Dodgers Injury Notes: Cingrani, Turner, Barnes
- Dodgers left-handed reliever Tony Cingrani, who has yet to play this season, will likely see his season come to an end, per The Athletic’s Pedro Moura. Cingrani will undergo arthroscopic surgery on his left shoulder, which “probably” marks the end of his season, manager Dave Roberts told Moura. Currently on the 10-day injured list with shoulder soreness, Cingrani suffered a setback during his rehab assignment that required the club to shut down the 29-year-old. After undergoing an MRI, it’s been determined that the injury will require surgery, a disappointing and frustrating development for both Cingrani and the Dodgers, who acquired the southpaw from the Reds at the 2017 trade deadline. He has thus far been able to pitch in just 52 games for the Dodgers, and with Cingrani eligible for free agency at season’s end, he may have already appeared in his last game in Los Angeles.
- Third baseman Justin Turner will return to the starting lineup for Monday’s game against the Diamondbacks, tweets J.P. Hoornstra of the Southern California Media Group. His absence from Sunday’s game marks the fourth consecutive game that Turner is out of the lineup thanks to right hamstring tightness, and Jorge Castillo of the Los Angeles Times reports that Turner’s injury is “a little more severe” than anticipated, but evidently the 34-year-old is healthy enough to play in tomorrow’s series opener in Phoenix.
- Catcher Austin Barnes, who recently landed on the injured list with a groin strain, is on track to return in time for Friday’s series opener against the Giants, tweets Castillo, who adds that Barnes is slated to make a pair of rehab appearances for the Dodgers’ Class A-Advanced affiliate before coming off the injured list late this week. Barnes has posted a solid .738 OPS in 40 games for the Dodgers this year, working in tandem with Russell Martin to form a serviceable catching combination for a first-place team.
Injury Notes: Zimmermann, Eovaldi, Pollock
Let’s check in on the rehab status of a few players around the league…
- Jordan Zimmermann threw a simulated game on Friday as he works his way back from a UCL sprain. He has another bullpen session on Sunday, followed by a rehab start with High-A Lakeland on Wednesday, per Chris McCosky of The Detroit News. The Tigers are likely disillusioned of any notions for contention in 2019, but getting Zimmermann back in action could still provide dividends, either as a veteran influence in a young locker room, as an innings eater in the rotation, or the best case scenario, as trade bait. Zimmermann is owed $25MM next season, but that’s likely a sunk cost even if they could drum up some interest in the veteran righty. Given the 5.29 ERA that marks Zimmermann’s Detroit tenure, there may not be a “return to form” for the 33-year-old, but if there’s anything to spark hope in a Zimmermann revival, it would be good health.
- The Red Sox Nathan Eovaldi is on a similar timetable after pitching a simulated game this Friday, per The Boston Globe’s Peter Abraham. He could be back in the Red Sox rotation by mid-June. The Red Sox are not considering a move to the bullpen at this stage for Eovaldi, whom they view as a starter, despite a 6.00 ERA in his first four starts to start the year. Of course, much of the Red Sox roster started slowly, and there’s no reason to think Eovaldi won’t be able to return to form. For his part, Eovaldi wants and expects to be a starter.
- A.J. Pollock continues to work his way back from an infection in his elbow. Pollock eventually needed surgery on his right elbow to remove a plate and screws from a previous surgery. With injury troubles hounding Pollock at nearly every turn, there’s not much positivity to glean here. The stitches are out of his right elbow, however, allowing him to increase the range of exercises, per Bill Plunkett of the Orange County Register. A catheter remains in his left arm, completing a six-week course of antibiotics on June 12th. These are positive signs for Pollock, but there’s still no timetable for his return. The Dodgers have a firm hold on the NL West, so there’s no rush to return Pollock to action until he is 100% ready – depth was one of the things that pointed to a match between Pollock and the Dodgers in the first place. If Pollock can get healthy and up to speed by the playoffs, both sides should be pleased with the union, despite the rough start for their free agent prize, owner of a .223/.287/.330 slash line in 2019.
