Zack Wheeler Shut Down For Remainder Of Season
Mets righty Zack Wheeler has been shut down for the remainder of the year due to his flexor muscle strain, ESPN’s Adam Rubin writes. He will not resume throwing until he begins to prepare for Spring Training, which would seem to rule out fall and winter ball as well.
That Wheeler will miss the rest of the year is, perhaps, no surprise. Dr. James Andrews diagnosed Wheeler’s flexor strain in mid-August, and given that Wheeler had pitched just one professional inning since having Tommy John surgery in March 2015, it seemed ambitious to think he might return to the mound this season, particularly with the upcoming end to the minor league campaign potentially providing Wheeler with limited opportunities to rehab.
Wheeler, the sixth overall pick in the 2009 draft, headed from the Giants to the Mets for Carlos Beltran in 2011 and continued to develop into one of the game’s better young pitchers, culminating with two productive seasons in the Mets’ rotation in 2013 and 2014. Now, though, he’s 26 and has lost two full years to injury. It remains to be seen how his latest health woes will affect him going forward, but it looks like he’ll be a question mark yet again heading into the 2017 season.
Angels Claim Ashur Tolliver From Orioles
The Orioles have announced that they’ve lost lefty Ashur Tolliver to the Angels on a waiver claim. The O’s designated Tolliver for assignment when they acquired Kyle Lobstein last week. (Lobstein, of course, has himself already been designated for assignment and outrighted.)
The 28-year-old Tolliver made his MLB debut this season, allowing four runs, three earned, in 4 2/3 innings of relief while throwing his fastball in the 93-94 MPH range. He fared well, however, in stops at three minor league affiliates, posting a 1.94 ERA, 9.9 K/9 and 3.0 BB/9 in 41 2/3 total innings. The Angels currently have Jose Alvarez and Cody Ege as lefties available out of their bullpen; Tolliver will give them another left-handed option.
Tigers Designate Donn Roach, Add Joe Mantiply To Roster
The Tigers have announced that they’ve designated righty Donn Roach for assignment. The move clears space on the team’s roster for lefty Joe Mantiply, whose contract the team has selected from Double-A Erie.
The Tigers claimed Roach from the Mariners last month, and he made five starts for Triple-A Toledo. Between Toledo and the Mariners’ affiliate in Tacoma, Roach has posted a 3.86 ERA, 5.4 K/9 and 1.6 BB/9 over 137 2/3 innings at the Triple-A level this season. The 26-year-old has appeared in the big leagues in each of the last three seasons, including in 5 1/3 innings in the Mariners’ bullpen this season.
The 25-year-old Mantiply was a 27th-round draft pick in 2013, but he made quick work of the lower levels of the Tigers’ system and has fared well in the high minors this season, with a 2.73 ERA, 10.5 K/9 and 1.8 BB/9 in 59 1/3 innings split between Double-A and Triple-A. He likely would have been a potential Rule 5 Draft selection this winter, but his addition to the Tigers’ 40-man roster protects the team from that possibility. He’ll join Justin Wilson, Kyle Ryan and Blaine Hardy as lefties in the Tigers’ bullpen.
East Notes: Gamboa, Red Sox, Howard
Rays righty Eddie Gamboa made his big-league debut Friday at the age of 31, as Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times notes. Gamboa spent his entire career in the Orioles organization before signing a minor league deal with the Rays last offseason. He had a strong season for Triple-A Durham (2.68 ERA, 8.5 K/9 and 3.7 BB/9 in 94 innings), finally earning his shot in the Majors as the oldest Rays player to debut in the bigs since “The Rookie” Jim Morris in 1999. Gamboa throws about 80% knuckleballs, so he joins R.A. Dickey and Steven Wright as one of the very few knuckleballers currently in the big leagues. Here’s more from the East divisions.
- Yoan Moncada‘s debut is exciting news, but the Red Sox need relief pitching, not more offense, writes Michael Silverman of the Boston Herald. The Sox have already added Brad Ziegler and Fernando Abad this season, although Abad has struggled. Koji Uehara is close to returning from a right pectoral injury, and could potentially provide the bullpen with a boost. Red Sox relievers have posted a 4.68 ERA with 9.7 K/9 but also with 4.3 BB/9 over the past 30 days.
- Phillies first baseman Ryan Howard met with manager Pete Mackanin earlier this week to discuss Howard’s playing time, MLB.com’s Todd Zolecki writes. Mackanin has said he wants to get Tommy Joseph more looks at first base as the season comes to a close. “I’ve got one more month here and I just want to play and finish out playing,” Howard told Bob Ford of the Philadelphia Inquirer earlier this week. “So, it’s like I’m just trying to do my time, finish out this last month, and try to keep playing somewhere else.” The Phillies will pay Howard a $10MM buyout rather than exercising his 2017 option. He’s batted .199 this season, although he’s hit 20 home runs in just 305 plate appearances.
