Yankees Place Domingo German On 10-Day Injured List
The Yankees placed right-hander Domingo German on the 10-day injured list prior to today’s game, as German is suffering from inflammation in his throwing shoulder. Righty Albert Abreu was called up from Triple-A to fill the spot on the active roster.
German started New York’s 4-2 win over the Marlins last night, lasting four innings and 66 pitches before being removed for a pinch-hitter in the top of the fifth. It was German’s 18th start in 21 appearances this season, with all three of those relief appearances coming since June 19. Over German’s last nine outings, only one has lasted beyond five innings — his seven-inning, 93-pitch start against the Red Sox on July 25.
With Andrew Heaney just acquired from the Angels, the Yankees were hoping to have a full rotation in place but they’ve been again left shorthanded due to injury. It isn’t yet known if German’s injury is fairly minor or if he’ll be out longer than the minimum 10 days, which could run him into the projected late August/early September timelines for Corey Kluber and Luis Severino. While these recovery timelines could be altered or future injuries could further change plans, the Yankees are hoping to have a surplus of rotation options down the stretch, so German might ultimately end up in the bullpen.
German missed the entire 2020 season while serving an 81-game suspension under the MLB/MLBPA joint domestic violence policy. The right-hander has a 4.45 ERA/4.01 SIERA over 97 innings this year, with slightly below-average strikeout and hard-hit ball rates.
Brewers Select Blaine Hardy
The Brewers have selected the contract of left-hander Blaine Hardy. The veteran will take the spot of Hunter Strickland, whose placement on the COVID-related injury list wasn’t made official until today.
Hardy underwent Tommy John surgery in March 2020, preventing him from taking the field last season and keeping him from benefiting from a minor league deal with the Twins. The southpaw inked a new minors deal with Milwaukee back in January, and he returned from TJ rehab to post a 3.50 ERA over 46 1/3 innings for the Brewers’ Triple-A affiliate in Nashville.
Through six MLB seasons and 289 2/3 innings with the Tigers from 2014-19, Hardy posted a 3.73 ERA/4.31 SIERA with 18.6% strikeout rate. Hardy has worked mostly as a reliever but did make 13 starts in 2018, and he started seven of his 17 games with Nashville this year. Milwaukee could use Hardy as rotation depth, as a long reliever, or potentially both in a swingman capacity.
Marlins Sign First-Rounder Kahlil Watson
The Marlins officially announced their deal with 16th overall pick Kahlil Watson. MLB Pipeline’s Jim Callis (Twitter links) originally reported on Friday that the two sides were in agreement on a deal, and Watson passed his routine physical yesterday.
Watson is expected to receive a bonus of $4,540,790, which is well above the $3,745,500 slot price attached to the 16th selection. Watson’s bonus would also put the Marlins in excess of their original $9,949,800 draft pool, but under the five percent threshold. Miami will have to pay a 75% overage tax on any money spent beyond 10 percent of their overall bonus pool, but exceeding the five percent mark would also cost the team a future first-round pick, which is obviously a price the Marlins (and any team) aren’t willing to pay for any prospect, even one with Watson’s pedigree.
Given that he received some consideration from the Pirates as the first overall pick, Watson’s surprising slide down the board was one of the chief storylines of draft night. Watson was seen as a consensus top-seven choice by draft evaluators, with Fangraphs and MLB Pipeline each ranking the high school shortstop as the fourth-best prospect in the entire draft class. It isn’t exactly clear why Watson was still around by the time of the 16th selection — the first 15 teams might have simply been higher on other prospects, or some clubs (like the Pirates or Orioles) were focused on spreading around their pool money, or Watson may have been to some extent hampered by the presence of two other highly-touted high school shortstops in Marcelo Mayer and Jordan Lawlar.
Regardless, the Marlins must undoubtedly believe they landed a steal midway through the first round. Watson may not remain a shortstop in the long term (another potential reason for his draft day fall), though Pipeline’s scouting report believes he has the athletic ability to handle multiple different positions. Watson makes a lot of contact despite what Pipeline describes as an “aggressive power-over-hit approach,” and Fangraphs calls the 18-year-old “electricity personified” due to both his bat speed and foot speed. Evaluators generally see Watson as a plus player across the board, though he is a little on the smaller side at 5’9″ and 178 pounds.
Marlins Select Sean Guenther, Option Lewin Diaz
The Marlins have selected the contract of left-hander Sean Guenther from Triple-A Jacksonville. First baseman Lewin Diaz was optioned to Triple-A in the corresponding move.
The 25-year-old Guenther is now in position to make his Major League debut. A seventh-round pick out of Notre Dame in the 2017 draft, Guenther isn’t ranked by either Baseball America or MLB Pipeline as one of Miami’s top 30 prospects, but the lefty has earned his promotion with some strong numbers. Since becoming a full-time relief pitcher in 2019, Guenther has greatly increased his strikeout totals, with a 34% K rate over 40 1/3 combined innings at Double-A and Triple-A ball this season.
