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Every Team’s Initial September Callups

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The limit on active roster players expanded from 26 to 28 today, as the calendar flipped to September. Every team announced at least two additions to the big league club (some teams made three or more due to injured list placements). Here’s a recap of today’s spate of transactions:

West Injury Notes: Paddack, Gray, Ibanez, Ohtani, Astros

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Padres starter Chris Paddack appears to be ready to come off the IL to start Monday’s game in Arizona, according to Kevin Acee of The San Diego Union-Tribune. Acee says that Padres manager Jayce Tingler didn’t confirm the plan, but then later listed Paddack as Monday’s starter on Twitter.

For Paddack, his third big league season has been a disappointing one, logging an ERA of 5.13 over 93 innings. That’s a spike from last year’s 4.73 and his 3.33 mark from 2019. His strikeout rate has also gone in the wrong direction. After a solid 26.9% rate in his debut season, it dropped to 23.7% last year and sits at 22.5% so far this year. However, his walk rate has stuck around 5% in every season, which is excellent. (MLB average is 8.7% this year.)

Despite those struggles, the team has certainly missed Paddack. Since the righty went on the shelf July 31st with an oblique issue, the team has been on a disastrous slide. They’ve gone 9-15 so far in the month of August, surrendering the final National League playoff spot to Cincinnati. During that time, the rotation was missing not only Paddack, but also Yu Darvish. They tried to patch over those absences with the addition of Jake Arrieta, only to see him land on the IL himself after just one start of 3 1/3 innings. With Darvish having already returned and Paddack on the way, that could allow the team to steady the ship and finish strong, as they try to retake the Reds over the season’s final weeks.

Other notes from the west…

  • Rockies starter Jon Gray left last night’s start after 48 pitches. Manager Bud Black told reporters, including Patrick Saunders of the Denver Post, that the move was precautionary and related to some forearm tightness. Nick Groke of The Athletic gets a bit more granular, explaining that the injured area appears to be away from the ulnar collateral ligament, hopefully negating the worst fears of Rockies fans. Though the extent of the injury remains to be seen, it makes sense for the club to be cautious, as they are 11 games out of a playoff spot. Gray is a free agent at year’s end, but the Rockies are reportedly hoping to sign him to an extension. They will also have to decide on whether or not to issue him a qualifying offer at the end of the season. Gray would surely warrant the offer if he’s healthy. Over 806 2/3 career innings, Gray has an ERA of 4.52 while pitching primarily in the most hitter-friendly ballpark in the league, producing 15.7 fWAR.
  • Rangers infielder Andy Ibanez left last night’s game with left hamstring tightness, per Kennedi Landry of MLB.com. She quotes Rangers manager Chris Woodward as being “not optimistic” about the injury. Regardless of the eventual severity of the injury, the club has every reason to be cautious, as they have one of the worst records in the league and no shot at contending. If this is the end of the season for Ibanez, it will go down as a solid rookie campaign for the 28-year-old. He’s hit .260/.304/.415, wRC+ of 96, while splitting time between first, second and third base, as well as one game in left field.
  • Shohei Ohtani was hit on the hand by a pitch in last night’s game, while serving as the designated hitter. However, he stuck around for the remainder of the contest and x-rays on the hand came back negative. Angels manager Jeff Madden told reporters, including Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register, that Ohtani should be fine to make his scheduled start on Tuesday. That is good news for the club and baseball fans in general, as Ohtani is having the most unique and fascinating season that baseball has seen in quite some time, if not ever. He’s currently the MLB home run leader with 41, and has an overall slash line of .264/.363/.623, producing a wRC+ of 160 which is currently bested by only two other qualified hitters. (Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Bryce Harper) All of that is combined with Ohtani’s 105 innings in the Angels’ starting rotation with an ERA of 3.00.
  • The Astros could be getting a couple of players back this week. Jose Urquidy is pitching in a rehab game tonight, which could be his last before returning, according to Jake Kaplan of The Athletic. Urquidy has only been able to make 14 starts this season because of injuries but has been excellent when healthy, putting up an ERA of 3.38. It’s unclear who would be bumped from the rotation in his absence, but some have speculated that Luis Garcia could be an option. Garcia has already set a career high in innings pitched this year and has seen his results slip a bit recently. Since July 26th, he has an ERA of 4.22. The club has already moved another young starter, Cristian Javier, to the bullpen as a way to manage his workload. The Astros could also be welcoming Chas McCormick back later this week. General manager James Click told various reporters, including Mark Berman of Fox 26, that the outfielder could be back as soon as Friday. The club hasn’t suffered much in McCormick’s absence, given that Jake Meyers has been manning center field and has been on a tear. Since having his contract selected last month, in the first 20 games of his career, Meyers is slashing .323/.348/.523.

