Dylan Carlson To Undergo Ankle Surgery
Cardinals outfielder Dylan Carlson will undergo surgery on his injured left ankle, skipper Oli Marmol told reporters (including Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch). The procedure comes with a recovery time between two and three months. If all goes as anticipated, he should be ready for Spring Training.
It’s an expected development. Carlson has been considering a surgical procedure at least dating back to the middle of August, when he landed on the injured list for the second time. He initially hurt his ankle in May, suffering a sprain that took him out of action for a month. He has also been dealing with bone spurs, Goold notes. Both issues will be addressed when he goes under the knife.
Carlson had a middling age-24 season. He tallied 255 plate appearances, hitting .219/.318/.333 with only five home runs. It was his worst offensive output since an abbreviated rookie showing back in 2020. While he has never broken through as the impact hitter some expected when he was a top prospect, Carlson posted a slightly above-average .253/.331/.412 slash in over 1100 trips to the dish from 2021-22.
He paired those decent offensive numbers with strong ratings for his glove in center field. Just over a year ago, Carlson still seemed to be a franchise building block. He was jumped by Lars Nootbaar late last summer, while the Cards turned to Jordan Walker and Tyler O’Neill as their primary corner outfield tandem. That pushed Carlson into fourth outfield duty even when healthy.
As a result, opposing teams inquired about his availability at the trade deadline. No deal came together and Carlson ended up going back on the IL a couple weeks thereafter. The ankle surgery complicates his status headed into the winter, but he’ll surely be on the radar of clubs seeking outfield help. Carlson is headed into his first year of arbitration eligibility. He’ll go through that process three times and won’t qualify for free agency until after the 2026 campaign.
Even if he just recaptures his 2021-22 form, he’d profile as a decent everyday center fielder. There are presumably some clubs that feel he can yet reach a higher ceiling in his mid-20s based on his prospect potential. While Carlson’s trade appeal is probably at its lowest point since he reached the major leagues, the St. Louis front office will still receive a number of calls.
The Cardinals mostly dealt away short-term players at the most recent deadline. They didn’t make any notable subtractions from their collection of controllable position players. Carlson again figures to be one of their likeliest trade candidates as they look for ways to add stability to the rotation in hopes of putting this disappointing season behind them.
Cardinals Select Juniel Querecuto
The Cardinals announced that infielder Nolan Gorman has been placed on the 10-day injured list due to a right hamstring strain, with fellow infielder Juniel Querecuto selected to take his place on the active roster. The club already had a vacancy on its 40-man roster and won’t need to open a spot there.
Querecuto, 30, has a sliver of major league experience, having played four games for the Rays in 2016. Since then, he’s signed minor league deals with the Giants, Diamondbacks and Reds without getting back to the big leagues.
He joined the Cards on a minor league deal in the offseason and has been with Triple-A Memphis this year. In 440 plate appearances over 106 games for the Redbirds, he’s hit 13 home runs and walked in 9.1% of his plate appearances. The run-scoring environment is quite high in the International League this year, so his .269/.343/.418 line looks solid at first glance but translates to a wRC+ of 91. But he also stole 12 bases in 13 tries, as well as suiting up at the three infield positions to the left of first base and spending some time in the outfield.
The Cards now have three positions players on the injured list, with Gorman joining Brendan Donovan and Dylan Carlson. As the club plays out the string on a lost season, Querecuto can bounce around the diamond as needed. If he hangs onto his roster spot, he still has a full slate of options and just a few days of service time.
As for Gorman, he left last night’s game with hamstring tightness and the club will let him rest for at least 10 days. They haven’t provided any updates about the severity of his injury, but since they are out of contention and there’s just over two weeks left on the schedule, it’s possible his season is over. Although he has struck out in 31.9% of his trips to the plate this year, he’s also walked at a strong 11.4% clip and hit 27 home runs.
Cardinals Outright Taylor Motter
The Cardinals have once again sent utilityman Taylor Motter outright to Triple-A Memphis after he went unclaimed on waivers, per the team’s transaction log at MLB.com. Motter was designated for assignment earlier in the week.
It’s the third time this season that the veteran Motter has been designated for assignment by the Cards and gone unclaimed on waivers. He elected free agency but quickly returned on a new minor league pact the first time around. He accepted an outright assignment the second time. With minimal time remaining on the 2023 schedule, there’s a good chance he’ll do the same in this third instance.
Motter, 33, has appeared in 29 games with St. Louis this season and tallied 82 plate appearances, posting a tepid .171/.232/.211 slash in that time. He’s primarily played second and third base during his time with the Cards but also has very brief appearances at shortstop, at first base and in right field. The bulk of Motter’s season has been spent in Memphis, where he’s batted .255/.343/.438 with eight homers and eight steals in 236 trips to the plate.
