Mason Miller Seeking Second Opinion On Forearm Tightness
Athletics right-hander Mason Miller is flying to Dallas today and will get a second opinion on his forearm tightness on Tuesday, reports Matt Kawahara of the San Francisco Chronicle. Miller had been placed on the 15-day injured list with the issue last week.
It’s still unclear what exactly is ailing Miller and what the severity is, though it’s a bit ominous that he’s seeking a second opinion since it would seem to suggest the first opinion had at least some level of concern. The further examination in the coming days will undoubtedly lead to more clarity on the situation and what the next steps are.
The A’s made the aggressive decision to promote Miller, 24, to the big leagues last month despite a very limited professional track record. He was drafted in 2021 and made three Complex League outings late in that year, then a shoulder strain limited him to just six outings across different minor league levels in 2022. He then tossed 16 2/3 innings in the Arizona Fall League but still came into 2023 having tallied less than 40 frames since being drafted.
Nonetheless, his stuff was clearly enticing, including a triple digit fastball along with a slider and changeup that were also well regarded. Since the A’s were dealing with injuries and underperformance throughout their pitching staff, they decided to give Miller a shot against big league hitters. He’s generally responded well so far, posting a 3.38 ERA through 21 1/3 innings over four starts, striking out 25.9% of opponents against an 8.2% walk rate.
Unfortunately, his acclimation to the majors has been put on hold. It was a week ago that Miller was put under evaluation, with manager Mark Kotsay suggesting that the discomfort seemed to be in his flexor muscle rather than a ligament issue, though the continued testing this week will hopefully help them to zero in on a concrete diagnosis.
Elsewhere on the A’s roster, first baseman/outfielder Seth Brown seems to have suffered a setback in his attempt to return to the club. He’s been on the injured list for over a month due to an oblique strain and began a rehab assignment with Triple-A Las Vegas on the weekend, though Kawahara relays that Brown was removed from his first game of that rehab assignment. He is now heading back to Oakland to have the issue re-evaluated.
Brown, 30, has established himself as a key piece of the Oakland lineup in recent years. He hit 20 home runs in 2021 and added another 25 last year, hitting a combined .224/.294/.457 in those seasons for a wRC+ of 112. He was off to a slow start this year in a tiny sample of eight games before landing on the injured list. It’s unclear if he’s re-aggravated his injury in some kind of serious way but it’s notable that there’s enough concern for him to leave Vegas for Oakland and further testing.
The two pieces of news are a bit more gloom for a club that is off to a miserable 9-33 start and is actively pursuing a move to Las Vegas. Miller’s ascendency was one of the few positive stories for the A’s so far this year while Brown was one of the only solid everyday players that had yet to be traded away as part of their recent roster teardown. These two updates just add a bit more worry for the clubs and its fans, though more information still needs to come to light in both cases.
Athletics Select Zach Neal, Place Mason Miller On IL With Forearm Tightness
4:10pm: The A’s announced Neal’s selection, along with the recall of right-hander Luis Medina. In corresponding moves, righty Rico Garcia was optioned to Triple-A Las Vegas while righty Mason Miller was placed on the 15-day injured list. Catcher Manny Piña was transferred to the 60-day injured list to make room on the 40-man for Neal. Matt Kawahara of the San Francisco Chronicle relays that Miller’s IL placement is due to right forearm tightness. Pina has been on the IL all year due to a lingering wrist issue and was recently pulled off his rehab after suffering a setback. He won’t be eligible to return until 60 days from the initial IL placement, which would be late May.
10:04am: The A’s are set to select the contract of righty Zach Neal prior to tonight’s game, reports Martin Gallegos of MLB.com (Twitter link). He’s expected to make a spot start tonight against Nathan Eovaldi and the Rangers. Neal inked a minor league deal with the Athletics last month.
It’ll be the second stint with Oakland for Neal, who also pitched there in 2016-17, logging a combined 4.89 ERA in 30 appearances (six starts). That accounts for the vast majority of Neal’s big league experience, though he also tossed one inning for the Dodgers in 2018. Overall, he carries a 4.94 ERA, 10.5% strikeout rate and 2% walk rate in 85 2/3 innings at the MLB level.
