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Kenta Maeda

Quick Hits: Maeda, Profar, Beltre, Cruz, Tanaka

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Kenta Maeda’s early struggles have cost him his rotation spot, as Dodgers manager Dave Roberts told reporters (including J.P. Hoornstra of the Orange County Register) that Maeda will be moved to the bullpen when Alex Wood returns from the disabled list.  “This is not temporary for Kenta,” Roberts said. “We need him to get back on track, get some momentum. I don’t know what day he’s going to pitch but he’s open to it, and it’s a credit to him as a teammate.”  Maeda has a 5.16 ERA over 52 1/3 IP, thanks in large part to problems keeping the ball in the park; Maeda has already surrendered nine homers this season.

Here’s more from around baseball…

  • With Adrian Beltre possibly looking at a DL stint, the Rangers will recall Jurickson Profar from Triple-A, FanRag Sports’ Jon Heyman reports.  Beltre didn’t make his 2017 debut until May 29 due to a lingering calf injury, and collected at least one hit in all seven games he played before suffering an ankle injury on Tuesday.  Profar began the season on Texas’ roster but hit just .135/.289/.135 in 46 PA before being demoted to Triple-A.
  • Nelson Cruz underwent an MRI on his right calf today and wasn’t in the lineup for the Mariners’ game against the Twins.  Seattle manager Scott Servais told MLB.com’s Greg Johns and other reporters that he expects Cruz to be out “maybe a day or two,” so the injury doesn’t seem serious, though Cruz has been bothered by his calf for over a week.  The veteran slugger is in the midst of another big season, hitting .299/.383/.563 with 14 homers over 230 PA for the M’s.
  • Should Masahiro Tanaka to be removed from the Yankees’ rotation?  ESPN.com’s Andrew Marchand believes so, as Tanaka’s struggles (a 6.55 ERA and a whopping 23.3% home run rate) are hurting New York in the AL East race.  Since the team says Tanaka is healthy, Marchand figures Tanaka needs some type of breather just to correct whatever flaw has so negatively impacted his performance.  Tanaka also has a 5.60 FIP but other ERA indicators (4.19 xFIP, 4.13 SIERA) have a more sympathetic view of his work this year, and since there isn’t any change in his velocity or hard-hit ball rates, it could simply be that Tanaka has just been terribly unlucky allowing homers.  Still, that’s a pretty tough problem to have for a pitcher who calls Yankee Stadium home, especially in a season when home runs are up across the league.

Injury Notes: Liriano, Story, Maeda, Braun, Red Sox

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The Blue Jays announced that left-hander Francisco Liriano has been placed on the 10-day disabled list due to inflammation in his left shoulder. Righty Leonel Campos has been called up from Triple-A Buffalo in a corresponding move. While Liriano becomes the third Blue Jays starter to land on the disabled list (joining J.A. Happ and Aaron Sanchez), Sportsnet’s Ben Nicholson-Smith tweets that the team is hopeful that Liriano won’t need to spend more than the minimum 10 days on the shelf. Right-hander Mike Bolsinger will remain in the rotation and make what would’ve been Liriano’s next scheduled start on Monday, per Nicholson-Smith.

