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Kris Bryant Diagnosed With Internal Oblique Strain

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The Rockies received some unfortunate news regarding Kris Bryant today, as Bryant himself told reporters (including MLB.com’s Thomas Harding). Bryant was initially placed on the injured list earlier this month with a left rib contusion in what he had expected to be a fairly short stint on the shelf. Since, then, however, Bryant underwent an MRI after his soreness showed no improvement, and that testing revealed that the veteran was also dealing with an internal oblique strain. Bryant added that he has “no idea” when he’ll be able to return to action following the new diagnosis.

It’s the latest devastating setback in what has been an unbelievably difficult Rockies tenure for Bryant. The 32-year-old was selected second overall by the Cubs in the 2013 draft and rose to stardom almost immediately, capturing the 2015 NL Rookie of the Year award before winning the NL MVP award (and a drought-ending World Series championship) the following season. Over the course of six and a half seasons in Chicago, Bryant made four trips to the All Star game and slashed an excellent .279/.378/.508 in 833 games and helped lead the Cubs to five postseason appearances, including three trips to the NLCS and the aforementioned championship run.

After a brief stint in San Francisco after the 2021 trade deadline, Bryant found himself on the open market for the first time in his career and managed to secure a seven-year, $182MM deal with Colorado prior to the 2022 season. Unfortunately, that deal hasn’t panned out how either side was surely hoping it would. While Bryant’s first season in Colorado saw him hit a strong .306/.376/.475 with a 125 wRC+, he was limited to just 42 games that year by injuries.

Things have taken a turn for the worse since then, as Bryant has remained unable to stay on the field while also seeing his production suffer when he is healthy enough to play. Bryant has appeared in 104 games with the Rockies since the start of the 2023 campaign, and in his 436 trips to the plate with the club during that time he’s hit a paltry .223/.312/.347 that’s 30% worse than league average by measure of wRC+. That’s a slash line that would be difficult to stomach for any player, much less a $182MM corner bat who hasn’t made an appearance at his previous home of third base since joining the Rockies.

Now, Bryant appears to be facing yet another lengthy absence after already making one trip to the injured list earlier this year due to a low back strain. It’s become increasingly clear throughout his Rockies tenure that injury woes appear likely to plague Bryant throughout the remainder of his playing career; as he told Patrick Saunders of The Denver Post last month, he has dealt with disc problems in his back and “severe” arthritis that will continue to impact him throughout the remainder of his playing career in addition to his current oblique and rib issues.

Both the Rockies and Bryant are surely hoping he can not only rediscover the talent that made him one of the league’s best hitters during his time in Chicago, but also that he’ll be able to stay on the field often enough to showcase that talent. In the meantime, the Rockies figure to continue relying on Michael Toglia and Elehuris Montero to handle first base in Bryant’s absence while Toglia, Jake Cave, and Greg Jones mix and match in right field.

Braves Place Michael Harris On IL With Grade 2 Hamstring Strain, Select Ramon Laureano

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6:15pm: Harris has been diagnosed with a Grade 2 strain in his hamstring, Snitker told reporters (including MLB.com’s Mark Bowman) this afternoon. Snitker noted that there is no clear timeline for Harris’s return to action beyond the fact that he will be out for “a long time.”

JUNE 15, 9:26am: The Braves officially placed Harris on the 10-day IL, with the injury termed a left hamstring strain.  Laureano’s contract was selected to the 26-man roster, and Strider was moved to the 60-day IL to open up a 40-man roster spot.

JUNE 14: The Braves will place Michael Harris II on the 10-day injured list tomorrow, manager Brian Snitker told reporters (X link via Gabe Burns of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution). Atlanta’s center fielder came up lame while running the bases in tonight’s win over the Rays. He left the game with what the team called left hamstring tightness.

Harris will go for an MRI on Saturday to determine the extent of the injury. It is evidently serious enough for the Braves to rule Harris out for at least 10 days before the imaging. It seems likely he’ll be diagnosed with a strain of some degree, though that’ll be clearer over the weekend.

The former Rookie of the Year has started all 67 games in center field. J.P. Martínez came off the bench to handle the position tonight, the first time anyone other than Harris has played a single center field inning for Atlanta this year. Harris hasn’t had a great third MLB season, turning in a .250/.295/.358 batting line through 278 trips to the plate. He’d been an above-average hitter in each of his first two campaigns, rebounding from a slow start last season with a massive .325/.356/.522 showing in the second half.

