Mike Soroka Cleared To Begin Throwing
April 29: Soroka has been cleared to begin “simple” throwing exercises, reports Mark Bowman of MLB.com, adding that the Braves indeed feel the righty is more than a month away from returning. Manager Brian Snitker indicates that Soroka effectively has to “start over” with his buildup to the season. “We’ve just got to be patient with him,” said Snitker.
April 27: Braves righty Mike Soroka has yet to pitch in 2021 thanks not only to last year’s season-ending Achilles tear but also due to some inflammation that’s popped up in his shoulder. While Soroka’s most recent MRI did not reveal any structural damage, MLB Network’s Jon Morosi reported today (video link) that it did show some lingering inflammation. Soroka won’t begin throwing until that’s cleared out, and at that point, he’ll effectively need a full, Spring Training-esque buildup before he returns to the big leagues. Morosi suggests he isn’t likely to return until sometime in June, at the earliest.
That’s a tough blow for Braves fans and for a team that was originally hoping to have Soroka back around late April. The Braves are likely proceeding with some extra caution, however, as Soroka was twice placed on the injured list during his rookie season due to shoulder troubles — the second stint proving to be a season-ender
Soroka returned with a flourish in 2019, rattling off 174 2/3 innings of 2.68 ERA ball, a 20.3 percent strikeout rate, a 5.8 percent walk rate and a league-best 0.7 homers per nine innings pitched. He appeared in just three games last season, however, before suffering a torn Achilles tendon when coming off the mound to cover first base on a grounder to the right side of the infield.
It’s been another rocky season for the Atlanta rotation, which added veterans Charlie Morton ($15MM) and Drew Smyly ($11MM) on a pair of relatively high-priced one-year deals this winter. Braves starters have combined for a 5.29 ERA that ranks 29th of 30 teams.
Morton leads the club with five starts and 28 1/3 innings pitched, but he’s struggled to strand runners and is has a 4.76 ERA in the earlygoing (albeit with much better secondary marks). Max Fried has struggled through three starts and is currently alongside on Soroka on the injured list due to a hamstring strain. Smyly has also had an early IL stint, while Ian Anderson hasn’t quite replicated last year’s brilliant rookie showing.
Among the team’s fill-in starters, Huascar Ynoa has impressed, piling up strikeouts in bunches while yielding just six runs through 21 frames. The results haven’t been as sharp for either Bryse Wilson or Kyle Wright, though Wilson has made just two appearances and Wright only one.
For the time being, the Braves will roll with Morton, Anderson, Smyly, Ynoa and Wilson starting games. It’s a solid bunch, but the absence of the 2019 NL Rookie of the Year runner-up (Soroka) and the 2020 fifth-place Cy Young finisher (Fried) is rather glaring. A healthy group of Soroka, Fried, Morton, Anderson and Smyly could be one of the most imposing rotations in the Majors, but it doesn’t seem like we’ll see that quintet together in the near future.
Rays’ Wander Franco To Open Minor League Season In Triple-A
Rays shortstop Wander Franco, the consensus top prospect in all of baseball, will head to Triple-A Durham when the minor league season begins next week, reports Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times (Twitter link).
The initial assignment doesn’t provide a concrete timeline for when Franco might be called to the big leagues, but it’s a fairly aggressive placement and one that’s worth noting, given Franco’s status within the game. He only turned 20 years old last month, and an assignment to Durham means he’ll skip the Double-A level entirely. Franco split the 2019 season between Class-A and Class-A Advanced, slashing a combined .327/.398/.487 with nine homers, 27 doubles, seven triples and 18 stolen bases in 495 plate appearances as one of the youngest players in both leagues.
From a service time standpoint, Franco is already well past the point where he could accrue a full year in 2021, meaning the Rays would control him all the way through 2027 regardless of when he’s brought to the Majors. Were he to remain in the minor leagues through late April 2022, they’d gain an extra year of control — through the 2028 campaign — but the general expectation has been that Franco could be in the big leagues this summer. Depending on when he’s called up, he could be in Super Two territory and thus be arbitration-eligible four times. Waiting until late mid or late June would likely keep him from reaching that designation.
There will inevitably be a spotlight placed on Franco and his performance in Durham, just as there will likely be vocal calls for his promotion to the Major Leagues right out of the gate. The early struggles from Tampa Bay shortstop Willy Adames, who has batted just .173/.215/.320 through his first 79 plate appearances, will only further fuel that scenario if the 25-year-old Adames is unable to right the ship.