Astros Reinstate Pedro Baez From Injured List

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The Astros announced they’re activating reliever Pedro Báez from the 60-day injured list in advance of tonight’s game against the Rockies. Bullpen colleague Rafael Montero is landing on the 10-day injured list with right shoulder discomfort in a corresponding move. To open space for Báez on the 40-man roster, the club transferred righty Andre Scrubb from the 10-day to the 60-day injured list.

Báez, signed to a two-year deal over the winter, is finally in line to make his Astros debut. The 33-year-old missed a few weeks in Spring Training after testing positive for COVID-19, then felt soreness in his right shoulder during his attempt to ramp up a throwing program. The latter issue has kept him out of action for the past few months as the soreness has persisted. Fortunately, he’s now apparently healthy and able to contribute for the stretch run.

During his time with the Dodgers, Báez was quietly one of the league’s more consistent and productive relievers. He posted an ERA between 2.63 and 3.35 during each of his seven seasons in L.A. While Báez’s run prevention numbers never wavered, his peripherals have tailed off in recent seasons. The righty struck out a career-worst 18.6% of opponents last year with accompanying dips in swinging strike rate and velocity.

That came in a 17-inning sample during an anomalous year, though, and the Astros felt comfortable enough to add Báez on a $12.5MM guarantee. If he pitches at or near the level he showed throughout his Dodgers’ tenure, Báez would be a significant upgrade to a Houston relief unit that’s middle of the pack in terms of ERA (3.97) and strikeout/walk rate differential (15.2 percentage points).

Houston added Montero alongside Kendall Graveman from the Mariners at the trade deadline as part of an effort to shore up the bullpen. Montero had a nightmarish time in Seattle, but he’d begun his Astros tenure with six innings of one-run ball. He left Sunday’s game against the Twins with a shoulder issue, though, and his recovery timeline remains uncertain.

Scrubb is also down with a shoulder issue. The 26-year-old landed on the IL on July 19 with a strain. Today’s transfer rules him out for sixty days from that date, so he’s looking at a mid-September return in a best case scenario. There’s no word on whether or not the team expects he’ll be able to pitch again this season.

Manager Dusty Baker provided reporters (including Chandler Rome of the Houston Chronicle and Mark Berman of FOX 26) with updates on a pair of different injured players. Star third baseman Alex Bregman still isn’t ready to return, and his allotted twenty-day rehab window has passed. League rules stipulate that position players not prepared to return after the conclusion of their rehab period must remain inactive for at least five days before reembarking on a minor league assignment, so Bregman can’t return to game action until Friday.

Starter José Urquidy, meanwhile, is scheduled to begin his own rehab assignment tomorrow. Baker said the club is hopeful he’ll be back on a big league mound by September 1. Urquidy has been out since June 30 with right shoulder discomfort.

AL West Injury Notes: Gurriel, Bregman, Urquidy, Pinder

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Yuli Gurriel was scratched from tonight’s Astros game with neck stiffness, according to Chandler Rome of the Houston Chronicle. Rome goes on to say that Gurriel was in “obvious discomfort” before speaking with the trainer. The 37-year-old is having his best season to date, with a slash of .324/.388/.490, producing a wRC+ of 145 and 3.0 fWAR. The extent of the injury is unclear at this point. But losing that level of production for any amount of time would be difficult to replace.

Help could be on the way, however, as Alex Bregman’s rehab is continuing tonight, according to Rome. There was some worry yesterday when he was pulled from a rehab game with hamstring tightness. But that seems to have been merely precautionary. Dusty Baker told Mark Berman of Fox 26 that they’re still hopeful he can return for their upcoming homestand, which runs from August 5th to 11th.

