Ryan Braun

Injury Notes: Wainwright, Braun, LeMahieu, Giants, Triggs

By Steve Adams | May 17, 2018 at 9:12pm CDT

The Cardinals’ sudden decision to transfer Adam Wainwright to the 60-day disabled list today means the Cardinals will be without him for a notable portion of the summer, but the exact cause of his elbow pain remains unclear, as Joe Trezza of MLB.com writes. President of baseball operations John Mozeliak said that there’s “nothing that really stood out as a smoking gun” after the first wave of tests, which included an MRI and a bone scan, but he’ll undergo a further series of evaluations tomorrow. “We don’t know what that is right now, other than he has discomfort,” said Mozeliak. While the club obviously has no defined timetable for Wainwright’s return, Mozeliak spoke with some cautious optimism: “He knows he might be part of that second-half push. …. I would guess he’ll pitch again.”

Some more injury news from around the league…

The Brewers announced that Ryan Braun has been placed on the 10-day DL, retroactive to Monday, with tightness in his back. They’ll announce a corresponding move tomorrow. The injury doesn’t sound to be especially serious at present, but Braun has been battling the discomfort for some time now and performing poorly as a result, Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel writes. Taking even the minimum 10 days off could help to get him back on track. The 34-year-old Braun hit .258/.304/.473 in April, but his bat cratered with a .121/.167/.242 slash thus far in the month of May.
In addition to a sprain in his left thumb, Rockies second baseman DJ LeMahieu has a small fracture, he told reporters on Thursday (link via Patrick Saunders of the Denver Post). While it’s not great news for the Rockies or LeMahieu, it’s hardly a worst-case scenario, either. LeMahieu is likely to miss at least three weeks or so with the injury, though the infielder explained that an exact timetable will be difficult to pin down before the swelling in his thumb subsides. On the plus side, doctors have told LeMahieu that he’ll avoid surgery and needs only rest to let the injury heal. He’s hoping to swing a bat as early as next week.
Mark Melancon threw 20 pitches to live hitters today and could begin a rehab assignment as soon as Sunday, tweets Kerry Crowley of the San Jose Mercury News. He’ll likely need about two weeks’ worth of rehab games, putting him on target for a return to the Giants in early June if all goes well. Meanwhile, Alex Pavlovic of NBC Sports Bay Area tweets that Madison Bumgarner could make his first rehab start on May 26.
Athletics right-hander Andrew Triggs exited tonight’s start in Toronto after just 2 1/3 innings due to what the team is calling nerve discomfort in his right forearm, per Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle. Presumably, he’ll head for further testing following the game, though the early diagnosis doesn’t sound especially promising. In the event of a DL trip for Triggs, the A’s could turn to righty Kendall Graveman, who is trying to get back on track in Triple-A after a rough start to the season. Right-hander Daniel Gossett has posted terrific numbers since being sent down to Nashville as well, while hard-throwing prospect Frankie Montas is also delivering solid production in Triple-A.

Injury Notes: T. Walker, Brewers, S. Perez, DeShields

By Connor Byrne | April 14, 2018 at 10:17pm CDT

Here’s the latest injury news from around the majors:

