Health Notes: W. Calhoun, Nats, Tanaka, Giants, Royals
The Rangers are awaiting MRI results on outfielder Willie Calhoun, per Jeff Wilson of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. Calhoun left the team’s practice Tuesday with tightness in his right hip flexor, leading the Rangers to fear he has a strain that could shelve him for Opening Day, Wilson writes. That would be a blow to the Rangers’ offense, which benefited from Calhoun’s .269/.323/.524 line and 21 home runs last season, as well as the second notable injury he has dealt with in recent months. The first one was much scarier, though, as Calhoun suffered a fractured jaw on a hit by pitch during spring training.
Here’s more health news from around the league…
- Nationals outfielders Juan Soto and Victor Robles have been isolated since last week because of coronavirus protocols, but fortunately, it appears the two are nearing a return to the field. Soto and Robles may be in line to rejoin the team Wednesday or Thursday, according to Britt Ghiroli of The Athletic.
- In a frightening scene back on July 5, Yankees right-hander Masahiro Tanaka suffered a mild concussion when he took a line drive off the bat of teammate Giancarlo Stanton. Tanaka offered a positive update Tuesday, however, saying through an interpreter (via Bryan Hoch of MLB.com): “Right now, I have no symptoms at all. I’m able to get back in all the training, so I think I feel very fortunate in a very unfortunate event.” Tanaka does still seem likely to start the season on the 10-day injured list, Hoch reports, but he shouldn’t miss much time if he continues progressing.
- Giants left-hander Jarlin Garcia is expected to be a participant in camp Wednesday, Andrew Baggarly of The Athletic tweets. Garcia has been on the IL for undisclosed medical reasons since last Thursday.
- The Royals won’t have infielder Kelvin Gutierrez when the season opens. He’s dealing with a Grade 2 UCL sprain and will be re-evaluated in two weeks, Lynn Worthy of the Kansas City Star reports. A fairly well-regarded prospect, the 25-year-old Gutierrez made his major league debut last season with a .260/.304/.356 line in 79 plate appearances.
- Nationals batting practice pitcher Ali Modami has opted out of the season, manager Dave Martinez announced Tuesday (via Jesse Dougherty of the Washington Post). While Modami isn’t in a high-profile position, he has been a popular figure in the Nationals’ clubhouse since he got the job in 2011, as Dougherty and Yahoo Sports’ Tim Brown detailed last season. “He is great,” former Nat Jayson Werth said to Brown. “Just a gem.” First baseman Ryan Zimmerman, who has also opted out of the season, told Brown, “That guy probably throws more baseballs than anybody I’ve ever known.”
Amateur Draft Signings: Red Sox, Yankees
The latest amateur draft signings from around the league…
- The Red Sox have inked fourth-round left-hander Jeremy Wu-Yelland, Jim Callis of MLB.com tweets. Wu-Yelland’s pick, No. 118, came with a recommended value of $487,900, but the Red Sox landed him on a below-slot deal worth $200K. Previously a reliever with the University of Hawaii, Wu-Yelland entered the draft as Baseball America’s 261st-ranked prospect. BA writes that he has “considerable arm strength” but may not have the strike-throwing ability to start in the majors.
- The Yankees and fourth-round righty Beck Way have an agreement for $600K, according to George A. King III of the New York Post. It’s easily an above-slot payday for Way, the 129th pick whose selection was assessed at $438,700. Way, formerly with Northwest Florida Junior College, was MLB.com‘s 95th-ranked player before the draft. He features a fastball-slider combo that could be effective as a reliever, per MLB.com, but there’s a chance he’ll start instead.
Minor MLB Transactions: 7/14/20
A couple of minor MLB moves…
- The Dodgers have added infield prospect Kody Hoese to their 60-man player pool, J.P. Hoornstra of the Southern California News Group reports. The 23-year-old went 25th overall to the Dodgers in the 2019 draft and is now considered one of their top 10 prospects (MLB.com places him seventh in LA’s system, Baseball America eighth, FanGraphs ninth). An elbow injury slowed Hoese to some extent during his first taste of Single-A ball last year, but he’s still seen as someone with the potential to emerge as a quality hitter in the majors down the line.
