Braves Acquire Jorge Soler
Jorge Soler is headed back to Atlanta. The Braves reacquired both Soler and reliever Luke Jackson from the Giants on Monday night in what amounts to a salary dump for San Francisco. The Giants acquire minor league infielder Sabin Ceballos and take on the salary for injured reliever Tyler Matzek. Atlanta designated Darius Vines for assignment to open a 40-man roster spot.
Atlanta is looking to recreate the magic of their 2021 deadline. The Braves brought in Soler and Eddie Rosario that summer to address an outfield that had lost Ronald Acuña Jr. to a season-ending ACL tear. Those outfield acquisitions drove Atlanta’s run to a championship, with Soler snagging World Series MVP honors behind a three-homer performance in the Fall Classic.
The Braves unfortunately lost Acuña to another ACL tear in late May, leaving them shorthanded in the outfield as the deadline approached. They already took a flier on Rosario, signing him after he was released by the Nationals. That hasn’t worked thus far, as Rosario is hitting .164/.186/.345 in 16 games.
Soler should step into everyday playing time in right field. Adam Duvall has gotten the bulk of the work there since the Acuña injury, but he’s hitting only .188/.251/.336 over 295 plate appearances. Atlanta signed Duvall to work as a short side platoon bat alongside Jarred Kelenic in left field. Duvall has continued to hit left-handed pitching (.261/.361/.533 in 108 plate appearances), but he owns a dismal .153/.190/.239 line while striking out a third of the time against righties.
Duvall can now return to the more limited role which the Braves had envisioned him playing. Kelenic has been pressed mainly into center field action since Michael Harris II went down with a hamstring strain. Once Harris is ready to return, that’ll push Kelenic back to left field.
It’s an abrupt end to what proved a very brief stint for Soler in the Bay Area. The Giants signed him to a three-year, $42MM deal at the start of Spring Training. His tenure started inauspiciously, as he didn’t hit well for two months and missed some time with a minor shoulder strain. The Cuban-born slugger has been on a tear since the calendar flipped to June, hitting .280/.374/.486 over his most recent 204 plate appearances.
Thanks to his cold start, Soler’s season line is still below his typical level. He owns a .240/.330/.419 slash with 12 homers across 392 trips. His 11.2% walk percentage and 24.7% strikeout rate are in line with his normal marks, but Soler’s power output is down from last year’s 36-homer pace. While some of that is surely attributable to the challenge of hitting at Oracle Park, his batted ball metrics have also dropped. Soler’s average exit velocity is down a tick, while his 39.9% hard contact rate is eight percentage points below last year’s figure.
That’s probably part of the Giants’ rationale in getting out from under the contract within a few months of signing it. Atlanta desperately needed to inject some life into an offense that has hit .227/.281/.417 in July. The Braves have hovered around .500 for the better part of three months and have dropped back to the pack in the NL Wild Card race. At 56-49, they’re narrowly in possession of the top Wild Card spot. Only one and a half games separate them from the Diamondbacks, the top non-playoff team at the moment.
While the Braves are clearly reacquiring Soler for his bat, they’ll need to count on him to hold his own defensively. Soler didn’t play a single inning on defense for the Giants. He only made 31 starts in right field (compared to 102 at DH) last year with the Marlins. Marcell Ozuna has the designated hitter spot secured in Atlanta, so the Braves will trust Soler to play more or less every day in the field. Ozuna’s contract contains a $16MM club option for next season, which the Braves probably anticipate exercising. With Soler signed through 2026, they’d have a lot of defensively-limited hitters at that point. That’s a risk they’re prepared to take for the short-term lineup boost.
Atlanta’s “run it back” ethos doesn’t stop with Soler. Jackson was also a member of their ’21 World Series winner. The right-hander had the best year of his career that season, working to a 1.98 ERA across 63 2/3 innings. Jackson’s elbow blew out the next year, sending him for Tommy John surgery that seemed as if it’d end his Braves tenure. He hit free agency during the 2022-23 offseason and landed in San Francisco on a two-year, $11.5MM guarantee.
