Pirates Designate J.B. Shuck For Assignment
The Pirates have designated outfielder JB Shuck for assignment, the team announced. Shuck’s 25-man roster spot will go to reliever Dovydas Neverauskas, whom the Pirates recalled from Triple-A Indianapolis.
Despite having to settle for a minor league deal over the winter, Shuck cracked the Pirates’ injury-laden outfield to open the season. While the 31-year-old got off to a nice start, evidenced by his season-best .864 OPS on April 14, his numbers have cratered in recent weeks. Shuck did got on base at a .339 clip and walk in 14 percent of his 57 plate appearances before Pittsburgh designated him, but he hit just .213 and showed no power (zero home runs, .043 ISO, .255 slugging percentage) along the way.
Including his stint with the Pirates, the light-hitting Shuck has managed a .243/.296/.314 line in 1,289 major league PA with several teams. Shuck has been a much better Triple-A performer, on the other hand, with a .299/.373/.393 showing in 3,610 attempts.
Pirates Place Jameson Taillon On 10-Day IL, Select Tyler Lyons
3:03 pm: Per Nubyjas Wilborn of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Taillon will not throw for “at least” four weeks, with the injury apparently far more severe than originally believed. Rob Biertempfel of The Athletic tweets that Taillon’s MRI showed no UCL damage, though the righty will seek a second opinion next week to confirm.
1:55pm: Per a team release, the Pirates have placed righty Jameson Taillon on the 10-Day IL with a flexor strain in his right elbow and selected the contract of lefty Tyler Lyons from AAA-Indianapolis, among other roster moves.
It’s a concerning injury for Taillon, 27, who joins rotation mate Chris Archer on the injured list for a rotation-thin Pirate club. A 2014 Tommy John knocked the former 2nd overall pick out of action for two full seasons, though he’s been mostly healthy since. The 6’5 righty was off to his usual strong start this year, posting a a solid 88 FIP-/91 xFIP- (numbers right in line with his career figures and season projection) in seven starts for Pittsburgh.
It’s unclear who’ll step in to the vacant slots in the Pittsburgh rotation, though righty Nick Kingham and lefty Steven Brault appear to have the inside tracks. Top prospect Mitch Keller, who’d struggled early with command but has been dominant in his previous two Triple-A outings, is also a candidate.
Lyons, 31, spent six years with St. Louis before inking a minor league deal with Pittsburgh this offseason. His strikeout rate has jumped to over ten per nine in the last two seasons since a full-time move to the bullpen, but the lefty was hit hard in ’18 despite predominant left-on-left usage.
NL Notes: Reds, Wood, Mets, Gio, Bucs, Braves
Reds lefty Alex Wood, who’s dealt with back spasms since he arrived for Spring Training in late February, “didn’t respond well” after his latest bullpen session, reports manager David Bell (via MLB.com’s Mark Sheldon). Wood, who was acquired in an offseason trade that also sent Yasiel Puig and Matt Kemp from Los Angeles to Cincinnati, will likely seek a second opinion on the creaky back, placing his eventual Reds debut in even further doubt. Thanks to stellar early-season performances from Luis Castillo, Sonny Gray, and Tyler Mahle, among others, Cincy’s starting five leads the NL in nearly every rotation category, doubly impressive when given the puny dimensions of Great American Ballpark. Still, it’s a unit that should both anticipate heavy regression and yearn for the return of Wood, whose recent-year track record stands apart from each of his potential rotation mates.
