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Injury Updates: Rangers, Rays, Reds, Mets

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The Rangers have scratched southpaw Cole Hamels from his start Monday against the Yankees because of left groin soreness, Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News was among those to report (on Twitter). Hamels also missed a start last year because of a sore groin, but the club doesn’t believe the injury is serious. It’s currently unclear who will start in his place Monday.

More injury updates on some key major leaguers:

  • In other news concerning an integral member of the Rangers’ rotation, right-hander Yu Darvish is fully healthy and on track for a mid-May return, general manager Jon Daniels told MLB Network Radio on Sunday (Twitter link). Darvish, who missed the 2015 campaign after undergoing Tommy John surgery, could begin a rehab assignment May 1 and rejoin the Rangers on May 16, Grant wrote earlier this week.
  • Another 2015 Tommy John surgery recipient, Rays right-hander Alex Cobb, should return by late July or early August, tweets Marc Topkin of the Tampa Times. Rays closer Brad Boxberger is on course for a mid-May comeback from core muscle surgery, which he underwent in March, adds Topkin.
  • Reds righty Anthony DeSclafani, who’s working his way back from an oblique strain, began his rehab stint Saturday at the Double-A level and threw four innings, allowing three runs, four hits and a walk while striking out five. He’ll next start for Low-A Dayton, per Zach Buchanan of the Cincinnati Enquirer (Twitter link). DeSclafani posted a 4.05 ERA with a 7.36 K/9 and 2.68 BB/9 in 184 2/3 innings for the Reds last season.
  • Like Darvish and Cobb, Mets lefty Josh Edgin is also coming back from 2015 Tommy John surgery. Edgin’s recovery is going well and it’s possible he’ll return to the majors next month, according to Adam Rubin of ESPN.com. Edgin served as a shutdown option out of the Mets’ bullpen in 2014, compiling a 9.22 K/9 and 1.98 BB/9 to accompany a stingy 1.32 ERA in 27 1/3 innings.

AL Notes: Darvish, Smith, ERod, Kelly, Owens, Snell, Farquhar, Gausman, Gallardo

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Here’s the latest out of the American League, with a focus on some recent injury news on key pitchers:

  • Rehabbing Rangers ace Yu Darvish will throw another live BP session before beginning his rehab assignment, Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News reports. The righty hasn’t suffered any kind of setback, but hopes to refine his offspeed offerings before reporting to Double-A to begin his march back to the majors.
  • Meanwhile, Red Sox reliever Carson Smith looks to be on track for a return in early May, Peter Abraham of the Boston Globe reports on Twitter. He’ll need to make at least three minor league outings, including two on back-to-back days, before being activate. The righty will be a welcome addition to the back of the Boston pen. Likewise, lefty Eduardo Rodriguez may be on his way back soon, as Evan Drellich of the Boston Herald tweets that he could return to the majors after two rehab starts.
  • In other Red Sox pitching news, the club is hopeful that Joe Kelly won’t miss much more than the minimum on his 15-day DL stint, Jason Mastrodonato of the Boston Herald reports (Twitter links). Southpaw Henry Owens will step into Kelly’s place in the rotation. He’s put up three solid outings at Triple-A thus far, allowing just two earned runs in 18 innings with 23 strikeouts and ten walks.
  • With top Rays pitching prospect Blake Snell coming up for his first start tomorrow, Baseball America’s Vince Lara-Cinisomo takes a look at the 23-year-old lefty. While he still needs to refine his command, BA suggests he could become a number two starter if he can reach his ceiling in the majors. Tampa Bay has optioned reliever Danny Farquhar to clear room for Snell, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times tweets. The 29-year-old righty has pitched well enough in the early going, but he was one of only a few optionable arms in the Rays’ pen and appeared in each of the last two games.
  • The Orioles are set to activate Kevin Gausman for his first start of the season on Monday, with the heralded righty saying that he thinks his shoulder issues are a thing of the past, as MLB.com’s Britt Ghiroli reports. In his latest rehab appearance, said Gausman, he felt more “comfortable” than he had in his prior outings. Hopes are high for the 25-year-old, and the Baltimore rotation is certainly need of a boost with only one member (Ubaldo Jimenez) currently carrying a sub-4.00 ERA.