At the same time, it’s worth remembering that Franco was only 18 years old when the 2019 season ended and that outside of 11 games in the Dominican Winter League, he hasn’t played in a professional game since. The Rays are surely hopeful that when Franco is called to the Majors, he’s ready for the challenge and needn’t ever be sent back to the minors for further development. The fact that he’s bypassing Double-A and going straight to the club’s top affiliate seems like a vote of confidence that he’s on the cusp of such readiness, but he’ll get some vital development time against the most advanced pitching he’s ever faced for the time being.
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Pioneer League Testing Home Run Derby In Place Of Extra Innings
April 29: The Athletic’s Zach Buchanan spoke with PBL president Michael Shapiro about the league’s new rules for the 2021 season. It’s an interesting look at the reasoning behind the radical adoption of the “Knock Out” tactic, which was engineered without running the idea by Major League Baseball. “We didn’t get MLB approval, nor did we ask for it,” Shapiro tells Buchanan.
Shapiro details some of the challenges that lengthy extra-innings affairs present to an independent league: the cost of keeping a park staffed and lit late into the night, the difficulty of teams finding professional quality players able to report to Montana, Idaho and other less-populated areas on short notice to lessen the toll on an overtaxed bullpen, etc.
Buchanan and other Athletic writers surveyed players and staffers around MLB for their own reaction to the changes. Hunter Pence, Willie Calhoun, David Bell, Paul Goldschmidt and Terry Francona all weighed in. The column is a terrific read and well worth a look for those who are interested in the motivation behind the changes and some reaction from those within the sport.
April 27: The Pioneer Baseball League, one of several independent leagues designated this past offseason as an official “Partner League” of Major League Baseball, announced this morning that it will install a series of rule changes for the upcoming 2021 season. The PBL will test out the usage of designated pinch-hitters and pinch-runners, and on a larger scale, the use of a sudden-death “Knock Out” format to resolve games that end in nine-inning ties (i.e., a home run derby format supplanting the traditional extra-inning format). They’ll also change the appeal process on check swings.
Per the PBL’s release, the “Knock Out” format is being implemented “to avoid excessive strain” on pitching staffs. In this new format, each team would designate one player to receive five pitches in a “sudden death home run duel.” (The release does not specify who would be throwing the pitches.) If the initial “Knock Out” round ends in a tie, each team would then designate a second hitter to compete in a five-pitch showdown. This will continue until a winner can be declared.
The designated pinch-hitter and pinch-runner function in identical fashion to one another. A bench player who has not previously entered the game can either pinch-hit or pinch-run for “an eligible roster player who may then return to his defensive position for the remainder of the game, until otherwise substituted for.” Any player used as a designated pinch-hitter or pinch-runner is “thereafter ineligible to return to the game.” Both measures can be utilized only once per game, per team.
The PBL is also implementing a new “Check Swing” rule which allows the hitter to appeal to a base umpire on a check-swing decision made by the home plate umpire. Previously, that right has only been granted to the home plate ump or the catcher.
As with all experimental rule changes, be they in the minor leagues or in one of MLB’s newly designated “Partner Leagues,” the fact that such measures are being tested out does not make it a foregone conclusion that we’ll see them in Major League Baseball anytime soon — or ever at all. The current runner-on-second rule for extra-inning play is still a polarizing one, at best, and it’s not yet clear whether it’ll be implemented for the long haul or go down as a short-lived relic of the seasons which were directly impacted by the pandemic.
The Atlantic League, another new Partner League of MLB, is also planning to experiment with some changes during the 2021 season, including a “double hook” designated hitter rule and a move of the pitching rubber to a distance of 61 feet, six inches. (You can read more about those experiments and see how MLBTR readers voted in a poll on their merits here.) Those changes, unlike today’s PBL changes, were formally announced by Major League Baseball, indicating that they’re under more immediate consideration. MLB will surely keep a close eye on how things play out in the PBL, of course, but the distinction between the manner in which the two announcements came out ought to be noted.
As with the Atlantic League experiments, I’ll include a poll for each of the new rules so readers and commenters can weigh in on whether they’re in favor of the new formats.
Are you in favor of the new "Knock Out" format for extra innings?
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No, I prefer traditional extra-innings games until a winner is declared. 65% (6,335)
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No, I prefer the current runner-on-second rule in extras. 18% (1,776)
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Yes! 10% (972)
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No, Just end games in a tie. 6% (612)
Total votes: 9,695
Are you in favor of the designated pinch-hitter rule?
