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Padres Select Mason McCoy

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The Padres announced they have selected the contract of infielder Mason McCoy. Infielder Matthew Batten has been optioned to Triple-A El Paso in a corresponding active roster. To open a 40-man spot for McCoy, outfielder Fernando Tatis Jr. was transferred to the 60-day injured list. Tatis has already been on the IL for 60 days, so he can return as soon as he’s healthy. Jeff Sanders of the San Diego Union-Tribune relayed the McCoy and Batten moves on X prior to the official announcement.

McCoy, 29, signed a minor league deal with the Padres in the offseason. He has played 108 games for Triple-A El Paso this year with a .260/.329/.382 batting line, which translates to a wRC+ of 79, indicating he’s been 21% below league average.

He has never been much of a hitter, having slashed .239/.318/.400 for a wRC+ of 80 in 458 Triple-A games since the start of 2021. His major league work consists of just one plate appearance with the Blue Jays last year, though he did get into six games overall, mostly as a defensive replacement. He has a reputation as an excellent defender and frequently racks up double-digit steal totals, including 25 this year.

The Padres recently lost shortstop Ha-Seong Kim to the injured list, which has moved utility player Tyler Wade into regular shortstop action. McCoy can provide the Padres with depth all over, as he has played all the infield positions to the left of first base, in addition to some outfield work. Based on his skills, he might be ticketed for a lot of late-game work, either on defense or on the basepaths. He still has a full slate of options and just a few days of service time, so the Padres could keep him around for a while if they so choose.

As for Tatis, as mentioned, this is just a formality. He landed on the IL June 24, retroactive to June 22, due to a right femoral stress reaction. Today’s transfer is retroactive to that June 22 date, meaning he can be reinstated at any point. It was reported earlier this week that he could be back in the middle of next month.

Padres Re-Sign Carl Edwards Jr. To Minor League Deal

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Less than a week after electing free agency on the heels of a DFA, right-hander Carl Edwards Jr. is back with the Padres. The two sides agreed to a minor league deal this week, per the team’s transaction log at MLB.com. San Diego had previously designated Edwards for assignment on Aug. 12. He opted for free agency three days later after clearing waivers.

It’s the second minor league deal Edwards has signed with San Diego this summer and now his third stint in the organization. The 32-year-old only pitched in one game with the Friars during his prior stint and didn’t record an out, allowing three men to reach base. Teammate Yuki Matsui picked him up by getting out of the jam and stranding the bases loaded.

Outside that rough big league appearance, Edwards has generated good results in Triple-A this season, logging a 3.30 ERA between the Triple-A affiliates for the Padres and Cubs. He’s punched out a roughly average 22.2% of his opponents but also struggled to limit free passes, issuing walks at a 14.3% clip in 46 1/3 innings.

From 2022-23, Edwards was a regular in the Nationals’ bullpen, picking up 93 2/3 innings and recording a 3.07 ERA with fairly shaky strikeout and walk rates (20% and 10.6%, respectively). His 2023 season ended with a stress fracture in his shoulder. The right-hander has now pitched in parts of 10 big league seasons and tossed 280 innings between the Cubs, Nationals, Padres, Blue Jays, Mariners and Braves. He has a career 3.54 earned run average that’s accompanied by lofty strikeout and walk rates of 28.1% and 12.7%.

Following a trade deadline that saw them add Tanner Scott, Jason Adam and Bryan Hoeing to an already impressive relief corps, the Padres possess one of MLB’s deepest and most talented bullpens. That’ll make it hard for Edwards to crack the mix, but he was working out of the Triple-A rotation during his prior stint with the club. If the Padres run into some late injuries, Edwards could be an option for spot starts or long relief down the stretch, particularly once rosters expand to 28 players in September.

Padres Place Ha-Seong Kim On Injured List

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The Padres placed Ha-Seong Kim on the 10-day injured list, retroactive to August 19, with right shoulder inflammation. San Diego recalled Matthew Batten to take the open spot on the active roster.

