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Mets Injury Notes: Nimmo, Conforto, Lowrie

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The latest from Flushing Meadows . . .

  • Brandon Nimmo’s neck injury – initially described by the club as “stiff” and “inflamed” – is actually far graver, relays MLB.com’s Anthony DiComo. The 26-year-old is suffering from a bulging cervical disc that’s “pushing” on a nerve in his neck, and he’s also dealing with the aftermath of whiplash, presumably suffered during a collision with the center-field wall in an April 14 game vs. Atlanta. Nimmo is “relieved” to have been issued a firm diagnosis, though there’s currently no timetable for his return. It’s a been rough ’19 go for the Wyoming-born outfielder, who’s slumped to a .200/.344/.323 line over 161 plate appearances thus far. The former first-rounder has maintained his sky-high walk rates from the two seasons prior, though – his 16.1% mark currently ranks tenth among all MLB regulars – so the slow start could simply be a function of poor balls-in-play luck, or the vagaries of small-sample baseball at large.
  • DiComo also provides an update on the concussed Michael Conforto, he of the staunch .271/.406/.521 line thus far, who appears set to return before Sunday’s game against Detroit. It’s a huge sigh of relief for an organization in desperate need of some left-handed thump, and one that seemed unlikely to transpire so soon. Perhaps the league’s most underrated hitter, Conforto has followed up a sizzling second half last season with a top-20 wRC+ in the first two months thus far. He’s upped his walk rate to a career-best 16.7% (good for 6th in MLB) and slashed his K rate over 3%, to a quite respectable (and below league-average) 21.7%. The 26-year-old has had periodic issue with staying healthy, but a full season on the field at this pace should place the former first-rounder right in line with the league’s elite.
  • Infielder Jed Lowrie is still “a ways away,” per manager Mickey Callaway (h/t to the New York Post’s Mike Puma). The 35-year-old, who signed a two-year, $20MM pact with New York in the offseason, has long been beset by injuries of various type throughout his 12-year big-league career. Ailments cut short each of his 2009, ’10, ’11, ’12, ’15, and ’16 seasons, and there appears to be no concrete timetable for his return in ’19. Lowrie’s on the heels of back-to-back excellent seasons with Oakland, though the aging curve is especially cruel for second basemen, and doubly so when they’ve accumulated a host of lower-body maladies over the the course of a career.

Mariners Activate Kyle Seager

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The Mariners have activated 3B Kyle Seager from the 60-Day IL, per a team release. The 31-year-old had been rehabbing from a torn tendon in his left (non-throwing) hand after a dive-gone-awry early in Spring Training.

Seager will hope to inject some much-needed life into a floundering Mariners club, which has gone a hard-to-believe 10-28 after a 13-2 start over the season’s first couple weeks. Fill-in third baseman Ryon Healy has hit the IL after a middling kick-off to the ’19 campaign, and the team has also lost second sacker Dee Gordon to a right wrist contusion.

From 2012-17, the sweet-swinging Seager established himself as one of the game’s premier third basemen, averaging 4.3 fWAR per season over the stretch, with an overall output topped only by Josh Donaldson and Adrian Beltre.  Seager’s offensive performance has slid precipitously over the last two seasons, however, bottoming out in ’18 with an unfortunate .221/.273/.400 (84 wRC+) line in 630 PAs for the M’s.

A balky big toe may have been much to blame, though, and the nine-year vet spent much of the offseason immersed in a nutrition and weight loss program designed purely to alleviate the pain’s root. A rebound to previously-established levels could make the 31-year-old an attractive midseason trade chip, though the club would almost certainly have to eat a decent portion of the some $45MM remaining on the former all-star’s contract.

Giants Select Mike Yastrzemski, Designate Mac Williamson

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The Giants have selected the contract of OF Mike Yastrzemski and designated OF Mac Williamson for assignment, mlb.com’s Maria Guardado was among those to report.

Yastrzemski, 28, is famously the grandson of hall-of-fame Red Sox outfielder Carl Yastrzemski, and will make his major league debut tonight after parts of seven seasons in the minors. With AAA-Sacramento this season, the Vanderbilt product slashed a hefty .316/.414/.676, a line perhaps slightly more impressive than some of his PCL peers, given the relative lowlands of his home environs as compared to the moon-landing surfaces of certain division rivals. Still, as with all new arrivals from Triple-A in the dawn of a new, juiced-ball era, caution should reign: a startling 17 players still boast an OPS north of 1.000 in the Coast League, and one must scroll assiduously to finally stumble upon a group that doesn’t check in above the .800 mark.