Diamondbacks right-hander Taijuan Walker left his start against the Dodgers on Saturday with forearm tightness, Arizona announced. Walker departed after throwing two innings, during which he experienced a drop in velocity, per Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic. While the severity of Walker’s injury is not yet clear, forearm tightness often leads to more serious elbow troubles. The D-backs are left to hope this isn’t a major issue for Walker, who impressed with them last year – his first with the club – and has begun 2018 with 13 innings of 3.46 ERA pitching.
Brewers outfielder Christian Yelich is eligible to come off the disabled list Sunday, but the club won’t activate him then, Adam McCalvy of MLB.com tweets. Yelich, who suffered an oblique injury last week, isn’t yet 100 percent, McCalvy notes. Meanwhile, fellow corner outfielder Ryan Braun left Saturday’s game against the Mets with back tightness, Adam Rosiak of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel was among those to report. Whether it’s problematic enough to lead to a DL stint isn’t yet known. Braun, of course, missed 58 games last year while dealing with various injuries.
Royals catcher Salvador Perez could make his 2018 debut during the team’s next homestand, which runs from April 24-29, Jeffrey Flanagan of MLB.com writes. Perez, who suffered a Grade 2 MCL tear in his left knee on March 28, began a rehab assignment at the Double-A level on Saturday. The Perez-less Royals have gotten terrible offensive production early this year from behind-the-plate fill-ins Drew Butera and Cam Gallagher, who combined for a .175/.227/.250 line entering Saturday. Thanks in part to their struggles, Kansas City’s a woeful 3-10.
Rangers center fielder Delino DeShields could come back earlier than expected from the broken left hamate bone he suffered March 31, Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News relays. DeShields was slated to miss four to six weeks at the time of the injury, but he’s aiming for an April 23 return – which would be three weeks. The Rangers’ reserve options, Drew Robinson and Carlos Tocci, haven’t exactly stepped up during DeShields’ absence. Robinson has hit a meek .167/.255/.262 in 47 plate appearances, while Tocci has collected only one hit in 10 trips to the plate.

Quick Hits: Braun, Kemp, Brewers, Dodgers, BoSox, Mancini, Saunders

By Connor Byrne | March 31, 2018 at 11:33pm CDT

A trade rumor centering on Brewers outfielder Ryan Braun and Dodgers outfielder Matt Kemp made the rounds Saturday evening on social media, but “there’s nothing to it,” according to Milwaukee general manager David Stearns. While the executive told Adam McCalvy of MLB.com and other reporters that he doesn’t normally respond to rumors, he felt the need to shoot this one down publicly. “You guys know my policy, I don’t like commenting on this type of stuff,” he said. “But given that I don’t want this to be any sort of distraction, I’ll say when I first read it, I thought maybe someone was making an early April Fool’s joke.” The Dodgers reportedly showed serious interest in Braun in the past, but “there’s nothing clearly relevant” this time around, per Stearns.

Quick Hits: CBA, Moustakas, Boras, Braun, Nats

By Connor Byrne | March 10, 2018 at 11:20pm CDT

The fact that third baseman Mike Moustakas had to settle for a $6.5MM guarantee in free agency is the latest sign that the owners defeated the players in winter 2016 CBA negotiations, J.J. Cooper of Baseball America opines. In accepting the Royals’ offer, reportedly the only one he received from any team in his four months on the open market, Moustakas took a pay cut from his 2017 salary ($8.7MM) after belting 38 home runs and accounting for 2.2 fWAR. He also ended up with far less than he’d have gotten had he said yes to the Royals’ $17.4MM qualifying offer in November. In December, long before Moustakas signed, now-Angels right-hander/designated hitter Shohei Ohtani emigrated from Japan. In order to join the Angels, the two-way sensation had to take a relatively inexpensive bonus and agree to be under team control for six years. That was yet another result of a CBA that Cooper sees as clearly being in the owners’ favor. The CBA isn’t due to expire until December 2021, meaning the owners could be in the catbird seat for a while longer, but Cooper argues that they should make some good-faith concessions to improve their relationship with the union. For one, they should do away with making clubs give up draft picks to sign qualified free agents (Moustakas was a victim of that), Cooper contends.