Now 34 years old, Neal hasn’t pitched in the Majors since that one-off appearance with the ’18 Dodgers. He spent the 2019-21 seasons with the Seibu Lions of Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball, working to a combined 4.49 ERA with a 12.4% strikeout rate against a 5.6% walk rate. Neal logged a 2.87 ERA in 100 1/3 innings in his first year with the Lions but was north of 5.00 in his second and third seasons in Japan.
Neal spent the 2022 season with the Rockies’ Triple-A affiliate but was tagged for a 6.87 ERA in that hitter-friendly setting. He’s opened the 2023 campaign with similarly shaky results in another hitter-friendly setting, Las Vegas, allowing seven runs on eight hits and five walks with 11 punchouts in 11 1/3 innings (5.56 ERA).
The A’s have a full 40-man roster, so they’ll need to make a corresponding transaction to get Neal onto the roster. They’ve already turned over nearly their entire bullpen since the season began and could make yet another move there to accommodate Neal’s addition. Righty Zach Jackson and lefty Sam Moll are the only two members of Oakland’s Opening Day relief corps who are still currently in the bullpen.
AL West Notes: Seager, Miller, McCormick, Silseth
The Rangers look as if they’ll soon welcome back their star shortstop. Corey Seager is tentatively scheduled to begin a minor league rehab assignment on Thursday, reports Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News (Twitter link). That’d be a month to the day from when Seager strained his left hamstring while running the bases on April 11. The injury came with an initial four-week timeline and it seems that estimate will more or less be borne out.
Seager had been off to a fantastic start to the season. He was hitting .359/.469/.538 with more walks than strikeouts through his first 11 games. While it’s certainly unfortunate to lose a player of that caliber, the Rangers’ lineup has picked up the slack in his absence. Texas leads the majors in runs since Seager went down. That’s in part thanks to Ezequiel Durán, who seized the interim shortstop job with a .343/.378/.521 line in that time. While Seager is sure to return to shortstop after his minor league tune-up, Durán is likely to get plenty of run at designated hitter and in left field given that offensive outburst.
Elsewhere in the AL West:
- A’s rookie starter Mason Miller is headed for evaluation after experiencing some tightness in his throwing elbow, manager Mark Kotsay told the team’s beat (relayed by Martín Gallegos of MLB.com). According to Kotsay, initial indications are the discomfort is tied to the flexor muscle rather than a ligament issue, although further testing will provide more clarity. Miller has been one of the lone bright spots for the A’s in a dreary season. Through his first four major league starts, he’s worked to a 3.38 ERA while punching out just under 26% of batters faced. One of the sport’s hardest throwers, Miller has a strong prospect reputation but he’s thrown only 50 professional innings dating back to the 2021 draft because of various injuries.
- Astros outfielder Chas McCormick returns to the lineup after being reinstated from the 10-day injured list. Houston optioned infielder Rylan Bannon to Triple-A Sugar Land in a corresponding move. McCormick missed just under a month with a back issue. Before the injury, the right-handed hitter had been off to a quality .275/.383/.500 showing in 11 games. He’ll get the nod in center field for tonight’s game in Anaheim, hitting seventh against Angels starter Patrick Sandoval. Houston has yet to activate Michael Brantley for his season debut, though manager Dusty Baker reiterated tonight that the veteran left fielder isn’t far off (via Brian McTaggart of MLB.com).
- The Angels lost starter José Suarez to the injured list this afternoon. That leaves a vacancy in their six-man rotation, one which seems likely to be filled by Chase Silseth. Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register tweets that Silseth is expected to step into the starting staff when the club first needs a sixth starter next week in Baltimore. (A Thursday off day this week delays that decision.) Silseth has pitched out of the bullpen thus far but started seven games as a rookie last season. He threw 72 pitches in relief of Suarez yesterday and has worked two-plus innings in three of his four outings. Lefty Tucker Davidson, who’d been in consideration for a rotation spot at the start of the season, has worked in somewhat shorter relief stints in recent weeks. According to Fletcher, the organization views it as less of an adjustment for Silseth to stretch into rotation work given his comparatively higher pitch counts out of the bullpen.
