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Yonny Chirinos Undergoes Tommy John Surgery

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AUG. 25: Chirinos underwent successful surgery Tuesday, Juan Toribio of MLB.com tweets.

AUG. 21, 2:22pm: Rays skipper Kevin Cash confirmed to reporters that Chirinos will require Tommy John surgery and likely miss all of the 2021 season as well (Twitter links via Topkin).

1:10pm: Rays right-hander Yonny Chirinos landed on the IL this week due to an elbow strain, and Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times now reports (via Twitter) that the right-hander’s injury is not only a season-ender but will likely require Tommy John surgery. It’s a tough blow to the same first-place Rays pitching staff that just lost Brendan McKay to shoulder surgery and has been without Charlie Morton for two weeks due to shoulder inflammation. Longtime top prospect Brent Honeywell recently underwent another surgery as well.

Chirinos has quietly emerged as an important contributor for the Rays in recent seasons, pitching to a combined 3.65 ERA with 7.6 K/9, 2.2 BB/9, 1.23 HR/9 and a 42.8 percent ground-ball rate. That showing was expected to cement him as a member of the Rays’ starting rotation in 2020, but he’s been limited to 11 1/3 innings by a pair of IL placements due to elbow troubles.

Given the timing of the injury, it’s quite possible that Chirinos will miss the entirety of the 2021 season as well. Tommy John surgery typically requires a minimum of 12 months to recover — quite often closer to 14 months. Perhaps with a speedy recovery, he’ll emerge as a bullpen option for the Rays late next year, but getting any contribution from him at all in ’21 would be a bonus and should not be considered a given.

Fortunately for the Rays, they have their typical brand of enviable starting pitching depth from which they can draw. Blake Snell, Tyler Glasnow, Ryan Yarbrough and Trevor Richards are currently making starts with Chirinos, Morton and McKay on the shelf, the the team has several other potential options to which they can turn. Former top prospect Anthony Banda is back from his own Tommy John procedure and working in long relief at the moment. Either he or fellow southpaw Jalen Beeks could conceivably be stretched out to help patch things over. At the alternate training site, well-regarded prospects Shane Baz and Shane McClanahan loom as options as well.

Of course, with the Rays in first place and the Aug. 31 trade deadline looming, the possibility off augmenting the staff with someone not currently in the organization can’t be ruled out. The Rays are considered to have the best minor league system in baseball, so they should have no trouble putting together an alluring package for any of the names that figure to be available. Speculatively speaking, that list could include the likes of Lance Lynn, Dylan Bundy, Taijuan Walker and Kevin Gausman, among numerous others.

Trade Deadline Notes: Royals, Moore, Rays, BoSox, Angels, Eppler, Orioles

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Trevor Rosenthal and other Royals relievers are already drawing interest from trade suitors, though GM Dayton Moore hasn’t ruled out being a deadline buyer.  “We wouldn’t hesitate to add to this team,” Moore told Lynn Worthy of the Kansas City Star.  “This team is talented enough to be one of eight teams representing the American League in the playoffs….So I’m not even beginning to think about dismantling or moving players that help us win at this point.  I believe that this group of players is extremely talented and very much capable of being a playoff team.”

The Royals are last in the AL Central with an 11-18 record, and they sit four games back of the Blue Jays for the last AL wild card slot.  While they’d have to leapfrog a lot of teams to cross the postseason line, even one brief winning streak could greatly improve Kansas City’s chances in the shortened season.  As Worthy notes, the Royals haven’t yet had their entire ideal roster together at one time, as multiple key players have been sidelined due to injuries and COVID-19.  It doesn’t seem likely that K.C. will make any kind of big deadline push, though those expecting a mini-fire sale might also be disappointed.