AL Notes: Tanaka, Iwakuma, Darvish, Hanley

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Sunday’s showdown between the Yankees’ Masahiro Tanaka and the Mariners’ Hisashi Iwakuma will be the first-ever matchup in the majors between two former Japanese league teammates, writes Ryan Hatch of NJ.com. The two ex-Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles were supposed to face one another in 2014, but rain prevented that from happening. Regarding Iwakuma, Tanaka said, “There’s a little cultural difference. He’s older than [I am], so, I look up to him…He was the ace of the staff [in Japan]. I learned a lot from him…you know, strategies, and facing batters. Stuff like that.” Interestingly, the 35-year-old Iwakuma and Tanaka, 27, have posted nearly identical ERAs (3.18 to 3.17) since emigrating from Japan. Iwakuma debuted in the majors two years earlier (2012 versus 2014), so his success has come over 363 2/3 more innings than Tanaka’s total.

  • In other news regarding Japanese starters, Rangers ace Yu Darvish threw a live batting practice session Sunday and will engage in another Thursday before beginning a rehab assignment with Double-A Frisco on or near April 26, T.R. Sullivan of MLB.com reports (via Twitter). Darvish is recovering from Tommy John surgery, which caused him to miss all of last season. His 50-pitch BP session Sunday drew raves from pitching coach Doug Brocail, tweets the Dallas Morning News’ Evan Grant. “The breaking ball was crisp. The slider was unbelievable,” Brocail said. “The fastball was good and hard with both two- and four-seamers. He threw strikes in a lot of good areas. As we measured it, there were a lot of 0-2 and 1-2 counts.” A May 11 return to the Rangers could be within reach for Darvish if all goes well during his rehab stint, per Grant.
  • Thanks in part to a disastrous showing as a left fielder last season, the Red Sox’s Hanley Ramirez was among the league’s least valuable players during his first year in Boston. But the Red Sox like what they’ve seen this year from Ramirez, who is now their first baseman. “We have a different player,” manager John Farrell told Peter Abraham of the Boston Globe (Twitter link). “He’s in a good place,” second baseman Dustin Pedroia said (link via Evan Drellich of the Boston Herald). In addition to finding a more suitable position, Ramirez has shown signs of life offensively, slashing .293/.318/.463 in 44 plate appearances. A shoulder injury helped lead to an uncharacteristically poor season at the plate in 2015 for Ramirez, who hit .249/.291/.426 in 430 PAs.
  • Blue Jays second baseman Devon Travis – who underwent left shoulder surgery in November – will take the field for live batting practice off a coach for the first time this year Monday, tweets Shi Davidi of Sportsnet. Meanwhile, lefty Franklin Morales is better after feeling “weakness” in his shoulder earlier this month and will begin a throwing program Monday, Davidi reports (on Twitter).
  • The Indians are expected to activate right fielder Lonnie Chisenhall on Wednesday after he plays a pair of rehab games with Double-A Akron on Monday and Tuesday, Jordan Bastian of MLB.com was among those to report (Twitter link). Upon returning, Chisenhall – who has been on the disabled list since March with a left wrist injury – will vie for playing time in an Indians outfield that has mostly used Rajai Davis, Marlon Byrd and Jose Ramirez so far this year.

Rangers Notes: Mazara, Darvish, Catcher

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The latest on the Rangers, who lost to the Angels on Sunday but got the first major league glimpse of a player who could be a long-term linchpin:

  • Newly promoted right fielder Nomar Mazara, the aforementioned potential building block, began his career in red-hot fashion Sunday. Mazara – the youngest player in the league (20 years, 350 days) – went 3 for 4 with a home run in a 3-1 defeat, and Jim Callis of MLB.com believes he’s capable of rivaling the injured Shin-Soo Choo’s offensive production while providing superior defense. On Mazara’s offensive skills, manager Jeff Banister said (via Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News), “He controls the strike zone. He can be patient, but he can jump on a fastball early if he needs to. Offspeed stuff did not seem to bother him that much this spring. He can hit when he’s down in the count.” That assessment proved true Sunday, as Grant writes.
  • In the next step in his recovery from March 2015 Tommy John surgery, Rangers ace Yu Darvish will throw live batting practice Wednesday, per T.R. Sullivan of MLB.com. “Now it’s time to turn him loose,” pitching coach Doug Brocail said. “He’ll throw some live batting practice and then get in games.” The Rangers plan for Darvish to throw three BP sessions and then have him begin a minor league rehab assignment toward the end of April. Darvish would then make six starts in the minors before rejoining the Rangers in late May, according to Sullivan. The Rangers will monitor Darvish’s pitch counts when he returns to the big leagues and want him to pound the strike zone with more fastballs. “I’m not asking [Darvish] to throw 25 percent more fastballs,” Brocail stated. “I’m asking him to trust it more to get more quick outs. Just more strikes so he doesn’t have to go deep in counts.”
  • In the wake of catcher Robinson Chirinos’ forearm fracture, general manager Jon Daniels said that he considered outside options Sunday morning, but it was merely “due diligence” (link via Sullivan). The Rangers ultimately called up Brett Nicholas to serve as the backup to Bryan Holaday, who will be their regular catcher for at least a little while. “We’ve got a good start with Holaday here,” Banister said after Chirinos got hurt on a hit by pitch Saturday. “We are working through all of our other options right now. We’ve got limited, but multiple options.” The Rangers have two other potentially useful catchers under control in Chris Gimenez and Michael McKenry, but the former is recovering from a bacterial infection and the latter is on the mend from an abdominal strain.