Other AL West notes…

  • Rome hears from Baker that Jose Urquidy is going to throw off a mound this week. Urquidy is currently mired in his second IL this year because of shoulder issues. When healthy, he’s been a solid member of Houston’s rotation, logging 77 1/3 innings with an ERA of 3.38. His strikeout rate is a bit low at 21.8%, but his walk rate is an excellent 4.3%. His most recent IL placement was in late June, meaning he will presumably need a few rehab starts to rebuild his workload after missing more than a month.
  • Chad Pinder was taking grounders on the field today, according to Matt Kawahara of The San Francisco Chronicle. A’s Manager Bob Melvin says that Pinder hasn’t yet run the bases but “sprinting feels close to 100 percent.” The utility man has been out since July 8th with a hamstring strain. Before that, he was having a disappointing season, with a slash of .216/.269/.358. He might struggle to find playing time when he returns, given the recent additions of Starling Marte and Josh Harrison to the Oakland lineup.

Astros Place Jose Urquidy On 10-Day Injured List

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11:07PM: Urquidy’s MRI revealed “the same results from the last time…some tightness with some inflammation,” the hurler told The Houston Chronicle’s Chandler Rome and other reporters.  This left Urquidy hopeful of another relatively short IL visit: “I think I’m going to be ready in not a long time.”

5:52PM: The Astros announced a set of roster moves today, including the placement of right-hander Jose Urquidy on the 10-day injured list due to right shoulder discomfort.  Left-hander Ryan Hartman’s contract was selected from Triple-A, with 40-man roster space cleared by a corresponding move of right-hander Francis Martes being designated for assignment.  In addition, Garrett Stubbs has been called up from Triple-A while catcher Martin Maldonado is going to the bereavement list.

The shoulder issue caused Urquidy to leave last night’s start after just 1 1/3 innings, leaving the Astros ill-prepared for an impromptu bullpen game, and the result was a 13-3 loss to the Orioles.  It was an unfortunate turn of events for Urquidy, who has quietly been one of baseball’s better pitchers over the last two months, with a 2.62 ERA over his nine starts and 55 innings prior to last night’s brief outing.

Urquidy missed two weeks in May due to a similar shoulder injury, though Astros manager Dusty Baker told reporters (including MLB.com’s Brian McTaggart) that this new bout of soreness was in a different area of Urquidy’s throwing shoulder.  Urquidy was scheduled to undergo an MRI today.

The Astros had been using a six-man rotation, so they might not need a replacement at all if they’re comfortable working their starters on regular rest.  If not, Cristian Javier was used as a starter earlier this season and could be stretched out again or perhaps used in a piggyback capacity with another pitcher.

Perhaps another alternative is Hartman, who has a 3.98 ERA, 28.8% strikeout rate, and 7.6% walk rate over nine starts and 40 2/3 innings at Triple-A Sugar Land this season.  A ninth-round pick for the Astros in the 2016 draft, Hartman posted some good numbers in his rise up Houston’s minor league ladder before struggling in his first exposure to Triple-A hitters in 2019.  The lefty has performed better this year at Triple-A, though his issues with the home run ball have persisted, as Hartman has allowed 35 homers in 156 1/3 total frames at Triple-A.

Martes had a 10.80 ERA over 8 1/3 innings at Sugar Land this season.  Martes was recently activated from the restricted list in the wake of his 162-game suspension for PED usage, issued in February 2020.  This was Martes’ second PED suspension, and he also underwent Tommy John surgery in August 2018.  Between the Astros’ minor league system and the Dominican Winter League, Martes has pitched only 21 2/3 innings since the start of the 2019 season.  Martes was a highly-regarded prospect before his injury and suspension issues, but it seems as if Houston is ready to move on from the 25-year-old.

AL Injury Notes: Robert, Lakins, Urquidy

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Luis Robert could be roughly four weeks out from a rehab assignment, per The Athletic’s James Fegan (via Twitter). Assuming all goes well for Robert — a significant assumption this far out — and the White Sox could hope to have their star centerfielder back in the lineup for the stretch run late in August. The club itself has not put an exact timetable on his return, however. Still, an update of any kind is a positive sign for the first-place Sox. If Robert avoids any hiccups in the next few weeks, the White Sox could be emboldened enough to stick with their current roster, rather than make a move to add another centerfielder before the deadline. In the meantime,Brian Goodwin has been the latest replacement to man center, joining Billy Hamilton and Adam Engel as fill-ins.