Even with Harris struggling at the plate, he’s a tough player to replace. He’s an anchor in the outfield as one of the sport’s top defensive center fielders. The Braves don’t have a clear option to step into center field in his stead. Martínez will probably get the first crack at it, but he’s a 28-year-old rookie with 53 MLB plate appearances under his belt. Atlanta acquired the Cuban-born outfielder in a minor trade with the Rangers over the winter. Martínez has spent the bulk of the season at Triple-A Gwinnett, hitting .265/.337/.394 with a 25.8% strikeout rate across 190 plate appearances.

Snitker didn’t announce who would replace Harris on the roster. David O’Brien of the Athletic observes (on X) that Ramón Laureano was pulled midway through tonight’s game for Gwinnett. Laureano signed a minor league deal a couple weeks ago, shortly after he was released by the Guardians. He has plenty of center field experience and could see some action there, but he has primarily been a corner outfielder over the last three seasons.

Laureano didn’t hit at all for Cleveland early in the season. The right-handed hitter fanned in 38.6% of his plate appearances en route to a .143/.265/.229 slash line over 31 games. Laureano has been on a tear in Gwinnett, carrying a .333/.403/.593 line with a trio of homers into tonight’s action. Atlanta would need to add him to the 40-man roster to bring him up. That’s not much of an issue, as the Braves can move Spencer Strider to the 60-day injured list whenever they need to open a 40-man spot.

If Harris is out for an extended stretch, that would only increase the urgency for the Braves to acquire outfield help at the deadline. That already looked like a priority once Atlanta lost Ronald Acuña Jr. to another ACL tear. They’ve been forced to rely on both Adam Duvall and Jarred Kelenic as everyday players (instead of their planned left field platoon) since Acuña went down.

Orioles Notes: Holliday, Means, Kremer

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The Orioles placed Jackson Holliday on the minor league injured list yesterday. Despite the lack of impact on the club’s active roster, the move nonetheless raised eyebrows thanks to Holliday’s status as the consensus #1 overall prospect in the sport. Fortunately, club GM Mike Elias told reporters (including MASN’s Melanie Newman) that Holliday is dealing with a “barking” shoulder but that the issue isn’t serious and that he’s expected to need only a “few weeks” of rest before he returns to action.

That’s surely a relief for fans in Baltimore, as Holliday figures to join fellow youngsters like Gunnar Henderson, Adley Rutschman, and Grayson Rodriguez as a key part of the core for the Orioles going forward once he establishes himself at the big league level. The 20-year-old infielder got his first taste of big league action earlier this year but struggled badly with a with just two hits in 36 trips to the plate across ten games. That tough stretch led the Orioles to send Holliday back to the minors, and he’s continued to hit well at the Triple-A level since his return with a .252/.418/.429 slash line in 189 trips to the plate.

That being said, Holliday has struggled (at least by his own lofty standards) in the month of June so far, hitting just .212 with a 26.7% strikeout rate and a .394 slugging percentage, although his proclivity for drawing walks has allowed him to remain productive over all. Between the youngster’s relative struggles and his apparent elbow issue, it’s hardly a surprise that the Orioles have decided to play it safe with their prized prospect. Fortunately for fans in Baltimore, the Orioles lineup has played incredibly well to this point in the season and is hardly in need of reinforcements. The club’s 116 wRC+ is the third best figure in baseball this year, and Jorge Mateo has posted a decent .236/.281/.441 (103 wRC+) slash line while getting the lion’s share of playing time at Holliday’s likely long term position of second base.

In other news around the Orioles, southpaw John Means recently underwent his second Tommy John surgery in just over two years after making four starts for Baltimore late in the 2023 campaign and another four starts this year. Despite the surely frustrating physical setbacks, however, Means recently told reporters (including Rich Dubroff of Baltimore Baseball) that he fully intends to return to pitching after he completes his post-surgery rehab, which will sideline him for the entire 2024 season and much of 2025.

“I still want to pitch, honestly,” Means said (per Dubroff). “I’d like to fail on the field before I give it up. I feel like if I go there, I can still pitch and get outs. I still feel really confident about my ability. I have to have my elbow keep up.”

