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Luis Severino

East Notes: Yankees, Cano, Nationals, Marlins

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Injured Yankees ace Luis Severino is set to begin a rehab assignment at the Double-A level Sunday, manager Aaron Boone told George A. King III of the New York Post and other reporters. It’ll be a long-awaited return to game action for Severino, whose shoulder and lat issues have prevented him from taking the hill this season. He’ll “probably” throw around 35 pitches in the contest, per Boone. Meanwhile, in encouraging news for the first-place Bombers’ lineup, first basemen/designated hitters Luke Voit and Edwin Encarnacion are progressing in their rehabs. Voit, who hasn’t played since July 30 because of a sports hernia, is “on track” to come back Friday, Bryan Hoch of MLB.com tweets. The 36-year-old Encarnacion’s not as close, but Boone “believes” he’ll come off the shelf soon, per Hoch. Encarnacion has been down since Aug. 3 with a fractured right wrist.

Here’s more from NYC and a couple other cities:

  • Mets second baseman Robinson Cano is making notable progress as he works back from a torn hamstring, Anthony DiComo of MLB.com reports. Cano – out since Aug. 5 – “appears likely” to return sometime next month, per DiComo, which would represent a best-case recovery for someone who was expected to miss six to 12 weeks at the time of the injury. The longtime star, 36, has posted weak production in his first year as a Met, with whom he has slashed .252/.295/.415 with 10 home runs in 346 plate appearances. But Cano’s bat seemed to be waking up in the days before his injury, which aided New York during a white-hot stretch in which it raced into wild-card contention. The Mets are now mired in a four-game skid, though, and sit three out of playoff position.
  • Nationals left-hander Roenis Elias could rejoin their bullpen “by the end of the week,” Mark Zuckerman of MASNsports.com writes. Elias has only made one appearance and recorded two outs for the Nationals, who acquired him from the Mariners at the July 31 trade deadline. He succumbed to a hamstring strain on the base paths, of all places, back on Aug. 2. Teammate Ryan Zimmerman has been out for even longer (plantar fasciitis in his right foot has kept him out since July 23), but his return also appears imminent, Zuckerman relays. This has been a tough age-34 season for the first baseman, who has been on the IL twice thanks to foot issues and has mustered a subpar .246/.311/.390 line over 132 plate appearances.
  • After suffering a broken bone in his left hand last Friday, Marlins third baseman/outfielder Brian Anderson will indeed miss the rest of the season, according to Joe Frisaro of MLB.com. However, Anderson won’t need to undergo surgery, and will go through “a normal winter” as a result, manager Don Mattingly announced. That’s a silver lining for the Marlins and Anderson, one of their few offensive threats over the past couple years.

Health Notes: Lopez, Gott, Indians, McKay, Yankees

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Marlins righty Pablo Lopez returned today from the 10-day injured list. The 23-year-old had been out since June with shoulder problems, so it’s good to see he was able to get back up to speed before the end of the season. Lopez wasn’t at his best, allowing four earned in five innings, but averaged 94.1 mph with his fastball.

Here are some more health notes from around the game …

  • The Giants are sending reliever Trevor Gott in for a closer look after he experienced tightness in his right forearm tonight, as John Shea of the San Francisco Chronicle was among those to cover on Twitter. That’s not the news anyone wanted at the end of an enormously successful season for the young reliever, who has been among the nicest surprises in San Francisco. At this point, there’s nothing to be done but wait and hope that there isn’t a significant underlying problem.
  • There are a bevy of updates on the health front for the Indians, as MLB.com’s Mandy Bell covers on Twitter. In particular, the club has a big slate of rehabbing hurlers appearing over the next few days. Danny Salazar threw a frame today at Double-A without incident. Jefry Rodriguez is slated to appear with the club’s top affiliate tomorrow, with fellow starter Carlos Carrasco and reliever Dan Otero scheduled to throw in game action on Wednesday. Meanwhile, long-absent outfielder Bradley Zimmer has reached the Triple-A level and seems likely to be an option in the majors again soon.
  • Prized young Rays hurler Brendan McKay, optioned down after a rough recent start, has hit the injured list at Triple-A, as MLB.com’s Juan Toribio was among those to tweet. He’s said to be dealing with shoulder fatigue, which sounds worrisome but doesn’t appear to be cause for any concern. The expectation is that he won’t miss more than a week of action, which means he ought to be ready to help the Rays again soon — if and when he’s needed.
  • As usual, there’s a lengthy list of Yankees injury updates to touch upon. MLB.com’s Bryan Hoch has the latest (all links to Twitter account). Key righties Luis Severino and Dellin Betances are just one step removed from possible rehab outings, which puts them back on the map for activation down the stretch — and potential postseason availability. The situation is less certain for outfielder Giancarlo Stanton, who “could take on-field batting practice Tuesday for the first time” since going down with a PCL strain about two months ago. And the club indicates it’s possible that southpaw Jordan Montgomery will be ready to throw in the majors before the end of the regular season. He’s slated to continue his rehab work at Double-A. As for shortstop Didi Gregorius, he’s bouncing back quickly after being hit by a pitch. He could be back in the lineup in short order.