The Cardinals are Motter’s seventh team at the big league level. The journeyman jack of all trades has played in 190 big league games and owns a lifetime .188/.258/.294 line in the Majors. He’s a far more accomplished hitter at the Triple-A level, where he’s spent parts of seven seasons and compiled a .262/.351/.477 line with 96 homers in 2298 plate appearances.
Cardinals Designate Taylor Motter For Assignment
9:51am: The Cardinals have now formally announced the moves, specifying that Romero is hitting the injured list due to patellar tendinitis in his left knee.
9:25am: The Cardinals have designated infielder Taylor Motter for assignment, clearing an active roster spot for the recall of José Fermín from Triple-A Memphis. St. Louis also reinstated Matthew Liberatore from the 15-day injured list while placing JoJo Romero on the 15-day IL, retroactive to September 2. The team has yet to formally announce the moves via press release, but each is reflected on their transaction log at MLB.com. The Cards’ 40-man count drops to 39.
Motter has had three separate stints on the St. Louis roster. The 33-year-old has played in 29 games, his biggest MLB workload since 2017. Motter hasn’t produced much offensively, hitting .171/.232/.211 through 82 trips to the plate. As has been the case throughout his career, the bigger appeal has been in his defensive flexibility. Motter has gotten multiple starts at each of second base, third base and shortstop.
The Cards have waived him twice before. He’s gone unclaimed both times. If that’s the case yet again, he’d have the right to elect free agency. Motter would qualify for minor league free agency at the start of the offseason if he’s not on St. Louis’ major league roster in either case, so he could look to explore other opportunities a few weeks early.
Liberatore was only sidelined for a couple weeks by back tightness. The former first-round pick and top prospect is getting consistent rotation run as the Cards evaluate potential depth options for next year’s starting staff. Despite a slight velocity uptick and decent numbers in Triple-A, Liberatore has gotten hit hard in 50 MLB innings this season. He’s allowing 6.12 earned runs per nine with a well below-average 15.1% strikeout rate.
Romero has pitched his way into key innings for a St. Louis bullpen that subtracted a couple veterans at the deadline. While the 26-year-old has a solid but unspectacular 3.68 ERA over 36 2/3 frames, that run prevention mark belies excellent underlying numbers. Romero has fanned 28.6% of batters faced while generating grounders on nearly three-fifths of batted balls he allows. In the process, he has likely staked a claim to a high-leverage role in the 2024 relief corps.
As for the open spot on the 40-man roster, it could be ticketed for Rule 5 pick Wilking Rodriguez, who has missed the entire season thus far after undergoing shoulder surgery in early May. Rodriguez was given a timetable of four to six weeks to recover from that operation, and Jeff Jones of the Belleville News-Democrat reports that the Cards are hopeful of taking a look at him down the stretch in 2023. He’s currently on the 60-day injured list but is on a minor league rehab stint in Triple-A Memphis, where he’s pitched 1 2/3 innings with four strikeouts, no walks and just one unearned run allowed.
Even if Rodriguez is activated and spends the final few weeks of the season on the Major League roster, he won’t meet the requirements to shed his Rule 5 status. A player needs to spend at least 90 days on the active roster during his Rule 5 season to fulfill those requirements, so Rodriguez’s Rule 5 designation would carry over into the 2024 season until he reaches that mark. As it stands, he’s hardly a sure bet to remain on the 40-man roster throughout the offseason, but a strong showing in the final three to four weeks could go a long way in changing that perception.
NL Central Notes: Stroman, Cubs, McLain, India, Matz
The Cubs have been without right-hander Marcus Stroman for just over a month now thanks to inflammation in the 32-year-old hurler’s right hip and a subsequently-diagnosed rib cartilage fracture. Upon the reveal of Stroman’s rib injury two weeks ago, whether or not he would be able to return this season came into question as he was set to be shut down for several weeks without a clear timeline for recovery. Fortunately for fans on the north side, Stroman’s timetable seems to be coming into focus with a return this season clearly still on the table.
Manager David Ross told reporters (including Maddie Lee of the Chicago Sun Times) ahead of today’s game against the Reds that Stroman will throw a bullpen session in Arizona. That still leaves a long way for Stroman to go before he can return to a major league mound; assuming tomorrow’s bullpen goes well, he’ll need to progress to facing live hitters and then likely require at least a rehab start or two in the minor leagues before he can return to the starting rotation for the Cubs. Still, even a brief cameo from Stroman before the regular season comes to a close could be a huge boon to Chicago.