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No 73% (5,662)
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Yes 27% (2,043)
Total votes: 7,705
Are you in favor of the designated pinch-runner rule?
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No 78% (5,882)
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Yes 22% (1,643)
Total votes: 7,525
Are you in favor of the check-swing appeal revision?
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Yes 63% (4,695)
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No 37% (2,774)
Total votes: 7,469
Bryce Harper “Feels Good” After Being Hit By Pitch
10:32 pm: The Phillies sent Harper to a hospital for evaluation, manager Joe Girardi told reporters (including Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch). Fortunately, Harper himself offered a positive update on Instagram, noting he “feels good,” that tests “came back good,” and he’ll “see (the fans) soon.”
8:59 pm: In a scary development, Phillies star outfielder Bryce Harper left thi”s evening’s game against the Cardinals after he was struck in the face by a 97 MPH fastball from St. Louis reliever Génesis Cabrera (via Matt Gelb of the Athletic). Harper was bleeding but left the field under his own power and was replaced on the bases by Matt Joyce.
It’s obviously far too early to know if Harper will be forced to miss any time. The 28-year-old is off to an incredible start to the season, mashing at a .321/.448/.615 clip with six home runs over his first 96 plate appearances. The left-handed hitting slugger entered today’s game with a 190 wRC+ that ranked eighth among qualifiers.
Brad Miller and Joyce would seemingly be the likeliest candidates to pick up starts in right field if Harper winds up needing some time off. Both have been productive offensive players within the past couple seasons and Miller, in particular, is off to a strong start at the dish this year.
Minor MLB Transactions: 4/28/21
The latest minor moves from around baseball…
- The Rangers have traded 24-year-old right-hander Leon Hunter to the American League West rival Mariners for cash considerations or a player to be named later, according to an announcement from Texas. Hunter was a 35th-round pick of the Rangers in 2019 who pitched at the rookie and Low-A levels that year. He notched a minuscule 1.38 ERA and amassed 30 strikeouts against just five walks in 25 innings during his first professional action, but with no minor league campaign in 2020, Hunter was unable to build on that quality showing last season.
- The Mets announced that they’ve claimed catcher Deivy Grullon off waivers from the Rays. New York then optioned the 25-year-old to its alternate site. Grullon, whom the Rays designated on April 24, totaled 13 major league plate appearances between the Phillies and Red Sox from 2019-20. In his Triple-A debut in 2019, Grullon batted a productive .283/.354/.496 with 21 home runs in 457 PA.
NL Notes: Padres, Lamet, Weathers, Godley, Romine
The Padres could welcome back Dinelson Lamet from the injured list to start Sunday’s game against the Giants, writes AJ Cassavell of MLB.com. The righty got through a bullpen session this afternoon and the team will monitor how he responds over the next few days, manager Jayce Tingler told reporters. There was plenty of concern when Lamet, a 2018 Tommy John patient, left his first start of the year with forearm tightness after having his season debut delayed by a biceps issue. However, it seems he’s avoided any serious problems and could return after spending the minimum ten days on the IL during this most recent stint.
More from San Diego and the rest of the National League:
- Padres starter Ryan Weathers left his outing this evening against the Diamondbacks after one inning with left arm soreness, per a team announcement. The young southpaw topped out at 92.8 MPH with his fastball, down rather significantly from its typical mid-90’s range, Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union-Tribune was among those to note (Twitter link). That prompted a mid-inning visit from the team trainer, although Weathers did finish the frame and didn’t appear to be in obvious pain while he was on the mound. It isn’t yet clear if Weathers is in jeopardy of missing any future starts.
- Brewers starter Zack Godley is headed to the injured list with a bruised finger, per Todd Rosiak and Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. The right-hander left this afternoon’s game against the Marlins in the fourth inning after sustaining the injury on a bunt attempt the frame before. Today’s outing marked Godley’s first appearance of the season, as the 31-year-old was only selected to the 40-man roster earlier in the day. With Godley out, Eric Lauer will start tomorrow against the Dodgers and could be in line to join Brandon Woodruff, Corbin Burnes, Freddy Peralta and Adrian Houser in the rotation.
- Cubs catcher Austin Romine went on the injured list early this week, and it seems he’s in for an extended absence. Manager David Ross called Romine’s left wrist sprain “significant” and said the backstop would be out for a while (via Russell Dorsey of the Chicago Sun-Times). Tony Wolters was selected to the roster to back up Willson Contreras with Romine on the shelf.