Jackson spent the first half of last season finishing his Tommy John rehab. He returned to throw 33 1/3 frames of 2.97 ERA ball down the stretch. Jackson quickly landed on the shelf with a lower back strain and hasn’t managed the same caliber of production since returning in late April. He’s carrying a 5.40 earned run average over 35 innings. His 21.9% strikeout percentage and 9.9% walk rate are each slightly worse than average, though he’s getting ground-balls at a strong 51% clip.
The 32-year-old (33 in August) has looked much sharper of late. Jackson is running a 13:1 strikeout-to-walk ratio with three runs allowed in nine innings this month. The velocity on his slider and four-seam fastball are each in line with his career marks. The Braves can plug him into middle relief with the possibility for higher-leverage work alongside Joe Jiménez, Pierce Johnson and A.J. Minter if Jackson’s recent form kicks off a strong second half.
Atlanta is taking on a substantial amount of money for these reunions. There’s no cash changing hands, although Matzek’s inclusion in the deal provides a small financial counterbalance. He’s in the second season of a two-year, $3.1MM contract that has mostly been ruined by elbow problems. Matzek missed all of last season recovering from Tommy John surgery. He made 11 appearances early this season, allowing 11 runs in 10 innings, before going back on the injured list with elbow inflammation. Matzek remains on the 60-day IL with no clear return timetable. His deal contains a $5.5MM team option for next season that is sure to be declined.
The Giants paid Soler a $9MM signing bonus. He’s playing this season on a $7MM salary, around $2.3MM of which is still owed. Atlanta is taking on matching $13MM salaries covering the 2025-26 seasons. Jackson is making $6.5MM this year (roughly $2.1MM remaining) and is guaranteed at least a $2MM buyout on a $7MM option for next year. Matzek is due around $620K through season’s end. The Braves assume nearly $3.8MM in salary commitments for the stretch run plus the $28MM in future guarantees on Soler’s and Jackson’s deals.
RosterResource calculates Atlanta’s CBT number around $282MM. That pushes them past the $277MM third tier of penalization and positions their first-round pick in next year’s draft to drop 10 spots. Atlanta is a second-time payor, so they’re taxed at a 62% rate on spending up to the $297MM mark. The Giants shave nearly $7MM off their tax ledger and have an estimated $244MM mark at RosterResource. They’re still above the $237MM base threshold and may not be looking to drop any more money.
San Francisco also grabs a prospect in the deal. Ceballos, 21, was Atlanta’s third-round pick out of Oregon last year. A righty-hitting third baseman, he has a .259/.353/.354 slash with a 9.8% walk rate and 19.1% strikeout percentage in High-A this season. Baseball America ranked him as the #26 prospect in a weak Atlanta farm system, crediting him with a plus arm and some raw power upside.
As for Vines, he’ll either be traded tomorrow or (more likely) placed on waivers this week. The 26-year-old righty has made eight big league appearances, turning in a 5.45 ERA over 33 innings. He owns a 5.14 earned run average across 14 starts with Triple-A Gwinnett this season.
Mike Rodriguez first reported the Giants were trading Soler to the Braves. Robert Murray of FanSided was first to report Jackson’s inclusion. Bob Nightengale of USA Today reported that the Braves were assuming the entire contract.
Images courtesy of USA Today Sports.
Giants Recall Kai-Wei Teng For Major League Debut
The Giants announced a series of roster moves today, with outfielder Luis Matos and right-hander Kai-Wai Teng recalled from Triple-A Sacramento. Teng will be making his major league debut as soon as he gets into a game. In corresponding moves, outfielder Mike Yastrzemski has been placed on the paternity list while right-hander Luke Jackson goes on the 15-day injured list with a lower back strain. Daniel Álvarez-Montes of El Extrabase had reported earlier that Matos would be taking Yastrzemski’s place on the roster. Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle first relayed that Teng was at the ballpark tonight.
Jackson departed last night’s game with an apparent back issue. He didn’t seem terribly concerned with the severity but the club evidently feels he will need at least a couple of weeks to get back on the mound.