This isn’t much of a surprise after Kim left Sunday’s game with what the team initially called a jammed shoulder. The versatile infielder dove into first base on a pickoff attempt and came up in obvious pain. Manager Mike Shildt said yesterday that the team was encouraged by the initial MRI results, but they’ll nevertheless go without their shortstop for at least a week and a half. Shildt said today that the club wasn’t especially concerned and believed Kim could’ve made it back within 10 days, but the team instead decided to play things cautiously (X link via AJ Cassavell of MLB.com).

It marks the first injured list stint of Kim’s MLB career. The South Korea native has been exceptionally durable since signing a four-year deal going into the 2021 season. He reached the 150-game plateau in both 2022 and ’23. While that won’t happen this year, he could top 140 contests if the injury proves relatively insignificant.

Kim is having his typically solid season. He’s walking enough to compensate for fringy power and carries a league average .233/.330/.370 slash in 470 plate appearances. He has swiped 22 bases on 27 attempts. San Diego committed to Kim as a full-time shortstop this season after bouncing him around the infield during his first three years. He has better than average defensive grades in more than 1000 innings at the infield’s toughest spot. Tyler Wade is taking over at shortstop in his absence.

The 28-year-old Kim is headed back to free agency next offseason. He’ll certainly decline his end of an $8MM mutual option in favor of a $2MM buyout. Kim has a shot at another four- or five-year deal that’d come with a much stronger average annual value than the $7MM he received when he was first coming over from Korea. A serious shoulder injury could naturally impact his market value. It seems he dodged a bullet with a fairly minor issue that might only sideline him for a minimal amount of time.

Padres Notes: Kim, Tatis, De Vries

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The Padres were dealt a scare yesterday when Ha-Seong Kim was forced out of their loss to the Rockies after jamming his throwing shoulder diving into first base. San Diego sent the shortstop for imaging today and came away encouraged by the initial results.

“(Early testing) seems to be mostly favorable, but there’s zero timeline to it,” manager Mike Shildt told reporters before tonight’s series opener with the Twins (via the MLB.com injury tracker). “We’re initially fairly pleased with what it looks like. We’re still gathering information.” The Friars did not place Kim on the injured list, though he’s not available for tonight’s game.

Tyler Wade drew into the lineup at shortstop tonight. He’d seemingly be the favorite for playing time if Kim requires an IL stint. Wade provides speed and defensive versatility but limited offensive upside. He entered tonight’s game with a .241/.318/.259 batting line in 134 trips to the plate. Wade only has two extra-base hits (both doubles) all season. Kim is not an impact hitter, yet he’s far more of a threat than Wade. The South Korea native has 11 homers with a roughly average .223/.330/.370 slash across 470 plate appearances.

Kim has avoided the injured list in each of his first four MLB seasons. That durability will be a major selling point for the 28-year-old when he hits free agency during the upcoming offseason. There’s technically an $8MM mutual option on his deal with San Diego, but Kim will surely decline his end in favor of a $2MM buyout and look for a longer-term deal.

If Kim does require his first MLB injured list stint, he’ll join Fernando Tatis Jr. as lineup fixtures on the shelf. Tatis has been down for nearly two months after sustaining a stress reaction in his right leg. Dennis Lin of the Athletic wrote this evening that club officials have suggested Tatis could be out into the middle of next month (though there’s still no official timetable). The injury halted an All-Star campaign. Tatis was one of the most productive outfielders in the National League during the first half of the season, drilling 14 homers with a .279/.354/.468 line in 80 games.

The Friars have relied on David Peralta as their right fielder since Tatis went down. The 37-year-old veteran has been a surprisingly strong offensive contributor, running a .269/.331/.438 slash in 175 trips to the plate. Peralta is coming off a well below-average season with the Dodgers and wasn’t hitting well in Triple-A early this year.