A few more notable injury updates from around the league…

  • The Rockies have placed shortstop Trevor Story on the 10-day DL due to a strained left shoulder, as Patrick Saunders of the Denver Post reports. Story initially suffered the injury two nights ago in at-bat against the Cubs, though his struggles at the plate have been an ongoing issue since Opening Day. Story took Major League Baseball by storm in 2016 when he hit 27 homers through just 415 plate appearances as a rookie, though a torn ligament in his thumb cut his season short in early August. It’s possible that there are some lingering effects of that issue, as Story has batted a woeful .180/.289/.396 with a 37.5 percent strikeout rate through his first 33 games in 2017.
  • The Dodgers have lost yet another starter to the disabled list, as right-hander Kenta Maeda has been placed on the 10-day disabled list due to tightness in his left hamstring. Maeda, who took a shutout into the ninth inning of last night’s game, has been excellent over his past three outings (2.21 ERA, 21-to-4 K/BB ratio in 20 1/3 innings) following a rough start to the season. There’s no word on precisely how long Maeda will be sidelined just yet, though he joins Rich Hill, Scott Kazmir, Brandon McCarthy and Brock Stewart on the L.A. disabled list.
  • Brewers slugger Ryan Braun is likely headed to the disabled list, per Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel (Twitter links). Braun recently had an MRI on a strained calf and has also been dealing with some forearm discomfort, and a short trip to the DL would allow him to rest up both issues. “I can’t really run or throw,” Braun told reporters (via Haudricourt). “Hopefully, if I get [a] little bit of downtime I’ll be able to get back to full strength.” That doesn’t sound like there’s a lengthy trip in order, but it certainly does seem to suggest that a DL placement is looming.
  • Carson Smith is throwing a pair of bullpen sessions this week for the Red Sox, writes WEEI’s Rob Bradford, but fellow right-hander Tyler Thornburg doesn’t appear to be that far along. Both Smith and Thornburg were acquired over the past two offseasons in an effort to help build a bridge to Craig Kimbrel, but injuries have prevented the Sox from reaping any value from either trade. ““With Tyler, we’ll still trying to get him through some more aggressive flatground work,” manager John Farrell told reporters earlier this week. “…“It’s been a little bit of a puzzle for all involved here including Tyler, because the MRI’s that he’s gone through, while showing a little bit of an impingement, hasn’t revealed anything more structural than that.”

Dodgers Place Joc Pederson On 10-Day DL; Julio Urias To Make Season Debut

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The Dodgers have placed center fielder Joc Pederson on the 10-day DL, per a club announcement. He’ll be replaced on the active roster by outfielder Brett Eibner.

Pederson, who just turned 25, has a groin injury. It doesn’t seem likely to keep him out for a lengthy stretch, but the Dodgers evidently felt it was worth getting out ahead of with a DL placement. He’ll look to pick up his hitting a bit upon his return, after posting a tepid .220/.322/.340 mark through his first 18 games of the season.

Notably, too, Los Angeles is set to bring up talented young starter Julio Urias for his 2017 debut, per J.P. Hoornstra of the Southern California News Group (Twitter link). The 20-year-old had opened the year at Triple-A as part of an effort to control his innings.

Urias has unsurprisingly dominated at the highest level of the minors, though he has also permitted nine walks in his 14 frames. Still, he has nothing left to prove there; the young southpaw already turned in 77 innings of 3.39 ERA ball in the majors last season.

It seems that Urias will take the ball Thursday, meaning that righty Kenta Maeda will be bumped from his next scheduled start. He’ll pitch Friday, per skipper Dave Roberts, as MLB.com’s Ken Gurnick tweets. The 29-year-old has been hit hard in the early going, with 24 hits and seven long balls recorded against him through 19 innings — though he has also maintained his excellent strikeout (9.0 K/9) and walk (2.4 BB/9) rates.

After this first outing, Urias could stay in the majors or head back to Albuquerque. How things shake out could also depend in part upon the status of Rich Hill, who is still on the DL with a troublesome blister.

NL West Notes: Span, Maeda, Spangenberg

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Here’s the latest from around the NL West…

  • Denard Span told CSNBayArea.com’s Alex Pavlovic and other reporters that he hopes to miss only a few days after hurting his shoulder crashing into the outfield wall last night.  Span said he suffered a similar injury in 2012 that kept him on the DL for several weeks, though his current issue doesn’t quite seem as serious, with Span noting that “the good thing is I’ve got range of motion.”  Between Span’s injury, Hunter Pence day-to-day with a knee strain and the team’s ongoing need in left field, the Giants are in need of some roster creativity to address the outfield.  Manager Bruce Bochy raised the possibility that Brandon Belt could play left (as he is today) in order to get Buster Posey at first and Nick Hundley behind the plate, as Hundley is hitting well.  Drew Stubbs could also be promoted from the minors as further outfield depth.
  • Kenta Maeda now has an 8.05 ERA through his first 19 innings after another rough start last night, though Dodgers manager Dave Roberts still expressed faith in his starter.  “We’re definitely going to hang with him.  But we’re going to talk through some things, and see what’s best for Kenta,” Roberts told Andy McCullough of the Los Angeles Times and other reporters, adding that the Dodgers could potentially skip Maeda’s next start.  Maeda has been hampered by a whopping 22.6% homer rate, a lack of grounders and an increase in hard contact (though only from soft to medium contact, by Fangraphs’ calculations).  As McCullough, Maeda’s problems actually date back to last season, as Maeda was less effective down the stretch than in the first half of his MLB rookie year.
  • With Cory Spangenberg on fire at Triple-A, the Padres may be in a bit of a roster crunch, MLB.com’s AJ Cassavell writes.  Spangenberg could be called up to take some playing time away from the struggling Ryan Schimpf at third base, though that still wouldn’t give Spangenberg the everyday at-bats the Padres want him to get, plus it also seems early to relegate Schimpf to a part-time role.  There’s also a 25-man issue in finding a place for Spangenberg, as the Padres have three Rule 5 Draft picks and three out-of-options players on their big league roster.