- Left-hander Brian Flynn has elected free agency after the Rangers didn’t add him to their player pool, Steve Adams of MLBTR reports. Flynn joined the Rangers on a minor league contract in the offseason after appearing in the majors in each of the previous four years with the Royals. Thanks in part to a sprained UCL, Flynn could only muster 29 1/3 innings of 5.22 ERA pitching a season ago. To his credit, though, Flynn still managed a respectable overall mark of 3.76 during his 162 2/3-frame KC tenure.
White Sox Announce 60-Man Additions
The White Sox announced the addition of 16 players to their 60-man player pool Tuesday. They’ll all head to the team’s alternate camp site in Schaumberg, Ill. Today’s additions include (* = non-roster invitee):
Right-Handed Pitchers
Left-Handed Pitchers
Catchers
Outfielders
As Opening Day draws nearer, the White Sox will option additional players to their alternate camp site. There are currently 43 players in big league Summer Camp with the South Siders, and they’ll need to trim that number to 30 by the time the opener rolls around.
Today’s list of additions contains several notable names, including 2020 first-round pick Garrett Crochet, whom the Sox selected 13th overall out of the University of Tennessee. Farm director Chris Getz isn’t ruling out the possibility of Crochet making his MLB debut sometime this year, Bruce Levine of 670 The Score tweets.
Getz also spoke about another recent White Sox first-round pick in Zack Burdi, whom they took 26th in 2016, saying (via Daryl Van Schouwen of the Chicago Sun-Times): ‘We hope to build off how he finished major league camp. It’s the best we’ve seen him in a while. His last couple outings were very encouraging. It’s a special arm.”
Significant injuries have prevented the hard-throwing Burdi from realizing his potential or even reaching the bigs since the White Sox drafted him. He underwent Tommy John surgery in 2017, barely pitched the following year as a result, and then succumbed to a ligament tear in his patella last season. Burdi’s still a well-regarded relief prospect, though, and may have a chance to factor into Chicago’s bullpen this season.
Jordan Hicks Opts Out Of 2020 Season
JULY 14: A setback in Hicks’ Tommy John rehab played a part in his decision to opt out, manager Mike Shildt revealed Tuesday (via Saxon). Hicks is dealing with inflammation and would not have been able to pitch until at least September had he decided to play this year.
JULY 13: Cardinals closer Jordan Hicks has opted out of the 2020 season, citing preexisting health concerns, the Cardinals announced on Monday. Hicks, who has Type 1 diabetes, is also recovering from Tommy John surgery and was expected to open the season on the injured list.
“We respect and understand Jordan’s decision to opt out this season,” president of baseball operations John Mozeliak said in a statement announcing the news. “We wish him well as he continues his recovery from elbow surgery, and we look forward to seeing Jordan back on the mound for the 2021 season.”
Hicks becomes the 13th Major League player to opt out of the 2020 season, joining a growing list that figures to have more additions between now and Opening Day. While most have been veteran players with considerable career earnings already under their belt, Hicks and White Sox hurler Michael Kopech have bucked that trend, joining Nationals righty Joe Ross as younger players on the opt-out list.
Notably, The Athletic’s Mark Saxon tweets that Type 1 diabetes is listed by MLB as a preexisting condition that would allow a player to opt out and receive service time and salary. Hicks isn’t yet arbitration-eligible, so he’ll take home a prorated salary worth only a bit more than the league minimum, but the service time he accrues this season will push him to three years — making him arbitration-eligible for the first time this winter. He won’t have much of a platform to earn a considerable raise, but that will bring him one step closer to free agency in the 2023-24 offseason, so it’s certainly of importance to both player and team.
