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J.A. Happ Placed On 10-Day DL With Elbow Inflammation

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2:38PM: The Blue Jays officially placed Happ on the DL.  Infielder Ty Kelly has been recalled from Triple-A in a corresponding move.

9:19AM: Blue Jays southpaw J.A. Happ is likely to require a 10-day DL stint due to inflammation in his left elbow, according to Jon Paul Morosi of the MLB Network and MLB Network Radio’s own Twitter account (Twitter links).  The good news, as per Morosi, is that Happ’s injury isn’t thought to be serious in the wake of the left-hander’s medical evaluation on Monday.  It seems possible, then, that Happ could be back as soon as his mandatory 10 days are up, though Toronto could also decide to give Happ more recovery time for the sake of being cautious.

Elbow soreness forced Happ to leave the mound during the fifth inning of Sunday’s 11-4 loss to the Orioles.  The left-hander has 20 strikeouts and zero walks over his 16 innings pitched in this young season, though Happ has a 4.50 ERA thanks to four home runs allowed in that stretch.  Happ is coming off the best season of his 11-year career, a 20-win campaign in 2016 that saw him post a 3.18 ERA, 2.72 K/BB rate and 7.5 K/9 in 195 innings.

Happ’s likely absence creates yet another problem for the struggling Blue Jays, who are off to a rough 2-10 start to the season.  Happ joins Josh Donaldson, Aaron Sanchez and J.P. Howell on the disabled list, and with Happ and Sanchez now both missing time, the Jays face an immediate test of their rotation depth.  The Jays have Mat Latos, Brett Oberholtzer, Mike Bolsinger and T.J. House available at Triple-A as possible fill-ins.  A decision won’t need to be made until the Jays open a series against the Angels on Friday, as Marcus Stroman, Francisco Liriano and Marco Estrada are all scheduled to start Toronto’s next three games.

Rosenthal’s Latest: Blue Jays, Donaldson, Braun, Orioles

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FOX Sports’ Ken Rosenthal shares some news from around baseball in his latest notes column…

  • Josh Donaldson is expected to spend 2-4 weeks on the DL recovering from a calf injury.  Though the Blue Jays are in dire need of Donaldson’s bat, I would suspect the team would err on the side of caution and keep Donaldson out of action until he has completely healed, given that the third baseman has been bothered by this injury dating back to Spring Training.
  • With the Blue Jays off to a 2-10 start, Rosenthal figures the team will likely be dealing veterans at the July trade deadline but “a major deconstruction would be a tough sell” to fans.  A complete rebuild would erase most or all of the gains made in ticket sales and TV ratings during the last two years, when the Jays twice reached the postseason.  Rosenthal believes the Jays could use “a strategic re-set” and still aim to contend in 2018.  If Toronto does sell at the deadline, they could limit themselves to trading players who will be free agents after 2017 (such as Marco Estrada, Jose Bautista or Francisco Liriano).  The tougher calls, of course, would be on deciding to trade Donaldson or J.A. Happ, who are under contract through the 2018 season.
  • Ryan Braun will gain 10-and-5 rights on May 14, according to Rosenthal, not on May 24 as previous reports have suggested.  No matter the date that the Brewers slugger can gain full no-trade control, however, Rosenthal echoes earlier reports that suggest little will change with Braun’s trade status once he becomes a 10-and-5 player.
  • The Orioles’ lack of international spending is “an ownership decision,” Rosenthal hears from Baltimore executive VP of baseball operations Dan Duquette.  Ben Badler pulled no punches in criticizing the Orioles’ meager spending on international amateur free agents in a piece for Baseball America earlier this week, and Rosenthal adds that the O’s have also spent the least of any team on amateur draft signings over the last three years.  While Duquette notes that several homegrown prospects are currently on Baltimore’s MLB roster, Rosenthal points out that with so many big names (i.e. Manny Machado, Adam Jones, Zach Britton) slated for free agency after 2018, the O’s are lacking in young depth to fill what could be several significant roster holes.
  • Two sources tell Rosenthal that Duquette wasn’t happy with how the Orioles’ medical staff handled Chris Tillman’s shoulder injury.  Duquette didn’t specifically comment on this report to Rosenthal, only saying that “We probably could have done a better job getting him back….I’m not sure we rushed him.  I’m just disappointed he didn’t start the season with us.  We had plenty of time to work with him.  The shoulder was bothering him at the end of last year.”  Tillman and the O’s are targeting a return date of early May for the right-hander to make his season debut.

