Zack Greinke, Taijuan Walker Headed For MRIs
The D-backs may have enjoyed a comfortable win this afternoon, but it’s quickly become a stressful day for the club and its fans due to a series of injuries. Zack Greinke and David Peralta both exited today’s game early, and The Athletic’s Zach Buchanan tweets that right-hander Taijuan Walker is slated to undergo an MRI after experiencing shoulder soreness in a rehab appearance in extended Spring Training.
The team announced during the game that Peralta departed due to tightness in his right trapezius muscle, while manager Torey Lovullo revealed postgame that Greinke will undergo an MRI on Friday after experiencing abdominal tightness. Greinke had cruised through 7 2/3 shutout innings before grimacing after a pitch in the eighth inning and calling a trainer out to the mound. He departed before throwing another pitch.
Any absence for Greinke would be significant for a D-backs club that is four games over .500, firmly in the NL Wild Card mix and still within four games of the NL West lead. His near shutout Wednesday dropped his season ERA to 2.78, and he’s complemented that mark with averages of 8.6 K/9, 1.1 BB/9 and 1.1 HR/9. And although his velocity has continued to dwindle as he pitches into his mid 30s, Greinke has adjusted and served as a high-quality starter and workhorse in recent seasons; the 35-year-old tossed 410 innings between the 2017-18 regular seasons with near-identical ERAs of 3.20 and 3.21.
Fortunately, with regard to Peralta, Lovullo suggested that his outfielder will be okay with some treatment (Twitter link via Buchanan). The D-backs have an off day tomorrow, and to this point there’s been no mention of a possible IL trip for Peralta. Through 192 plate appearances, the 31-year-old is hitting .318/.359/.531 with six home runs, 16 doubles and a pair of triples — a strong followup to last year’s breakout 30-homer, .293/.352/.516 showing.
As for Walker, the setback is unsettling for an organization that hoped he’d eventually return to the rotation this summer. The 26-year-old right-hander is working back from 2018 Tommy John surgery and had progressed to pitching in a game setting. The fact that his shoulder is the problematic area suggests that there’s no immediate cause for concern in his surgically repaired elbow, though that’s not really any kind of consolation — particularly given that Walker has previously dealt with shoulder issues in his career.
Players Avoiding Arbitration: National League
The deadline for players and teams to exchange arbitration figures passed yesterday at 1pm ET, and there has been a landslide of settlements on one-year deals to avoid an arbitration hearing. We’ll track those settlements from the National League in this post. Once all of the day’s settlements have filtered in, I’ll organize them by division to make them a bit easier to parse.
It’s worth mentioning that the vast majority of teams have adopted a “file and trial” approach to arbitration, meaning that once arbitration figures are exchanged with a player, negotiations on a one-year deal will cease. The two parties may still discuss a multi-year deal after that point, but the majority of players who exchange figures with their team today will head to an arbitration hearing.
As always, all salary projections referenced within this post are courtesy of MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz, and we’ll also be updating our 2019 Arbitration Tracker throughout the day…
Today’s Updates
- Rounding out contract numbers for the St. Louis Cardinals, Dominic Leone will take home $1.26MM, Chasen Shreve will make $900K, and outfielder Marcell Ozuna will earn $12.25MM in his last season before free agency, per MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand (via Twitter). Ozuna has the most high-impact potential as he looks to rebound from a still-productive season in 2018 that saw his power output hindered at times by a balky shoulder. He still managed 23 home runs and a .280/.325/.433 slash line while playing just about every day outside of a 10-day DL stint late in August.
- The Diamondbacks came to terms with a slew of players, per Feinsand (via Twitter), including Matt Andriese for $920K, Steven Souza Jr. for $4.125MM, shortstop Nick Ahmed for $3.6625MM, and potential closer Archie Bradley for $1.83MM.
- The Rockies and starting pitcher Jon Gray have come to an agreement on a $2.935MM deal, per Feinsand (via Twitter). Gray had an up-and-down 2018 that is generally considered to be more promising than the optics of his 5.12 ERA make it seem.
- The Pirates have come to terms on one-year deals with both of their arbitration eligible players, per Bill Brink of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Left fielder Corey Dickerson signs for $8.5MM, and reliever Keone Kela takes home $3.175MM. It’s a small arb class for the Pirates, whose list will grow next season as players like Josh Bell, Jameson Taillon, and Joe Musgrove, among others, reach their first season of eligibility.
