Quick Hits: Twins, Braves, Dodgers
Josh Donaldson ran the bases well enough progress to the next portion of his rehab, suggesting a return to the Twins as early as Monday or Tuesday, per Do-Hyoung Park of MLB.com (via Twitter). When Donaldson does return, he’ll put his perfect season on the line. He doubled in his only plate appearance of the season before straining his hamstring. Luis Arraez, however, has maintained the potency of the hot corner while Donaldson’s been away. Arraez has slashed .381/.462/.571 while starting six of the seven games since the injury. Willians Astudillo started on Arraez’s day off, going 0-2 while driving in a run with a sac fly. Elsewhere…
- Braves setup man Chris Martin will be eligible to come off the injured list on April 17th, but manager Brian Snitker doesn’t think it will be that simple, per Mark Bowman of MLB.com (via Twitter). Martin’s shoulder only recently became an area of concern. Still, Martin is looking at a longer-than-minimal stay on the injured list. In the meantime, Sean Newcomb and Jacob Webb will have the opportunity to raise their stock in the Atlanta pen, per the Athletic’s David O’Brien (via Twitter). Webb from the right side and Newcomb from the left will try to soak up some of Martin’s setup duties.
- Brusdar Graterol is readying to make his season debut. Per Mike DiGiovanna of the Los Angeles Times (via Twitter), Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said, “Everything looked good, so we’re trying to figure out the next step. We’re hoping to get him back soon. Just hesitant to put a day on it.” Graterol got a late start in preparing for the season, leaving Blake Treinen, Corey Knebel, and Kenley Jansen as the late-game righties available to Roberts. The Dodgers have high hopes that the 22-year-old Graterol can be weaponized either as a traditional setup man or as a multi-inning option out of the pen.
Quick Hits: Alex Rodriguez, Odorizzi, Gallen, Sanchez
Alex Rodriguez may finally secure an ownership role in North American sports, but it won’t be with a baseball team. After making an attempt to purchase the Mets last year, Rodriguez has teamed with billionaire Marc Lore. They are finalizing a deal to purchase the Minnesota Timberwolves, tweets Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN. If completed, Rodriguez and Lore would take over in 2023.
The Timberwolves have struggled to build a consistent contender in the NBA since a successful run with fiery big man Kevin Garnett ended. Even then, functional GM Kevin McHale, coach Flip Saunders, and Garnett lost seven consecutive first round series. They finally broke through in 2003-04 for the franchise’s first playoff series win. They’d fall in the Western Conference Finals in what turned out to be the final playoff run of the Garnett era, however. Minnesota has just one playoff appearance in their history outside of that eight-year run, despite a roster currently built around the first overall pick of the 2015 draft Karl-Anthony Towns. You can find out more by heading to Hoops Rumors where Arthur Hill has the latest details. Now, back to baseball…
- Jake Odorizzi is set to make his debut for the Houston Astros on Tuesday versus Detroit, per MLB.com’s Brian McTaggart. Cristian Javier will head to the club’s alternate site to make room, tweets McTaggart. Javier should be back with the big league club before too long, but the Astros wanted to give him some extra time between appearances. Javier, 24, figures to be a significant part of the Astros’ rotation this season, but the 24-year-old wasn’t totally healthy at the start of the year. Regardless, he’s been sharp in two starts thus far, including getting a win with five scoreless innings against Oakland on Thursday.
- Zac Gallen could also return as early as Tuesday, per the Athletic’s Zach Buchanan (via Twitter). Manager Torey Lovullo wouldn’t commit, but it certainly sounds like Gallen will be back soon. The Diamondback rotation has struggled without Gallen leading the way. Now that Ketel Marte has landed on the injured list, Gallen’s return could provide a much-needed lift for the Snakes.
- Anibal Sanchez cut his fingers just 13 pitches into a bullpen showcase today, per Jon Heyman of the MLB Network (via Twitter). It had seemed like Sanchez would be ready to sign soon, but he’ll now need 10 days for his finger to heal. The Phillies, Nationals, and Marlins have all been tied to Sanchez at one point or another this winter.