Stroman sports a 3.85 ERA and 3.58 FIP across 23 starts this year, but it’s really been a tale of two seasons for the veteran hurler: while he posted a sterling 2.28 ERA and 3.33 FIP in his first sixteen starts, his final seven starts before hitting the injured list saw him post an ugly 9.00 ERA, albeit with a less outlandish 4.39 FIP. It’s hard to say how much of that downturn in performance was related to Stroman’s current injuries, but a healthy and effective return for the right-hander would not only help the Cubs as they look to make the playoffs in a full season for the first time since 2018, but also give them another quality option to start in the playoffs alongside lefty ace Justin Steele and veteran hurler Kyle Hendricks, should they succeed in reaching the postseason.
More from around the NL Central:
- Sticking with the Cubs, Lee also relayed updates from Ross regarding a trio of potential bullpen options for Chicago down the stretch. Left-hander Brandon Hughes and righties Nick Burdi and Ben Brown are expected to pitch today with Triple-A Iowa. Hughes was a breakout reliever for the Cubs last year with a 3.12 ERA in 57 2/3 innings of work with the club last year, but struggled through 13 2/3 injury-plagued innings earlier this season before undergoing knee surgery back in June. Hughes’s return to the bullpen would surely provide a boost for Chicago as swing option Drew Smyly is the only southpaw in the club’s bullpen at the moment. Brown has not yet pitched in the majors but is one of the club’s top prospects who had long been rumored as a potential late-season bullpen option prior to an injury that kept him out of action for the entire month of August. Burdi managed just three innings with the Cubs earlier this season in his first major league work since 2020 before going on the injured list with appendicitis and ulnar nerve irritation.
- It seems the Reds will be without rookie infielder Matt McLain for a while yet, as the Cincinnati Enquirer’s Charlie Goldsmith relayed an update from manager David Bell indicating that McLain would be out with an oblique injury for two to three more weeks. Such a timeline would likely leave him out of action for most of the remaining regular season. That’s a major blow to the Reds, who have relied on McLain’s strong bat (129 wRC+) and quality glovework around the infield and sit alongside the Marlins, Diamondbacks, and Giants in the thick of the race for the final NL Wild Card spot. Fortunately, the Reds could still receive some reinforcements for their infield in the near future as second baseman Jonathan India is on track to begin a rehab assignment this week after missing the past month with plantar fasciitis.
- Cardinals manager Oli Marmol indicated to reporters (including Jeff Jones of the Belleville News-Democrat) that left-hander Steven Matz‘s season could be in jeopardy as the veteran is still “week-to-week” in his rehab from a lat strain sustained last month. Marmol noted that there is “probably not” enough time for him to return in 2023. Daniel Guerrero of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch adds that a return from Matz would likely be limited in terms of length, as Matz won’t have time to get stretched out as a starter before the season comes to a close. Matz has had an up-and-down season with the Cardinals this year but will end the season with solid overall numbers if he’s ultimately unable to return. In 25 appearances (17 starts), Matz posted a 3.86 ERA, 11% better than league average by measure of ERA+, with a 3.76 FIP in 105 innings of work.
Cardinals Claim Michael Siani From Reds
Both the Reds and Cardinals have announced that St. Louis has claimed outfielder Michael Siani off of Cincinnati’s waiver waire. Siani was designated for assignment earlier this week, as part of the 40-man roster maneuvering necessary when the Reds claimed Hunter Renfroe and Harrison Bader off waivers. The Cards also announced that Guillermo Zuniga has been moved from the 15-day injured list to the 60-day IL, thus ending Zuniga’s season.
A fourth-round pick for the Reds in the 2018 draft, Siani is a veteran of 12 big league games — nine in 2022 and three for this year’s team, with four hits over 25 total plate appearances. Siani is known for both his outstanding defense and speed, as he has stolen 155 bases in 200 total attempts in the minors while also showing excellent glovework in center field. With a .228/.344/.355 slash line over 2167 PA in the minors, offense is still a work in progress for the 24-year-old, even if his other tools project him as at least a bench option at the MLB level.
While it isn’t a surprise to see another team claim Siani away, Jeff Jones of the Belleville News-Democrat (X link) notes that it is a bit of a curious pickup for the Cardinals in particular, given that St. Louis already has several outfielders on the 40-man roster or on the cusp of the majors. Of course, a team isn’t just going to pass on a player it thinks has promise, and the Cardinals might clear some space anyway in the outfield this winter. The team is widely expected to try and trade some of its current outfield mix, likely in search of some badly needed reinforcements for the starting rotation.
