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Braves Promote Jasseel De La Cruz

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The Braves announced Tuesday that they’ve promoted right-hander Jasseel De La Cruz and optioned Touki Toussaint to their alternate training site. De La Cruz will make his MLB debut the first time he gets into a game.

Ranked as Atlanta’s No. 12 prospect at each of Baseball America, FanGraphs and MLB.com on their respective midseason updates, the 23-year-old De La Cruz will be the latest promising Braves arm to try to help patch an injury-decimated pitching staff. He split the 2019 season between Class-A, Class-A Advanced and Double-A, pitching to a collective 3.25 ERA with 8.2 K/9, 3.3 BB/9, 0.5 HR/9 and a healthy 47.6 percent ground-ball rate.

Scouting reports at BA, FanGraphs and MLB.com all credit De La Cruz with a mid-90s heater that can reach the upper 90s and, per BA, has occasionally scratched triple digits. He’s made strides with his slider and improved his changeup as well, but while he’s worked as a starter for most of his minor league career, his violent delivery leads many to believe that he’s eventually bullpen-bound. That would allow his heater to play up and perhaps allow De La Cruz to focus on the better of his two offspeed offerings, which is currently his slider.

It doesn’t appear as though De La Cruz will start a game anytime soon, so he could just be bullpen depth for the time being. David O’Brien of The Athletic tweeted last night that the Braves expect to start Huascar Ynoa today, with Cole Hamels coming off the injured list for his season debut tomorrow and Max Fried slated to return Friday. (The Braves are off Thursday.) As such, there’s no guarantee that De La Cruz will get into a game before he’s sent back out, but Atlanta fans could still get a glimpse of the future in the coming days if he’s called upon.

The impending activation of Hamels and Fried should be a welcome breath of fresh air for a Braves club that has continually struggled to piece together its starting staff in the wake of myriad injuries and unexpectedly poor performances. They’re still a lock to make the postseason, holding a 2.5-game lead in the NL East at present, but the type of starting pitching they’ve received recently wouldn’t instill much confidence in a playoff series. However, a group led by Fried, Ian Anderson and a hopefully healthy Hamels looks considerably more impressive.

Cole Hamels, Ozzie Albies Nearing Returns

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When the Braves signed Cole Hamels to a one-year, $18MM deal, he checked all the right boxes: veteran, short-term deal, fierce competitor, playoff-tested, particularly painful for a playoff rival. But triceps tendinitis has kept Hamels from the hill and forced the Braves to turn to Plan B lefties like Tommy Milone, Sean Newcomb, and Robbie Erlin. Some solutions have worked better than others, but despite a rotation in constant flux, Atlanta holds a 2-game lead in the NL East with less than 20 games to play.

Their need for Hamels is no less intense, however, because while the season itself has gone by in the blink of an eye, the playoffs will actually be longer than usual. For a team with back-to-back NLDS losses, the Braves are well aware of the potential pitfalls awaiting them in the postseason. So it’s not a moment too soon that Hamels could be nearing his return.

The veteran lefty threw live batting practice to Ozzie Albies on Sunday, leaving the Braves encouraged about the potential return of both players, per The Athletic’s David O’Brien (via Twitter). The Braves will wait another couple of days before letting Hamels throw a similar session, but if there are no red flags, Hamels could return to the rotation shortly thereafter.

As with many pitchers who have returned in this single-league environment – such as Charlie Morton of the Rays – Hamels may ease back into the rotation with 1-2 inning outings at a time. That doesn’t give the Braves and Hamels unlimited time to get him on track before the postseason, but he could still get 2-3 tune-ups before the playoffs.

Hamels has run hot-and-cold in recent seasons with the Chicago Cubs, nonetheless sustaining the comeback that began with 12 starts of a 2.36 ERA to finish 2018 after his exile in Texas. In his lone full season with the Cubs, Hamels went 7-7 in 27 starts with a 3.81 ERA/4.09 FIP over 141 2/3 innings. Hamels could return to the roster as soon as Monday, per Baseball America’s Gabe Burns (via Twitter). The Braves certainly don’t want to rush the 36-year-old back into action, but with Max Fried going on the injured list, there’s cause for urgency in Atlanta.