Injury Notes: Happ, Hill, Flowers, Segura, Cishek

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A day after placing Aaron Sanchez on the DL, the Blue Jays might have lost another starting pitcher today — J.A. Happ will have an MRI after leaving today’s game with elbow trouble, as Sportsnet’s Arden Zwelling and other reporters have noted. “I felt kind of a pull, a tug in my elbow,” says Happ. “And then I went back out there for the fifth and it just got progressively worse.” A significant injury to Happ would be yet another blow to a Blue Jays team that is already off to 2-10 start that had already led to whispers that the team could be sellers on the trade market this summer. Here are more notes on injuries.

  • Dodgers lefty Rich Hill’s second start of the season ended just as his first one did — with an early departure due to blister trouble, as Bill Shaikin of the Los Angeles Times notes. Shaikin further adds in a tweet that the Dodgers will decide tomorrow whether Hill will require another DL stay. The team could even consider moving him to the bullpen, manager Dave Roberts tells reporters, including MLB.com’s Ken Gurnick (link to Twitter). Presumably, pitching shorter outings could prevent blister flareups. Hill pitched just three innings in the Dodgers’ 3-1 loss to the Diamondbacks. “We’ve talked to a lot of different people that have issues with that outside of our game, and we just can’t pinpoint it,” Roberts said before the game of Hill’s blister issues. “We’re going to continue to try. We don’t have an answer.”
  • Braves catcher Tyler Flowers is day-to-day with a strained hamstring he noticed during Sunday’s game, as MLB.com’s Mark Bowman notes. “We’re going to re-evaluate him tomorrow and see where we’re at. Hopefully it’s nothing real serious, because he’s swinging that bat real well,” says Braves manager Brian Snitker. The Braves will wait to decide whether to place Flowers on the DL. In Flowers is out for awhile, Kurt Suzuki will start and Anthony Recker will back him up. Both are already on the Braves’ active roster.
  • Mariners infielder Jean Segura and reliever Steve Cishek are close to returning from injury, writes MLB.com’s Greg Johns. Segura has been doing some supervised running to test his ailing hamstring, and hopes to return on Friday, when is when he’s first eligible to come back after going on the DL last Tuesday. Cishek, meanwhile, is beginning a rehab assignment with Double-A Arkansas. Cishek is still making his way back after having microfracture hip surgery last October.

AL Notes: Blue Jays, Yankees, A’s, Red Sox

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With Toronto off to a 2-9 start, executives from rival teams are already wondering which players the Blue Jays might shop in the coming months if they don’t turn their season around, according to Buster Olney of ESPN.com. Olney lists several possibilities, the most prominent being onetime MVP-winning third baseman Josh Donaldson, who’s currently on the disabled list with a calf injury. Three members of the Jays’ rotation – J.A. Happ, Marco Estrada and Francisco Liriano – as well as right fielder Jose Bautista and shortstop Troy Tulowitzki are also candidates to end up on the move, per Olney.

More from the American League:

  • Designated hitter Matt Holliday hasn’t been a member of the Yankees for long, but the 37-year-old has quickly emerged as one of their strongest leaders, writes Andrew Marchand of ESPN.com. One important member of the organization Holliday has impacted is high-end outfield prospect Clint Frazier, who told Marchand the longtime Cardinal is “the best guy” he has met in baseball. “He is the nicest guy. He has a lot to offer about [how] to go about your business on the field and how to go about it after the game and how to handle things at home,” continued Frazier. “He is someone I want to emulate, to be like him on and off the field.” The addition of Holliday has also been a positive between the lines for the Yankees, as the free agent signing has thus far hit a productive .242/.419/.394 in 43 plate appearances.
  • The Athletics have placed shortstop Marcus Semien on the 10-day disabled list, retroactive to Saturday, with a right wrist contusion and recalled infielder Chad Pinder from Triple-A (depth chart). It’s possible Semien has a fracture, but the A’s will know more after he undergoes a CT scan on Monday, tweets Joe Stiglich of NBC Sports California. Semien’s wrist has been acting up since last month, which has likely contributed to the 26-year-old’s lack of power early this season. After homering 27 times and posting a .197 ISO last year, Semien has shown almost no pop in his first 46 PAs of 2017 (zero HRs, .057 ISO).
  • Red Sox center fielder Jackie Bradley Jr., on the DL with a right knee sprain, could return as early as Friday, reports Jen McCaffrey of MassLive.com.  The 2016 All-Star is first slated to play five innings in center with Triple-A Pawtucket on Tuesday and then nine Wednesday, per manager John Farrell. Bradley hasn’t been in Boston’s lineup since April 8, leaving Chris Young to fill in during his absence. Young has handled left field, thus shifting Andrew Benintendi to center.

