Kyle Freeland

Injury Notes: Suzuki, Adams, Lowe, Freeland

By Dylan A. Chase | September 21, 2019 at 10:07pm CDT

Nationals catcher Kurt Suzuki returned to the D.C. lineup tonight for the first time in nearly two weeks, logging a pinch-hit, bases-clearing double in the 10th inning of a game against the Marlins. Though he’s back to swinging a stick for the Wild Card-contending Nats, it isn’t as if he’s altogether healed from the elbow issues that first sidelined him on Sept. 7. As he told Mark Zuckerman of MASN Sports, Suzuki is simply going to have to play through pain if he wishes to help his club into October. “Shoot, I’m 35 years old. I’m going to be 36 (on Oct. 4),” the catcher said. “If I get hurt, knock on wood, it’s not going to be just a little rest thing…At the same time, I don’t know how many times I’m going to have the opportunity to get to the playoffs.”

If Suzuki’s ongoing presence is a question of pain tolerance, the Nats should be sure to have plenty of aspirin on hand for the veteran backstop. After all, his .260/..319/.473 line (100 wRC+) through 301 plate appearances this year is vastly superior to the output offered by teammate Yan Gomes in 2019 (.221/.316/.370 slash in 329 plate appearances).

More notes about athletes dealing with their own share of September pain…

As noted by Greg Johns of MLB.com, Mariners reliever Austin Adams crumpled into a heap after tweaking his knee while covering first base in tonight’s game against the Orioles (link). Adams, 28, had to be helped off of the field by trainers. After kicking around the Angels and Nationals organizations since being drafted in 2012, Adams had appeared to find a comfortable home with Seattle in 2019. In his first prolonged big league exposure, the righty has logged a whopping 15.06 K/9 rate in 31.2 innings this year, with solid ERA (3.98) and FIP (3.12) indicators.
Rays youngster Brandon Lowe was back in uniform and manning second base today–albeit only in a sim game. Still, manager Kevin Cash thinks the rookie is almost ready to return from a left quad strain that has sidelined him since being injured in a rehab appearance in late July. “He’s close,” Cash told Juan Toribio of MLB.com (link). “I saw a video of him going first to third, and he’s running a lot better. I’m not going to say he’s back to his normal speed yet — he’s going to have to manage that whenever he does get activated — but we’re encouraged that the at-bats have been really good, the defense has been really good, it’s just running and getting out of the box and us having enough trust in him that he can manage that.” Lowe hasn’t played since July 2nd, when leg issues first befell him. Because Lowe is on the 60-day IL, the team would have to clear a 40-man spot to facilitate his return.
Rockies starter Kyle Freeland has been activated by the club and started tonight’s game against the Dodgers. Logging two scoreless innings in something of an “opener” capacity this evening, Freeland penned something of a modestly positive chapter in what has been an otherwise forgettable 2019 saga. With a sky-high 6.98 ERA (6.13 FIP) in 99.1 innings entering tonight’s game, Freeland has been a chief culprit in Colorado’s ’19 pitching woes. Interestingly, Jeff Saunders of the Denver Post penned a column today examining baseball’s offensive explosion in 2019, citing Freeland as one player who will be difficult to evaluate this offseason in part because of the possible “juiced” quality of this year’s baseball (link). Said Saunders: “In my opinion, the “juiced baseball” really hurt Rockies left-hander Kyle Freeland this season. I’m not making excuses for Freeland’s 6.98 ERA and 25 home runs served up in 20 starts, because he was clearly off his game and his mechanics were out of whack. But I also think it’s true that Freeland became a little gun shy because his slider wasn’t breaking as it should and he gave up a number of cheap home runs.” There may be some merit to this thinking. Freeland posted a 22.9% HR/FB rate this season while home run records were shattered league-wide.

NL Injury Notes: Baez, Weaver, Brewers, Rockies

By Connor Byrne | September 17, 2019 at 6:57pm CDT

The Cubs will evaluate shortstop Javier Baez by week’s end to see when he’ll be able to start rehab activity, Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun-Times tweets. The club has been without Baez for just about all of September because of a hairline fracture in his left thumb, and it’s likely the injury will prevent the star from suiting up again in the regular season as Chicago tries to at least earn a wild-card berth. The Baez-less Cubs have been turning to recently recalled youngster Nico Hoerner at short, and fortunately for them, he has begun his career in outstanding fashion. Thanks in part to Hoerner’s contributions, the Cubs are 6-2 dating back to his Sept. 9 debut.

