Evan Longoria

Injury Notes: Lewis, May, Gray, Longoria, Giants

By Sean Bavazzano | May 3, 2022 at 10:18pm CDT

The Mariners announced that center fielder Kyle Lewis has begun a rehab assignment in Triple-A tonight, his first competitive assignment since he tore his meniscus last May. Foreshadowing what may come when the 2020 AL Rookie of the Year makes it back to the majors, the 26-year-old Lewis swatted a home run on his first swing back in minor league game action. Equally encouraging for M’s fans is manager Scott Servais’s assessment, who according to MLB.com’s Daniel Kramer notes the team can be “a little bit more aggressive than we’d normally be” in promoting Lewis.

Cutting a 20-day rehab assignment short would be a bold move for a player who played in just 36 games last season, but clearly speaks to the team’s confidence in Lewis’s recovery. For what it’s worth, the Mariners aren’t exactly hurting for offense at the moment, as they rank third in the AL in runs scored. The high-upside outfield trio of Jesse Winker, Julio Rodriguez, and Jarred Kelenic, as well as a mishmash of DH options, have yet to really get it going however, and seem likely to cede time to the right-handed Lewis in the coming weeks.

Some additional injury updates from around the league…

Mets reliever Trevor May is headed to the 10-day IL with triceps inflammation in his throwing arm, per Tim Healey of Newsday Sports. The typically reliable right-hander is off to a rough start in the 2022 season, allowing sixteen batters to reach base and half of them to score across eight appearances. The Mets currently sit atop the NL win column with an 18-8 record but if there’s one nit to pick with the team’s outstanding play so far it’s the bullpen, who have been a bottom-half unit in terms of run prevention this season. A return to health and vintage form from May will go a long way to shoring up the bullpen and taking pressure off the team’s lineup and rotation, both of which rank as top-5 groups in the sport. Right-hander Adonis Medina, who was acquired from the Pirates in early April, has been recalled to fill the bullpen vacancy.
The Rangers meanwhile welcomed back right-handed starter Jon Gray from the IL today after he sprained in his knee in his previous start. Gray, one of several splashy signings made by Texas this offseason, has yet to get into a groove with his new club. The 30-year-old has already been placed on the IL twice during the young season, and was pulled after 60 pitches in tonight’s match against the Phillies. A rough first inning ballooned his ERA up to 7.50 on the season, but a quiet pair of ensuing innings is what the Rangers and their beleaguered pitching staff will be looking for more of moving forward. Right-handed reliever Albert Abreu, acquired from the Yankees in April’s Jose Trevino trade, heads to the IL in Gray’s stead with a sprained ankle. Abreu has managed a solid 3.57 ERA on the year, albeit with a worrying 11 walks in just over seven innings of action.
The Athletic’s Andrew Baggarly rolled out a cavalcade of positive health updates on ailing Giants players today. Notably, injured infielders Evan Longoria and Tommy La Stella will join recovering outfielder LaMonte Wade Jr. on a rehab assignment in Triple-A. Outfielders Joc Pederson and Mike Yastrzemski are nearing full-time returns as well after a right adductor strain and positive COVID test interrupted their respective seasons. Right-handed starter Anthony DeSclafani has also made progress in his recovery from the right ankle inflammation that recently landed him on the IL. Healthy returns from the listed players would be a boon for the club, who currently have several regulars out for COVID-related reasons. Despite sporting an IL that is more recognizable than the starting lineup, the Giants haven’t missed a beat from last season. The team is currently a half game out of first in the NL West, behind the Dodgers and Padres, with a top-3 bullpen and offense that only figures to get deeper in the next few days.

Evan Longoria Expected To Miss Six Weeks

By Steve Adams | March 30, 2022 at 1:01pm CDT

Giants third baseman Evan Longoria is expected to miss at least six weeks following this week’s surgery to repair a damaged ligament in his right index finger, manager Gabe Kapler told reporters this morning (Twitter link via Maria I. Guardado of MLB.com). Utilityman Wilmer Flores is expected to man third base for the Giants on Opening Day in place of Longoria.

