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Dodgers Acquire Ricky Vanasco From Rangers

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The Rangers have traded pitching prospect Ricky Vanasco to the Dodgers for minor league left-hander Luis Valdez, both teams announced. Los Angeles designated reliever Zack Burdi for assignment to free a spot on the 40-man roster.

Vanasco, 24, has yet to reach the majors. An overslot 15th round draftee out of high school six years ago, the 6’3″ hurler developed into one of the more interesting arms in the Texas farm system. Baseball America ranked him between 12th and 21st on the Rangers’ prospect list each season between 2020-22. He impressed evaluators with a mid-90s fastball and above-average to plus breaking pitch but faced questions about his command and third offering.

The Florida native had his career interrupted by both the canceled 2020 minor league season and a subsequent Tommy John surgery. He lost all of ’21 rehabbing but returned to make 23 starts in High-A last year. Vanasco posted a 4.68 ERA over 92 1/3 innings, striking out a quality 28.9% of opposing hitters but with an alarming 12.7% walk rate.

Vanasco was set to start this year in Double-A. A Spring Training knee injury required surgery and cost him the first two months of the season. He made it back in late May and started two games there. They haven’t gone as planned, as he’s failed to get out of the second inning in either appearance. He allowed ten runs (six earned) with four walks and two strikeouts over 2 1/3 combined frames before losing his 40-man position earlier this week.

The Dodgers will take a flier on Vanasco’s arsenal to see if he can hone in his command. He’s in his second of three minor league option years, so they can keep him in the minors for the foreseeable future if he holds his 40-man spot.

Los Angeles sends a 19-year-old southpaw the other way. Valdez signed with the Dodgers as an amateur out of Mexico two years ago. He’s logged 17 2/3 innings with Low-A Rancho Cucamonga this year, posting a 3.12 ERA with a 28.9% strikeout rate while walking nearly 17% of opponents.

Eric Longenhagen of FanGraphs slotted him 29th among Dodger prospects over the offseason, praising a potential plus changeup but noting that his velocity presently sits in the upper-80s. He won’t be eligible for the Rule 5 draft until after the 2024 campaign.

Burdi gets squeezed off the roster within a week of being claimed from the Rays. He didn’t pitch in an MLB game for the Dodgers, making just one appearance in Triple-A. He’s pitched three times for Tampa Bay this season, allowing six runs in four innings. A former first round draftee, Burdi throws in the mid-90s and has paired high minor league strikeout tallies with lofty walk rates.

The Dodgers will have a week to trade him or put him on waivers. Burdi has gone unclaimed on waivers in his career before, so he’d have the right to elect minor league free agency if he clears the wire this time around.

Dodgers Notes: Syndergaard, Stone, Grove, Betts

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The Dodgers’ buy-low free agent flier on Noah Syndergaard hasn’t panned out thus far. The former All-Star righty has been tagged for a 6.54 ERA in 52 1/3 innings. After throwing quality starts in three of his first four outings, he’s only once since completed six innings — a start in which he surrendered six runs in Tampa Bay.

Syndergaard had another frustrating appearance this afternoon, allowing five runs in as many innings with three homers in a loss to the Nationals. After the start, manager Dave Roberts was noncommittal about Syndergaard making his next start (relayed by Juan Toribio of MLB.com). Los Angeles has off days on Thursday and next Monday, so they could bypass Syndergaard’s next turn without officially pulling him from the rotation.

Since returning from 2020 Tommy John surgery, Syndergaard has worked with diminished velocity. The one-time fireballer is averaging only 92.1 MPH on his sinker this season. That’s down nearly two ticks from last season’s work with the Angels and well below the upper-90s heat he’d featured early in his career. Not coincidentally, Syndergaard has seen his homer rate skyrocket and has punched out a well below-average 15.3% of batters faced.

Syndergaard’s struggles add to some uncertainty at the back of the L.A. starting staff. The Dodgers have gotten great work out of Clayton Kershaw and Tony Gonsolin but doesn’t have much present stability behind them. Walker Buehler is still rehabbing from last year’s Tommy John procedure. Julio Urías and Dustin May are both currently on the shelf, with May ruled out until at least July.

