Injury Updates: Teixeira, Felix, Hill, Dodgers
Yankees first baseman Mark Teixeira, who went on the disabled list last Saturday with a cartilage tear in his right knee, is progressing toward a return and expects to start running next week, he told Randy Miller of NJ Advance Media. Teixeira didn’t reveal when he could rejoin the Yankees, but the fact that it’s a possibility is undoubtedly welcome news for him and the team. The fear when Teixeira suffered the injury was that he’d need surgery. As of now, though, it appears the 36-year-old will avoid going under the knife. In addition to Teixeira, the Yankees have recently lost two other first base options – Chris Parmelee and Dustin Ackley – to injuries.
Here’s more on some big-name players dealing with health troubles:
- Mariners ace Felix Hernandez is making progress with his strained calf, but there remains no timetable for his return, said manager Scott Servais (Twitter link via Greg Johns of MLB.com). Hernandez, who landed on the DL retroactive to May 28, was originally supposed to miss only two starts with the injury. But he’ll now need to go on a rehab stint when he’s deemed healthy enough to return to the mound, tweets Ryan Divish of the Seattle Times. Hernandez posted a 2.86 ERA, 7.57 K/9 and 3.71 BB/9 in 63 innings prior to going on the shelf.
- Athletics left-hander Rich Hill won’t throw off a mound until the middle of next week at the earliest, per John Shea of the San Francisco Chronicle (on Twitter). Before hitting the DL on Thursday with a right groin strain, the 36-year-old threw 64 frames of 2.25 ERA, struck out 10.41 batters per nine innings and established himself as an appealing summer trade candidate.
- Dodgers starters Hyun-jin Ryu and Brandon McCarthy will both begin four- to five-start rehab assignments this weekend, according to manager Dave Roberts (via Bill Plunkett of the Orange County Register). This will be the second time Ryu has attempted a rehab assignment; in May, he suffered a setback in his surgically repaired left shoulder after making three rehab starts. The 29-year-old southpaw underwent surgery on a torn labrum in May 2015 and hasn’t appeared in a major league game since October 2014. Given the time Ryu has missed, he’ll need to prove himself worthy of a rotation spot, Roberts said. McCarthy, meanwhile, had Tommy John surgery a year ago after racking up just four starts on the season.
Minor MLB Transactions: 6/11/16
Here are today’s minor moves from around the league.
- The Dodgers have released outfielder Jose Tabata, MLB.com’s Ken Gurnick tweets. Tabata was hitting .240/.340/.333 for Triple-A Oklahoma City. Acquired last year for Michael Morse in an exchange of bad contracts, Tabata never played in the big leagues for the Dodgers. The former top Yankees and Pirates prospect is still owed the remainder of his $4.5MM 2016 salary from the long-term deal he signed with the Pirates in 2011, plus a $250K buyout on his 2017 option.
- The Rangers have acquired righty reliever Justin De Fratus from the Mariners, MLB.com’s T.R. Sullivan tweets. The deal completes last month’s Patrick Kivlehan trade, tweets MLB.com’s Greg Johns. The 28-year-old De Fratus was pitching for Triple-A Tacoma, where he’d posted a 3.21 ERA, 5.8 K/9 and 2.2 BB/9 in 28 innings. He has a 4.08 ERA, 7.9 K/9 and 3.6 BB/9 in five big-league seasons, all of them spent with the Phillies.
- Veteran outfielder Will Venable is now a free agent after opting out of his minor league deal with the Phillies, Chris Cotillo of SB Nation tweets. Venable has had a disappointing season thus far for Triple-A Lehigh Valley, batting .205/.304/.307 in 149 plate appearances. He hit .244/.320/.350 with the Padres and Rangers in 2015, then was released by the Indians near the end of Spring Training before being picked up by Philadelphia.