- The Dodgers signed a couple of their remaining arbitration-eligible players yesterday, USA Today’s Bob Nightengale (Twitter links). Utility man Chris Taylor has a $3.5MM deal, while outfield Joc Pederson settled at $5MM.
Earlier Updates
Trade/FA Rumors: Braves, M’s, Haniger, Mets, Puig, Yanks, Lynn
The latest rumors from around the majors…
- The Braves, who are seeking outfield help, contacted the Mariners about Mitch Haniger and the Diamondbacks regarding David Peralta, Gabe Burns of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports. However, Atlanta was turned away in both cases, per Burns. It’s unclear how far those discussions went, but with the Mariners in a full rebuild and the Diamondbacks seemingly going backward, it’s unsurprising the Braves showed interest in Haniger and Peralta. The soon-to-be 28-year-old Haniger is unquestionably among the most valuable outfielders in the game, considering both his on-field performance and four remaining years of team control – including another pre-arb season. As you’d expect, general manager Jerry Dipoto would need to be “blown away” to trade Haniger, FOX Sports’ Ken Rosenthal says (video link). Peralta, meanwhile, was similarly outstanding in 2018, but he’s neither as youthful (31) nor as controllable as Haniger. Peralta has a pair of arb-eligible years left, and is projected to earn an affordable $7.7MM in 2019.
- With Dodgers outfielder Yasiel Puig possibly on the outs in Los Angeles, the Mets figure to at least inquire on the 28-year-old, Mike Puma of the New York Post reports. Puig would give the Mets another right-handed outfielder, which is on general manager Brodie Van Wagenen’s wish list, without having to make a long-term commitment. He’s only under control for another year, at a projected $11.3MM.
- Free-agent right-hander Lance Lynn is among Plan B starting options for the Yankees, Mark Feinsand of MLB.com reported this week. Per Feinsand, New York was “engaged with” Lynn even before another of its potential free-agent possibilities, Nathan Eovaldi, re-signed with Boston. The Yankees and Lynn are already familiar with each other, as the Bombers acquired the 31-year-old from the Twins last July and benefited from his presence down the stretch. Lynn totaled 54 1/3 innings of 4.14 ERA/2.17 FIP pitching with superb strikeout and walk rates (10.1 K/9, 2.3 BB/9) as a member of the Yankees, but that came after he underwhelmed as a Twin. Thanks in part to his unimpressive Minnesota stint, Lynn’s projected to collect a much less expensive contract than Eovaldi and former Yankee target/newly minted National Patrick Corbin have received this offseason.
Latest On D-backs’ Offseason Plans
With two of their best players, A.J. Pollock and Patrick Corbin, set to hit free agency while other key players like Paul Goldschmidt and Robbie Ray inch closer to the open market, the D-backs will at least gauge trade interest in their roster early in the offseason before plotting a course, GM Mike Hazen tells Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic.
Around the league, there’s an expectation that the Snakes could oversee a full-throated rebuild, Bob Nightengale of USA Today suggests on Twitter. Within the organization, Hazen says the front office has already met with owner Ken Kendrick and CEO Derrick Hall, calling Kendrick “open-minded” as the offseason gets underway.
“I think one of the takeaways for us was just to get a feel for what the trade market would be for various guys, evaluate the free-agent market as it comes out and see what happens, and reconvene,” adds Hazen.
There’s been plenty of speculation about a rebuild in Phoenix, where the D-backs stand to lose both Pollock and Corbin this winter and will see Goldschmidt reach free agency following the 2019 season. Ray, meanwhile, is set to hit the open market after the 2020 season, as is outfielder David Peralta. The Arizona farm system is not considered to be particularly strong, and the team’s long-term payroll is weighed down by Zack Greinke‘s record contract and the albatross deal for Yasmany Tomas — two remnants from the previous front office regime around which Hazen & Co. will need to navigate.
The D-backs also have a whopping 14 players eligible for arbitration this winter, including several key players who are up for sizable raises — as projected by MLBTR’s Matt Swartz earlier today. Peralta ($7.7MM), Ray ($6.1MM), Brad Boxberger ($4.9MM), Taijuan Walker ($4.825MM), Jake Lamb ($4.7MM), Steven Souza Jr. ($4MM), Nick Ahmed ($3.1MM), Archie Bradley ($2MM), Andrew Chafin ($1.8MM), T.J. McFarland ($1.4MM) and Matt Andriese ($1.1MM) all figure to be tendered contracts.