It’s a tough blow for the Giants, as the 36-year-old Longoria enjoyed a resurgent 2021 campaign at the plate when he batted .261/.351/.482 with 13 homers and 17 doubles in 291 plate appearances. A shoulder sprain kept the former Rookie of the Year and three-time All-Star out of action for two months over the summer, however, and Longoria will now endure another absence of note thanks to this latest injury. He’ll likely be sidelined into mid-May.

Flores, 30, is no stranger to third base, having played more than 1500 innings there in his career — including 430 frames last year while Longoria was on the shelf. Depending on the health of fellow infielder Tommy La Stella, Flores could be used in either a regular role or in a platoon setting at the hot corner. While Flores’ career .263/.311/.413 slash against righties is plenty respectable, it’s not as strong as his .278/.321/.502 line against lefties. The Giants have a pair of left-handed-hitting options who could see time at third base, Tommy La Stella and Jason Vosler, but La Stella figures to receive a good bit of playing time at second base as well. Versatile infielder Thairo Estrada, another righty bat, also figures to see an uptick in playing time with Longoria out. Likewise, infielder/outfielder Mauricio Dubon has experience at both second base and third base.

Suffice it to say, Kapler will have plenty of options to mix-and-match his infield alignment depending on the day’s matchup. The loss of Longoria nevertheless subtracts a source of right-handed pop from a lineup that’s also going to be without lefty-hitting LaMonte Wade Jr. for at least the season’s first week, if not a bit longer.

Longoria is in the final guaranteed season of a six-year, $100MM contract extension he signed while still playing with his original organization, the Rays, who selected him with the No. 3 overall pick back in 2006. The Giants hold a $13MM option for the 2023 season, though their decision on Longoria will actually be a net $8MM, as he’s owed a $5MM buyout even if the option is declined.

Evan Longoria To Undergo Finger Surgery

By Anthony Franco | March 28, 2022 at 9:06pm CDT

The Giants announced this evening that third baseman Evan Longoria will undergo surgery to repair a ligament in his right index finger (via Alex Pavlovic of NBC Sports Bay Area). His timetable is unclear, but the team noted that his finger is expected to be immobilized for at least ten days.

More will be known about how long the Giants will be without Longoria in the next few days, but he’s at least slated to open the year on the injured list. Opening Day is eight days away, meaning his finger is likely to remain immobilized by the time games get underway. He’ll assuredly need some time between then and his return to MLB action to partake in some baseball activities and perhaps embark on a minor league rehab assignment.

It’ll be the fifth consecutive season with an injured list stint for Longoria, who hasn’t reached 600 plate appearances in a year since 2017. He missed a couple months last year due to a shoulder issue, but the three-time All-Star enjoyed something of an offensive resurgence when he was healthy. Last season’s .261/.351/.482 line was his best showing on a rate basis since 2016, although he only appeared in half of San Francisco’s games.

With Longoria out of action to open the season, the Giants figure to mix and match at the hot corner. Wilmer Flores will probably see a good bit of action there, while San Francisco has a pair of out-of-options utilitymen in Thairo Estrada and Mauricio Dubón vying for bench roles. All three of those players hit right-handed, as does the recently-acquired Luke Williams. The Giants have lefty-hitting corner infielder Jason Vosler on the 40-man roster as well, but the 28-year-old has a limited MLB track record and a pair of minor league option years remaining.

NL Injury Notes: Giants, Floro, Ahmed, Simmons

By Mark Polishuk | March 27, 2022 at 9:37am CDT

The Giants provided updates on some veteran names who have yet to appear in Spring Training games, though Brandon Belt and Evan Longoria are both expected to be ready for Opening Day, manager Gabe Kapler told MLB.com’s Maria Guardado and other reporters. Longoria has been dealing with right index finger tendinitis, while Belt has inflammation in his right knee. The latter issue might be the bigger problem on paper, given Belt’s history of knee injuries, but Kapler said “We don’t really have concerns. It’s just going to be a later start for Brandon.”