Latest On Yankees Pitching Plans

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The Yankees rotation has long been a source of worry for fans of the club. While the concerns haven’t stopped the Yanks from dominating the AL East, the staff isn’t without question marks. MLB.com’s Bryan Hoch is among the reporters to pass along the latest from the team (in this report and these tweets).

Of most immediate concern was the news that veteran southpaw CC Sabathia will return to the active roster on Sunday. He’ll return following a brief respite for his problematic knee and look to improve upon his 4.78 ERA.

Even if Sabathia is able to get some positive momentum going, he doesn’t seem like an optimal postseason starter. The same holds for the club’s other aging lefty rotation piece, J.A. Happ, whose season-long struggles are well-documented. He’ll be looking for a turnaround outing today.

It’s interesting to think about the possible ways the Yankees could best utilize these veteran southpaws. Perhaps the most intriguing concept is some kind of piggyback arrangement involving a pair of high-octane young righties who may not quite be capable of handling full starter’s duties this season. Jonathan Loaisiga is just returning from injury and hasn’t yet established himself in the bigs, while Luis Severino is still working back. There’s optimism Severino will be a factor next month, though even a minor setback could end his season and he may not be able to ramp up fully so late in the year.

There are also at least some questions involving the late-season handling of the emergent Domingo German. As Hoch explains, German did not reach 100 frames last year and has never thrown more than 123 1/3 in a professional season (a high-water mark he reached in 2014). The club is not going to let him throw an unrestrained volume of innings this year, but also has decided not to publicize the limits.

Indeed, skipper Aaron Boone says that the organization has not “even honestly gotten deep into those conversations yet” as to when and how to pull back on German’s usage. Boone suggests that the return of other hurlers will help the club manage the 27-year-old’s workload. Fortunately, with a big division lead to work with, it seems the Yanks aren’t worried that they’ll miss out on any key innings. “[W]e feel like he’s strong right now and still has a lot left in the tank,” says Boone.

There is still one other intriguing possibility to keep an eye on as well. Tommy John rehabber Jordan Montgomery has thrown a two-inning sim game. Could he be an option late in the year and into the postseason? “We’ll see,” says Boone.

Latest On Yankees’ Voit, Severino, Betances, Sabathia

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Surgery has seemed like a strong possibility for Yankees first baseman Luke Voit since he landed on the injured list with a sports hernia on July 31. Fortunately for New York, however, Voit’s “very optimistic” he’ll be able to avoid going under the knife, Lindsey Adler of The Athletic tweets. Voit will hit Tuesday for the first time he went to the IL.

Core problems have derailed Voit’s season dating back to the start of July, when an abdominal strain forced him to the shelf. This has nonetheless been a strong season for the 28-year-old Voit, who has slashed .278/.392/.493 with 19 home runs in 416 plate appearances. Voit has been one of the top offensive performers in a New York offense that has survived one major injury after another this year en route to a first-place tie for the American League’s best record. With him and DH/first baseman Edwin Encarnacion currently among wounded Yankees, the club has been deploying a combination of utilityman extraordinaire DJ LeMahieu and Mike Ford at 1B. A large cast, including Ford, has been sharing DH duties of late.

Like New York’s offense, its pitching staff has faced notable injuries throughout 2019. The Yankees’ top starter, Luis Severino, and their No. 1 setup man, Dellin Betances, haven’t pitched at all because of shoulder and lat problems. But both right-handers got through their bullpen sessions Monday without issues, per Meredith Marakovits of the YES Network (Twitter links). Expectations are that Severino will throw one more bullpen before he graduates to facing live hitters. There’s optimism he’ll be able to help the Yankees’ rotation by mid-September, David Lennon of Newsday observes. Betances will toss another bullpen Wednesday.

