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Diamondbacks Place Merrill Kelly, Joe Mantiply On COVID List

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3:03PM: Joe Mantiply has also been placed on the COVID-related IL, with The Athletic’s Zach Buchanan noting that Mantiply was sidelined due to being a close contact of Kelly.  Pitching coach Matt Herges is also away from the team due to contact tracing.  Left-hander Miguel Aguilar and right-hander Sean Poppen were called up from Triple-A to replace Kelly and Mantiply on the active roster.

8:00AM: Diamondbacks starter Merrill Kelly has tested positive for COVID-19, per Zach Buchanan of The Athletic. He will now have to go on the IL and quarantine for at least 10 days.

The Diamondbacks have been one of the teams hardest hit by the pandemic, with multiple players going onto the COVID IL since early July. The club currently has the worst record in baseball at 38-80, and the lost of Kelly certainly won’t help, as he’s been one of the few bright spots for the team during this trying season.

Kelly has logged 142 1/3 innings this year, the seventh-most in all of baseball, with an ERA of 4.30. His strikeout rate is below average at 19.8%, but his walk rate is an excellent 5.5%. All told, he has accrued 2.5 fWAR on the year thus far, good enough for the team lead.

The Snakes have Zac Gallen starting today and then on off-day on Monday. Kelly was in line to start Tuesday’s game. So, the club has a couple of days to figure out how to juggle their rotation in his absence. Speculatively speaking, Humberto Castellanos could be an option. He was called up a few days ago and hasn’t seen action since. Prior to that, he’d been stretched out and starting in the minors.

Rays Reinstate Randy Arozarena; Place Ryan Yarbrough On COVID-IL, DJ Johnson On 10-Day IL

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5:21 pm: Cash didn’t sound particularly optimistic regarding Johnson’s prognosis, noting that the righty’s shoulder injury is “pretty severe” and will require him to miss “substantial time” (via Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times).

1:37 pm: The Rays announced a series of roster moves, including the reinstatement of outfielder Randy Arozarena from the COVID-related injury list and the placement of right-hander DJ Johnson on the 10-day injured list due to a right shoulder sprain.  While these transactions were expected, the club also announced that southpaw Ryan Yarbrough has been placed on the COVID-19 list.  Righty Louis Head has been recalled from Triple-A to take Yarbrough’s roster spot.

League rules don’t require Yarbrough’s exact situation to be made public, so it isn’t known whether or not the lefty has tested positive for the coronavirus himself, or if he is being held out as a precautionary measure due to contact tracing or symptoms.  (Yarbrough had another brief one-day stint on the COVID-IL earlier this season due to vaccine side effects.)  Whatever the reason, it would now seem unlikely that Yarbrough will make his next scheduled start on Wednesday against the Red Sox, so the Rays may need to go with a bullpen game in this key AL East matchup.

Yarbrough has a 4.76 ERA/4.26 SIERA over 119 innings, usually working as a traditional starting pitcher but also making a few appearances as a bulk pitcher behind an opener.  The southpaw is among the league’s best pitchers at limiting hard contact and avoiding walks, though his 19.6% strikeout rate is far below average.

Arozarena returns after just a few days on the COVID-IL for being a close contact to a positive case.  Head is also back in the big leagues in short order after being optioned to Triple-A over the weekend, as teams are able to make quick recalls of players in the event of injury.

Johnson’s shoulder problem arose during Sunday’s game, with the right-hander falling to the ground after throwing a pitch.  Manager Kevin Cash ominously reported that Johnson said he felt a crack in his shoulder, though further tests revealed only a sprain rather than a more serious injury.  Johnson was making his third appearance for Tampa Bay after being acquired in a deadline deal with the Indians.

Brewers Reinstate Jake Cousins From COVID-IL, Designate Sal Romano

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The Brewers announced that right-hander Jake Cousins has been reinstated from the COVID-19 injury list.  To create roster room, right-hander Sal Romano has been designated for assignment.

Cousins returns after the mandatory 10-day quarantine period following a positive coronavirus test.  The Brewers still have six more players on their COVID list, but between Cousins, Hunter Strickland, and Christian Yelich all returning in recent days, the club is slowly starting to make its way back from this outbreak.

The positive COVID-19 result was unwelcome interruption to what has been an eye-opener of rookie season for the 27-year-old Cousins, who has yet to allow a run over 14 1/3 innings out of Milwaukee’s bullpen.  The hard-throwing righty has an impressive 37.7% strikeout rate and an even 50% grounder rate, as opposing batters have managed only an .091 batting average in 53 plate appearances.  After a few nondescript seasons in the Nationals’ farm system, Cousins has seen his strikeout rates spike since joining the Brewers in 2019.