Giants Promote Joe Nathan
The Giants have selected the contract of righty Joe Nathan, as the Mercury News’ Andrew Baggarly and others have tweeted. To clear roster space for Nathan, they’ve recalled righty Ray Black and placed him on the 60-day DL.
The Giants signed the 41-year-old Nathan to a minor league deal last month. He has pitched sparingly since 2014, making his way through three organizations while battling his way back from Tommy John surgery. He did pitch three outings with the Cubs earlier this season, and the results were modestly promising — he struck out four batters and walked two in two innings.
Nathan’s first appearance with the Giants will represent a homecoming — he played his first four big-league seasons with San Francisco, making his big-league debut all the way back in 1999. It was the Twins, though, who enjoyed much of Nathan’s big-league success, as the Giants traded him with Francisco Liriano and Boof Bonser in late 2003 in a famously lopsided deal for A.J. Pierzynski. In Minnesota, Nathan became one of the game’s top closers, racking up 260 saves between 2004 and 2011 before heading to the Rangers and then the Tigers. For his career, Nathan has a 2.88 ERA, 9.5 K/9 and 3.3 BB/9 in 919 innings.
Braves Outright Kyle Kubitza, Wilfredo Boscan, Madison Younginer
The Braves have outrighted infielder Kyle Kubitza and righties Wilfredo Boscan and Madison Younginer, according to MLB.com’s transactions page. The moves clear three spots on the Braves’ 40-man roster.
Atlanta claimed Kubitza from the Rangers last month, and he’s played just 17 games in the Braves’ system since then. The 26-year-old, originally a Braves draftee, has played for three organizations since 2011, posting a career .262/366/.420 minor league line. He’s had a disappointing 2016 season at the Triple-A level, with a .215/.319/.341 line over 455 plate appearances while playing primarily third base, first base and outfield.
Like Kubitza, Boscan is a recent waiver claim — the Braves snagged him from the Pirates in August. The 26-year-old made his big-league debut with the Bucs in 2016 but spent most of the season starting at the Triple-A level, with a 4.16 ERA, 5.6 K/9 and 2.0 BB/9 in 93 innings.
The 25-year-old Younginer spent six years in the Red Sox system before joining the Braves via a minor league deal last offseason. He pitched well in the bullpen at Double-A Mississippi and threw in the mid-90s in his big-league debut this season, but posted poor results in both in the Majors and at Triple-A.
Follow @pfrumors For The Latest NFL News This Weekend
This weekend is absolute madness in the NFL world. By 3pm CT today, all 32 teams will have cut their rosters down from 75 to 53, meaning that more than 700 transactions will take place. Luckily, you can keep up with every cut and every trade by following @pfrumors on Twitter and staying tuned to ProFootballRumors.com. 
The day is already off to a huge start with the Vikings’ acquisition of Sam Bradford from the Eagles. On Friday, the Titans’ new regime cleaned house, getting rid of notables like wide receiver Justin Hunter, versatile athlete Dexter McCluster, and running backs David Cobb and Bishop Sankey. In San Francisco, Colin Kaepernick is making headlines for unexpected reasons, but it sounds like the Niners are leaning towards keeping him on the roster. In non-deadline news, Patriots defensive lineman Rob Ninkovich was slapped with a four-game suspension for violating the league’s policy on banned substances.
There will be a dizzying amount of news today concerning your favorite team. In fact, we often see big names get cut on deadline day, and some moves can even impact your fantasy team. Don’t miss on a single piece of news – follow @pfrumors on Twitter today!
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
5 Key Stories: 8/27/16 – 9/2/16
Here were the five most crucial stories from MLBTR this week.
Red Sox promote Yoan Moncada. At long last, the Red Sox promoted Cuban phenom Yoan Moncada to the big leagues this week, and he made his Major League debut Friday. The 21-year-old was batting .277/.379/.531 for Double-A Portland. (Moncada, by the way, wasn’t the only top prospect to receive good news this week — the Dodgers were also set to promote righty Jose De Leon.)
Drama surrounding Yasiel Puig. The Dodgers outfielder, who’d already been demoted to Triple-A Oklahoma City, was placed on revocable waivers early in the week. The Brewers subsequently claimed him, then discussed a would-be blockbuster with the Dodgers that would have involved Ryan Braun. The Dodgers then revoked Puig’s waiver placement and promoted him back to the big leagues, so trade talks would appear to be on hold until after the season.
Trades, trades everywhere. Teams took advantage of their last opportunity to make waiver trades for players they can add to their postseason rosters, coming up with several deals before Wednesday’s deadline. The Mets acquired righty Fernando Salas from the Angels, the Orioles picked up outfielder Michael Bourn from the Diamondbacks, and the Indians got outfielder Coco Crisp from the Athletics.
Reds sign Vladimir Gutierrez. The Reds made a big splash on the international market, signing Cuban righty Vladimir Gutierrez for $4.75MM. The deal will count against the Reds’ international bonus pool, but they’d already exceeded it by signing Alfredo Rodriguez for $7MM. Gutierrez ranked among the top international prospects available during this signing period.