Zuniga was first placed on the IL on August 25, and since he is suffering from a right forearm strain, it already looked like he probably wasn’t going to make it back before the end of the 2023 campaign. The only hope is that the 60-day IL placement isn’t a precursor to a more serious injury like UCL or elbow damage resulting in surgery, as such a procedure could potentially shelve Zuniga for just about all of the 2024 season. Zuniga made his MLB debut this season, appearing in two games for St. Louis prior to his forearm strain.
Cardinals Activate Ryan Helsley, Transfer Brendan Donovan To 60-Day IL
The Cardinals have activated right-hander Ryan Helsley from the 60-day injured list, the team announced this afternoon. In a corresponding move, utility player Brendan Donovan was transferred from the 10-day IL to the 60-day IL.
Helsley had been out with a forearm strain since mid-June, and he was transferred to the 60-day IL in late July. The former All-Star will be eased back into the bullpen, and he is not expected to supplant JoJo Romero as the Cardinals’ closer – at least not yet. According to John Denton of MLB.com, Helsley could return on a “regimented plan,” meaning he would not be available on a daily basis. However, manager Oliver Marmol said that he will still get opportunities in “leverage” spots.
The 29-year-old reliever will be eligible for his second year of salary arbitration this winter, so he will look to make a good impression over the final month of the season. He’s making $2.15MM this year.
Donovan underwent season-ending arm surgery in August, so the Cardinals could have transferred him to the 60-day IL at any point over the past month. The transfer does not change his timeline for return. As Jeff Jones of the Belleville News-Democrat reported last month, Donovan is expected to be ready ahead of spring training.
Prior to his injury, the 26-year-old was in the midst of an excellent sophomore season. In 95 games, he hit .284 with 11 home runs and a 119 wRC+, while splitting his time between all four infield positions, the outfield corners, and designated hitter.
Pat Corrales Passes Away
Former big league player, manager and coach Pat Corrales has passed away, per Bob Nightengale of USA Today. Corrales was 82 years old.
Born in Los Angeles in 1941, Patrick Corrales attended Fresno High School before signing with the Phillies as an amateur free agent in 1959. He worked his way up the minor league ladder and made his major league debut in 1964, though only got into two games that year. He would carve out a semi-regular role as a backup catcher in the seasons to come, bouncing to the Cardinals, Reds and Padres.
From 1964 to 1973, he got into 300 games and made 858 plate appearances. He had a batting average of .216 in that time, getting 166 hits, including 28 doubles, three triples and four home runs. He scored 63 runs, drove in 54 and stole one base. The 1970 Reds won the National League West and then defeated the Pirates in the NLCS to advance to the World Series, though they were then defeated by the Orioles. With the O’s up 3-1 in the series and 9-3 in the fifth game, Corrales was sent up to pinch hit for Hal McRae with two outs in the ninth. Corrales grounded out to finish the series and the season, the only postseason plate appearance of his career. (YouTube link via the Orioles.)
After his playing career ended, Corrales shifted into a managerial role, starring with the Rangers in the late ’70s before serving as skipper for Philadelphia and Cleveland. As a manager, he had a record of 572-634 over parts of nine different seasons. His last season as a manager was 1987, but he went on to spend many years as a bench coach, starting with the Yankees. He served in that role for Atlanta for nine years, including the club that won the 1995 World Series. He also served as a bench coach for the Nationals before being hired by the Dodgers as a special assistant to the general manager in 2012.
We at MLB Trade Rumors extend our condolences to his family, friends and loved ones.
NL Central Notes: Ashby, Fulmer, Senzel, Zuniga, Naile
Aaron Ashby underwent arthroscopic surgery on his left shoulder back in April, which threatened to keep the Brewers southpaw out of action for the entirety of the 2023 season. However, Ashby is set to hit an important checkpoint in his recovery, as MLB.com’s Adam McCalvy writes that Ashby will throw a live bullpen session this week, and possibly be in line to start a minor league rehab assignment next weekend. The rehab assignment is likely to be pretty lengthy given Ashby’s long layoff, though since he’ll almost certainly be brought back as a reliever, he won’t need quite as much work in rebuilding his arm strength.
Moving to a bullpen role will help Ashby’s chances of pitching before the season is over, and it potentially gives Milwaukee an intriguing relief weapon down the stretch. Ashby has worked as both a starter and reliever over his first two MLB seasons, posting a 4.47 ERA, 57.8% grounder rate, 27.1% strikeout rate, and 9.7% walk rate over 139 innings in the big leagues. The Brewers were impressed enough to lock Ashby up to a five-year contract extension last year, and while the lefty is a big part of Milwaukee’s future, the Brew Crew also hope he can contribute to their present push for the division title and some October success.