A’s Place Ramon Laureano, Trevor May On Injured List
The A’s announced a series of roster moves Wednesday, placing outfielder Ramon Laureano and righty Trevor May on the 10-day and 15-day injured lists, respectively. Laureano is dealing with a left groin strain, while May has been placed on the injured list for issues pertaining to anxiety. The A’s formally selected the contract of top pitching prospect Mason Miller and recalled infield prospect Jordan Diaz in their place, as had been previously reported. Righty Dany Jimenez was moved to the 60-day injured list to open a spot on the 40-man roster for Miller.
Laureano, 28, is hitting .218/.295/.436 with a pair of homers, four doubles, a triple and two stolen bases through 61 plate appearances this season. He’s already garnered strong marks for his glovework in right field despite the limited amount of innings he’s put in, recording four Defensive Runs Saved on the young season. He’d missed the past couple games due to hamstring soreness, however, and will now miss at least 10 days in total. With Brent Rooker also banged up at the moment, the A’s have Tyler Wade in left field and Conner Capel in right field.
May becomes the third player with a recent IL stint owing to anxiety issues, joining Daniel Bard (who was just activated today) and Austin Meadows, who have both spoken up about their own anxiety issues in recent months. Oakland general manager David Forst provided the following statement on May (Twitter link via Martin Gallegos of MLB.com):
“I commend Trevor for speaking up about his mental health, and for taking action to address it. The whole A’s organization supports him fully and we are committed to giving Trevor whatever time he needs to be ready to return to playing, as well as continued resources to help all our players tackle the physical and mental challenges they face daily.”
May, 33, signed a one-year deal with the Athletics over the winter. He entered the season looking to rebound from an injury-shortened 2022 campaign in which he missed three months with a triceps issue while playing out the second half of a two-year deal signed with the Mets. His results in 2023 are jarring, as the typically steady right-hander has yielded eight runs on 10 hits and an alarming nine walks (two intentional) in six innings. May came into the season with a 7.5% walk rate dating all the way back to 2015, but he’s walked nearly a quarter of his opponents. His strikeout rate, which had topped 30% over the past six years — including a four-year run with a combined 32.7% rate — is sitting at just 16.2%, despite his velocity still clocking in at an average of 95 mph.
There’s no telling how long he’ll be away, but as Forst said, it’s good to see May speak up about his mental health not only to do what’s best for him and the team but also to help others who might be going through similar battles. Our readers might remember May chronicling some of his journey through Tommy John surgery rehabilitation right here at MLBTR, and he’s also graciously taken some time in the past to host a mailbag column with MLBTR readers. We at MLBTR offer our best wishes to Trevor.
A’s Notes: Diaz, Miller, Jimenez
The A’s are planning to recall infield prospect Jordan Diaz, as first reported by Daniel Álvarez-Montes of El ExtraBase (Twitter link). The 22-year-old infielder has spent the year on optional assignment to Triple-A Las Vegas.
Díaz debuted in the big leagues late last season. The Colombian-born infielder got into 15 games, hitting .265/.294/.327 through his first 51 plate appearances. He only struck out seven times but walked just twice and has yet to connect on an MLB homer. Díaz had posted excellent numbers between Double-A Midland and Las Vegas prior to his promotion, combining to hit .326/.366/.515 in 120 minor league games.
After 11 more contests in Triple-A, Oakland is bringing Díaz back up the majors. He’ll add a bat-first infielder to a mix that also includes Aledmys Díaz, Jace Peterson, Tony Kemp and Kevin Smith. The #12 prospect in the system according to Baseball America, Díaz will look to hit enough to offset questions about his ideal defensive home.
Díaz isn’t the most notable forthcoming prospect promotion for the A’s. Oakland announced earlier today they were promoting pitching prospect Mason Miller to make his big league debut. General manager David Forst subsequently informed the club’s beat that the A’s were planning to keep Miller in the rotation from here on out (relayed by Martín Gallegos of MLB.com). With the revelation it’s not simply a spot start for the 24-year-old, Oakland will have to either turn to a six-man starting staff or bump someone from the rotation.
None of Oakland’s starters has fared especially well thus far. JP Sears has the lowest ERA in the group at 4.60. Each of Shintaro Fujinami, Ken Waldichuk and James Kaprielian has allowed more than a run per inning. Opening Day starter Kyle Muller sports a 7.23 ERA with a modest 15.1% strikeout rate.