- The Athletics have announced that they’ve selected the contract of righty Daniel Mengden, who will start today against the Reds. Mengden, an Astros draftee who headed to Oakland in the Scott Kazmir trade last July, had compiled a 1.19 ERA, 8.8 K/9 and 2.9 BB/9 in 68 1/3 innings this season split between Double-A and Triple-A. MLB.com rates Mengden as the Athletics’ 14th-best prospect, noting his “old-timey delivery and exaggerated windup,” which creates deception but also could ultimately result in a move to the bullpen. To clear space for Mengden on the 40-man roster, the Athletics transferred Mark Canha (hip) to the 60-day DL.
Pitcher Notes: Nats, Chapman, Miller, Reds, Felix
Improving their bullpen will be the Nationals’ “top priority” as the Aug. 1 trade deadline approaches, a source told Bill Ladson of MLB.com. The Nats aren’t close to acquiring anyone at this time, reports Ladson, who writes that they are hoping the Yankees will put lights-out lefties Aroldis Chapman and Andrew Miller on the block. Both have been connected in the past to the Nationals, who aren’t content with Jonathan Papelbon serving as their closer. Papelbon has fared well this year, having converted 14 of 16 save chances and posted a 2.91 ERA, 7.06 K/9 and 2.08 BB/9 in 21 2/3 innings, but he’s undoubtedly inferior to both Chapman and Miller. Even without either of those two in the mix, Washington’s bullpen entered Sunday ranked third in both ERA (2.85) and K/BB ratio (3.51).
More pitching notes:
- In unfortunate news for the Reds, their top starter, right-hander Raisel Iglesias, will work out of the bullpen when he returns from a shoulder injury in a few weeks, reports Zach Buchanan of the Cincinnati Enquirer (Twitter link). The door isn’t closed on the 26-year-old rejoining the Reds’ rotation down the line, but he’ll have to show that his shoulder can hold up, per Buchanan. From a financial point of view, Buchanan notes that the likelihood of Iglesias opting out of his $27MM contract when he becomes eligible for arbitration will decrease if he doesn’t go back to starting (Twitter links). Iglesias has 154 days of major league service time under his belt and will soon reach the 172-day mark necessary for a full year, but he’s still a good distance from the three years needed to take a crack at arbitration. The Cuba native has so far made 23 big league appearances (21 starts) and compiled a 4.00 ERA, 9.68 K/9 and 2.55 BB/9 in 123 innings.
- On the bright side for the Reds, righty Anthony DeSclafani is likely to make his 2016 debut during the upcoming week – perhaps Friday – tweets Buchanan. The 26-year-old has been out all season with an oblique issue. He performed well in 2015, his first full big league campaign, totaling 184 2/3 innings of 4.05 ERA/3.67 FIP/3.97 xFIP pitching.
- The Mariners’ Felix Hernandez might not return from the disabled list when he’s eligible on June 12, reports Bob Dutton of the Tacoma News Tribune. “Fingers crossed, but he may miss a couple (of more starts). We’ll see,” said manager Scott Servais. The hope when Hernandez landed on the DL with a straight right calf muscle was that he’d only miss two starts, but he still isn’t moving well and hasn’t resumed throwing. King Felix posted a 2.86 ERA, 7.57 K/9 and 3.71 BB/9 in 63 innings prior to going on the shelf.
Mariners Release Joel Peralta
SATURDAY: Seattle has released Peralta, according to a club announcement.
THURSDAY: The Mariners have designated righty Joel Peralta for assignment, the team announced. Fellow right-hander Cody Martin will take over his spot in the Seattle pen.
Peralta, 40, joined the M’s on a minor league deal over the winter. He is owed $1.25MM, but presumably hasn’t earned much (if any) of the $2.5MM incentive package.
Seattle hasn’t received the reliable production it hoped for out of the veteran. Peralta’s velocity, contact, and zone numbers all look similar to prior seasons. But he’s always allowed a lot of flyballs, and this year more than ever (20.0%) have turned into home runs.
