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Injury Notes: Zych, Perez, Diaz, Orioles, Skaggs

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The Mariners announced tonight that right-hander Tony Zych has been placed on the disabled list due to right shoulder tendinitis (retroactive to May 2). In his place, Steve Johnson’s contract has been selected from Triple-A Tacoma. The loss of Zych is significant for the Mariners, as the 25-year-old has quietly been a dominant relief arm in the Majors since being recalled last season. In 30 1/3 innings at the Major League level, Zych has posted a 2.67 ERA, 12.8 K/9 and 3.3 BB/9 with a 51.5 percent ground-ball rate. While he’s far from a household name, Zych has averaged 95.7 mph on his heater in the Majors and rates 14th among MLB pitchers (min. 30 innings) in terms of K%-BB% dating back to last season. There’s yet to be any word on the length of his absence, and manager Scott Servais said today (via the Tacoma News Tribune’s Bob Dutton, on Twitter) that Zych is returning to Seattle to have his shoulder examined. A corresponding 40-man roster move was not necessary due to yesterday’s outright of right-hander Joe Wieland.

Some other notable injury news from around the league…

  • Indians catcher Roberto Perez suffered a fractured thumb while making a tag at the plate on Odubel Herrera over the weekend, and he now faces the possibility of surgery, writes MLB.com’s Jordan Bastian. The team will wait three days before having Perez’s hand re-evaluated, which will let the swelling around the thumb subside and lead to a clearer analysis of the injury. Manager Terry Francona offered a somewhat optimistic outlook, telling the media that a surgical procedure might not come with a considerably lengthier recovery timeline than a simple rest-and-rehab approach. Adam Moore has been called up from Triple-A to serve as the backup to Yan Gomes in the meantime, and if Cleveland is on the lookout for additional catching depth, Texas did designate former Indians backstop Chris Gimenez for assignment earlier today.
  • The Pirates will lose one of their top prospects, catcher Elias Diaz, to right elbow surgery, per a club announcement. As Bill Brink of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette writes, the club didn’t disclose the type of operation, though he notes that Diaz has previously been dealing with pain on the lateral side of his right (throwing) elbow. Both the club and Diaz himself have said previously that they don’t believe his ulnar collateral ligament is an issue, which would take Tommy John surgery off the table. Diaz, it would appear, had the surgery earlier today, as he shared a post-op photo with Dr. James Andrews on his Instagram.
  • Neither J.J. Hardy nor the Orioles are publicly putting a timeline on his recovery from a fractured left foot, writes CSN Mid-Atlantic’s Rich Dubroff. Per Dubroff, Hardy will be in a walking boot for the next two to three weeks, which would seem to make the shorter end of the reported four to eight week recovery timetable seem a bit aggressive. As Hardy explains to Dubroff, he didn’t initially believe the injury to be serious after fouling a ball into his left foot. However, as the game progressed, his foot tightened up and the pain worsened.
  • Also of note for Orioles fans: Dubroff tweets that left-handed reliever Jeff Beliveau, signed to a minor league deal this offseason while recovering from shoulder surgery, has been activated and assigned to Baltimore’s Class-A Advanced affiliate to begin his progression back to consideration for the big league roster. Beliveau, 29, posted a 2.63 ERA in 24 innings with the division-rival Rays back in 2014 but has scarcely pitched since that time due to a torn labrum. The Orioles believe he can help the big league club later this year, Dubroff adds.
  • Mike DiGiovanna of the L.A. Times tweets that an examination of Angels left-hander Tyler Skaggs confirmed that the rehabbing southpaw is dealing with tendinitis in his biceps. Skaggs, who is recovering from Tommy John surgery, won’t throw for a week and will be re-evaluated at that time to see if he can begin his rehab work.

Minor MLB Transactions 12-12-15

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Here are the day’s minor transactions:

  • The Tigers signed 17 minor leaguers, reports Anthony Fenech and James Jahnke of the Detroit Free Press. Among the most notable names are left-handed pitcher Drake Britton and right-handed pitchers Rafael Dolis, Lendy Castillo, and Preston Guilmet. The club also inked infielder Tommy Field. Britton, a former top Red Sox prospect, has pitched well in limited major league action. However, he scuffled with the Cubs Triple-A affiliate last season, posting a 5.08 ERA in 83 innings. Guilmet has strong minor league peripherals, but he’s struggled through 23 major league innings with a 8.22 ERA (4.28 xFIP).
  • The Tigers also inked right-handed pitcher Jake Brigham. However, his situation is unique in that he’s also pursuing a contract with NPB’s Rakuten Eagles. Brigham, soon-to-turn-28, has posted decent numbers as a minor league swingman. The Braves gave him a brief major league audition last season in which he threw 16 innings with a 8.64 ERA.
  • The Braves have signed former Reds starter David Holmberg, reports Baseball America’s Matt Eddy. Holmberg, 24, has thrown 62 major league innings over 12 starts and two relief appearances. He has a 6.24 ERA with 4.79 K/9 and 5.08 BB/9. Atlanta also acquired reliever Ethan Martin. The former Phillies swingman flashed decent stuff with command problems in the majors, leading to a 5.93 ERA, 10.43 K/9, and 5.93 BB/9 in 44 innings.
  • The Orioles have signed lefty Jeff Beliveau. The southpaw missed most of 2015 with a labrum injury. He’s experienced success as a situational reliever, including a 2.63 ERA with 10.50 K/9 and 2.63 BB/9 in 2014 (24 innings, 30 appearances).
  • The Marlins have added righty Dustin McGowan. The once successful 33-year-old pitched poorly for the Phillies while struggling with control in 2015. He was only marginally better at Triple-A. If McGowan recovers his form, he could be a valuable reliever. He has a career 4.68 ERA with 7.35 K/9 and 3.90 BB/9 in 505 innings.
  • The Mets have inked former Brewers closer Jim Henderson. Injuries caused the 33-year-old to lose his ninth inning role in 2014, and he’s failed to reestablish himself since then. Last season in 29 innings for Milwaukee’s Triple-A affiliate, Henderson posted a 4.55 ERA with 7.58 K/9 and 5.16 BB/9.
  • The Padres have signed Philip Humber to a minor league deal. Humber pitched the 2015 for the KBO’s KIA Tigers in 2015. He posted a 6.75 ERA in the offensively charged league. Humber is perhaps best remembered for his unlikely perfect game for the White Sox in April of 2012. He was also part of the haul that brought Johan Santana to the Mets.