Other items from around the NL Central…
- The Reds explored trading Nick Senzel prior to the deadline but couldn’t find a deal, and thus Gordon Wittenmyer of the Cincinnati Enquirer thinks Senzel might not be tendered a contract this winter. Senzel is arbitration-eligible for a second time and wouldn’t be hugely expensive to retain (he has a $1.95MM salary in 2023), but the larger issue is that the Reds seem to have moved on from the former top prospect in favor of their new crop of standout youngsters. Injuries have plagued Senzel throughout his career, and he has hit only .236/.301/.364 over 1307 career MLB plate appearances since debuting during the 2019 season. The Reds even demoted Senzel to the minors two weeks ago before recalling him again when Joey Votto went on the IL. In regards to his future in Cincinnati, Senzel said he is just focused on trying to help the team win, and that “I’m not going to be pessimistic about any situation. I’m optimistic wherever the game takes me.”
- The Cubs placed Michael Fulmer on the 15-day IL yesterday due to a forearm strain, a particularly concerning injury for a pitcher with a lengthy history of arm problems. Manager David Ross and pitching coach Tommy Hottovy spoke with reporters (including Maddie Lee of the Chicago Sun-Times) about Fulmer’s injury, saying that he had been trying to pitch through discomfort, with the team trying to accommodate the issue with some extra rest in between bullpen outings. “It wasn’t something we were like, ‘Oh my gosh, if we pitch him, we’re in trouble.’ It was stuff we were monitoring,” Hottovy said. “It’s no different than what we do with a lot of guys. But he’s been grinding for a few weeks.” Fulmer will undergo tests on his forearm, but the hope is that some extended rest in the form of an IL stint can get him back onto the mound soon.
- Speaking of forearm injuries, the Cardinals placed right-hander Guillermo Zuniga on the 15-day IL due to a right forearm strain of his own. The placement is retroactive to August 25, and right-hander James Naile was called up from Triple-A Memphis to take Zuniga’s roster spot. Zuniga has been up and down from Memphis a few times this season, and he also spent time on the minor league IL in June. The hard-throwing righty has thrown two innings over two appearances for St. Louis, which marks the first Major League experience of Zuniga’s career.
Cardinals Select Jacob Barnes, Place Matthew Liberatore On IL
The Cardinals announced that they have selected the contract of right-hander Jacob Barnes. In a corresponding move, left-hander Matthew Liberatore lands on the 15-day injured list, retroactive to August 19, due to lower back tightness. There was already a vacancy on the 40-man roster.
Barnes, 33, has bounced around the league quite a bit, both this year and in his career overall. Things started out fairly steady, as he was drafted by the Brewers, debuted with them in 2016 and stayed until partway through the 2019 season. But from 2019 to the present, he’s become a valuable Immaculate Grid choice, suiting up in the big leagues for the Royals, Angels, Mets, Blue Jays, Tigers and Yankees.
This year, he’s yet to pitch in the majors, jumping to the Rangers, Phillies and Cardinals on minor league deals. Between those three organizations, he’s thrown 51 Triple-A innings, allowing 2.47 earned runs per nine frames. His 20.4% strikeout rate and 10% walk rate are both subpar, but he’s kept the ball on the ground more than 40% of the time at each of his three stops. In his major league career, he has a 4.70 ERA over 252 appearances but with his best results farthest in the past. He had a 3.54 ERA from 2016 to 2018 but a 5.39 mark since then.
The Cardinals made a number of subtractions from their pitching staff at the deadline, sending out Jack Flaherty, Jordan Montgomery, Chris Stratton and Jordan Hicks as part of their selloff. That’s led to some innings going to younger pitchers like Liberatore, Drew Rom and Zach Thompson, but they’ve also brought aboard some older guys like Casey Lawrence and now Barnes to supplement the staff. Barnes is out of minor league options but could be retained for 2024 via arbitration if the Cards like what they see out of him in the next few weeks.
As mentioned, Liberatore has been getting a chance to seize a job in the rotation but hasn’t quite succeeded thus far. He has a 6.06 ERA in 84 2/3 career innings to this point. The Cards are hoping to add three starters to their rotation this winter, though they could always alter those plans if they felt Liberatore or one of the other internal options took a step forward. Unfortunately, his audition will now be put on pause for at least two weeks as he deals with this back issue. The rotation now figures to consist of Rom, Thompson, Miles Mikolas, Dakota Hudson and Adam Wainwright.