Nationals Reinstate Patrick Corbin, Option Kyle McGowin
The Washington Nationals have reinstated Patrick Corbin from the COVID injured list, the team announced. He will make his debut start tonight against the Dodgers.
Kyle McGowin has been optioned and placed on Washington’s taxi squad, per Pete Kerzel of MASNsports.com (via Twitter). Adrian Sanchez has been returned to the team’s alternate site. Sanchez did not see any game action. McGowin, 29, had a pair of productive outings for the Nats. As one of their primary multi-inning arms with options remaining, McGowin is sure to find his way back to Nats Park at some point during the 2021 season.
Corbin, meanwhile, ends up not really missing any time. Since tonight’s game will be the Nats’ fifth of the season, they are technically still in the first time through the rotation. That could be huge for Nats, who rely heavily on their three-headed monster in the rotation: Corbin, Stephen Strasburg, and Max Scherzer. The Nats turn to Corbin tonight looking for their first victory since Juan Soto walked them off with an RBI single in their first game of the season.
COVID Notes: 4/10/21
The latest coronavirus-related situations from around baseball…
Latest Moves
- Red Sox slugger J.D. Martinez isn’t available today due to COVID protocols, manager Alex Cora told reporters (including Julian McWilliams of the Boston Globe). Martinez isn’t feeling well and could be back in the lineup as early as tomorrow, though the team is being cautious until Martinez gets his test results back. UPDATE: Martinez has been placed on the COVID IL, per Pete Abraham of the Boston Glove (via Twitter). Michael Chavis has been recalled to take his roster spot for the time being.
Earlier Today
- The Blue Jays placed Lourdes Gurriel Jr. on the COVID-19 injured list, per Scott Mitchell of TSN Sports (via Twitter). Santiago Espinal was activated to take his roster spot. Gurriel left Friday’s game after feeling vaccine-related symptoms, so he’s not likely to be out for too long.
- Ryan Borucki, meanwhile, makes a quick return from the COVID IL. Ty Tice has been optioned. Tice made one appearance, tossing a pair of scoreless innings.
- The Astros shifted Pedro Baez from the COVID-19 injury list to the regular 10-day injured list. Baez is suffering from right shoulder soreness, as manager Dusty Baker told MLB.com’s Brian McTaggart and other reporters that Baez “was trying to do too much too soon” in his preparations to return from the COVID list. Baez was placed on the COVID list in early March, so he missed a good chunk of Spring Training while sidelined. Since being put on the normal IL required Baez to be returned to the 40-man roster, the Astros had to move Austin Pruitt to the 60-day injured list in a corresponding move.
- The Yankees reinstated both Gio Urshela and Rougned Odor from the COVID-19 injury list, the team announced. In corresponding moves, infielder Tyler Wade was optioned to the alternate training site, and first baseman Mike Ford had been optioned to the alternate site after last night’s game. It was only a brief absence for Urshela, who ended up missing just last night’s game due to some side effects after receiving a vaccine. Odor himself was only in COVID protocols due to standard intake and testing procedure after he was acquired in a trade from the Rangers earlier this week.
- Cubs first base/catching coach Craig Driver has tested positive for the coronavirus and has returned to Chicago, the team told reporters (including The Chicago Tribune’s Meghan Montemurro). Contact tracing and testing revealed no other positive results within the team’s traveling party over the last three days. Driver is in his second season on the Cubs’ coaching staff, after spending the previous two seasons as the Phillies’ receiving coach and bullpen catcher.
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Injured List Activations: Ahmed, Stewart, Adams
After a flurry of injury news and updates around baseball today, here are some players who are getting back to action…
- The Diamondbacks activated shortstop Nick Ahmed from the 10-day injured list. Ahmed suffered some right knee inflammation near the end of Spring Training and received a PRP injection as part of his treatment. The two-time Gold Glove winner is now ready to begin his 2021 season and take his usual place as the defensive anchor of the Diamondbacks infield. Infielder Geraldo Perdomo was optioned to the alternate training site after last night’s game in preparation for Ahmed’s return.