Romano was claimed off waivers from the Yankees just last week, as the Brew Crew looked for some fresh arms in the midst of their coronavirus outbreak.  After tossing one inning in one game for Milwaukee, Romano has now banked appearances with three different clubs in 2021 — the right-hander has a combined 5.63 ERA over 24 innings with the Brewers, Yankees, and Reds, with 20 2/3 of those innings coming in Cincinnati.

Brewers Activate Hunter Strickland, Return Blaine Hardy To Minors

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The Brewers announced they’ve activated reliever Hunter Strickland from the COVID-19 injured list. Left-hander Blaine Hardy, who was selected as a COVID replacement last week, has been removed from the 40-man roster and returned to Triple-A Nashville.

Because Hardy came up as a COVID replacement, he needn’t be passed through waivers to return to the minor leagues. The 34-year-old made one big league appearance since being selected on July 31, allowing three runs in an inning of work against the Pirates. That marked Hardy’s first big league action since 2019, as the longtime Tiger missed the entire 2020 season recovering from a Tommy John surgery. He’ll head back to Nashville, where he’s worked to a 3.50 ERA with nearly average strikeout and walk rates (22.4% and 8.9%, respectively) over 46 1/3 innings.

Reliever Jake Cousins — who landed on the COVID-19 IL ten days ago after testing positive at the same time as Strickland — is expected to be activated tomorrow, according to Todd Rosiak of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel (Twitter link). Milwaukee has a vacancy on the 40-man roster to accommodate Cousins’ forthcoming reinstatement. The Brew Crew are still without Keston Hiura, Adrian Houser, Josh Hader, Eric Lauer and Jandel Gustave because of their subsequent positive tests.

Brewers Activate Christian Yelich From COVID List

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The Brewers have activated outfielder Christian Yelich from the COVID-19 injury list, manager Craig Counsell told reporters (including Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel).  Yelich isn’t starting today’s game but is available off the bench, Counsell said.

Unfortunately for the Brewers, right-hander Adrian Houser was officially placed on the COVID list today, as was expected after the righty’s positive test yesterday.  Houser now joins Josh Hader, Eric Lauer, Keston Hiura, Jandel Gustave, Hunter Strickland, and Jake Cousins as Milwaukee players on the COVID list, as the club continues to deal with an outbreak within the clubhouse.  Yelich tested positive for the virus and was placed on the COVID-IL on July 27, so he’ll return after a pretty minimal stint, even if he isn’t immediately getting back into regular duty for the Brewers.

Between this absence and two stints on the regular injured list due to back problems, Yelich has appeared in only 67 games this season, and hit a modest .235/.382/.367 in 275 plate appearances.  While still above-average (104 OPS+, 108 wRC+) production, it certainly isn’t what was expected from the former NL MVP, even if the Brewers have surged into first place in the NL Central with only average hitting numbers overall.  A return to form from Yelich could be the spark Milwaukee needs to cement itself as a World Series contender, though the first order of business is simply to get everyone recovered from the COVID outbreak.

COVID Notes: Brewers, Diamondbacks, Protocols

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The latest on COVID-19 around the league:

  • The Brewers have been dealing with virus spread throughout the clubhouse in recent days, and another pair of players has tested positive. Starter Adrian Houser and reliever Jandel Gustave tested positive and were placed on the COVID IL, manager Craig Counsell told reporters (including Todd Rosiak of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel). They join Josh Hader, Hunter Strickland, Eric Lauer, Jake Cousins, Keston Hiura and Christian Yelich on the COVID list. Yelich was cleared to return to the club today, but Milwaukee has elected to hold off on activating him for now as the star outfielder works his way back into game shape following a ten-day absence.
  • The Diamondbacks have also been hit by COVID spread recently, but they got one of their players back today. Reliever Joe Mantiply, who had been out as a close contact of a player(s) who tested positive, was reinstated from the IL before this evening’s game against the Padres. Fellow southpaw Ryan Buchter, who was selected last week, was removed from the 40-man roster and returned to Triple-A Reno. As a COVID replacement, Buchter could be reassigned to the minor leagues without needing to pass through waivers.
  • The recent uptick in viral spread (the Rockies and Yankees have each had similar issues recently) in both the league and the United States as a whole has caught the attention of MLB and the Players Association. After relaxing restrictions for vaccinated players and staff in mid-June, MLB is considering tightening protocols, reports Evan Drellich of the Athletic. The league updated its mask policy at Spring Training facilities this week, requiring those working at the facilities to wear masks in indoor areas regardless of vaccination status, Drellich writes. It seems MLB would prefer to tighten mask and distancing protocols rather than “aggressively” incentivize further vaccination among players and staff. Drellich writes that 85.5% of Tier 1 personnel leaguewide (players, coaches and other staff members in direct contact with the team) have been vaccinated.