Add in Goldschmidt’s no-brainer club option and guaranteed salaries for Greinke, Tomas, Alex Avila, Jarrod Dyson and Ketel Marte, and the tab reaches $119.125MM — a hefty sum for a D-backs club that has only twice opened the season with more than $100MM in guaranteed contracts on the books. Even rounding out the roster with league-minimum players would push the Diamondbacks within a few million dollars of the franchise-record $131.5MM payroll they carried on Opening Day 2018. And if the team decides to tender contracts to any of Shelby Miller ($4.9MM projection), Chris Owings ($3.6MM) or John Ryan Murphy ($1.1MM), that financial outlook would only be further muddied.
With little help on the way from the farm, two of their best players hitting free agency, the face of a franchise a year from the open market, a near-record payroll and a miserable finish to the season, it’s not hard to see why the D-backs are at least considering a look to the future. A full tear-down wouldn’t even be necessary, as they could gauge interest in flipping some stars who are controlled for a relatively short period of time in exchange for some more controllable assets that could help at the MLB level either immediately or in the near future.
Goldschmidt would be the biggest piece they could put on the market, as the perennial MVP candidate rebounded from an awful start to post a characteristically brilliant .290/.389/.533 slash with 33 homers in 690 plate appearances. But Ray would also be one of the most in-demand assets on the offseason market for starting pitching, with few quality arms expected to be available in trades. The 27-year-old missed time with an oblique strain in 2018 and a concussion in 2017, but he’s averaged better than 12 strikeouts per nine innings over the past two seasons and a 3.34 ERA in his past 285 1/3 innings in that time. Peralta is only two years from free agency himself and posted a .293/.352/.516 line with a career-high 30 homers.
Certainly, there are avenues to additional payroll capacity down the line. The team inked a television deal reportedly worth more than $1.5 billion in Feb. 2015, but they’re only in year three of a contract that was said to be as long as two decades in length and included gradual increases in year-over-year television revenue. The Diamondbacks are also in the process of seeking alternatives to Chase Field, but a new stadium wouldn’t be a possibility until at least the 2022 season.
Players Avoiding Arbitration: National League
The deadline for MLB teams to exchange salary arbitration figures with their arbitration-eligible players is today at 1pm ET. As such, there will be a veritable flood of arb agreements piling up in the next few hours — especially in light of a more universal approach to the “file and trial” method for teams. (That is to say, those teams will no longer negotiate one-year deals after arb figures are exchanged and will instead head to a hearing with those players, barring an agreemenr on a multi-year deal.)
Note that you can keep an eye on all of today’s deals using MLBTR’s 2018 Arbitration Tracker, which can be filtered to show only the results of the team you follow and is also sortable by service time and dollar value of the agreement. All projections that are referenced come from MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz’s annual compilation of projected arbitration salaries.
Onto today’s landslide of deals…
National League West
- The Rockies have agreed to a $2MM salary with righty Chad Bettis, MLBTR has learned (Twitter link). That’s a fair sight more than his $1.5MM projection. Bettis surely would have had an opportunity to set a bigger platform for himself, but had to battle through testicular cancer before returning to the hill in 2017. Meanwhile, second baseman DJ LeMahieu has settled for a $8.5MM payday in his final year of arbitration, Jon Heyman of Fan Rag tweets. That’s just a hair short of the $8.8MM he was pegged for in MLBTR’s projections.
- Giants second baseman Joe Panik is slated to earn $3.45MM in his first season of arb eligibility, Devan Fink of SB Nation was first to tweet. That’s just a hair shy of the $3.5MM that MLBTR projected. Lefty Will Smith has settled at $2.5MM, per Bob Nightengale of USA Today (via Twitter). The club has also announced deals with its remaining arb-eligible players, right-handed relievers Sam Dyson ($4.6MM projection), Hunter Strickland ($1.7MM projection), and Cory Gearrin ($1.6MM projection). (H/t John Shea of the San Francisco Chronicle, on Twitter). Strickland earns $1.55MM, Nightengale tweets.
- The Padres and Freddy Galvis agreed to a $6.825MM deal for his lone season of team control in San Diego, tweets Robert Murray of FanRag Sports. Galvis, who spent the first several seasons of his career in Philadelphia before being traded this winter, had been projected to make $7.4MM. Infielder Cory Spangenberg settled at $1.7MM, Heyman tweets, falling below a $2.0MM projection. San Diego has also reached agreements with righty Kirby Yates and outfielder Matt Szczur, the team announced. Yates will earn $1,062,500, Heyman tweets, which is just shy of his $1.1MM projection. Szczur, meanwhile, will get $950K, a healthy boost over his $800K projection, per Dennis Lin of the San Diego Union-Tribune (Twitter link).
