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MLB Weekend Roster Roundup: Anderson, deGrom, Wainwright, Zimmerman

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ROSTER MOVES BY TEAM
(May 12th-May 13th)

NATIONAL LEAGUE

  • ST. LOUIS CARDINALS | Depth Chart
    • Activated from 10-Day DL: SP Adam Wainwright
      • Wainwright exited Sunday’s start after walking six batters. He is likely returning to the disabled list with renewed elbow discomfort.
    • Optioned: RP John Brebbia

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AMERICAN LEAGUE

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FUTURE EXPECTED MOVES

Cardinals Notes: Wainwright, Reyes, Wong

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Here’s the latest out of St. Louis…

  • Adam Wainwright’s return from the disabled list was a brief one, as the righty felt elbow pain while warming up during his start today and lasted just 2 1/3 innings (allowing two runs on three hits and six walks).  Today’s outing was Wainwright’s first after missing over three weeks due to elbow inflammation, and he is likely headed back to the DL in the wake of this latest issue.  He will miss at least his next start, and return to St. Louis for examination.  “I need to pause and get it right. This team deserves more than that and the fans deserve more than that and the organization does, too.  If I’m going to be a force down the stretch, I need to get healthy first,” Wainwright told MLB.com’s Jay Paris and other media.  The veteran underwent arthroscopic surgery on that same right elbow last October after battling some elbow problems in 2017, and also missed all of the 2011 season due to Tommy John surgery.  With Carlos Martinez also on the DL, the Cards rotation is down to Miles Mikolas, Michael Wacha, and Luke Weaver, with Jack Flaherty tapped to start on Tuesday.
  • Alex Reyes could also eventually factor into the St. Louis rotation plans, as the star prospect will pitch on Monday in what will be the second of four scheduled minor league rehab starts as he makes his return from Tommy John surgery.  President of baseball operations John Mozeliak told Ben Frederickson of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch that the team won’t be moving to a six-man rotation once Reyes is ready, though it remains to be seen exactly how Reyes will be deployed.  “Rather than lay it [the team’s plan] out there for public consumption, I would rather wait and do it based on where we are, where he is, and how to best optimize that,” Mozeliak said.  As Frederickson notes, the Cards are trying to manage Reyes’ workload on several fronts — they want to ease him back into action, while also keeping him fresh to pitch in a postseason race (and into October) and on track to move into a starting role in 2019.  Using him as a multi-inning reliever or piggybacking his outings with another starter would be complicated from an innings-management standpoint, and Mozeliak said that the team could even keep Reyes in the minors if that is what is best for him at this point in his development and recovery.
  • Earlier this week, The Athletic’s Mark Saxon (subscription required) opined that Kolten Wong’s second base glove has become such a plus for the Cardinals that the team should consider giving him more regular playing time, even against left-handed pitching.  Since Saxon’s piece was written, Wong has started each of the Cards’ last two games against southpaw opposing starters, with Jedd Gyorko playing third base and the struggling Matt Carpenter getting a three-game break.  Wong has been one of baseball’s best defenders at any position this season, and his bat has started to show some signs of life after an ice-cold start to the season.  With Jose Martinez more or less locked in as the starting first baseman at this point, it leaves the Cards juggling Wong, Gyorko, and Carpenter between second and third base, with backup infielder Greg Garcia also in need of some playing time.

AL West Notes: Cano, Middleton, A’s, Maxwell, Astros

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The Mariners “indicated” that they wouldn’t be looking for an external candidate to replace Robinson Cano at second base, the Tacoma News Tribune’s TJ Cotterill writes.  This would leave Seattle with internal options like Andrew Romine, Taylor Motter, and Gordon Beckham at the keystone, since center fielder Dee Gordon doesn’t appear to be under consideration for a move back to his former position.  In my view, the Mariners could re-assess their plans once they have a clearer idea of how much time Cano will miss, as we’re still just hours removed from the star second baseman suffering a fracture in his hand after being hit by a pitch in today’s game.