Injury Updates: Hamels, Soler, Rays, Ramirez, Yankees

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Cole Hamels will throw a live batting practice session on Sunday, as the injury-plagued southpaw might yet still have a chance to factor into the 2020 season.  Braves manager Brian Snitker told MLB.com’s Mark Bowman and other reporters that “We’re just looking to get through a couple live BPs and see how he is,” perhaps wisely not setting even a speculative timeline given that Hamels battled shoulder issues during Spring Training and is currently on the 45-day injured list recovering from left triceps tendinitis.  Bowman speculates that Hamels likely won’t start pitching in simulated games until next weekend at the earliest, so the left-hander might not be able to join the Braves until roughly the last 7-10 days of the regular season.

It makes Hamels into a total wild card for Atlanta’s playoff drive, though with the club looking to have a good shot at the postseason, it isn’t out of the question that Hamels could be part of a playoff roster.  Having a former World Series MVP coming out of the bullpen would be quite an interesting wrinkle for Atlanta, though Hamels has only worked as a reliever twice in his 439 career games in the regular season and postseason.

Some more injury situations from around baseball…

  • Jorge Soler left tonight’s game due to what the Royals described as right oblique soreness.  This is the second time in four days that Soler has exited a game due to such an injury, and perhaps on a related note, Soler is hitless over his last eight plate appearances.  Soler has been a few steps behind his big 2019 numbers this season, though he is still hitting a solid .237/.333/.459 with eight homers over 159 PA.
  • The Rays have been plagued by pitching injuries this season, and two more hurlers ran into potential issues on Saturday.  Newly-acquired southpaw Cody Reed left tonight’s game during the eighth inning with an injury to his pinkie, though manager Kevin Cash told MLB.com’s Jose Toribio (Twitter links) that the problem doesn’t appear to be serious.  The news isn’t as good for left-hander Shane McClanahan, as the prospect will miss around two weeks after suffering a hyper-extended left knee during a fielding play at the Rays’ alternate training site.  The 31st overall pick of the 2018 draft, McClanahan got some top-100 prospect attention from Baseball Prospectus and Baseball American prior to the season, and there was some speculation Tampa Bay might give the 23-year-old his first taste of big league action sometime in September.
  • Marlins outfielder Harold Ramirez had to be carted off the field tonight after suffering what the club described as a left hamstring strain.  Ramirez suffered the injury while trying to beat out a grounder during the fifth inning of Miami’s 7-3 win over Tampa Bay.  Playing in just his third game of the season, Ramirez was only activated off the injured list today, as he was one of the many Marlins players sidelined after positive COVID-19 tests.
  • Yankees manager Aaron Boone provided reporters (including ESPN’s Marly Rivera) with updates on injured sluggers Giancarlo Stanton and Aaron Judge, saying that Judge will increase his baseball-activity work on Monday.  Stanton, who Boone feels is “a little ahead of Judge” in terms of readiness, has already been taking part in baseball activities and is now running at 80 percent as he continues his recovery from a hamstring strain.

Health Notes: Francona, Rays, Hamels, Phils, Grandal

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Indians manager Terry Francona will miss their series against the Pirates to undergo surgery for gastrointestinal problems, Paul Hoynes of cleveland.com relays. Bench coach Sandy Alomar is managing the team during Francona’s absence. This is the second procedure Francona has undergone in the past month to address the issue. MLBTR wishes him a speedy recovery and hopes to see him back in the Cleveland dugout as quickly as possible.

  • Injured Rays right-hander Charlie Morton came out of an “intense bullpen session” unscathed, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times writes. It’s possible Morton will return this weekend after heading to the injured list Aug. 10 with shoulder inflammation. That continued a disappointing opening to the season for Morton, who struggled through his first four starts. Meanwhile, reliever Oliver Drake will begin a throwing program as he works back from the right biceps tendinitis that forced him to the IL on Aug. 9. However, there’s no word on a potential return date.
  • Braves manager Brian Snitker stated Tuesday that left-hander Cole Hamels is still “a little ways” from throwing off a mound, Mark Bowman of MLB.com tweets. The Braves remain hopeful Hamels will pitch this year, but time’s obviously of the essence with the regular season due to end in late September. Hamels was a headline-grabbing offseason signing for the Braves, but the triceps injury he has dealt with may stop the pending free agent from ever pitching for them.
  • Phillies center fielder Roman Quinn received clearance to come off the COVID-19 injured list Tuesday, Scott Lauber of the Philadelphia Inquirer was among those to report. Quinn went to the IL this past weekend after experiencing mild symptoms, though he didn’t test positive for the virus then. His latest test came back negative, enabling him to rejoin the team.
  • The White Sox are hopeful that catcher Yasmani Grandal will return “by the end of the week,” according to manager Rick Renteria (via Daryl Van Schouwen of the Chicago Sun-Times). Grandal exited the team’s game Monday with a stiff back.

