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Marcus Stroman

East Notes: Mets, Rays, Red Sox

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Mets right-hander Marcus Stroman is making progress in his recovery from the left calf tear he suffered last week. Stroman has returned to throwing “full tilt” bullpen sessions, manager Luis Rojas said (via Deesha Thosar of the New York Daily News). Pitching coach Jeremy Hefner added that Stroman is still unable to sprint, so it remains unclear when he’ll be in line for his season debut. The sooner the better for the Mets, for whom Stroman is a must-have complement to ace Jacob deGrom. From his own standpoint, Stroman’s in for a rather important season with his first trip to free agency scheduled for the winter.

  • One of Stroman’s Mets teammates, fellow righty Jared Hughes, has been on the injured list since July 15. The team didn’t announce a reason for the move at the time, though it turns out he tested positive for the coronavirus, Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reports. Hughes was symptomatic for roughly 10 days, per Rosenthal, but he’s now healthy and pitching at the team’s alternate training site. Prior to his bout with the virus, Hughes appeared as if he’d earn a season-opening roster spot after the Mets signed him to a major league contract.
  • The Rays have gotten good news on a couple of their outfielders who, because of their own positive COVID tests, have missed the season so far. Star Austin Meadows engaged in baseball activities on Wednesday, Juan Toribio of MLB.com relays (Twitter links). Manager Kevin Cash indicated Meadows could return sometime during the Rays’ Aug. 4-9 homestand. Meanwhile, Randy Arozarena was cleared to rejoin the team and resume baseball activities, per Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times. He started a rehab assignment at the Rays’ alternate training site Wednesday.
  • The Red Sox, having gotten poor production from their patchwork rotation thus far, will give righty Zack Godley an opportunity as a starter, Jason Mastrodonato of the Boston Herald tweets. Godley, whom the Red Sox signed to a minor league contract this month, will make his first start with the club on Saturday against the Yankees. The former Diamondback and Blue Jay was an effective starter just a couple years ago before falling off dramatically last season. Godley had an extremely encouraging long-relief appearance Monday, though, as he tossed four scoreless, four-hit innings with seven strikeouts against no walks in a loss to the Mets.

Marcus Stroman Hoping For Quick Return

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Mets righty Marcus Stroman is hoping for a quick bounceback, as Tim Healey of Newsday reports. The starter has been slowed by a calf injury.

Stroman provided some further background on the injury. He says it looks worse on an MRI than it feels. Per Stroman, it was “shocking” to learn that he had suffered what he alternately labeled as a “tear” or “slight strain.”

While the 29-year-old says he expects to recover swiftly, he acknowledged the need to exercise care. “I don’t have trouble recovering or coming back,” says Stroman, “but this is something that needs to feel 100% before I can go back and move full speed.”

Fortunately, Stroman is still able to work off of the mound. That should help him stay stretched out while he awaits a clean MRI. Given the short length of the season, it’ll obviously be important both to get back as soon as possible and to avoid a setback that leads to a lengthier absence.

Marcus Stroman “Week To Week” With Calf Injury

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The Mets announced that they’ve placed right-handers Marcus Stroman and Robert Gsellman on the injured list. Stroman, who was said to be experiencing tightness in his calf earlier today, has been now diagnosed with a tear of some extent in that ailing calf muscles. Gsellman is experiencing some discomfort in his right triceps.

The IL placement for Stroman and the announced muscle tear are more ominous than this afternoon’s report of mere tightness in his calf. It should be noted that even a Grade 1 strain indicates some stretching or minor tearing, so it’s still possible that his absence won’t be substantial. Manager Luis Rojas tells reporters that Stroman will not require surgery (Twitter link via Anthony DiComo of MLB.com), but the skipper also referred to Stroman’s injury as a “week to week” situation, which isn’t a great outlook in a season that’ll barely span nine weeks from start to finish.

The loss of Stroman is a brutal hit for the Mets, who were already without right-hander Noah Syndergaard for the entire season due to Tommy John surgery. Two-time Cy Young winner Jacob deGrom will still head up the team’s rotation, but he’ll now be followed by Steven Matz, Rick Porcello, Michael Wacha and a to-be-determined fifth starter. Non-roster veteran Erasmo Ramirez could be one option, and 2017 first-round pick David Peterson is also in the Mets’ player pool. Right-hander Walker Lockett was placed on the IL this week with a back injury.