Tommy La Stella has also yet to take the field this spring, but is running the bases and taking part in other baseball activities. After undergoing Achilles surgery in October, La Stella is now “getting very close to being ready,” Kapler said, and “Tommy has shared strongly that he wants the opportunity to be ahead of schedule and be ready for Opening Day.” The final call will be up to La Stella and the team’s training staff, but even if La Stella isn’t quite ready to go when San Francisco begins play, Kapler intimated that the infielder wouldn’t miss too much time.

Some other injury notes from around the National League…

Dylan Floro has yet to pitch during Spring Training, as the right-hander is dealing with some arm soreness. Marlins manager Don Mattingly was non-committal about Floro’s readiness for the Opening Day roster, telling MLB.com’s Christina De Nicola and other reporters that “We’ll just have to see how that goes,” though Mattingly did note that Floro worked through some similar issues last year with no ill effects during the season. One of baseball’s more underrated relievers of the last four seasons, Floro posted a 2.81 ERA over 64 innings in 2021, his first year in Miami. This performance had put Floro in line for perhaps the majority of ninth-inning work for the Marlins this season, though Mattingly said “I think we’re going to be more of a mix-and-match club” for save situations. Some new faces could also be joining the bullpen, as GM Kim Ng has stated the Marlins are exploring the relief market.
Nick Ahmed’s bothersome right shoulder is “good enough” for the Diamondbacks shortstop “to be out there right now,” but Ahmed told The Arizona Republic’s Nick Piecoro that his shoulder still isn’t 100 percent after almost two years of intermittent soreness. Even after receiving two injections in his shoulder this past offseason, Ahmed said the treatment “didn’t go great, how I wanted them to go. I just ended up rehabbing it most of the offseason.” Surgery doesn’t appear to be an option at this point, as Ahmed said he has been working out a training regiment to help keep his shoulder strong and capable of holding up over 162 games. Between his nagging shoulder injury and a knee problem, Ahmed admitted that injuries played a big part in his steep dropoff at the plate, as the shortstop batted only .221/.280/.339 in 473 plate appearances in 2021. On the plus side, Ahmed’s health didn’t hamper his fielding, as he was still one of the game’s better defensive shortstops.
Speaking of Gold Glove shortstops, Andrelton Simmons is also dealing with some right shoulder soreness, Cubs manager told reporters (including The Chicago Tribune’s Meghan Montemurro). Simmons hasn’t played the last two days and was in Thursday’s lineup only as the DH. Simmons joined the Cubs on a one-year, $4MM deal soon after the lockout ended.

Injury Notes: Giolito, Longoria, Torres, Moreland, McGowin

By Anthony Franco | September 3, 2021 at 7:32pm CDT

The White Sox placed Lucas Giolito on the 10-day injured list, retroactive to September 1, due to a left hamstring strain this afternoon. It seems the move is mostly precautionary, as manager Tony La Russa told reporters (including Daryl Van Schouwen of the Chicago Sun-Times) that Giolito is scheduled to throw a bullpen session next Wednesday. The White Sox can afford to be especially cautious with even minor injuries for their top players, as they’re coasting to a division title and hoping to get everybody right for the postseason. Giolito has a 3.69 ERA/3.68 SIERA over 158 1/3 innings this season.

Some more health situations around the league:

The Giants announced they’ve activated third baseman Evan Longoria from the 10-day injured list. The 35-year-old returns in time for perhaps the club’s biggest series of the year, as San Francisco is set to kick off a three-game set against the Dodgers, with whom they’re tied atop the NL West. Injuries have limited Longoria to 199 plate appearances this season, but he’s looked rejuvenated when healthy. Longoria owns a .289/.382/.526 line with ten home runs. Mauricio Dubón was optioned to clear active roster space.
The Yankees activated shortstop Gleyber Torres from the 10-day injured list before this evening’s game with the Orioles. The 24-year-old returns after a three-week absence due to a thumb sprain. Torres got off to a slow start but looked like he’d begun to turn a corner offensively before going down. He has a .253/.328/.351 mark across 407 plate appearances altogether. New York optioned outfielder Estevan Florial in a corresponding move.
Athletics designated hitter/first baseman Mitch Moreland landed on the 10-day injured list with left wrist tendinitis earlier this week. Manager Bob Melvin told reporters (including Matt Kawahara of the San Francisco Chronicle) that Moreland’s wrist will be in a splint “for at least a few weeks.” With a month remaining in the regular season, that would seemingly put Moreland’s season in jeopardy — at least barring an A’s postseason run. Moreland has struggled to a .227/.286/.415 line across 252 plate appearances this season, a disappointing follow-up to a strong 2020 campaign split between the Red Sox and Padres.
The Nationals placed reliever Kyle McGowin on the 10-day injured list this afternoon. The right-hander has a UCL sprain in his throwing elbow and will see a specialist to determine his course of treatment, relays Mark Zuckerman of MASNsports.com. Any injury to a pitcher’s UCL raises the specter of a potential Tommy John surgery, although there’s no indication McGowin is facing any sort of procedure just yet. The 29-year-old has made 30 relief appearances for the Nats this season, working to a 4.20 ERA/3.85 SIERA.

Health Notes: Tucker, Escobar, Longoria, Carlson

By Anthony Franco | August 24, 2021 at 9:41pm CDT

The Astros activated outfielder Kyle Tucker from the COVID-19 injured list before this evening’s game against the Royals. Fellow outfielder Chas McCormick landed on the 10-day injured list with left hand soreness in a corresponding move. Tucker, who has been out since August 14, confirmed to reporters (including Brian McTaggart of MLB.com) he’d tested positive for the coronavirus. The 24-year-old has had a stellar season at the plate, hitting .272/.334/.519 with 22 homers over 420 plate appearances. McCormick has also had a quality year, positing a .260/.319/.466 line and earning a larger share of playing time in center field following Houston’s trade of Myles Straw to the Indians at the deadline. Fellow rookie Jake Meyers looks likely to handle center while McCormick’s out of action. The Astros hold a four-game advantage over the A’s in the AL West.

More on other notable health situations around the league:

The Brewers placed infielder Eduardo Escobar on the 10-day injured list with a right hamstring strain this afternoon. Manager Craig Counsell told reporters (including Adam McCalvy of MLB.com) the expectation is that Escobar will be sidelined for around two weeks. Escobar has continued to perform well since being traded from the Diamondbacks to Milwaukee, hitting .280/.337/.451 over 89 plate appearances. Luis Urías should step back in at the hot corner on a daily basis while Escobar’s sidelined. Milwaukee holds a comfortable seven and a half game lead over the Reds in the NL Central entering the clubs’ series this week.
The Giants activated third baseman Evan Longoria from the COVID-19 IL to instead place him on the 10-day IL with a right hand contusion. Longoria had only been on the COVID IL for a couple days after experiencing vaccine side effects, but he’s now in line to miss at least a week and a half with his current hand issue. Longoria just made it back from a two-month absence due to a shoulder strain last week, but he was hit by a pitch during last Wednesday’s game. When healthy, Longoria has been fantastic this season, hitting .289/.382/.526 with ten homers across 199 plate appearances. His performance has been among the reasons for San Francisco’s three-game advantage over the Dodgers in the NL West. To temporarily open 40-man roster space for Longoria, the Giants placed Kevin Gausman on the COVID IL. Gausman is dealing with vaccine side effects himself, but there’s no indication he won’t be ready for his scheduled start on Friday against the Braves. San Francisco will need to make a 40-man transaction at that point.
The Cardinals welcomed outfielder Dylan Carlson back from the injured list today. The 22-year-old missed just under two weeks with a right wrist issue. Carlson has had a nice rookie season, hitting .261/.341/.419 while seeing action at all three outfield spots. With Harrison Bader healthy, Carlson can stick in a corner role for which he’s better suited. St. Louis trails the Reds by four and a half games for the National League’s final playoff spot, so continued above-average offensive output from Carlson would be a boon if the Cards are to make a surprise playoff push over the season’s final few weeks.