Elsewhere in the American League, there were a couple notable injuries in last night’s games to check in on…

  • The Astros/Orioles game saw a couple of pitchers leave early due to injury. Both starters, Jose Urquidy and Travis Lakins, left their respective outings in the second inning. The Orioles expect to have the results of an MRI on Lakins sometime today, per Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com. Lakins was making his first start of the season.
  • As for Urquidy, he left with shoulder discomfort after 1 2/3 innings. For those wondering if this was a return of the shoulder discomfort that sidelined Urquidy for a couple weeks in May, that does not appear to be the case. The pain that forced Urquidy from Tuesday’s start was in a different area than his prior injury, per MLB.com’s Brian McTaggart. Urquidy has been a big part of the Astros’ strong first half, pitching to a 3.38 ERA/4.00 FIP across 14 starts while totaling 77 1/3 innings — more than five innings per outing.

Astros Injury Notes: Urquidy, Taylor, Gurriel, Alvarez, McCullers

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The Astros’ long list of injured pitchers will get a bit shorter today, as Jose Urquidy and Blake Taylor have both been activated from the 10-day injured list.  Urquidy will get the start in today’s game against the Red Sox.  Right-handers Andre Scrubb and Ralph Garza were optioned to Triple-A to make room for Urquidy and Taylor on the active roster.

Urquidy hit the IL on May 16 due to right shoulder discomfort, though that potentially ominous-sounding diagnosis wasn’t considered too serious.  The right-hander will indeed return in pretty short order, and he’ll look to continue what has thus far been a solid 2021 season.  Urquidy has a 3.22 ERA and a very strong 5.1% walk rate over 44 2/3 innings, though advanced metrics (such as a 4.58 SIERA) haven’t been as impressed with his work.  Urquidy has both a low strikeout rate (18.6%) and grounder rate (28.5%), and he has been relying on a lot of soft contact and some batted-ball luck (.242 BABIP) to retire batters.

Taylor has been out of action since suffering a right ankle sprain on April 17, and he has been on a Triple-A rehab assignment since last week.  Taylor made his MLB debut last season, and he has a 3.12 ERA, 18.4% strikeout rate, and 12.3% walk rate over 26 total innings in the big leagues.  With Kent Emanuel still on the IL, Brooks Raley has been the only other left-hander in Houston’s bullpen, so Taylor’s return will add some depth in that area.

The lineup will continue to be shorthanded, however, as manager Dusty Baker told reporters (including MLB.com’s Brian McTaggart and The Houston Chronicle’s Chandler Rome) that neither Yuli Gurriel or Yordan Alvarez are available for today’s game, though both are “close” to returning.  Alvarez appears to be the nearest of the two, though Baker said he “nixed” the idea of Alvarez in the lineup in order to give the young slugger another day of recovery.

This will make it five games missed for Alvarez due to a wrist problem, while Gurriel is now on track to miss his third game due to inflammation in his left middle finger.  Baker did say Gurriel would return at some point during Houston’s four-game series with the Red Sox that begins today.

“It’s a situation where they’re not hurt badly enough where you can put them on ten days and lose them, so you’d rather wait two or three days extra and not lose them for ten,” Baker said.

The Astros still scored 15 runs in the two games without Gurriel and Alvarez in the lineup, though naturally the team would like to have two of its best hitters back as soon as possible.  Both players have hit seven home runs this season, with Gurriel hitting .309/.380/.511 in 205 PA and Alvarez hitting .310/.343/.525 over 169 PA.

Baker also told McTaggart and company that he is hopeful Lance McCullers Jr. can be back in the rotation by the “middle of June.”  McCullers was placed on the 10-day IL on May 26 due to right shoulder soreness but, like Urquidy, the issue as thought to be pretty minor.  McCullers is playing catch in the outfield today, Baker said.  Over 51 2/3 innings this season, McCullers has a 2.96 ERA/4.02 SIERA, despite allowing a lot of hard contact.

Astros Place Jose Urquidy On Injured List

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Prior to this afternoon’s game, the Astros placed José Urquidy on the 10-day injured list, manager Dusty Baker told reporters (including Chandler Rome of the Houston Chronicle). The righty exited his start Wednesday evening with shoulder discomfort and it had already been revealed he’d miss his upcoming start, so it’s not especially surprising he wound up on the IL. Baker said earlier this week an MRI hadn’t revealed “anything significant,” so it’s possible it’ll be a short-term absence.

Urquidy has again been highly productive in the early going. Over eight starts, the righty has pitched to a 3.22 ERA that’s a bit better than his strong 3.36 career mark. Urquidy has never racked up huge strikeout or ground ball totals, but he rarely walks hitters and has generally done a solid job of avoiding dangerous contact.