His injury will pave the way for Teng to be called up to the big leagues for the first time. The 25-year-old was signed by the Twins as an international amateur out of Taiwan. He came to the Giants in the 2019 deadline deal that sent Sam Dyson to Minnesota.
He has climbed the rungs of the minor league ladder since then, showcasing strikeout stuff but also control issues. He split last year between Double-A and Triple-A, making 28 starts and one relief appearance, tossing 126 1/3 innings. He struck out 29.8% of batters faced but also gave out free passes at a 12.4% clip, leading to a combined earned run average of 4.42.
He was added to the club’s 40-man roster in November to keep him out of the Rule 5 draft. He didn’t make the Opening Day roster but Jackson’s injury will allow him to come up just after. He’ll likely be in a long relief role out of the bullpen. The club is currently operating with 14 positions players and just 12 pitchers, meaning that eating multiple innings from the bullpen will be valuable for the club.
Injury Notes: Twins, E-Rod, Dodgers, Jackson
The Twins won their season-opener against the Royals yesterday, jumping out to a quick 1-0 lead with a first-inning homer off the bat of burgeoning star Royce Lewis. The former No. 1 overall pick singled in his next at-bat but departed shortly thereafter, coming up lame when going first-to-third on a Carlos Correa double. The Twins announced that Lewis had a quadriceps injury. He underwent an MRI last night, per Phil Miller of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune. Further updates figure to be available before tomorrow’s game, though Miller notes that Lewis was optimistic and described the feeling as cramping more than severe pain.
In many ways, it’s a three-inning microcosm of Lewis’ career. The 24-year-old is a .313/.369/.564 hitter in 284 plate appearances — not including last year’s four postseason homers in 26 plate appearances — but he’s also twice torn his ACL and had IL stints for oblique and hamstring strains. A healthy Lewis has superstar potential, but injuries have been far too frequent early in his career. If Lewis requires a trip to the injured list, top prospect Brooks Lee won’t be an option to replace him. The 2022 No. 8 overall pick is dealing with a back injury, and Triple-A skipper Toby Gardenhire tells KSTP’s Darren Wolfson that he’ll be down for about three to four weeks (X link). Minnesota also had an injury scare with right fielder Max Kepler, who exited the game after fouling a ball into his leg. X-rays came back negative, per the Star-Tribune’s Bobby Nightengale (X link).
A few more injury situations worth monitoring as they unfold…
- The Diamondbacks lost Eduardo Rodriguez to a lat strain late in spring training — a discouraging development for the left-hander, who inked a four-year deal worth $80MM over the winter. No timetable was provided at the time of the injury, but manager Torey Lovullo told the team’s beat yesterday that Rodriguez could throw off a mound in about five days (X link via Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic). Jon Heyman of the New York Post, meanwhile, writes that the Snakes expect Rodriguez to be down for about a month. That’d be a notable absence but far from a worst-case scenario, as lat strains for pitchers can often result in multiple months on the shelf. In 152 2/3 frames last season, E-Rod notched a 3.30 ERA, 23% strikeout rate and 7.7% walk rate for the Tigers.
- Dodgers skipper Dave Roberts provided a series of updates on some injured pitchers yesterday (X thread via Jack Harris of the L.A. Times). There was good news on both Walker Buehler and Clayton Kershaw, each of whom Roberts described as ahead of schedule. The Dodgers have made clear they’re being cautious with Buehler’s rehab from a second career Tommy John surgery, but the right-hander’s progress so far is encouraging enough that he’ll be back “sooner than I think we anticipated,” per Roberts. Kershaw, who had shoulder surgery in early November, is long-tossing from 120 feet and ahead of initial rehab projections. Roberts’ updates on righties Brusdar Graterol and Blake Treinen were far less encouraging. Both are playing catch but are “a ways away” from activation. Graterol was slowed by hip and shoulder troubles during camp, while Treinen suffered a bruised lung when a comeback liner hit him in the chest. The Dodgers originally suggested that it wouldn’t require a lengthy absence, but Treinen has yet to even throw a bullpen session.