West Notes: Rockies, Reyes, A-Gon, Darvish

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Rockies GM Jeff Bridich says that the organization has not entertained any thoughts of a full-blown rebuild, as Nick Groke of the Denver Post reports. “We’re always trying to win,” Bridich said. “People are questioning us, or they’re confused. ’Why aren’t you trying some sort of nuclear rebuild?’ Those things have to happen when you feel like you don’t have talent on the field to compete or a system of depth to add to it. Our belief is that we have talent on this level to compete.” Though the payroll is down a bit over prior years, the club certainly acted as a team with intentions of winning this winter — dedicating assets to the bullpen and then setting aside service-time considerations with the Opening Day promotion of shortstop Trevor Story. Needless to say, the 23-year-old has rewarded that decision early, swatting three home runs in his first two major league games.

Here’s more from out west:

  • MLB commissioner Rob Manfred says that a decision on Rockies shortstop Jose Reyes — currently on administrative leave in the wake of domestic violence allegations — will likely come “in days as opposed to weeks,” as Neil Best of Newsday reports. While Manfred emphasized that he hopes to move along quickly now that the charges against Reyes have been dropped, he also expressed hope that he’ll be able to acquire new information before making a final call on whether (and for how long) to suspend the veteran infielder. “The ability of law enforcement to provide us with information, that only goes up,” said Manfred. “They have more flexibility to provide us with information once the criminal process comes to an end, one way or the other . . . We’re trying to take advantage of that additional flexibility to get all of the information that’s available as quickly as possible.”
  • There have been complaints in some quarters about the Dodgers’ offseason — which we just reviewed this morning — because it featured numerous smaller signings rather than a big splash or two. While there’s “skepticism” in “some parts of the clubhouse,” writes Dylan Hernandez of the Los Angeles Times, Adrian Gonzalez remains a believer. The veteran first baseman says the organization is well-equipped to deal with injuries with “the best [40-man roster] and the best farm system in baseball,” and predicts that a major mid-season addition would go down if there’s a need. Gonzalez obviously isn’t responsible for any of these decisions, but it’s an interesting perspective.
  • Rangers ace Yu Darvish has worked his way up to throwing fifty pitches in his most recent bullpen workout, as Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News reports on Twitter. Though a return to the Texas staff is still a ways off, it’s certainly encouraging that Darvish continues to tick past various milestones as he works back from Tommy John surgery.

West Notes: Darvish, Ethier, Wilson, Hamilton, Gallardo

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Major league baseball has determined Rangers’ starter Yu Darvish was not involved in the gambling ring operated by his brother, tweets Jeff Wilson of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. The story broke last week, although at no point in time was Darvish directly implicated. Based on the most recent reports, Darvish remains on pace to return to the Rangers in mid-May.