The result is that Peralta owns an ugly 5.40 ERA over 23 1/3 innings, and that mark has been on the rise of late. On the other hand, he’s running out an impressive 10.8 K/9 against 2.7 BB/9, so it won’t be surprising to see him earn another opportunity at some point this season — though that may come with another organization.
Pitcher Notes: Pomeranz, M’s, Giants, Royals, Tigers
The Padres traded James Shields on Saturday, but they aren’t as willing to move their best starter, southpaw Drew Pomeranz, reports Dennis Lin of the San Diego Union-Tribune (Twitter link). The club would need to be “overwhelmed” to deal the 27-year-old, according to Lin. Pomeranz currently ranks eighth among qualified starters in both ERA (2.22) and strikeouts per nine innings (10.66), and he’s playing this season on a meager $1.35MM salary. Thus, it would likely to take a significant haul to land him and his two-plus remaining years of team control.
More on a few other pitchers:
- The Mariners promoted their top pitching prospect, Double-A reliever Edwin Diaz, and optioned fellow reliever Cody Martin to Triple-A Tacoma to make room, per a team announcement. Diaz, 22, has posted a sterling 2.21 ERA, 11.95 K/9 and 1.55 BB/9 in 40 2/3 innings this year. Most of those numbers came as a starter, but the Mariners decided to move Diaz to the bullpen early last month because they feel his ceiling as a reliever is higher. Diaz has a high-90s fastball out of the ‘pen and has dominated in relief this season, writes The Seattle Times’ Ryan Divish. He’ll have a chance to earn a spot with the Mariners in the wake of veteran Joel Peralta‘s designation for assignment earlier this week.
- Before lefty Brian Duensing agreed to a minor league deal with the Orioles last month, the Giants and Royals also pushed for his services, he told Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com (Twitter link). Duensing became a free agent when he opted out of his contract with Kansas City in mid-May; as evidenced by Kansas City’s desire to re-sign Duensing, the defending World Series champions were obviously sorry to see him go.
- The Tigers’ Shane Greene made three of his four early season appearances as a starter before landing on the disabled list April 24 with a blister on his throwing hand. The right-hander is healthy again, but he will now come out of the bullpen, manager Brad Ausmus said (via Brendan Savage of MLive.com). “He’ll work out of the pen, probably sixth-seventh innings, right around there,” Ausmus stated. “Maybe eighth depending on who needs rest, who’s coming up, etc. He can work a couple innings. Availability will come into play but he can definitely work a couple of innings.” Prior to his injury, Greene put up a 6.28 ERA, 6.91 K/9 and 5.65 BB/9 in 14 1/3 innings. He worked almost exclusively as a starter last season (16 of 18 appearances), though his run prevention was even worse (6.88 ERA).
Mariners Place Felix Hernandez On DL, Recall James Paxton
The Mariners announced today that they’ve placed ace Felix Hernandez on the 15-day disabled list with a strained right calf muscle and recalled lefty James Paxton from Triple-A Tacoma in a corresponding move. As MLB.com’s Greg Johns writes, the injury isn’t believed to be overly serious at this time, and the M’s are hopeful that King Felix will miss just two starts, as the DL stint is backdated to Saturday.
The 30-year-old Hernandez is currently sporting a strong 2.86 ERA, but he struggled in his last outing (six runs on eight hits and a walk in six innings) and has displayed some other red flags throughout the 2016 season. Hernandez’s fastball is averaging a career-low 90 mph and has only shown minimal improvement over the course of the season, and he’s also averaging 3.7 walks per nine innings, although his command has taken a turn for the better after a rocky month of April in that regard (18 walks in 32 2/3 innings). Control problems and velocity decline aside, Hernandez still leads the Mariners’ staff in ERA and is second to Hisashi Iwakuma in total innings (63).