- The Orioles reinstated DJ Stewart from the 10-day IL, and Stewart is set for his season debut tonight, scheduled to hit fifth in Baltimore’s lineup. Due to a left hamstring strain, the outfielder hasn’t seen any game action since a Spring Training outing on March 5. While strikeouts continue to be a troublingly large part of Stewart’s offensive game, he has hit .224/.334/433 with 14 homers at the MLB level, good for an above-average 107 OPS+/108 wRC+ over 301 career plate appearances.
- Right-hander Austin Adams has been reinstated from the Padres‘ 10-day IL, and righty Nabil Crismatt has been optioned to the alternate training site to make room on the active roster. Adams had been suffering from a minor elbow strain during Spring Training. San Diego acquired Adams as part of their seven-player deal with the Mariners last August, and he stands out as a potentially nasty bullpen weapon if he can get his free passes in check. Adams has an eye-popping 70 strikeouts over 42 career innings in the majors, but control has also been a major issue (a 15.8% walk rate).
Angels Place Dexter Fowler On Injured List, Call Up Jaime Barria
Dexter Fowler is heading to the injured list with a sprained knee. The Angels will call up Jaime Barria to take his roster spot, per the Athletic’s Fabian Ardaya (via Twitter).
Fowler hasn’t had a stellar first week in Los Angeles, slashing .250/.286/.250 in 21 plate appearances over his first seven games. Juan Lagares could see time in right while Fowler is on the shelf. Alternatively, Jared Walsh or David Fletcher could move from the infield to the outfield. Either way, the Angels are going with just a three-man bench for the time being. Manager Joe Maddon will have to make his moves carefull, as the Angels’ 11 position players include Shohei Ohtani and Albert Pujols, neither of whom are expected in the field (except when Ohtani is pitching, of course).
Barria, 24, can serve as a long-man, which might be especially useful while Ohtani recovers from a blister. Barria has been a regular part of the Angels’ roster for the past three seasons, making 44 starts and eight appearances out of the bullpen. In total, he owns a 4.46 ERA/5.02 FIP across 244 1/3 innings with just a 35.7 percent groundball rate, 19.3 percent strikeout rate, and 8.0 percent walk rate. None of those rate metrics come across as particularly promising, but he’s managed to net 1.5 fWAR regardless.
Rays Place Chris Archer On Injured List, Call Up Brent Honeywell
The Rays placed Chris Archer on the injured list after he left today’s ballgame. Brent Honeywell will be called up, and he will make his Major League debut opening Sunday’s game, per Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times (via Twitter).
It wasn’t clear at the time of the injury what exactly happened to Archer, but the injury was apparently severe enough to act quickly in placing him on the injured list. Today was just the second outing of the year for the 32-year-old. Archer suffered right lateral forearm tightness, per ESPN’s Marly Rivera (via Twitter), who adds that the Rays hope Archer will miss just one start.
Honeywell has long been a top prospect for the Rays, but injuries have slowed his path to the Majors. Baseball America had him ranked among the Rays’ top prospects in every season since 2015. He landed in their top-100 prospects in baseball from 2016 to 2020, peaking at No. 14 overall before the 2018 season. Tomorrow will mark an incredible achievement for Honeywell, even if he is unable to become the star hurler the Rays once hoped. Still, expectations are high, and if Honeywell can stay healthy, he still is projected to become a capable piece of the rotation. That said, chances are he’s not on the roster to stay. The Rays will understandably watch his inning count closely.
Chris Archer Leaves Game Due To Forearm Tightness
3:40PM: “Fortunately, it’s nothing serious,” Archer told the Tampa Bay Times’ Marc Topkin and other reporters. Cash also sounded optimistic, saying that Archer could only have tendinitis and might miss just one start, though an injured list stint is likely.
2:11PM: Archer left the game due to right lateral forearm tightness, the team announced.
1:41PM: Chris Archer exited today’s start against the Yankees due to an apparent injury. After DJ LeMahieu‘s one-out double in the third inning, Archer was visited on the mound by Rays manager Kevin Cash and the team trainer. That ended Archer’s day after 42 pitches and 2 1/3 scoreless innings (four strikeouts, three hits, no walks).