More rumblings from around the AL West…

  • Angels right-hander Keynan Middleton left today’s game after 12 pitches due to what the club termed as elbow discomfort.  Middleton will undergo an MRI tomorrow.  Today’s outing was Middleton’s third appearance since returning from a 10-day DL stint for inflammation in that same elbow.  The 24-year-old closer has posted good results when healthy (2.04 ERA and an 8.25 K/9 in 17 2/3 IP), and in his absence, Blake Parker and Jim Johnson figure to get the bulk of save opportunities for the Halos.  Be sure to follow @CloserNews (MLBTR’s affiliate Twitter site) for all the latest details on the ninth-inning situation for all 30 teams around baseball.
  • Because Bruce Maxwell hasn’t yet been sentenced following his plea agreement for a change of disorderly conduct, Canadian immigration laws will prevent Maxwell from joining the Athletics during their upcoming four-game series in Toronto, Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle reports.  Maxwell will have to be demoted at some point before Thursday’s series opener if the A’s are to have a backup behind Jonathan Lucroy.  Slusser suggests that prospect Beau Taylor (off to a hot start at Triple-A) could be considered even though he isn’t on the 40-man roster, though Josh Phegley could also be called up if Oakland didn’t want to make another transaction to clear room for Taylor.
  • Astros GM Jeff Luhnow admitted that “Obviously, you have to think about potentially doing something” to address some struggling hitters on Houston’s roster, though Luhnow tells Chandler Rome of the Houston Chronicle that he still has faith in the “proven track records” of veterans like Evan Gattis or Jake Marisnick.  In regards to Marisnick, for instance, Luhnow mentioned that his excellent defense makes him an important figure for the team.  This gives Marisnick more value than another internal option like top prospect J.D. Davis, who is tearing up Triple-A pitching but is limited to just left field.

NL West Notes: Goldschmidt, Desmond, Rockies, Hill

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While still technically an above-average run creator (105 wRC+) this season, Paul Goldschmidt is suffering through an uncharacteristically long slump, hitting just .216/.347/.388 with four homers over his first 167 plate appearances.  As Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic notes, Goldschmidt’s soft-contact rate is much higher than his career average, as is his percentage of swinging-and-missing fastballs in the strike zone.  The latter statistic has led to Goldschmidt’s 30.5% strikeout rate, which is far above his 22.4% career mark.  The Diamondbacks first baseman didn’t share any details about his slump to reporters, except to say that he feels physically fine, so an injury doesn’t appear to be the cause of the problem.  Remarkably, the D’Backs are still tied for the NL’s best record despite not having their star slugger hitting at his usual standard, though obviously the team hopes Goldschmidt gets on track soon.

Some more items from around the NL West…

  • Speaking of slumping first basemen, Ian Desmond’s struggles continued today with an 0-for-4 day, dropping his slash line to an ugly .170/.213/.355 over 150 PA.  The Rockies are lacking in viable alternatives at first base, The Athletic’s Nick Groke writes (subscription required), with Ryan McMahon recently demoted due to his own lack of production, Daniel Castro and Josh Fuentes both lacking experience at first base, and prospect Jordan Patterson hitting well but carrying a high strikeout rate at Triple-A.  It isn’t probable that Gerardo Parra returns to first base, as “his defense lacked and he disliked the idea” of the position change in limited action at first last season.  It stands to reason that first base could be a target area for the Rockies at the trade deadline should they remain the pennant race — like the D’Backs, the Rockies have also been competitive (22-19 after today’s loss to the Brewers) despite a lack of production at first base.  A new addition, however, wouldn’t help solve the bigger-picture problem of Desmond, who has been a sub-replacement level player since signing a five-year, $70MM free agent deal with Colorado in December 2016.
  • Dodgers left-hander Rich Hill was removed during the sixth inning of today’s start due to a blister on the middle finger of his throwing hand, manager Dave Roberts told Bill Shaikin of the L.A. Times (Twitter link) and other reporters.  Roberts is still hopeful Hill can make his next start, though another blister is an ominous sign given Hill’s long history of similar issues.  Hill has already spent time on the DL this season due to a cracked fingernail and infection on that same finger.  Though Hill has just a 6.20 ERA over 24 2/3 IP this season, the Dodgers can ill-afford yet another notable injury, especially with the rotation already missing Clayton Kershaw and Hyun-Jin Ryu.
  • For more from the division, Connor Byrne published another set of NL West Notes earlier today on MLBTR