It’s not yet clear who’ll take Urquidy’s place in the rotation while he’s on the shelf, although a pair of Astros starters are progressing in recoveries from their own injuries. Framber Valdez was scheduled to begin a minor league rehab assignment during his recovery from a finger fracture with Triple-A Sugar Land today, and Jake Odorizzi isn’t far behind in that regard. Odorizzi is lined up to start tomorrow for Sugar Land (via Mark Berman of FOX 26) as he builds back from a pronator muscle strain in his forearm. (The Skeeters’ game this evening was subsequently rained out and will be made up with a doubleheader tomorrow).

To replace Urquidy on the active roster, Houston activated reliever Enoli Paredes from the IL. Paredes missed a little more than a month with a side issue. The 25-year-old has tossed 22 MLB innings over the past two seasons, working to a 2.86 ERA/5.37 SIERA.

Astros Notes: Minor Leaguers, Valdez, Urquidy

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The Astros are providing fully furnished apartments to all of their minor leaguers across all levels for the 2021 season, reports Britt Ghiroli of The Athletic. Housing for minor leaguers has been complicated due to Covid-19 regulations, as host families are not allowed this season and there are restrictions on how many players can live in a given apartment. Minor league salaries are generally scant enough that it’s common for several teammates to crowd into a one- or two-bedroom apartment in order to save on rent and cover other basic expenses. It’s a commitment we’ve not previously seen an organization make for its minor league talent, most of whom receive much smaller bonuses than the six- or even seven-figure numbers that frequent the top end of each summer’s draft. It’s not known whether this will be a permanent commitment from the ’Stros, nor is it clear whether other organizations might adopt a similar approach now or in the future.

More on the Astros…

  • Southpaw Framber Valdez got through a 25-pitch bullpen session unscathed on Friday and will start a Triple-A rehab assignment on Sunday, Brian McTaggart of MLB.com was among those to report. Valdez will throw three innings in that game. Expectations are that he’ll rejoin the Astros’ rotation in June, which Valdez called a “miracle.” After all, there was fear back in the spring that Valdez’s broken left ring finger would require surgery and prevent him from pitching this year. “It was a bad injury, a break to the finger,” said Valdez, who was able to avoid going under the knife. When the 27-year-old does come back, he’ll work to build on an impressive 2020 in which he turned in 70 2/3 innings of 3.57 ERA/3.23 SIERA ball with great strikeout (26.4), walk (5.6) and groundball (60.0) percentages.
  • Right-hander Jose Urquidy exited his start on Wednesday against the Angels in the fourth inning with shoulder discomfort, and it’s possible the issue will shelve him for a bit. Manager Dusty Baker told Chandler Rome of the Houston Chronicle and other reporters Friday that an MRI on Urquidy’s shoulder didn’t “show anything significant,” but said today (to FOX 26’s Mark Berman and others) that Urquidy will miss his next scheduled start on Tuesday.  Urquidy shut out the Angels over 3 2/3 innings, continuing a nice start to 2021 for the 26-year-old. He has totaled 44 2/3 frames across eight starts and recorded a 3.22 ERA (with a less shiny 4.56 SIERA) and an 18.6 percent strikeout rate against a terrific 5.1 percent walk rate.

Astros To Start Jose Urquidy In Game 3 Of ALCS

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Astros right-hander Jose Urquidy will start Game 3 of the American League Championship Series against the Rays, manager Dusty Baker told Chandler Rome of the Houston Chronicle and other reporters Monday. Urquidy will follow Lance McCullers Jr., who will get the ball in this afternoon’s second game.

Zack Greinke, the Astros’ ace, seems likely to be their choice in Game 4, but Baker’s not quite willing to make that commitment yet, as Mark Berman of Fox 26 tweets. Greinke last pitched Oct. 8, and though he struggled in that game against the Athletics, the Astros still won to close out the ALDS. Greinke battled arm troubles leading up to that contest, but he’s not dealing with any structural damage. With Greinke unavailable Sunday, the Astros turned to Framber Valdez, who pitched well in a 2-1 loss.

Regardless of Monday’s outcome, the Astros will soon lean on the 25-year-old Urquidy, who has been effective during a 14-appearance, 12-start career that began in 2019. While Urquidy missed the first month-plus of this season because of COVID-19, he returned in early September to make five starts and put up 29 2/3 innings of 2.73 ERA/4.71 FIP ball. Urquidy had a difficult outing against the A’s last Wednesday, though, as he yielded four earned runs in 4 1/3 innings.

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