Pitching Notes: Hamels, Quintana, M’s, Tigers

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Left-hander Cole Hamels, whom the Braves placed on the 45-day injured list July 23, still has not thrown off a mound during his recovery from a triceps problem, Mark Bowman of MLB.com tweets. The Braves remain hopeful Hamels will pitch this year, though, per manager Brian Snitker. Of course, Hamels isn’t eligible to return until early September, so the Braves will get a very limited season from him at best. That wasn’t the outcome either side expected when the Braves signed the longtime workhorse to a one-year deal worth $18MM deal during the offseason. The Hamels injury is one of many issues the Braves’ rotation has encountered since then (most recently, they optioned lefty Sean Newcomb on Monday in the wake of a horrid performance), but the back-to-back NL East champions are still off to a solid start at 11-7.

  • Cubs southpaw Jose Quintana will throw a three-inning sim game Tuesday, Bruce Levine of 670 The Score reports. However, there’s still no word on when Quintana will make his 2020 debut after suffering a left thumb injury over a month ago. Even without Quintana, though, the Cubs’ rotation has come storming out of the gates. Entering Monday’s action, the Yu Darvish–Kyle Hendricks–Jon Lester–Tyler Chatwood–Alec Mills quintet was second in the game in FIP (2.76) and fourth in ERA (2.83)
  • The Mariners placed right-hander Carl Edwards Jr. on the injured list with a flexor mass strain in his forearm and recalled fellow righty Bryan Shaw from their alternate site, Ryan Divish of the Seattle Times relays. Edwards’ injury sounds worrisome, though manager Scott Servais said it’s “not that serious.” But as Servais noted, even a couple weeks lost in a 60-game season is a significant amount of time. It’s unfortunate for the M’s and Edwards, who combined for an awful run in Chicago and San Diego from 2018-19 but who has come back nicely this year. He yielded one earned run on two hits and one walk (six strikeouts) across 4 2/3 innings before landing on the IL.
  • The Tigers placed righty Buck Farmer on the IL on Monday with a left groin strain and recalled righty Beau Burrows, per Evan Petzold of the Detroit Free Press. Farmer was a bright spot on a bottom-feeding Tigers team a year ago and has kept runs off the board at an even better clip this season, having allowed just two ER on four hits and three walks in 6 2/3 innings. On the negative side, Farmer has struck out only one hitter after fanning almost 10 per nine in 2019.

Braves Place Cole Hamels On 45-Day Injured List

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The Braves placed left-hander Cole Hamels on the 45-day injured list in order to open 40-man space for their previously announced selections of Matt Adams and Tyler Matzek, David O’Brien of The Athletic tweets. The move can only be backdated three days, so Hamels will be out of action until at least early September while dealing with a triceps issue.

Certainly, that’s not the outcome the Braves had in mind when they signed Hamels to a one-year, $18MM contract over the winter. Hamels’ salary will be prorated to a bit north of $6.6MM under the terms of the March MLB/MLBPA agreement that stipulated prorated salaries for players in 2020.

With Hamels sidelined for more than half the truncated regular season, the Atlanta rotation unquestionably looks a bit less secure. Mike Soroka and Max Fried give the Braves a pair of high-end young talents to front the group, and both Mike Foltynewicz and Sean Newcomb have at times shown themselves capable of pitching at high levels as well. Both, however, have been inconsistent in recent years.

The Braves inked veteran righty Jhoulys Chacin to a one-year deal earlier this week and also have a bevy of intriguing young arms in their player pool, including Kyle Wright, Ian Anderson, Patrick Weigl and Bryse Wilson. Wright made the Opening Day roster and could begin the season as the team’s No. 5 starter, depending on the plan for Chacin, who largely replaces righty Felix Hernandez after the longtime Mariner opted out of the 2020 season.

