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AL Injury Notes: Severino, Yankees, Eloy, Herrera, Salazar

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Yankees general manager Brian Cashman provided some updates on several of his injured players during an appearance today on The Front Office on MLB Network Radio on SiriusXM.  (You can listen to some of the audio here, while ESPN.com’s Coley Harvey has the rundown.)  Perhaps the most pressing item is the status of Luis Severino, as Cashman said that the right-hander isn’t expected to return until after the All-Star break.  Severino has yet to pitch this season, first going on the IL with rotator cuff inflammation, and then suffering a lat strain while already sidelined.  That second injury led to a six-week shutdown from throwing, putting Severino on the shelf until roughly May 20.  Since Severino missed much of Spring Training dealing with his initial shoulder problem, it appears as though the Yankees are essentially restarting the righty’s preseason prep in order to get him fully ready for the second half.

Here’s more on the Yankees and some other injury situations from around the American League…

  • Cashman said that Clint Frazier (sprained ankle) will return to the 25-man roster on Monday.  The club is “hopeful” Aaron Hicks (back) is tentatively slated for minor league rehab games this week and could be activated from the IL to make his season debut next weekend, plus Giancarlo Stanton (bicep, shoulder injuries) could start his own minor league rehab stint next weekend.  In longer-term injuries, Cashman ruled Dellin Betances out until “sometime in June,” as Betances is still recovering from a bone spur in his throwing shoulder.  Betances recently received a cortisone shot and will start throwing again on Monday, the GM said.  The news is better for Didi Gregorius (Tommy John surgery), who is set to complete his throwing program this week and may begin extended Spring Training games within the next two weeks.  For even more injured Yankees, Cashman didn’t have anything new to report on Aaron Judge, Greg Bird, or Jacoby Ellsbury.
  • Eloy Jimenez’s high ankle sprain was seemingly going to put the young slugger out of action until mid-May, though MLB.com’s Scott Merkin reports (Twitter link) that Jimenez will now travel with the White Sox for their four-game series in Cleveland beginning on Monday.  As Merkin describes things, it is a “much much better scenario….[than] it first looked upon injury.”  It seems as though Jimenez will be able to avoid a minor league rehab stint and could end up spending only the 10-day minimum on the IL, though the Sox will obviously be as cautious as possible with their top prospect.
  • In other White Sox injury news, Kelvin Herrera left today’s game due to back stiffness and is day-to-day, manager Rick Renteria told Merkin and other reporters.  Herrera may not miss any substantial amount of time, as Renteria believes “it’s going to be something very light in terms of injury.”  It’s likely the back issue contributed to Herrera’s rough outing today, as he allowed five runs in just two-third of an inning against the Red Sox.  Prior to today’s ugliness, Herrera had been off to a nice start with Chicago, with a 2.76 ERA, 8.8 K/9, and 4.00 K/BB rate in his first 16 1/3 frames of the season.
  • Danny Salazar has hit another setback, as Indians manager Terry Francona told media (including the Cleveland Plain Dealer’s Paul Hoynes) that Salazar had been shut down “a couple of days” after experiencing some soreness during a bullpen session last week.  Salazar missed all of 2018 dealing with shoulder problems that eventually required surgery, and he has yet to pitch this season as he makes his way back to full health.  Even before the shutdown, there was no timetable in place for when Salazar might yet return to the Tribe’s 25-man roster.

Jake Peavy Retires

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Right-hander Jake Peavy last pitched professionally in 2016, and though he was angling to return to the majors last summer, that attempt has come to an end. Recent reports from Peter Abraham of the Boston Globe and Scott Miller of Bleacher Report indicate the 37-year-old Peavy has decided to hang up his cleats.

Peavy spent his final two-plus seasons in San Francisco, but his peak came as the ace of NL West rival San Diego’s staff.  In a move that ranks among the wisest in franchise history, the Padres used a 15th-round pick in 1999 on Peavy, who debuted in 2002. Just two years later, he emerged as one of the majors’ premier pitchers.