Meanwhile, left-hander CC Sabathia is progressing in his recovery from right knee inflammation and could rejoin the Yankees’ rotation for their series against Cleveland this weekend, per Bryan Hoch of MLB.com. Sabathia has been on the IL since July 28.

East Injury Notes: Yankees, Braves, Mets

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The latest on a few notable injury situations from the East Coast…

  • Yankees outfielder Giancarlo Stanton has resumed baseball activities, but the club doesn’t expect him to return before rosters expand in September, George A. King III of the New York Post reports. Stanton has been on the injured list since June 26 with a sprained right knee – the latest ailment in a season packed with them for the former NL MVP. The 29-year-old slugger has collected just 38 plate appearances, but the injury-ravaged Yankees have persevered through his absence and many others en route to the American League’s top record (75-39). Key right-handers Luis Severino and Dellin Betances have accompanied Stanton among this year’s unavailable Yankees, though King explains that both pitchers continue to progress. Shoulder and lat problems have prevented either from throwing a single pitch in the majors this season. They could be crucial late-season reinforcements for a pitching-needy New York club that was unable to make upgrades at last week’s trade deadline.
  • The Braves still have no timetable for the return of shortstop Dansby Swanson, manager Brian Snitker said Thursday (via David O’Brien of The Athletic). Swanson has been dealing with a heel issue for more than two weeks, which has primarily left short to Johan Camargo in his stead. Unfortunately for the Braves, though, Camargo has put up a year to forget. Since Swanson went down, Camargo has seen his already weak batting line drop to .217/.267/.333 in 222 plate appearances this season. On the other hand, Swanson was hitting a career-high .265/.330/.468 with 17 home runs in 431 PA when he hit the injured list.
  • The Mets sent outfielder Brandon Nimmo to the 60-day IL Thursday in a procedural move, though he could begin a rehab assignment within a week, Mike Puma of the New York Post tweets. After what looked like a breakout 2018 campaign, in which Nimmo slashed .263/.404/.483 with 17 HRs in 535 PA, he has struggled through injuries and poor performance this season. Nimmo hasn’t played since late May because of a bulging disk in his neck, and he limped to a .200/.344/.323 line with three long balls over 161 PA before then. Even without Nimmo, the Mets have gone on an improbable run over the past couple weeks to put themselves firmly in NL wild-card contention. Some of Nimmo’s fellow outfielders, including Michael Conforto, Jeff McNeil and J.D. Davis, have helped lead the charge.

Yankees Notes: Severino, Garcia, Gregorius, Voit

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A few items on the Yankees, who defeated archrival Boston on Friday to increase their advantage in the American League East to 11 1/2 over the Red Sox and 7 1/2 above the Rays…

  • Injured right-hander Luis Severino is on track to begin throwing off a mound next Friday, manager Aaron Boone told James Wagner of the New York Times and other reporters. Severino has been out all season with shoulder and lat injuries, thus depriving the Yankees of their ace. Despite the Yankees’ resounding success as a team, their staff has been shaky without Severino, but general manager Brian Cashman was unable to make a deal to address it prior to the trade deadline. The eventual return of the 25-year-old Severino looks all the more crucial as a result, though he may not have enough time to build up his arm to work in his usual role when he comes back.
  • Like Severino, fellow righty Deivi Garcia could be a late-season reinforcement for the Yankees’ pitching staff. If the highly touted 20-year-old does make his major league debut this season, he’ll function as a reliever, according to Cashman (via Bryan Hoch of MLB.com). Garcia, a popular target of other clubs prior to the trade deadline, dominated at the Double-A level this season but has endured some difficulty since a a promotion to Triple-A ball three weeks ago. However, that isn’t particularly surprising for someone who was the youngest player in Triple-A when the Yankees moved him up to the level.
  • Shortstop Didi Gregorius is dealing with a knuckle issue, Wagner relays, and it’s not a sure thing he’ll avoid the injured list. Boone said Gregorius is “hopeful” he’ll stay off the IL, but the 29-year-old did miss the Yankees’ game Friday. With Gregorius down for at least one night, the Yankees had the luxury of plugging starting second baseman Gleyber Torres in at short and using infielder DJ LeMahieu at the keystone. They’ll likely continue with that setup if Gregorius needs an IL stint.
  • First baseman Luke Voit, whom the team placed on the IL with a sports hernia on Wednesday, should know in roughly a week whether he’ll need surgery, Bryan Hoch of MLB.com tweets. A surgical procedure would put Voit’s season at risk, which would be a terrible pre-playoff development for a New York club that has seen the 28-year-old carry his late-2018 breakout into this season. Voit has slashed .278/.392/.493 (135 wRC+) with 19 home runs in 416 plate appearances. Fortunately for the Yankees, they do boast impressive depth at first with LeMahieu, Edwin Encarnacion and minor leaguer Mike Ford in the fold.