While there hasn’t yet been any word on the nature of Archer’s injury, it doesn’t bode well that the right-hander has run into another issue in the wake of a lost 2020 season. Archer missed all of last year after undergoing thoracic outlet syndrome surgery, and was also limited to 119 2/3 innings with the Pirates in 2019 due to thumb and shoulder problems. Between Nick Anderson, Chaz Roe, and Pete Fairbanks, the Rays have already taken a lot of injury hits to their bullpen this season, and now a potential absence for Archer threatens their rotation depth.
Archer signed a one-year, $6.5MM free agent deal with the Rays in February, returning to the site of his early-career heyday. Archer was a two-time All-Star during his original stint in Tampa from 2012 until the 2018 trade deadline, when the Rays sent him to the Pirates in what is now one of the more infamous trades in Pittsburgh baseball history. Between Archer’s injuries and struggles with the Pirates, the team unsurprisingly declined their $11MM club option on his services last fall.
NL Notes: Tatis, Mets, Lugo, Thor, McCutchen
As if Joe Musgrove‘s no-hitter wasn’t enough good news for the Padres, Fernando Tatis Jr. was taking grounders prior to yesterday’s game and is now also taking part in hitting and running drills. Tatis is on the 10-day IL recovering from a slight tear in his left labrum, though the ugly-looking injury may only keep Tatis out of action for a relatively short amount of time. Tatis’ shoulder inflammation has decreased to the point that he has been able to do some fielding work, and he could keep gradually ramping up his baseball activity as long as his shoulder remains sound, Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union-Tribune wrote yesterday.
Manager Jayce Tingler sounded cautiously optimistic talking to Acee and other reporters today. “We want to take it day by day, but we feel confident if we can continue down this road, we’re going to be in a good position for him to be activated” by April 16, Tingler said. That would be the first day Tatis would be eligible to leave the injured list, and it would put Tatis on pace to be in the lineup as the Padres began a big series with the Dodgers.
More from around the National League…
- Mets GM Zack Scott provided reporters (including the New York Daily News’ Deesha Thosar) with updates on Noah Syndergaard and Seth Lugo, saying that both right-handers are on schedule with their injury rehab. Lugo underwent bone spur surgery on his throwing elbow in February, and is expected to be back at some point in May. Syndergaard is set to throw a live batting practice today, in the latest step in his recovery from Tommy John surgery in March 2020. If all continues to go well for Syndergaard, he is on pace to rejoin the Mets’ rotation before the end of June.
- Between a torn ACL in 2019 and then a tough time recovering from that injury (on top of all the other unusual elements last season) in 2020, Andrew McCutchen has some unfinished business as he enters the last guaranteed season of his three-year, $50MM contract with the Phillies. “I had a lot of catching up to do last season,” McCutchen told The Athletic’s Matt Gelb, noting that it wasn’t until the Phillies’ last few games in September that he really felt comfortable. Now, however, McCutchen is entering the year with the benefit of a full Spring Training, and there are “no limitations for myself. No hindrance. No thinking, second-guessing. Really pushing myself to where I didn’t I feel like I had to guard….So, going into this spring, I was just saying, ‘I feel like myself. I can squat and play and do what I need to do here in the games.’ ” It’s a good sign for McCutchen as he enters his age-34 season as the Phils’ regular left fielder, and he also pointed out that there aren’t many everyday outfielders of his age remaining in a sport that has become increasingly less inclined to regularly play veteran players.
Dodgers Claim Ashton Goudeau From Giants
The Dodgers announced that right-hander Ashton Goudeau has been claimed off waivers from the Giants. Goudeau was designated for assignment by San Francisco earlier this week.
In less than five months’ time, Goudeau has now been a member of five different organizations. After making his MLB debut with the Rockies last season, Goudeau went to the Pirates, Orioles, Giants, and now the Dodgers in a series of waiver claims. The 28-year-old has also previously pitched in the Mariners and Royals farm systems during a pro career that began when the Royals selected Goudeau in the 27th round of the 2012 draft.
Over 563 2/3 innings in the minors, Goudeau has started 70 of 171 games and posted a 4.81 ERA, 20.44% strikeout rate, and 6.23% walk rate. His first taste of Major League action resulted in a 7.56 ERA over 8 1/3 innings over four appearances with Colorado in 2020.