As you’d expect, Moustakas’ rep, Scott Boras, isn’t pleased with how free agency unfolded for his client. Boras told reporters, including Rustin Dodd of The Athletic (subscription required), on Saturday: “Our system has failed. We always want demand for the best. This is about players, players who are excellent, players who are All-Stars, and Moose has delivered in all.” The high-powered agent added that “it’s become something other than the best players playing baseball at the highest level for the best teams.” The past few months have been a mixed bag for Boras, who arguably hasn’t worked quite as much magic as usual. Clients Eric Hosmer (eight years, $144MM) and J.D. Martinez (five years, $110MM) have landed two of the three biggest contracts since last season ended, but Moustakas, Carlos Gonzalez (one year, $8MM) and Carlos Gomez (one year, $4MM) didn’t sign for nearly as much as hoped. What’s more, Jake Arrieta and Greg Holland continue to languish in free agency as the regular season nears.
Nationals second baseman Daniel Murphy is progressing in his recovery from October knee surgery, though it’s not yet clear whether he’ll be ready for Opening Day, per Jamal Collier of MLB.com. Murphy took batting practice for the first time this year on Saturday, after which he said he didn’t experience any discomfort. The 32-year-old also fielded 15 to 20 ground balls Saturday, but “he has not graduated to lateral movements,” Collier writes, and has only run on a treadmill to this point. Overall, though, Murphy believes he’s “responding really well.”
Brewers outfielder Ryan Braun’s attempt to play first base this spring isn’t going all that smoothly, even though it has been “enjoyable,” he explained Saturday (via the Associated Press). “I definitely don’t feel comfortable at all,” the 34-year-old admitted. “I’m doing the best I can with it. Guys have to make sacrifices. I think ultimately if we want to get to where we want to get as a team, based on the roster we’ve put together, it obviously helps make us a better team if I’m able to play multiple positions.” Interestingly, Braun added that because of the bending and squatting that are required for playing first, his new position has been “a lot harder” on his back than lining up in the outfield. Braun’s back issued contributed to his abbreviated campaign in 2017 (104 games), and with Lorenzo Cain and Christian Yelich now on hand in the Brewers’ outfield, playing first could help get him and other Brewers outfielders more at-bats this year. That’s if he’s able to hold up from a health standpoint, of course.

Brewers Notes: Outfield, Vogt, Nelson, Braun, Aguilar

By Steve Adams | February 28, 2018 at 8:04pm CDT

Much has been made of the Brewers’ crowded outfield and the potential need to trade someone from that mix, but manager Craig Counsell doesn’t see it that way. Speaking to ESPN’s Jerry Crasnick, Counsell described a rotation of Ryan Braun, Lorenzo Cain, Christian Yelich, Domingo Santana and Eric Thames between the three outfield spots and first base that could still get everyone from that quintet ample playing time. “If you split it evenly with five guys, that’s 560 [plate appearances] apiece,” Counsell explained, using a rough guideline of about 2800 PAs over the four positions. “With injuries and everything, we’ll find a way. Some guys will get 500, and some will get 600, but it will work out.” Of course, the Brewers also have Keon Broxton and Brett Phillips on hand, though each has minor league options remaining and could be used as a high-quality depth piece (or a trade candidate — either over the next month or later this summer).

Here’s more out of Milwaukee…

Catcher Stephen Vogt has been diagnosed with a shoulder strain and will miss the next two to three weeks of Spring Training games, per Tom Haudricourt and Todd Rosiak of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel. He’ll also be shut down from throwing for a week. As Haudricourt and Rosiak note, the injury could have significant repercussions for Vogt and could very well impact the Opening Day roster. Vogt’s $3.05MM contract, like the vast majority of arbitration contracts, isn’t fully guaranteed. The Brewers could theoretically cut him and be on the hook only for 30 to 45 days of termination pay between now and Opening Day. Vogt is competing with Jett Bandy to serve as the backup to Manny Pina this season, and Bandy is out of minor league options, meaning he’d be exposed to waivers or traded if he doesn’t make the Opening Day roster.
Also via Haudricourt and Rosiak, Brewers ace Jimmy Nelson is still limited to throwing from flat ground and won’t get onto a mound until after the season starts. The team isn’t giving any sort of firm timeline on when Nelson can be expected to return to the big league club, though the report posits that a return around the All-Star break is plausible for Nelson, who underwent shoulder surgery last September after suffering an injury when diving back into first base.
Braun got his first work of the spring in at first base and saw plenty of action in today’s game, writes MLB.com’s Adam McCalvy. “There were runners on base quite a bit, so he was holding runners, getting a feel for that,” said Counsell. “He had a pick in the second inning. He had to get in the cutoff position on a couple of different plays. I would say it was a real positive experience for the first day. Some things to put through his head that he can check off the list as experiences.” As McCalvy points out, the Braun experiment at first base will impact more than just the outfield rotation; Braun seeing more action at first could also have a direct impact on Jesus Aguilar’s role with the club, though it’s not year clear how the Brewers will sort out their considerable depth. Aguilar, like Bandy, is out of minor league options, thus further muddling the scenario.