In a bit of minor league injury news, Jeff Sanders of the San Diego Union-Tribune writes that top prospect Leodalis De Vries suffered a right shoulder strain that seems likely to end his season. While it’s not believed to be a long-term issue, the Low-A season only runs into the second week of September. De Vries was widely perceived as the most talented prospect in the most recent international signing class. The Dominican Republic native has only elevated his stock in the past few months, reaching Low-A while playing the entire season at age 17. The switch-hitting shortstop has turned in a .237/.361/.441 mark with 11 homers against much older competition. The Padres reportedly made him (and top catching prospect Ethan Salas) more or less untouchable at the trade deadline.

Ha-Seong Kim To Undergo MRI After Jamming Shoulder

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In what might be remembered as a pivotal day in the National League postseason race, all three wild-card teams and the top club below the playoff line lost a key member of their lineup to injury.  We’ve already covered Austin Riley’s hand/wrist injury earlier tonight on MLBTR, but let’s look at some other concerning injuries for the Padres, Diamondbacks, and Mets…

  • Ha-Seong Kim will undergo an MRI after suffering what the Padres described as a jammed shoulder in today’s game.  Kim hurt himself on a dive back to first base on a pickoff attempt in the third inning, and immediately left the game in obvious discomfort.  Jeff Sanders of the San Diego Union-Tribune writes that Kim was briefly wearing a sling, but didn’t have the sling on when speaking with the media post-game.  “It doesn’t feel too good at the moment…But I’m just trying to stay optimistic and try to come back as soon as possible,” Kim said via his interpreter.  Taking over as the Padres’ full-time shortstop this season, Kim has delivered strong defense and roughly league-average (102 wRC+) offense, hitting .233/.330/.370 over 470 plate appearances with 11 homers and 22 stolen bases in 27 attempts.  As Sanders notes, former shortstop Xander Bogaerts, utilityman Tyler Wade, or possibly Jake Cronenworth could be candidates to take over at shortstop if Kim is facing a trip to the injured list.  In the more long-term view, Kim is also slated to hit free agency this winter.

Carl Edwards Jr. Elects Free Agency

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Veteran right-hander Carl Edwards Jr. rejected an outright assignment from the Padres following his recent DFA and instead elected free agency, per the transaction log at MiLB.com. He can now sign with any club.

Edwards returned to the Padres on a minor league deal earlier this summer — his second career stint with the organization. The 32-year-old (33 next month) made only one appearance with San Diego this time around, however, and allowed all three runners he faced to reach base (two walks, one hit). He wound up being lifted from the game and bailed out when teammate Yuki Matsui induced a grounder to escape the bases-loaded jam created by Edwards.

Though his lone MLB look wasn’t sharp, Edwards has had a decent year in Triple-A. He’s split the season between the top affiliates for the Cubs and Padres, pitching to a 3.30 ERA with a 22.2% strikeout rate but a grisly 14.3% walk rate. He’s worked both out of the bullpen and, more recently, out of the Padres’ Triple-A rotation, so he’s stretched out for multiple innings.

Prior to this season, the well-traveled Edwards spent the 2022-23 seasons with the Nationals and pitched well out of manager Davey Martinez’s bullpen. In 93 2/3 innings, he tallied a 3.07 ERA — albeit with shaky rate stats (20% strikeout rate, 10.6% walk rate). A stress fracture in Edwards’ right shoulder ended his 2023 campaign prematurely and limited him to a minor league deal this past offseason. That deal came with the Cubs, but Edwards triggered a June opt-out in that contract after he hadn’t been added to the big league roster and signed a minor league deal with the Padres.

Once a top prospect in the Rangers’ system who went from Texas to the Cubs as part of a prospect package for starter Matt Garza, Edwards has now pitched in parts of 10 big league seasons. He’s logged a total of 280 innings spread across six clubs, with the bulk of his work coming for the Cubs and Nats. Edwards carries a 3.54 ERA with a hearty 28.1% strikeout rate and bloated 12.7% walk rate in the majors.