- Right-hander Luke Jackson exited last night’s game with Giants trainers after suffering some degree of back injury. Shayna Rubin of the San Francisco Chronicle writes that the 32-year-old Jackson underwent an MRI and will be further evaluated today. Jackson missed just under a month with a back strain last year but said following last night’s injury that the initial pain this time around was not as severe as it was in 2023. The Giants inked Jackson to a two-year, $11.5MM contract in the 2022-23 offseason while he was rehabbing from Tommy John surgery. He made his team debut late last May and was excellent when healthy enough to be on the roster: 33 1/3 innings, 2.97 ERA, 30.1% strikeout rate. Last night, however, Jackson’s velocity was down more than a mile per hour from his 2023 average, and he allowed all three hitters he faced to reach base. All three came around to score.
Giants Designate Mauricio Llovera For Assignment
The Giants designated right-hander Mauricio Llovera for assignment today, according to Alex Pavlovic of NBC Sports Bay Area. The move clears space on the active roster for right-hander Luke Jackson, who the club has activated from the 15-day IL. San Francisco’s 40-man roster now stands at 39.
Llovera, 27, began his big league career with the Phillies before signing with the Giants on a minor league deal prior to the 2022 season. He was non-tendered last November but re-signed on a fresh minor league deal shortly thereafter. Though Llovera has pitched in the majors during parts of four seasons, he’s thrown just 29 1/3 big league innings with a 6.14 ERA and 6.19 FIP in that time. That being said, Llovera does sport a solid 2.82 ERA in 92 2/3 innings at the Triple-A level throughout his career, and his most recent stint with the Giants was a solid one despite its brevity. In 5 1/3 innings of work with San Francisco this season, Llovera sports a 1.69 ERA with a 23.1% strikeout rate.
Llovera’s departure opens the door for Jackson to return to the Giants’ bullpen. Jackson, 31, spent his entire career with the Braves prior to signing in San Francisco on a two-year deal prior to the 2023 season. While Jackson posted a sensational 1.98 ERA in 63 2/3 innings of work back in 2021, he missed the entire 2022 campaign due to Tommy John surgery and returned to the mound just two months ago. He looked good in 8 1/3 innings of work for the Giants in June, but his return was cut short by a low-back strain that has kept him out for nearly a month. Now that Jackson’s healthy again, he figures to factor into the club’s late-inning mix alongside Camilo Doval, Taylor Rogers, and Tyler Rogers.
Going forward, the Giants will have one week to trade, waive, or release Llovera. Llovera’s been outrighted previously in his career, meaning if the Giants successfully pass him through waivers, Llovera will have the opportunity to reject an outright assignment and test the open market.
Giants Reinstate Ross Stripling, Place Luke Jackson On 15-Day IL
The Giants announced that right-hander Ross Stripling has been reinstated from the 15-day injured list. Stripling will take the roster spot left open by Luke Jackson, who is headed to the 15-day IL himself due to a lower back strain.
Stripling has missed over five weeks due to his own back strain, and the injury layoff might effectively serve as a reset to his first season with the Giants. Over his first 32 1/3 innings of the season, Stripling posted a 7.24 ERA while allowing 10 home runs. While naturally a small sample size, these struggles are a big step back from the impressive numbers Stripling posted with the Blue Jays in 2022, when the righty delivered a 3.01 ERA over 134 1/3 frames (and with only 12 total homers allowed).
It isn’t what San Francisco was expecting when it signed Stripling to a two-year, $25MM free agent deal in the offseason. His early struggles led the Giants to pretty quickly move him to the bullpen, though Stripling found himself back in the rotation due to some other injuries within the starting staff. Between Stripling’s return and Alex Cobb‘s expected activation from the IL later this week, the Giants are getting closer to having their full complement of starting pitchers available.
It remains to be seen if Stripling will indeed continue to work as a starter, or if he might return to a straight relief role or a hybrid of the two in his old swingman role. The Giants’ choice is probably between Stripling and Sean Manaea as the fifth starter, or the team could use both in a piggyback capacity, or perhaps move both pitchers in and out of the rotation as a floating sixth starter to give the other starters some extra rest when necessary. This is the type of flexibility San Francisco was looking for in signing Stripling in the first place, though naturally the righty will have to get back on track performance-wise.