More trade buzz from around the league…

  • There is no doubt that the Rays are planning on being deadline buyers, as ESPN.com’s Buster Olney tweets that “other teams say the Rays are being very aggressive in” trade talks.  It stands to reason that Tampa Bay is targeting pitching given all of their injured arms, though it wouldn’t be surprising to see the Rays swing some creative deals to address multiple needs.  In July 2019, for instance, Tampa landed Nick Anderson, Trevor Richards, Eric Sogard, and Jesus Aguilar in separate deals with the Marlins, Blue Jays, and Brewers respectively, while five other lower-level trades were also consummated.
  • The Red Sox are willing to include some money to accommodate trades, Sean McAdam of the Boston Sports Journal writes (subscription required).  We’ve already seen the Sox kick in $815K to the Phillies as part of the Brandon Workman/Heath Hembree trade last weekend, and McAdam speculates that Boston could potentially eat larger sums for higher-paid players like J.D. Martinez, Nathan Eovaldi, or Christian Vazquez in order to land a better prospect return.
  • Though the Angels’ 9-21 record is the worst in the American League, their approach at the trade deadline could be impacted by front office uncertainty, the New York Post’s Joel Sherman said in an appearance on the MLB Network (video link).  “There is probably not a general manager on thinner ice…right now than Billy Eppler,” Sherman notes, as the Halos are looking at their fifth straight losing season in Eppler’s five-year tenure.  Since Eppler’s contract is up after the season, Sherman wonders if the GM would have the green light to trade anything beyond rental players.  Dylan Bundy and Andrew Heaney, for instance, would draw a lot of trade interest if shopped, though both pitchers are also arbitration-controlled through 2021 and the Angels plan to contend next season.
  • The Orioles have a .500 record and are in the mix for a playoff berth, though both The Athletic’s Dan Connolly and the Baltimore Sun’s Jon Meoli figure that the team isn’t likely to make any splashy rental acquisitions.  As Connolly puts it, “general manager Mike Elias is focused on his big-picture plan and he’s not going to alter that for the immediate gratification of a seventh or eighth seed in a short season.”  Meoli, meanwhile, wonders if the O’s will be particularly active either as a buyer or seller at the deadline, noting that Elias didn’t swing many significant deals at the 2019 trade deadline and instead waited until the offseason to move the likes of Bundy and Jonathan Villar.  Between many teams’ uncertain financial situations and the lack of many defined buyers or sellers, there might even more reason this year for the Orioles to hold off until the winter.

Giants Acquire Daniel Robertson, Designate Hunter Pence

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The Giants have acquired infielder Daniel Robertson from the Rays in exchange for cash considerations or a player to be named later, reports Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times (Twitter link). Robertson has been assigned to the Giants’ alternate training site. To clear 40-man roster space, outfielder Hunter Pence has been designated for assignment, reports Kerry Crowley of the Bay Area News Group (via Twitter).

Robertson was designated for assignment himself earlier this week. The 26-year-old looked like a solid rotational piece back in 2018, when he hit .262/.382/.415 (128 wRC+) in 340 plate appearances while playing all across the infield. Unfortunately, Robertson’s power completely disappeared last season, as he stumbled to .213/.312/.295 line (71 wRC+) in 237 plate appearances. Still, as a versatile, optionable 26-year-old one year removed from a quality offensive season, it’s easy to see the appeal for San Francisco. Indeed, that the Giants affirmatively swung a trade suggests the front office feared he’d get claimed had they tried to wait out the waiver wire.

The Robertson acquisition marks the end of Pence’s second stint with S.F. Thanks at least partially to swing adjustments he made in the 2018-19 offseason, Pence made a remarkable return to form with the Rangers. He hit .297/.358/.552 (128 wRC+) in Texas last season, earning an improbable All-Star bid. That set the stage for the fan favorite to return to San Francisco, where he shined for the better part of eight seasons.

Unfortunately, the 37-year-old has gotten off to a terrible start this year. He’s hitting just .096/.161/.250 with two home runs through 56 plate appearances. That likely wiped out any hope the rebuilding Giants would’ve had of flipping him to a contender before the August 31 deadline.

Assuming he’s amenable, it wouldn’t be surprising to see Pence latch on with a minor-league deal elsewhere if he’s eventually released. There’d be little harm in bringing the amiable veteran to an alternate training site to see if he can recapture his 2019 form at the dish.

Rays Place Nick Anderson On Injured List With Forearm Inflammation

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10:48 am: Both Anderson and manager Kevin Cash downplayed the severity of the injury this morning (via Topkin). The hurler says he’s 99.0% certain it isn’t major, while Cash said initial evaluations were “very encouraging,” so the club doesn’t anticipate a long-term absence.

9:45 am: Elite Rays reliever Nick Anderson is headed to the 10-day injured list with inflammation in his right (throwing) forearm, per Juan Toribio of MLB.com (Twitter link). Fellow reliever Edgar García, acquired this week from the Phillies, has been recalled to replace Anderson on the active roster, adds Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times (via Twitter). Anderson’s IL placement is retroactive to August 20.

The late-blooming Anderson may not be a household name, but he’s emerged as one of the sport’s top late-inning arms over the past two years. As a 29-year-old rookie, he shined with the Marlins, prompting the Rays to send top prospect Jesús Sánchez and reliever Ryne Stanek to Miami for Anderson and right-hander Trevor Richards. Since the trade, he’s doubled down on that initial success.

Now 30, Anderson is off to one of the best starts to this season among relievers. In 9.1 scoreless innings across eleven games, he’s struck out fifteen against just one walk. That lowered his career ERA to 2.91 in 74.1 innings, with a sparkling 2.09 FIP backing up that stout run prevention.