On a personal level for Stroman, the injury is about as poorly timed as possible. Already facing a shortened platform season prior to his first foray into free agency this winter, missing multiple weeks could give Stroman fewer than 10 starts to demonstrate his health and effectiveness for interested clubs. Given the potential for teams to be stingier than usual on mid-range free agents following this year’s revenue losses, the calf issue could prove particularly costly for Stroman, who posted a 3.22 ERA with better than a strikeout per inning in 184 1/3 frames last year.

As for Gsellman, it seems there’s lesser concern. DiComo tweets that his IL stint is expected to be back-dated the maximum three days, and a return to the bullpen in early August doesn’t appear to be out of the question. In two years since converting to full-time relief role, the now-27-year-old Gsellman has a 4.45 ERA with 8.1 K/9 against 3.2 BB/9 in 143 2/3 innings.

Marcus Stroman Could Miss First Scheduled Start

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As the Mets join the rest of the league’s thirty teams at the starting blocks, they’re waiting to see whether a key arm will be with them from the jump. Starter Marcus Stroman has experienced calf tightness that could prevent him from taking his anticipated turn in the rotation, MLB.com’s Anthony DiComo was among those to report on Twitter.

The Mets haven’t yet committed to a decision on Stroman, with skipper Luis Rojas indicating that the righty is considered day to day at the moment. Even if Stroman is held back a bit, the team may wish not to place him on the 15-day injured list. That’d mean missing nearly a quarter of the truncated season.

Stroman is of central importance to a Mets staff that will go without Zack Wheeler (free agency) and Noah Syndergaard (Tommy John surgery) in 2020. There’s still plenty of talent in the rotation mix, but the loss of those two prominent righties has cast Stroman in an even brighter light.

Last year, Stroman turned in 184 1/3 innings of 3.22 ERA pitching over 32 starts, the final eleven of which came following a trade to his native New York. If he can provide anything close to that kind of output in 2020 — or, at least, match the 3.77 ERA he posted with the Mets — then Stroman could help put the club over the edge in what’s likely to be a closely fought postseason race. He’s also pitching to set himself up for his first trip onto the open market at season’s end.

It doesn’t sound as if there’s any reason for major concern here. But the situation highlights the delicate balance that teams will face. On the one hand, the Mets will want to get Stroman on the mound as soon as possible in order to maximize his impact. On the other hand, pushing too hard and suffering a setback could easily wipe out much of the campaign.

It’ll be interesting to see how the Mets end up handling pitching assignments if Stroman is kept on ice for a bit. With Walker Lockett already sidelined, the team could turn to an alternative such as Corey Oswalt. It might also seek to utilize Oswalt, Erasmo Ramirez, Stephen Gonsalves, and/or other starter-capable pitchers in some kind of piggyback arrangement. Most intriguing, perhaps, is the idea of bumping prospect David Peterson, though that would mean starting his service clock and clearing a 40-man roster spot.

Marcus Stroman Discusses Pending Free Agency

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Mets right-hander Marcus Stroman is slated to become one of baseball’s most prominent free agents in a few months, though no one knows how the game’s economic landscape will look then in the wake of a 60-game season. Stroman discussed his upcoming trip to the open market over the weekend with Tim Healey of Newsday and other reporters. While Stroman is unsure of what the future holds, the 29-year-old is confident he’ll be one of the best pitchers available if he does get to the market.

“It will truly play out as it will play out,” Stroman said. “I should be one of the top arms. I believe I’m one of the youngest. I’m extremely healthy. I’m coming off a great year. So however it plays out I think it will play out.”

It’s hard to argue with any of that. Unlike last offseason’s free agency period that Gerrit Cole and Stephen Strasburg headlined, next winter’s won’t feature any surefire aces. But the likes of Stroman, Trevor Bauer and Robbie Ray look young enough and effective enough to cash in on multiyear contracts.

Stroman, who debuted in 2014 and has spent almost all of his career with the Blue Jays, has typically kept runs off the board at a nice clip. If there’s one clear negative, it’s that Stroman has never been any kind of strikeout artist.  However, he has offset that by inducing a boatload of groundballs and limiting walks to a respectable degree.

Last year between Toronto and New York, Stroman combined for 184 1/3 innings – his most since a 201-frame effort in 2017 – and logged a 3.22 ERA/3.72 FIP with 7.76 K/9, 2.83 BB/9 and a 53.7 GB rate. For the most part, those numbers don’t stray too far from Stroman’s career figures. Stroman, though, is convinced he has even more in the tank, saying, “I truly believe my best years are ahead of myself.”