Hicks is baseball’s hardest thrower, averaging a ridiculous 101.6 mph on his fastball prior to injury. After a solid rookie season in 2018, he looked to be elevating his game to another level in 2019, when he pitched to a 3.14 ERA with 9.7 K/9, 3.5 BB/9, 0.63 HR/9 and a massive 67.2 percent ground-ball rate in 28 2/3 innings. Hicks went 14-for-15 in save opportunities last year before his injury, firmly seizing the ninth-inning job in manager Mike Shildt’s bullpen.
From a pure baseball perspective, it’s a tough loss for the Cardinals, who have also seen setup man John Brebbia undergo Tommy John surgery while top setup man Giovanny Gallegos has yet to report to Summer Camp. There’s been talk of again using Carlos Martinez as a late-inning option, though the right-hander’s preference has been to start. Mozeliak has also previously mentioned right-hander Ryan Helsley as a potential ninth-inning option in absence of Hicks.
Robinson Chirinos Questionable For Opening Day
JULY 14: Chirinos has improved since Monday, but his status for Opening Day is up in the air, according to Woodward (via Wilson).
JULY 13: Catcher Robinson Chirinos suffered a potentially worrisome injury at Rangers Summer Camp on Monday, Jeff Wilson of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram reports. Chirinos departed after teammate Scott Heineman slid into his right ankle.
The images Chirinos underwent after he exited came back negative, but manager Chris Woodward acknowledged that “it’s concerning to say the least” whenever a catcher rolls his ankle. Woodward and the Rangers should know more about Chirinos’ status Tuesday.
Chirinos was one of the notable offseason acquisitions the Rangers made, as he parlayed an effective 2019 with the division-rival Astros into a one-year, $6.75MM contract. This isn’t the first Rangers go-around for the 36-year-old Chirinos, who was a member of the club from 2013-18.
Defense isn’t Chirinos’ calling card, but he has been one of the game’s steadiest offensive catchers over the past half-decade. Dating back to his 2015 breakout, Chirinos has slashed .234/.340/.452 (110 wRC+) with 71 home runs in 1,615 plate appearances. That type of production would certainly be welcome for the Rangers, whose catchers provided little to nothing at the plate last season. Primary option Jeff Mathis struggled more than anyone else in the mix, registering a .158/.209/.224 line and a stunningly poor 2 wRC+ in 244 trips to the plate.
In the event Chirinos misses time this year, Mathis could once again end up in the lineup on a regular basis. Jose Trevino also figures to make the roster, and Wilson notes that Nick Ciuffo could open 2020 as the team’s third catcher if Chirinos lands on the shelf.
Jacob deGrom Dealing With Back Tightness
Mets ace Jacob deGrom departed the team’s instrasquad game after one inning Tuesday because of back tightness, Tim Healey of Newsday tweets.
It’s not yet clear whether this issue will jeopardize deGrom’s chances of taking the ball for the Mets when their season opens July 24. As Tim Britton of The Athletic points out, though, back tightness did prevent deGrom from making an Opening Day start in 2018.
If the Mets are going to break their three-year playoff drought in 2020, it stands to reason they’ll need a healthy deGrom continuing to lead their pitching staff. The 32-year-old is irreplaceable, having won back-to-back National League Cy Youngs and consistently provided front-line production since he debuted in the majors in 2014. He fired 204 innings of 2.43 ERA/2.67 FIP ball with 11.25 K/9 and 1.94 BB/9 last year.
Of course, with righty Noah Syndergaard out for the year after undergoing Tommy John surgery, deGrom is all the more important to the Mets’ cause. Marcus Stroman, Rick Porcello, Steven Matz and Michael Wacha are slated to make up the rest of what should be a solid rotation if healthy, but the Mets’ depth looks questionable (Walker Lockett and Corey Oswalt may be first in line for starts in the event of an injury).
Cubs Make 3 Additions To Player Pool
The Cubs have added three pitchers – right-hander Keegan Thompson and a pair of lefties in Justin Steele and Jack Patterson – to their 60-man player pool, per Gordon Wittenmyer of NBC Sports Chicago. They’ll report to the team’s alternate facility in South Bend, Ind., and will increase the Cubs’ pool to 54 players.