The latest on a few other NL franchises…
- The Brewers and Mets were the teams most connected to Gio Gonzalez in the rumor mill before the lefty agreed to sign with Milwaukee on Thursday. Gonzalez confirmed Saturday that the Mets were indeed the other club pursuing him, per Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. “The Mets were in there but they have such a great rotation. The Brewers met my expectations and needs,” Gonzalez said. “Either way, it was a win-win for me. Two great teams were coming at you. It came down to wants and needs with Milwaukee. I played with them last year so I had the feel for what they’re trying to do.” While Gonzalez lauded the Mets’ rotation, he nonetheless may have been an upgrade for New York. The Mets have been running out the much-maligned Jason Vargas as their fifth starter, after all, yet they only viewed Gonzalez as a marginal-at-best upgrade over him, Mike Puma of the New York Post tweeted this week. Their bearishness on Gonzalez helped pave the way for the 33-year-old to rejoin the Brewers, with whom he performed well after they acquired him from Washington last August. Now, Gonzalez will slot back into a Brewers rotation that entered Saturday with the NL’s worst ERA (5.77). His first outing of the year will come Sunday against – you guessed it – the Mets.
- Banged-up Pirates outfielders Corey Dickerson and Lonnie Chisenhall aren’t recovering as hoped. Dickerson felt tightness in his strained right shoulder while throwing from 110 feet Saturday, and Chisenhall’s now dealing with left calf tightness that has forced the team to stop his rehab assignment, according to Bill Brink of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. It’s a new issue this year for Chisenhall, who started the season on the IL because of a broken hand. However, it’s all the more troubling because Chisenhall – then with the Indians – missed large chunks of the previous two seasons because of calf problems in both legs.
- The Braves have placed reliever Jesse Biddle on the IL with a right thigh bruise and right calf strain, Mark Bowman of MLB.com writes. Atlanta recalled righty Shane Carle in a corresponding move. The IL placement continues a difficult stretch for Biddle, who, as Bowman notes, has retired just 10 of the last 23 batters he gone against. The southpaw faced four batters in a loss to the Rockies on Friday and failed to retire any of them, though one reached on an error, and yielded four runs (one earned) on three hits. Biddle has still notched a solid 3.18 ERA in 11 1/3 innings this year, but he has also walked upward of seven hitters per nine and seen his swinging-strike rate plummet from 10.4 percent in 2018 to 6.8 this season.
Pirates Place Chris Archer On 10-Day IL
Per Mark Feinsand of mlb.com, the Pirates have placed righty Chris Archer on the 10-Day IL with right thumb inflammation. Righty Michael Feliz has been recalled to take his place.
Archer, 30, is off to his typical enigmatic start this season, striking out batters at an elite rate but ultimately failing to prevent runs at an ace-level pace. Concerning also are a slight uptick in walks – to a career-worst 4.00 per nine thus far – and a 32% grounder rate that’s dipped well below his career average. Archer’s average fastball velocity has also dropped nearly two miles an hour, to a career-low 93.4 MPH, though his swinging strike percentage has remained mostly stable.
Acquired in a controversial midseason trade last season that sent Austin Meadows, Tyler Glasnow, and prospect Shane Baz to Tampa Bay, Archer has long been the rare starting pitcher – along with perhaps Jon Gray of the Rockies – whose ace-level peripherals consistently lag behind their actual run prevention. Pittsburgh obviously bet heavily on the trend coming to an end, but thus far the profile looks like more of the same.
It’s unclear who’ll be Archer’s replacement in the Pittsburgh rotation – the team’s depth in the area is frighteningly thin – but the injury seems relatively minor, the club has a couple off-days upcoming, and the rest of the unit – spearheaded by Archer’s statistical inverse in Trevor Williams – has so far been brilliant.
Erik Gonzalez Out 10 To 12 Weeks Following Surgery
April 25: The Pirates expect Gonzalez to miss the next 10 to 12 weeks of action following today’s surgery, per MLB.com’s Adam Berry (Twitter link).
April 24: The Pirates announced to reporters Wednesday that shortstop Erik Gonzalez will undergo surgery to “repair and internally fixate” his fractured left clavicle (Twitter link via Bill Brink of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette). A timeline for his recovery won’t be known until Gonzalez actually undergoes the procedure, but he was already placed on the 60-day injured list over the weekend, so the length of his absence will be substantial.