The Dodgers have leaned on some younger depth options to take the ball. Top prospects Bobby Miller and Gavin Stone have made their big league debuts this year. Stone has struggled, allowing 17 runs with more walks than strikeouts over his first ten innings. Los Angeles optioned him to Triple-A Oklahoma City yesterday, setting the stage for righty Michael Grove to return to the rotation.

Grove has been on the shelf for a little more than five weeks thanks to a groin strain. He’s expected to be reinstated on Saturday to take the ball against the Yankees, tweets David Vassegh of 570 AM in L.A. It’ll be Grove’s fifth start of the season. The 26-year-old has an 8.44 ERA through 16 innings but performed fairly well in Triple-A last season.

Depending on Urías’ and May’s health outlooks, the rotation looks as if it’ll be an area for the front office to monitor as trade deadline season gets closer. In spite of the starting pitching depth, L.A. leads the NL West at 34-23 and is positioned to buy this summer yet again.

President of baseball operations Andrew Friedman recently alluded to trade season, discussing the potential to bring in some offensive help over the coming months (relayed by Bill Plunkett of the Orange County Register). The front office head pointed to the defensive flexibility shown by Mookie Betts as opening additional trade avenues for the organization.

Bettes has mixed in middle infield work, including his first career shortstop appearances, with his customary corner outfield responsibilities. While the Miguel Rojas–Miguel Vargas tandem is still the primary middle infield, Friedman noted that Betts’ ability to move around the diamond could allow the Dodgers to look into various ways to bolster the lineup. That’d presumably be through scouring the corner outfield market while potentially increasing Betts’ shortstop reps at Rojas’ expense, though the market won’t come into clear focus for a few more weeks.

Looking Ahead To Upcoming Club Options: NL West

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We’re roughly a third of the way through the 2023 season. Players have had a couple months to build something of a performance track record that’ll play a role in their future contracts. With that in mind, MLBTR will take a look over the coming days at players whose contracts contain team or mutual options to gauge the early trajectory for those upcoming decisions.

We’ll go division by division and open things in the National League West:

Arizona Diamondbacks

Chafin lingered in free agency over the winter after opting out of his deal with the Tigers. The seeming lack of market interest was perplexing given the lefty reliever’s consistent effectiveness over the past few seasons. He’s carried that over into his second stint in the desert. Through 20 1/3 innings, Chafin owns a 3.10 ERA. He’s punched out 36% of opposing hitters on a huge 16.2% swinging strike percentage, both of which would be career-high marks. He’s not a prototypical fireballing reliever but he’s demonstrated he’s capable of missing bats and thriving in high-leverage situations for the past few years. The $6.5MM net decision on next year’s option looks more than reasonable if he keeps this up.

  • Zach Davies: $5.5MM mutual option ($300K buyout, rises to $500K with 16+ starts)

Davies has been limited to three starts by a left oblique strain. He has allowed eight runs with a modest 10:8 strikeout-to-walk ratio over 12 2/3 innings. There’s not much to go on yet in terms of 2023 performance but Davies looked like a borderline fifth starter the previous two years. The Diamondbacks have enough young pitching they seem likelier to buy him out unless the soft-tossing righty rediscovers his 2019-20 form for the stretch run.

  • Miguel Castro: $5MM option vests with 60+ appearances; would become $6MM player option with 40+ games finished (no buyout)

Castro has already pitched 26 times since signing with Arizona over the winter. He’s on pace to easily surpass the 60-appearance threshold needed to vest next year’s $5MM option if he can avoid the injured list. It could be a closer call as to whether he can turn that guaranteed $5MM salary into a $6MM player option; Castro has finished 12 games thus far, putting him just off the 40-game pace he’d need to do so. (He’s on pace for 36 games finished). Castro has been effective — a 2.22 ERA with roughly average strikeout, walk and swinging strike numbers through 24 1/3 innings — so vesting the player option and retesting the market isn’t out of the question.