Jackson left yesterday’s game due to his back injury, and he’ll now unfortunately head back to the IL after already missing the entire 2022 season recovering from Tommy John surgery. The Giants only activated him on May 30, and Jackson pitched well in his first nine appearances of 2023, posting a 2.16 ERA, 30.3% strikeout rate, and 6.1% walk rate over 8 1/3 innings.
Giants Designate Matt Beaty For Assignment
The Giants announced they’ve designated corner bat Matt Beaty for assignment. The move opens a spot on the 40-man roster for reliever Luke Jackson, who is back from the 60-day injured list. San Francisco had already optioned infielder David Villar to create space on the active roster.
Beaty has spent the bulk of his time in the organization with Triple-A Sacramento. Acquired from the Royals on Opening Day, he has appeared with San Francisco just four times. He singled while striking out twice in five at-bats. Beaty has hit well for the River Cats, compiling a .272/.406/.447 batting line over 129 trips to the plate. He’s walking at a quality 10.9% clip and has kept his strikeouts to a lower than average 18.6% rate.
Unfortunately for Beaty, that wasn’t enough to get him a longer look at Oracle Park. He’s appeared in just 24 MLB games dating back to the start of the 2022 season. The left-handed hitter showed some upside in prior looks with the Dodgers, including a .270/.363/.402 slash over 234 plate appearances during the ’21 campaign. He’s a career .249/.319/.405 hitter at the major league level and owns a .286/.388/.415 line through parts of five Triple-A campaigns.
Beaty clearly has offensive ability, but he’s struggled to carve out a consistent defensive role. He’s played all four corner positions at the major league level, the bulk of that time coming at first base and in left field. Those are the only two positions at which he’s started a game this year in Triple-A.
The Giants will have a week to explore trades or try to run Beaty through waivers. He has between three and four years of service time and is in his final option year, which could draw some attention from other clubs. Were he to go unclaimed on waivers, he’d have the right to test minor league free agency by virtue of both his MLB service time and a previous career outright.
Giants To Reinstate Luke Jackson
The Giants are reinstating right-hander Luke Jackson from the injured list, reports Evan Webeck of the San Jose Mercury News. The righty will be making his first appearance since the 2021 season after undergoing Tommy John surgery in April of 2022. Infielder David Villar will be optioned to Triple-A Sacramento in an associated active roster move, reports Alex Pavlovic of NBC Sports Bay Area (Twitter link). Jackson was on the 60-day injured list, so the club will still need to make a corresponding move to put him back onto the 40-man roster.
Jackson was an effective middle innings arm for the Braves before the Tommy John procedure. While he’d struggled in the abbreviated 2020 season, he posted sub-4.00 ERA seasons in the two surrounding full schedules. That included a sparkling 1.98 ERA through 63 2/3 innings in 2021. Jackson punched out a solid 26.8% of opponents while inducing grounders on well over half the batted balls he allowed.
That quality performance led the Giants to take a shot on Jackson in spite of last year’s lost season. San Francisco signed him to a somewhat surprising two-year, $11.5MM free agent guarantee over the winter. He’s making $3MM this year and will be paid a $6.5MM salary in 2024 and at least a $2MM buyout on a 2025 club option. That’s a reasonable price tag for a setup type but a roll of the dice on the 31-year-old recapturing his pre-surgery form. Jackson has made five rehab appearances with Sacramento, allowing four runs with eight strikeouts and four walks through 4 1/3 innings.
Villar entered the season as San Francisco’s expected third baseman. He’d performed well as a rookie following a late-season call in 2022. The right-handed hitter has had a rough start to his ’23 campaign, however. Over 108 plate appearances, he has hit just .135/.222/.292 with four home runs and a 32.4% strikeout rate. J.D. Davis has taken hold of the third base job and pushed Villar into a depth capacity.