Minor MLB Transactions: 5/13/18

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The latest minor league moves from around the game…

  • The Reds announced that outfielder Tyler Goeddel was released from Triple-A Louisville’s roster to create room for recently-demoted southpaw Brandon Finnegan.  Goeddel has been in Cincinnati’s organization since being claimed off waivers by the Phillies in April 2017, and he was off to a tough start this season, batting just .229/.326/.349 over 96 PA for Louisville.  Picked 41st overall by the Rays in the 2011 amateur draft, Goeddel hit .192/.258/.291 over 234 plate appearances after the Phillies selected him out of Tampa’s system in the 2015 Rule 5 draft.

Injury Notes: Beltre, Cubs, Bucs, Tribe, Candelario

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Rangers third baseman Adrian Beltre left the team’s game Sunday after re-aggravating his left hamstring, TR Sullivan of MLB.com tweets. Another stint on the disabled list may be in the offing for Beltre, who suffered a strained hamstring on April 24 and didn’t come off the DL until this past Tuesday. When Beltre has been healthy enough to take the field this season, the 39-year-old future Hall of Famer has put together a .314/.375/.422 batting line in 120 plate appearances.

More injury updates from around MLB…

  • Cubs outfielder Jason Heyward won’t come off the seven-day concussion DL on Monday, Carrie Muskat of MLB.com relays. It’s unclear when Heyward will be ready to go, as manager Joe Maddon said Sunday that there’s no timetable for his return. In better news for the Cubs, right-hander Yu Darvish will take the ball against the Braves on Tuesday, per Muskat. Darvish will end up missing the minimum, then, after going on the 10-day DL retroactive to May 4 with flu-like symptoms.
  • Pirates second baseman Josh Harrison will begin a rehab assignment Monday at the Double-A level, Cory Giger of the Altoona Mirror reports (Twitter link). Harrison has been on the shelf since suffering a fractured left hand on April 15. It seems he’ll make it back to the majors within the expected six-week window, though.
  • Indians left-hander Ryan Merritt will put his rehab assignment on hold on account of inflammation in his throwing shoulder, Jordan Bastian of MLB.com tweets. Merritt has been on the mend from a separate injury – a left knee issue – which has sidelined him all season. He’ll now go three to five days before throwing again. The out-of-options Merritt could be a fifth starter option for the Indians when he returns, given Josh Tomlin’s disastrous output thus far.
  • The previously reported MRI on Tigers third baseman Jeimer Candelario’s left wrist came back clean, according to the 24-year-old (Twitter link via Jason Beck of MLB.com). Candelario will “try to rehab and strengthen it,” Beck writes. He was out of the lineup for the Tigers’ game against the Mariners on Sunday, though manager Ron Gardenhire said afterward that “everything’s going to be fine” (via Anthony Fenech of the Detroit Free Press, on Twitter).

Robinson Cano Suffers Fractured Right Hand

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3:45pm: Cano told Greg Johns of MLB.com and other reporters that he’ll head to Philadelphia to see a hand specialist on Tuesday. Meanwhile, manager Scott Servais suggested that Gordon won’t be taking over for Cano at second, per Divish.

3:01pm: Mariners second baseman Robinson Cano has suffered a a fractured fifth metacarpal in his right hand, Ryan Divish of the Seattle Times tweets. The injury occurred Sunday when Cano took a pitch off the hand from Tigers starter Blaine Hardy, forcing him to exit the game in third inning.