For all of Means’s struggles in terms of staying on the field, he’s certainly been effective when healthy. The southpaw has a career 3.68 ERA with a 4.56 FIP across his 401 innings of work in the majors, and although he’s managed just ten starts since the beginning of the 2022 campaign he’s been nothing short of excellent in them with a 2.75 ERA and 3.99 FIP in 52 1/3 innings of work. Given those strong results, it’s not hard to imagine Means, 31, returning to action as an effective and valuable starter once he’s finally healthy. It’s unclear whether or not that return will come in an Orioles uniform, however, as the lefty is set to become a free agent after the 2024 campaign.

With Means and Tyler Wells both sidelined by UCL surgery and ace righty Kyle Bradish dealing with UCL issues of his own, the Baltimore rotation is in a bit of a tough spot. While Corbin Burnes and Rodriguez combine to form a strong top of the rotation, the club has been left to rely on Cole Irvin, Cade Povich, and Albert Suarez to round out the group due to a number of injuries. Fortunately, help could be on the way soon for the club as MLB.com’s Injury Tracker notes that right-hander Dean Kremer is expected to begin a rehab assignment with a “40-ish” pitch outing tomorrow.

MLB.com goes on to note that it remains up in the air whether or not Kremer will need another rehab start before returning to the Orioles, meaning the 28-year-old could potentially return to action for the club as soon as sometime late next week. The return of Kremer, who has been on the injured list for a little less than a month due to a triceps strain, would provide reliable innings for the Orioles pitching staff. Since the start of the 2022 season, Kremer has pitched to a solid 3.83 ERA (103 ERA+) with a 4.30 FIP in 348 innings of work for Baltimore.

Dana Brown, Joe Espada Discuss Astros First Base Plans

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After the Astros released veteran first baseman Jose Abreu yesterday, the move left a clear hole in the club’s lineup at first base. Both GM Dana Brown and manager Joe Espada have since spoken to media about the club’s plans at the position, as relayed by Matt Young of the Houston Chronicle.

As noted by Young, Brown told reporters that first baseman Jon Singleton, who received the majority of reps at first base when Abreu was optioned to the minors earlier this year, will get the first crack at regular at-bats at the position, with Brown noting that the club intends to give Singleton the opportunity to “grab the bull by the horn” and establish himself as a regular in their lineup. Through 50 games with the club this year, however, Singleton hasn’t done much to suggest he’s ready to step into the role of an everyday first baseman. The 32-year-old slugger has hit just .216/.313/.333 in 174 trips to the plate this year (92 wRC+). While his 13.2% walk rate in that time is quite impressive, he’s striking out at an elevated 26.4% clip and has displayed minimal power with just eight extra base hits this year.

That being said, Singleton’s actually been just above average (101 wRC+) with a 14.3% walk rate and a 22.6% strikeout rate against left-handed pitching this year. That provides some reason for optimism that Singleton could be a viable choice for the strong side of a platoon at first base, and it appears the club is receptive to that possibility. Per Young, both Brown and Espada have indicated that utility man Mauricio Dubon will factor into the club’s first base mix against left-handed pitching. Dubon is hitting a solid .302/.327/.421 (114 wRC+) in 168 trips to the plate with the Astros this year, a figure that includes an impressive 133 wRC+ against southpaws.

While the club appears to be planning on Singleton and Dubon handling first base for the time being, it appears that Astros brass are nonetheless considering alternative options should Singleton struggle in expanded playing time. As noted by Chandler Rome of The Athletic yesterday, the has considered the possibility of utilizing their catching tandem of Yainer Diaz and Victor Caratini at first base in some capacity as well. Both have produced solid offense with the bat this year for the standards of the catcher position: Diaz has slashed .258/.283/.407 (95 wRC+) in 233 trips to the plate while Caratini has posted a similar .235/.278/.408 (93 wRC+) line in 108 plate appearances.

With that said, both of those figures are below average overall and seem somewhat miscast at an offense-first position such as first base. Given that reality, it’s perhaps not a surprise that Espada indicated to reporters yesterday that the club prefers to keep Diaz and Caratini behind the plate. With that being said, the Astros did select the contract of switch-hitting catcher Cooper Hummel to replace Abreu on the roster yesterday. Hummel owns a lifetime slash line of just .166/.264/.286 in the majors, but if he can post something closer to the .301/.423/.509 slash line he has in 201 trips to the plate at the Triple-A level with the Astros this year it’s possible that he could either factor into the first base mix himself or act as a solid enough backup option behind the plate to make the Astros more comfortable utilizing Diaz and/or Caratini at first on a part-time basis.