2021 marked the first time Guenther had pitched beyond the A-ball level, and while he performed well at Double-A, his 4.76 ERA over 22 2/3 Triple-A frames indicates some growing pains. Still, much of that damage was done over two calamitous outings on July 6 and 9, as Guenther allowed nine runs over 1 2/3 total innings.
While Guenther will get his first taste of the majors, Diaz heads back to Triple-A after another brief stint with the Marlins. Diaz has only a .496 OPS over 73 career plate appearances with Miami, but the 24-year-old has already displayed a lot of power potential down on the farm, albeit without much plate discipline.
Orioles Make Three Roster Moves
The Orioles placed left-hander Tanner Scott on the 10-day injured list due to a left knee sprain. Fellow lefty Keegan Akin has been reinstated from the COVID-related injury list to take Scott’s place on the active roster, while right-hander Thomas Eshelman was designated for assignment to open up a 40-man roster spot.
Scott has a 3.95 ERA/4.12 SIERA over 41 innings out of Baltimore’s bullpen this season, with a very strong 31.4% strikeout rate. However, Scott’s 16.5% walk rate is one of the worst in baseball, continuing the control problems that have plagued the southpaw over his 143 career innings in the Show. Despite these free passes, Scott still drew a lot of attention prior to the trade deadline, as rival teams were intrigued by his high fastball velocity and the fact that Scott isn’t eligible for free agency until after the 2024 season.
This is the third time in as many seasons that the Orioles have DFA’s Eshelman, with the previous two designations resulting in the right-hander being outrighted to Triple-A. All 92 of Eshelman’s career Major League innings have come with Baltimore in those three seasons, with the righty posting a 5.87 ERA and only an 11% strikeout rate. The swingman has been mostly used in the rotation in 2021, as Eshelman has started five of his six games.
Draft Signings: 8/1/21
Teams have until 4pm CT today to reach agreements with their selections from this year’s amateur draft, and here are the latest notable signings coming in under the wire. You can get more background on these players via the prospect rankings and scouting reports compiled by Baseball America, Fangraphs, MLB Pipeline, The Athletic’s Keith Law, and ESPN’s Kiley McDaniel. As well, here is MLB Pipeline’s breakdown of the slot values assigned to each pick in the first 10 rounds, as well as the bonus pool money available to all 30 teams. 2021 amateur draft signings
- The Giants went way overslot to sign fourth-round pick Eric Silva, as Baseball America’s Carlos Collazo reports that the high school right-hander received a bonus of $1,497,500 to begin his pro career rather than attend UCLA. That works out to just under $1MM in money beyond the assigned $502.3K slot price for the 115th overall pick.
Padres Place Fernando Tatis Jr, Chris Paddack On 10-Day IL
11:24PM: Season-ending shoulder surgery “would be on the table” for Tatis if he doesn’t show improvement during his 10-day IL stint, Tinger told The Athletic’s Dennis Lin and other reporters. However, Tatis is intent on playing again this year.
6:01PM: The Padres have placed shortstop Fernando Tatis Jr. and right-hander Chris Paddack on the 10-day injured list. Tatis is on the IL with left shoulder inflammation, after leaving last night’s game with a shoulder problem following a slide into third base. Paddack has been sidelined with a left oblique strain, and his placement is retroactive to July 28.
In corresponding moves, the Padres also optioned righty Nabil Crismatt to Triple-A while calling up right-handers Miguel Diaz and Reiss Knehr, and newly-acquired outfielder Jake Marisnick was added to the active roster.
This is the second time Tatis’ bothersome left shoulder has sent him to the injured list this season, as he suffered a slight labrum tear back in early April but ended up missing only a minimal amount of time. Tatis has since missed a couple of games with mild shoulder soreness, but Padres manager Jayce Tingler told Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union-Tribune (Twitter links) and other reporters that Tatis’ shoulder was “more sore” in the aftermath of this injury than in his past shoulder aggravations.
According to Acee, there isn’t yet any indication that the Padres are considering shutting Tatis down in the wake of these recurring injuries. If surgery is the only way to fully correct the problem, that would obviously sideline Tatis for the rest of this season and potentially into 2022, depending on the extent of the procedure and the severity of the shoulder damage. The fact that Tatis has been able to bounce back multiple times this year and still produce at a superstar level provides some hope that he’ll also be able to recover from this latest setback, though it would seem to appear that Tatis will require more than just the minimum 10 days of recovery time.