Melancon struggled to a 4.66 ERA in 56 innings during his first season in Arizona. He hasn’t pitched this year on account of a Spring Training shoulder strain. Melancon might return in the second half but this is trending towards the team buying him out.

Colorado Rockies

Márquez underwent Tommy John surgery earlier this month. He’ll miss the majority of next season as he rehabs. A healthy Márquez would’ve made this an easy call for the Rockies to exercise but the procedure means they’ll buy him out. It wouldn’t be a surprise if the Rox try to bring him back on a lesser salary or a multi-year deal with an eye towards 2025.

Hand’s peripherals had fallen back between 2021-22 from his All-Star peak. He’s continued to keep runs off the board and seen a notable bounceback in his strikeout rate since a Spring Training deal with Colorado. Hand owns a 3.20 ERA through 19 2/3 frames while striking out 33.7% of batters faced on a decent 11.6% swinging strike percentage. The veteran southpaw has dominated left-handed hitters and is yet to allow a home run this season. If he maintains this form, he’ll be one of the top reliever trade candidates this summer. If Colorado hangs onto him, they could be faced with an interesting decision as to whether to keep him around for an extra $6.5MM next winter.

Los Angeles Dodgers

The Dodgers signed Muncy to a $13.5MM deal last summer even as he was amidst his worst season since landing in L.A. They’ve been rewarded with a massive bounceback showing. Muncy is tied for second in the majors with 17 home runs. He’s only hitting .208 but carrying a strong .340 on-base percentage thanks to an elite 15.8% walk rate. The $10MM price point would be an easy decision for the Dodgers if Muncy keeps up anything approaching this pace.

Los Angeles brought Hudson back last summer on the heels of a season-ending ACL tear. The veteran reliever hasn’t recovered as quickly from that procedure as he’d hoped. Hudson hasn’t pitched yet this season. He told reporters last night he’ll throw a bullpen session this week but is without a timeline for a return to game action (via Mike DiGiovanna of the Los Angeles Times). It remains to be seen how he’ll look when he takes the mound.

  • Alex Reyes: $3MM team option with escalators ($100K buyout)

The Dodgers took a $1.1MM flier on Reyes after he lost the 2022 season to shoulder surgery. He’s on the 60-day injured list and not expected to be a factor until around the All-Star Break. This one remains to be determined based on his post-rehab form.

  • Blake Treinen (option value between $1-7MM dependent on time spent on IL)

Treinen underwent surgery to repair the rotator cuff and labrum in his throwing shoulder last November. He won’t pitch much, if at all, this season. Treinen’s contract contains an option with a floating value between $1MM and $7MM depending on how much time he spends on the injured list and the issue that puts him on the shelf. Its precise value is yet to be determined, but MLBTR has confirmed it’ll land towards the lower end of that range given Treinen’s surgery.

San Diego Padres

  • Nick Martinez: team has two-year, $32MM option; if declined, Martinez has two-year, $16MM player option

Martinez has taken on a similar swing role as he served during his first year in San Diego. The right-hander started his first four outings and pitched reasonably well. He was nevertheless bumped back into relief thereafter. For the second consecutive season, Martinez has proven a key multi-inning arm out of the bullpen. He’s posted a 1.35 ERA with a quality 20:4 strikeout-to-walk ratio over 20 relief innings, holding opponents to a pitiful .240/.278/.267 batting line.

There’s little question of Martinez’s effectiveness in a relief role, though a $16MM average annual value could be pricy if the organization isn’t planning on giving him another look out of the rotation. Perhaps Martinez’s production over the final four months makes this a clearer decision for San Diego by season’s end. As of now, it looks like a borderline call — not too dissimilar from Martinez’s question of whether to opt out of three years and $18MM last winter. The Padres liked him enough to subsequently re-sign him to a $26MM guarantee with the complex option structure.

  • Michael Wacha: team has two-year, $32MM option; if declined, Wacha has $6.5MM player option (with successive player options for 2025-26)

Wacha lingered in free agency last winter. Clubs seemed reluctant to buy into his solid results for the Red Sox, a reflection of middling strikeout and ground-ball numbers. Since landing in San Diego, he’s basically repeating last year’s script. The run prevention is excellent; he’s allowed a 3.45 ERA through 57 1/3 innings over ten starts. Wacha is again throwing strikes and keeping runs off the board despite roughly average strikeout and swinging strike rates.

