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Kendall Graveman Diagnosed With Bone Tumor In Cervical Spine

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Mariners right-hander Kendall Graveman has been diagnosed with a bone tumor in the C6 part of his cervical spine, Ryan Divish of the Seattle Times reports.

Fortunately, Graveman’s tumor is benign and won’t grow or worsen if he continues to pitch, per Divish. And while Graveman may undergo surgery to address it at some point, that procedure won’t take place “until down the road,” Divish writes. It seems Graveman will even pitch again this year, as his hope is to make one more rehab start in an intraquad game before he’s ready for a return, according to Divish.

Graveman, whom the Mariners signed to a one-year, $1.5MM contract last winter, made two appearances for the club this season before landing on the injured list Aug. 4 with what the team described as neck spasms. The 29-year-old was successful member of the A’s staff from 2015-17, but Tommy John surgery limited him in 2018 and kept him out of action entirely last season.

Mariners Designate Bryan Shaw, Place Nestor Cortes On 10-Day IL

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The Mariners announced a series of roster moves today, including the news that right-hander Bryan Shaw has been designated for assignment and left-hander Nestor Cortes Jr. is going to the 10-day injured list due to an elbow impingement.  Replacing the two hurlers are southpaw Taylor Guilbeau and righty Ljay Newsome, with Newsome making his first appearance on a Major League roster after his contract was selected.

Shaw signed a big league contract with Seattle just prior to their season opener, and he has an ugly 18.00 ERA over six innings pitched.  He was briefly sent down to the Mariners’ alternate training site last week but Shaw had another rough outing last night, giving up two earned runs over 1 2/3 innings.

Given these results, it’s fair to wonder if the M’s could potentially release Shaw if he isn’t claimed off waivers.  There wouldn’t be much of a cost associated with a release, as the Mariners are only paying Shaw a prorated league minimum salary.  The Rockies are paying the rest of the prorated $9MM salary Shaw was guaranteed this season, as Colorado released the veteran reliever in mid-July.

Cortes has also begun his season in disastrous fashion, allowing runs in all five of his appearances en route to a 15.26 ERA over 7 2/3 innings.  The lowlight came last night, as Cortes had to make an emergency start after Yusei Kikuchi was a late scratch, and Cortes proceeded to allow seven earned runs in just one-third of an inning against the Astros.  The 25-year-old has yet to break out at the big league level, having posted a 5.80 ERA over 71 1/3 IP with the Orioles and Yankees in 2018-19.  Seattle acquired him in a trade with New York last November.

Newsome, 23, was a 26th-round pick for the Mariners in the 2015 draft, and is ranked by MLB.com as the 29th-best prospect in Seattle’s farm system.  Newsome has started 91 of his 99 career games in the minors, with a 4.11 ERA, 8.5 K/9, and a very impressive 7.63 K/BB rate over 499 2/3 innings — with only a 1.1 BB/9, Newsome has displayed excellent control.

Pitcher Notes: Chatwood, Yates, Hirano

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The Chicago Cubs have pushed Tyler Chatwood’s start after the right-hander experienced tightness in his back, per Tim Stebbins of NBC Sports. Colin Rea will trot in from the bullpen to start on Saturday in his stead (technically, Alec Mills started for Chatwood on Friday, and Rea will start in Mills’ place). Chatwood has continued his streaky tenure this season in Chicago, though the good has outweighed the bad through three starts. The 30-year-old Chatwood put the Northside aflutter with a pair of quality starts in which he yielded 12 2/3 innings, two wins, 19 strikeouts, and just a single earned run. He gave it all back with 8 earned runs in just 2 1/3 innings in his third start against the Royals. The Cubs have a twin bill with the Cardinals scheduled for Monday where Chatwood will step back into the rotation, per Russell Dorsey of the Chicago Sun-Times (via Twitter).

  • Bad news could be on the horizon for the San Diego Padres. Closer Kirby Yates has been scheduled for an MRI to investigate recent elbow discomfort, per Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union-Tribune. The late-blooming Yates has developed into arguably the game’s best closer over the past two seasons. He’s not been himself through 5 appearances this year. He’s currently rocking a cumbersome 10.38 ERA/5.62 FIP with 7 hits and 4 walks to 7 strikeouts over 4 1/3 innings. He does have 2 saves and a hold. An injury would certainly be a blow to a San Diego bullpen already down Andres Muñoz and Trey Wingenter. Even so, the Friars are flush with potential replacements: Emilio Pagan and Drew Pomeranz are likely next in line to secure W’s in San Diego.
  • Yoshihisa Hirano is finally on his way back to the diamond after testing positive for COVID-19 early in training camp, per MLB.com’s Greg Johns (via Twitter). After some tune-ups at the alternate site, Hirano could find himself in the Seattle Mariners’ bullpen shortly. Hirano, 36, joined the Mariners this offseason after two years with the Arizona Diamondbacks. He proved himself a reliable arm in the Dbacks’ pen. He owns a 3.47 ERA/3.85 FIP in the states after a successful career in Japan.