The 27-year-old Paxton will be appearing in his fourth season at the Major League level when he takes the hill tonight against the Padres. Injuries have slowed an otherwise promising career quite substantially, but the former fourth-round pick and top 100 prospect is off to a fine start in Triple-A this season, having logged a 3.97 ERA with 9.4 K/9 against 2.6 BB/9 in 47 2/3 innings of work. While that’s a fairly modest innings total to this point in the season, it’s worth pointing out that Paxton tossed just 103 innings last year between the minors, Majors and Arizona Fall League, and he worked just 87 combined innings in 2014. From a service time standpoint, Paxton is at two years, 27 days right now, so even if he were to remain in the Majors for the duration of the season (which seems unlikely, barring another injury elsewhere on the pitching staff), he’d fall shy of three years. He would, however, enter Super Two territory with another 100 days or so on the Major League roster.
Mariners Reacquire Patrick Kivlehan From Rangers
The Mariners have acquired infielder Patrick Kivlehan from the Rangers in exchange for a player to be named later or cash considerations, per a Seattle announcement. To make room for Kivlehan on their 40-man roster, the Mariners moved reliever Evan Scribner to the 60-day disabled list.
Kivlehan, whom the Rangers designated for assignment Monday, will now rejoin the organization that selected him in the fourth round of the 2011 draft. The Mariners eventually shipped Kivlehan to the Rangers last November as part of the package for center fielder Leonys Martin, who has been excellent in Seattle so far.
The 26-year-old Kivlehan has hit well in the minors, slashing .280/.345/.465 with 71 home runs in 2,125 plate appearances. He got off to a rough start this year with the Rangers organization, though, compiling a .184/.252/.262 line in 155 trips to the plate for Triple-A Round Rock.
Injury Notes: Jordan, Gray, Ross, Martin, Ottavino, Smith, Chirinos
Nationals right-hander Taylor Jordan underwent Tommy John surgery yesterday, the team announced. It’s his second time undergoing a UCL replacement for the 27-year-old. Jordan burst onto the scene for the Nats in 2013, but has failed to maintain that promise at the major league level. He did have a strong season in the results department last year at Triple-A, though, and allowed just three earned runs in 15 2/3 innings in his first three starts of the 2016 campaign. Now, it’ll be at least a year or so before Jordan can try to get back on track.
Here’s more on some injury situations around the game:
- Athletics staff ace Sonny Gray is readying to throw from a mound tomorrow, per Joe Stiglich of Comcast SportsNet California (via Twitter). It’s certainly good to hear that Gray feels good enough to begin working his way back from a trapezius issue, though his timeline remains completely unknown.
- Padres skipper Andy Green says that righty Tyson Ross may be ready to begin throwing within one week’s time, as Dennis Lin of the San Diego Union-Tribune reports on Twitter. It’s been a slow process for Ross, as the Pads seek to ensure that his shoulder issues don’t worsen. While the trade deadline remains two months away, leaving some time to turn him back into a potentially valuable trade chip, it’s worth bearing in mind that Ross will need a full build-up and rehab stint before returning to the major league hill.
- The Mariners have placed outfielder Leonys Martin on the 15-day DL today with a hamstring strain, the club announced. The team had believed he might avoid such an outcome altogether, so it doesn’t seem as if there’s any reason for significant concern. Stefen Romero will take Martin’s roster spot for the meantime. Martin, an offseason trade acquisition, had been off to an eye-opening .262/.339/.483 start at the plate for Seattle.
- Rockies reliever Adam Ottavino is nearly ready to throw live batting practice, Nick Groke of the Denver Post reports on Twitter. He’s still working back from Tommy John surgery, but it’s encouraging to hear that his rehab could soon begin in earnest. Colorado, meanwhile, will no doubt be excited to look forward to receiving a return on the team’s investment in Ottavino over the winter.
- Southpaw Will Smith is expected to return to the Brewers by next week, MLB.com’s Adam McCalvy tweets. That’s great news for Milwaukee, which has been without the excellent 26-year-old reliever all year long. He’ll join Jeremy Jeffress at the back of the pen — and, perhaps, on the trade block.