Maintaining a mid-3.00s ERA for a second straight season might build confidence in his ability to outperform ERA estimators that suggest he’s more of a solid #4 starter than a mid-rotation arm. That said, Wacha doesn’t look all that different now than he did three months ago, when he signed a four-year guarantee with a $6.5MM average annual value. A jump to the $16MM per-year range could be a tougher sell for San Diego, although there’s little doubt Wacha would opt out of the final three years and $18.5MM on his contract if he keeps pitching like this and the Padres decline their end.

San Francisco Giants

Cobb has pitched well since signing a two-year deal with San Francisco over the 2021-22 offseason. He carries a 3.05 ERA through his first 11 starts this year. Cobb’s 60.6% ground-ball rate is stellar and he’s posted average strikeout and walk numbers (21.3% and 6.7%, respectively). An $8MM net decision would be an easy call for the Giants to exercise if Cobb maintains this pace. He’s dealt with injuries in the past but managed 149 2/3 innings over 28 starts last year and has avoided the IL in 2023.

All stats through play Monday.

Big Hype Prospects: Abbott, Brown, Encarnacion-Strand, Povich, Sheehan

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With so many clubs needing to plunge into the minors for pitching reinforcements, let’s put more attention on this next wave of arms.

Five Big Hype Prospects

Andrew Abbott, 24, SP, CIN (AAA)
31.1 IP, 13.21 K/9, 4.02 BB/9, 3.16 ERA

Abbott walked all over the Southern League earlier this season, posting a 1.15 ERA with 20.68 K/9 and 1.72 BB/9 in three starts. The Reds got him out of there in a hurry – possibly because the pre-tacked ball used in that league was obscuring aspects of his development. Since arriving in Triple-A, Abbott has reverted to a good-not-great trajectory and there’s still risk he’ll eventually land in the bullpen. From a stuff perspective, he has a starter’s repertoire. Like most young pitchers, Abbott’s command can be inconsistent and mostly draws negative comments. There’s reason for concern about home run prevention, especially at Great American Ball Park.

Ben Brown, 23, SP, CHC (AAA)
24 IP, 13.50 K/9, 4.50 BB/9, 3.75 ERA

Brown was acquired from the Phillies in the David Robertson trade. Like Abbott, Brown dominated the Southen League (20 IP, 0.45 ERA) en route to a quick promotion. He’s continued to miss bats, albeit with a couple red flags. Per a statistical source, hitters have averaged a 91.3-mph exit velocity against Brown in Triple-A. It’s a small sample concern for now. Inconsistencies with his command remain on display, and the relief risk is palpable. While his fastball, slider, and curve are all viewed as above-average offerings, the lack of command and changeup are traits of pitchers who eventually land in the bullpen. We’ve seen plenty of guys succeed with non-traditional repertoires lately, but they usually rely on some sort of unicorn trait. I’m unaware of Brown fitting this mold.

Christian Encarnacion-Strand, 23, 1B/3B, CIN (AAA)
146 PA, 13 HR, .346/.384/.721

Prospects like CES tend to create a lot of arguments among the general public. He was one of the top minor league performers in 2022, and he’s repeating the effort this season. However, poor plate discipline and a hefty swinging-strike rate introduce considerable risk. There’s also doubt about his ability to stick at third base. Cincinnati has already conceded this by using him 17 games at first, seven at DH, and seven at third. Few first basemen are this ill-disciplined. Of qualified first basemen, only Brandon Drury, Gio Urshela, and Ryan Mountcastle have walk rates below 6.0 percent. Drury and Urshela aren’t really first basemen. On the other hand, CES punishes baseballs when he connects, averaging 92.2-mph on contact. If he can mount any sort of resistance to the inevitable bevy of breaking balls out of the zone, he could develop into a legitimate 40-homer threat.