COVID Notes: 7/31/21

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The latest on coronavirus situations from around baseball…

  • Marlins manager Don Mattingly has tested positive for COVID-19, the team announced (MLB.com’s Christina De Nicola was among those to report the news).  Mattingly is experiencing some mild symptoms but has been vaccinated against the coronavirus.  Bench coach James Rowson will serve as acting manager while Mattingly is absent for the mandatory quarantine period.  Tests of other Marlins personnel revealed no other positive cases.
  • Brewers right-handers Hunter Strickland and Jake Cousins both tested positive for COVID-19, manager Craig Counsell told The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel’s Tom Haudricourt (Twitter links) and other reporters.  Righty Jandel Gustave is also not available due to contact tracing.  No official moves have been made in regards to the COVID-related injured list or roster replacements, though newly-acquired relievers John Curtiss and Daniel Norris are both on hand and could be activated for tonight’s game.  Counsell said that Strickland and Cousins both reported mild symptoms, and both relievers have been vaccinated.

Brewers Place Christian Yelich, Jace Peterson On COVID List

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The Brewers have placed Christian Yelich and Jace Peterson on the COVID-related injury list, president of baseball operations David Stearns told MLB.com’s Adam McCalvy (Twitter links).  Yelich has tested positive for COVID-19 while Peterson is on the list due to contact tracing.  Stearns noted that Yelich had already been fully vaccinated and is exhibiting mild symptoms, though the outfielder is expected to be back after the mandatory 10-day quarantine period.

To fill the two open roster spots, Lorenzo Cain is being activated off the 10-day injured list and Pablo Reyes was called up from Triple-A.  Cain was expected to return from the IL today, following an absence of almost two months while recovering from a hamstring strain.

The most important news is that Yelich is feeling relatively good following his positive test, though the former NL MVP will now be sidelined for the third time this season.  Yelich had two earlier IL placements due to back problems, costing him close to five weeks’ worth of action.  This nagging back issue has bothered Yelich for a few years, contributing to his below-average performance since the start of the 2020 season.  After his last 522 plate appearances, Yelich has hit .221/.370/.397 — a far cry from his .327/.415/.631 slash line over 1231 PA in 2018-19.

The Brewers are known to be looking for hitting help prior to the trade deadline, and losing Yelich will only add to the team’s search.  Peterson has also been a good addition to the roster over 50 games 161 PA this season, hitting .244/.373/.397 (good for a 109 OPS+ and 113 wRC+) after signing a minor league deal with Milwaukee this past winter.

It isn’t known what Cain will be able to provide after his second IL trip of the season, and the veteran has mostly been an offensive non-factor since the start of the 2019 season.  Cain has hit only .256/.327/.369 over his last 762 PA, as he has been hampered by multiple injuries and also elected to sit out much of the 2020 season.

Phillies Claim Tyler Phillips, Place Adam Haseley On COVID List

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The Phillies have claimed right-hander Tyler Phillips off waivers from the Rangers.  Phillips was designated for assignment by Texas earlier this week.  In another move announced by the Phils, outfielder Adam Haseley was placed on Philadelphia’s COVID-related injury list.

A 16th-round pick for the Rangers back in 2015, Phillips is still only 23, but he hasn’t found much success pitching at either the Double-A or Triple-A levels.  Phillips has a 4.72 ERA over 108 2/3 frames at Double-A Frisco, comprised of two separate stints in Frisco sandwiched around the canceled 2020 minor league season.  Making the jump to Triple-A this season for the first time, Phillips has fared even worse, with a 9.90 ERA and more walks (12) than strikeouts (11) in his first 10 innings of work.

That small sample size was enough to make Phillips expendable in the Rangers’ eyes, though the Phillies will now see if a change of scenery can get him on track.  Phillips did show some potential as a starter in the lower minors, delivering some good groundball numbers and (his control problems this season notwithstanding) limiting walks.

COVID Notes: 7/16/21

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The latest coronavirus-related news around baseball:

  • Before this afternoon’s doubleheader agains the Phillies, the Marlins placed outfielder Jesús Sánchez on the COVID-19 injured list. It’s not clear whether he tested positive for the virus; players can also land on the IL for experiencing symptoms or for viral exposure. Sánchez is hitting a solid .265/.315/.434 through 89 plate appearances this season.
  • The Phillies reinstated reliever Bailey Falter from the COVID-19 injured list this afternoon. The southpaw landed on the IL as part of contact tracing efforts last weekend after third baseman Alec Bohm tested positive for the coronavirus. Falter has tallied 17 2/3 innings of multi-inning relief across eight appearances this season.
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