Neil Walker to have season-ending back surgery. The Mets’ playoff hopes — and, perhaps, Neil Walker’s offseason ambitions — were dealt a blow this week with the news that Walker would undergo surgery to repair a herniated disk. Walker batted .282/.347/.476 with 23 home runs in his last season before free agency eligibility.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
West Notes: Doolittle, Jay, Myers, Miller
The Athletics announced the activation of lefty Sean Doolittle, who had been sidelined with a shoulder strain. As MLB.com’s Jane Lee reports, the late-inning southpaw says that his rehab took longer than expected and that he only recently was able to recapture the mechanics and velocity he is accustomed to. Doolittle now hopes the shoulder woes are in the rearview mirror, but his ability to stay healthy over the long haul will remain an important question for Oakland.
Here are a few more notes from out west …
- Padres outfielder Jon Jay is set to begin a rehab assignment tomorrow, Dennis Lin of the San Diego Union-Tribune reports on Twitter. The veteran wasn’t able to return in time to become a trade piece, and the Pads are well out of contention, but he has plenty to play for. The outcome of his upcoming free agency could depend quite a bit on whether he can return to being the solid regular he was before fracturing his forearm on a hit-by-pitch. (In case you missed it, San Diego reportedly has interest in exploring a reunion.)
- Linlooks at the second-half struggles of Padres first baseman Wil Myers. After a big start to the year, Myers has been slumping for about six weeks even though he remains healthy. The 25-year-old hinted that he is battling through the mental and physical grind of a long season, but says he expects to learn and improve from his lull at the plate. It will be interesting to see whether and how Myers’s fall-off will impact the chatter about an extension we heard earlier in the summer.
- Shelby Miller showed promise in his return to the Diamondbacks, as Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic writes. While he started rough, Miller was able to buckle down and deliver six solid frames. The embattled righty says he ironed out his mechanics in the minors, and that seems to have shown through in his good Triple-A results. He still has a ways to go in re-establishing his trajectory, but Miller worked in the mid-nineties with his fastball and filled up the zone in his first outing back in the majors.
AL East Notes: Sox Pen, Wright, Hicks, Holder, Liriano
The Red Sox were thwarted in their efforts to bolster the bullpen during August, president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski said today, as Evan Drellich of the Boston Herald reports. That’s largely what the organization expected, he said, with blocking maneuvers becoming common in the revocable waiver trade period. “The one thing that comes to light on this is that we said after July 31, there’s been nobody that’s been making it through waivers,” Dombrowski explained. “So as we said at the time, you’re going to have to make your moves, try to help you, before the trading deadline. And that was really the case.”
More from the A.L. East:
- Red Sox knuckler Steven Wright may miss his next start as he continues to deal with shoulder discomfort, Michael Silverman of the Boston Herald tweets. A breakout ace in the first half, the righty has scuffled to a 5.06 ERA over his last seven starts. While a shift in fortune and some inevitable regression may be largely to blame, the balky shoulder appears to be an added concern moving forward.
- The Yankees are likely to be without outfielder Aaron Hicks for all or most of the rest of the season after he was diagnosed with a grade 2 hamstring strain, MLB.com’s Bryan Hoch tweets. It’s still possible he’ll make it back in 2016, but Hicks won’t have much time to turn the tables on what has been a disappointing debut campaign in New York. He owns a .213/.273/.330 slash over 320 plate appearances, which won’t help his pending first trip through arbitration.
- Meanwhile, the Yankees have promoted an interesting arm in Jonathan Holder, as Joel Sherman of the New York Post writes. GM Brian Cashman didn’t intend to add a player to the 40-man unless it was strictly necessary, because of potential complications for the team’s winter roster maneuvering, but says he changed his mind. Though Holder didn’t need to be added to the big league roster to be protected from the Rule 5 draft, Cashman says that the chance at a postseason berth was too important to hold down the righty. Moreover, said Cashman, “if he is what he has been this year, then he is going to be in our pen next year anyway.” Indeed, after blowing away opposing hitters in Double-A, Holder has been even more impressive in his 20 1/3 frames at the highest level of the minors — surrendering just two earned runs on seven hits while racking up 35 strikeouts without issuing a single free pass. His first MLB frame was a good one, too, as he set down the side in order.
- Since they don’t need him right now in the rotation, the Blue Jays intend to utilize Francisco Liriano out of the pen for the time being, skipper John Gibbons told reporters including Shi Davidi of Sportsnet.ca (via Twitter). Things didn’t go well at all in his first relief outing tonight, as Liriano coughed up two earned runs on two hits without recording an out. The southpaw had been somewhat better over his four starts for Toronto, throwing 22 2/3 innings of 3.97 ERA ball with 9.1 K/9 against 4.0 BB/9.