Poll: Hyun-Jin Ryu’s Next Contract
Left-hander Hyun-Jin Ryu could have shopped his services to all 30 major league teams last offseason, but the career-long Dodger opted against going to the open market. Instead, Ryu accepted a $17.9MM qualifying offer to stay in Los Angeles, in part because of a long list of injury troubles that could have hampered his earning power. Dating back to 2013, the Korean-born Ryu’s first season in the majors, he has missed significant time because of arm problems (including shoulder and elbow surgeries) as well as foot and groin issues. The latter forced Ryu to the 10-day IL earlier this season, but he got off to a strong start before then and has come back far better since returning April 20.
After throwing just 82 1/3 innings last season, Ryu has already amassed 73 frames through the first two months of 2019. Ryu shut out the Mets over 7 2/3 innings on Thursday to finish May with an incredible four scoreless starts in six tries. Across 45 2/3 innings this month, Ryu pitched to a near-spotless 0.59 ERA with 36 strikeouts against a meager three walks. He now owns easily the majors’ leading ERA (1.48) and walk rate (0.62 per nine, with 8.51 K/9). His success in the run prevention and walk categories doesn’t look like a fluke either. Ryu, after all, put up a 1.97 ERA with 1.64 BB/9 (against 9.73 K/9) during his injury-shortened 2018.
Even if Ryu isn’t quite as great as his ERA indicates, his 2.78 FIP over the past season-plus is befitting of a front-line starter and ranks sixth among all pitchers who have thrown at least 150 innings since 2018. He’s behind a pretty good quintet of Jacob deGrom, Chris Sale, Max Scherzer, Patrick Corbin and Gerrit Cole in that regard. DeGrom, Sale and Corbin have each scored nine-figure contracts going back to the offseason, while Cole figures to join them when he reaches free agency during the upcoming winter.
Ryu’s also on schedule to reach the open market, though he’s not going to cash in to the same extent as Cole. Concerns over Ryu’s durability figure to combine with the soon-to-be 33-year-old’s age and 2013-17 performance (when he was good but not great) to cap his earning power. However, he can look in his own locker room to find a lefty who overcame injury questions, advanced age and a far shorter track record than Ryu’s to recently score a large payday in free agency. That’s Rich Hill, whom the Dodgers re-signed to a three-year, $48MM guarantee heading into 2017 – his age-37 season.
Free agency worked out for Hill, but one would be remiss to ignore the fact that the process has taken an unfriendly turn for certain hurlers since he landed his payday. Jake Arrieta received less guaranteed cash than expected in 2018, while Gio Gonzalez settled for a minor league deal entering this season and Dallas Keuchel remains unsigned. At the same time, however, Nathan Eovaldi, Alex Cobb, J.A. Happ, Charlie Morton and Lance Lynn did surmount obstacles of their own en route to $30MM-plus guarantees in the previous two offseasons.
We’ll use the $30MM number as a jumping-off point for this poll, but if Ryu continues to perform like a front-line option and stay reasonably healthy, he could blow past it.
(Poll link for app users)
How much do you expect Ryu to earn on his next contract?
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$60MM or more 30% (1,622)
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$40MM-$49MM 27% (1,476)
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$50MM-$59MM 23% (1,256)
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$30MM-$39MM 19% (1,026)
Total votes: 5,380
Draft Retrospection: Dodgers Steal A Superstar
It was June 2013, six years ago, that the Dodgers secured one of the greatest draft steals in recent memory. In the fourth round, with the 124th overall pick, the Dodgers chose an Arizona high school first baseman/pitcher named Cody Bellinger. Although Bellinger’s the son of a former big leaguer, ex-Yankees and Angels infielder/outfielder Clay Bellinger, that didn’t make him a slam dunk to turn into a contributor at the MLB level.