Of course, all of these options are looking purely internally; MLB.com’s Brian McTaggart relayed yesterday that Brown noted that the Astros expect to search for an additional bat at the trade deadline in addition to their rumored pursuit of starting pitching. If Houston is indeed planning to add a bat to their lineup this summer, first base is certainly a logical fit. Blue Jays first baseman Vladimir Guerrero Jr. has already received some buzz as a potential candidate to move this summer, and while Toronto brass have emphasized their reluctance to make such a deal, the fit between Guerrero and the Astros is fairly obvious in the event that the 25-year-old does find himself on the move. Pete Alonso is another notable first baseman who could be on the move this summer, as MLBTR’s Anthony Franco recently discussed. Other speculative candidates to move at the deadline this summer at first base include a host of veterans on expiring deals such as Josh Bell and Justin Turner.

Cubs Place Jordan Wicks On 15-Day Injured List

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4:09pm: It’s a Grade 2 oblique strain for Wicks, according to Bruce Levine of 670 The Score. Given that diagnosis, it appears all but certain the southpaw will miss longer than the 15 day minimum, although a specific timetable for his return remains unclear.

12:39pm: The Cubs announced that Jordan Wicks has been placed on the 15-day injured list, as the southpaw is dealing with a right oblique strain.  Right-hander Keegan Thompson was called up from Triple-A Iowa to take Wicks’ spot on the active roster.

An IL move seemed very likely after Wicks lasted only 1 2/3 innings before being removed in yesterday’s start against the Cardinals.  As Wicks told MLB.com’s Tim Stebbins and other reporters, “I just felt tightness in my right side after making a pitch.  I didn’t think a whole lot of it….When I knew it persisted a couple of pitches in a row, I knew something wasn’t right.”

Given how oblique injuries can be tricky to fully overcome, Wicks could potentially be back in just 15 days if he has avoided a serious train, or he might be facing an absence of several months if the discomfort continues to linger.  As Wicks told Stebbins and company, the injury is particularly “frustrating” since Friday marked only his second appearance following a six-week IL stint due to a forearm strain.

Amidst all the injuries, Wicks has pitched pretty well over 28 total innings this season.  The left-hander has a 4.18 ERA with above-average strikeout, hard-contact and walk rates, though that latter 7.8BB% is only in the 54th percentile of all pitchers.  Those are still numbers the Cubs will happily take from the second-year pitcher, as Wicks has capably stepped into the rotation amidst injuries to other starters.  With Wicks and Ben Brown both out, the Cubs again have a rotation vacancy behind Shota Imanaga, Justin Steele, Jameson Taillon, and Javier Assad.

That fifth starter’s role could be filled by a familiar face in Kyle Hendricks, as manager Craig Counsell indicated to Stebbins and other reporters that “I think it looks like” Wicks’ injury might pave the way to Hendricks’ return to the rotation.  Hendricks was moved to the pen last month after he was rocked for a 10.57 ERA over his first seven starts and 30 2/3 innings of the season, but he seemingly settled down in posting a 3.14 ERA in 14 1/3 frames as a reliever.  Hendricks was quickly called into action yesterday after Wicks’ early exit, and delivered 4 1/3 innings of shutout ball.  Chicago could also explore stretching Hayden Wesneski back out to handle a starter’s workload, though Wesneski has also emerged as a quality arm in the Cubs’ bullpen.

Marlins Select Kent Emanuel

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The Marlins announced earlier this afternoon that they’ve selected the contract of left-hander Kent Emanuel. Right-hander Shaun Anderson was optioned in a corresponding move. Emmanuel will take the 40-man roster spot of right-hander Burch Smith, who was designated for assignment yesterday.