Giants Select Bryce Johnson, Option Brett Wisely
The Giants announced a series of roster moves today, selecting outfielder Bryce Johnson to the active roster and optioning Brett Wisely to Triple-A. The team transferred Luke Jackson to the 60-day IL to make room for Johnson on the 40-man roster.
Johnson, a sixth round pick back in 2017, appeared in a handful of games for the Giants last year, tallying 19 plate appearances and picking up two hits. He was outrighted off the roster but remained with the organization into 2023. At Triple-A, Johnson put together a solid .290/.369/.401 slashline across 352 plate appearances, adding in five home runs and 31 stolen bases. He’ll provide some speed off the bench for the Giants.
Wisely was acquired from the Rays in a trade this winter for Tristan Peters. A 15th round pick by the Rays in 2019, Wisely’s bounced around the diamond a fair bit, earning reps in the infield and outfield. He slashed an impressive .274/.371/.460 with 15 home runs at Double-A last year but was traded just prior to the Rule 5 draft, as the Rays would’ve needed to add him to their 40-man roster or risk losing him in the draft had they not found a trade partner. Wisely did get in to the Giants opener for his first taste of big league action, playing two innings of center field, but the Giants evidently decided to send him back to the minors to continue his development.
Jackson underwent Tommy John surgery in April last year, so is still rehabbing from that. The Giants signed him to a two-year deal knowing he’d likely miss the first few months of the season, so this decision to shift him to the 60-day IL is not overly surprising. It does mean the earliest he’ll return is May 31. Jackson had a breakout year in 2021, working to a 1.98 ERA over 63 2/3 innings of relief for Atlanta.
Giants Acquire Matt Beaty From Royals, Grant Stephen Piscotty His Release
The Giants set their Opening Day roster, announcing that they’ve acquired first baseman/outfielder Matt Beaty from the Royals in exchange for cash and selected him directly to 40-man roster. He’ll be with the club for Opening Day. San Francisco also selected the contract of catcher Roberto Perez and granted non-roster outfielder Stephen Piscotty his release.
Additionally, the Giants optioned righty Sean Hjelle to Triple-A and placed outfielder Luis Gonzalez (back surgery) and lefty Thomas Szapucki (left arm neuropathy) on the 60-day injured list. Outfielders Mitch Haniger (oblique strain) and Austin Slater (hamstring strain) were placed on the 10-day injured list, and righty Luke Jackson (recovering from 2022 Tommy John surgery) has been placed on the 15-day injured list.
Beaty, 30 in April, was originally drafted by the Dodgers in 2015, so he and current Giants president of baseball ops Farhan Zaidi — formerly the Dodgers’ GM — overlapped in Los Angeles. He hit fairly well in parts of three seasons with L.A., batting .262/.333/.425 in 556 plate appearances, but a 2022 trade to the Padres didn’t yield the results San Diego hoped. In just 47 plate appearances last year, Beaty went 4-for-43 and drew just two walks, resulting in a .093/.170/.163 batting line. He signed a minor league deal with the Royals and hit .343/.378/.629 in 37 plate appearances.
Perez will join Joey Bart and Rule 5 pick Blake Sabol as catching options for manager Gabe Kapler, and he’ll in fact get the start in Opening Day (with Sabol lining up in left field). The 34-year-old is a premium defender behind the plate but has never provided much with the bat, outside of a 24-homer showing during 2019’s juiced-ball season. That season accounted for 24 of Perez’s 55 career home runs, and he’s batted just .171/.269/.295 in 97 games since that time. He opened the 2022 season as the Pirates’ primary catcher but wound up being limited to 21 games after a torn hamstring required season-ending surgery in May.
Piscotty, 32, had a big showing this spring, hitting .320/.270/.440, albeit in a small sample of 27 plate appearances. The longtime A’s outfielder has seen his production drop off in recent seasons, with just a .214/.270/.352 slash over the past three seasons. Injuries have played a significant role in that downturn, as Piscotty has time with ankle, wrist and calf issues along the way. His peak season came in 2018, when he batted .267/.331/.491 with a career-high 27 home runs for Oakland. He’ll now be free to explore other opportunities in free agency.