NL Central Notes: Dickerson, Reds, Senzel, Braun

By Jeff Todd | February 22, 2018 at 8:42pm CDT

Pirates GM Neal Huntington suggested today that he expects new acquisition Corey Dickerson to handle the bulk of the action in left field for he coming season, as MLB.com’s Adam Berry report on Twitter. No doubt the Bucs will end up giving Dickerson some time off against lefties; while he performed well against southpaws last year, he has long carried wide platoon splits. But it seems the plan is to give him an opportunity to function as something approaching an everyday player, with the Pittsburgh organization evidently willing to stomach the less-than-stellar glovework Dickerson is reputed to deliver. Perhaps the biggest question will be whether the powerful 28-year-old can overcome an interesting problem identified by Travis Sawchik of Fangraphs in a piece today: a tendency to swing and miss at four-seam fastballs.

NL Notes: Braves, Brewers, Braun, Marlins

By Connor Byrne | January 28, 2018 at 11:02am CDT

A few notes from the National League…

Alex Anthopoulos hasn’t made many headline-grabbing transactions this winter, his first as Atlanta’s GM, though he revealed Saturday that the Braves “kicked around trying to get a (number) one- or two-type starter.” They’re holding off on that for the time being, though, per the Atlanta Journal-Constitution’s Jeff Schultz, who relays that the Braves are still considering adding to their bullpen and acquiring a third baseman to potentially unseat starter Johan Camargo. They’re said to have interest in free agent infielder Eduardo Nunez, one of the top third base-capable players on the market.
Thanks in part to their acquisitions of star outfielders Lorenzo Cain and Christian Yelich, the Brewers will attempt to work around their OF surplus by occasionally using Ryan Braun at first base in 2018. Interestingly, there’s also a chance Braun will factor in at second base, where the Brewers are currently lacking an obvious solution. Braun has discussed playing second with GM David Stearns, Adam McCalvy of MLB.com reports (via Twitter) The 34-year-old hasn’t seen any action in the middle infield since his days as a shortstop with the Miami Hurricanes, so it seems he’d be a long shot to play much at the keystone. Indeed, McCalvy doesn’t expect Braun to be a real factor there (Twitter link).
Brewers pitching coach Derek Johnson told fans Sunday that the club expects right-hander Jimmy Nelson to return “around June,” McCalvy tweets. Nelson himself still isn’t willing to put a timetable on his recovery, however (Twitter link). The 28-year-old has been on the mend from the surgery he underwent on a torn labrum in September, which came as an especially unfortunate development after he emerged as one of the league’s top starters in 2017.
New Marlins owners Bruce Sherman and Derek Jeter have drawn plenty of criticism for their payroll-slashing methods in their first offseason atop the franchise. Before securing the Marlins last year, Sherman and Jeter had to outbid a potential ownership group including Hall of Fame hurler Tom Glavine. As it turns out, had Glavine & Co. purchased the team, they would have operated similarly to how Sherman and Jeter have. Glavine told Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe that his faction was “of the same mind-set as to the moves that had to be made to get payroll under control.” They’d have attempted to do things differently in terms of public relations, though, with Glavine acknowledging that Sherman and Jeter haven’t “done themselves any favors from a PR standpoint.”

