Angels Place Simmons, Canning And Pena On IL
11:20 am: DiGiovanna provides further updates on Simmons (via Twitter). The star shortstop has a bone bruise and left ankle sprain (in a different area of the ankle which sidelined him earlier in the season) and will be out “a least a couple of weeks,” according to manager Brad Ausmus.
10:36 am: Peña and Canning each have worrisome prognoses, DiGiovanna relays. Peña tore his ACL and is out for six to nine months, ending his season and putting his 2020 start in jeopardy. Canning, meanwhile, has inflammation in his throwing elbow. Fortunately, DiGiovanna adds that Canning’s UCL does not appear to be injured, so it seems he’ll avoid an especially serious absence.
9:38 am: The Angels have lost three key contributors, announcing the IL placements of Andrelton Simmons, Griffin Canning and Félix Peña, reports Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register (via Twitter). To replace that trio on the active roster, the club has recalled Wilfredo Tovar, Jared Walsh and Luke Bard, tweets Mike DiGiovanna of the Los Angeles Times.
The news represents a devastating series of blows for the Halos, particularly the loss of the unmatchable Simmons. The defensive whiz was scratched from yesterday’s lineup with foot soreness, which has evidently proved more serious than initially hoped. It’ll be the second IL stint of the season for Simmons, who has otherwise put together a decent season. His .274/.315/.382 slash (88 wRC+) is unremarkable, but even that is reasonable when coupled with his otherworldly glove. Simmons also boasts one of the league’s lowest strikeout rates and had been a slightly above-average hitter over the past two seasons, so there was reason to believe he could offer even more offensively. That’ll be on hold for an undisclosed amount of time.
Peña left yesterday’s start with a sprained right knee, so it’s unsurprising to hear he’ll hit the shelf. He’s been serviceable in a swing role for the club this season, logging 96.1 innings with a 4.58 ERA. Peña’s strikeout, walk and ground ball rates are all solid but unremarkable.
The Canning news comes most surprisingly, as he just polished off a strong start against the Tigers Tuesday, although it explains the upcoming call-up of prospect Patrick Sandoval to start tomorrow night in his place. Canning, a former first-rounder, had some injury concerns as a draft prospect stemming from a heavy workload at UCLA, but his professional health record had been spotless until today. Regarded as a potential #3 starter as a prospect, Canning hasn’t been quite that good as a rookie but has nevertheless been dependable. Like Peña, Canning’s strikeout and walk numbers have hovered around average, although his 37.3% ground ball rate has led to some home run worries. Canning’s injury and prognosis aren’t yet clear.
Tovar is a utility infielder who can offer some shortstop assistance in Simmons’ absence. He’s never hit much, but he’ll be on hand to back up David Fletcher, who seems likely to handle the position in the near term. Walsh is a two-way player, a power bat who has raked in Triple-A this season and has come out of the Angel bullpen four times this year. He’s a uniquely versatile asset for the club. Bard, meanwhile, is a more traditional, fastball-slider reliever who’s been up-and-down during a challenging season.
Minor MLB Transactions: 6/29/19
The latest in minor moves from around the game…
- Twins lefty Gabriel Moya has cleared waivers and been outrighted to AAA-Rochester, tweets Do-Hyoung Park of mlb.com. Moya, 24, had struggled with command at Rochester this season before his designation last week, the first time in eight professional seasons he’d exhibited such an issue. FanGraphs lauds the lefty’s 60-grade changeup, which won’t effectively be put to use if the wildness continues.
- Angels infielder Wilfredo Tovar has cleared waivers and been outrighted to AAA-Salt Lake, per the team. Tovar had a 16-game stint with Los Angeles earlier this season, during which he slashed a meager .195/.283/.293 in 46 plate appearances. The 27-year-old’s been mostly punchless in 12 professional season thus far, though he continues to flash his sticky leather all around the infield.
- The Pirates have signed former farmhand Gift Ngoepe, per the team’s Altoona Curve affiliate. Ngoepe, 29, will report to Altoona after a less-than-stellar showing with AAA Lehigh Valley in the Phillies system this year. Like Tovar, Ngoepe hasn’t hit much in the minors over his career, though his defense has his earned him call-ups with both Pittsburgh and Toronto over the last two seasons.
Angels Designate Wilfredo Tovar For Assignment
The Angels announced Wednesday that they’ve designated infielder Wilfredo Tovar for assignment as part of a series of roster moves. Right-hander Jaime Barria was recalled from Triple-A Salt Lake, with righty Jake Jewell being optioned back to Salt Lake in his place. The Halos also reinstated right-hander Trevor Cahill from the injured list.
Tovar, 27, appeared in 16 games with the Halos and tallied 46 plate appearances with a timid .195/.283/.293 slash in that time. That marked his first big league action since appearing in nine games with the Mets from 2013-14. The versatile Tovar has also spent time with the Twins and Cardinals at the Triple-A level, and he logged a .289/.332/.407 slash in 211 plate appearances with the Angels’ Salt Lake club prior to his promotion earlier this month.
Cahill, who signed a one-year deal worth $9MM this offseason, has been sidelined since June 3 due to elbow soreness. Like fellow offseason pickup Matt Harvey, who also agreed to a one-year deal, he’s struggled immensely in his time with the Halos. The 31-year-old enjoyed a strong season with the division-rival Athletics in 2018, logging a 3.76 ERA and 3.54 FIP with 8.2 K/9, 3.4 BB/9 and a 53.4 percent grounder rate in 110 innings. The Angels will surely hope that version of Cahill returns from the IL rather than the iteration who has limped to a 7.18 ERA and 6.39 FIP through his first 57 2/3 frames of the 2019 campaign.
Angels Reinstate Kevan Smith, Designate Dustin Garneau
The Angels have announced that backstop Kevan Smith is back from the concussion injured list. To create space on the active roster, the team designated catcher Dustin Garneau for assignment.
That move also freed up a 40-man spot to make way for the team to bring up infielder Wilfredo Tovar. The final active roster space was created by optioning righty Jaime Barria.
Garneau, 31, will either end up landing elsewhere or back at Sale Lake City. He got on base at a healthy clip over his seven-game showing and was slashing .247/.368/.589 in 87 Triple-A plate appearances before his promotion. He has at times posted strong offensive numbers in the upper minors, but carries only a .198/.282/.321 slash in 302 trips to the dish over five seasons of action at the game’s highest level.
Angels To Select Wilfredo Tovar
The Angels are preparing to select the contract of middle infielder Wilfredo Tovar. The Halos Prospects Twitter feed reported that the move was anticipated, with Maria Torres of the Los Angeles Times tweeting that he was indeed coming onto the MLB roster.
Tovar made it up to the bigs briefly with the Mets in 2013 and 2014, but hasn’t been back since. He has played exclusively at Triple-A in the intervening seasons. This year, Tovar carries a .285/.329/.404 slash with three home runs over 210 plate appearances.
Corresponding roster moves aren’t yet known. The Halos have eight relievers on the active roster at present, leaving them with just three bench players. Adding another player capable of handling shortstop is particularly important given that the team is still going without Andrelton Simmons.