Acquired from the Indians in the offseason trade that sent Jordan Luplow and Max Moroff to Cleveland, Gonzalez was named the Pirates’ Opening Day shortstop midway through Spring Training. However, the former Cleveland utilityman didn’t acquit himself well in an everyday role, as he batted just .216/.298/.294 over the life of 59 plate appearances. In his absence, rookie Cole Tucker has emerged as an option at the position and is now in line for a long-term audition.
Gonzalez sustained his injury last Friday when he was involved in an ugly collision with center fielder Starling Marte, who has also been placed on the injured list. The outlook on Marte is better, as MLB.com’s Adam Berry tweets that he’s been cleared to begin light baseball activities.
When Gonzalez eventually returns to the Pirates, it now looks likely that he’ll hold a utility role similar to the one he had with the Indians in 2016-18. The Buccos can control Gonzalez through the 2022 season, and he’ll be arbitration-eligible for the first time this offseason.
Nick Burdi Diagnosed With Strained Biceps Tendon, Flexor Mass
April 23: ESPN’s Jeff Passan tweets some encouraging news following Burdi’s MRI. While the imaging did reveal strains in the right-hander’s biceps tendon and flexor mass, there’s no break or complete tear of anything in Burdi’s arm. He’ll be sidelined for an indefinite period of time, but it seems that he may have avoided the need for another surgery.
April 22: Pirates reliever Nick Burdi was removed from his appearance tonight after suffering an apparent arm injury. After throwing a pitch, he immediately fell to the mound and grabbed his biceps in obvious pain.
There’s no indication as of yet as to the seriousness of the injury, but the clubhouse reaction left no more cause for optimism than did the scene that unfolded on the field. As MLB.com’s Adam Berry reports (Twitter links), Burdi’s teammates described the situation as “heartbreaking” and “heart-wrenching” to watch.
For now, the organization has said only that the 26-year-old is dealing with pain in the elbow/biceps area. The club’s director of sports medicine, Todd Tomczyk, added that he and his staff are still “gathering information” to make a “definitive diagnosis.”
When he went down this evening, Burdi was in the midst of a brutal outing. But he had also shown immense promise in his first ten appearances of the season, compiling an outlandish 17:2 K/BB ratio in 8 1/3 innings with a 20.1% swinging-strike rate. With a 97+ mph fastball paired with a vicious slider, Burdi has the tools of a potential late-inning stalwart.
The talent, though, has never really been in question. Burdi was plucked in the second round of the 2014 draft; his brother, Zack Burdi, went in the late first round two years later. Both were expected to move quickly into MLB bullpens, but unfortunately instead shared overlapping Tommy John rehab stints.
When the Twins left (Nick) Burdi unprotected in the 2017 Rule 5 draft, the Pirates pounced. They shipped international money to the Phillies, who used their position with the third overall selection to make the selection. Burdi spent much of 2018 rehabbing before briefly ascending to the majors late last year.
The Bucs still haven’t had Burdi on the active roster long enough to secure his rights permanently. He’s at 56 days of active service, 34 shy of the 90-day minimum. If this injury proves to require a lengthy absence, the Pirates can simply shift Burdi to the 60-day injured list, though roster pressures would nevertheless mount in the offseason. In that case, Burdi will still have accrued 2 full seasons of MLB service by the end of the 2019 campaign, though hardly in the manner he’d have hoped.
Pirates Activate Gregory Polanco, Option Steven Brault
We’re a smidge late on this one, as he’s already in action tonight, but it’s nevertheless worth highlighting that the Pirates have activated outfielder Gregory Polanco. To create active roster space, the club optioned Steven Brault.
When Polanco underwent surgery late last season with a torn shoulder labrum, it wasn’t entirely clear how long he’d be out. Indeed, that’s the sort of injury that can hamper a player even when he is back on the field.
As it turns out, Polanco was able to return to the majors at the early end of the estimates. (And he’s two-for-three with a walk already this evening.) That’s great news for his long-term outlook; clearly, he healed quickly and did not experience any setbacks or new issues during his rehab work.