It’s unclear how much time Cano will miss, though it’s worth noting that Pirates second baseman Josh Harrison and Giants ace Madison Bumgarner have suffered similar injuries in recent weeks. Harrison’s in the middle of at least a six-week recovery, while Bumgarner will end up missing around two months. It stands to reason Cano is likely in line for a similar absence, which is an awful development for a 22-17 Seattle team that’s just a game out of a wild-card spot as the season nears the quarter pole.

The 35-year-old Cano has been one of the driving forces behind the Mariners’ success this season, having slashed .287/.385/.441 with four home runs in 169 plate appearances. The former Yankee was clearly on his way to his fifth straight above-average campaign with the Mariners, who signed him to a 10-year, $240MM contract entering the 2014 season. Now, the durable Cano is likely to end up playing his fewest games in a season since he amassed 122 appearances as a second-year man in 2006. Entering 2018, he had appeared in at least 150 games in 11 straight seasons.

The Mariners replaced Cano on Sunday with utilityman Andrew Romine, but he likely doesn’t have the offensive skills to serve as a regular. The same goes for Taylor Motter, a 40-man option who’s currently in Triple-A, and fellow minor leaguer Gordon Beckham (he’s not on Seattle’s 40-man). The Mariners have a logical replacement for Cano in the 30-year-old Dee Gordon, who was a more-than-capable second baseman with the Marlins prior to this season. Seattle acquired Gordon in an offseason trade, and thanks to Cano’s presence, the club immediately shifted the speedster to center field. Gordon hasn’t drawn great reviews in the grass, though, with negative marks from Defensive Runs Saved (minus-8), Ultimate Zone Rating (minus-2.7) and Statcast’s Outs Above Average metric (minus-2).

While it’s unknown whether the Mariners would consider moving Gordon back to the keystone, it’s clear there aren’t many available choices on the open market. Veteran Brandon Phillips looks like the best of the free-agent bunch. Interest in Phillips has been scant, but he wants to play, and this injury could perhaps open the door for his return to the majors. The Mariners may be hard pressed to find someone who’s clearly superior to the 36-year-old Phillips on the trade front – general manager Jerry Dipoto’s preferred route. Not only are deals hard to come by at this point in the season, but the Mariners likely don’t have a strong enough farm system to acquire an impact player.

Orioles Claim Renato Nunez From Rangers

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The Orioles have claimed infielder/outfielder Renato Nunez off waivers from the Rangers, Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com tweets. In a corresponding move, Baltimore transferred infielder Tim Beckham to the 60-day DL.

Nunez lost his spot with the Rangers when they designated him on Friday. The 24-year-old logged 41 appearances with the club prior to then and batted just .167/.244/.278. He offered similar production from 2016-17 in Oakland (.167/.194/.267 in 31 PAs), which jettisoned him in mid-April. Nunez has been far better at Triple-A, where he owns a .242/.301/.460 line in 1,113 PAs, and is capable of lining up in the corners.

Most of Nunez’s professional action has come at third base, where the Orioles have been without Beckham for a few weeks. Beckham underwent core muscle surgery April 26 and is in the early stages of what will be at least a six-week recovery, making his shift to the 60-day DL a logical move for the Orioles. This has been a year to forget thus far for Beckham, who slashed .179/.247/.262 in 93 PAs before landing on the shelf. Beckham’s fall from grace since last season, when he was an effective piece for Baltimore after it acquired him from Tampa Bay in July, has been one of many clear causes for the Orioles’ 12-28 start.