Mariners Release Patrick Wisdom

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The Mariners have granted infielder Patrick Wisdom his unconditional release, Greg Johns of MLB.com relays. The club previously designated Wisdom for assignment on Aug. 10.

Wisdom joined the Mariners as a minor league signing last November, but he never took an at-bat with the club before it axed him. He’s best known as a former first-round pick of the Cardinals in 2012, when Wisdom went 52nd overall.

Wisdom had his moments in the St. Louis organization, especially during a 2018 major league debut in which he slashed .260/.362/.520 with four home runs in 58 plate appearances, but the Cardinals traded him to the Rangers prior to the ’19 campaign. Wisdom struggled to a .154/.185/.192 line with 15 strikeouts in 26 PA as a Ranger.

While his time in the majors has certainly been inconsistent, Wisdom will bring a track record of decent minors production to the next organization that signs him (if one does). He posted an .844 OPS in Triple-A ball last year and owns a .252/.328/.478 line with 82 homers in 1,674 trips to the plate at the highest level of the minors.

Mariners Sign Seth Frankoff

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The Mariners have signed right-hander Seth Frankoff to a minor league contract and assigned him to their alternate training site, per a club announcement. Seattle’s 60-man player pool now contains 59 players. Frankoff is repped by Vanguard Sports.

The 31-year-old Frankoff has just two Major League innings under his belt but is a veteran of eight minor league seasons and a pair of successful campaigns in the Korea Baseball Organization. Frankoff spent the past two seasons with the KBO’s Doosan Bears, pitching to a combined 3.68 ERA with 8.3 K/9, 2.9 BB/9 and 0.6 HR/9 in 266 2/3 frames (50 starts). He’d inked a minor league deal with the Padres over the winter but elected free agency last month after San Diego opted not to include him in its own 60-man pool.

Seattle currently has five relievers and starter Kendall Graveman on the injured list, so it’s not much of a surprise that they’ve been on the hunt for some extra depth. In addition to adding Frankoff, the club claimed right-hander Brady Lail off waivers from the White Sox yesterday.

Pitching Notes: Hamels, Quintana, M’s, Tigers

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Left-hander Cole Hamels, whom the Braves placed on the 45-day injured list July 23, still has not thrown off a mound during his recovery from a triceps problem, Mark Bowman of MLB.com tweets. The Braves remain hopeful Hamels will pitch this year, though, per manager Brian Snitker. Of course, Hamels isn’t eligible to return until early September, so the Braves will get a very limited season from him at best. That wasn’t the outcome either side expected when the Braves signed the longtime workhorse to a one-year deal worth $18MM deal during the offseason. The Hamels injury is one of many issues the Braves’ rotation has encountered since then (most recently, they optioned lefty Sean Newcomb on Monday in the wake of a horrid performance), but the back-to-back NL East champions are still off to a solid start at 11-7.

  • Cubs southpaw Jose Quintana will throw a three-inning sim game Tuesday, Bruce Levine of 670 The Score reports. However, there’s still no word on when Quintana will make his 2020 debut after suffering a left thumb injury over a month ago. Even without Quintana, though, the Cubs’ rotation has come storming out of the gates. Entering Monday’s action, the Yu Darvish–Kyle Hendricks–Jon Lester–Tyler Chatwood–Alec Mills quintet was second in the game in FIP (2.76) and fourth in ERA (2.83)
  • The Mariners placed right-hander Carl Edwards Jr. on the injured list with a flexor mass strain in his forearm and recalled fellow righty Bryan Shaw from their alternate site, Ryan Divish of the Seattle Times relays. Edwards’ injury sounds worrisome, though manager Scott Servais said it’s “not that serious.” But as Servais noted, even a couple weeks lost in a 60-game season is a significant amount of time. It’s unfortunate for the M’s and Edwards, who combined for an awful run in Chicago and San Diego from 2018-19 but who has come back nicely this year. He yielded one earned run on two hits and one walk (six strikeouts) across 4 2/3 innings before landing on the IL.
  • The Tigers placed righty Buck Farmer on the IL on Monday with a left groin strain and recalled righty Beau Burrows, per Evan Petzold of the Detroit Free Press. Farmer was a bright spot on a bottom-feeding Tigers team a year ago and has kept runs off the board at an even better clip this season, having allowed just two ER on four hits and three walks in 6 2/3 innings. On the negative side, Farmer has struck out only one hitter after fanning almost 10 per nine in 2019.

Mariners Claim Brady Lail, Designate Patrick Wisdom

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The Mariners announced Monday that they’ve claimed right-hander Brady Lail off waivers from the White Sox and designated infielder Patrick Wisdom for assignment.

Lail, 27, made his big league debut with the Yankees in 2019 but pitched just 2 2/3 innings in his lone appearance with the club. It was a similar tale with the ChiSox, who got Lail into one game for 1 1/3 innings of work prior to designating the right-hander for assignment. He’s struggled in the upper minors as a starter, but he moved to the bullpen full-time a couple years back and has since enjoyed much better results. In 49 1/3 frames between Double-A and Triple-A in 2019, Lail pitched to a 3.83 ERA with 12.2 K/9 and 2.7 BB/9.