Padres Reinstate Joe Musgrove, Designate Carl Edwards

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As expected, the Padres reinstated Joe Musgrove from the 60-day injured list to start tonight’s game against the Pirates. San Diego designated reliever Carl Edwards Jr. for assignment to open space on both the active and 40-man rosters.

Musgrove has been sidelined since the end of May on account of elbow inflammation. This was his second elbow-related IL stint of the season. He hasn’t looked like himself around the injuries, struggling to a 5.66 ERA over 10 starts. His 92.4 MPH fastball speed was a bit below last season’s 93.1 MPH average. Opponents teed off on both his four-seam and cutter. Musgrove allowed nearly two home runs per nine innings and saw his strikeout rate fall to 20.6% — his lowest clip in six seasons.

After a few months away, Musgrove will try to recapture his 2021-23 form. The San Diego-area native combined for a 3.05 ERA across 459 2/3 innings over his first three seasons with his hometown club. While Musgrove’s 2023 campaign was cut short by a shoulder issue, he looked like a #2 or high-end #3 starter over the preceding two and a half seasons. He steps back into the Friars rotation as they look to at least hang onto a Wild Card spot. They currently occupy the second NL Wild Card spot and are four games clear of the #6 seed Braves. San Diego is tied with the Diamondbacks for second place in the NL West. They’re 3.5 games behind the Dodgers in the division.

Musgrove’s return nudges Randy Vásquez out of the rotation. San Diego already optioned Vásquez last week with the knowledge that their All-Star righty would get the ball tonight. Musgrove slots behind Dylan Cease and Michael King and in front of Matt Waldron and Martín Pérez in the starting five. The Padres have been without Yu Darvish for five weeks as he attends to a family matter. Dennis Lin of the Athletic reported this afternoon that Darvish set up a live batting practice session at a local high school over the weekend. It’s still not clear whether he’ll be able to return this season, but the veteran righty is keeping his arm in shape in case he can get back.

Edwards was just selected onto the MLB roster late last week. He pitched once and failed to retire any of three batters faced. The 32-year-old righty has otherwise spent this season in Triple-A. Splitting his time between the Cubs and Padres organizations, he owns a 3.30 ERA across 46 1/3 frames in the minors. His 22.2% strikeout rate and lofty 14.3% walk percentage aren’t great, though, so he hasn’t gotten much of an MLB opportunity this year.

San Diego will put Edwards on waivers in the next couple days. He has more than enough service time to decline a minor league assignment if he goes unclaimed, though he’d likely be limited to minor league offers if he elects free agency.

West Notes: Eovaldi, Scherzer, Gurriel, Musgrove, Graveman

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The Rangers are heading to Boston for a series with the Red Sox beginning tomorrow, but Nathan Eovaldi and Max Scherzer are both going to Texas for injury-related checkups, GM Chris Young told the Associated Press and other reporters.  Eovaldi left his start Saturday after three innings due to tightness in his left side, though the meeting with team doctor Keith Meister is seen as precautionary since Eovaldi “thinks he can pitch through” the issue, Young said.  “He’s so important to us that we’re not sure we want to push him.  We may end up pushing him back or skipping a start.  We don’t think it’s an IL at this point, but we will clearly decide that once he sees Dr. Meister.”

Scherzer was placed on the 15-day injured list on July 31 due to right shoulder fatigue, and Young said the veteran “just hasn’t turned the corner with his shoulder.  Our hope is that maybe we get back and explore some other diagnostic measures and get him back on the mound.  But I don’t know what the timetable is going to be.”  Between this IL stint and an extended absence at the start of the season while recovering from back surgery and a nerve issue in his thumb, Scherzer has pitched only 39 1/3 innings over eight starts.