This’ll be the second DFA this season for the 28-year-old Williamson, who was recalled earlier this month after a brief AAA bash fest of his own. Mac slumped badly in SF, striking out in nearly 32% of his plate appearances on the way to a .118/.211/.196 line in 57 plate appearances for the orange and black. His presence wasn’t the salve for the outfield woes that have plagued the Giants for the better part of three seasons now, though new president of baseball ops Farhan Zaidi remains aggressive in the search for a cure.

A’s DFA Fernando Rodney, Select Wei-Chung Wang

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The Oakland Athletics have designated veteran reliever Fernando Rodney for assignment, their PR department announced. Wei-Chung Wang’s contract has been selected from Triple-A Las Vegas in a corresponding move.

This could spell the end of the road for 42-year-old Rodney, whose days of slinging arrows may be numbered after a 9.42 ERA in 17 appearances. Still, given the state of bullpens around the league, it would not be a shock to see Rodney hitch his cart to a different horse for another go-round. His 5.46 FIP isn’t all that far off the 4.52 mark he chalked up last season, and he’s striking out batters at just a slightly lower rate. On the flip side, his velocity is down a full mph, and his walk rate is up to 17.1 BB%, all of which and more has led to an ugly -0.6 rWAR mark on the year.

Rodney debuted as a 25-year-old way back in 2002 for the Tigers. He has twice led the league in games finished, while he took home the saves title with 48 for the Mariners as a 37-year-old. On the whole, he has appeared in 913 major league baseball games, thrown 899 2/3 innings, and struck out 908 professional baseball hitters at the game’s highest level. He sports a career 3.79 ERA and almost identical 3.77 FIP.

Wei-Chung Wang will make his first appearance in the majors since 2017 with the Brewers. This season in Triple-A he’s gone 1-1 with 16 appearances and a 3.75 ERA and 3.75 K/BB rate. The lefty spent last season with the NC Dinos of the KBO, going 7-10 with a 4.26 ERA across 25 starts.

NL East Notes: Hammer, Ross, Bourque, Sobotka, Wilson

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With sidearmer Pat Neshek headed to the injured list, the Phillies have selected the contract of J.D. Hammer to take his place, per Matt Breen of the Philadelphia Inquirer. Breen also points out a fun bit of trivia regarding these two, as this is actually the second time Neshak has cleared out for Hammer in Philly. Hammer first came to the Phillies (along with two others) in a 2017 deadline deal that sent Neshek from the Phillies to the Rockies (Twitter links). Hammer has a 1.61 ERA between Double-A and Triple-A so far this season, though most of his time has been in Reading. In fact, Hammer is now primed to make his major league debut as just one appearance in Triple-A.

  • The Nationals continue recent tinkering of their bullpen personnel. Though their relief crew has been an unmitigated disaster, recent moves have been prompted largely by injuries to Anibal Sanchez and Jeremy Hellickson. With both Erick Fedde and Kyle McGowin taking a turn in the rotation, the Nationals are bringing in another fresh arm to help their beleaguered pen. James Bourque gets set to make his major league debut in Washington, while Joe Ross will be sent to Triple-A Fresno, per Jesse Dougherty of the Washington Post (via Twitter). Finally healthy, Ross has been unable to adjust to life in the pen, sporting a bad-even-in-Washington 9.22 ERA (5.87 FIP) over 16 appearances. The velocity has been there for Ross (94.1 mph) but the control has not (5.3 BB/9). Austin Voth will be the only pitcher left on the Nationals 40-man roster not to make an appearance with the big league club this season.
  • Speaking of bullpen troubles, the Braves actually lead the league in number of pitchers used in relief so far this season with 19, per MLB.com’s Jordan Bastian (via Twitter). Chad Sobotka, one of the nineteen, was activated from the 10-day injured list and optioned to Triple-A, per MLB Roster Moves. Sobotka earned -0.6 rWAR in just 13 appearances before his injury, pitching to an 8.25 ERA while walking 6.8 batters per nine innings.
  • In New York, Justin Wilson remains at least a week away from returning from elbow soreness for the Mets, per MLB.com’s Anthony DiComo (via Twitter). Wilson has resumed throwing activities, with the next step being mound work before likely getting a few days on a rehab assignment. Wilson, 31, had made 10 appearances, going 1-1 with a 4.82 ERA before hitting the injured list, but there’s little to glean from such a small sample size.

White Sox Notes: Jay, Castillo, Zavala, Banuelos

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White Sox outfielder Jon Jay is finally showing some signs of progress in his effort to return from a groin strain. As Daryl Van Schouwen of the Chicago Sun-Times tweets, GM Rick Hahn says that Jay may not be far from a rehab stint. He’s expanding his workload at extended spring training at the moment. When Jay inked a one-year, $4MM deal the idea was that he’d help solidify the overall outfield unit, and perhaps also help woo Manny Machado to the South Side. Neither concept has paid off to this point, though there’s still time for Jay to be a 2019 contributor and perhaps even turn into a trade chip.