Wisdom, 28, hasn’t appeared in the Majors with Seattle since signing with them over the winter. He’s a career .224/.306/.408 hitter in 86 MLB plate appearances and a .252/.328/.478 hitter in parts of four Triple-A seasons. Wisdom struggled quite a bit in his first run through Triple-A, but he’s slugged 77 homers in three seasons since that time while oscillating between the Majors and Minors. He has experience at all four corner positions.

Mariners Option Bryan Shaw, Jose Marmolejos

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The Mariners have optioned veteran righty Bryan Shaw and infielder/outfielder Jose Marmolejos, the club announced. Both will go to the team’s alternate training site.

It isn’t entirely clear whether Shaw has consented to the assignment. With more than five years of MLB service, he has the right instead to reject it in favor of free agency.

Shaw, 32, is still being paid by the Rockies under his free agent contract. He landed with the Seattle organization after being cut loose. After one initial scoreless appearance, the once-excellent setup man has surrendered three or more runs in each of his past three outings.

Injury Notes: Cano, Puk, W. Davis, M’s

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Let’s check in on a few injury notes from around the majors…

  • Mets second baseman Robinson Cano is hopeful that he’ll come off the injured list when he’s eligible on Aug. 14, Anthony DiComo of MLB.com tweets. Cano went to the IL on Tuesday with a Grade 2 left adductor strain, which halted what may have been a redemption story for the 37-year-old. While Cano endured a nightmarish first season as a Met in 2019, he got off to a blistering .412/.462/.559 start in 39 plate appearances this year prior to his injury.
  • Athletics left-hander A.J. Puk remains an exciting prospect for the club, but various arm injuries have prevented the 25-year-old from making a major league start. It doesn’t appear as if that will change in 2020. Manager Bob Melvin said that Puk, who’s working back from shoulder inflammation, is expected to pitch out of the bullpen if he takes the hill this year, per Shayna Rubin of the Mercury News. However, the A’s still don’t have a timetable for Puk’s season debut.
  • It appears the right shoulder strain that sent Rockies reliever Wade Davis to the IL over the weekend will keep him on ice for the foreseeable future. Manager Bud Black said Wednesday that Davis still hasn’t begun throwing yet, Patrick Saunders of the Denver Post relays. Davis’ injury is the latest setback in what has been a horrid Colorado tenure since he signed a three-year, $52MM deal with the club going into 2018. The three-time All-Star has recorded a 6.18 ERA/4.67 FIP in 110 2/3 innings as a Rockie.
  • With right-hander Kendall Graveman on the injured list because of neck issues, the Mariners are calling on lefty Nick Margevicius to step into their rotation, according to manager Scott Servais (via Ryan Divish of the Seattle Times). The 24-year-old Margevicius picked up 12 starts as a Padre in 2019, but his year didn’t go well. He wound up with 57 innings of 6.79 ERA/5.64 FIP pitching and 6.63 K/9 against 3.0 BB/9.

Mariners Place Kendall Graveman On Injured List, Select Joey Gerber

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The Mariners announced Tuesday that they’ve placed right-hander Kendall Graveman on the 10-day injured list due to neck spasms and selected the contract of right-hander Joey Gerber from their alternate training site. Seattle also recalled southpaw Taylor Guilbeau from their alternate site and optioned fellow lefty Zac Grotz. Graveman’s placement on the IL is retroactive to Aug. 3.

Graveman, 29, had a rocky debut effort with the Mariners on July 27 but looked sharper on Aug. 2 before departing the game with some discomfort in his neck. He signed a one-year deal with Seattle over the winter after missing most of the 2018 season and all of the 2019 campaign due to Tommy John surgery.

Prior to his injury, Graveman was a solid mid-rotation piece for the division-rival Athletics, who acquired him as part of their return in what ended up being a lopsided Josh Donaldson swap with the Jays. Graveman proved to be the most productive member of Oakland’s return — though the A’s still have Franklin Barreto — pitching to a 4.11 ERA and 4.44 FIP through 407 frames fom 2015-17. At his best, Graveman racks up grounders and limits free passes and long balls — but he’s struggled a bit with both walks (five) and homer (two) in his first 8 2/3 frames this season.

The Mariners didn’t provide a timetable on Graveman’s return, although there’s no indication that he’s dealing with a significant injury. Seattle opened the season with a six-man rotation that also included Marco Gonzales, Yusei Kikuchi, Justus Sheffield, Taijuan Walker and Justin Dunn, so they can simply drop to a more conventional five-man outfit in Graveman’s absence should they choose.

Turning to the 23-year-old Gerber, he’ll be in line for his big league debut whenever he first takes the mound. The 2018 eighth-rounder hasn’t yet reached the Triple-A level, although he’d surely have done so in 2020 had there been a minor league season. Gerber was excellent in Double-A last year and has more generally impressed at every minor league stop in his career to date. He’s a pure bullpen prospect who, in 74 2/3 frames since being drafted, has worked to a 2.42 ERA with a whopping 13.6 K/9 against 3.6 BB/9. Gerber didn’t allow a homer across three Mariners Class-A affiliates and only yielded two in 22 2/3 innings of Double-A work in 2019.

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