Cade Povich, 23, SP, BAL (AA)
40 IP, 13.73 K/9, 3.83 BB/9, 4.50 ERA

Acquired in the Jorge Lopez trade, Povich probably deserves inclusion in the latter portion of Top 100 lists. The southpaw doesn’t have any overwhelming traits, but the total package resembles many adequate left-handers around the league. Povich’s basic stats suggest cause for both optimism and skepticism. His 2.20 FIP and 2.47 xFIP are a sight better than his 4.50 ERA – largely due to a .356 BABIP and 62.2 percent strand rate. In the minors, such stats can be more than the “luck” we generally attribute them to in the Majors, and Povich also had a poor strand rate in 2022. It could indicate issues pitching out of the stretch. I’ve reached out to a couple contacts for their thoughts.

Worth mentioning, the Eastern League is not using the pretacked ball.

Emmet Sheehan, 23, SP, LAD (AA)
44 IP, 15.55 K/9, 3.68 BB/9, 1.64 ERA

The Texas League also isn’t using the pretacked ball. Sheehan started to generate hype late last season, culminating in a successful stint in the Arizona Fall League. Sheehan is overwhelming the Double-A competition as evidenced by a 20.1 percent swinging strike rate, .176 BABIP, and 97% strand rate. Such figures indicate luck, but they also speak of an ability to miss bats with impunity. The star of the show is a double-plus changeup. A prospect watcher tipped me off last season about changeup artists – they tend to overperform in the minors. At the time, we were discussing Grayson Rodriguez. Like the other pitchers we’ve covered today, Sheehan’s command sparks comments about a future in the bullpen. Scouts also seem to dislike his mechanics – he tends to fall off hard to the first base line. I tend to ignore such comments. Goofy mechanics may (or may not) increase injury risk, but they also lead to unusual looks for hitters.

Three More

Matt McLain, CIN (23): McLain, who we discussed in this section last week, has rushed out to a heady .380/.456/.600 performance in 57 Major League plate appearances. Red flags include a .531 BABIP, modest exit velocities, and 28.1 percent strikeout rate. However, McLain is showing power, advanced plate discipline, and a high rate of swinging contact (7.3 percent SwStr%).

Zach Dezenzo, HOU (23): Although not yet on the radar for top prospect status, Dezenzo is quickly accelerating through the Astros system as a third baseman. A scout brought him to my attention a month ago. He’s a low-angle, line-drive machine, leading to high BABIPs. There’s considerable swing-and-miss in his game, introducing risk of stalling in the upper minors. Dezenzo was recently promoted to Double-A.

Johan Rojas, PHI (22): For fans of Esteury Ruiz, Rojas basically has a better version of a similar profile. He doesn’t visually look like Alfonso Soriano the way Ruiz does, but you can easily discern the athletic ability. Unlike Ruiz, he’s already regarded as a plus center fielder. Already on the 40-man roster, Rojas seems likely to ascend to Triple-A in the coming weeks.

Did I miss a detail or nuance? DM me on Twitter @BaseballATeam to suggest corrections.

West Notes: Lamet, Munoz, Hudson, Rendon, Rodriguez

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The Rockies plan to activate Dinelson Lamet from the 15-day injured list to start their Wednesday game with the Diamondbacks, MLB.com’s Thomas Harding reports (Twitter link).  Reports surfaced last week that Limet was being considered for a return to starting pitching, and with the Rockies increasingly desperate for rotation help, Limet will get a look as a starter for the first time since the 2021 season when he was still a member of the Padres.  Karl Kauffmann has already been optioned to Triple-A, creating space for Lamet on the active roster.  Lower back tightness has kept Lamet out of action for almost all of May, and he struggled to a 12.66 ERA over 10 2/3 relief innings this season prior to his injury.