Needless to say, an extended absence for their top reliever would be a big blow to a Rays’ staff that just lost starting pitcher Yonny Chirinos to Tommy John surgery. Forearm injuries can sometimes portend elbow surgery for pitchers, but there’s no indication a surgical procedure is under consideration in Anderson’s case. Tampa has not provided a timetable for his return.

Rays Select Josh Fleming, Designate Sean Gilmartin

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AUGUST 23: The Rays have selected Fleming’s contract, putting him in line to start today’s game against the Blue Jays, per Juan Toribio of MLB.com (Twitter link). Tampa designated left-hander Sean Gilmartin for assignment to clear space on the 40-man roster.

AUGUST 21: The Rays will select the contract of lefty Josh Fleming from their alternate training site this weekend, manager Kevin Cash announced to reporters (Twitter link via Rays pregame/postgame host Neil Solondz). He’ll start Sunday’s game for Tampa Bay. A Saturday starter hasn’t been named, but Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times tweets that Charlie Morton won’t return this weekend.

Fleming will step into the void left by the injury to Yonny Chirinos, who’ll be out until the 2022 season due to a UCL tear that requires Tommy John surgery. The Rays will need to open a 40-man spot for Fleming, but that can be achieved by placing Chirinos on the 45-day injured list.

The 24-year-old Fleming was a rare draftee from a Division-III program — a fifth-round pick by the Rays out of Webster University in St. Louis back in 2017. He’s cruised through the minors, pitching to a combined 3.40 ERA with 6.6 K/9, 1.6 BB/9 and a ground-ball rate north of 50 percent. He’s not considered to be among the organization’s top prospects, although that’s in part a testament to the deep and excellent farm that has been put together by the Tampa Bay front office. MLB.com lists Fleming 29th among Rays farmhands, calling him a potential back-end starter with an above-average slider, plus command but some struggles against righties. FanGraphs’ Eric Longenhagen pegs Fleming as a future big league reliever.

Rays’ Brendan McKay Undergoes Shoulder Surgery

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AUG. 20: McKay underwent surgery to repair a labrum issue, tweets Topkin, who adds it’s “doubtful” he’ll be ready for the start of next spring.

AUG. 18: Rays southpaw Brendan McKay will undergo left shoulder surgery on Wednesday and miss the rest of the 2020 season, the Tampa Bay Times’ Marc Topkin reports (via Twitter).  A clear recovery timeline isn’t yet known, though the Rays hope McKay can be ready for the start of Spring Training.

McKay was shut down last week, after already being set back this season by a positive COVID-19 test that sidelined him for virtually all of the Rays’ Summer Camp.  It amounts to a lost year for the fourth overall pick of the 2017 draft, and potentially a very costly one development-wise given McKay’s rather unique status as a two-way player.

The Rays planned to only use McKay as a pitcher this season, though he was an accomplished hitter at the University Of Louisville and showed some promise (.239/.346/.493) during 78 plate appearances at the Triple-A level in 2019.  McKay also already has a big league home run on his resume, as part of an 11-PA cameo with the Rays last season.

It remains to be seen if this shoulder surgery will change the equation on whether or not “Two-Way McKay” will continue to explore both pitching and hitting.  A very impressive 1.78 ERA, 6.11 K/BB rate, and 11.8 K/9 over 172 minor league innings would seem to hint that McKay’s ultimate future could be on the mound, though there isn’t any harm in continuing to explore McKay’s potential at the plate.

On the mound last season, McKay tossed 49 innings and posted a 5.14 ERA, a number somewhat inflated by a 1.5 HR/9, as his other peripherals (3.50 K/BB rate, 10.3 K/9) were solid.  The Rays even included McKay on their postseason roster, and he delivered 1 1/3 scoreless innings over three appearances against the Astros in last year’s AL Division Series.

Rays Place Yonny Chirinos On Injured List

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The Rays have placed right-hander Yonny Chirinos on the injured list with strain in his pitching elbow, per Juan Toribio of MLB.com. The team recalled righty Aaron Slegers from its taxi squad to take Chirinos’ place.

It’s always troubling when a pitcher goes down with an arm injury, especially considering Chirinos just came from an IL stint by a triceps issue. Chirinos spent the minimum amount of time on the shelf then, but it’s unclear how long he’ll need to return from this injury.

Chirinos was a productive swingman for the Rays from 2018-19, a 44-appearance, 25-start span in which he combined for a 3.71 ERA/4.07 FIP with 7.63 K/9 and 2.14 BB/9 in 223 innings. He has only been able to throw 11 frames in three starts this year, but the bottom-line production (2.38 ERA, 7.94 K/9 and 3.18 BB/9) has been palatable again.

Including Chirinos, the Rays – known for thinking outside the box – have already used eight different pitchers to start games this season. The 15-9 club could get one of its “traditional” starters, the injured Charlie Morton, back this weekend.