Corey Seager, Michael Fulmer Win Rookie Of The Year Awards

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Corey Seager of the Dodgers and Michael Fulmer of the Tigers have been named the Rookies of the Year in their respective leagues by the Baseball Writers Association of America.

Seager followed Kris Bryant in taking the National League RoY award by a unanimous vote. The only question with his candidacy is whether the trophy will be joined on his shelf by a 2016 N.L Most Valuable Player award. (Bryant stands as perhaps his strongest competition for that top honor.)

There were quality competitors, though. The Nationals’ Trea Turner might’ve made things interesting had he played at the major league level for the entire season — and managed to sustain his partial-season excellence for the long haul. As it turned out, he edged Dodgers hurler Kenta Maeda for second place. Three hurlers — Jon Gray of the Rockies, Steven Matz of the Mets, and Seung-hwan Oh of the Cardinals — received one third-place vote apiece.

The 22-year-old Seager had already taken the game by storm last year, but his 27-game run didn’t use up his rookie eligibility. He was great from start to finish in 2016, compiling a .308/.365/.512 batting line and knocking 26 long balls over 687 plate appearances. And he did all that at the plate while providing quality defense at shortstop, making him one of the game’s most valuable performers (and, given his cheap control, one of its top assets).

Things were a bit tighter on the American League side. Fulmer seemed to be running away with things before Yankees catcher Gary Sanchez emerged late in the year. Like Turner, he was just too late to make up the ground in the award hunt — but that doesn’t dampen the enthusiasm for his future. Indians outfielder Tyler Naquin came in third, with Astros hurler Chris Devenski landing in fourth.

Fulmer enjoyed a breakout campaign in his first major league action. The 23-year-old ran up 159 innings of 3.06 ERA pitching, with 7.5 K/9 against 2.4 BB/9. For a Detroit organization that is looking to get younger and add assets with greater control, Fulmer — who came over in the 2015 deadline deal that sent Yoenis Cespedes to the Mets — is a cornerstone.

NL Notes: Collins, Reyes, Barrett, Maeda

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Manager Terry Collins led the Mets to a World Series just last year, but he acknowledges he could be fired after the season, USA Today’s Bob Nightengale writes. “They may fire me at the end of the year,” says Collins. “Whatever happens at the end of the year, I’ll walk out of here with a smile on my face, and get ready for spring training, or get ready to play golf, either one.” The Mets have had a tough, injury-riddled season, with Lucas Duda, David Wright, Matt Harvey, Steven Matz, Zack Wheeler and others missing or set to miss significant time. “We had no idea we’d break down like this. None. It’s hard to believe,” says Collins. Here’s more from the National League.

  • Cardinals righty Alex Reyes will get his first major league start Saturday in place of Mike Leake, who is sick, the club has announced (via Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, on Twitter). Reyes, the team’s top-rated prospect, was promoted earlier this month and has made five relief appearances, striking out 13 batters and walking four in 9 1/3 innings while throwing in the high 90s.
  • Nationals reliever Aaron Barrett suffered a significant setback in his return from Tommy John surgery, as Mark Zuckerman of CSNWashington.com notes on Twitter. He broke his elbow five weeks ago while working his way back. That obviously takes the talented righty out of the mix for a late-season return, and further clouds his future. The 28-year-old has swing-and-miss stuff, but will now need to overcome a second major surgery.
  • The Dodgers have demoted righty Kenta Maeda in order to gain an extra pitcher until his next start, as MLB.com’s Ken Gurnick tweets. The move appears to be procedural in nature. Maeda will be assigned to the club’s Rookie ball affiliate; with that season coming to a close, he can permissibly be brought back before the typical ten-day waiting period.