  • Welington Castillo, meanwhile, is headed to the injured list, per Van Schouwen (Twitter link). It’s been a rough start to the season for Castillo, whose -0.2 fWAR can  largely be attributed to his .176/.286/.318 slash line. Defensively, Castillo’s strength is in deterring the run game. Framing metrics have looked less kindly upon Castillo’s work behind the dish. The 32-year-old veteran returned to Chicago last season after spending the early portion of his career with the Cubs. In his first season on the South Side, Castillo hit .259/.304/.406 across 49 games in 2018, though the bulk of playing time went to the since-traded Omar Narvaez. This season it’s been the James McCann show with starts split almost down the middle, despite McCann’s blistering start to the season. Officially, Castillo was placed on the 7-day concussion list, per The Athletic’s James Fegan (via Twitter).
  • Taking over Castillo’s spot on the roster – and making his major league debut – will be Texas native Seby Zavala. Over parts of this season and last, the 25-year-old Zavala slashed .234/.261/.405 for Triple-A Charlotte. He posted much better offensive numbers in lower levels, particularly in regards to his approach and contact skills. Despite his current 36.3% strikeout rate and 4.4% walk rate, Zavala prepares to make his debut at the game’s highest level as soon as this afternoon.
  • Lefty Manny Banuelos is also being reinstated from the injured list, tweets Fegan. Banuelos has been out of action with a shoulder strain since May 15. Banuelos, 28, has appeared in 9 games this season, starting 5, going 2-3 with a 7.26 ERA. Ten home runs in 31 innings played no small part in the high ERA, but Banuelos struggled with his command as well with 5.5 BB/9.

Rays In Contact With Keuchel, Kimbrel

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Free agent hurlers Dallas Keuchel and Craig Kimbrel are both expected to sign somewhere shortly after midnight EST on June 2 when they will no longer be tied to draft pick compensation, per The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal and Josh Tolentino. Craig Edwards from Fangraphs recently put together a valuation of the compensation cost every team would face were they to sign either Keuchel or Kimbrel before the June 2nd expiration date. At this stage, however, even if there were a team willing to stomach the loss of a draft pick, it behooves these free agents to wait out this final week and see if their “lightened load” helps spark a bidding war – “war” being a relative term here.

Where these two end up will continue to be one of the stories of the season. Despite their well-catalogued need for a starting pitcher, the Padres do not appear ready to buy on Keuchel. The Rays, meanwhile, remain in touch with both pitchers, per Rosenthal and Tolentino. Common assumptions about “need” would point to Keuchel as the natural fit for the Rays, but Kimbrel may actually be the more likely of the two. The Rays certainly know how to use a good reliever, though Kimbrel would likely have to open his mind to a less-than-traditional closer’s role.

On the other hand, the Rays have to be intrigued by the possibility of rolling into the second half of the season sporting a top-four of Blake Snell, Charlie Morton, Keuchel and Tyler Glasnow. Health and contract negotiations aside, such a traditional powerhouse rotation would be a fun twist for the revolutionizing Rays. Even if they are still Facebook friends with Keuchel and Kimbrel, however, they’ll need to outbid the Yankees at the very least to snag Keuchel. For Kimbrel, if you can name a contender, you can find a potential landing spot.

Of course, this conversation would make a whole lot of sense were this December. Since it’s now late-May, and neither pitcher seems likely to sign before June 3rd at the earliest, conjecture about widespread interest (on my part) in Kimbrel is a tad comical, even if bullpens are languishing left and right throughout the league. Still, there’s widespread interest in winning, even if evidence often points to the contrary. Point being, though they’ve gone unsigned up til now, the Rays will not be alone in courting the services of Kimbrel (or Keuchel) come early June.

Astros To Call Up Derek Fisher

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Given yesterday’s news of George Springer’s hamstring injury, it seemed likely that one of the many outfielders thriving for Houston’s Triple-A affiliate in Round Rock would join the big league club shortly. Sure enough, Derek Fisher is getting the nod, per The Athletic’s Jake Kaplan (via Twitter).

Fisher gets the call over fellow prospects Kyle Tucker, Yordan Alvarez, and Myles Straw. Of the four, only Alvarez has yet to use an option this season as he is not on the 40-man roster. This will be Fisher’s second stint with the big league club in 2019, having appeared briefly in back-to-back games on May 4th and 5th. In both games he entered late as a defensive replacement, grounding out in his only at-bat. Fisher last made the Astros top prospects list in 2016 when MLB.com clocked him at #5. He has since been ineligible, as he gained rookie eligibility the year after, hitting .212/.307/.356 across 166 plate appearances for the eventual World Series champs.