Here’s more from the western divisions:

  • Dodgers’ outfielder Andre Ethier is set to earn 10-and-5 rights in April, writes Steve Dilbeck of the Los Angeles Times. The club has long been rumored to be shopping the outfielder who has two years and $38MM guaranteed on his contract. He could also earn an additional $15MM in 2018 via a vesting option (550 PA in 2017). After a shaky 2014 that saw him relegated to a bench role, Ethier rebounded in 2015 with a .294/.366/.486 line over 445 plate appearances. However, the team used him in a strict platoon. The Dodgers may find it difficult to find a suitor unless they pick up a large portion of his remaining contract. On the plus side, the platoon role almost ensures he won’t trigger his vesting option. Now that Dexter Fowler is the top free agent outfielder on the market, the Dodgers may find it easier to shop Ethier.
  • Teams have asked about Angels’ starter C.J. Wilson, tweets Jon Heyman of MLB Network. Per Heyman, clubs view Wilson as a buy-low candidate, but the Angels have yet to receive an acceptable offer. I would add that the team’s starting pitching depth is a bit of a concern. While they have eight starting pitchers on the 40-man roster, names like Matt Shoemaker, Tyler Skaggs, Nick Tropeano, and Andrew Heaney are either coming of a bad season, recovering from injury, or unestablished at the major league level. However, escaping from part of the $20MM owed to him in 2016 could help the club address another position.
  • Rangers outfielder Josh Hamilton will have his playing time carefully managed in 2016 due to knee inflammation, writes T.R. Sullivan of MLB.com. Hamilton received a cortisone shot on Thursday. GM Jon Daniels described the joint as structurally sound. The aftermath of two surgeries could result in occasional flare-ups like this. Texas has plenty of outfield depth, particularly on the farm where Joey Gallo, Nomar Mazara, Lewis Brinson, and others wait in the wings. Gallo and Mazara are on the 40-man roster.
  • Rockies GM Jeff Bridich has downplayed Colorado’s interest in free agent starter Yovani Gallardo, writes Patrick Saunders of the Denver Post. In recent days, there have been several reports linking the Rockies with Gallardo as one of three finalists. While Bridich characterized talks as merely “checking in,” Saunders speculates that a signing could still come. At the very least, there appears to be some degree of mutual interest.

AL West Notes: Sucre, Cespedes, Rangers’ Rotation

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Mariners catcher Jesus Sucre suffered a fractured fibula this weekend playing in the Venezuelan Winter League, the Mariners confirmed to Bob Dutton of the Tacoma News Tribune. (Venezuelan journalist Marcos Grunfeld first reported the injury.) The 27-year-old Sucre received a career-high 142 plate appearances last season, serving as a backup catcher in Seattle. The offseason additions of Chris Iannetta and Steve Clevenger make it unlikely that Sucre would’ve broken camp with the Mariners, but the fact that he may miss the beginning of Spring Training, per Dutton, clouds his role with the club even further. Sucre is a lifetime .178/.206/.229 hitter in 235 plate appearances at the Major League level. While his bat is light, Sucre has caught 40 percent of potential base-stealers in his big league career and rated as a well above-average pitch framer in 2015.

Here’s more from the AL West…

  • Despite a number of executives recently speculating to MLB Network’s Peter Gammons that the Astros could be a landing spot for Yoenis Cespedes, Evan Drellich of the Houston Chronicle spoke to a source that made a Cespedes/Houston match unlikely. A separate source confirmed to Drellich that Cespedes is still seeking a very lucrative long-term deal, and as he notes, there’s no precedent of current Astros ownership green-lighting a $100MM+ contract. Drellich hears that the Astros, for instance, never pursued Chris Davis despite the possible need of a first baseman. GM Jeff Luhnow wouldn’t rule out further moves for his club this offseason, but he also didn’t sound to be aggressively seeking any upgrades. “We’re monitoring the players that are available and trying to figure out if there’s a fit, and when I say available, I don’t mean only via free agency. There’s discussions with other teams about trade possibilities as well.”
  • If the Rangers make another move to add to their rotation, it’d likely be a depth piece, GM Jon Daniels told reporters, including Gerry Fraley of the Dallas Morning News, earlier today. “If we do anything else where the rotation is concerned, it would be more along the lines of depth,” said Daniels. “There have been physical issues with some of our guys, and we’re cognizant of that.” As Fraley notes, Texas has four locks for the rotation in the form of Cole Hamels, Derek Holland, Martin Perez and the recently re-signed Colby Lewis. Ace Yu Darvish won’t be back until mid-May, at the earliest, Fraley writes, so the Rangers could pursue a possible piece to fill his rotation spot until then. Of course, Texas also has Chi Chi Gonzalez and Nick Martinez as depth options on the 40-man roster, in addition to non-roster invitees A.J. Griffin and Cesar Ramos (who will be stretched from reliever to starter this spring, the club revealed when announcing his signing).