Blue Jays Send Aaron Sanchez To 10-Day DL

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Blue Jays right-hander Aaron Sanchez is headed to the disabled list, retroactive to Saturday, with a blister on the middle finger of his pitching hand, according to the team. Toronto has recalled left-hander Matt Dermody from Triple-A to take Sanchez’s roster spot.

Sanchez’s blister has been a problem since March, and it played a part in the 24-year-old’s poor start against the Orioles on Friday, tweets Shi Davidi of Sportsnet. In 5 1/3 innings, Sanchez gave up five earned runs on seven hits, which paled in comparison to his seven-frame, one-run season debut against Tampa Bay last week. Thanks to his latest outing, Sanchez’s early season numbers are no match for his production from 2016, when he logged a 3.00 ERA and a 54.4 percent ground-ball rate over 192 innings.

The Blue Jays are off Monday, meaning they might be able to avoid having to recall a starter from Triple-A if Sanchez’s injury only keeps him out for one turn through the rotation. Otherwise, minor league options include a slew of familiar names in Mat Latos, Lucas Harrell, Brett Oberholtzer and T.J. House, though none are on the Jays’ 40-man roster. Fellow minor leaguer Casey Lawrence is on the 40-man, however, and has already seen action this year with 2-9 Toronto. He contributed to the Jays’ woes during two relief appearances, allowing three earned runs on five walks in a pair of innings.

Mark Shapiro Not Looking To “Overhaul” Blue Jays Despite 1-9 Start

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The Blue Jays 1-9 start is their worst in the history of the franchise. Team president and CEO Mark Shapiro says, though, that he isn’t planning significant changes at this time, as Sportsnet’s Shi Davidi writes.

“Less than 10 games in, this is not the time to start looking at external help,” says Shapiro, issuing the standard line executives (mostly correctly) use when their teams struggle in April. “There may be a time and a place when you start to think about that, but you’re not going to replace five hitters.”

Indeed, teams are rarely willing to make big trades in April, either as buyers or sellers, and teams’ early-season problems can be misdiagnosed due to sample-size issues. The Blue Jays have scored just 2.8 runs per game thus far, and Devon Travis, Russell Martin, Jose Bautista and Steve Pearce in particular have struggled. With what would appear to be a good veteran lineup, though, that could change in time. Shapiro says the team is now focused on making the most of the talent it has.

“When it goes collectively as badly as it does right now with our offence, a lot of what we’re dealing with is we need to get to a point where guys stop trying to do too much and stop trying to take responsibility for it individually,” says Shapiro.

And as Shapiro also notes, the team’s pitching has been capable. The team has gotten good performances thus far from Marcus Stroman and relievers Joe Biagini, Joe Smith, Ryan Tepera and Aaron Loup in particular, and J.A. Happ currently has 17 strikeouts and no walks despite posting a 5.40 ERA in the early going.

“Not everything is wrong,” says Shapiro. “We’re pitching well, dominant at times, there are a lot of good things going on both in the rotation and in our bullpen and we’re playing good defense. We’re not looking at overhauling the entire team.”

The Blue Jays do have their share of both short- and long-term issues — they recently had to place superstar Josh Donaldson on the DL with a calf injury, and the team’s somewhat unwieldy reliance on veterans (including Donaldson, Martin, Bautista, Pearce, Kendrys Morales, Troy Tulowitzki, Marco Estrada, Francisco Liriano, Happ and Jason Grilli) creates pressure on the team to succeed now. It might be unwise, however, for the Jays to overreact to the ten-game slump that has started their season.

Blue Jays Select Chris Coghlan, Place Josh Donaldson On 10-Day DL, Designate Juan Graterol

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5:51pm: Catcher Juan Graterol has been designated to clear 40-man space, the club announced. Graterol was claimed just before camp and seemed slated to function as the third catcher. But the Jays recently added Luke Maile through a waiver claim, and he evidently stepped into the top spot on the minor-league depth chart.

