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Injury Notes: Zimmerman, Alonso, Hamilton

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There’s not much of the regular season left, meaning that even relatively minor injuries incurred at this point could end a player’s 2015 campaign. With that in mind, a few notable injury reports from around the league…

  • Ryan Zimmerman could miss “a significant amount of time” due to an oblique injury, a pair of sources tell MLB.com’s Bill Ladson. Zimmerman injured the oblique this weekend and hasn’t played in the Nationals’ past two contests. He did play through the injury on Monday, but oblique ailments often lead to prolonged absence from the playing field, which could bring the remainder of Zimmerman’s season into question, speculatively speaking. As Ladson notes, the Nats would not confirm the oblique issue.
  • The Padres have shut down first baseman Yonder Alonso after a bone scan revealed a stress reaction in his lower back, reports Dennis Lin of the San Diego Union Tribune (via Twitter). As Lin notes, that sounds like a season-ending injury for Alonso, who is no stranger to the notion of missing time due to injury. Alonso has spent notable periods on the disabled list in each of the past three seasons, averaging just 95 games per year dating back to 2013. He’s due a raise on his $1.65MM salary in arbitration this season, but despite a pair of injuries this year, it’s tough to envision him being a serious non-tender candidate. Alonso posted a solid .282/.361/.381 batting line when healthy and can be controlled through the 2017 season. Even if the Padres’ plan were to shift Wil Myers to first base in 2016 and beyond, Alonso would surely figure to draw some trade interest.
  • Josh Hamilton will have arthroscopic surgery on his knee, the Rangers announced today, but the team remains hopeful of Hamilton returning to the lineup in 2015, as Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News tweets. Hamilton has appeared in just 40 games since returning to the Rangers, batting .257/.299/.431 with six homers and seven doubles in 154 plate appearances.

Marlins Claim Tommy Medica

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The Marlins have claimed first baseman/outfielder Tommy Medica off waivers from the Padres, Miami announced. Medica will not immediately report to the organization, per the announcement.

Also announced today by the Marlins were the recall of righty Scott McGough and the transfer of starter Henderson Alvarez to the 60-day DL.

Medica, 27, is a right-handed hitter who has seen 338 career plate appearances at the major league level. He’s slashed .246/.308/.417 in those chances, spread over 2013-14, with 12 home runs and six stolen bases.

After several big seasons in the minors, Medica has fallen off since moving up to the Triple-A level. This year, he owns a .259/.314/.364 batting line with just five long balls in 363 plate appearances. Medica has, however, hit lefties well; in theory, then, he could be part of an affordable platoon situation at first base next year alongside the left-handed-hitting Justin Bour.

NL West Notes: Johnson, Rockies, Anderson

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After Josh Johnson ended a Friday rehab start after four pitches due to elbow discomfort, the Padres confirmed that they’ve shut Johnson down for the rest of the season, assistant GM Fred Uhlman Jr. told reporters (including Jeff Sanders of the San Diego Union-Tribune).  Johnson will meet with Dr. James Andrews on Tuesday for further evaluation.  The right-hander is trying to return from his second Tommy John surgery, and Friday’s abbreviated start marked the first competitive pitches Johnson has thrown since August 2013.  Here’s some more from around the NL West…

  • Rockies GM Jeff Bridich tells Patrick Saunders of the Denver Post that despite Carlos Gonzalez’s red-hot bat, there has been only “a little uptake on calls” from teams interested in acquiring the outfielder.  Suitors may be more eager in pursuing Gonzalez this winter now that he’s stayed healthy and kept hitting, though Bridich notes that the Rox weren’t and aren’t actively shopping Gonzalez.  “It wasn’t like we were doing a full-court press internally to make the trade. We treated him like everyone else on the team,” Bridich said.  “We would think about it and have a discussion when it was warranted. It wasn’t like it was some huge orchestrated effort on our part. And, with the pedigree of CarGo, it can be tough to find dance partners in a trade.”  For another interview with Bridich, check out his recent appearance with Jeff Todd on the MLBTR Podcast.
  • In another piece from Saunders, he thinks the Rockies will try to trade Jose Reyes this winter in order to create a spot for shortstop prospect Trevor Story.  Reyes is owed $44MM through 2017, plus his contract has a $22MM club option for 2018 that can be bought out for $4MM.  Colorado is prepared to eat a major piece of Reyes’ remaining salary to make a deal happen, Saunders believes.
  • Brett Anderson left today’s start in the sixth inning after a trainer’s visit to the mound, yet the injury-plagued southpaw told reporters (including MLB.com’s AJ Cassavell) that he only suffered a cramped calf and doesn’t expect to miss any time.  Anderson has stayed healthy and effective for the Dodgers this season, posting a 3.36 ERA, 5.92 K/9 and 66.7% grounder rate over 158 innings.  Just today, as noted as Bill Plunkett of the Orange County Register, Anderson added his second $300K bonus of the year for passing an innings-pitched threshold.  He seems like a solid bet to collect a huge chunk of the other $3.4MM still available in total incentives, as per his one-year, $10MM contract.
  • Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle predicts (via Twitter) Tim Lincecum will return to the Giants on a minor league deal for 2016.  Lincecum recently underwent season-ending hip surgery and since he’ll have trouble finding a Major League contract, it makes sense that he could return to familiar surroundings, especially since Bruce Bochy and CEO Larry Baer both seem open to the idea.