- The Diamondbacks agreed to a $7.75MM deal with center fielder A.J. Pollock, Murray tweets. Pollock was projected to earn $8.4MM in his final year of eligibility before free agency. Murray also notes that Brad Boxberger is set to earn $1.85MM next year (Twitter link). Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic adds that lefty Andrew Chafin ($1.2MM projection) and the D-backs have a $1.195MM deal in place. Third baseman Jake Lamb, meanwhile, agreed to a $4.275MM deal with the Diamondbacks, according to USA Today’s Bob Nightengale (Twitter link). Lamb, eligible for arbitration for the first time, was projected to earn $4.7MM. He’s controllable through 2020. And ESPN’s Jerry Crasnick tweets that Chris Herrmann ($1.4MM projection) landed a $1.3MM deal. Righty Taijuan Walker has settled for $4.825MM, per Bob Nightengale of USA Today (via Twitter), which is within range but shy of the $5.0MM he projected for. Lefty Robbie Ray has settled at $3.95MM, per Nightengale (Twitter link), which falls short of his $4.2MM projection. Infielder Nick Ahmed will $1.275MM, per Heyman (via Twitter), which tops the projected figure of $1.1MM. Arizona has also announced that Chris Owings and David Peralta have agreed to terms.
- The Dodgers are in agreement on a $6MM deal with lefty Alex Wood, per Jon Heyman of Fan Rag (via Twitter). He had projected at $6.4MM. Meanwhile, righty Josh Fields agreed to a $2.2MM deal, tweets Murray. Heyman tweets that Enrique Hernandez will earn $1.6MM. Fields’ projection of $2.2MM was on the money, whereas Hernandez topped his mark by $300K. Fields is controlled through 2019, while Hernandez is controllable through 2020. Southpaw Tony Cingrani gets $2.3MM, Murray tweets, which is just a shade over his $2.2MM projection. Outfielder Joc Pederson has also settled, per J.P. Hoornstra of the Southern California News Group (via Twitter), with Beth Harris of the Associated Press reporting a $2.6MM salary that rather handily tops the $2.0MM that MLBTR projected.
National League Central
- All three remaining Cardinals arb-eligibles have agreed to deals, MLB.com’s Jenifer Langosch tweets. Marcell Ozuna will earn $9MM after drawin a much larger $10.9MM projection, Heyman tweets. MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz had explained that Ozuna likely wouldn’t quite reach the amount the algorithm suggested, though the actual salary still comes in a bit shy of expectations. Lefty Tyler Lyons ($1.3MM projection) receives $1.2MM, per Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch (via Twitter). The Cards have also reached agreement with Michael Wacha for $5.3MM, per Nightengale (via Twitter); he was projected to earn $5.9MM.
- The Reds agreed to a $860K salary with Anthony DeSclafani, tweets Murray. DeSclafani missed the 2017 season due to arm troubles and had been projected to earn $1.1MM. He’ll remain under Reds control through 2020. Billy Hamilton and the Reds have settled on a one-year deal worth $4.6MM, tweets Murray. A popular trade candidate this offseason, Hamilton was projected to earn $5MM and comes with another two seasons of team control. Murray also conveys that Michael Lorenzen agreed to a $1.3125MM deal, which lines up fairly well with his $1.4MM projection.
- The Cubs have struck a deal with lefty Justin Wilson, agreeing to a one-year, $4.25MM pact, according to Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun-Times (Twitter link). Wilson, who had been projected at $4.3MM, will be a free agent next winter. The Cubs alsoagreed to a $950K salary with infielder Tommy La Stella, tweets MLB.com’s Carrie Muskat. La Stella was projected to make $1MM in his first offseason of arbitration eligiblity and can be controlled through 2020. Right-hander Kyle Hendricks and the Cubs have agreed to a $4.175MM salary, per Nightengale (on Twitter). That sum comes in a fair bit shy of his projected $4.9MM projection as a first-time eligible player. The Cubs control Hendricks through the 2020 season. Chicago also agreed with Addison Russell, per Wittenmyer (Twitter link). The shortstop will receive $3.2MM for the coming season.