During a 1,050-inning run in San Diego from 2004-09, Peavy pitched to a 3.02 ERA/3.16 FIP with 9.44 K/9 against 2.74 BB/9 and helped the Padres to their two most recent playoff berths (2005-06). He also earned a pair of All-Star nods and twice led the National League in both ERA and strikeouts in that period, during which he accumulated the majors’ fifth-highest fWAR among starters (26.4). Only luminaries Johan Santana, CC Sabathia, Roy Oswalt and Roy Halladay outdid Peavy in that category.

In the crowning personal achievement of his career, Peavy beat out Oswalt and others for the NL Cy Young Award in 2007, when he fired 223 1/3 innings of 2.54 ERA/2.84 FIP ball, amassed 240 strikeouts and led all big league pitchers in fWAR (6.7). It was the third straight season of at least 200 innings for Peavy, who exceeded that mark twice more later in his career.

Peavy was unquestionably the Padres’ most valuable player during his seven-plus years in their uniform. However, his reign in San Diego came to an end in August 2009 when the non-contenders traded him to the White Sox for Clayton Richard, Aaron Poreda, Dexter Carter and Adam Russell.

Save for Richard, who had a long but unspectacular run in San Diego, no one from that group panned out for the Padres. Meanwhile, despite Peavy’s presence, the White Sox never secured a playoff berth during his stint with the franchise. It didn’t help that Peavy often battled injuries throughout his tenure as a member of the White Sox, with whom his numbers declined. Still, he did log a respectable 4.00 ERA/3.70 FIP in 537 2/3 frames with the Pale Hose and pick up his third and final All-Star appearance with the club in 2012.

In July 2013, a year after his last truly great season, Peavy changed Sox when Chicago dealt him to Boston in a three-team, seven-player trade that also included Detroit. Peavy wasn’t any kind of rotation savior by then, but he was still a solid starter whose acquisition paid dividends for the Red Sox during their run to a World Series championship that season. However, Boston couldn’t defend its title in 2014, a season in which it nosedived in the standings and ended up dealing Peavy to the Giants for pitchers Edwin Escobar and Heath Hembree.

For the second straight season, Peavy was a midsummer acquisition for a franchise that went on to a championship. Peavy gave the 2014 Giants the vintage version of himself in terms of run prevention over 78 2/3 regular-season innings (2.17 ERA), and he helped the club to NLDS and NLCS victories. Although Peavy struggled in both of his World Series starts, a pair of losses to the Royals, the Giants nonetheless triumphed in a seven-game classic. They then brought back Peavy on a two-year, $24MM contract, which will go down as the last deal of his career. While Peavy pitched well in the first of those seasons, injuries held him to 110 2/3 innings. He was only able to manage another 118 2/3 frames in 2016, a career-worst campaign that included a demotion to the Giants’ bullpen.

Although Peavy’s time in the majors didn’t end on a high note, he enjoyed a prolific career that most pitchers would sign up for without a second thought. Along with his personal and team awards, Peavy registered a 152-126 record, 2,207 strikeouts and a 3.63 ERA/3.65 FIP in 2,377 innings en route to 44.1 fWAR/37.5 rWAR and upward of $127MM in earnings. MLBTR congratulates Peavy on an outstanding career and wishes him the best in his post-playing days.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

White Sox Select Juan Minaya, Move Jon Jay To 60-Day IL

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The White Sox have selected right-handed reliever Juan Minaya from Triple-A Charlotte and transferred outfielder Jon Jay to the 60-day injured list, James Fegan of The Athletic tweets.