We’ll see if that proves to be the case during a shortened 2020, and whether Stroman does enough to convince the Mets to make a serious run at bringing him back. Owing in part to Stroman’s pending free agency, the Mets’ rotation will head into next winter facing quite a bit of uncertainty behind all-world ace Jacob deGrom. They’ll have a decision to make on Tommy John patient Noah Syndergaard’s roughly $9.7MM arbitration salary (odds are they’ll tender him, but the coronavirus has perhaps made that less of a sure bet), while Rick Porcello and Michael Wacha are due to join Stroman in free agency.

MLBTR Poll: Bauer vs. Ray vs. Stroman

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Baseball’s hiatus gives us an opportunity to examine both the past and future of the sport. Yesterday, MLBTR’s Mark Polishuk looked back at a potential franchise-altering trade that never materialized. Today, we’ll turn our attention to the future: specifically, the upcoming free agent class.

MLBTR’s Tim Dierkes ran his initial 2020-21 free agent power rankings a few weeks ago. No question, Mookie Betts looks like the jewel of a position player heavy class. Yet the pitching side looks a bit muddled. Trevor Bauer, Robbie Ray and Marcus Stroman checked in alongside one another (in that order) as the three arms in Tim’s top ten. Obviously, there’s time for one to emerge as the unquestioned top starter on the market in 2020. As of now, though, which hurler do the MLBTR readers anticipate getting the top guarantee next winter, and which one would you prefer your favorite team roll the dice on?

  • Trevor Bauer, Cincinnati: For most of his career, the 29-year-old Bauer’s been a durable, mid-rotation type. He’s soaked up tons of innings, but in five of six seasons, he’s put up an ERA between 4.18 and 4.55 (with marginally better FIP’s). At his best, though, Bauer flashed a ceiling most pitchers can only dream of. In 2018, the former #3 overall pick worked to a 2.21 ERA with an elite 30.8% strikeout rate. An unsustainably low HR/FB rate meant that ERA always figured to regress somewhat, but it was still surprising to see Bauer post a league-average 4.48 mark in 2019. Bauer, of course, has expressed a desire to sign a series of one-year deals as a free agent. If he sticks to that plan, he’ll almost certainly not garner the top overall guarantee for a pitcher this offseason (or any other). But that high-risk approach is easier to espouse in theory than in practice, and Bauer recently walked back that plan a little bit. His free agency will be fascinating to follow.
  • Robbie Ray, Arizona: A bit like Bauer, the 28-year-old Ray is a tantalizing but somewhat frustrating talent. Since the start of 2017, he ranks fifth among starters (minimum 300 innings) in strikeout rate and 12th in swinging strike rate. He’s surrounded by the game’s aces on both leaderboards. Only Tyler Chatwood and Francisco Liriano have higher walk rates than Ray in that same period, though. The southpaw has never had a season with a better than average walk rate; that general inefficiency has run up some high pitch counts and helped prevent Ray from ever eclipsing 175 innings in a season. His ERA’s the past four years have varied quite a bit (4.90, 2.89, 3.93, 4.34). Teams could have different evaluations for Ray’s future, but the most likely outcome seems to be solid mid-rotation production via something of an extreme approach.
  • Marcus Stroman, Mets: Unlike his top two competitors, Stroman doesn’t generate many whiffs. The 28-year-old’s sinker is more conducive to a ground-ball heavy game. He throws strikes and has managed to avoid home runs even in the juiced ball era thanks to strong contact management. Stroman’s sinker/slider/cutter mix isn’t the four-seam/curveball combination coveted by most teams nowadays. Nevertheless, he’ll have plenty of suitors since he’s proven capable of ample success. 2018 was an injury-marred struggle, but Stroman’s put up at least 184.1 innings in three of the past four seasons and boasts a career ERA of 3.76. That’s a better track record of run prevention than either Bauer (4.04) or Ray (4.11) can boast.
  • Others: Other free agents to be (complete list of 2020-21 free agents) include Kevin Gausman, James Paxton, Alex Wood and Taijuan Walker. Between age, injuries and/or recent underperformance, it’s tough to project any of them to beat Bauer, Ray or Stroman this winter. Perhaps you’re more optimistic about someone a bit under-the-radar?