There’s still lots to like about Fisher, 25, who has raked to the tune of .314/.379/.555 in 33 games for Round Rock this season, while he’s mostly provided good power and a measured approach throughout his minor league career. The hope is that Springer’s injury is a short-term one remedied with a couple weeks rest, which could play into Houston’s decision to tab Fisher over Tucker or Alvarez, as Fisher is best prepped for an up-and-down style call-up, given his experience in doing so. Even with Springer sidelined, Fisher will have to compete for outfield at-bats with Michael Brantley, Josh Reddick, Jake Marisnick and Tony Kemp. Of course, about half of Springer’s time this season has been in centerfield, where Fisher far outpaces either Tucker or Alvarez.

With that in mind, however, Marisnick likely has the most ground to gain while Springer heals. Marisnick, 28, has actually seen the bulk of the playing time in center this season, starting 26 games and appearing in 35 of 52 overall. Metrics peg him as quite good out there as well, with 4 DRS and 2.3 UZR thus far while posting consistently positive defensive numbers since his debut in 2013. Though he’s long been a toolsy and useful piece for the Astros, he is already enjoying a mini-breakout in 2019, punching well above his weight at .284/.340/.558 worth 1.2 fWAR – not too far off his season-high number of 1.8 fWAR (in 2015).

It’s certainly an embarrassment of riches for the Astros, who should have no trouble covering for Springer in his absence. Still, it’s unfortunate for the 29-year-old who is off to the best start of his career at 2.7 fWAR via a .308/.389/.643 slash line and power surge evidence by 17 home runs and a somewhat ridiculous .335 ISO. Fisher could certainly be auditioning for another big league ball club during this stint, though there’s room for everyone long-term should Houston hold onto their prospects, as Brantley, Springer, Reddick and Marisnick could all depart via free agency after the 2020 season.

Nationals Don’t Expect Near-Term Managerial Change

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Nationals president of baseball operations Mike Rizzo addressed his team’s brutal recent run of play, as Sam Fortier of the Washington Post was among those to report (links to Twitter). He made clear the organization is not looking to make any major changes — including in the managerial role.

Rizzo obviously saw the need to address the direction of the D.C. organization after a brutal series in New York. And he put to rest any questions about the safety of skipper Dave Martinez, though he didn’t do so in as formal a manner as the rival Mets did recently.

Chatting with reporters, Rizzo said that “there’s plenty of blame to go around.” He acknowledged that “it’s hard to watch sometimes,” an assessment of the club that is hard to argue with.

Rizzo made clear, though, that he doesn’t think it’d be sensible to make any momentous decisions at this point in time. “[W]e’re certainly not going to pull the plug before we’re a third … through the season,” he said.

While there’s obviously a desire to do something to spur a change, that assessment seems sensible. Martinez has faced his share of criticism, and no doubt shares in the blame, but there are numerous failings in the organization. Changing the manager isn’t going to magically turn the relief staff into a competent group. And roster changes are awfully tough to pull off this time of the year.

At some point, of course, that all may change. Regardless of what may occur with the dugout leadership, the club will certainly need to make some difficult calls if it remains buried in the division. Rizzo said he’d be willing to adjust as necessary if the direction doesn’t change, as the WaPo’s Jesse Dougherty tweets, though the club had a hard time letting go last year. Though the team ultimately moved several expiring contracts, ownership wasn’t able to pull the trigger on a Bryce Harper trade. Whether a similar decision will need to be made this summer on Anthony Rendon remains to be seen.

Orioles Move Dan Straily To Bullpen

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Righty Dan Straily is being shifted into the bullpen, the Orioles informed reporters including Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com (via Twitter). It isn’t yet known who’ll step into his spot in the rotation.

This move wasn’t hard to see coming. The O’s added Straily for a low price at the outset of the year, with the idea that he’d help solidify the rotation. Unfortunately, that has just not happened.

While the 30-year-old has been a sturdy rotation piece for several years now, he has been drubbed in Baltimore. Over 34 2/3 innings, he carries a 9.09 ERA with just 18 strikeouts against 17 walks. Opposing hitters have already launched 14 long balls.

Straily is living outside of the zone (career-low 38.8%) in an effort to avoid that hard contact. He’s struggling to get swinging strikes (career-low 7.3%). Opposing hitters are putting the ball in the air against him more than ever before, with 20.6% of those flies leaving the yard.

While the O’s don’t have any particularly compelling replacement options, they are said to be browsing the market for pitching depth. If they can’t find a new arm quickly, they’ll need to look internally for at least one start. Just-claimed hurler Chandler Shepherd is one possibility. 40-man members Josh Rogers, Jimmy Yacabonis, and Luis Ortiz are also presently working at Triple-A. Southpaw Keegan Akin is there as well. He’s perhaps the most intriguing possibility, but would need a 40-man spot to be promoted.

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