More injury updates from around the National League…

Diamondbacks right-hander Luke Weaver may be a “couple days” from returning to a major league mound, per Zach Buchanan of The Athletic. Weaver threw a successful bullpen session Tuesday as he works back from forearm and ulnar collateral ligament issues that have shelved him since late May. The offseason acquisition, who joined the D-backs via their Paul Goldschmidt trade with the Cardinals, had been amid a stellar campaign before landing on the shelf. Weaver owns a 3.03 ERA/3.11 FIP with 9.82 K/9 and 2.02 BB/9 in 62 1/3 innings on the season. While Arizona’s playoff hopes have faded this year, the hope is Weaver and fellow young righty Zac Gallen will be among those to help drive the team back into contention in 2020.
Brewers righty reliever Corey Knebel is “continuing to make progress” in his recovery from the Tommy John procedure he underwent in March, Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel relays. Knebel expects to return to throwing from a mound when spring training rolls around, per Haudricourt. It’s all the more impressive on the Brewers’ part that they’re in the thick of the wild-card hunt without having received anything from Knebel, who was one of their best bullpen options from 2017-18.
Rockies southpaw Kyle Freeland is nearing a late-season return, according to Nick Groke of The Athletic. A strained groin has kept Freeland from taking a big league mound since Aug. 20, but he’ll be able to make two more starts (albeit at just two to three innings per appearance) this year, Groke notes. Freeland will attempt to end his surprisingly dismal season on a high note when he suits up again. One of the NL’s premier pitchers just a year ago, Freeland has been just the opposite in 2019. The 26-year-old has logged a 6.98 ERA/6.13 FIP across 99 1/3 frames, and his struggles led the Rockies to demote him to the minors earlier in the season.

NL Notes: Hiura, BA Awards, Freeland

By Dylan A. Chase | September 15, 2019 at 12:18am CDT

With a .301/.369/.571 line, 16 home runs, and nine stolen bases in his first 295 plate appearances in the majors, Brewers infielder Keston Hiura has this season put on prominent display the skills that made him a top-10 pick in the 2017 Rule IV draft. Today comes word that the UC Irvine product is a little closer to putting those tools to further use, as Adam McCalvy of MLB.com tweets that Hiura did a full workout (including batting practice) before logging one at-bat in today’s game against the Cardinals (link). Hiura has been out with a left hamstring strain since Aug. 31. Though the club certainly awaits his return with eagerness, they have been doing just fine for themselves in Hiura’s absence. Saturday’s win brings their record to 8-2 over their last ten contests. They are now just 1.0 games back of the Cubs for the last Wild Card play-in spot.

More notes from around the NL…

Baseball America has released their annual “Classification All-Stars” list, in which they name their All-Stars, MVPs, and Pitchers of the Year for each minor league level irrespective of league. Notably, NL prospects took home Pitcher of the Year honors at every minor league level except Double-A (a level which Tigers farmhand Matt Manning trounced in 2019). The complete list of garlanded NL pitchers includes Arizona’s Zac Gallen (Triple-A), San Diego’s Mackenzie Gore (High-A), San Francisco’s Seth Corry (Single-A), Arizona’s Luis Frias (Short Season), Miami’s Luis Palacios (Rookie), and Jerming Rosario of the Los Angeles Dodgers organization (Dominican Summer League).
The Rockies play the Padres this weekend in a three-game series that has few relevant ramifications–aside from which team may be hung with the unflattering distinction of being the so-called cellar dweller in the NL West this year. There may be another bright spot in the offing for Colorado as their season yawns to a close, however, as word now comes that pitcher Kyle Freeland is one step closer to ending his troubled 2019 season on a positive note. Manager Bud Black told Thomas Harding of MLB.com that Freeland threw an issue-free, two-inning simulated bullpen session on Saturday–the 26-year-old’s latest step in recovery from a groin injury suffered on Aug. 21. After vexing hitters thoroughly in 2018 (2.85 ERA in 202.2 innings), this season has been a true test of faith for Freeland, as his 6.98 ERA in 99.1 innings of work was the worst mark among all pitchers who tossed more than 90 IP this year.