The 32-year-old Emanuel was a third-round pick by the Astros back in 2013 and eventually worked his way up to the big leagues with the club in 2021, when he posted a strong 2.55 ERA across ten multi-inning relief appearances. Despite those solid top-level numbers, Emanuel struck out just 19.1% of batters faced and allowed four home runs in 17 2/3 innings of work. Those lackluster peripherals led the Astros to place Emanuel on waivers that November, where he was eventually claimed by the Phillies. Emanuel spent the 2022 season in the Phillies’s minor league system but was limited to just 13 starts by injury. After being outrighted off the roster in Philadelphia that offseason, Emanuel signed with Pittsburgh on a minor league deal and struggled in a swing role. He pitched to a 6.19 ERA in 20 appearances (13 starts) at the Triple-A level before returning to free agency, where he eventually found a minor league deal with the Marlins ahead of the 2024 campaign.

Since then, he’s been selected to the roster in Miami multiple times; today’s selection is actually his third of the season. In both of his previous stints with the big league club, the Marlins have turned to Emanuel as a multi-inning relief option for a single appearance before removing him from the roster. He’s struggled in both of his appearances this year, allowing eight runs (seven earned) in six innings of work while striking out four and walking three. Emanuel has struggled similarly at the Triple-A level this year as well, with a 6.60 ERA in nine appearances split between the rotation and bullpen. It seems likely Emanuel is once again ticketed for multi-inning relief with the Marlins, though it remains to be seen if his third stay in the big leagues with Miami will last longer than the last two.

Making room for Emanuel on the active roster is Anderson. The 29-year-old was only up with the big league Marlins for one day, as he allowed seven runs on ten hits in two innings of work in a start against the Nationals yesterday. Anderson, who was acquired from the Rangers in a cash deal at the end of May, is making his return to the big leagues this season after making 14 starts for the KIA Tigers of the Korea Baseball Organization last year. Prior to last night’s blow up start in Washington, Anderson had made two appearances for the Rangers. He allowed two runs on six hits and a walk while striking out three over 3 1/3 innings of work during his time with Texas, and figures to head back to the minors to act as optionable depth for the Marlins going forward.

Orioles Outright Corbin Martin To Triple-A

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The Orioles have outrighted Corbin Martin off the 40-man roster and assigned the right-hander to Triple-A Norfolk.  It wasn’t known that Martin had been designated for assignment, but he’ll now head to Triple-A since he doesn’t have the requirements (i.e. service time or a past outright) to reject an outright assignment in favor of free agency.

Martin has already had a busy season on the transactional front, as he has twice been DFA’ed and then claimed off waivers by new teams.  The Orioles claimed him away from Milwaukee a month ago, while the Brewers themselves claimed Martin off the Diamondbacks’ waiver wire in mid-April.  Martin yet to see any big league action amidst these moves, as he hasn’t done much to force the issue by posting a 7.32 ERA with more walks (22) than strikeouts (17) over 19 2/3 combined innings for three different Triple-A affiliates.

Control has been for Martin in his 57 2/3 career MLB innings, as he has a 13.6% walk rate to go along with a 6.71 ERA over his time with the Astros and Diamondbacks.  However, injuries have been the bigger story for the former top-100 prospect, as he missed some of the 2019 season and all of the 2020 season recovering from Tommy John surgery, and Martin also didn’t pitch at all in 2023 due to shoulder surgery.

At age 28, Martin is already in the “late bloomer” phase of his career if a breakout is still to come, and there’s no harm for the Orioles in keeping him in the minors to see if Martin can still regain some of his old top-prospect form.  Perhaps more intriguingly, today’s move opens up a 40-man roster spot for Baltimore, which perhaps hints that the team could be again looking to dip into its loaded farm system.

Mariners Outright Kirby Snead

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TODAY: The Mariners announced that Snead has cleared waivers and been outrighted to Triple-A.  As was reported yesterday, Bowman also cleared waivers and chose free agency rather than accept an outright assignment.

JUNE 11: The Mariners announced that they have recalled left-hander Jhonathan Díaz and right-hander Eduard Bazardo from Triple-A Tacoma. Díaz will start tonight’s game instead of Bryan Woo. To open roster spots for those two arms, both right-hander Matt Bowman and left-hander Kirby Snead have been designated for assignment.

Snead, 29, signed a minor league deal with the Mariners in the offseason. He made 12 appearances for Triple-A Tacoma to start the year with a 2.92 earned run average. He struck out 27.7% of batters faced, gave out walks at a tiny 4.3% rate and got grounders on 63.3% of balls in play.

That got him called up to the majors just over a month ago but the results haven’t been as strong since then. He made 11 appearances for the Mariners with a 4.35 ERA. His 51.5% ground ball rate was still strong but his strikeout and walk tallies were both seven, giving him a subpar 14.6% rate in each of those categories.