- Nightengale reports (on Twitter) that the Brewers and breakout closer Corey Knebel settled at $3.65MM. As a Super Two player, Knebel can be controlled through the 2021 season and will be arb-eligible thrice more. He was projected at $4.1MM. MLB.com’s Adam McCalvy tweets that the Brewers and right-hander Jimmy Nelson settled at $3.7MM, which falls $1MM shy of his $4.7MM projection (though some of that discrepancy may be due to Nelson’s shoulder injury). Milwaukee also announced a deal for infielders Jonathan Villar (projected at $3MM) and Hernan Perez (projected at $2.2MM). McCalvy reports that Villar will earn $2.55MM, while terms of Perez’s deal are not yet available.
- The Pirates have avoided arbitration with shortstop Jordy Mercer by settling on a $6.75MM salary for 2018, tweets Rob Biertempfel of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. Mercer, who’d been projected to earn $6.5MM, is entering his final year of team control and will be a free agent next winter. Biertempfel also reports that Gerrit Cole will earn that same $6.75MM salary in 2018 — a $3MM raise over last year (Twitter link). He has two years of control remaining and had been projected to earn $7.4MM. Righty George Kontos has also agreed to terms, per Rob Biertempfel of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review (via Twitter). He had projected for $2.7MM and will receive a smidge more, at $2,725,000, per Bill Brink of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (Twitter link).
National League East
- The Braves reached a $3.4MM deal with righty Arodys Vizcaino, per Jon Heyman of FanRag (Twitter link). He’d been projected at $3.7MM. The Braves and righty Dan Winkler agreed to a $610K salary for the upcoming season, tweets Mark Bowman of MLB.com. Winkler tossed just 14 1/3 innings in the Majors this year as he made his way back from elbow surgery. He’d projected at $800K.
- The Marlins and Miguel Rojas agreed to a $1.18MM deal for 2018, Heyman tweets, placing him north of his $1.1MM projection. Rojas should see additional playing time following the Marlins’ wave of trades this offseason. He’s controlled through 2020. Miami also has a deal in place with infielder Derek Dietrich for $2.9MM, Heyman tweets, after projecting at $3.2MM.
- The Mets were able to settle perhaps their most notable arb case, agreeing to a $7.4MM deal with righty Jacob deGrom, per James Wagner of the New York Times (via Twitter). That’s well shy of his $9.2MM projection, though MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz had explained the formula likely overestimated deGrom’s earning power by quite a wide margin. Fellow top righty Noah Syndergaard gets $2.975MM, per Bob Nightengale of USA Today (via Twitter), which goes a fair sight past the $1.9MM projection for the outstanding young starter, whose 2017 season was limited by injury. And reliever AJ Ramos will take home $9.225MM, according to Wagner (via Twitter). That’s just barely past the $9.2MM projection. Wilmer Flores has also avoided arbitration with the Mets, according to Bob Nightengale of USA Today Sports (on Twitter). He’ll receive a $3.4MM salary, which falls within $300K of his projected rate. The Mets control Flores through the 2019 campaign. The Mets and right-hander Matt Harvey agreed to a one-year deal worth $5.625MM, tweets Nightengale. Harvey, who is a free agent next winter, had been projected to earn $5.9MM. Meanwhile, Marc Carig of Newsday tweets that Jeurys Familia will earn $7.925MM for the upcoming year, while Sportsnet’s Ben Nicholson-Smith reports that catcher Travis d’Arnaud will earn $3.475MM in 2018 (Twitter link). Familia, a free agent next winter, was projected at $7.4MM. The Mets control d’Arnaud through 2019, and his projection was $3.4MM. Righty Hansel Robles gets $900K, Heyman tweets.
- Also via Nightengale (Twitter link), the Nationals agreed to a $6.475MM salary for 2018 with right-hander Tanner Roark. That falls about $1MM shy of his $7.5MM projection but still represents a noted raise of $4.315MM for Roark, whom the Nats control through 2019. Jorge Castillo of the Washington Post adds that Michael Taylor will earn $2.525MM next year. Taylor is controlled through 2020 and was projected at $2.3MM.
- The Phillies and Maikel Franco settled on a $2.95MM salary for the 2018 season, reports Jim Salisbury of CSNPhilly.com (Twitter link). Franco, a Super Two player who’d been projected at $3.6MM, remains under club control with the Phils through the 2021 season. Second bagger Cesar Hernandez will earn at a $5.1MM rate in 2018, per MLB.com’s Todd Zolecki (via Twitter). That beats his $4.7MM projection and wraps up this year’s arb business for the Phillies.