Impressive depth aside, a healthy Hamels would’ve been a clear boon to the starting staff. Although he struggled late in the 2019 season, Hamels has acknowledged that he rushed back from an injury. And prior to his DL placement last June, he’d given the Cubs 29 starts and 176 innings of 2.91 ERA ball since being acquired at the 2018 trade deadline. In a best-case scenario now, the Braves would get a few weeks of starts out of Hamels and hope to lean on him throughout a postseason run if he shows well.

Injury Notes: Rendon, Altuve, Hamels, Cubs, Orioles

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The Angels aren’t sure whether third baseman and top winter acquisition Anthony Rendon will be ready when they open their season Friday, Rhett Bollinger of MLB.com relays. Rendon, a former Nationals star whom the Angels signed to a seven-year, $245MM contract in free agency, has been dealing with oblique soreness since last week. If he’s not able to take the field in a few days, the Angels are expected to use David Fletcher and Matt Thaiss at the hot corner, per Bollinger. The Angels’ infield could also be missing Luis Rengifo, who Bollinger writes stands a “strong chance” of sitting out the opener on account of hamstring soreness.

  • Astros second baseman Jose Altuve left the team’s preseason game against the Royals on Tuesday with a left leg contusion, Brian McTaggart of MLB.com reports. There’s now some question as to whether the former MVP will be healthy enough to go when the Astros’ season starts. “We’re hopeful he’ll be ready on Friday,” manager Dusty Baker said. “We’ll analyze him tomorrow and see where he is in the morning. Usually the day after that, you’re pretty sore.”
  • “It’s going to be a while” before left-hander Cole Hamels debuts in 2020, Braves manager Brian Snitker said Tuesday (via Mark Bowman of MLB.com). Hamels dealt with shoulder inflammation during spring training and has recently battled triceps tendinitis, thereby preventing him from facing live hitters over the past several months. Considering how short this season will be, the Braves may have trouble getting much bang for their buck out of Hamels. They inked the longtime workhorse to a one-year, $18MM contract over the winter. That guarantee turned into approximately a prorated $7MM when the season went from 162 games to 60.
  • Cubs first baseman Anthony Rizzo, who has been fighting rib and back issues, seems to be progressing. Manager David Ross said Tuesday (via Jordan Bastian of MLB.com) that it “looks like all thumbs up from today” in regards to Rizzo. He’s slated to start the team’s exhibition game against Minnesota on Wednesday. Meanwhile, southpaw  Jose Quintana – who underwent surgery on his left thumb three weeks ago – issued an encouraging update on his status (per Mark Gonzales of the Chicago Tribune), saying he’s not feeling any pain. It remains unclear when he’ll be able to take the mound this season, though.
  • Orioles left-hander John Means will miss Opening Day because of arm fatigue, Joe Trezza of MLB.com tweets. As a result, offseason minor league signing and fellow southpaw Tommy Milone will start the Orioles’ opener against Boston on Friday. It’s not known when Means will be able to debut in 2020, but the Orioles are surely hoping it will be sooner than later. The 27-year-old Means was one of the few bright spots on Baltimore’s talent-deprived roster last season, after all, as he logged a 3.60 ERA/4.41 FIP with 7.03 K/9 and 2.21 BB/9 across 155 innings.

Cole Hamels To Miss Start Of Season

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TODAY: Snitker confirmed that Hamels will miss the beginning of the season and will likely be placed on the 10-day injured list.  (Gabriel Burns of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution was among those to report the news.)

JULY 16: The Braves will likely open the season without left-hander Cole Hamels, manager Brian Snitker said Thursday (via Mark Bowman of MLB.com).

Hamels signed a one-year, $18MM contract with the Braves in the offseason, but the former Phillie, Ranger and Cub has since endured an injury-laden few months. He didn’t pitch at all in spring training because of inflammation in his throwing shoulder. The 36-year-old Hamels looked like a lock to miss the start of the season then, but the game’s months-long shutdown seemed to make it likely he’d be ready for the abbreviated campaign. Instead, though, Hamels has battled another problem – triceps tendinitis – that has slowed him in Summer Camp.