Outrighted: Ruggiano, Heisey, Wilson, Perez, Beliveau, Elmore, Perez, Sadler, Cumpton

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Teams are continuing to prune their 40-man rosters as decisions arise, and there were a number of outrights over the last day or two. We’ll cover them all here:

  • The Dodgers outrighted both Justin Ruggiano and Chris Heisey, with both outfielders electing free agency after clearing waivers, according to Dylan Hernandez of the Los Angeles Times (Twitter links). Ruggiano and Heisey were both added very late in the season — in the latter’s case, re-acquired — and saw limited action overall. It’s worth noting, though, that Ruggiano turned things on after he was demoted early on by the Mariners, raking at Triple-A and even slashing a cool .291/.350/.618 in his sixty plate appearances in Los Angeles. The 33-year-old will be an interesting bench target for teams looking to add a threat against southpaws.
  • Catcher Bobby Wilson refused an assignment with the Rangers after clearing outright waivers, as executive VP of communications John Blake announced on Twitter. The 32-year-old spent time with both the Rays and Rangers last year, continuing to serve as a fill-in backstop who does not contribute much at the plate.
  • Likewise, outfielder Juan Perez is headed for free agency after he was outrighted by the Giants, John Shea of the San Francisco Chronicle reports on Twitter. Perez, 28, has received 246 total plate appearances over the last three years in San Francisco, compiling a meager .224/.267/.316 batting line. He’s spent most of his time in recent years at the Triple-A level.
  • Lefty Jeff Beliveau and infielder Jake Elmore have elected free agency after losing their 40-man spots with the Rays, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports on Twitter. Beliveau impressed in 2014, striking out 28 batters and allowing just seven earned runs in 24 frames, but missed most of 2015 after undergoing shoulder surgery. The 28-year-old Elmore, meanwhile, managed to rack up a career-high 158 plate appearances last year in Tampa Bay, but he slashed just .206/.263/.284.
  • Also hitting the open market is infielder Hernan Perez, who the Brewers outrighted, per a club announcement. He’ll qualify as a minor league free agent. The 24-year-old got a 90-game audition in Milwaukee after being claimed from the Tigers, but slashed .270/.281/.365 and apparently did not force his way into the organization’s plans.
  • Finally, injured righties Casey Sadler and Brandon Cumpton have lost their 40-man spots with the Pirates, as Bill Brink of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette tweets. Neither has spent a significant amount of time in the big leagues, though Sadler has debuted and Cumpton did throw just over 100 frames over 2013-14. Both will factor as rotation and pen depth if and when they are ready to return from their respective arm surgeries.

Jeff Beliveau To Undergo Surgery For Torn Labrum

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Rays reliever Jeff Beliveau will undergo surgery Thursday to repair a torn left shoulder labrum, the club announced. Beliveau has already been transferred to the 60-day DL, and will obviously miss significant time.

As Jay Jaffe wrote for Baseball Prospectus back in 2012, surgical repairs of torn labrums have had their share of success stories. But recovery is far from a sure thing, and the details — for example, whether there is also rotator cuff damage — matter quite a bit.

Beliveau, 28, had seemed poised to play an important role in the Tampa bullpen this season after a surprising 2014 campaign in which he posted a 2.63 ERA over 24 frames, backed by 10.5 K/9 against 2.6 BB/9 and a 2.47 FIP. He was off to a rough start this year, however, having allowed seven baserunners and four earned runs in just 2 2/3 innings. Though he has never been a hard thrower, Beliveau was down two ticks on his fastball.

The loss of Beliveau leaves the club somewhat lacking in terms of experienced left-handed relievers. C.J. Riefenhauser is the only southpaw on the active roster at present, though players like Everett Teaford, Jordan Norberto, Enny Romero, and Grayson Garvin all represent depth options in the upper minors.

Rays Acquire Jeff Beliveau

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The Rays acquired lefty Jeff Beliveau from the Rangers for cash considerations, according to a team press release.  Jeff Niemann was placed on the 60-day DL to create a 40-man roster spot for Beliveau, noted Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times.  

Beliveau had been designated for assignment by the Rangers on April 8th, upon their acquisition of catcher Robinson Chirinos from Tampa Bay.  Beliveau is not the player to be named later that the Rangers owe the Rays for Chirinos, tweets Topkin.  

Beliveau, 26, posted a 3.89 ERA, 10.6 K/9, 3.7 BB/9, and 0.82 HR/9 in 44 relief innings for the Cubs' Triple-A affiliate last year, making his big league debut in July.

Rangers Designate Jeff Beliveau For Assignment

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The Rangers designated lefty Jeff Beliveau for assignment to open a 40-man roster spot for newly-acquired catcher Robinson Chirinos, according to a team press release.  The Rangers had claimed Beliveau off waivers from the Cubs in December.

Beliveau, 26, posted a 3.89 ERA, 10.6 K/9, 3.7 BB/9, and 0.82 HR/9 in 44 relief innings for the Cubs' Triple-A affiliate last year, making his big league debut in July.

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