West Notes: Panda, D-backs, Astros, Rockies

By Connor Byrne | August 30, 2019 at 12:15am CDT

The latest on several notable players from the majors’ West divisions…

Although Giants third baseman Pablo Sandoval is set for Tommy John surgery, his season doesn’t look over quite yet. Manager Bruce Bochy told Kerry Crowley of the Bay Area News Group and other reporters Thursday that Sandoval could at least make some pinch-hit appearances before he goes under the knife. In the meantime, Sandoval will test out his swing to see if he’ll be able to contribute more this season. The longtime Giant, 33, is a strong bet to hit free agency in the offseason, meaning his run in San Francisco could be on the verge of concluding.
Diamondbacks right-hander Luke Weaver continues progressing toward a 2019 return, Richard Morin of the Arizona Republic relays. Weaver, out since late May with a UCL strain and a flexor sprain in his pitching arm, will throw a 25-pitch bullpen session on Friday, and the club will determine where to go from there. While Weaver was eminently effective out of the Diamondbacks’ rotation earlier this season, the lack of time left in the campaign will force him to pitch from their bullpen if he does return. Meantime, the news is less encouraging for fellow righty Taijuan Walker, whose 2018 Tommy John surgery and ’19 shoulder problems have stopped him from taking a major league mound this season. Walker is throwing, but it’s “unlikely” that he’ll come back this year, Morin writes.
In welcome news for the Astros’ bullpen, injured reliever Ryan Pressly is doing “quite well” in his recovery from knee surgery, according to manager A.J. Hinch (via Brian McTaggart of MLB.com). Pressly could resume light throwing over the weekend. His absence dating back to Aug. 21 has deprived the title-contending Astros of arguably their best reliever as the postseason approaches. The right-handed Pressly has logged a 2.50 ERA/2.83 FIP with tremendous strikeout and walk rates (11.62 K/9, 1.97 BB/9) over 50 1/3 innings this season. Teammate and fellow righty reliever Josh James could come off the IL this weekend, meanwhile, per McTaggart. The promising 26-year-old has fanned a prolific 14.03 batters per nine across 51 1/3 frames this season, though a bloated walk rate (5.03 per nine) has helped lead to a 4.73 ERA/4.11 FIP.
Rockies reliever Scott Oberg explained to Thomas Harding of MLB.com why he recently underwent surgery to address blood clots in his right arm, saying, “It just felt really heavy.” It’s the second instance of blood clots for Oberg, but fortunately, he’s not suffering from any kind of major medical condition. The soon-to-be 30-year-old expects to be ready to go for 2020, when he’ll try to build on a second straight impressive campaign. This season has been anything but impressive for Rockies lefty Kyle Freeland, who’s currently on the IL with a strained groin, but he’s working toward a return; however, there’s no timetable for a possible comeback, Harding relays. Freeland went from Cy Young candidate a year ago to someone who has faced a minor league demotion this season and pitched to a ghastly 6.98 ERA/6.12 FIP over 20 starts and 99 1/3 innings in the bigs.

NL Injury Notes: McCann, Freeland, Cueto, Anderson

By Mark Polishuk | August 21, 2019 at 10:35am CDT

Brian McCann left Tuesday’s game with what the Braves described as left knee soreness. The veteran catcher was set to undergo tests today, and manager Brian Snitker indicated to reporters (including Tim Tucker of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution) that he didn’t yet know if McCann would need to be moved to the injured list. Alex Jackson is most obvious candidate to be called up from the minors to back up Tyler Flowers if McCann does require an IL stint, though Atlanta also picked up John Ryan Murphy in a trade deadline swap with the Diamondbacks. Calling up Murphy would require the Braves to make room on the 40-man roster, however. McCann has hit .264/.336/.423 with 10 homers over 274 plate appearances this season (while also posting some above-average framing numbers), giving the Braves some extra pop from the catcher position as Flowers has had a down year at the plate.