Health Notes: Francona, Rays, Hamels, Phils, Grandal

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Indians manager Terry Francona will miss their series against the Pirates to undergo surgery for gastrointestinal problems, Paul Hoynes of cleveland.com relays. Bench coach Sandy Alomar is managing the team during Francona’s absence. This is the second procedure Francona has undergone in the past month to address the issue. MLBTR wishes him a speedy recovery and hopes to see him back in the Cleveland dugout as quickly as possible.

  • Injured Rays right-hander Charlie Morton came out of an “intense bullpen session” unscathed, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times writes. It’s possible Morton will return this weekend after heading to the injured list Aug. 10 with shoulder inflammation. That continued a disappointing opening to the season for Morton, who struggled through his first four starts. Meanwhile, reliever Oliver Drake will begin a throwing program as he works back from the right biceps tendinitis that forced him to the IL on Aug. 9. However, there’s no word on a potential return date.
  • Braves manager Brian Snitker stated Tuesday that left-hander Cole Hamels is still “a little ways” from throwing off a mound, Mark Bowman of MLB.com tweets. The Braves remain hopeful Hamels will pitch this year, but time’s obviously of the essence with the regular season due to end in late September. Hamels was a headline-grabbing offseason signing for the Braves, but the triceps injury he has dealt with may stop the pending free agent from ever pitching for them.
  • Phillies center fielder Roman Quinn received clearance to come off the COVID-19 injured list Tuesday, Scott Lauber of the Philadelphia Inquirer was among those to report. Quinn went to the IL this past weekend after experiencing mild symptoms, though he didn’t test positive for the virus then. His latest test came back negative, enabling him to rejoin the team.
  • The White Sox are hopeful that catcher Yasmani Grandal will return “by the end of the week,” according to manager Rick Renteria (via Daryl Van Schouwen of the Chicago Sun-Times). Grandal exited the team’s game Monday with a stiff back.

Minor MLB Transactions: 8/18/20

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The latest minor moves from around baseball…

  • The Cardinals announced before Tuesday’s game that they selected right-hander Jesus Cruz and optioned lefty Rob Kaminsky to their alternate training site. Kaminsky will remain on the Cardinals’ taxi squad. The 25-year-old Cruz is in his fourth season with the Cardinals organization. He has generally produced very good numbers at the lower levels of the minors, but his first stint with Triple-A Memphis last season did not go well. Cruz wound up with a 6.24 ERA and a 6.4 BB/9 in 57 2/3 innings, though he did punch out 12.33 hitters per nine.

Earlier:

  • The Rays have signed Dietrich Enns to a minor league contract, as announced yesterday by Enns’ independent league team in Joliet, Illinois.  Enns will report to Tampa Bay’s alternate training site and MLB.com’s Juan Toribio (Twitter link) adds that Enns has been added to the Rays’ 60-man player pool.  Originally a 19th-round pick for the Yankees in the 2012 draft, Enns compiled a 3.40 ERA, 2.48 K/BB rate, and 8.3 K/9 over 667 1/3 career minor league innings with the Yankees, Twins, and Padres.  His lone bit of MLB experience came in 2017, when Enns tossed four innings over two games with Minnesota.  Enns has mostly worked as a starter during his career and it isn’t out of the question that the Rays could deploy him in that role given how creative the club is with its pitching options, though it probably seems more likely that Enns will work as a reliever should he crack the big league roster.

Rays Place Jose Alvarado On 10-Day Injured List

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AUG. 18: Alvarado visited a doctor in New York on Monday, and the Rays will shut him down from throwing for 10 to 14 days, manager Kevin Cash announced (Twitter links via Juan Toribio of MLB.com and Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times). Alvarado appears to have a lat strain, per Cash.

AUG. 15: The Rays have placed southpaw Jose Alvarado on the 10-day injured list due to shoulder inflammation.  Right-hander Aaron Slegers was called up to take Alvarado’s place in Tampa’s bullpen.

Alvarado has a 6.00 ERA over nine innings for the Rays this season, with much of that damage stemming from a tough outing (four earned runs in two-thirds of an inning) last night against the Blue Jays.  Alvarado also recorded two walks and two strikeouts during that brief appearance, upping his season numbers to a 6.0 BB/9 and a 13.0 K/9.

A return to the IL is troublesome for Alvarado considering he already missed quite a bit of time during the 2019 season.  Alvarado was limited to 30 innings pitched due to an oblique injury, elbow soreness, and also attending to a family medical situation for almost a month.  It’s fair to say these issues contributed to Alvarado’s career-high 4.80 ERA in 2019, as he has previously delivered much better results during the 2017-18 campaigns — a 2.79 ERA over 93 2/3 frames out of the Rays’ pen, with a 10.5 K/9, and 2.87 K/BB rate.

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