It’s also critically important for the Bucs’ 2019 hopes. With Starling Marte now sidelined indefinitely, joining Corey Dickerson and Lonnie Chisenhall on the injured list, the outfield was badly in need of reinforcement.
The 27-year-old Polanco had an up-and-down showing in 2018, but ended the campaign with a career-best .254/.340/.499 slash and 23 long balls over 535 plate appearances. That’s the sort of output the Pittsburgh organization had long hoped to receive. Whether Polanco can pick up where he left off will have significant bearing on the Pirates’ ability to maintain a narrow early lead in a hotly contested NL Central.
As for Brault, he has been utilized mostly in a relief capacity of late but will be stretched out at Triple-A, manager Clint Hurdle told reporters including Rob Biertempfel of The Athletic (Twitter link). The 26-year-old hadn’t been used much at all in the early going. He is now sitting on 1.110 years of MLB service, meaning that he still needs 62 more days of MLB action this year to enter a new service class by season’s end.
Poll: Which Early-Season Surprises Are For Real?
As we approach the one-month mark of the young 2019 season, the MLB standings are starting to take shape, with fast starters trying to separate from the pack and rebuilding teams falling behind. With that said, the current slate of division leaders features some surprises. Notably, preseason favorites like the Yankees and Red Sox have encountered considerable adversity, while juggernauts like the Dodgers and Astros have thus far met expectations. Meanwhile, a number of teams that received less attention as potential contenders have found themselves climbing MLB’s rankings. Power surges in Seattle and Minnesota have carried the Mariners and Twins to the top of AL’s West and Central divisions, respectively. Elite run prevention in Pittsburgh has allowed the Pirates to flourish in the hyper-competitive NL Central. An injection of youthful energy has driven the Padres to within striking distance of the powerhouse Dodgers. Let’s examine these upstart clubs and look ahead to their outlook for the rest of the season.
The Mariners made headlines throughout the offseason, but often for the wrong reasons. General manager Jerry Dipoto spent the winter shipping off nearly every Major Leaguer with value, and now fields a team that only vaguely resembles the one that won 89 games in 2018. Edwin Diaz, Robinson Cano, Jean Segura, and James Paxton were all dealt to the East Coast. Last season’s iteration of the Mariners was notorious for its unsustainable first-half performance, repeatedly winning one-run games, often thanks to the heroics of Edwin Diaz. In 2019, the story is of a different flavor, though skeptics may once again challenge the sustainability of April’s returns. This year’s team is slugging home runs at a historic rate, including a streak of 20 games in which the team hit at least one round-tripper. The 2019 Mariners have belted 56 home runs, 12 more than the next closest team, the Dodgers. Tim Beckham and Domingo Santana are churning out extra-base hits, and Mitch Haniger is rising to stardom. Still, the Astros are looming, and a spot in the AL Wild Card will not come easy, with sleeping giants in the AL East working through early adversity–to say nothing of the undeniable Rays.
In a division that has all the makings of a bloodbath, many might have counted out the Pirates after an uninspired offseason: whereas rivals’ offseasons were highlighted by flashy additions like Paul Goldschmidt, Yasiel Puig, and Yasmani Grandal, the Pirates were quiet in the winter, with names like Lonnie Chisenhall and Erik Gonzalez headlining the team’s moves. However, it has quickly become clear that the 12-7 Pirates boast one of the Majors’ best pitching staffs. Behind Jameson Taillon, Trevor Williams has emerged as an automatic quality start every outing. Meanwhile, Joe Musgrove is showing off the dynamic stuff that made him the centerpiece in the Gerrit Cole trade, and Jordan Lyles has been a pleasant surprise to round out the rotation. Felipe Vazquez is dynamite in the late innings, and Richard Rodriguez showed promise last season as a high-leverage option, though the bullpen is somewhat shaky beyond that combination. On offense, things are less peachy, but Josh Bell is turning heads by coupling prodigious power with a keen batting eye. Again, the NL Central will provide no shortage of resistance, but a starting rotation of this caliber should keep the Pirates in more than their fair share of games.