More injury news from around the NL…

Kyle Freeland left Tuesday’s game in the sixth inning due to a strained groin, and the Rockies left-hander seems likely to spend some time on the injured list. Freeland told Patrick Saunders of the Denver Post and other reporters that the injury feels similar to a strain that also put him on the IL back in 2017, though only for a minimal stint. The injury continues what has been a nightmare of a season for Freeland, as he has a 6.98 ERA and 22.9% home run rate over 99 1/3 innings, and also spent almost a month and a half at Triple-A in an attempt to get himself on track.
Giants manager Bruce Bochy gave an unofficial projection of September 8 as Johnny Cueto’s potential return date to the majors, as Bochy told reporters (including the San Francisco Chronicle’s Henry Schulman) on Tuesday. Cueto threw 60 pitches in a rehab outing for the Class-A San Jose Giants yesterday, and he’ll make the first of two rehab starts for Triple-A Sacramento on Monday. Assuming the tentative September 8 date stands, it will mark just over 13 months between Tommy John surgery and a Major League mound for Cueto.
In other Giants injury news, right-hander Shaun Anderson has started his own Triple-A rehab assignment, Alex Pavlovic of NBC Sports Bay Area tweets. Anderson hit the IL on August 8 due to a blister on the middle finger of his throwing hand, so he shouldn’t require too long of a ramp-up period before he is able to rejoin the Giants. Anderson has a 5.33 ERA, 1.77 K/BB rate, and a 6.0 K/9 over 82 2/3 innings in what has been a rather inconsistent rookie season for the 24-year-old.

Latest On Kyle Freeland

By Jeff Todd | July 10, 2019 at 11:45am CDT

Rockies starter Kyle Freeland could soon be ready for a return to the majors, if he isn’t already, Nick Groke of The Athletic explains (subscription link) in the course of an excellent examination of the demoted southpaw.

There’s still no formal indication whether and when the Colorado organization will elect to call back Freeland. But the club is badly in need of a boost after dropping six-straight contests heading into the All-Star break. And Freeland says he’s ready to roll.

“I feel back to myself,” says Freeland, who was optioned at the end of May after a brutal start to the season. That came on the heels of a stirring 2018 performance in which he landed fourth in the National League’s Cy Young voting. While there was cause to anticipate some regression, it seemed at the time that the Denver native was destined to be a rotation stalwart for years to come.

After allowing more than seven earned runs per nine innings in a dozen MLB starts, Freeland has coughed up almost a run per frame in his half-dozen outings at Triple-A. With 28 strikeouts against 16 walks, he’s not exactly posting dominant K/BB numbers against second-level competition.

But those numbers only tell part of the tale, Groke writes. When Freeland was demoted, the prevailing sense was that he was in good shape physically and mechanically. The issue, rather, was that he had become predictable to big-league hitters. The Rox initially told Freeland to rely exclusively on his fastball and change. He wasn’t working on big fixes; as he puts it, “it was just getting back to being myself.”

That’s approximately the same characterization that skipper Bud Black puts on the situation. He expressed confidence, saying he anticipates Freeland will “exhibit confidence in his pitch mix” and “be more dimensional.” It’s all but impossible to really say what that will look like on the mound. As Groke explains, though, that’s due to Freeland’s nature as a pitcher who succeeds by mixing, matching, and adapting constantly with his expansive repertoire.

While Freeland may feel himself, it remains to be seen whether he can again pitch anything like the version of himself that was capable of a full season of sub-3.00 ERA ball at Coors Field. He was bombed in his last Triple-A outing of the month of June, coughing up nine earned runs in 3 1/3 innings, but then bounced back with a sterling outing just before the break (9 strikeouts, 2 walks, four hits, 1 earned run in 7 innings).

There’s loads of uncertainty, but the Rockies have little choice but to give Freeland another shot — likely in the relatively near future. Groke says the club is inclined to call up Chi Chi Gonzalez for an upcoming doubleheader spot start, but anticipates a need for a fifth starter later this month. That’s only part of the picture, though, as the club’s current four-man rotation mix is not without broader issues. German Marquez and Jon Gray have been sturdy; otherwise, the Colorado club has received shaky output. Antonio Senzatela (who has been destroyed by lefty hitters) and newcomer Peter Lambert (nine home runs allowed in 29 2/3 innings) haven’t thrived any more than did Freeland, Jeff Hoffman, Tyler Anderson, and Chad Bettis. If the Rox are to hand in the Wild Card race, they’ll need to get more consistency from their starting staff.