NL Notes: Fernandez, Johnson, Braves

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The big story of the day is the Matt Harvey inning debacle. The Marlins intend to avoid a similar issue with their ace Jose Fernandez. Another Scott Boras client, Fernandez returned from Tommy John surgery earlier this season. He’s currently sidelined with a biceps strain. The club expects him to make a couple more starts to close out the season. Over the winter, a suitable plan of action will be put in place to best serve Fernandez and the Marlins.

  • Padres starter Josh Johnson has had a setback in his rehab, reports Jeff Sanders of the San Diego Union-Tribune. We learned on Thursday that the oft-injured righty was ready for a rehab assignment. That lasted just four pitches before elbow or forearm discomfort forced him to leave the game. We can probably assume Johnson won’t appear in the majors this season. He’s a free agent after the season.
  • The Braves will have “more flexibility” to spend on free agents this winter, assistant GM John Coppolella tells David O’Brien of the Atlanta Journal Constitution. “We’ll have even more [money] in 2017,” per Coppolella. The Braves are currently suffering through an ugly rebuilding process. At one point this season, they were dark horse contenders in a weird NL East. After a 12-39 plunge since July 7, the club is now just 1.5 games ahead of the basement-dwelling Phillies. Based solely on recent performance, the Braves might be the odds on favorites to land the first pick in the 2016 draft. The club is opening their new stadium in 2017 so it’s no surprised to see their decisions geared a couple years down the line.

NL West Notes: Lincecum, Myers, Castillo, D-Backs

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The Giants aren’t ruling out the possibility of a reunion with Tim Lincecum following the 2015 season, CEO Larry Baer and manager Bruce Bochy told John Shea of the San Francisco Chronicle. “I don’t think Timmy is ruling it out, and I don’t think we’re ruling it out,” said Baer. Bochy added: “My door will always be open for Tim Lincecum. That’s how much I think of him. That’s a decision that’s made on the baseball side, obviously with everybody. I appreciate what he’s done and the time I’ve had to this point with him. It doesn’t mean that won’t continue.” Baer called Lincecum’s contributions to the Giants franchise “endless.” The 31-year-old underwent season-ending hip surgery yesterday that will require about five months of recovery time. A free agent at season’s end, it’s possible that Lincecum’s days with the Giants are done.