Minaya has returned to Chicago’s 40-man roster less than two months after the team outrighted him to the minors. The 28-year-old has struggled to a 5.51 ERA/5.99 FIP in 16 1/3 innings in Charlotte since then, but that didn’t stop the White Sox from bringing him back to their unspectacular bullpen. White Sox relievers rank toward the bottom of the majors in strikeouts, whereas Minaya specializes in fanning opposing hitters. Minaya has struck out 12.67 hitters per nine in the minors this year, and he put up 10.28 K/9 (against 4.83 BB/9) with the White Sox from 2016-18. He also pitched to a passable 3.93 ERA/4.04 FIP during that 100 2/3-inning span.

Jay, meanwhile, still hasn’t suited up for the Sox since they signed the contact-hitting veteran to a a one-year, $4MM guarantee over the winter. The 34-year-old went on the 10-day IL on March 26 with a hip issue, and his move to the 60-day version means he won’t come back until at least late May. There’s no timetable for his return, though, per MLB.com’s Scott Merkin, who reports Jay is headed to extended spring training to rehab.

Minor MLB Transactions: 5/4/19

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Here are the latest minor transactions from around baseball:

  • The White Sox have signed left-hander Justin Nicolino to a minor league contract, according to Roster Roundup. The 27-year-old Nicolino’s back to work just a few days after the Twins released him. He opened the season with Minnesota’s top minors affiliate and struggled over 19 1/3 innings (four appearances, three starts), notching a 5.12 ERA with 6.05 K/9 and 3.72 BB/9. Major league success has largely eluded Nicolino, once a quality prospect whom Toronto selected in the second round of the 2010 draft. Since then, the strikeout-challenged Nicolino has posted a 4.65 ERA with 3.8 K/9 and 2.7 BB/9 in 201 1/3 big league innings – all of which came with the Marlins from 2015-17. He has managed somewhat better production across 432 2/3 Triple-A frames, though, with a 4.01 ERA and 5.4 K/9 against 2.3 BB/9.

AL Central Notes: Boyd, Indians, Mize, Sox, Cease

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Matthew Boyd elevated his stock considerably with a strong start to the season and a heavier reliance on four-seamers and sliders, and Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic recently took a look at whether the Tigers might be open to trading the 28-year-old lefty. While the rebuilding Detroit club likely isn’t in a position to wholly refuse offers on virtually anyone on the roster, the Tigers do have a preference if they’re to move Boyd, Rosenthal reports. Given the glut of young pitching in the upper minors, the team’s ideal trade package for Boyd would center around a controllable young hitter with substantial upside. The Tigers needn’t feel compelled to move Boyd either this summer or even in the 2019-20 offseason, as he’s still controlled for another three seasons, but his improvements thus far appear more legitimate than many early-season, small-sample success stories. It’s easy to imagine that he’s already more appealing to other clubs than he was a month ago, and even if the Tigers ultimately hang onto him, Boyd will surely be one of the most sought-after arms in the game this summer if he maintains his early output.