3:00pm: The Blue Jays have selected the contract of veteran outfielder/infielder Chris Coghlan, as Shi Davidi of Sportsnet.ca first reported on Twitter. Coghlan would have been eligible to opt out of his deal at the end of the month, Davidi notes.

Unfortunately, the move was necessitated by the calf injury that felled star third baseman Josh Donaldson. He’s heading to the 10-day DL, though it seems the organization hopes that he won’t require an extended stint. Toronto will also need to clear a 40-man spot.

The Jays will hope that Coghlan can provide a boost against right-handed pitching, as he has done for much of his career. He became available when the Phillies cut him loose late in camp, after Coghlan reportedly declined to sign an advance consent waiver that would’ve allowed the Phils to avoid a full-season guarantee by trimming him from the roster within 45 days of the start of the season.

Instead, Coghlan headed to the open market and landed in Toronto on a new minors deal. The 31-year-old will look to pick up where he left off last year with the Cubs. He slashed .252/.491/.388 in 128 plate appearances with Chicago after struggling earlier in the season for the A’s.

Coghlan is best utilized as a platoon player, as his lifetime OPS splits (.766 vs. righties, .618 vs. lefties) would suggest. He does offer some defensive versatility, though, having lined up at second and third as well as his natural corner outfield in recent years.

AL East Notes: Donaldson, Betances, Orioles

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Blue Jays third baseman Josh Donaldson exited Thursday’s contest with what appears to be an aggravation of the calf injury that has plagued him on and off since early in Spring Training, as MLB.com’s Gregor Chisholm writes. Donaldson doubled into the right field corner but came up lame after rounding first base and ultimately hobbled into second base. There’s no word on the extent of the injury just yet, but Donaldson began to walk off the field almost immediately after play had halted, and Sportsnet’s Shi Davidi tweets that a trip to the disabled list is a possibility. The 2015 American League MVP missed a significant portion of Spring Training and had a brief flare-up of the injury this past weekend.

Elsewhere in the AL East…

  • Prior to the arbitration hearing that led to a controversial string of comments from Yankees president Randy Levine, right-hander Dellin Betances was offered a two-year deal that would have guaranteed him between $8MM and $8.5MM, reports Jon Heyman of FanRag Sports in his latest AL Notes column. However, with Betances’ camp seeking as much as $5MM in arbitration, they elected to go on with the trial. Rejecting the deal seems reasonable, from my vantage point, as even after losing the trial Betances took home a $3MM figure for the 2017 season. Betances figures to earn more than $4MM next year in arbitration, so the downside in aiming high with the arbitration hearing was relatively minimal.
  • Baseball America’s Ben Badler penned a harsh critique of the Orioles’ paltry investments in international free agency, noting that the O’s spent just $260K on international talent this period and signed only five players. As Badler notes, it’s nothing new, as Baltimore has routinely eschewed significant investments on the international market — much to the detriment of the farm system. Badler points out that even the cash-strapped division-rival Rays spent more than $3MM on 36 international amateurs in 2016 despite being in the metaphorical penalty box for shattering their pool in a previous signing period (thus preventing them from spending more than $300K on a single player). “[O]wnership’s antiquated approach toward Latin America prevents the Orioles’ international scouts from having the resources they need to do their jobs,” Badler writes. Indeed, Baltimore’s total spending is a pittance relative to the rest of the league; on the opposite end of the spectrum, the Padres spent nearly $80MM on international amateurs during the current signing period alone. Notably, the O’s traded their top international bonus slot to the Brewers tonight to acquire recently designated reliever Damien Magnifico.
  • The Orioles will turn to Alec Asher to start versus Toronto on Saturday, writes Eduardo A. Encina of the Baltimore Sun. His selection to face a heavily right-handed lineup suggests that Baltimore plans to utilize its upper-level pitching depth on a case-by-case basis to fill Chris Tillman’s spot in the rotation while Tillman is out, Encina adds. Manager Buck Showalter elaborated on that concept a bit, telling Encina: “We know that has potential to be a moving piece until Chris gets back. We can play a little matchup there until we know for sure when we’re going to get Chris back. … The good news is we have some guys to pick from, not only there, but potentially in Bowie, too.” The Orioles added Asher in a minor Spring Training trade and also picked up several other potential options, including Gabriel Ynoa (in a trade with the Mets) and Richard Bleier (in a trade with the Yankees). Lefty Jayson Aquino was also a consideration for this weekend’s start, Encina notes, but the glut of righties he’d have faced led the team to turn to Asher instead. Tillman figures to be out until early May, so there should be quite a few more spot starts up for grabs among this group.