AL Notes: Cano, Red Sox, Rays, Tigers

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Mariners second baseman Robinson Cano departed in the third inning Sunday after taking a pitch off the right hand from Tigers starter Blaine Hardy, Greg Johns of MLB.com was among those to report. Seattle’s left to hope this isn’t a serious injury for Cano, who has slashed a robust .287/.381/.441 over the first 168 plate appearances of his age-35 campaign. Thanks in part to Cano’s efforts, the Mariners have jumped out to an encouraging 22-16 start as they attempt to break a league-worst 16-year playoff drought. The club replaced Cano on Sunday with utilityman Andrew Romine.

More from the AL…

  • With second baseman Dustin Pedroia nearing a return from offseason knee surgery and knuckleballer Steven Wright set to come back Monday from a 15-game suspension for a violation of the league’s domestic violence policy, the Red Sox have some difficult roster questions looming, Jen McCaffrey of The Athletic observes (subscription required). Pedroia’s return looks likely to force a choice between Brock Holt and Blake Swihart for Boston’s utility infielder spot. Holt’s better suited for that, even though he has an option left and Swihart doesn’t, McCaffrey argues. On the pitching side, the Red Sox may have to select between sending down righty Hector Velazquez (who does have an option left) or losing the out-of-options lefty Brian Johnson once Wright’s back. Alternatively, the Red Sox could keep those two and jettison Wright, who’s also out of options, McCaffrey notes. Wright’s only two years removed from earning an All-Star nod, but injury issues – including season-ending left knee surgery last May – have helped derail him since then. He hasn’t made a big league appearance since April 29, 2017.
  • Rays two-way prospect Brendan McKay, the fourth pick in last year’s draft, is inching closer to the majors. The Rays have moved him from Single-A to High-A, per Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times. Prior to his promotion, the left-handed McKay, 22, opened the year with a 1.09 ERA and 14.59 K/9 against .73 BB/9 in 24 2/3 innings. He also held his own as a hitter, albeit not quite as much, with a .254/.484/.333 line in 91 PAs. Rays senior VP Chaim Bloom told Topkin that McKay “has been exceptional,” adding: “The results we’ve seen (as a pitcher) have been so phenomenal that he would be really hard-pressed to match that as a hitter. But he’s shown such as advanced approach at the plate, in fact to the point it felt at time he was being pitched around at that level.”
  • Tigers third baseman Jeimer Candelario was out of the starting lineup Sunday with a left wrist problem. The issue has bothered the 24-year-old “off and on” throughout his career, notes MLB.com’s Jason Beck, who adds that Candelario will undergo an MRI (Twitter links). Despite his balky wrist, the switch-hitting Candelario has gotten off to a terrific start this year with a .272/.359/.497 line and five home runs in 167 trips to the plate. Meanwhile, teammate Jordan Zimmermann won’t come off the disabled list to make his scheduled start Wednesday, Evan Woodbery of MLive.com tweets. The right-hander isn’t ready to return from the shoulder impingement that shelved him earlier this week.

Padres Place Phil Maton On DL

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The Padres announced that they’ve placed right-hander Phil Maton on the 10-day disabled list with a a right lat strain. His roster spot will go to fellow righty Kazuhisa Makita, who’s returning after a short stint at the Triple-A level.

At 15-26, the Padres appear likely to finish under .500 for the eighth straight season. This year’s club isn’t teeming with bright spots, then, though Maton and the bullpen in general have been outstanding. The 25-year-old Maton has pitched to a microscopic .56 ERA with 9.56 K/9, 3.94 BB/9 and a 42.2 percent groundball rate across 16 innings. He’s among a slew of relievers who have been effective for the Padres, whose bullpen ranks toward the top of the majors in fWAR (third), ERA (sixth), K/BB ratio (sixth) and grounder rate (seventh).

Makita, on the other hand, didn’t do San Diego’s run prevention numbers any favors before it demoted him earlier this week. The 33-year-old rookie, an offseason free-agent pickup from Japan, has notched a 6.75 ERA and a paltry 22.2 percent grounder mark over his first 16 MLB frames. On the positive side, the soft-tossing Makita has matched Maton’s K/BB rates and logged an impressive swinging-strike percentage (15.4).

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