The good news is that Hamels was able to throw a side session Thursday without experiencing any pain, according to Bowman. However, it remains unclear how much time the long-effective innings eater will miss. If and when he’s able to take the mound in 2020, Bowman notes the Braves will be cautious with him, at least at first, with three- to four-inning appearances.

As for how the Braves will proceed without Hamels, Bowman lists touted young righty Kyle Wright, veteran RHP Josh Tomlin and lefty prospect Tucker Davidson as candidates for the last spot in their rotation. Mike Soroka, Max Fried, Mike Foltynewicz and Sean Newcomb are slated to occupy the top four spots for the back-to-back NL East champions.

Cole Hamels Uncertain For Braves’ Opening Day Roster?

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Triceps tendinitis prevented Cole Hamels from throwing a side session today, Braves manager Brian Snitker told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution’s Gabriel Burns and other reporters.  While Snitker gave no indication that Hamels wouldn’t be ready for the start of the season, the timeline cited by the skipper would seem to leave things cut very close for Hamels to make the initial 30-man roster.

“I think we’re probably a week away from seeing where things are [with Hamels].  He’s day to day now as far as when he gets back on the mound,” Snitker said.  “His shoulder feels great.  He said he’s going through normal things he has before in spring training.  We’re probably a week away from seeing where he’s actually going to be when this thing starts.”

Since Hamels has yet to throw a simulated game or throw to live hitters, he’ll have less than a week before the Braves’ July 24th opener to get properly ramped up, going by Snitker’s “probably a week away” assessment.  Hamels could be pushed back to the fifth starter’s role to give him more time to prepare, and he wouldn’t have to pitch for very long, as the club is planning to use a piggyback strategy with all of its rotation — the starter would throw around three innings before being replaced by a reliever — in the season’s early days.  However, even if Hamels’ workload was limited, the team might also decide that it isn’t worth having him on the mound at all until he is is completely ready, so as to avoid further injury.

Ironically, Hamels was on pace to miss the original Opening Day, as shoulder issues kept him out of Spring Training prior to the league shutdown.  He had recovered from those problems and was expected to be ready to go for the second opener prior to this latest setback.  Hamels signed a one-year, $18MM deal with the Braves over the offseason to add some veteran experience and potential upside to a young Atlanta rotation.  With Sean Newcomb looking like the favorite to win the normal fifth starter spot, Josh Tomlin or Kyle Wright look like the top choices to fill in for Hamels if he does miss time at the start of the season.

NL Notes: Camp Delays, Dodgers, Cardinals, Gallegos, Health Updates, Senzel, Hamels

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Expect delayed arrivals to camp to become somewhat of a recurring story early in training camp as players attempt to clear the many hurdles to return to play. The Dodgers, for instance, will be missing a few players at the start of camp, though manager Dave Roberts wasn’t able to name specific players, per J.P. Hoornstra of the Southern California News Group. Likewise, the Cardinals will be missing reliever Giovanny Gallegos, who is delayed in his return from Mexico, per Anne Rogers of MLB.com. The Cardinals have not given a specific reason for his delay, per The Athletic’s Mark Saxon. Rather than speculate on reasons for the holdup, let’s check in on some health updates from around the league…

  • Nick Senzel’s had a banged-up rookie season, appearing in 104 games with a .256/.315/.427 slash – but he’s ready to go for his sophomore campaign. His first season ended early when a torn labrum required Senzel to get shoulder surgery. That injury is fully recovered now, but only just now, as Senzel reported having throwing pain as recently as a month ago, per Bobby Nightengale of The Enquirer. Senzel may not have a steady defensive home when play begins, but he figures to be an everyday presence in the Reds’ lineup regardless, especially with the DH now in play.
  • Cole Hamels was never going to get a full Spring Training, not once a shoulder injury took him out of commission for a few months. The 36-year-old knows that the four-week leadup to the newly-rebooted 2020 season isn’t exactly the same, not at his age, but he plans to be ready to contribute, per Mark Bradley of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Said Hamels: “It’s not as if I’m going to go out there expecting to pitch seven to nine innings. There’s going to be a gradual buildup process, and there’s going to be guys who will be able to piggyback on you, like in a high school or a college season. All that really matters is putting up zeroes. If you can put up two or put up five zeroes, that’s really helping the team, more so than (other pitchers) having to pick up and try to eat a lot of innings.” 
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