Players That Could Move To The 60-Day IL Once Spring Training Begins
Just about every baseball team has a full 40-man roster now, with the Astros the only team with an open spot at the moment. That means that just about every transaction, be it a free agent signing or a waiver claim, requires a corresponding move.
However, that could soon change as the injured list is coming back soon. There’s no IL from the end of a season until pitchers and catchers report to Spring Training for the next campaign, which they will do next week. That means some clubs could potentially gain a bit of extra roster flexibility at that time, since players on the 60-day IL don’t count against a team’s roster total. However, it’s worth pointing out that the “60 days” don’t start until Opening Day, which is March 30 this year. That means, though a team can transfer a player to the 60-day IL next week, they will likely only do so if they aren’t expecting the player back until end of May or later.
With some notable free agents still unsigned like Jurickson Profar, Andrew Chafin, Michael Wacha, Elvis Andrus and many others, it’s possible that teams interested in their services might try to hold off on getting a deal done until next week. Or perhaps clubs that have players they would like to sneak through waivers will try to do so now, before rival clubs gain that extra roster flexibility with the IL opening up. Then again, some clubs will need to keep in mind non-roster players they are planning to promote by Opening Day and might hold off on making a move until that time.
Here are some players who are expected to miss some significant time and could find themselves transferred soon, sorted by division.
AL East
The Blue Jays have a pair of pitchers on their 40-man roster who are returning from Tommy John surgery. They should be on a similar timeline, as they each underwent the procedure in June of last year, though Green will most likely return first since relievers generally require less time to build up arm strength compared to starters. Regardless, the recovery time period for TJS is about 12-18 months, meaning neither pitcher is likely to return until midseason at the earliest. Ryu recently said he was targeting a July return.
The Red Sox shortstop recently underwent an internal brace procedure on his throwing elbow, a similar operation to Tommy John. Though he’s confident he’ll return at some point, he’s slated to miss most of the upcoming season and is certainly headed for the injured list.
The Orioles lefty underwent Tommy John surgery in late of April of 2022. With the 12-18 month recovery window for TJS, he could theoretically return in the first couple of months of the season, so the O’s may not want to transfer him to the injured list until they have some clarity about his timeline.
Scott Effross/Luis Gil/Frankie Montas
Effross is a lock for the Yankees‘ injured list as he underwent Tommy John in October and will likely miss the entire 2023 campaign. Gil had the same surgery but in May, which means he’ll likely be out until midseason. The situation with Montas is a bit less clear, as he’s dealing with shoulder inflammation that is expected to keep him out for the first month of the season. Unless he suffers some sort of setback, he probably won’t be placed on the 60-day IL right away.
The Rays have a couple of hurlers bound for the IL as Baz underwent Tommy John in September while Kittredge had the same surgery in June. They’re both going to miss the first half of the year, with Baz potentially missing the entire season.
AL Central
Mize underwent Tommy John surgery in June and should be placed on the Tigers‘ IL at some point. Skubal’s case is a bit less certain after he underwent flexor tendon surgery in August. The club hasn’t provided a timeline for his recovery but some recent comparables can give us some idea. Danny Duffy underwent the procedure in October of 2021 and was hoping to return by June of 2022, though a setback prevented him from pitching at all on the year. Matthew Boyd went under the knife for flexor tendon surgery in September of 2021 and didn’t return to a big league mound until September of 2022.
Crochet of the White Sox underwent Tommy John surgery in April of last year but was already stretched out to throwing from 120 feet in November. Whether he’s able to return in the early parts of 2023 or not will depend on his continued progression in that recovery process. In a less conventional situation, Liam Hendriks announced last month that he’s beginning treatment for non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. It’s unknown how long his treatment will take but general manager Rick Hahn said they don’t expect updates “prior to Opening Day at the very earliest.”
Paddack was recently extended by the Twins though he underwent Tommy John in May of last year and likely won’t be ready to return until the middle of the upcoming campaign. Lewis tore the anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee in June of last year, the second year in a row that he suffered that unfortunate injury. At the time, his recovery timeline was estimated at 12 months, which likely puts him on the shelf until midseason as well.