Health Notes: McCann, Castillo, Polanco, Severino

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Veteran Braves backstop Brian McCann hasn’t yet decided on his future but feels great in the present, he tells David O’Brien of The Athletic (subscription link) as part of a lengthy and entertaining chat. The 35-year-old backstop would say only that “we’ll see what happens” when pressed on his intentions for playing beyond the current campaign. It certainly seems like a tempting proposition for McCann, who says he “feel[s] amazing” after undergoing knee surgery last year. While he has had some ups and downs at the plate this season, McCann carries a solid .257/.328/.427 batting line over 198 plate appearances and has been an excellent value for the Braves at $2MM. His ongoing knee health seems to bode well for the organization down the stretch.

More on a few health situations from around the game …

  • The White Sox announced today that they have activated catcher Welington Castillo. He ended up missing about a month with an oblique strain. It remains to be seen how the Chicago org will allocate playing time, but odds are James McCann will continue to receive the lion’s share of the duties behind the dish. Castillo could conceivably be moved later this month, if only because teams will be looking to stash depth in advance of the single trade deadline, but he won’t hold much appeal given his ugly .196/.289/.364 slash. The veteran backstop is also earning a hefty $7.25MM this year and is owed a $500K buyout on a $8MM club option for 2020. The White Sox may also just hang tight and see if their club can make a surprise run at a Wild Card slot.
  • Pirates outfielder Gregory Polanco won’t bounce back to the majors quite as quickly as had been hoped. As Jason Mackey of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette writes, Polanco was pulled from a rehab contest with left shoulder tightness. For now, the club only intends to give him a brief rest without interrupting the rehab assignment. As Mackey notes, the timing is of some consequence to the Bucs. The club is in a tough spot as the trade deadline approaches, having slipped into the NL Central cellar. It’s arguably positioned to sell a left-handed-hitting outfielder regardless of what else it does — highly paid pending free agent Corey Dickerson seems a particular candidate — but it’ll be tough to pull the trigger on a deal if there’s uncertainly regarding Polanco’s availability.
  • As expected, Yankees righties Luis Severino and Dellin Betances resumed throwing yesterday, as MLB.com’s Bryan Hoch reports. Indications are that all went well for both hurlers in limited sessions, designed only to begin reintroducing their strained lats to the rigors of the MLB mound. Severino told reporters that he’d be willing to work back in a relief capacity if that’s the organization’s preference. While that’d bring him aboard quicker, it probably isn’t the optimal outcome for a club that has a need for quality rotation pieces and can probably afford to be patient.

Luis Severino, Dellin Betances Cleared To Begin Throwing Programs

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Injuries have prevented star Yankees right-handers Luis Severino and Dellin Betances from pitching in 2019, but that could change in the coming weeks. Severino and Betances have been medically cleared to begin throwing programs Monday, per reports from Kristie Ackert of the New York Daily News and James Wagner of the New York Times.

The 25-year-old Severino proved himself as one of the game’s top young starters from 2017-18, which led the Yankees to award him a four-year, $40MM extension this past February. The club shut down Severino because of shoulder inflammation in early March, though, and discovered at the beginning of April that he had a Grade 2 lat strain. The expectation then was that Severino would debut in May, which was eventually pushed back to July and then August.

Severino began a throwing program before his latest shutdown, but general manager Brian Cashman revealed he did so before undergoing an MRI. Cashman expressed disappointment in the Yankees for letting Severino start throwing without first going through a more thorough examination. However, now it seems the hard-throwing Severino truly is on the way back.

While Severino was the ace of the Yankees’ staff over the previous two years, he’s far from certain to reprise that role in 2019. Cashman suggested Friday that Severino could max out as a 75-pitch hurler and/or work from the Yankees’ bullpen when he returns in “six or more weeks.” Regardless, Cashman’s sure to continue scouring the trade market for starters leading up to the July 31 deadline.