Scouts were somewhat bullish on Bellinger at the time of his drafting, though, with some likening him to former major league first baseman Adam LaRoche (via Baseball America). Although LaRoche had a better and longer career than most, it’s obvious Bellinger has blown by him two-plus seasons into his career. In fact, Bellinger already has a superior lifetime fWAR to LaRoche (11.9 to 11.5) despite having amassed almost 5,000 fewer plate appearances.
Even though he didn’t come off the board near the very top of his draft class, Bellinger developed into one of the game’s 100 best prospects and immediately made good on the hype in the bigs. Los Angeles promoted Bellinger in April 2017, a season in which he saw extensive action at two positions – first base and left field – and wound up taking home NL Rookie of the Year honors.
Bellinger slashed .267/.352/.581 (138 wRC+) in his inaugural season, smacked the majors’ fifth-most home runs (39) and stole 10 bases. While Bellinger wasn’t as effective in 2018, he still recorded a solidly above-average line of .260/.343/.470 (120 wRC+) with another 25 homers and 14 steals.
Had the 23-year-old Bellinger showed up this season and been the same type of producer he was in 2018, the Dodgers likely would have been satisfied. Instead, through two months, he has looked like a bona fide superstar and the No. 1 challenger to reigning NL MVP Christian Yelich. With an astounding .363/.469/.761 slash, Bellinger easily ranks first in wRC+ (216), outpacing the second-place Yelich (188) by 28 points and baseball deity Mike Trout (172) by 44. Yelich does have a two-home run lead on Bellinger (21-19), but the latter has clearly been the more valuable player by Wins Above Replacement (5.2 rWAR/4.3 fWAR to 2.9/3.0).
Are Bellinger’s otherworldly offensive numbers sustainable? Perhaps not, as it’s hard to keep up a 1.200-plus OPS all season unless you’re Barry Bonds, Babe Ruth, Ted Williams, Rogers Horsnby, Jimmie Foxx or another legend along those lines. But the strides Bellinger has made are very real. He has slashed his strikeout rate to 13.8 percent, down 10.1 percent from 2018, while increasing his walk rate from 10.9 to 14.3. He’s also hitting way more line drives and far fewer ground balls, making much more contact, whiffing less and chasing fewer out-of-zone pitches than he did in previous years. Meanwhile, Statcast credits the lefty-swinging Bellinger with the game’s top-ranked expected weighted on-base average (.504) – which is somehow better than his .500 real wOBA.
Adding to Bellinger’s appeal, he’s hardly an offense-only player. While it’s tough to get too exited about two months of defensive data, it’s similarly difficult not to raise eyebrows over his fielding numbers. In 46 games in right field this season, Bellinger has already put up 12 Defensive Runs Saved and a 4.9 Ultimate Zone Rating. He ranks top three among all outfielders in those categories. As Mark Simon of Sports Info Solutions noted last week, Bellinger’s left arm has been his greatest asset in the field. He fired the cannon on multiple occasions Sunday to stonewall Mets base runners.
With this year’s draft nearing, Bellinger’s rise is an important one to keep in mind. Aside from Cubs great Kris Bryant and arguably the Yankees’ Aaron Judge, Bellinger has outdone every first-round pick from his draft class. They each went anywhere from 91 to 123 choices before Bellinger, but he may soon follow Bryant in becoming the class’ second MVP. More importantly for the Dodgers, who continue to fire on all cylinders, the player they once used a mere fourth-rounder on could end up as the face of a World Series winner as early as this season.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Dodgers Promote Will Smith, Place Austin Barnes On 10-Day IL
The Dodgers have selected the contract of catching prospect Will Smith, per a club announcement. He’ll take the active roster spot of fellow backstop Austin Barnes, who’s headed to the 10-day injured list with a groin strain.
Smith, a former first-round draft pick, is known as a well-rounded overall performer behind the dish. He entered the season with a consensus grade as one of the ten best players in the Los Angeles farm system.