Here’s more from the American League Central…

  • Right-hander Casey Mize, the No. 1 overall pick in last year’s draft, tossed a no-hitter in his Double-A debut following a midweek promotion, but the Tigers aren’t planning to accelerate his timeline to the Major Leagues based on that dominant effort, per Chris McCosky of the Detroit News. “[General manager Al Avila] has told me, ’Don’t even look at them,'” manager Ron Gardenhire tells McCosky of Mize and fellow top pitching prospects Matt Manning and Alex Faedo. “So, I am happy they’re doing well, but they are not in my thoughts.” Both Avila and assistant GM David Chadd were present to watch Mize’s one-walk, no-hitter live and will watch Faedo an Manning this week as well. However, McCosky notes that the pair isn’t getting live looks at those young arms with an eye toward a near-term promotion. Faedo has just 89 innings above A-ball, while Manning has just 39 1/3.
  • The Indians left themselves little margin for error this past offseason and are now paying the price, writes Zack Meisel of The Athletic (subscription required). Cleveland pinned its hopes on a dominant rotation but is already down Mike Clevinger and Corey Kluber. While the former is ahead of schedule in his recovery from a teres major strain, he can’t be activated until June 7 given his placement on the 60-day injured list, and there’s no timeline yet for the latter. As far as in-house alternatives, Adam Plutko is still working his way back from a forearm issue, leaving Jefry Rodriguez as the de facto fourth starter and a collection of question marks behind him in the fifth slot. Chih-Wei Hu and non-roster journeyman Asher Wojciechowski are perhaps the likeliest fifth options for an Indians club that currently faces a three-game deficit in the division.
  • Although Tommy John surgery is “on the table” as an option for injured White Sox left-hander Carlos Rodon, his health won’t impact top prospect Dylan Cease’s timeline to the big leagues, general manager Rick Hahn told reporters Thursday (link via LaMond Pope of the Chicago Tribune). “[N]o one is going to be promoted to Chicago simply because there’s a need in Chicago,” said Hahn, stressing that Cease or any other prospect will only be promoted when the player’s development dictates a promotion. “(Cease’s) timeline is not in any way affected by anything that happens with Carlos. It’s only going to be affected by what happens with (Cease).” The 23-year-old Cease, who entered the year as a consensus Top 50 prospect in the game, has done a good job making an early case for a big league debut. Through 24 1/3 innings at Triple-A, he’s pitched to a 3.33 ERA with a 30-to-7 K/BB ratio and a 55.1 percent ground-ball rate.

White Sox Place Carlos Rodon On 10-Day IL

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The White Sox announced today that southpaw Carlos Rodon has been placed on the 10-day injured list. He’ll be replaced by righty Lucas Giolito, who was activated to take the ball this evening. Dylan Covey will ultimately move into the rotation to take Rodon’s place for whatever duration he’s sidelined.

Rodon is dealing with an “edema in the flexor mass,” James Fegan of The Athletic was among those to report (via Twitter). That initial diagnosis doesn’t provide a clear picture of Rodon’s outlook, but it seems as if there’s some reason for worry here. “Everything is on the table,” GM Rick Hahn told reporters including Daryl Van Schouwen of the Chicago Sun-Times (Twitter link) when asked about the possibility of Tommy John surgery.

Rodon had been off to an interesting, albeit uneven opening to the season. He’s averaging 11.9 strikeouts per nine innings, nearly twice the rate he managed last year. Rodon is carrying a personal-best 12.1% swinging-strike rate despite losing a full mile per hour on his average fastball. Going to his four-seamer instead of his sinker may be helping generate whiffs, though Rodon has seen year-over-year rises in hard contact and batting average on balls in play.

Despite solid marks from ERA estimators (3.52 FIP, 3.89 xFIP, and 3.92 SIERA), the 26-year-old southpaw carries a 5.19 ERA through 34 2/3 innings this year. Unfortunately, it sounds as if he may need some time off before he can work on bringing his earned run average down.

Over five seasons in the majors, Rodon has contributed 529 innings of 4.08 ERA pitching. That’s not quite the level of consistent, high-end output that was hoped for when he was taken with the third overall pick of the 2014 draft. There’s still time for him to get past the health problems and chase his ceiling, but the end of his initial team control is now in sight. Rodon is earning $4.2MM this year in his second of four seasons of arbitration eligibility.

This represents the latest hit to a White Sox rotation that has been in disarray early on. Rodon and Giolito have led the staff with their 5+ earned per nine; the other three hurlers with three or more starts have earned run averages of six or more. The team already ditched Ervin Santana. While the first two outings for Manny Banuelos have gone well, it’s a limited sample and rather a thin silver lining.

Covey will get another shot at proving himself in the majors after failing to do so in 191 2/3 innings over the past two seasons. He may ultimately be joined by top pitching prospect Dylan Cease, who’s off to a nice opening at Triple-A, but a promotion still doesn’t seem to be imminent. Hahn suggested to reporters that he may end up looking for outside arms to help fill things out.

White Sox Select Contract Of Evan Marshall

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The White Sox have selected the contract of right-hander Evan Marshall, per a club announcement. Reliever Thyago Vieira was optioned down to create roster space.