Injury Notes: Pollock, Peralta, Gomez, Choo, Polanco, Manaea
We’ve already learned today that Aroldis Chapman and Yunel Escobar could each miss roughly a month of action, and here’s the update on some more notable injury situations brewing around baseball…
- A.J. Pollock and David Peralta both left today’s Diamondbacks game with injuries, with Pollock suffering a right groin strain while running out a single. According to Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic (Twitter link), Pollock “sounded very frustrated” speaking with media after the game, which could hint at a significant absence. Pollock has battled problems with his left groin in Spring Training and at the end of last season; Pollock didn’t play after September 9 due to the injury, though he could’ve just been shut down since the D’Backs were well out of the race. Pollock entered today hitting .295/.331/.456 over 157 in his comeback season after appearing in only 12 games in 2016 due to a fractured elbow and the aforementioned late-season groin problem.
- Peralta was removed from the game with what the team described as tightness in his right glute. Peralta is also off to a good start for Arizona, carrying a .303/.354/.471 slash line into today’s action. The Diamondbacks have enough outfield roster depth in the outfield to handle going without both Pollock and Peralta for a game or even two, though obviously the team will be hard-pressed to sustain lengthy absences for both star outfielders.
- Carlos Gomez suffered a right hamstring strain while scoring a run (and awkwardly trying to avoid a bat while doing so) during today’s Rangers victory, and had to be removed from the game. The center fielder will undergo an MRI tomorrow, and he feels the injury is “not something I think is too serious,” comparing it to other hamstring problems he’s had in the past. (Hat tip to Stefan Stevenson of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.) Gomez enjoyed a three-hit day before leaving the game, bumping his slash line up to .246/.331/.423 over 164 plate appearances.
- The Rangers had another regular out of action when Shin-Soo Choo was scratched from the lineup due to back spasms. Choo told Stevenson and other reporters that he wasn’t sure if he’ll be ready for Texas’ next game on Tuesday, though his back was feeling better later in the day than it did early Sunday. Lower back inflammation was the cause of one of Choo’s four separate trips to the DL in 2016, which limited him to just 48 games last season.
- Gregory Polanco is day-to-day after leaving today’s game with “left hamstring discomfort” while running out a grounder, as reported by MLB.com’s Adam Berry and others. The Pirates outfielder managed just a .671 OPS in April but has hit better in May as he tries to build on his breakout 2016 season. Polanco’s injury doesn’t sound particularly serious, which would be welcome news to a Bucs outfield that has already lost Starling Marte to a PED suspension.
- In some more positive injury news, Athletics left-hander Sean Manaea is scheduled to return from the DL and start tomorrow night’s game against the Mariners, A’s manager Bob Melvin told reporters (including MLB.com’s Dave Sessions) on Friday. Manaea hasn’t pitched since April 27 due to a strain in his throwing shoulder. The promising young hurler has a 5.18 ERA, 10.0 K/9 and a 2.25 K/BB over 24 1/3 IP for Oakland this season.
David Peralta To Undergo Season-Ending Wrist Surgery
Diamondbacks outfielder David Peralta will undergo season-ending surgery on his right wrist Thursday, reports Steve Gilbert of MLB.com (Twitter link). Peralta’s right wrist has been an issue since he first injured it last year, when he was informed that he may have irritated a ligament, and he has endured two different stints on the disabled list this season because of it. Arizona sent him to the DL on Sunday, and now his 2016 will come to a premature end.
As has been the case with his last-place team, 2016 has been an enormous disappointment for Peralta. After combining to hit .301/.351/.492 with 25 home runs in 865 plate appearances from 2014-15, Peralta’s offensive output dipped to .251/.295/.433 with four HRs in 183 trips to the plate this season.
Injuries obviously didn’t help matters for Peralta, who also spent time on the DL with a lower back strain, nor have the lengthy absences of him and star center fielder A.J. Pollock aided a 47-66 club that entered the season with playoff aspirations. Pollock has missed the entire year because of elbow surgery, though he is working his way back and could return sometime this season. In the meantime, the D-backs will have to rely on the underwhelming group of Michael Bourn, Yasmany Tomas, Socrates Brito, Brandon Drury and Rickie Weeks Jr. in the outfield, as their depth chart indicates. With little contribution from Peralta and none from Pollock, Arizona’s outfield ranks last in the majors in fWAR (minus-1.9).
