Astros Outright Jairo Solis
MARCH 18: Solis has cleared waivers and been outrighted to Triple-A Sugar Land, tweets Chandler Rome of the Houston Chronicle. He’ll remain in the organization but no longer occupies a spot on the 40-man roster.
MARCH 15: The Astros announced this afternoon they’ve designated right-hander Jairo Solis for assignment (relayed by Jake Kaplan of the Athletic). The move clears 40-man roster space for the signing of utilityman Niko Goodrum, which has been made official.
Solis, 22, has yet to pitch above Low-A. Signed for a $450K bonus during the 2016-17 international signing period, he quickly elevated his prospect status with a velocity spike in pro ball. Baseball America wrote in 2019 that he’d run his fastball up to 98 MPH and slotted him among the top half of Houston’s top 30 prospects every year from 2018-20. Eric Longenhagen of FanGraphs ranked him third in the Houston farm system as recently as last year, while his colleague Kevin Goldstein wrote in February that Solis could emerge as a top 100 overall prospect with a breakout performance in 2021.
Unfortunately, Solis’ past few seasons have been destroyed by injuries. He underwent Tommy John surgery late in 2018, missing all of the following campaign. The cancelation of the 2020 minor league season prevented Solis from pitching in game action, then he suffered another elbow injury last year. He underwent a second Tommy John procedure in June, likely costing him most or all of the upcoming season.
If Solis indeed misses the entire 2022 season, he won’t have pitched in a single affiliated game between 2019-22. Houston added him to their 40-man roster during the 2020-21 offseason to keep him from being poached in the Rule 5 draft, but after another health setback, they’ll now make him available to other clubs. The Astros could have elected to place him on the 60-day injured list to open a roster spot, but doing so would’ve required paying him a major league salary and granting him MLB service time. Instead, they’ll presumably try to pass him through waivers in hopes that he can be kept in the system without requiring either a roster spot or MLB pay.
Astros’ Jairo Solis Undergoes Tommy John Surgery
Astros right-handed pitching prospect Jairo Solis underwent Tommy John surgery yesterday, the team told reporters (including Chandler Rome of the Houston Chronicle). That obviously ends any chance of Solis pitching in 2021 and it’ll sideline him for most or all of the 2022 campaign.
It’s a horrible development for Solis, who also underwent Tommy John surgery late in 2018. That kept him out of action for all of 2019, and he obviously didn’t get an opportunity to pitch in a game last year because of the canceled minor league season. Solis also had a procedure to remove loose bodies from his elbow earlier this year, so he hasn’t pitched this season. If he’s indeed out through 2022, he’ll be looking at a staggering four straight years without game action.
In between the injuries, Solis has flashed impact upside. Entering the year, Eric Longenhagen of FanGraphs credited him with four average or better pitches and ranked him as Houston’s #3 prospect. Longenhagen’s colleague, Kevin Goldstein, wrote that Solis could emerge as a top 100 overall prospect with a breakout performance this summer. Unfortunately, repeated elbow troubles will keep him from getting that opportunity.
The Astros added Solis to the 40-man roster last winter in advance of the Rule 5 draft. He’s spent all of 2021 on the minor league injured list. Players on the minor league IL continue to count against the 40-man roster, so today’s surgery could create a difficult decision for the front office. They surely wouldn’t want to part with a pitcher of his caliber, but it’s possible a roster crunch could force their hand. Houston could add Solis to the major league 60-day injured list to open 40-man roster space during the season, but that’d require paying him a major league salary and he’d still need to be activated from the IL over the offseason.
Injury Notes: Mondesi, Gonsolin, Strasburg, Solis
The Royals have stormed out of the gate with a 16-9 start to take an early lead in the AL Central. That’s in spite of the absence of shortstop Adalberto Mondesi, who was placed on the injured list just before the regular season kicked off due to a right oblique strain. There’s still no timetable for the 25-year-old’s return to game action, but he made a notable step in his rehab process this week. Mondesi recently participated in a batting practice session, per manager Mike Matheny (via Anne Rogers of MLB.com). Royals’ shortstops (primarily Nicky Lopez) have hit .254/.325/.338 in Mondesi’s absence, which is tied for twelfth in park-adjusted offense (90 wRC+) at the position.
Some more injury situations around the league:
- Dodgers righty Tony Gonsolin has also yet to make his regular season debut- in his case, on account of inflammation in his throwing shoulder. Gonsolin has progressed to working off a mound, though, throwing a 20-pitch bullpen session earlier this week (via Bill Plunkett of the Orange County Register). The 26-year-old has emerged as another potential quality rotation option for Los Angeles, working to a 2.60 ERA/4.11 SIERA across his first 20 MLB appearances (14 starts) between 2019-20. Even before the injury, though, Gonsolin was slated to start this season in the bullpen on account of the Dodgers’ incredible rotation depth.
- Stephen Strasburg threw approximately 30 pitches in a bullpen session this morning, Mark Zuckerman of MASNsports.com was among those to note. It’s the right-hander’s first mound work since he was placed on the injured list two weeks ago with inflammation in his pitching shoulder. Washington still hasn’t offered a ton of clarity as to when Strasburg is expected to return to game action. The former World Series MVP has been limited to two unproductive starts so far this year.
- Astros right-handed pitching prospect Jairo Solis will be out approximately three months after undergoing surgery to remove loose bodies from his elbow, per Jake Kaplan of the Athletic (Twitter link). It’s a disappointing development for a young hurler who missed the entire 2019 season after undergoing Tommy John surgery. Entering the year, FanGraphs’ Kevin Goldstein called Solis a potential future top 100 prospect, but this latest development will wipe out at least a good chunk of his 2021 minor-league season. Solis, ranked 16th among Astro farmhands by Baseball America, was added to the 40-man roster last offseason.
Astros Select Five Players To 40-Man Roster
The Astros are adding five players to their 40-man roster, per a team announcement. Right-handers Forrest Whitley, Tyler Ivey, Jairo Solis and Peter Solomon were all selected, as was infielder Freudis Nova.
The most notable player of the group is Whitley. Once regarded as one of the best (if not the best) pitching prospect in the sport, he’s seen his stock drop a bit over the past couple seasons due to a suspension and some struggles in the high minors. Nevertheless, it was a lock the Astros would add him to the 40-man, as the 23-year-old still has one of the better arsenals in the minors. Like Whitley, Nova and Solis were ranked among Houston’s top ten farmhands at MLB.com and virtual certainties to be added to the roster.