AL West
It was reported last month that the Rangers lefty will require shoulder surgery. It was said that the timeline will become more clear in the aftermath of the procedure but he’s likely to miss the entirety of the upcoming season.
NL East
The Phillies superstar underwent Tommy John surgery in November and the club has announced they expect him to be out of action until around the All-Star break in July.
Both these Braves pitchers underwent Tommy John last year, with Ynoa going under the knife in September and Matzek in October. That makes them both long shots for appearing at all this year, but especially not in the first half.
Max Meyer/Anthony Bender/Sixto Sanchez
The Marlins have a couple of arms that will certainly miss time this year and one more that’s a wild card. Meyer and Bender both underwent Tommy John in August and will miss most of the upcoming campaign. Sanchez underwent arthroscopic shoulder surgery in October with the club announcing at that time they expected him back by spring. It was reported last month that Sanchez is already throwing bullpens, which perhaps points against an IL stint. However, after the shoulder issues completely wiped out his 2021 and 2022 seasons, it’s hard to know how much to rely on his health going forward.
The Mets signed Mendick after he was non-tendered by the White Sox. The infielder/outfielder tore the anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee in June of last year and missed the second half of the season. There haven’t been any updates on his status recently, but further clarity will likely come when camp gets rolling.
Tanner Rainey/Stephen Strasburg
The Nationals have one fairly straightforward case in Tanner Rainey, who underwent Tommy John in August and will likely miss most of the upcoming season. What’s less clear is the situation surrounding Strasburg, who’s hardly pitched at all over the past three years due to thoracic outlet syndrome and various issues seemingly related to that. He made one appearance in the big leagues last year, pitching 4 2/3 in one start in June but went on the IL right after and never returned. He spoke about the issue in September, saying he hadn’t thrown in months and that he is “not really sure what the future holds.”
NL Central
Ethan Roberts/Codi Heuer/Kyle Hendricks
Roberts underwent Tommy John in June and likely won’t be available for the Cubs until midseason. Heuer had TJS in March but the latest reporting suggests he won’t return until June or July. The status of Hendricks is less clear, with the righty trying to recover from a capsular tear in his shoulder. The club is hoping to have him back by Opening Day but also said they won’t rush him. He recently said that he’s expecting to be on a mound by March 1.
Vladimir Gutierrez/Tejay Antone
Gutierrez, a Reds righty, underwent Tommy John in July and should miss the first few months of the upcoming season at least. Antone was rehabbing from a Tommy John of his own when he suffered a flexor strain in his forearm. He announced today he’s received a platelet-rich plasma injection to treat the issue and suggested he might miss the first half of the season.
The Pirates right-hander required Tommy John in June and will miss the first half of the upcoming campaign.
NL West
Antonio Senzatela/Tyler Kinley
The Rockies have a couple of murky situations on their hands with these hurlers. Senzatela tore the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee last year and required surgery in August. The timeline at that point was given at 6-8 months, which would place his return somewhere in the February-April window. Whether he’ll require a lengthy IL stint will depend on if his recovery is still on that track. Kinley was diagnosed with an elbow strain and a flexor tear in his forearm in June of last year. He underwent surgery in July with the club announcing they expected him to miss one calendar year, which should prevent him from pitching early in the campaign.
Walker Buehler/Blake Treinen/J.P. Feyereisen
The Dodgers have a trio of pitchers that are likely to miss most or perhaps all of the upcoming season. Buehler required Tommy John in August and could potentially return very late in the year. Treinen underwent shoulder surgery in November with an estimated recovery time of 10 months. Feyereisen underwent shoulder surgery in December and won’t be able to begin throwing until four months after that procedure, or around April. His eventual return to game shape will depend on how long it takes him to progress from simply throwing to getting up to full game speed.
The Giants signed the right-hander in free agency, despite Jackson undergoing Tommy John in April. President of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi told reporters last month that there was a chance Jackson begins the year on the 60-day IL, though that doesn’t seem to indicate any kind of setback. “He’s doing great in his rehab, so we’re going to wait and see how he’s doing in spring training,” Zaidi said.