Injury Notes: Bradley, Posey, Segura, Osuna, Desmond, Gray/Bassitt, Weaver

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The Red Sox have placed center fielder Jackie Bradley Jr. on the 10-day DL, as Ian Browne of MLB.com was among those to report. Bradley was diagnosed with a knee sprain caused by a misstep while running the bases. An MRI did not reveal more significant damage, so the hope is he won’t miss much more than the minimum.

Let’s check in on a few health situations of note from around the game …

  • Giants star Buster Posey departed the club’s game today after being struck in the head by an errant pitch, but thankfully indications are he escaped any significant injury. As Andrew Baggarly of the Mercury News writes, Posey passed a concussion test and told teammates he was fine. That’s not conclusive, of course, but for now the team does not plan to make a roster move to fill in for the stellar backstop, as Baggarly further notes on Twitter.
  • Mariners shortstop Jean Segura was also pulled today with an injury, though it doesn’t appear to be a major concern. Manager Scott Servais told reporters, including MLB.com’s Greg Johns (Twitter link), that it’s a “very mild” hamstring issue. For now, at least, the key offseason addition won’t be headed for the DL, with Servais calling him day to day.
  • The Blue Jays anticipate that closer Roberto Osuna will be able to return to action tomorrow, as Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet.ca reports. The excellent young reliever opened the year on the 10-day DL owing to a cervical spasm, though that placement was backdated. He made it through a sim game and now seems ready to return to the majors — where he’ll try to pick up where he left off in a strong 2016 season.
  • There are several important Rockies players still working back from injury, and Nick Groke of the Denver Post has the latest. Ian Desmond, Tom Murphy, and David Dahl all seem to be progressing, with the trio possibly slated to return by the end of the month. Desmond, who’ll suit up at first base for the first time when he’s ready, seems to have the clearest progression at this point. Per Groke, Desmond will start to throw and field at some point this week.
  • Athletics righties Sonny Gray and Chris Bassitt are making strides in their rehabs, as Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle reports. Grey’s lat strain is healing well enough that he was able to work up to 35 pitches from the bullpen today. That could leave him on track to return tot he majors before April is out, per the report. Bassitt, meanwhile, is on the cusp of a rehab stint, though Slusser notes that he’s likely to take a full month in the minors since he’s working back from a year-long layoff owing to Tommy John surgery.
  • Though he’s currently stashed at Triple-A, Cardinals righty Luke Weaver is a key piece of the organization’s depth (and future rotation plans). He is headed for a DL stint with lower back stiffness, as MLB.com’s Jenifer Langosch reports on Twitter. At present, it’s not clear what kind of an absence is anticipated.

Blue Jays Claim Ty Kelly From Mets

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The Blue Jays announced that they’ve claimed infielder Ty Kelly off waivers from the Mets. To clear a spot on the 40-man roster, the Jays transferred injured Rule 5 pick Glenn Sparkman from the 10-day DL to the 60-day DL.

Kelly, 28, made his MLB debut with New York last year and batted .241/.352/.345 in 71 plate appearances. A former 13th-round pick by the Orioles (2009), Kelly has spent most of his minor league career playing second base and third base, though he does have more than 1000 innings of experience in left field as well. The switch-hitter has a lifetime .275/.382/.383 batting line in 397 games and 1586 plate appearances at the Triple-A level.

The minor league veteran will serve as a depth option for the Blue Jays, who needn’t carry him on the Major League roster immediately, as he does have a minor league option remaining. Toronto second baseman Devon Travis has a history of injuries, and third baseman Josh Donaldson left Sunday’s game with a minor hamstring issue, though he’s already expressed confidence that he’ll be able to play in tomorrow’s game. Kelly nonetheless gives the Jays a bit of insurance against any significant injury around the infield and potentially in the corner outfield as well.

As for Sparkman, the 24-year-old suffered a broken thumb back in Spring Training during pitchers’ fielding practice and seemingly won’t be ready to get back on the mound before the onset of summer.

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