’s been a hard-luck season for Cobb thus far, who has a 5.48 ERA through 21 1/3 innings but only a 3.24 SIERA. While Cobb has been hampered by a 9.8% walk rate, he also has a 30.4% strikeout rate that ranks in the 81st percentile of all pitchers. Cobb has a .431 BABIP and only a 60.1% strand rate, adding to his lack of good fortune.
The Angels as a whole rank last in baseball with a 66.2% strand rate and second-last (.317) in team BABIP. It probably isn’t much consolation to Anaheim fans who are frustrated with another season of subpar pitching from their club, and the Halos will take another blow if Cobb spends an extended amount of time on the IL. Blister issues can be unpredictable, though this is the first time that a blister problem has sidelined Cobb over his 10 MLB seasons.
Astros Sign Yadiel Rivera To Minors Contract
The Astros signed infielder Yadiel Rivera to a minor league deal, MLB.com’s Brian McTaggart reports (via Twitter). Rivera will report to Houston’s Triple-A affiliate.
Rivera is a veteran of seven Major League seasons, with 111 of his 192 career games coming with the Marlins in 2018. His seven-season resume also includes a few cups of coffee, as Rivera broke in with seven games with the Brewers in 2015, just one game with Miami in 2017, and four games with the Rangers in 2020. He ended his brief stint in Texas on the injured list, as recovery from elbow surgery took up most of Rivera’s offseason and likely explains why he hadn’t signed with a new team until over a week into May.
With just a .175/.244/.217 slash line over 319 career PA, Rivera isn’t known much for his bat at either the MLB or minor league levels. What he does offer is defensive versatility — Rivera has spent much of his career as a shortstop, second baseman, and third baseman, but he has also started at least one game at every other position except catcher and pitcher. Rivera will provide the Astros with some infield depth (particularly at shortstop) down on the farm.