Snead pitched in two of the past three games for Seattle and likely would have been down for a day or two. Since he’s out of options and the overall results have been mediocre, he’s been bumped off the roster as the club gets some fresh arms aboard.

Bowman, 33, is also out of options and has been featured in many transactions because of it. The M’s just added him to their roster on Sunday and he made one appearances for them, logging two thirds of an inning in last night’s contest. That’s already the third team he’s pitched for this year, also taking the mound for the Twins and Diamondbacks.

For each player, the Mariners will have one week to either line up a trade or pass them through waivers. Bowman has a 4.22 ERA in 200 1/3 career innings but most of that work was a long time ago. He didn’t pitch in the majors during the 2020-2022 seasons due to injuries, including Tommy John surgery. He returned to the bigs by tossing four innings with the Yankees last year. Overall, he’s been able to get decent amounts of ground balls, with 55.6% of balls in play in his career hitting the dirt. Snead has a career ERA of 5.09 in a more limited sample of 74 1/3 innings at the major league level.

Díaz, 27, signed a minor league deal with the Mariners in the offseason and has been posting great results for Triple-A Tacoma this year. In 12 outings, including 11 starts and one long relief outing, he has thrown 66 1/3 innings with a 2.98 ERA. That’s despite pitching in the hitter-friendly confines of the Pacific Coast League. He has a 24.3% strikeout rate, 5.8% walk rate and 57.1% ground ball rate in that time.

He had an opt-out on his minor league deal but the Mariners were clearly impressed by his work in Tacoma this year. They added him to their 40-man roster to prevent him from triggering that opt-out, but kept him on optional assignment until today.

Per Adam Jude of the Seattle Times on X, Woo is having an MRI on his arm. It’s unclear exactly what the issue is but Woo began the year on the injured list due to right medial elbow inflammation. He returned in early May and has been utterly dominating, with an ERA of 1.07 in his six starts this year.

It’s a concerning development for the Mariners, both due to how well Woo has been pitching and the fact that it may be a recurrence of the previous issue. Further updates may be forthcoming after the MRI results come in, but it seems Díaz will step in and make at least one spot start. The Mariners have a strong rotation with Luis Castillo, Logan Gilbert, George Kirby and Bryce Miller in four spots, even without Woo. If Woo needs a trip to the IL, perhaps Díaz will stick around, though the M’s also have Emerson Hancock on the 40-man roster.

Angels Place Adam Cimber On 15-Day IL, Select Jose Marte, Release Ehire Adrianza

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The Angels made a trio of roster moves this afternoon, including the placement of right-hander Adam Cimber on the 15-day injured list due to right shoulder inflammation.  Right-hander Jose Marte’s contract was selected from Triple-A to take Cimber’s spot on the active roster, and infielder Ehire Adrianza was released to create space on the 40-man.

One of several relievers signed last offseason to bolster the Los Angeles bullpen, Cimber’s first year with the Angels has been difficult.  The veteran righty has a 7.03 ERA over 24 1/3 innings and 28 appearances, with a garish 13.1% walk rate that is more than double the career average (5.9%) he posted over his first six Major League seasons.  Cimber’s 4.77 SIERA is still not particularly impressive, but it does reflect some of the misfortune of his very low 54.5% strand rate.

Cimber also had a 7.40 ERA over 20 2/3 innings with the Blue Jays last year, and his last appearance of 2023 came on June 18 after a shoulder impingement brought a premature end to his season.  The fact that Cimber has again been shelved with a shoulder problem isn’t a good sign, though it isn’t known if his later injury is anything some general soreness.

Speaking of season-shortening injuries, Marte threw only 21 total innings in the majors and minors in 2023 due to a stress reaction in his right elbow.  The Angels chose to non-tender him in the wake of that lost year, but then re-signed the righty to a minor league contract.

Marte is now set to receive his first Major League action of 2024, after receiving sporadic big league looks in each of the last three seasons with the Angels.  Marte has an 8.14 ERA over the small sample size of his 24 1/3 career innings in the Show, but he has looked quite sharp at Triple-A this season, with a 2.61 ERA in 20 2/3 frames for Salt Lake even in the hitter-friendly environs of the Pacific Coast League.