Like Severino, Betances came into 2019 hoping to build on a recent stretch of outstanding production. Instead, though, the 31-year-old reliever’s season – which happens to be his last under team control – hasn’t gotten off the ground. A bone spur in his shoulder and then a lat injury have prevented Betances from further making a case for a sizable offseason payday. They’ve also robbed the Yankees of their best setup man, though their bullpen has still held its own en route to the AL’s top record (61-33).

Brian Cashman On Yankees’ Search For Rotation Help

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If there was any doubt that the Yankees are in the market for starting pitching — not that there should have been — general manager Brian Cashman was candid about his team’s pursuit of rotation help in an appearance on MLB Network Radio on SiriusXM (Twitter links, with audio).

“Yeah, we’re going to target starting pitching, and then if not, continue to try to reinforce the bullpen,” said Cashman. “But the bottom line is just trying to add quality to what we already have. … Houston’s going to get better. Tampa’s going to get better. Boston’s going to get better. Minnesota’s going to get better Oakland’s going to get better. … They’re going to add to their area [of need]. A lot of the players in the mix are in the similar category of quality, so there’s going to be a number of choices out there.”

Cashman noted that the Yankees are in a perhaps beneficial position, having both Luis Severino and Dellin Betances hopefully returning to the club in 2019 as a fallback in the event he is “not able to comfortably match up with somebody” in a trade. That said, the GM also conceded that he expects Severino to need “six or more weeks” before he’s ready to return (Twitter link via MLB.com’s Bryan Hoch).

Cashman also acknowledged that 20-year-old right-hander Deivi Garcia, recently promoted to Triple-A, is “pushing himself into the mix” as an option to help at the big league level. The diminutive Garcia, listed at just 5’9″ and 163 pounds, breezed through Double-A opposition with a 3.00 ERA, 14.3 K/9, 4.4 BB/9, 0.35 HR/9 and a 41.9 percent ground-ball rate in 51 innings of work prior to his promotion.

Asking prices across the board have been high early in July, as one might expect, and the number of rental starters who are ticketed for free agency at season’s end outweighs the number of controllable names on the market. That won’t lead the Yankees to do anything rash, it seems. Cashman plainly stated that the organization wouldn’t move Garcia — ranked this week as the game’s No. 25 and No. 29 prospect by Baseball Prospectus and ESPN, respectively — for a rental player. The Yankees are already known to be averse to moving Clint Frazier in such a deal, and that line of thinking presumably applies to the organization’s other top prospects as well.

Over the past few weeks, the Yankees have been connected to most of the top trade candidates on the market, including Madison Bumgarner (link), Trevor Bauer (link), Zack Wheeler (link) and Marcus Stroman (link).

Luis Severino Reportedly Out Until At Least Late August

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An MRI this week showed that Yankees ace Luis Severino’s injured lat is 90 percent healed, but that doesn’t mean he’s closing in on his 2019 debut. While the hope was Severino would return sometime in July, he’ll be out until at least late August, George A. King III of the New York Post reports. Any further setbacks could put Severino’s season in jeopardy, as he’ll need to participate in a full spring training (six weeks) before making his way back to the majors.

With Severino currently battling lat soreness, general manager Brian Cashman admitted to Joel Sherman of the New York Post and other reporters Sunday that the team “clearly” should have made the right-hander undergo an MRI before starting a throwing program. Cashman added that he still expects Severino to pitch this year, but the GM once again indicated he’s on the hunt for starting pitching with a month left before the July 31 trade deadline. However, New York has “heard ridiculous requests from teams willing to trade,” King writes.

Three weeks ago, before Severino’s newest setback, the Yankees were reportedly showing interest in Giants left-hander Madison Bumgarner and Blue Jays righty Marcus Stroman. They’re also said to like Mets righty Zack Wheeler, who looks more and more likely to leave Queens with his club in free-fall mode. However, whether the Mets would trade him to their crosstown rivals is another matter. Tigers southpaw Matthew Boyd and Indians righty Trevor Bauer represent a couple other prominent hurlers who have been popular in trade speculation.

Any starter the Yankees could acquire in the coming weeks will have a hard time matching what a healthy Severino provides. The 25-year-old flamethrower is coming off back-to-back seasons as one of the majors’ top starters, including when he fired 191 1/3 innings of 3.39 ERA/2.95 FIP ball with 10.35 K/9 and 2.16 BB/9 in 2018. Even without any help from Severino this season, the Yankees have raced to the AL’s best record (53-28), but whether they’d be able to get through the playoffs without him is certainly in question. After all, no one from the Yankees’ 2019 rotation has come close to delivering ace-caliber production.

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