Going forward, the ultra-cheap Peralta ($529,600) won’t be arbitration eligible until after next season, so the Diamondbacks will get another inexpensive year from him. They also control his rights through the 2020 campaign.
NL Notes: Brewers, Kershaw, Peralta, Rockies
Brewers general manager David Stearns spoke with Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel about the difference between the would-be return for the vetoed Jonathan Lucroy trade with the Indians and the actual return he received from the Rangers in exchange for Lucroy and Jeremy Jeffress. While Milwaukee will end up with three players in exchange for Lucroy and Jeffress in the Rangers trade (as opposed to the four they’d have received from Cleveland for Lucroy alone), the Brewers landed players that are much closer to the big leagues in Lewis Brinson and Luis Ortiz than they would’ve in a Cleveland package that was headlined by Class-A catcher Francisco Mejia. Stearns also added that he’d received “indications” that Lucroy would approve a trade to Cleveland, though he declined to get into specifics about those indications and what they entailed. Lucroy’s rejection of the trade didn’t alter negotiations with other clubs much, according to Stearns, who tells Haudricourt that there was a robust market for his now-former catcher both before and after talks with Cleveland.
A few more notes from the Senior Circuit…
- Clayton Kershaw played catch yesterday for the first time since suffering a setback after throwing a simulated game on July 17, as MLB.com’s Jack Baer writes. Dodgers manager Dave Roberts has already stated that Kershaw won’t be back until September, and as Baer notes, that rules out a possible minor league rehab assignment for Kershaw, as the minor league season comes to a close at the end of August. Kershaw, instead, will rely on bullpen sessions, live batting practice and simulated games to get back up to speed in an effort to help the Dodgers down the stretch.
- Diamondbacks outfielder David Peralta, who was placed on the disabled list for the third time this season yesterday, will undergo an MRI on his bothersome right wrist today, writes MLB.com’s Steve Gilbert. This stint marks the second of Peralta’s three DL trips that has stemmed from inflammation in his right wrist, and Gilbert writes that Peralta was informed last year (when he injured the wrist for the first time) that he may have irritated a ligament.
- The return of Gerardo Parra from the disabled list gives the Rockies four left-handed-hitting outfielders for three spots now that rookie David Dahl has cemented his place in the lineup, writes the Denver Post’s Nick Kosmider. “I’m not sure how it’s going to work out,” said manager Walt Weiss of the moderate logjam with which he is now faced. “I’ve got four really good outfielders, and they are all major league-quality outfielders. I’ve got to keep them all involved. … We can play matchups, those kinds of things. I can’t look into the future and say exactly how it’s going to go. … Parra’s a big part of this moving forward, as are the other three guys. It’s a nice issue to have.” While it seems unlikely that any of the four would be moved in the month of August, the presence of all four outfielders on the Rockies’ roster figures to lead to further speculation surrounding a possible trade of Carlos Gonzalez, Charlie Blackmon or Parra this offseason.
Injury Notes: Gray, Rasmus, Peralta
The latest injury news from around the majors:
- The Athletics’ Sonny Gray is headed to the disabled list for the second time in 2016, this time because of a right forearm strain, Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle was among those to report (on Twitter). Gray’s roster spot will go to fellow righty Chris Smith, who has spent the season with Triple-A Nashville (updated depth chart). This latest injury continues a season to forget for the A’s – who have set a franchise record with 25 DL uses (Twitter link via Slusser) – and Gray, who posted a solid start (five innings, five hits and two earned runs allowed) against the Cubs on Saturday. Unfortunately, though, he had to depart after 72 pitches because of forearm discomfort. Gray previously hit the DL in May with a strained right trapezius and has compiled a shockingly ineffective 5.74 ERA in 116 innings this season. A significant home run spike is largely behind Gray’s bloated ERA. Entering the year, he had logged back-to-back full seasons of ace-like production for Oakland.
- The Diamondbacks have placed outfielder David Peralta on the DL with right wrist inflammation and recalled Socrates Brito from Triple-A Reno, tweets Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic (updated depth chart). This is the third DL stint of the year for Peralta, and two have come as a result of right wrist troubles. Perhaps thanks in part to his injury problems, Peralta has hit an underwhelming .251/.295/.433 with four home runs in 183 plate appearances this year. He was an integral part of the D-backs’ offense from 2014-15, slashing an outstanding .301/.351/.492 with 25 homers in 865 PAs.