Adrianza has been on the 10-day injured list for over five weeks while dealing with back spasms, so either the Angels released him while off the IL, so his activation wasn’t made public.  Adrianza joined L.A. on a minors deal in February, and that contract was then selected to the active roster in April, leading to eight games and a .596 OPS in 28 plate appearances prior to his trip to the injured list.  Never much of a hitter over his 12 Major League seasons, Adrianza has carved out a lengthy pro career as a bench piece who can play all over the diamond, and he figures to catch on with another team (or a new minors deal with Anaheim) in need of a depth piece.

Orioles Place Kyle Bradish On 15-Day IL With Right UCL Sprain

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1:56PM: Hyde told Roch Kubatko and other reporters that Bradish is undergoing further tests and will visit multiple doctors before determining his next course of action, whether it’s surgery or another attempt at a non-surgical recovery.

12:20PM: Bradish has been placed on the 15-day injured list due to a right UCL sprain, the Orioles announced.  In the best case scenario, this would represent 2.5 months on the shelf for Bradish, replicating his absence in the early part of the season.  However, the pretty quick decision to return Bradish to the IL after last night’s game is an ominous sign towards a longer-term absence.  Left-hander Nick Vespi was called up from Triple-A in the corresponding roster move.

10:35AM: Kyle Bradish left yesterday’s game after five innings due to soreness in his right elbow, and Orioles manager Brandon Hyde told reporters (including MASNsports.com’s Roch Kubatko) that more will be known once Bradish undergoes examination.  Bradish had allowed two earned runs over five innings and 74 pitches against the Phillies, but “he came to us and said his elbow was bothering him, so we’re going to get further tests on that….He had to come out of the game after that inning,” Hyde said.

Any type of elbow injury is cause for concern, though Bradish’s situation is particularly troublesome since he was already sidelined with a sprained UCL earlier this year.  That past injury developed early in Spring Training, so Bradish’s season debut was delayed until May 2 since he had to both get healthy and then start his spring ramp-up work from scratch.

Considering that there were initial concerns that Bradish might need a Tommy John surgery, an early-May return was a huge relief for both the right-hander and the Orioles, and Bradish’s strong performance on the mound further allayed any fears prior to last night.  Bradish has a 2.75 ERA over eight starts and 39 1/3 innings, and is among the league’s elite in such key categories as strikeout rate (32.5%), hard-hit ball rate (28.6%) and grounder rate (56%).  While his walk rate had dropped below average, Bradish looked like he was continuing the front-of-the-rotation form that he displayed during his 2023 breakout season.

It could be that Bradish has again dodged a bullet if his elbow is simply sore, and some discomfort might’ve been inevitable given the circumstances behind his start to the season.  That said, the O’s have taken a conservative approach to Bradish’s deployment — he has received the traditional four days of rest between starts only once, and otherwise had five or more days of rest between all of his other starts.  Before yesterday, Bradish’s previous start was on June 8, so he had five full days to rest before taking on the Phillies.

Even if the tests come back clean, the Orioles might consider placing Bradish on the 15-day injured list anyway simply as a precautionary measure.  Baltimore has an off-day on Monday, but then enters a stretch of 13 games in as many days, so Bradish’s absence would further stretch a rotation that has already been thinned by injuries.  John Means (Tommy John surgery) and Tyler Wells (UCL surgery) have both been lost for the season, while Dean Kremer has been on the IL for about four weeks with a strained triceps.  Kremer is set to begin a Triple-A rehab assignment on Sunday, so he could be an option to return to the rotation in the next week or two.

Even amidst all of these injuries, the Orioles have still fielded one of the sport’s better rotations, and have even had enough depth to use a six-man rotation to help manage everyone’s innings.  If Bradish will miss time, Baltimore still has a starting five of Corbin Burnes, Grayson Rodriguez, Cole Irvin, Albert Suarez, and Cade Povich, plus some extra depth in the upper minors.  (The team added to that depth with its acquisition of Levi Stoudt two days ago.)

Of course, losing Bradish for even a short amount of time is a blow to a Baltimore team that is fighting the Yankees for first place in the AL East, and a longer-term injury will hamper the Orioles’ World Series aspirations.  The O’s were already expected to be looking for both rotation and bullpen help at the trade deadline, and a greater need for starters might result in more of prospect cost in deals.

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