Quick Hits: Pitching, Teheran, Kershaw, Giants, Maeda, Prospect Trades

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Starting pitching is still “severely overpriced” on the trade market, according to scouts who spoke with ESPN.com’s Jerry Crasnick (Twitter link) at the Futures Game.  “You want to get a guy who’ll pitch for you in the postseason.  Teams want to trade you a No. 5 starter who might help you get to the postseason,” said one scout who works for a contending club.  Eight starters landed on the latest edition of the Top 25 Trade Candidates list from MLBTR’s Jeff Todd, though of that octet, only a few seem like they would be real difference-makers in a playoff series.  Here’s more from around baseball as we wrap up the first half…

  • In another tweet from Crasnick, he describes the chances of the Braves trading Julio Teheran as “not likely” unless Atlanta significantly lowers its asking price before the deadline.  Given that the Braves reportedly want more for Teheran than they received from the D’Backs in the already-infamous Shelby Miller trade, it’s not hard to see why teams are balking at such a huge asking price.  (And it’s also clear why Atlanta would demand so much for a controllable young arm with ace potential.)
  • Clayton Kershaw will miss at least one start after the All-Star break as the Dodgers’ ace is still recovering from his back injury.  L.A. manager Dave Roberts lined up his post-All-Star break rotation for reporters (including MLB.com’s Ken Gurnick) and Kershaw wasn’t in the mix, as the star lefty just threw off a mound today for the first time since June 26.  Early reports about his DL placement suggested Kershaw could miss up to a month, so while today’s news wasn’t necessarily a surprise, it’s possible he could return in the latter half of the 10-day road trip the Dodgers will face after the break.
  • Speaking of NL West stars on the DL, Bruce Bochy provided some updates to the media (including Andrew Baggarly of the San Jose Mercury News) about some notable Giants.  Joe Panik is recovering well from concussion symptoms and could be back for the Giants’ series with the Red Sox that begins on July 19, while Hunter Pence could begin a minor league rehab assignment next week as he recovers from surgery to fix a torn hamstring.  Matt Duffy’s strained Achilles tendon in his left foot is still causing him problems when he runs in a straight line, so his timeline is uncertain though Duffy can perform other baseball activities with no issues.
  • Kenta Maeda exceeded the 100-inning plateau in his start today, thus unlocking another $250K bonus in his Dodgers contract (hat tip to ESPN.com’s Doug Padilla).  Maeda is only guaranteed $3MM per season from 2016 through 2023, though he can collect significant bonuses based on innings pitched, starts and making the Opening Day roster.  Thus far, Maeda has received an extra $1.65MM in bonuses this season.  Even if he maxes out those bonuses over the eight years under contract, Maeda is already looking like a bargain for the Dodgers given how well he has pitched in his first MLB season.
  • With today’s MLB Futures Game in mind, ESPN’s Jim Bowden (subscription required) details seven prospects from the game who could be trade chips at the deadline.

NL West Injury Notes: Parra, Maeda, Cain, Ross

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Rockies outfielder Gerardo Parra was removed from tonight’s game on a medical cart after suffering an apparent leg injury, as MLB.com’s Thomas Harding reports. The injury occurred in a scary collision with shortstop Trevor Story, who wasn’t hurt. Parra’s outlook appears to be better than feared, as manager Walt Weiss told reporters that the preliminary diagnosis was a sprained ankle. (Via Patrick Saunders of the Denver Post; Twitter link.) His reaction to the impact suggested a more serious injury, but hopefully nothing more is revealed over the coming days.