The 24-year-old Louisville product has generally performed well at the bat in the minors, but has been more impressive than ever thus far in 2019. Through 166 plate appearances at Triple-A, he carries a .290/.404/.551 slash with eight long balls and 25 walks against 35 strikeouts.
That’s quite a bit of offense for a player who is also considered a fine defensive performer. Smith could at some point take over as the regular behind the dish in L.A., though he’ll be looking over his shoulder at Keibert Ruiz — an even more-hyped young catcher who is playing at the Double-A level.
For now, Smith will be tasked with filling in. It doesn’t seem as if Barnes will be down for long with the injury, so a return to Triple-A could take place soon thereafter. That said, it is notable that the Dodgers have placed Smith on the 40-man roster and elected to give him a look at this stage of the season.
Julio Urias Reinstated From Administrative Leave
TODAY: Urias has indeed been officially reinstated by Major League Baseball. Outfielder Kyle Garlick was optioned to create roster space.
As Passan noted yesterday, the Dodgers are not permitted to take punitive action against Urias. The league’s announcement makes clear that “the investigation into a matter covered by the Joint Domestic Violence, Sexual Assault and Child Abuse Policy continues.”
YESTERDAY, 10:19pm: MLB decided not to extend the leave period because it was unable to acquire access to video of the incident, ESPN.com’s Jeff Passan reports. The player’s association and Urias were not willing to consent to an extended leave period. The investigation is still ongoing.
8:16pm: The Major League Baseball commissioner’s office is expected not to renew the administrative leave period of Dodgers pitcher Julio Urias when it expires tomorrow, according to Jorge Castillo of the Los Angeles Times (Twitter link). It appears the team will return the 22-year-old to its active roster.
Urias was placed on seven-day administrative leave last Tuesday after his overnight arrest. Per reports, he was arrested on suspicion of “misdemeanor domestic battery” after witnesses saw him “shove” a female companion “to the ground.”
Under the terms of the MLB-MLBPA Joint Domestic Violence, Sexual Assault and Child Abuse Policy, the commissioner has authority to place a player accused of a possible violation of the policy “on paid Administrative Leave for up to seven days while the allegations are investigated before making a disciplinary decision.” That placement, which removes a player from his team’s active roster but does not stop his paycheck, can be challenged “immediately.”
In past instances, commissioner Rob Manfred has issued successive, week-long leave periods. Why he has elected not to do so in this case is unknown at present. It could indicate that a decision on discipline has already been made, though the league office has typically taken quite a bit longer to allow facts to develop before provisionally clearing a player or issuing any fines or suspensions. It may instead simply reflect a decision by the commissioner that Urias ought to be allowed to play during the pendency of any further investigation, whether or not prompted by pushback from the player, team, or union.
We’ll need to await further word before it’s possible to assess the situation. For now, it seems that the 22-year-old pitcher will be eligible to return to his role with the team.
Dodgers To Place Kenta Maeda On 10-Day Injured List
The Dodgers will place right-hander Kenta Maeda on the 10-day IL before tomorrow’s game, according to Jorge Castillo of the Los Angeles Times (Twitter link). Maeda’s placement caps off a busy day of roster-shuffling for the Dodgers, as the team also activated lefty Caleb Ferguson from the IL and sent catcher Rocky Gale and right-hander J.T. Chargois to Triple-A. Prior to tomorrow’s game, the Dodgers will also call up utilityman Matt Beaty from Triple-A and select the contract of outfielder Kyle Garlick.
Maeda fouled a ball off his thigh in last night’s game, and the Dodgers are thusly putting him on the IL “as a precaution,” Bill Plunkett of the Orange County Register tweets. Since the Dodgers have two off-days next week, it looks like Maeda will miss one start at the most while he recovers from what looks like a minor injury.