Giants Place Anthony DeSclafani, Evan Longoria On IL

By Darragh McDonald | August 22, 2021 at 4:18pm CDT

The Giants have placed Anthony DeSclafani and Evan Longoria on the IL, per a team announcement. Longoria is going on the COVID IL because of vaccine side effects, per Andrew Baggarly of The Athletic. DeSclafani’s placement, retroactive to August 19th, is due to right ankle inflammation. The two roster spots will be taken by lefty Sammy Long and righty Jay Jackson. Additionally, Reyes Moronta was activated from his rehab assignment and optioned to Triple-A.

For Longoria, he should be able to return in a day or two, once he feels better. (The COVID IL has no minimum stay.) The loss of DeSclafani, however, is the more worrisome news for the Giants as he has been a solid member of the rotation this season. After a down year with Cincinnati in 2020, San Fran scooped him up for a one-year, $6MM deal, getting tremendous value for that outlay. Desclafani’s tally of 132 2/3 innings is second only to Kevin Gausman on the club this year. His ERA of 3.26 over that span is the 14th-best mark in all of MLB. He’s recently hit a bit of a snag, however, going on the IL for the second time this month. He endured a minimum stay starting August 4th because of shoulder fatigue and will now go back on the shelf because of this ankle inflammation.

It’s unclear how long the hurler is expected to be sidelined, but even another minimum stay will be impactful. After an off-day on Monday, the Giants will enter a stretch of playing 16 days in a row. They are also without Johnny Cueto, who recently went on the IL himself, whittling the rotation down to Gausman, Logan Webb and Alex Wood. This all comes as the Dodgers have crept up on the Giants in the standings, narrowing the gap to 1 1/2 games going into today’s action.

Sammy Long will likely slot into the rotation at some point during the next few weeks. He’s just recently been getting stretched out after his own IL stint but was able to throw five innings in his most recent Triple-A start. In eight games at the MLB level this year, four starts, he’s absorbed 28 1/3 innings with an elevated ERA of 5.72, but more a more palatable 3.84 xERA, 3.96 SIERA and 3.63 FIP.

Cueto is eligible to return at any point now, though it’s unclear if that’s expected. Without him, the club may have to turn to its depth, though that also just took a hit with Tyler Beede being placed on the 60-day IL just a few days ago. The Giant signed Matt Shoemaker to a minor league deal a few weeks back, though he’s having a nightmare season. Released by the Twins after posting an ERA north of 8.00, his time in the Giants’ org hasn’t improved things. In a small sample of three appearances with the Triple-A Sacramento River Cats, his ERA is 9.45.

NL Notes: Bryant, Cubs, Mets, Baez, Lindor, Longoria

By Mark Polishuk | August 21, 2021 at 10:37pm CDT

The blockbuster trade between the Mets and Cubs on deadline day was almost even bigger, as The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal writes that Kris Bryant was also part of talks between the two clubs. The actual trade saw Javier Baez and Trevor Williams go to New York in exchange for top prospect Pete Crow-Armstrong, but Rosenthal reports that the larger version of the swap would’ve also seen the Mets land Bryant and another player off of Chicago’s big league roster. In exchange, the Cubs would have received not only Crow-Armstrong, but also “a prospect they regarded even more highly and a major leaguer under multi-year club control.”

However, the Mets learned of Jacob deGrom’s injury setback on deadline day, which likely made the team wary of making too big of an all-in move. Given how the Cubs were very busy in reshaping their team at the deadline, it’s possible the mystery player could have been any of the players instead dealt elsewhere (i.e. Craig Kimbrel, Jake Marisnick) or possibly someone who is still in a Cubs uniform today. It’s probably safe to guess that one of Francisco Alvarez, Brett Baty, Ronny Mauricio, Matthew Allan, or J.T. Ginn was the blue-chip Mets prospect in question, unless the Cubs were intrigued by someone outside of the upper tier of New York’s prospect rankings.