- The Astros have sent outfielder Colby Rasmus to the DL because of a cyst in his right ear and recalled Tony Kemp from Triple-A Fresno, per Angel Verdejo Jr. of the Houston Chronicle (updated depth chart). Rasmus, who has tumbled backward since a sizzling start and is currently amid a 3-for-66 slump since July 2, has batted a woeful .211/.286/.352 with 12 home runs in 368 plate appearances. He hit a much better .238/.314/.475 with 28 HRs across 485 trips to the dish last year, leading the Astros to extend him a $15.8MM qualifying offer in the offseason. Rasmus accepted that offer, but it’s fair to say Houston won’t tender him another QO (if they’re still around in the next collective bargaining agreement) during the upcoming winter.
NL West Notes: Duffy, Arroyo, Padres, Chatwood, Peralta, Vogelsong
The Giants announced after last night’s game that third baseman Matt Duffy is headed to the disabled list with a strained Achilles tendon in his left foot. As MLB.com’s Chris Haft writes, Duffy is headed for a second opinion on the injury right now, though the initial expectations don’t appear to forecast a lengthy absence for the 25-year-old. Duffy cautioned that he wants to avoid returning from the injury too soon and aggravating his Achilles, as it could lead to a more prolonged absence. Ramiro Pena and Conor Gillaspie figure to platoon at third base in his absence, writes Haft, with outfielder Mac Williamson a likely candidate to come up and tack Duffy’s roster spot in the interim. Asked whether top prospect Christian Arroyo, who can play either shortstop or third base, would be an option to replace Duffy, general manager Bobby Evans indicated that the organization feels that Arroyo requires more development time in the minor leagues.
More from the NL West…
- Dennis Lin of the San Diego Union Tribune spoke to scouts from both leagues to get their thoughts on a number of the Padres‘ trade candidates, including Fernando Rodney, Jon Jay, Derek Norris, Matt Kemp, Melvin Upton Jr., Drew Pomeranz, Wil Myers and Yangervis Solarte (injured right-handers Tyson Ross and Andrew Cashner are notably absent). One scout noted how difficult it will be to convince a team to take on Kemp’s contract in his “arthritic condition,” and a second scout called both Kemp and Upton “dead weight” despite the latter’s reasonably solid offensive numbers the past two seasons. Regarding Myers and Pomeranz, Lin received a pair of replies saying it’d be prudent to hang onto the pair of controllable pieces, while another pair called out each player’s limited track record in questioning their overall value. As one scout put it, a “lot of people are lukewarm about [Myers] across the game” at this time.
- Rockies right-hander Tyler Chatwood is among the most successful two-time Tommy John patients in history, writes Nick Groke of the Denver Post. Chatwood is currently the only two-time TJ patient that is currently making regular starts at the Major League level, and he’s pitched to a 3.15 ERA in 85 2/3 innings for the Rockies thus far in 2016. Chatwood credits his success to a dedication to studying other elite pitchers and adopting a mix of pitches that he feels could be less stressful on his arm upon returning from his second surgery. Groke calls Chatwood the ace of the Rox’ staff, though I’d respectfully disagree and give that label to up-and-coming Jon Gray; while Gray’s ERA pales in comparison, his strikeout, walk and swinging-strike rates all point to improvement on the horizon. Regardless of one’s preference between the two, though, Gray and Chatwood represent a nice pair of arms for the Rockies to deploy in their rotation moving forward.
- D-backs outfielder David Peralta, who landed on the disabled list with a back strain yesterday, is getting an MRI today according to Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic (on Twitter). Neither Peralta nor the team believes the injury to be too serious in nature, so the test would appear to be fairly precautionary in nature.
- Pirates righty Ryan Vogelsong, who spent the 2011-15 seasons with the Giants, told reporters yesterday (including Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle) that he would have loved to return to San Francisco but understood why the team elected not to pursue him this winter. “I kind of knew they were probably going after some front-line guys for the rotation to make it better and give them more innings and take a load of the bullpen,” Vogelsong explained. “It was never my intention to make it seem like I didn’t want to go back there. I would have loved to go back. It was a matter of a team progressing.” Vogelsong is currently recovering from a truly frightening eye injury suffered when he was hit in the face by a fastball. As he explained to Schulman, he feels fortunate that he’s able to see out of his left eye and is currently seeing with 20-20 vision and making throws of up to 90 feet.