Nationals’ Luis Avilan Undergoes Tommy John Surgery
APRIL 28: Avilan has undergone the procedure, per Martinez (via Camerato). The 31-year-old is planning to rehab and continue his career.
APRIL 19: Avilan has decided to undergo Tommy John surgery, Martinez told reporters (including MASNsports.com’s Mark Zuckerman).
APRIL 17: Nationals left-hander Luis Avilan suffered a tear in his left UCL, and the veteran reliever is now going to “weigh his options” in deciding how to address the injury, manager Davey Martinez told MLB.com’s Jessica Camerato and other reporters.
“He’s got options whether to sit out and see if it heals or, when you talk about a UCL, it usually has Tommy John surgery,” Martinez said. “I feel awful, as we always do when somebody gets hurt. But we wish him well and wish him a quick recovery, whichever way he decides to go.”
The injury occurred on Thursday, when Avilan tossed two shutout innings in Washington’s 11-6 loss to the Diamondbacks. It was seemingly a solid bounce-back outing after a brutal inning of work (six earned runs allowed) against the Cardinals two days earlier, though it now might result in a significant setback to Avilan’s career.
Avilan signed a minor league contract with the Nats in December, and locked in a $950K salary after he made the team’s Opening Day roster. After posting solid numbers over his first seven MLB seasons, Avilan struggled to a 5.06 ERA over 32 innings with the Mets in 2019 and then a shoulder problem limited him to 8 1/3 innings with the Yankees in 2020. The Nationals are the seventh different team of Avilan’s ten-year career in the bigs.
The Nats placed Avilan on the 10-day injured list yesterday, and even if Avilan opts against TJ surgery, he’ll still need quite a bit of recovery time (and likely a shift to the 60-day IL) before returning to the mound. In the worst-case event of a Tommy John procedure, Avilan faces a layoff of 13 to 15 months.
With Avilan sidelined, closer Brad Hand and Sam Clay are the only left-handers in the Nationals’ bullpen. Seth Romero and Ben Braymer are also on the 40-man roster, though Braymer could be seen more as rotation depth.
Padres Activate Austin Nola, Option Luis Campusano
The Padres announced they’re activating catcher Austin Nola from the injured list before this evening’s game against the Diamondbacks. Fellow backstop Luis Campusano has been optioned to the alternate training site in a corresponding move. Víctor Caratini will get the start in tonight’s contest.
Nola will be making his regular season debut when he first gets on the field. He’s been out since fracturing his left middle finger during a Spring Training game on March 13. His return will be a welcome development for the Friars, who have started 13-12 in his absence. Acquired from the Mariners before last summer’s trade deadline, Nola hit .222/.324/.381 in 74 plate appearances down the stretch. That level of offense is more adequate than stellar, but the former Marlins farmhand put up a much stronger .280/.351/.476 mark over 377 plate appearances while playing quality defense for Seattle over the prior season-plus.
In Nola’s absence, the Padres have leaned on Caratini and Campusano behind the plate, to disappointing results. The former has posted a .236/.317/.327 slash over 63 plate appearances, while the latter has only mustered an .088/.184/.088 mark in 38 trips to the dish. Campusano is a supremely talented prospect, but he certainly looks as if he could use more developmental time in the minor leagues. That’s hardly surprising, as the 22-year-old had topped out at High-A in 2019 before last year’s minors cancellation.
Giants Place Mike Yastrzemski On Injured List
The Giants are placing Mike Yastrzemski on the 10-day injured list, Kerry Crowley of the Bay Area News Group was among those to pass along. Sam Selman has been recalled in a corresponding roster move.
Yastrzemski’s IL trip isn’t all that surprising, as the outfielder has been nursing a mild oblique strain since Sunday. While the Giants had initially hoped he would be able to avoid a trip to the IL, it seems he’ll need at least an extra few days to recover. The 30-year-old has been one of the Giants’ top hitters in recent seasons, even earning some down-ballot MVP support last year. Yastrzemski got off to a tough start in 2021, but he had seemingly begun to turn the corner over the past few series. Altogether, he’s managed a .215/.303/.468 line with four home runs in 89 plate appearances so far this year.
With Yastrzemski ailing, the Giants acquired another left-handed hitting outfielder, Mike Tauchman, in a trade with the Yankees yesterday. Tauchman joins a mix that’ll also include Austin Slater, Alex Dickerson, Mauricio Dubón and Skye Bolt while Yastrzemski is on the shelf.