Some more items from both the NL and AL West…

  • Andres Munoz will start a Triple-A rehab assignment on Tuesday, as the Mariners reliever is on the way back from a deltoid strain that has sidelined him since April 8.  Thought to be a minor injury at the time, Munoz was then bothered by a sore shoulder that required a PRP injection, extending his time on the IL to just shy of two months.  Munoz only pitched 3 1/3 innings over four appearances before heading to the injured list, but assuming everything goes as planned, he’ll be back in the Seattle bullpen and looking to follow up his outstanding 2022 season.
  • Dodgers reliever Daniel Hudson told reporters (including Mike DiGiovanna of the Los Angeles Times) that he will throw a bullpen on Tuesday.  It’s a positive step for Hudson, who hasn’t pitched since tearing his left UCL last June.  During the last update on Hudson two weeks ago from Dodgers manager Dave Roberts, the veteran righty was throwing but without any specific plans for a rehab assignment due to some continued discomfort in his knee.  Hudson said today that he’d received a cortisone injection in his knee, and was hoping that the bullpen session would be the first step towards a “ramp up” of his recovery.
  • Angels GM Perry Minasian provided some news on some injured Halos players to the Orange County Register’s Jeff Fletcher and other reporters, though neither Anthony Rendon or Chris Rodriguez seems close to a return.  Rendon has been taking part in some light baseball activities, but even with more than two weeks passed since Rendon hit the 10-day IL due to a groin strain, Minasian wasn’t sure of a timeline for when Rendon might return or take on a fuller rehab process.  Rodriguez underwent shoulder surgery in November 2021 and didn’t pitch at all in 2022, then had a setback in early April after starting the season on the 15-day IL.  It doesn’t appear as though there was any further damage to Rodriguez’s shoulder, as Minasian said the team has “done what we need to do medically” to assess the situation, and Rodriguez is throwing again but not off a mound.

Quick Hits: Astros, Santana, Pagan, Muncy, Miller

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The Astros don’t have an off-day until June 12, so the team had been considering moving to a six-man rotation to help keep their starters fresh during this busy stretch of the schedule.  However, manager Dusty Baker told reporters (including the Houston Chronicle’s Danielle Lerner) that the team might be forced to stick with a five-man alignment just due to a lack of available starting depth, since prospect Forrest Whitley has been placed on the Triple-A injured list due to a right lat strain.  Whitley was the team’s top option for a spot start or two, and now Ronel Blanco might be the next candidate if Houston does indeed opt for a sixth starter.

Jose Urquidy and Lance McCullers Jr. aren’t expected back until around the All-Star break, while Luis Garcia’s season has already been ended by Tommy John surgery.  The injury situation has left the Astros short on starting pitching, and Whitley’s lat strain has again delayed his MLB debut.  Once one of the sport’s top prospects, Whitley’s minor league career has been interrupted by a 50-game PED suspension in 2018, and by a Tommy John surgery that cost him the entire 2021 season.

More on other injury situations that arose from today’s games…

  • Carlos Santana left during the sixth inning of the Pirates’ 6-3 loss to the Mariners today due to what the Bucs described as lumbar spine muscular tightness.  It would certainly seem like Santana will miss a couple of games to recovery, and a trip to the injured list is possible if his back problem doesn’t subside.  Connor Joe is the likeliest candidate for first base duty in Santana’s absence, but Pittsburgh might now be facing a depth problem at first base since Ji-Man Choi isn’t eligible to return from the 60-day IL until at least mid-July.
  • Twins reliever Emilio Pagan faced only one batter in today’s 3-0 loss to the Blue Jays before departing due to a left hip flexor strain.  Both Pagan and manager Rocco Baldelli expressed hope that an IL stint wasn’t necessary, with Pagan telling the Minneapolis Star Tribune’s Jerry Zgoda and other reporters that “hopefully we caught it early enough, that I’m good to go in a day or two.  I think I’ll be ready to go tomorrow if need be.”
  • Max Muncy left today’s game with a cramp in his left hamstring, and the Dodgers infielder told MLB.com and other media that he has been dealing with cramps throughout the weekend.  Muncy will undergo an MRI to further examine the issue, but for now, he is day to day.  Between a scorching-hot April and then a big slump for much of May, Muncy is still hitting .208/.340/.530 over 203 plate appearances this season, and he belted his 17th home run before his early exit today.
  • X-rays were negative on Owen Miller’s right forearm, after the Brewers infielder was removed as a precautionary measure after being hit by a pitch in today’s game.  Manager Craig Counsell told Curt Hogg of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel and other reporters that Miller is day to day, and could be back for the team’s next game on Tuesday (Monday is an off-day for the Brew Crew).  Miller’s hot bat has earned him more playing time, and after collecting two more hits today, Miller is slashing .330/.371/.513 over 124 PA.