Everyone in the group still has minor league options remaining. That could lead to one of them being demoted to Las Vegas, but it’s also possible the club looks into a bullpen or swing role for a struggling starter. The A’s were dealt a hit to the relief corps this afternoon, as righty Dany Jiménez went on the 15-day injured list with a shoulder strain.
Jiménez operated as the club’s primary closer at points last season. He’s picked up the team’s only save thus far in 2023, though his overall results have been rough. The 29-year-old has walked six with only four strikeouts over 6 2/3 innings. He’s allowed four runs and seen sharp dips in his swinging strikes and velocity. It seems clear he has not been operating at full strength. The team hasn’t provided a return timetable, though a shoulder strain prematurely ended his 2022 campaign in late August.
Athletics To Promote Mason Miller
The Athletics are planning to promote pitching prospect Mason Miller, reports Matt Kawahara of the San Francisco Chronicle. It seems possible that Miller will join the team today and could make his major league debut tomorrow. He’s not yet on the 40-man roster and will require a corresponding move.
Miller, 24, was selected by the A’s in the third round of the 2021 draft, making his professional debut with a few Complex League outings shortly after that draft. He logged just six innings there, but Baseball America ranked him the #16 prospect in the system going into 2022, largely based on his work in college. He was then limited by a shoulder strain in 2022, not making his season debut until late August. He made one appearance in the Complex League, three in High-A and then two in Triple-A. He finished the year with a combined 3.86 ERA in 14 innings over those games.
It was a very limited sample, but he did rack up 25 strikeouts, exactly half of the 50 batters he faced, while keeping his walks down to a 6% rate. He was then sent to get some extra work in the Arizona Fall League, tossing 16 2/3 innings there with a 3.24 ERA, racking up another 20 punchouts. Based on that strong-but-limited showing, BA bumped him to #4 in the system coming into this year. FanGraphs was perhaps even more bullish, giving Miller the #98 spot on their preseason list of the top 100 prospects in the league. Both outlets highlight Miller’s velocity, with his fastball able to hit triple digits, while also complimenting his slider and changeup. BA adds that he was planning to re-introduce a cutter in 2023, a pitch he had been avoiding as part of his rehab.
This year, Miller started out with a Double-A appearance, allowing two earned runs over 3 2/3 innings, but striking out eight opponents. He then got bumped to Triple-A, where he tossed five shutout innings with 11 punchies. By all accounts, Miller clearly has electric stuff and great results, but in very small samples. His entire professional career consists of 28 2/3 innings in the minors and those 16 2/3 frames in the AFL, adding up to 45 1/3. He did log 239 innings in college, but it’s still unusual for a club to fast-forward a player’s rise through the minors like this. That being said, Miller seems to have excellent stuff and might be ready to get big league hitters out right now.
The A’s have been toying with using a six-man rotation this year, in part to help Shintaro Fujinami adjust from the once-a-week pitching schedule preferred in Japan to the five-day rotation that’s more common in North America. He’s been joined by Kyle Muller, JP Sears, James Kaprielian, Ken Waldichuk and Adam Oller so far, though Oller made two long relief outings before getting his first start of the year last week. He was rocked for seven earned runs in just 2 1/3 innings in that start and was optioned to the minors shortly after. It seems his struggles have perhaps opened an opportunity for Miller to make his MLB debut. The A’s weren’t expected to compete this year and are off to a 3-14 start, giving them little reason not to see what they have in Miller.
Now that Opening Day has moved into the rearview mirror, it won’t be possible for Miller to reach a full year of service time. A baseball season is 187 days long but a player needs just 172 days on the active roster or injured list to accrue a full year. With the season now 20 days in, Miller would come up just shy of that one year mark even if he stays up for good. The new collective bargaining agreement has a path for players to get a full year of service time anyway, though that only applies to those who cracked two of the preseason top 100 lists at Baseball America, MLB Pipeline or ESPN. Miller made the FanGraphs list but none of those other three, meaning he doesn’t have a path to a full service year in 2023.
Image courtesy of USA Today Sports.