Elsewhere in the division…

  • Padres outfielder Wil Myers spoke with ESPN’s Jerry Crasnick about the frustration of the past two season’s wrist injuries and the accumulation of the “injury-prone” reputation that’s now become attached to his name. “It’s the worst,” said Myers of the label. “I see it on Twitter and I hear it all the time. Everybody is like, ’He’s too injury-prone,’ but it’s not like I have a hamstring injury where every time I run, I’m cautious about it. I had a bone spur taken out, and once this heals I won’t have to deal with this injury anymore.” Myers is confident in his ability to rebound once the wrist injury is fully healed, but as Crasnick notes, there’s a question as to where he will play. Myers was probably miscast as a center fielder this season, so he could slide over to left field if Justin Upton departs via free agency. Another possibility is first base, if the Padres are looking for an upgrade over Yonder Alonso’s low power numbers. One NL scout told Crasnick he feels Myers could be a Gold Glove caliber first baseman, based purely on his athleticism.
  • Welington Castillo has positioned himself as the Diamondbacks’ catcher of the future, but as Zach Buchanan of the Arizona Repbulic writes, Castillo nearly gave up baseball at the age of 16 when faced with the realization that his future was behind the plate. Castillo grew up playing shortstop but lacked the speed or quickness to play there at a high level as he grew. When a Phillies scout asked for a private workout based on Castillo’s bat and then asked him to make some throws from behind the plate, Castillo was impressive but also uninterested. He walked away from the game for three months before being coerced into returning, only to receive an offer of just $10K after another Phillies scout deemed him “too short to catch.” Castillo eventually signed with the Cubs for a meager $22K bonus — a number that, in hindsight, looks like a considerable bargain for Chicago.
  • Buchanan’s colleague, Nick Piecoro, examines the budding logjam in the D-Backs infield. Chris Owings, Nick Ahmed and Jake Lamb have all shown flashes of potential but lack consistency, Piecoro writes, and now the progress of second baseman/third baseman Brandon Drury has muddied the picture. Manager Chip Hale told Piecoro that teams frequently ask about Lamb in trades, and they’ve also received inquiries on Drury and Owings. The presence of multiple seemingly big-league-ready infielders will give Arizona GM Dave Stewart some options as he navigates the trade market this offseason.

Minor MLB Transactions: 9/3/15

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Here are today’s minor moves from around the league…

  • Two recently-designated Padres lefties have cleared waivers and received outright assignments, per Dennis Lin of the San Diego Union-Tribune (via Twitter). Caleb Thielbar and Chris Rearick will both remain in the San Diego organization. The 28-year-old Thielbar has not received many innings at the big league level after two strong campaigns with the Twins. And Rearick will, it appears, end up back where he started before a recent flurry of claims, DFAs, and outrights.
  • Another left-handed reliever, James Russell of the Cubs, has also been outrighted, per MLB.com’s Carrie Muskat (via Twitter). Russell’s return to Chicago has not gone quite as well as hoped, as he’s worked to a 5.29 ERA in 34 frames with 5.3 K/9 against 2.4 BB/9.
  • The Yankees announced today that they have outrighted infielder Cole Figueroa to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. The Yanks designated Figueroa, 28, for assignment earlier this week to make room for a series of September call-ups. He went 2-for-8 in a pair of games with New York at the big league level in 2015 but has spent most of the season at Scranton, where he’s batted .291/.361/.368 in 492 PAs. Figueroa can elect minor league free agency this winter.

Injury Notes: Johnson, Scribner, Blanks

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Let’s check in on a few injury situations around the league:

  • Padres righty Josh Johnson says he’s ready for a rehab assignment, as Dennis Lin of the San Diego Union-Tribune reports. Johnson has dealt with a variety of health issues, most recently undergoing Tommy John surgery and experiencing several setbacks in his return, and is currently taking part in simulated games. The former top-of-the-rotation hurler is aiming to make it back to the big leagues this year in a relief capacity. Johnson is still just 31, though he’s now far removed from his last effective big league action — a 191 1/3-frame, 3.81 ERA campaign back in 2012. Given his age and ceiling, Johnson will once again be an interesting name to keep an eye on this coming offseason.
  • Righty Evan Scribner will miss the rest of the year for the Athletics after being diagnosed with a torn lat muscle, Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle tweets. Scribner, 30, was in the midst of an interesting — albeit ultimately disappointing — 2015 campaign. Though he maintains a stellar strikeout-to-walk ratio of 9.6 K/9 against 0.6 BB/9, he’s been touched for 14 home runs (22.6% HR/9) in his 60 innings of work. He’s likely to qualify for arbitration as a Super Two after the season, as he’ll have 2.142 years of service on his clock, but could be a non-tender candidate for Oakland.
  • Another player who’ll be out the rest of the way due to surgery is Rangers outfielder Kyle Blanks, who will undergo procedures on both of his Achilles tendons, ESPN.com’s Jerry Crasnick reports on Twitter. The 28-year-old has had quite a tough time staying on the field. That’s especially unfortunate since he could have a productive role on a surprising Texas club that could use his right-handed bat. Blanks slashed a strong .313/.352/.522 in 71 plate appearances earlier this year at the major league level. Signed as a minor league free agent after he was non-tendered last winter by the A’s, Blanks will actually be arb-eligible once again. He entered the season having accumulated 5.005 seasons of service, and has added just 159 more since his contract was purchased on April 29th. (Players must reach 172 days to tack on a new season, so Blanks will still be just shy of six total years of service.) Given his injury issues, of course, it seems unlikely that the Rangers will tender him a contract.