Marshall, 29, is still looking to recapture the success he had in his debut season of 2014. He has appeared in each of the ensuing four campaigns, but since that time has managed only a 7.89 ERA with 6.0 K/9 and 4.6 BB/9 in 43 1/3 frames.

There certainly is some promise in Marshall’s initial showing this year at Triple-A. He has yet to permit a run in ten frames while carrying a 13:1 K/BB ratio.

Ervin Santana Elects Free Agency

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April 29: Santana has elected free agency, per an announcement from the White Sox. Daryl Van Schouwen tweets that the decision relievers the ChiSox from any further financial obligations regarding Santana, which seems to suggest that the veteran righty agreed to a 45-day advance consent clause as part of his contract.

Players with more than five years of service time earn the right to retain their salary even after being released or rejecting an outright assignment in favor of free agency. The 45-day advance consent clause, however, gives teams the option of cutting loose a veteran with six-plus years at any point within the season’s first 45 days (barring an injury) without being on the hook for the remainder of his salary. (Trade Rumors’ Zach Links examined 45-day advance consent clauses in depth a few years ago.)

April 26: The White Sox announced this morning that they’ve designated veteran right-hander Ervin Santana for assignment. His spot on the active roster will go to Eloy Jimenez, who has been reinstated from the bereavement list.

Santana’s stay with the Sox proved to be brief, as he made only three starts before the team shifted course today. The 36-year-old righty pitched just 13 1/3 innings for the Pale Hose, allowing 14 runs on 19 hits and six walks with only five strikeouts.

Chicago inked Santana to a minor league contract with a rather hefty $4.3MM guarantee at the MLB level in hopes that he could bounce back from an injury-ruined 2018 season. Santana underwent surgery to repair a tendon in his pitching hand in February of 2018, and lingering effects from that procedure limited him to just 24 2/3 ineffective innings with the Twins. Following that injury shortened campaign, Minnesota declined a $14MM option on the righty.

Prior to that injury, however, Santana was not only durable for the Twins but quietly one of the league’s more effective starters. Santana turned in 392 2/3 innings of 3.32 ERA ball with 7.2 K/9 against 2.6 BB/9 for the Twins from 2016-17. The 2017 campaign saw Santana toss five complete games — a rare feat in this era of baseball — including three shutouts. From 2010-17, Santana avoided any absences due to injury and averaged 30 starts and 192 innings per season (despite an 80-game PED suspension at the onset of the 2015 season).

It’s now uncertain whether Santana can reestablish himself as a viable rotation piece at the big league level, although given his track record and the sheer number of teams that could use rotation reinforcements, one would imagine that he’ll get the opportunity to do so. He’ll first have to clear release waivers — it’s unlikely that the Sox find a trade partner for the righty — but once he does, he can sign with any club on either a minor league contract or an MLB deal worth the prorated league minimum.

As for the Sox, they’ll look to internal options to help right the ship in what has been an awful rotation to begin the year. While Carlos Rodon has performed well through the season’s first month, each of Lucas Giolito, Reynaldo Lopez, Ivan Nova and Santana have pitched poorly. Dylan Covey, Jordan Stephens and top prospect Dylan Cease are all looming in Triple-A as potential options, or the team could simply plug Manny Banuelos into the fifth spot in the rotation moving forward. Some type of spot starter will likely need to be recalled in the coming days, however, as Giolito is on the shelf with a hamstring injury at the moment.

White Sox Place Eloy Jimenez, Nate Jones On IL

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The White Sox announced that they have placed outfielder Eloy Jimenez (high right ankle sprain) and reliever Nate Jones (right elbow inflammation) on the 10-day injured list, retroactive to Saturday in both cases. The club recalled left-hander Aaron Bummer and righty Thyago Vieira in corresponding moves.