Rangers Notes: Holland, Darvish, Martin, Mazara

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The Rangers looked like future buyers when they dealt for Cole Hamels at the trade deadline, but the team now finds itself right in the mix for the postseason. Here’s the latest out of Texas:

  • Left-hander Derek Holland is set to return from the DL on Wednesday, executive VP of communications John Blake announced on Twitter. Holland, 28, has seen very little time on the bump at the MLB level over the past two seasons as he’s dealt with knee and shoulder issues. He’s not only an important piece of the team’s current efforts to crack the playoffs, but will be entering a critical campaign in 2016. Guaranteed $10MM next year, the southpaw can be controlled by a pair of options thereafter, but will need to prove both health and effectiveness for the club to exercise them.
  • Staff ace Yu Darvish also hit a milestone in his recovery from Tommy John surgery, though he remains a ways off. As Stefan Stevenson of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram tweets, the outstanding righty began a throwing program today and did not experience any discomfort afterwards. Darvish remains a huge key to the club’s near future, and will surely look to stay on track to be a significant contributor next season.
  • Outfielder Leonys Martin, meanwhile, is set to visit with a specialist to determine the source of pain in his hand, Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News reports. The club is worried that he may have broken his hamate bone, which would end his season. Martin has struggled at the big league level this year, though he’d been playing well since his demotion to Triple-A. If nothing else, his speed and high-quality defense would make him a very useful player to have up with expanded rosters in September.
  • With Martin out, top prospect Nomar Mazara has been bumped up to the Triple-A level, Grant adds. The 20-year-old outfielder owns a .284/.357/.443 slash with 13 long balls over 470 plate appearances at Double-A on the year. He’ll now slot in alongside fellow prized youngster Joey Gallo in the Round Rock lineup.

Rangers Designate Sam Freeman For Assignment

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The Rangers have announced they have designated left-hander Sam Freeman for assignment. The move, along with Yu Darvish being placed on the 60-day disabled list, opens 40-man roster spots for right-handers Anthony Bass and Keone Kela. With the Freeman DFA, the Rangers will enter the season without a left-hander in the bullpen.

The Rangers now have 10 days to either trade, release, or outright Freeman to the minors. Texas hopes Freeman clears waivers so he can be outrighted to Triple-A, reports MLB.com’s T.R. Sullivan.

Yu Darvish Undergoes Tommy John Surgery

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March 17: The surgery was conducted today and Dr. Andrews says that it went “as expected,” as club executive VP of communications John Blake tweets.

March 13: Rangers ace Yu Darvish will undergo Tommy John surgery next Tuesday, the team announced. Dr. James Andrews will perform the operation in Pensacola, Fla., and Darvish will miss the entire 2015 season.

Clearly the news is a crushing blow to a Rangers team that saw its 2014 hopes dashed by injuries to an unthinkable amount of key players throughout the roster. Prince Fielder, Shin-Soo Choo, Derek Holland, Matt Harrison, Martin Perez, Mitch Moreland and Alexi Ogando all spent the better part of the season on the disabled list, while elbow inflammation limited Darvish himself to just 144 innings.

Speculation will of course surface that the Rangers could make a play for a big-ticket starter such as Cole Hamels, but GM Jon Daniels has already said that the club’s plans are to “fill from within” in an attempt to replace Darvish. While an external addition cannot be entirely ruled out, it seems more likely that Texas would add someone at the end of Spring Training that is either out of options or has failed to make a different team on a minor league deal (similar to the Braves’ signing of Aaron Harang last year).

While the Rangers can fill Darvish’s roster spot, it’s unlikely that they’ll be able to replace his production. Over the past two seasons, Darvish has pitched to a 2.92 ERA with 11.7 K/9 and 3.3 BB/9 in 354 innings of work out of the Texas rotation. The 28-year-old had established himself as one of the game’s most dominant arms, finishing second in the 2013 AL Cy Young voting. The injury does essentially guarantee that Darvish will not be able to turn the final season of his contract into a player option, which he could have done based on Cy Young incentives, but the outlook for this year’s rotation becomes significantly bleaker. Offseason acquisition Yovani Gallardo will join Holland and Colby Lewis in the rotation. Candidates for the final two slots include Ross Detwiler, Nick Tepesch, Nick Martinez and Anthony Ranaudo. Top prospect Alex Gonzalez may get a crack at the rotation as well.

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