Here’s the latest from other injury situations in the NL West:

  • The Dodgers got fairly promising preliminary news on righty Kenta Maeda, who exited his outing tonight after being struck by a sharply-hit ball in his right leg. The club announced that X-rays were negative, though certainly Maeda will need additional evaluation after he needed help to make it off of the field. Los Angeles will hope that it’s not a significant problem, as Maeda has been the club’s most productive starter outside of ace Clayton Kershaw.
  • Giants righty Matt Cain is headed back to the DL with a re-aggravation of his hamstring strain, as Alex Pavlovic of CSN Bay Area was among those to tweet. San Francisco will recall Chris Stratton for the time being, but the move raises yet more questions about the back of the rotation. Cain is still just 31, but it’s far from clear whether he’ll be a reliable member of the Giants’ staff this year or beyond. In 118 innings over the past two seasons, he has managed only a 5.57 ERA as he has dealt with a growing list of injury troubles.
  • Padres righty Tyson Ross may be ready to throw off of a mound this weekend, Dennis Lin of the San Diego Union-Tribune reports on Twitter. It’s still unclear whether he’ll be able to ramp up in time to make himself into a real deadline chip for the Pads. Regardless, it’s certainly promising to hear that Ross is still progressing.

NL West Notes: Maeda, Padres, McGwire

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A quick check on the latest from the NL West…

  • Dodgers rookie right-hander Kenta Maeda turned in his fourth straight excellent performance Saturday night, throwing 6 1/3 shutout innings at Colorado’s hitter-friendly Coors Field in a 4-1 victory. Maeda, who surrendered three hits and a walk while striking out eight, became the first pitcher since at least 1913 to begin his major league career by allowing only one total run in his first four starts, according to Ken Gurnick of MLB.com. He’s also one of just 76 pitchers during that time frame to record four consecutive quality starts at the onset of his career. So far, the Japan native and offseason free agent signing has posted a videogamelike, NL-best .36 ERA in 25 1/3 innings and piled up 23 strikeouts against five walks.
  • Padres bench coach Mark McGwire, one of the most prolific sluggers in baseball history, could be working his way up to a managerial job, writes Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. McGwire started down this road seven years ago when then-Cardinals manager Tony La Russa lured him out of retirement to serve as the team’s hitting coach, a role he eventually had with the Dodgers before joining the Padres this season. La Russa, who’s now the Diamondbacks’ chief baseball officer, talked to McGwire in the offseason about bringing him aboard Arizona’s staff as its hitting coach. McGwire wanted to remain closer to his California home, though, so he chose the Padres and is now first-year manager Andy Green’s “eyes and ears.” On whether he’d be open to managing, McGwire told Goold, “I have never ruled it out. I’ve got so much to learn. Who knows where this is going, really?”
  • Green offered some insight to Kirk Kenney of the San Diego Union-Tribune on how the Padres deploy the shift and discourage opposing hitters from trying to bunt for an easy single. “We give (the shift) to them with a strike most of the time,” Green said. “The type of guys that you’re handing it to with a strike, it’s probably going to put them in two-strike situations a lot more frequently than it is they’re going to get bunts down.” Green added, “We’re aware of where these guys got their bunt hits, when they got their bunt hits, if there was a strike on them and how long we need to play them in.”

Dodgers Notes: Rotation, Maeda, TV Deal

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The Dodgers could consider a trade to help their ailing pitching staff, but only if an “impact” arm could be acquired, Joel Sherman of the New York Post reports (Twitter links).  That said, rotation help could come from within, as Ross Stripling, Zach Lee and Carlos Frias are all in the running to be the fifth starter.  Here’s more on the Dodgers…

  • The Dodgers’ low-key offseason and now their spring injury plague has led to some pessimism about the club, as Sherman explores in a column.  In not stripping the farm to acquire big names at either last July’s trade deadline or during the winter, however, the Dodgers feel they’ve amassed the depth necessary to withstand this injury bug.  Yasiel Puig has also been in good form both on the field and in the clubhouse this spring.
  • With all the injury gloom surrounding the Dodgers’ rotation, one major bright spot has been Kenta Maeda’s excellent Spring Training, MLB.com’s Ken Gurnick writes.  Maeda has a 1.89 ERA and 18 strikeouts over 19 spring innings, firmly establishing his place in the pitching staff.  The Japanese righty signed a rather unique eight-year, $25MM contract (with over $65MM available in incentive bonuses) with Los Angeles this winter, a structure inspired by some concerns the Dodgers had over Maeda’s physical.
  • Earlier this week, Yahoo Sports’ Jeff Passan examined the controversy surrounding the Dodgers/Time Warner television contract.  Passan criticized all sides for the situation that has led to many L.A. residents unable to watch Dodger games for the last two years, and also explores what the future could hold for all baseball teams and cable TV deals.
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