There’s no timetable for the return of Jimenez, whom the White Sox will re-evaluate in two weeks, Bruce Levine of 670 The Score tweets. They’re left to hope the 22-year-old makes it back in relatively short order thereafter, and Jimenez seems optimistic that will be the case.

“Yeah, it feels much better,” he said Sunday (via Scott Merkin of MLB.com). “The first day, I couldn’t even walk. Now, I feel better. I can walk better. There’s no pain a lot now, just a little bit.”

Jimenez is one of the keys to Chicago’s rebuild, someone the team signed to a six-year, $43MM guarantee before he ever set foot on a major league diamond. And though Jimenez has gotten off to a slow start as a rookie, having hit .241/.294/.380 with three home runs in 85 plate appearances, that subpar production shouldn’t dampen the enthusiasm about his long-term outlook.

Jones’ latest ailment is troubling considering the laundry list of injuries, including to his pitching arm, he has battled during his career. Now 33, Jones has been among the game’s finest relievers at times, though this season has been another story. While Jones owns a 3.48 ERA and a 51.7 percent groundball rate in 10 1/3 innings, he has accompanied those respectable figures with a dip in velocity and declining strikeout, walk and swinging-strike rates (8.71 K/9, 6.1 BB/9, 9.1 percent).

AL Injury Notes: Andujar, Eloy, Rangers, Jays, Royals

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The Yankees will open a seven-game homestand May 3, at which point injured third baseman Miguel Andujar could rejoin their lineup, manager Aaron Boone said Friday (via George A. King III of the New York Post). Whether that happens will depend on how Andujar fares in extended spring training and minor league rehab games over the next several days. For now, though, Boone is “cautiously optimistic” about Andujar’s torn right labrum, which looked like a potential season-ending injury when he went on the IL on April 1.  The 24-year-old is one of a whopping 15 Yankees who have landed on the injured list this season, but the reserve-laden club has weathered the storm with a 15-11 start. Third base subs DJ LeMahieu and Gio Urshela have performed well along the way, helping to ease the burden of Andujar’s absence.

  • White Sox left fielder Eloy Jimenez exited Friday’s game with a right ankle sprain and was wearing a walking boot afterward, per James Fegan of The Athletic (subscription required). X-rays on Jimenez’s ankle came back negative, but he’ll undergo an MRI on Saturday. An IL stint seems like a distinct possibility for the 22-year-old phenom, who’s just 85 plate appearances into his career.
  • Rangers lefty Taylor Hearn endured a rough debut start. Now, he’s headed to the 10-day IL with elbow tightness. That’s not how the club drew things up when it called upon one of its most promising young pitchers to join the MLB roster. Hearn’s outlook isn’t yet known. That was just one of several moves, as fellow hurler Jeffrey Springs and infielder Patrick Wisdom were optioned out. Second bagger Rouned Odor was activated from the IL while pitchers Ariel Jurado and Wei-Chieh Huang were called up to provide some fresh arms.
  • Standout Blue Jays infield prospect Bo Bichette is down with a broken left hand, but general manager Ross Atkins said Friday he won’t require surgery, as Scott Mitchell of TSN tweets. The Jays expect a four- to six-week recovery time for the 21-year-old Bichette, who’s regarded as one of the game’s premier prospects.
  • The Royals have placed first baseman Lucas Duda on the 10-day IL, retroactive to April 24, and recalled third baseman Kelvin Gutierrez from Triple-A Omaha, according to Pete Grathoff and Sam McDowell of the Kansas City Star. Duda’s dealing with a lumbar strain, which continues a rough start to the season for the 33-year-old. The free-agent pickup has hit a miserable .174/.304/.326 in 56 trips to the plate. Meanwhile, Gutierrez batted an impressive .333/.443/.439 in 79 PA prior to his promotion, and he’s now in line for his first major league action. The Royals acquired Gutierrez, 24, from the Nationals last June as part of a deal centering on reliever Kelvin Herrera. Gutierrez currently ranks as KC’s 14th-best prospect at MLB.com.
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