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Players Avoiding Arbitration: National League

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Entering the day, there were more than 150 players on the clock to exchange arbitration figures with their respective teams prior to a noon ET deadline. As one would expect, there’ll be an utter landslide of arbitration agreements in advance of that deadline. We already ran through some key facts and reminders on the arbitration process earlier this morning for those who are unfamiliar or simply need a refresher on one of MLB’s most complex idiosyncrasies, which will hopefully clear up many questions readers might have.

We’ll track the majority of the National League’s settlements in this post and are maintaining a separate one for American League settlements as well. Note that all projections referenced come courtesy of MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz:

  • The Rockies have an agreement in place with righty Jon Gray, per Patrick Saunders of the Denver Post (via Twitter). It’s a $5.6MM deal, per Jon Heyman of MLB Network (Twitter link).
  • Outfielder Tommy Pham has struck a $7.9MM pact with the Padres, who acquired him at the outset of the offseason, according to Bob Nightengale of USA Today (via Twitter). Other Friars striking deals, per an update from Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union-Tribune, include Zach Davies ($5.25MM) and Matt Strahm ($1.4MM).
  • The Nationals announced that they’ve avoided arbitration with Trea Turner. It’s a $7.45MM agreement, per Jesse Dougherty of the Washington Post (via Twitter), right in range of the $7.5MM projection.
  • The Mets are in agreement with a laundry list of players. Right-handers Marcus Stroman ($12MM) and Noah Syndergaard ($9.7MM) were the top earners, per reports from MLB Network’s Jon Heyman (via Twitter) and MLB.com’s Anthony DiComo (via Twitter). Both come in close to their projected values of $11.8M and $9.9MM, respectively. The Mets also have a $5.1MM deal with reliever Edwin Diaz, Jon Heyman of MLB Network reports (Twitter links). He entered the offseason projected at the $7.0MM level but will fall well shy of that. Despite an outstanding overall track record, Diaz’s platform season was a dud and obviously created some risk in a hearing for his side. Outfielder Brandon Nimmo will play for $2.175MM in his first season of arb eligibility, landing well over the $1.7MM that the model projected. Southpaw Steven Matz, meanwhile, lands a $5MM deal, according to Joel Sherman of the New York Post (via Twitter). That’s $300K shy of his projected amount. Relievers Robert Gsellman and Seth Lugo will earn $1.225MM and $2MM, respectively, per Mike Puma of the New York Post (Twitter links). Slugger Michael Conforto will earn $8.0MM, per SNY.tv’s Andy Martino (via Twitter), which is notably south of the $9.2MM that we projected. And fellow outfielder Jake Marisnick checks in a just over 10% north of his projection at $3,312,500, Bob Nightengale of USA Today tweets.
  • Star reliever Kirby Yates receiveds a $7,062,500 salary from the Padres, per Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union-Tribune. He tops the $6.5MM that MLBTR projected by a solid margin, reflecting just how exceptional he was in 2019.
  • The Marlins will pay recently acquired infielder Jonathan Villar a $8.2MM salary, per MLB.com’s Jon Heyman (via Twitter). That’s a far sight shy of the $10.4MM that the MLBTR system projected, perhaps reflecting a more difficult path to the bigger number through recent comparables. The club also had some added leverage here since Villar would likely not fare terribly well on the open market if cut loose at this stage or later. (Unless this is a guaranteed deal, Villar could still be jettisoned, with the club paying just a fraction of the settled amount.) The Fish also have also agreed to terms with lefty Adam Conley (for $1.525MM, per MLB Network Radio’s Craig Mish, via Twitter) and righty Jose Urena (for $3.75MM, per MLB Network’s Jon Heyman, on Twitter).
  • Righty Vince Velasquez will pitch for $3.6MM this year with the Phillies, per Jim Salisbury of NBC Sports Philly (via Twitter). Fellow hurler Jose Alvarez will earn $2.95MM, per Scott Lauber of the Philadelphia Inquirer (via Twitter).
  • The Rockies have an agreement with lefty Kyle Freeland, per Jon Heyman of MLB Network (Twitter link). He’ll earn $2.875MM. Outfielder David Dahl takes home $2.475MM, Heyman adds on Twitter. The former had projected at $2.4MM and the latter at $3.0MM.
  • Pirates hurler Joe Musgrove will receive $2.8MM, per Jason Mackey of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (Twitter links). Fellow righty Keone Kela will earn a reported $3.725MM. Both players had projected at $3.4MM, but land well to either side of that number. Infielder Adam Frazier also has a deal at $2.8MM, per Mackey (via Twitter).
  • Righty Anthony DeSclafani will earn $5.9MM from the Reds, according to Robert Murray (via Twitter). He had projected at $5.2MM. Backstop Curt Casali will earn $1.4625MM, per Bobby Nightengale of the Cincinnati Enquirer (Twitter link). And reliever Matt Bowman takes down $865K, Murray adds on Twitter.
  • The Dodgers have worked out a non-typical deal with righty Ross Stripling, Heyman tweets. He’ll get an up-front signing bonus of $1.5MM, which he’ll receive in the next week, and then earn $600K for the campaign to come. Stripling had projected to earn $2.3MM on the year.
  • Cardinals righty John Gant will earn $1.3MM after settling with the club. Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch first tweeted that a deal was in place, while Murray had the number on Twitter. That comes in just under his $1.4MM projection.