With the last three seasons resembling a roller coaster ride, the Twins entered the offseason hoping to turn a corner. Derek Falvey and Thad Levine set out with essentially blank future payroll, capitalizing on that flexibility by bringing aboard veterans like Nelson Cruz, Marwin Gonzalez, and Jonathan Schoop to bolster a group of young position players that the Twins hope will be galvanized by rookie manager Rocco Baldelli. Jorge Polanco, fresh off a spring contract extension, has provided encouraging production from the shortstop position, and Eddie Rosario is blasting home runs at an impressive rate. Byron Buxton appears to have unlocked the potential that made him a top prospect, and Jose Berrios is entering bona fide ace territory. The pitching appears much improved from years’ past, with a bullpen headed by Taylor Rogers, who belongs in conversations with the league’s elite relief arms. This team may have the most attainable path to October baseball, playing in a weak division where their primary competition is the Indians, a team that has at times appeared vulnerable in 2019.
The Padres thrust themselves into the conversation for the postseason when general manager A.J. Preller and company added Manny Machado to the mix in a franchise-altering move. The team doubled down when the front office broke the mold by breaking camp with top prospects Fernando Tatis Jr. and Chris Paddack on the Opening Day roster. Those moves have paid massive dividends thus far, with Tatis forcing his way into the national spotlight, displaying a five-tool skillset. The club’s rotation of young outfielders is launching homers, and the anonymous bullpen has quietly been one of the best in baseball dating back to last season. Meanwhile, with a host of young starters comprising the rotation, the possibility of a Dallas Keuchel addition remains on the table–a move that would emphatically declare the Friars’ intention to make a postseason push. At the top of the NL West, the Dodgers represent a daunting giant to topple, and the rest of the National League features no shortage of contending teams, but the Padres’ spunk might lead to meaningful autumn baseball for the first time in nearly a decade.
While there are months of baseball left to play, trades to be made, injuries to work around, and breakouts to emerge, the games played in March and April are no less important than those in September. Early-season results can lay the groundwork for what’s to come. Which of the aforementioned blossoming clubs are best positioned to sustain their success and exceed expectations?
(Poll link for app users)
Which Early-Season Surprises Are For Real?
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Minnesota Twins 32% (6,351)
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San Diego Padres 27% (5,446)
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Seattle Mariners 25% (4,953)
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Pittsburgh Pirates 16% (3,080)
Total votes: 19,830
NL Central Notes: Moustakas, Pirates, Senzel, Reds
Brewers infielder Mike Moustakas will try to play through a fracture in the tip of his right ring finger, and is hopeful of avoiding an injured list stint. (Todd Rosiak of Milwaukee Journal Sentinal was among those to report the news.) Moustakas suffered the injury yesterday while fielding a ground ball and left the game after the sixth inning. X-rays were negative, though Moustakas isn’t in the Brewers’ lineup today. The third baseman-turned-second baseman has received mixed reviews at his new position depending on which defensive metric you prefer — the Moose has a +3.9 UZR/150 but minus-2 Defensive Runs Saved over 137 1/3 innings as a second baseman this season. No matter the position, Moustakas has continued to hit, with six homers and a .239/.349/.549 slash line through 83 plate appearances.
Some more from around the NL Central…
- Pirates manager Clint Hurdle and GM Neal Huntington updated the media (including Bill Brink of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette) on the status of several injured Bucs players. A collision between Starling Marte and Erik Gonzalez during Friday’s sent both men to the injured list, with Gonzalez on the 60-day IL with a broken collarbone and Marte to the 10-day IL with abdominal wall and quadriceps bruises. While Marte has the shorter timeline on paper, Huntington wasn’t certain when Marte could be back in action. Corey Dickerson isn’t yet ready for a minor league rehab assignment as he recovers from a shoulder strain, while Gregory Polanco (labrum surgery) could potentially make his season debut sometime this week.