NL West Notes: Garcia, Padres, Feltner, Dodgers, May

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The Padres placed Luis Garcia on the 15-day injured list today, as the left-hander is suffering from a left oblique strain.  Righty Domingo Tapia was called up from Triple-A to take Garcia’s spot on the active roster.  Garcia has a somewhat misleading 4.66 ERA this season, as nine of his 10 earned runs allowed came in two disastrous appearances (totaling two-thirds of an inning) against the Diamondbacks.  Against every other team in baseball, Garcia has allowed just one earned run in 18 2/3 frames.

Despite a few shaky moments, the Padres’ bullpen has largely gotten on track, as San Diego’s relievers have combined for the sixth-best (3.31) bullpen ERA in baseball heading into Saturday’s action.  Losing a generally reliable veteran like Garcia won’t help matters, and the team has yet to comment on the severity of the left-hander’s oblique strain, or how long Garcia might be sidelined.

More from around the NL West…

  • Ryan Feltner suffered a small skull fracture and a concussion after being hit with a Nick Castellanos line drive on May 14, but the Rockies right-hander hasn’t given up hope of returning to the field this season.  For now, Feltner is focused only on his recovery, and he gave a positive update to Patrick Saunders and other reporters.  Feltner said he has “a headache from the concussion, dizziness, but today there’s no pain.  I’m sleeping well, and the day-to-day stuff has become a lot easier.  So the feeling is that I’m in a really good spot compared to where I could be.”
  • With injuries hampering the Dodgers’ rotation, president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman said the team could “potentially” target pitching at the trade deadline, but it will still be a while before the Dodgers know a firmer recovery timeline for Julio Urias or Dustin May.  “Right now with where we are, it’s gonna be a little more shell game-ish if we have more injuries.  But we’re thinking through that and trying to be as prepared as we can be if that happens,” Friedman told Jack Harris of the Los Angeles Times and other reporters.  May won’t be able to return until at least mid-July due to his placement on the 60-day IL, and Harris writes that May received a PRP injection as part of his treatment for a flexor pronator strain.  Beyond the injuries, Noah Syndergaard’s rotation spot might also be a question mark as the righty continues to struggle.

West Notes: Urias, deGrom, Bogaerts

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Dodgers lefty Julio Urias was expected to throw a bullpen session off the mound for the first time since going on the injured list with a hamstring strain last week, but the 26-year-old lefty felt some soreness after working out yesterday and threw off flat ground instead, as noted by The Athletic’s Fabian Ardaya. Ardaya notes that the planned bullpen session has been moved to Tuesday, and that the next step afterwards would be to face live hitters.

Urias’s setback opens the door for young right-hander Bobby Miller to make another start after the 24-year-old top prospect threw five innings of one-run ball against a tough Braves lineup in his MLB debut earlier this week. With Miller looking effective, there’s plenty of reason for the Dodgers to proceed cautiously with their staff ace as he works his way back from his current hamstring ailment. Urias entered the 2023 campaign with a career ERA of just 2.82 (148 ERA+), but his platform season before he’s slated to test free agency in the offseason hasn’t gotten off on the same dominant foot as usual. Through ten starts this season, Urias has posted a surprisingly pedestrian 4.39 ERA (101 ERA+) with a worrisome 5.31 FIP. That season line is weighed down by a final brutal stretch of six starts immediately preceding Urias’s placement on the IL, where he posted a 6.25 ERA and 6.86 FIP in 31 2/3 innings of work.