Earlier Settlements

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Brian Cashman On Yankees’ Deadline Interest In Marcus Stroman

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Considering the bevy of rumors linking Marcus Stroman to the Yankees before July’s trade deadline, it wasn’t a surprise rebuilding Toronto sent the right-hander to New York during the summer. It was, however, unexpected that Stroman ended up with the Mets instead of the Yankees.  It turns out the Yankees’ interest in Stroman – although real – wasn’t especially high, general manager Brian Cashman reveals to Yahoo Sports’ Wallace Matthews in a quality piece profiling the longtime executive.

“We were interested in Stroman but we didn’t think he would be a difference-maker,” Cashman said. “We felt he would be in our bullpen in the postseason.”

That’s an eyebrow-raising quote in regards to Stroman, who was plenty effective in the Yankees’ division – the American League East – from 2014-18. Despite Stroman’s successful track record, his remaining year and a half of affordable team control and the Yankees’ apparent need for starters, they held firm when the Jays “were demanding” outfielder Clint Frazier in a package for the hurler, Matthews reports. Frazier drew plenty of rumored interest from around the league before the deadline, at which point he was languishing in the minors, but he stayed put. While Frazier’s latest recall didn’t come until rosters expanded at the beginning of this month, he has picked up some starts of late as the Yankees’ outfield deals with injuries to Aaron Hicks and Mike Tauchman.

Whether the Yankees were right to seemingly prioritize Frazier over Stroman is up for debate. No matter which side you’re on there, it’s hard to have complete confidence in the AL East winners’ rotation – something they didn’t address at the deadline –  as the playoffs approach. The Yankees just lost Domingo German for the season because of a domestic violence investigation (though Cashman obviously couldn’t have foreseen that), and CC Sabathia will end his illustrious career in the bullpen after a rough, injury-plagued regular season as a starter. Sabathia’s fellow aged lefty, J.A. Happ, has joined him in struggling for most of this year, but Happ has rounded back to form lately. Even better than Happ’s recent success? Ace Luis Severino just debuted last week after a season-long battle with injuries, and James Paxton has been on a roll since mid-August.

In the event the Yankees need four starters in a postseason series, Severino, Paxton, Masahiro Tanaka (who hasn’t been great in 2019) and Happ will present their four best traditional options. While there’s a strong case that Stroman’s preferable to at least one member of that quartet, the Yankees didn’t regard him as enough of an upgrade to surrender significant young talent for him over the summer.

NL East Notes: Mets, Nationals, Marlins

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Mets infielder/outfielder Jeff McNeil started a rehab assignment with Triple-A Syracuse on Thursday, Deesha Thosar of the New York Daily News reports. McNeil went to the injured list Aug. 14 with a hamstring strain, making him eligible to return Saturday. It’s not clear whether he’ll come back this weekend, though, as the Mets first “want to see him ranging and running down balls just to make sure he’s totally healthy,” according to manager Mickey Callaway. Meanwhile, although right-hander Marcus Stroman left his start early on Wednesday with left hamstring tightness, he doesn’t expect to miss any time (via Tim Britton of The Athletic). “I’m going to make that start against the Cubs on Tuesday,” Stroman said of his next scheduled outing.