Giants Reinstate Evan Longoria From 60-Day Injured List

By Mark Polishuk | August 14, 2021 at 6:08pm CDT

Evan Longoria is back with the Giants, as the team announced that the veteran third baseman has been activated off of the 60-day injured list. The Giants also placed righty Jay Jackson on the COVID-related injured list and optioned Thairo Estrada to Triple-A, while calling up left-hander Sammy Long from Triple-A to start tonight’s game.

Longoria suffered a sprained shoulder in early June, which halted a major comeback year for the 35-year-old. After posting a below-average 94 wRC+ from 2017-2020, Longoria exploded for a 140 wRC+, nine home runs, and a .280/.376/.516 slash line over his first 186 plate appearances of the 2021 season. Small sample size notwithstanding, the advanced numbers backed up Longoria’s improvement, as he had a whopping 61.3% hard-hit rate (per Statcast) at the time of his injury. There were some earlier hints of a breakout, as Longoria greatly underperformed his xwOBA in both 2019 and 2020, though his underperformance this season (.380 wOBA to a .401 xwOBA) is at least a fairer representation of how well he has been hitting.

The Giants have kept on winning in Longoria’s absence, and his return as the regular third baseman will create some shuffling around the roster. Wilmer Flores and, most recently, Kris Bryant have been seeing action at the hot corner, and it’s safe to assume that those two and Tommy La Stella could get the odd start at third base to spell Longoria. Bryant will be playing everyday in some capacity around the diamond and will likely see more time in the outfield with Longoria back, while Flores, La Stella, and Donovan Solano will jostle for playing time at second base.

This surplus of talent falls into the “good problem to have” category for the first-place Giants, and Estrada is going to Triple-A despite hitting .300/.371/.438 over 89 PA this season. Estrada, however, still has minor league options remaining, which makes him the unlucky odd man out on the rather stacked San Francisco roster.

Jackson’s absence is due to vaccine side effects, according to Kerry Crowley of the Bay Area News Group (Twitter link). That should mean a very brief absence for the 33-year-old, who has a 3.77 ERA and 37.5% strikeout rate over 14 1/3 relief innings this season.

Giants Activate Brandon Belt From Injured List

By Anthony Franco | August 5, 2021 at 1:53pm CDT

The Giants announced they’ve reinstated first baseman Brandon Belt from the 10-day injured list. He’s starting at first base, hitting seventh in the order this afternoon against the Diamondbacks. To create active roster space, starter Kevin Gausman was placed on the paternity list.

Belt returns after missing around six weeks with right knee inflammation, his second IL stint of the season. In between the injuries, the 33-year-old had been having a quietly excellent year at the plate, hitting .253/.363/.512 with eleven home runs across 201 plate appearances. A career-high 32.3% strikeout rate has knocked a bit of a blow to Belt’s batting average, but he’s again demonstrated a very good combination of plate discipline and power.

Going back to the start of the 2020 season, Belt has a .279/.392/.549 line. By measure of wRC+ (minimum 300 plate appearances), only Mike Trout, Juan Soto, Fernando Tatís Jr., Ronald Acuña Jr., Vladimir Guerrero Jr., George Springer and Bryce Harper have been more productive on a rate basis. However, Belt’s injuries have kept him to a little more than half the playing time of some of those star players.

In other positive news for the Giants, third baseman Evan Longoria is beginning a minor league rehab assignment with Triple-A Sacramento this evening, the team told reporters (including Alex Pavlovic of NBC Sports Bay Area). Longoria has been down since June 6 with a left shoulder sprain, but he’s apparently nearing a return. The 35-year-old was enjoying a resurgent season before the injury, hitting .280/.376/.516 through his first 186 plate appearances. The stellar production from Belt and Longoria has been a significant part of the Giants’ league-best 68-40 record, good for a 3.5 game lead in the National League West.

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