Rockies Option Kyle Freeland

By Jeff Todd | May 31, 2019 at 4:10pm CDT

The Rockies have optioned down struggling lefty Kyle Freeland, per a team announcement. Also headed to Triple-A is outfielder Yonathan Daza, with the team bringing hurlers Chris Rusin and Jesus Tinoco up to the active roster.

It’s a rather stunning move as regards Freeland, who finished fourth in the National League Cy Young voting last year. While it is no doubt hard to drop such a player down, the club could no longer look past his more recent issues.

Through a dozen starts this year, Freeland has managed only a 7.13 ERA in 59 1/3 innings. Though he’s still generating similar numbers of strikeouts (7.4 K/9) and walks (3.8 BB/9) to his 2018 showing, opposing hitters have teed up a league-high 16 long balls against him.

Freeland never seemed particularly likely to repeat his surprising sophomore campaign, as ERA estimators took a much dimmer view of his effort than his 2.85 ERA suggested. But the 26-year-old seemed likely to be a quality rotation piece for years to come.

There’s no glaringly obvious explanation for the downturn. While he has bumped up his swinging-strike rate a bit (9.0% to 10.6%), Freeland has given up much better contact when it has been made. Batters have doubled their barrel rate (to 10.7%) and jumped to 35.5% hard contact. Freeland has been abused in particular at Coors Field (9.31 ERA), the complete opposite from 2018 (2.40 ERA). He’s sitting at a .287 BABIP-against, right where he was last year (.285). There has been a change in sequencing fortunes, as Freeland has dropped to a 62.0% strand rate after sitting at 82.8% in 2018.

Freeland, the former eighth-overall draft pick, had accrued two full seasons of MLB service entering the present campaign. He’ll need to make it back to the majors in 2019 in order to reach arbitration as a Super Two or 3+ service-class player next fall. The team had indicated some pre-season interest in a long-term deal, though talks never seemed to get going in earnest and surely won’t now unless and until Freeland gets back on track.

Rockies Place Kyle Freeland On 10-Day IL

By Jeff Todd | April 22, 2019 at 4:32pm CDT

The Rockies announced today that southpaw Kyle Freeland has been placed on the 10-day inured list with a blister. He’ll be replaced by fellow southpaw Tyler Anderson, who was activated from his own stint on the IL.

It had been hoped that the blister to Freeland’s left middle finger wouldn’t require any time on the shelf, but it seems not to have responded quite as well as had been hoped. Blisters can become major problems for pitchers, though there’s no reason at this point to think Freeland’s will turn into a long-lasting issue.

The news comes as a mild disappointment for a club that has been on a nice run of late. Freeland, 25, finished fourth in the Cy Young voting last year and is a key rotation cog for Colorado. Then again, it may not amount to much at all; with his IL placement backdated to April 19th, he could in theory will miss only a single start. That’s just what the southpaw is hoping for, Nick Groke of The Athletic tweets.

As for Anderson, the 29-year-old will be looking to bounce back after experiencing knee inflammation and throwing two rough outings to open the year. He hasn’t reached the heights some might have hoped for a first-round pick, but has been useful for the Rox since reaching the majors in 2016. Anderson showed a worrying velocity drop of nearly 2 mph to open the current campaign; that’s something to watch now that he’s back in action.