More from around MLB’s West divisions…

  • Rangers ace Jacob deGrom has been on the injured list with elbow inflammation for a month now, as the club has taken their oft-injured ace’s ramp-up back to game action slowly. After throwing a 25-pitch, fastball-only bullpen session last week, deGrom progressed to a 31-pitch bullpen session yesterday per MLB.com, during which he began to mix in sliders and change-ups. Manager Bruce Bochy noted that deGrom will be evaluated over the coming days as he recovers from the session while the club attempts to establish a clearer timeline for his return. As arguably the best pitcher in the world when healthy it’s hard to overstate the value deGrom, who has posted a 2.67 ERA and 1.57 FIP in his first six starts as a member of the Rangers, has for the club. Nonetheless, Texas has been able to excel even without their ace thanks to excellent performances from Nathan Eovaldi, Jon Gray, and Martin Perez.
  • Padres shortstop Xander Bogaerts is out of the lineup today while the 30-year-old star deals with discomfort in his wrist. As noted by Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union-Tribune, the issue is in the same wrist that required a cortisone shot during spring training. Acee notes that it’s still too soon for Bogaerts to receive another shot, so the shortstop has opted to instead play through the discomfort on and off throughout the season. The discomfort could help to explain Bogaerts’s struggles this past month, as he has slashed just .195/.290/.268 in 21 games so far in May. Acee notes that the hope is that Bogaerts will be able to return to the lineup tomorrow, but the situation appears to be day-to-day.

Tigers Acquire Lael Lockhart From Dodgers

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According to Cody Stavenhagen of The Athletic, the Tigers have swung a trade with the Dodgers in order to acquire left-handed minor leaguer Lael Lockhart, who the club has assigned to Double-A Erie. MLive’s Evan Woodbery adds that the Dodgers are receiving cash considerations in return.

Lockhart, 25, was the Dodgers’ ninth-round pick in the 2021 draft and reached the High-A level in his first professional season, pitching 12 2/3 innings with a 3.55 ERA and 23 strikeouts against seven walks. In 2022, Lockhart began to work as a starter to solid results, posting a 3.71 ERA with a 23.9% strikeout rate in 111 2/3 innings of work split between the High-A and Double-A levels. Those quality full season results are belied, however, by Lockhart’s struggles in Double-A last year, where he posted a 4.93 ERA in 34 2/3 innings with a deflated 19% strikeout rate.

Lockhart returned to the bullpen to open the 2023 season, and has struggled badly in 15 Double-A innings with an 11.40 ERA and 13 walks against just 18 strikeouts. Presumably, Detroit is hoping that a chance of scenery in a new organization will help Lockhart regain the form that saw him find success at the High-A level during 2021 and 2022.

Dodgers Outright Wander Suero

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Dodgers righty Wander Suero went unclaimed on waivers following his DFA and has been assigned outright to Triple-A Oklahoma City, per the team’s transaction log. The 31-year-old righty has enough service time to reject the assignment in favor of free agency. The team hasn’t made an announcement one way or another, but Suero is listed as active on the OKC Dodgers’ roster.

Suero appeared in four games with the Dodgers, pitching 6 2/3 innings but yielding six runs on four hits and four walks. Suero did fan exactly a quarter of his opponents (seven of 28), but he struggled not only to find the zone but to locate within it, as two of those hits left the yard.

Prior to this brief run the Dodgers, the entirety of Suero’s big league experience had come with the Nationals, for whom he pitched in 2018-21. The righty logged 185 1/3 frames with the Nats, at times serving as one of Davey Martinez’s setup men (33 holds). He posted a combined 4.61 ERA with Washington, striking out a solid 25.4% of opponents against a roughly average 8.4% walk rate. Suero wasn’t especially homer prone and didn’t give up many free passes, but he struggled with men on base, stranding a below-average 67.8% of runners he allowed. Still, fielding-independent metrics like FIP (3.80) and SIERA (3.78) thought his skills were better than his bottom-line results.

Suero has had a nice year in Oklahoma City so far, holding opponents to four runs on ten hits and eight walks with 17 strikeouts in 14 2/3 innings (2.45 ERA). It’s the fifth season in which he’s spent time at the Triple-A level, and he owns a career 3.59 ERA with a 22% strikeout rate and 8.1% walk rate through 110 1/3 innings there.

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