More will be known about both pitchers’ situations after the tests are complete, but there is clear cause for concern given how both Eovaldi and Scherzer have checkered injury histories.  For Scherzer in particular, his situation is worrisome given how much time he has already missed, and whether or not his abnormal ramp-up this year simply kept him from being fully ready to pitch.  If either Scherzer or Eovaldi are revealed to have more serious issues, it could put the rest of their seasons in jeopardy, as the Rangers might consider shutdowns if the team continues to fall back in the playoff race.

Some other notes from both the AL and NL West divisions…

  • Lourdes Gurriel Jr. left the Diamondbacks’ 12-5 win over the Phillies today due to left hamstring tightness, but manager Torey Lovullo downplayed the injury in postgame comments to MLB.com and other media.  Lovullo said the removal was precautionary and that Gurriel is day-to-day, plus the outfielder isn’t even being sent for any tests at this time.  Gurriel is hitting .269/.302/.414 with 14 homers over 453 plate appearances as the team’s regular left fielder, translating to a 98 wRC+ in the first season of the three-year, $42MM contract he signed to rejoin the D’Backs last offseason.
  • The Padres will be activating Joe Musgrove from the 60-day injured list to start tomorrow’s game against the Pirates, after bone spurs in his right elbow cost him about two and a half months on the shelf.  Talking with Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union-Tribune, Musgrove made changes to his mechanics and delivery in order to help manage the injury.  “The spur is going to be there, the structure of the elbow is not going to change unless I get an operation,” Musgrove said.  “So [I’m] trying to find a way to be able to throw and still execute and still have good stuff.  Hopefully it will alleviate some of the stress on the elbow is kind of the goal….I felt great in this build back.”  Between this injury and a previous elbow-related stint on the IL, Musgrove has thrown only 49 1/3 innings this season, with a shaky 5.66 ERA.
  • Kendall Graveman wasn’t expected to pitch in 2024 after a shoulder surgery last January, but his hopes at an in-season comeback gained some momentum Saturday when he threw a 10-pitch bullpen session.  Astros manager Joe Espada told reporters (including Matt Kawahara of the San Diego Union-Tribune) that Graveman hit 86-87mph in his first time throwing off a mound since the surgery.  As Kawahara notes, there might simply be not enough time left in the season for Graveman to get fully ramped up and then complete a minor league rehab assignment, but that won’t stop the veteran from trying.

Luis Arraez Playing Through Torn Thumb Ligament

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Luis Arraez suffered an injury to his left thumb while sliding into third base during a game back on June 25, and the ongoing discomfort was enough for Arraez to skip playing in the All-Star Game so he could give his thumb a full four days of rest over the break.  Arraez revealed more specifics about the injury yesterday, telling Daniel Alvarez-Montes of El Extrabase and other reporters that he has a torn ligament in his thumb.

The Athletic’s Dennis Lin (via X) sheds some more light on the situation, saying that Arraez was given the okay to keep playing after he received a fuller medical exam during the All-Star break.  As Arraez described things last month, he feels discomfort while swinging and fielding, but if the injury is ultimately all about pain tolerance, he wants to stay on the field if at all physically possible.

The results have been mixed, since Arraez is hitting only .280/.302/.352 in 130 plate appearances since June 25.  It is a noticeable step back from the .310/.345/.384 slash line he delivered in his first 360 PA of the season, and his overall .302/.334/.375 slash line represents the lowest slugging percentage and OBP of Arraez’s six Major League seasons, as well as the second-lowest batting average.

Arraez’s 103 wRC+ is still above the league average, if well below the 132 wRC+ he posted in 2022-23 while winning consecutive batting titles in both the AL (with the Twins in 2022) and NL (with the Marlins last year).  Naturally Arraez would prefer to be hitting closer to his usual standard, yet he likely feels that as long as he is still productive at the plate, he’ll continue to try and grind it out.  San Diego’s playoff chase is clearly another factor — the Padres enter today’s action holding the top wild card spot in the National League, and they sit only 2.5 games behind the Dodgers for first place in the NL West.

