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NL Health Notes: Braves, Mets, Cards, Giants, Padres, Dodgers

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The Braves placed outfielder Ronald Acuna Jr. on the injured list Saturday (retroactive to Aug. 12) because of left wrist inflammation, and the team’s hope then was that Acuna would be back by the upcoming weekend. However, there’s still no timetable for the superstar’s return, per The Athletic’s David O’Brien, who reports he’s continuing to battle soreness in his wrist. Meanwhile, second baseman Ozzie Albies – whom the Braves put on the IL on Aug. 5 with a bone contusion in his right wrist – is progressing but still has a ways to go, according to O’Brien.

  • Mets starters David Peterson and Jacob deGrom will take the ball as scheduled Tuesday and Wednesday, respectively, Tim Healey of Newsday relays. Peterson had to leave his previous start last Thursday against the Nationals with left shoulder fatigue, while the club scratched deGrom on Friday because of a stiff neck. They’ve been the two best members of the rotation this year for the struggling Mets, as Peterson has performed like one of the game’s top rookies and the back-to-back Cy Young winner deGrom has continued to shine.
  • Cardinals righty Carlos Martinez and infielder Edmundo Sosa have been cleared to resume baseball activities, manager Mike Shildt announced to Mark Saxon of The Athletic and other reporters. They’re two of the many Cardinals who recently tested positive for the coronavirus. It’s not clear when either could return, as Shildt noted they’ll need time to build themselves back up. Martinez, long a key part of the Cardinals’ pitching staff, made one very rocky appearance earlier this season. Sosa hasn’t played in the majors this year.
  • Giants righty Jeff Samardzija will begin a throwing program Wednesday, according to the club (via Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle). Samardzija went on the injured list Aug. 8 with a shoulder impingement, which came after he opened the season with three rough performances. The pending free agent, 35, owns a ghastly 9.88 ERA across 13 2/3 innings, has already given up 18 hits and six home runs, and has only struck out five hitters.
  • The Padres placed catcher Francisco Mejia on the IL on Monday with a thumb bruise, Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union-Tribune tweets. With him and outfielder Tommy Pham (previously reported) headed to the shelf, the Padres recalled backstop Luis Torrens and utility player Ty France. Prior to going on the IL, Mejia got off to a woeful start this year with an .079/.146/.184 line in 41 plate appearances. He and fellow Padres catcher Austin Hedges have combined for a disastrous minus-1 wRC+ over 79 trips to the plate thus far.
  • The Dodgers announced that they’ve placed infielder Edwin Rios on the IL with a left hamstring strain and recalled lefty Adam Kolarek. The Rios injury is a blow to the Dodgers’ offense, as even though he’s just a part-time player, the 26-year-old has done nothing but hit since debuting last season. So far in 2020, Rios has slashed .276/.323/.690 with three home runs in 31 plate appearances.

NL Notes: Dodgers, Cubs, Giants

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The Mookie Betts trade is in the books, but now that Joc Pederson is no longer headed to the Angels, the Dodgers will have to sort out their 40-man roster, tweets Bill Plunkett of the Orange County Register. The Dodgers have 42 players on their 40-man roster at present. Finding a new trade partner for Pederson and/or Ross Stripling might be the most obvious answer, but the Dodgers may prefer not to rush a transaction of that magnitude. Speculatively speaking, Tyler White could find himself on the chopping block, with Kyle Garlick, Zach McKinstry and Edwin Rios other non-established big leaguers whom the Dodgers may need to consider moving or exposing to waivers. While we wait for the final confirmation of this deal to go through, let’s check in elsewhere around the National League…

  • Theo Epstein saw the writing was on the wall long before the Cubs’ current financial strictures so severely limited their transactional flexibility, per Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun Times. Epstein references a pattern – the Cubs, Astros, Red Sox – of teams reckoning with their young stars graduating into the arbitration process. After years of supporting homegrown cores with free agent additions in efforts to win a World Series, the Red Sox, Astros and Cubs, for differing reasons, have entered new phases. Sure enough, the Astros had to let Gerrit Cole walk in free agency, the Red Sox just shipped Mookie Betts to the Dodgers, and the Cubs are said to have been shopping Kris Bryant for most of the winter. Of course, the Cubs haven’t yet moved their young stars, but their value has declined. Epstein and company are stuck choosing between trading the stars from the cursebreaking Cubs at lower than peak value and watching them depreciate into a mediocre ballclub. Of course, there’s always the possibility of a bounceback for this Cubs core, but even a return to prominence in the NL Central would not provide the answers Epstein needs when it comes to the futures of Anthony Rizzo, Kris Bryant, Javier Baez, Willson Contreras, Kyle Schwarber and company.
  • The Giants have extended a non-roster spring training invitation to catcher Ricardo Genoves, per Kerry Crowley of the Bay Area News Group. Given the timing, it’s safe to assume Genoves inclusion in the spring cohort comes as a result of the injury that will keep Aramis Garcia out for most of next season. That said, his inclusion is more about gaining a learning experience, and he’s not actually in the running for the Giants’ backup catching spot, per The Athletic’s Andrew Baggarly. Still, it seems a good opportunity for the 20-year-old Venezuelan backstop, and perhaps one that will put him on the radar of league officials league-wide. He was signed by the Giants at the open of the international signing period in 2015, but he tapped into real power at the dish for the first time this past season. Genoves managed a .265/.335/.469 line with 9 home runs in 51 games with Salem-Keizer of the Northwest League and Augusta in Low-A. 

Dodgers Activate Jedd Gyorko From IL

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10:54 am: Gonsolin’s promotion won’t merely be a one-day spot start. Manager Dave Roberts tells Ken Gurnick of MLB.com the rookie will stay on the active roster through at least next week to make one additional start.

9:04 am: The Dodgers announced today they have activated infielder Jedd Gyorko from the 60-day injured list. Additionally, the club has recalled right-hander Tony Gonsolin from Triple-A Oklahoma City and optioned right-handed reliever Josh Sborz and first baseman Edwin Ríos to clear active roster space (h/t to Jorge Castillo of the Los Angeles Times). No corresponding 40-man roster move was required.

Gyorko’s first game back will also be his first as a Dodger. He suffered back and wrist issues while playing for the Cardinals, but LA nevertheless acquired him at the deadline while he was on the shelf. With the NL West all but a mathematical lock, the Dodgers could afford to acquire a player not healthy enough to contribute immediately who could play a role for them in October. Gyorko has experience at all four infield positions, although he’s probably best suited in the corners, and was a solid all-around player for St. Louis between 2016 and 2018. His injury-ravaged 2019 season means LA will almost certainly buy him out for $1M after the season, rather than exercise his $13MM club option for 2020, but he adds to the club’s already-enviable depth. He’s starting at first base today against Atlanta.

Gonsolin will start this afternoon’s game. The rookie is a solid prospect who has pitched well but not spectacularly with Triple-A Oklahoma City in abbreviated outings. Over 41.1 innings, he’s worked to a 4.35 ERA (better than it appears at first glance in the Pacific Coast League) with high strikeout (26.2%) and walk (11.0%) rates. He’s pitched quite well in three MLB appearances.

Sborz and Ríos, both 25, each made their MLB debuts in 2019 as well. Sborz tossed three innings out of the bullpen and has dominated in Triple-A this year, while Ríos raked in limited big league action as a lefty bench bat. The corner infielder has slashed .266/.339/.551 in Triple-A, which looks more impressive at first glance than it actually is. That output’s only six percent better than average for the level, although Ríos has a stronger track record of hitting in the high minors the past couple years.

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