Central Notes: Brewers, Indians, Salazar, Pirates

By Connor Byrne | January 27, 2018 at 7:10pm CDT

A look around the Central divisions…

The Brewers are loaded in the outfield in the wake of this week’s Lorenzo Cain and Christian Yelich acquisitions, and the club could mitigate the logjam by dealing one of its top trade chips, Domingo Santana. Doing so would presumably allow the Brewers to address their shaky rotation. With that in mind, the Brewers and starter-rich Indians seem like logical trade partners, Paul Hoynes of cleveland.com observes. A deal centering on Santana and Indians righty Danny Salazar would make sense for both clubs, Hoynes opines, and Anthony Castrovince of MLB.com tweets that Milwaukee has shown interest in Salazar this offseason. The hard-throwing Salazar brings the more impressive big league track record of the two players, though age (25 to 28), team control (four years to three) and 2017 performance are all on Santana’s side.
Milwaukee could also take from its outfield surplus by occasionally playing Ryan Braun at first base. Braun, for his part, is open to giving first a try in spring training, general manager David Stearns told Adam McCalvy of MLB.com and other reporters Friday. The 34-year-old hasn’t lined up in the infield since his rookie year, 2007, when he played 112 games at third base. Nevertheless, with injuries having limited Braun to 104 games last year, spending some time at first could be beneficial to his health, McCalvy notes. The Brewers already have a pair of viable first basemen in Eric Thames and Jesus Aguilar, but it seems a healthy Braun would at least be an offensive upgrade over Aguilar – a fellow righty-swinger whose 2017 production plummeted after the All-Star break.
Pirates left-hander Nik Turley received an 80-game suspension Saturday after testing positive for Ipamorelin, a performance-enhancing drug. The 28-year-old will go on the restricted list, thus opening up a spot on the Pirates’ 40-man roster (which was at capacity before his ban). Turley is in his first offseason with the Pirates, who claimed him off waivers from the Twins in November. The former Yankees prospect made his big league debut with Minnesota last season and struggled across 10 appearances (11.21 ERA, 6.62 K/9 and 4.08 BB/9 in 17 2/3 innings).

Brewers Still Seeking Rotation Upgrades, Could Deal From Outfield Surplus

By Steve Adams | January 26, 2018 at 9:26am CDT

The Brewers are the talk of Major League Baseball at present, having pulled off a blockbuster trade to acquire Christian Yelich and agreed to a five-year deal with Lorenzo Cain in a span of mere hours. Milwaukee is hardly done for the offseason, though, and reports from Bob Nightengale of USA Today (Twitter link) and Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic (subscription link) highlight the various avenues they can take toward further improvement.

Milwaukee is shopping outfielders Domingo Santana and Keon Broxton as it looks for an upgrade to its rotation, according to Nightengale. Rosenthal suggests a bit more softly that the Brewers are open to offers on Santana but aren’t eager to trade him, hoping instead to at times run out an outfield of Yelich, Cain and Santana. The organization has discussed the idea of utilizing Ryan Braun at first base on occasion, Rosenthal adds. While Yelich, Cain, Santana, Braun and Eric Thames make five players for four spots, though certainly that depth wouldn’t be a bad thing for the Brewers to carry into the 2018 season.

Broxton, it seems, is something of an odd man out following yesterday’s acquisitions. The 27-year-old served as the Brewers’ primary center fielder in 2017 and hit .220/.299/.420 with 20 homers and 21 steals through 463 plate appearances. Broxton, though, also struck out at a staggering 37.8 percent clip and delivered mixed results in the outfield. Both Defensive Runs Saved (-7) and Ultimate Zone Rating (-2.2) considered him below average, whereas Statcast’s Outs Above Average metric credited him at +9 outs, ranking him among the game’s 15 best overall outfielders.

Broxton certainly has his warts, but the 27-year-old is controllable through the 2022 season and won’t even be arbitration-eligible until next offseason at the earliest (when he’s likely to be a Super Two player). In many regards, he fits the criteria of what the Giants are looking for in a minimum-salary center field option. He’s also out of minor league options, so if he’s not going to play a role on the Brewers in 2018, he figures to be traded.

Santana, meanwhile, is controlled through the 2021 season and is coming off an excellent season in which he batted .278/.371/.505 with 30 homers and 29 doubles. His superior production in 2017 would assuredly make him a costlier asset in trade talks with the Brewers, though he’s also a vastly superior asset for the Brewers when attempting to pry a big league starter away from clubs in trade talks.