Here’s more on a couple other NL East clubs…

  • It looks as if Nationals righty Joe Ross will make his scheduled start Saturday, Mark Zuckerman of MASNsports.com writes. Ross left his most recent start this past Monday in the fourth inning after taking a 110 mph comebacker off the right leg. Even though Nationals ace Max Scherzer finally returned from a weeks-long absence Thursday, the club doesn’t plan to lift Ross from its rotation. The 26-year-old helped Washington weather the temporary loss of Scherzer by delivering an incredible 21 1/3 innings of one-run ball in his first four starts of the month, though Ross only managed a 13:9 K:BB ratio in that span.
  • More from Zuckerman, who observes that the Nationals’ signing of Asdrubal Cabrera has worked out brilliantly for the club. The Nationals brought in Cabrera on a low-paying deal Aug. 5 after the Rangers released the 33-year-old infielder, who underwhelmed in Texas over the season’s first few months. However, since joining the Nats, Cabrera has slashed .324/.422/.622 with a pair of home runs over a small sample of 45 plate appearances. Cabrera attributes some of his success to hitting coach Kevin Long, whom he has reunited with in Washington after the two were with the Mets from 2015-17. “He knows me,” Cabrera said. “I played for him two years, and he knows when my swing is good or when it’s not.”
  • Marlins righty Pablo Lopez could return to their rotation before the month’s out, per Joe Frisaro of MLB.com. Lopez has been out for just over two months with a shoulder issue, having gone on the injured list June 19. The 23-year-old impressed over 14 starts before then, notching a 4.23 ERA/3.56 FIP with 8.57 K/9, 2.11 BB/9 and a 48.8 percent groundball rate in 76 2/3 innings.

East Notes: Nola, Stroman, Dansby, Riley, Deivi, Lowe

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As the Phillies quest for a playoff berth intensifies, manager Gabe Kapler looks poised to increase his ace’s workload in hopes that Aaron Nola can carry the team to the promised land. As Jim Salisbury of NBC Sports writes, the Phillies are considering starting the 26-year-old Nola every fifth day for the stretch run, regardless of intervening off days. Last year’s third-place NL Cy Young finisher has been far and away the most reliable of the Phillies’ starting rotation, which has sorely lacked for production outside of its ace. If the Phillies were to employ such a plan, Nola would make eight more starts over the next month-plus, which would place him at a total of 35 at season’s end. As Salisbury notes, though, Nola has often benefitted from a fifth day of rest and features considerably better career numbers with the extra day off. Of course, it’s undeniable that Nola is the Phillies’ best option to start games and the club is confident that, in a playoff race that may well be decided in the waning days of the season, their chances are maximized with Nola on the mound as often as possible.

Here’s all the latest from baseball’s East divisions…

  • Mets starter Marcus Stroman left today’s start against the Indians after just four innings because of left hamstring tightness. Tim Healey of Newsday has an update, with Stroman undergoing an MRI that showed no reason for concern. Indeed, it’s only hamstring tightness for the new Met, who has now made four starts with his new club. All indications are that the injury is nothing serious, so it seems as though Stroman should be good to go for his next start.
  • A pair of young Braves regulars are slated to begin rehab assignments in the coming days, per Mark Bowman of MLB.com. Shortstop Dansby Swanson will join the Class-A Rome Braves on Thursday for a rehab stint, with rookie slugger Austin Riley joining him the following day. Swanson has been out since late July with a heel issue, while Riley has missed about two weeks with a partially torn right LCL. While the Braves have found capable replacements for both young stars and has gotten by without the pair, the club would no doubt welcome Swanson and Riley back to the lineup as soon as possible. Swanson has put together his best offensive season, while Riley has gotten his career off to a blistering start, slugging 17 home runs in just 66 Major League games.
  • Yankees pitching prospect Deivi Garcia has been moved to the bullpen for Triple-A Scranton-Wilkes Barre, according to Connor Foley of the Scranton Times-Tribune. While the organization has not given an explicit explanation for the move, it seems likely that it’s motivated by one of two things: most likely, the Yankees are limiting the workload for Garcia, who is just 20 years old and has already eclipsed 100 innings pitched for the season, a threshold that he never reached prior to 2019; or, less likely, the team is preparing Garcia for the role he would have in the Majors as a potential September call-up. The club has taken a similar course of action in the past with Justus Sheffield and Chance Adams, though both were further along in their development than Garcia.
  • Injured Rays rookie Brandon Lowe may have hit a roadblock in his recovery from a right shin contusion, as he exited his rehab game with Triple-A Durham with a left quad strain, according to Juan Toribio of MLB.com. That injury, of course, is separate from the shin contusion, though the severity is not yet known. Lowe will return to St. Petersburg tomorrow to be further evaluated, at which point more details will likely be made available. Lowe, who has generated buzz as a Rookie of the Year candidate, has not played for the Rays since July 2. He had previously been expected to return in late August or early September, but that timeline may have been complicated by the introduction of another, unrelated injury.
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