NL Notes: Nats, Rosenthal, Rox, Freeland, Brewers, Cards, Reyes

By Connor Byrne | April 7, 2019 at 9:03pm CDT

Nationals reliever Trevor Rosenthal’s hellish early season start continued Sunday when he failed to retire either Met he faced, walking one and hitting another. Rosenthal also threw a pair of wild pitches and totaled just one strike during his seven-pitch outing. Worse, the 28-year-old hasn’t recorded an out against any of the nine batters he has gone against this season, making him the first pitcher since 1995 to achieve that ignominious feat, Jon Heyman of MLB Network notes. Rosenthal, who missed all of 2018 after undergoing Tommy John surgery, expressed confidence in his health Sunday and his chances of eventually escaping this slump, per Mark Zuckerman of MASNsports.com. Meanwhile, asked if the Nationals can continue to put Rosenthal on the mound, manager Dave Martinez said: “We have to come up with something. We have to figure something out for him. We tried to tweak something with his mechanics, but we’ve got to keep working on it.”

Martinez added the Nationals are “going to need Rosey,” who was their most noteworthy bullpen addition of the offseason. Thanks to a successful run with the Cardinals from 2012-17, Rosenthal’s earning a guaranteed $7MM this season with Washington, which took a chance on him in the wake of his injury. His return has gone about as poorly as possible thus far, of course, though Rosenthal’s hardly the lone problem in the Nationals’ bullpen. The unit entered Sunday with a league-worst 10.02 ERA and nearly blew a 12-1 lead before hanging on for a 12-9 win.

Rockies Interested In Additional Extensions

By Jeff Todd | April 5, 2019 at 11:27pm CDT

The Rockies are fully on board the extension train, having inked two significant deals with existing players this winter (Nolan Arenado, German Marquez) after doing the same this time last year with Charlie Blackmon. Club owner Dick Monfort indicated today that the team is interested in pursuing yet more deals, as Nick Groke of The Athletic reports (Twitter links).

Two players, in particular, seem to be in the crosshairs for Monfort and his front office, which is led by GM Jeff Bridich. Shortstop Trevor Story is one; Monfort said that the team would rather ink a long-term deal than try to find an eventual free-agent replacement. And Monfort also suggests he sees a path to a multi-year arrangement with lefty Kyle Freeland.

It’s interesting to see the concept of a free-agent replacement cited in relation to Story, since the Rox’ top prospect is also a shortstop. Brendan Rodgers figures to be ready for the majors well before Story hits the open market in advance of the 2022 season, though perhaps the preference is for an infield that features both — along with Arenado.

Story, certainly, has shown himself worthy of an investment. The 26-year-old turned in a sub-par season with the bat in 2017 but still launched 24 long balls. He has been outstanding with the bat in his other two seasons in the majors. Last year, he drove the ball out of the park 37 times and slashed .291/.348/.567 over 656 plate appearances — good for a healthy 127 wRC+. Story also swiped 27 bags. While his defensive metrics lagged following a strong ’17 showing, he has graded in range of league average at short. It’s an impressive overall package.

The Rox aren’t likely to get too much of a discount on a deal with Story. He’s already earning $5MM this season, which sets the stage for large earnings in his final two seasons of arbitration. With age generally on his side, and big money already locked in, Story can hold out for a significant payday.

As for Freeland, there’s always more risk for a pitcher — particularly one who calls Coors Field home. But altitude comes with the territory for the Colorado native, who’s in the same 2+ (non-Super Two) service class as Marquez. Freeland is a bit older — he’ll soon turn 26, while Marquez only just turned 24 — but has an argument for even greater earnings after a monster 2018 season. (Marquez was guaranteed $43MM over five years.)

Freeland showed ample promise in his MLB debut, but took things to quite a surprising new level last year. In 202 1/3 innings, he worked to a 2.85 ERA with 7.7 K/9 and 3.1 BB/9 to go with a 46.0% groundball rate. That showing earned him a fourth-place finish in the N.L. Cy Young voting — and probably would’ve warranted higher placement in most seasons.

There’s certainly an argument to be made that Marquez is the better pitcher to invest in, but that’s not to say that Freeland isn’t worthy — even if he does end up costing more. His history of 50+% groundball rates in the minors is noteworthy. And his productivity to date has already boosted his arb earning capabilities, so the Rockies figure to face some reasonably significant obligations in the near term.

It’s not clear whether talks will be pursued in the immediate term with either player. The team may prefer to wait and see how the season shakes out. Rodgers could reduce the long-term need for Story; Freeland may not repeat his ’18 successes. On the other hand, repeat showings from these quality younger players could make it that much more expensive to secure their services for the future.

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