- In other Pirates injury news, the team placed catcher Jacob Stallings on the 10-day IL with a cervical neck strain. Stallings’ roster spot will be filled by Einar Diaz, who was activated off the IL after recovering from a virus that sidelined him for two weeks’ worth of Spring Training action.
- Top Reds prospect Nick Senzel is scheduled to play in his first Triple-A game of the season on Tuesday, Bobby Nightengale of the Cincinnati Enquirer writes. Senzel was sidelined late in Spring Training with an ankle injury, so it will end up being roughly a month-long absence for the infielder-turned-center fielder. Senzel has already been playing some extended Spring Training games, and will now return to Triple-A Louisville after posting an .887 OPS in 193 PA at the top minor league level in 2018. The Reds are expected to promote Senzel at some point this season, though they’ll first want to see the 23-year-old get an extended stretch of good health, as Senzel has been plagued by a variety of injuries over the last year.
- The Reds‘ starting pitching has looked much better this season than in the last several years, and catcher Tucker Barnhart feels part of the reason for the improvement is an increased focus on analytics. Under new manager David Bell and new pitching coach Derek Johnson, discussions with Reds coaches are “more numbers-driven now,” Barnhart tells Fangraphs’ David Laurila. “They’re more percentage-driven, and more based on exit velocities and probable outcomes. Things like that. I still trust my eyes, but in the back of my mind there are always the percentages of what’s supposed to work. You’d be naive not to fall back on that, especially if you’re stuck calling a pitch.”
Injury/Rehab Notes: D. Duffy, Honeywell, Chisenhall
Danny Duffy is scheduled to make what could be his final rehab appearance tonight for AA-Northwest Arkansas, writes the Kansas City Star’s Lynn Worthy. Though the 30-year-old had initially expressed interest in returning to the club as a reliever, GM Dayton Moore prefers the lefty return to a patchwork rotation: “That’s the natural question to ask for a lot of reasons as we’re looking for more consistency in our bullpen and you want to put quality arms in the back end, but we’ve gotta have guys that can start. We’ve gotta have guys that can go out there and set the tone every fifth day. We’ll be open-minded as we go forward.” Both units are again in shambles for a struggling Royals club, though the nightmare bullpen – last in the AL in all relevant park-adjusted metrics – is arguably in more dire need. Duffy’s 2018 season was his worst in years, but the eight-year MLB vet remains far and away the most talented arm on the 12-man Royal staff.
In more injury and rehab news from around the game…
- Rays top prospect Brent Honeywell, on the mend from a February 2018 Tommy John surgery, couldn’t make it through his first start in extended spring training without a setback, Eduardo Encina of the Tampa Bay Times was among those to report. The 24-year-old, who was on track for a late-May/early-June return to competition, felt soreness in his forearm, the same symptom that was a surgery precursor 14 months ago. The team was quick to note that it’s “fairly common” for TJ rehabbers to experience similar issues, though the thinly-veiled unease wasn’t hard to detect. Honeywell be shut down indefinitely for the time being, though there’s no word on whether or not the club will ask him to shelve his said-to-be arm-shredding screwball, which has baffled minor leaguers high and low throughout his professional tenure.
- The Pirates lost another outfielder to injury yesterday in center fielder Starling Marte, the club’s fourth in an early-season string of maladies at the positions. Offseason acquisition Lonnie Chisenhall, though, is finally on the mend: the 30-year-old began a rehab assignment at Triple-A Indianapolis yesterday, and appears set to rejoin the club in the coming days. The oft-injured lefty will apparently see time at third base and first base, in addition to the corner outfield spots, writes MLB.com’s Adam Berry, and will look to add his much-improved bat (128 wRC+ over his last 365 MLB PA) to a surging Pirate club.