Padres Designate Chris Rearick For Assignment

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The Padres announced that they have once again designated left-hander Chris Rearick for assignment as part of a series of roster moves. Rearick’s 40-man roster spot will go to catcher Rocky Gale, whose contract has been selected from Triple-A El Paso.

The 27-year-old Rearick has been on a DFA roller coaster as of late. San Diego initially designated him for assignment on Aug. 21, after which the Rangers claimed him. However, Texas designated Rearick just days later, at which point the Padres re-claimed him off waivers. That claim was on Aug. 30, but he’s once again been designated just 72 hours later.

Rearick made his big league debut with the Padres this season, appearing in five games and allowing four runs in three innings of work. Rearick has also struggled at the Triple-A level this season, working to a 5.23 ERA with more walks (30) than strikeouts (28) in 43 innings. Lefties have hit Rearick considerably harder than righties, though both have squared him up quite often, it would seem. Those struggles notwithstanding, Rearick has already had at least two teams feel that he’s worthy of a 40-man roster spot, so there’s at least a chance that he’ll yet again be claimed on waivers for what would be the third time in a span of about two weeks.

Padres Claim Chris Rearick, Designate Caleb Thielbar

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The Padres claimed left-hander Chris Rearick off waivers from the Rangers, the team announced (via Twitter).  In a corresponding move, San Diego designated southpaw Caleb Thielbar for assignment.

Rearick is back with the Padres just a few days after the Rangers themselves claimed him off waivers.  Rearick had been designated for assignment by San Diego and was quickly DFA’ed again by Texas to make room for young lefty Andrew Faulkner.  Rearick made his MLB debut earlier this season with the Padres, and he has a 12.00 ERA over three innings in the Show.

San Diego claimed Thielbar off waivers after Minnesota designated him assignment on July 31.  The lefty has a 2.41 ERA over 41 innings for the Padres’ and Twins’ Triple-A affiliates, despite an unimpressive 1.09 K/BB rate (25 strikeouts and 23 walks).  This year’s peripherals aside, Thielbar has posted solid numbers over his minor league career and he has a 2.74 ERA, 7.2 K/9 and 2.63 K/BB rate over 98 2/3 Major League innings with the Twins.

Thielbar joins five other players in “DFA limbo,” and you can keep track of their status via the MLB Trade Rumors DFA Tracker.

Cafardo On Rangers, Jackson, Brewers, Yankees

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The Red Sox didn’t go by MLB’s minority hiring rules when they interviewed only Dave Dombrowski for the president of baseball ops role but they have been instructed to do so for the GM job, Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe writes.  If the Red Sox take the step of hiring a minority GM candidate, Cafardo suggests that Ken Williams would be a strong choice if he chooses to leave Chicago.  Here’s more from today’s column..

  • The Rangers were very interested in acquiring Austin Jackson “a few days ago,” but nothing came of those talks, Cafardo writes.  Jackson, 28, cleared waivers last week and was said to be generating interest, though it appears that no one wanted to take the remaining ~$1.7MM salary off the Mariners’ hands.
  • Former Red Sox GM Ben Cherington is in play for the Brewers job, a major league source tells Cafardo.  “Despite his last-place finishes he’s seen as a team builder, especially when it comes to farm systems,” said the source.   The Angels, Mariners, and Phillies are also thought to be possibilities for Cherington.
  • The Yankees have been blocked in every attempt to add to their pitching, both out of the bullpen and in the starting rotation. Baseball sources tell Cafardo that GM Brian Cashman doesn’t seem optimistic about his odds of pulling anything off.  The Mets have been blocked from adding a reliever as well.
  • The Royals want a backup catcher for the playoffs just in case something happens to Salvador Perez.  KC turned down the opportunity to land A.J. Pierzynski from the Braves, Cafardo writes, but they’re still looking for an affordable left-handed hitting backstop. Some KC scouts like the Red Sox’s Ryan Hanigan, but he hits right-handed and has a $3.7MM salary next year with an option for 2017.
  • Unsurprisingly, Cafardo hears that the Rangers are looking for offense, the Twins are looking for relief help, and the Blue Jays want to add to their bullpen.  However, a deal for Toronto doesn’t seem likely at this time.
  • Cafardo writes that the Nationals, Padres, Red Sox, Mariners, Reds, Orioles, Indians, and Tigers are expected to be quite active this winter.
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