The Friars have achieved this success despite missing several key players for big chunks of the season.  It remains unclear when Fernando Tatis Jr. (femoral stress reaction) and Yu Darvish (restricted list due to a personal matter) will return to the active roster, though Joe Musgrove is expected to make his return from the 60-day injured list on Monday to start against the Pirates.  Arraez’s nagging thumb problem adds to the Padres’ list of concerns, though obviously the team is trying to manage the injury as best as possible, as Arraez is getting a good chunk of time at designated hitter.

Padres Outright Jackson Wolf

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Today: Wolf has cleared waivers, and the Padres have sent him outright to Triple-A El Paso, according to his transaction log on MLB.com. Given his very limited MLB service time and the fact that this is his first career outright, he has no choice but to accept the assignment and remain at Triple-A.

August 8: The Padres announced Thursday that they’ve designated left-hander Jackson Wolf for assignment. He’d been pitching for their Triple-A affiliate in El Paso, and his 40-man spot will go to veteran righty Carl Edwards Jr., whose contract has been selected. San Diego optioned righty Alek Jacob to El Paso in a corresponding move.

Wolf, 25, was in his second stint with the Padres organization. Originally their fourth-round pick in 2021, he went to the Pirates at the 2023 trade deadline as part of the return for lefty Rich Hill and first baseman Jiman Choi. The Bucs designated Wolf for assignment earlier this year, however, and wound up trading him back to the Padres in exchange for minor league infielder Kervin Pichardo.

Wolf made his big league debut with the ’23 Padres, allowing three runs over five innings in his lone start. He’s spent the season with their El Paso club but struggled to a 7.21 ERA over 83 2/3 innings. He’s made 23 appearances, 18 of them starts. Wolf has unquestionably had some tough luck, yielding a .353 average on balls in play that should be due for some regression, but his 17.5% strikeout rate and 12.6% walk rate are both considerably worse than league average as well. Wolf’s 9.8% swinging-strike rate and 24.3% opponents’ chase rate are both sub-par marks, too. In general, he hasn’t induced whiffs or limited free passes enough to compensate for the amount of extra-base damage he’s yielded: 12 homers, 16 doubles, five triples.

This past offseason, Wolf ranked 21st among Pirates prospects, per Baseball America, whose scouting report tabbed him as a potential fifth starter or bulk reliever. His rough results in 2024 haven’t done any favors for his prospect stock, but Wolf is a 25-year-old who posted solid Double-A numbers in 2023 and is still in just the second of three minor league option years. A rebuilding club looking to stock up on pitching depth (e.g. Marlins, White Sox) could have some interest in an optionable lefty of this nature. The trade deadline has passed, so the Padres’ only course of action with Wolf will be to place him on waivers.

Edwards, 33 next month, will be in his second stint with the Padres as well. He briefly pitched 1 2/3 innings for San Diego back in 2019. He’s one of many former Rangers prospects who’ve found their way onto the Padres roster since the hiring of president of baseball operations A.J. Preller — a former Rangers assistant GM.

Edwards spent the 2022-23 seasons with the Nationals and pitched well out of manager Davey Martinez’s bullpen, tallying 93 2/3 innings of 3.07 ERA ball — albeit with shaky rate stats (20% strikeout rate, 10.6% walk rate). A stress fracture in Edwards’ right shoulder ended his 2023 campaign prematurely and limited him to a minor league deal this past offseason. That deal came with the Cubs, but Edwards triggered a June opt-out in that contract after he hadn’t been added to the big league roster and signed a minor league deal with the Padres.

It’s been a decent year for the lanky right-hander down in Triple-A. Between the Cubs and Padres organizations, he sports a combined 3.30 ERA but with similar strikeout and walk issues that existed during his Nats run. He’s set down a respectable 22.2% of opponents on strikes but also issued walks at a grim 14.3% rate. Edwards has been a reliever for the bulk of his career but was working out of the rotation in El Paso. He’s ticketed for the relief corps now that he’s back in the majors, but that recent work as a starter means he’s stretched out for multiple innings if needed.

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