Los Angeles has deployed Maeda exclusively as a starting pitcher in 2019, and the righty has delivered his usual strong results. Though nine starts and 51 1/3 innings, Maeda has a 3.51 ERA, 9.1 K/9, and 2.60 K/BB rate, numbers that are largely backed up by advanced metrics. Maeda is inducing soft contact on 27% of his batted balls this season, the second-highest total of any qualified starter in the game.
A 28th-round pick for the Dodgers in the 2015 draft, Garlick will get his first MLB exposure after posting a 1.002 OPS over 136 PA for Triple-A Oklahoma City this season. The 27-year-old Garlick has a .283/.341/.519 slash line through 1678 career minor league plate appearances.
MLB Places Julio Urias On Administrative Leave Following Arrest
4:45pm: Urias has been placed on seven-day administrative leave, per Bill Shaikin of the Los Angeles Times (Twitter link). That’s standard procedure as the commissioner’s office gathers facts surrounding the incident, and it’s typical for that leave to be extended in multiple seven-day increments as the investigation is ongoing. Urias will be paid while on leave, though if he is ultimately punished in the form of a suspension under the league’s domestic violence policy, that pay and any service time accrued can be rescinded.
9:33am: Dodgers pitcher Julio Urias was arrested last night, according to a report from TMZ Sports. The 22-year-old was seen “arguing with a female companion” and allegedly “shoved her to the ground.”
Though the identity of the alleged victim is not known, Urias is said to have been arrested on suspicion of “misdemeanor domestic battery.” The report suggests that the victim denied any physical altercation, but that police made the arrest based upon eyewitness accounts and video evidence.
It’s obviously disturbing to learn of these allegations. Until more is known, it would be unwise to speculate on possible legal jeopardy or MLB punishment. The league has not yet announced anything regarding this matter, but it seems possible that it will be investigated under the MLB-MLBPA Joint Domestic Violence, Sexual Assault and Child Abuse Policy.
Rays Acquire Travis d’Arnaud
6:26pm: This move is now official. Infielder Matt Duffy was shifted to the 60-day injured list to create 40-man space; the team will wait to make a corresponding active roster move.
6:03pm: The Rays have struck a deal with the Dodgers to acquire catcher Travis d’Arnaud, according to Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times (via Twitter). Cash considerations will go to Los Angeles in return.
This represents the continuation of d’Arnaud’s already disjointed season. After working back to health in the wake of Tommy John surgery, he opened up as the Mets’ backup backstop but was dumped at a surprisingly early juncture.
The Dodgers signed the out-of-options d’Arnaud as a righty bench bat with designs on trying him at other positions, but instead pivoted quickly to today’s move. d’Arnaud is now slated to help fill in while the Rays deal with injuries to their top two backstops (Mike Zunino and Michael Perez).
Perhaps it’s not surprising to see these organizations showing interest in d’Arnaud as a fill-in and possible bounceback performer. He was long considered quite talented and has at times been a quality-hitting catcher. Best of all, the New York club is on the hook for d’Arnaud’s $3.52MM salary (less a pro-rated portion of the league minimum) so it’s a virtual free-ride for other outfits.
There’s no reason to think that the Dodgers soured on d’Arnaud after watching him take just one plate appearance, though perhaps they weren’t enthralled by what they saw when they worked him out at first base and left field. Perhaps the team was simply willing to let him go because there was a clear opportunity for him in Tampa Bay and because it was just as interested in utilizing other players to fill out the roster.
White Sox Acquire Paulo Orlando
The White Sox announced today that they have acquired outfielder Paulo Orlando from the Dodgers. He has been assigned to Triple-A Charlotte.
The return isn’t know, but it’s likely a deal for cash considerations. Orlando had been serving as depth in the Los Angeles organization after signing a minors deal over the winter.
Orlando, 33, appeared in each of the past four seasons with the Royals but failed to reach 100 plate appearances in 2017 and 2018. He’s a .263/.289/.384 hitter over 918 plate appearances at the game’s highest level.