Thompson, now 25 years old, was a third-round pick of the Cubs in 2017 who has since climbed to the Double-A level. FanGraphs’ Eric Longenhagen ranked Thompson as the Cubs’ No. 24 prospect last month, calling him a strike-throwing, “very stable fifth starter/swingman piece.” Thompson could be big league-ready right now, according to Longenhagen, so it’s possible he’ll make his debut during the shortened 2020 campaign.
Steele, also 25, entered the Cubs’ system as a fifth-rounder in 2014. He received his first extensive Double-A action last year, when he logged a 5.59 ERA with 9.8 K/9 and 4.7 BB/9 in 38 2/3 innings. Patterson’s another former Cubs pick (Round 32, 2018) who has maxed out at Double-A thus far. He threw 13 2/3 innings there last year, but most of his time was spent in Single-A and High-A ball. The 24-year-old was highly effective at all three stops, combining for a 1.69 ERA with 9.0 K/9 against 3.6 BB/9 over 79 2/3 frames.
Happ, Hill, McHugh Among Players Excluded From Vesting Clause Agreement
6:39pm: Red Sox righty Collin McHugh is also excluded from the agreement, Martino tweets. McHugh, who’s still working back from the nonsurgical procedure he underwent on his pitching elbow over the winter, signed an incentive-laden deal with Boston in March. Back when McHugh inked the contract, it included $3.625MM in available incentives based on between 30 and 115 innings pitched; it also featured roster bonuses for 15 to 90 days on the team’s active roster.
1:02pm: It emerged yesterday that the league and union had agreed upon how to handle vesting clauses and certain bonuses in a highly modified 2020 season. But it seems the general agreement includes carve-outs for certain players.
Among those known to be excluded are Yankees lefty J.A. Happ and Twins southpaw Rich Hill, according to reports from Joel Sherman of the New York Post and Andy Martino of SNY.tv. In those cases — and, it seems, a few unidentified others — the team and player will have to reach modified agreements or submit cases to an arbitrator to decide how their contracts should be treated.
In Happ’s case, his original contract included a $17MM vesting/club option for the 2021 season. It would become guaranteed if he made 27 starts and/or threw 165 innings this year. As for Hill, there aren’t any options. But his deal included generous incentive pay for accumulating relatively small numbers of games started and/or innings pitched (maxing out at $9.5MM with 15 starts and/or 75 innings).
It’s still not fully clear just why certain players were excluded from the broader deal. A source tells Martino it relates to health situations at the start of the season, though as he notes that doesn’t quite align with Happ’s case.
Royals Activate Salvador Perez
The Royals announced Tuesday that they’ve activated catcher Salvador Perez from the injured list. He had previously tested positive for COVID-19, according to the club, and it appears he’s since had the two negative tests required to return to the field of play. Perez is in uniform and working out with the club today.
It’s been 22 months since Royals fans saw the six-time All-Star and five-time Gold Glover suit up for a game. Perez sat out the entire 2019 season after undergoing Tommy John surgery on his right elbow and hasn’t caught a game since Sept. 30, 2018. Perez’s clearance to return is of particular importance to the Royals given that the team’s only other catchers on the 40-man roster, Cam Gallagher and Meibrys Viloria, are on the injured list at the moment. Gallagher tested positive for COVID-19 last week. No reason for Viloria’s IL placement was provided.
Assuming Perez is ready for Opening Day and Gallagher and Viloria aren’t, it seems likely Nick Dini will serve as the team’s main backup catcher. Dini struggled during a 64-plate appearance major league debut last season, but he has hit well in Triple-A dating back to 2018. Oscar Hernandez (whom the Royals signed last week), MJ Melendez, Sebastian Rivero, Freddy Fermin and Allan de San Miguel comprise the rest of the backstops in the club’s player pool.