- Rangers backstop Robinson Chirinos will begin a rehab stint tomorrow with hopes of returning to the majors on June 9, as MLB.com’s T.R. Sullivan was among those to tweet. Texas has been blessed with surprisingly productive starts from the catching position, but Chirinos had been expected to handle most of the duties before suffering a forearm fracture.
AL West Notes: Rangers, Odor, Cano, Astros
The appeal hearing on the eight-game suspension the league gave Rangers second baseman Rougned Odor for punching Toronto’s Jose Bautista will be held Tuesday, reports Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News. Major League Baseball’s executive vice president, John McHale, will conduct the hearing and Odor will have to begin serving his suspension once McHale’s ruling is issued. The decision could take up to two days to render, notes Grant.
More from the AL West:
- Mariners second baseman Robinson Cano wasn’t his usual excellent self last year, but that has changed this season and he attributes it to regaining his health. Cano dealt with a parasite that attacked his system and sapped him of energy early in 2015 and then a hernia on each side of his abdominal area in the second half of the campaign. Cano underwent surgery on the two hernias last October. “Now that you’re healthy, you get to look back and see the difference,’’ Cano told Larry Stone of The Seattle Times. “After what I went through last year, thank God I’m healthy. I’m able to use my body and move left and right, back and forth. That’s everything.” The healthy Cano is now taking on a leadership role in Seattle, according to general manager Jerry Dipoto. “In addition to his incredible offensive contribution and great defense, Robby has been unbelievable for me, and for (manager) Scott (Servais), in helping to make a very difficult transition, with a lot of new faces, go so much quicker and easier,” he said. Shortstop Ketel Marte also praised the ex-Yankee, saying, “He’s been special to me. He tries to make me better every single day.”
- Rangers right-hander A.J. Griffin – who has been on the disabled list since May 8 with a shoulder strain – isn’t close to returning, according to Grant. Texas’ hope when it placed Griffin on the DL was that he’d be able to come back immediately, but the 28-year-old still hasn’t thrown off a mound since and will need to go on a rehab assignment after he does. “It’s probably going to take more than one rehab start. We’ve got to make sure the arm is ready to handle the workload,” stated manager Jeff Banister.
- The Astros aren’t considering moving hard-throwing reliever Michael Feliz into the rotation, but that could change if the 22-year-old continues dominating out of the bullpen, writes Jake Kaplan of the Houston Chronicle. “Not really much dialogue (about giving Feliz a start) as much as there’s curiosity for long term,” said manager A.J. Hinch. “When I see him hold his velocity for the three-inning outings that he’s had in recent days, including (Friday) night, it’s hard not to dream about it.” Since allowing nine earned runs in his first 5 1/3 innings of the season, the righty has yielded just one earned run while striking out 19 hitters and walking none in 11 2/3 frames.
Mariners Place Ketel Marte On DL, Recall Chris Taylor
The Mariners have placed shortstop Ketel Marte on the disabled list and recalled Chris Taylor from Triple-A Tacoma to take his place, reports Bob Dutton of the Tacoma News Tribune (on Twitter).
Marte sprained his left thumb during the Mariners’ game against the Reds on Saturday and had to leave early, though X-rays came back negative. The switch-hitting Marte, 22, is in the midst of his second straight season serving as a capable option at short for the Mariners. In 167 plate appearances this year, Marte has hit .276/.307/.378 with five steals on seven attempts. During his first major league action last season, Marte batted .283/.351/.402 in 247 trips to the plate and swiped eight bags on 12 tries. All told, Marte has already been worth 2.2 fWAR in just 97 career games.
The 25-year-old Taylor has compiled a .294/.374/.464 line in the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League this year after faring similarly well with Tacoma last season, but his big league career hasn’t been nearly as successful. Taylor, formerly a well-regarded prospect, has amassed 253 PAs with the Mariners and slashed an uninspiring .239/.296/.296.