Brett Phillips stands out as another potentially available outfielder currently in the Brewers’ mix. The 23-year-old hit .276/.351/.448 with four homers and five steals through 98 PAs as a rookie this past season, though like Broxton, he struggled with a sky-high strikeout rate (34.7 percent). The strikeout woes weren’t limited to that brief MLB exposure, either, as Phillips whiffed at a 29.9 percent clip in the minors, too. He also posted BABIP marks north of .400 in both the Majors and Triple-A in 2017, suggesting that his production was somewhat overstated. Nonetheless, the former top prospect should draw interest, as he’s controllable all the way through 2023 and does have minor league options remaining.

While the Brewers’ now considerable outfield surplus makes the possibility of a trade fairly obvious, the team could also still pursue starters on the free-agent market. Rosenthal characterizes a signing of Yu Darvish or Alex Cobb as unlikely, though the market for starters has been stagnant to the point that nearly every lower-tier option remains available for the Brewers to explore.

Cafardo’s Latest: Abreu, Giants, Rox, Pads, Braun, Reds, A’s, O’s

By Connor Byrne | December 10, 2017 at 10:35am CDT

The Red Sox are “very interested” in White Sox first baseman Jose Abreu, according to Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe, which runs contrary to previous reports. The Cardinals are also after Abreu, Cafardo adds, which isn’t surprising for a team that just lost out on Giancarlo Stanton and continues to seek a power bat. Abreu, who will turn 31 in January, slashed .304/.354/.552 with 33 home runs in 675 plate appearances last season. He comes with two years of arbitration eligibility and will earn a lofty sum – a projected $17.9MM – in 2018. The White Sox want “top prospects” for Abreu, per Cafardo.

More from Cafardo, whose latest column previews the Winter Meetings for all 30 clubs:

With an obvious need at third base, the Giants are primed to go after the top two free agents at the hot corner – Mike Moustakas and Todd Frazier – Cafardo notes. The 29-year-old Moustakas (a California native) figures to reel in a much larger pact than Frazier (32 in February). Moustakas is also a qualifying offer recipient, so signing him would cost the Giants their second- and fifth-highest draft picks in 2018 and $1MM in international bonus pool space.
Free agent first baseman Logan Morrison has drawn interest from the Rockies, per Cafardo. Signing Morrison, who MLBTR projects will land a three-year, $36MM payday this offseason, would presumably send Ian Desmond to the outfield full time as Carlos Gonzalez’ replacement. It could also give the Rockies a significant offensive boost, with the 30-year-old Morrison having slashed .246/.353/.516 with a personal-high 38 homers in 2017.
The shortstop-needy Padres will pursue the premier player available at the position, Zack Cozart, according to Cafardo. Cozart was one of the best players in the majors last season, pairing his usual excellent defense with uncharacteristically great offense (.297/.385/.548 with 24 homers in 507 PAs), but the longtime Red isn’t a free agent at a time when many teams are seeking a shortstop, as MLBTR’s Mark Polishuk recently explained. That could negatively affect his market, then, though MLBTR still forecasts a respectable contract (three years, $42MM) for the 32-year-old.
The Brewers would consider proposals for left fielder Ryan Braun, Cafardo suggests. Milwaukee has no shortage of outfielders, which could open the door for a Braun trade, but moving him would be challenging. The 34-year-old posted one of his worst seasons in 2017, thanks in part to injuries, and still has $57MM coming his way (including a $4MM buyout in 2021). He also has full no-trade rights as a 10-and-5 player.
Along with the previously reported Raisel Iglesias, the Reds are “open to offers” for left fielder Adam Duvall, Cafardo relays. Duvall, 29, would provide cheap power to a team in need of it – he’s not eligible for arbitration until next winter and is fresh off his second 30-home run season in a row (though he hit an underwhelming .249/.301/.480 in 2017).
The Athletics expected to retain infielder Jed Lowrie as of October, but now they’d “certainly be willing” to trade him, Cafardo reports. Lowrie will enter his age-34 campaign in 2018, in which he’ll earn a very reasonable $6MM, after turning in one of the healthiest and best years of his career last season.
Orioles reliever Mychal Givens will be in “great demand” at the meetings, Cafardo writes. The 27-year-old is coming off his second terrific full season in a row and is under control for the next four years, including a pre-arb season in 2018. For those reasons, the Orioles may decide to keep the right-hander.

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