There is no way to actually replace Tatis, of course, though San Diego’s acquisition of Adam Frazier last week now looks all the more important. Jake Cronenworth can slide over to shortstop while Frazier takes over as planned at second base, but that scenario also interrupts the Padres’ initial plan — using Cronenworth at first base and Frazier as a super-utilityman around the diamond, providing cover for and depth behind Eric Hosmer and Wil Myers. Ha-Seong Kim and Jurickson Profar are also on hand as utility options.
Losing Paddack is also no small matter for the Padres, who have been consistently hampered by rotation injuries all season. San Diego was rumored to be looking at multiple starters prior to the trade deadline, but reliever Daniel Hudson ended up being their only new arm. Paddack was scheduled to start on Sunday, but the Padres might now turn to Knehr or another option for tomorrow’s game.
Paddack has pitched better (3.92 SIERA) than his 5.13 ERA would indicate, though he has allowed a lot of hard contact. Perhaps the key stat is 93 innings pitched, as Paddack has been a reliably durable member of the starting staff apart from a 10-day COVID absence early in the season. The right-hander has a below-average strikeout rate but he has been one of the best at limiting free passes; Paddack’s walk rate is only five percent.
Dodgers Place Tony Gonsolin On 10-Day Injured List
The Dodgers have placed right-hander Tony Gonsolin on the 10-day injured list due to right shoulder inflammation, and also sent right-hander Brusdar Graterol and outfielder Luke Raley to Triple-A. The trio of moves clears the way for Max Scherzer to be activated onto the Dodgers’ roster, while righty Edwin Uceta and southpaw Garrett Cleavinger were called up from Triple-A.
It seems likely that Gonsolin’s shoulder issue contributed to his tough start last night, as he lasted only 1 2/3 innings while allowing two runs on a hit and five walks in the Dodgers’ 6-5 loss to the Diamondbacks. Control has been an uncharacteristically major issue for Gonsolin this season, as his 16.5% walk rate is one of the worst of any pitcher with at least 30 innings tossed.
Since Gonsolin didn’t debut this season until June 9 due to shoulder inflammation, the Dodgers have been limiting his workload, but the right-hander has still been posting some quality results. Gonsolin has a 2.78 ERA despite his problem with free passes, as he has an above-average 26.6% strikeout rate and done a good job at limiting hard contact.
Gonsolin joins Clayton Kershaw and the newly-acquired Danny Duffy on the injured list, as Scherzer’s acquisition was intended to help correct the lack of available rotation depth. If everyone is healthy, Los Angeles will have a fearsome array of pitchers available for the playoffs, though even the Dodgers’ depth has been tested by multiple pitching injuries this season.
Mets Designate Anthony Banda, Outright Akeem Bostick
The Mets announced that left-hander Anthony Banda has been designated for assignment, while right-hander Akeem Bostick has been outrighted to Triple-A. (Bostick was DFA’ed yesterday as part of the Mets’ roster shuffles on deadline day.) The moves open up some 40-man roster space for the two particulars of yesterday’s big trade with the Cubs — Javier Baez joins New York’s active roster, while righty Trevor Williams was optioned to Triple-A.
The Giants dealt Banda to the Mets at the start of July, and Banda could potentially last only a month in his latest organization. Banda’s contract was selected by New York on July 19, and he posted a 7.36 ERA over five appearances and 7 1/3 innings with the team.
A Tommy John surgery and other injuries have hampered the career of Banda, who drew notice as a prospect during his time in the Brewers, Diamondbacks, and Rays farm system. That potential led Banda to be included as part of a pair of notable trades — exactly seven years ago today, the Brewers sent Banda and Mitch Haniger to the D’Backs for Gerardo Parra, and then he was moved to the Rays as part of a big three-team trade in February 2018. At the big league level, Banda has tossed only 58 2/3 innings since the start of the 2017 season, posting a 6.14 ERA.
Marlins Reinstate Trevor Rogers From 10-Day IL, Designate Preston Guilmet
The Marlins announced four roster moves prior to their game with the Yankees, most notably the activation of tonight’s scheduled starting pitcher. Trevor Rogers has been reinstated from the 10-day injured list, and newly-acquired catcher Alex Jackson has also officially been added to the roster. In corresponding moves, right-hander Preston Guilmet was designated for assignment and righty Jordan Holloway was optioned to Triple-A Jacksonville.
Rogers returns after just a minimal absence due to back spasms. The left-hander’s second MLB season has seen him break out with a 2.37 ERA over 106 1/3 innings, with Statcast delivering good reviews of his work apart from a below-average walk rate. Rogers’ performance earned him an All-Star nod, and the 23-year-old looks to be establishing himself as yet another building block of a young arm in the Miami rotation.
Guilmet has tossed one inning for the Marlins this season, with that lone appearance marking the righty’s first Major League game since the 2018 season. Guilmet has now appeared in five different seasons since 2013, accumulating 34 innings in the Show and posting a 9.00 ERA.
Originally a ninth-round draft pick for Cleveland back in 2009, Guilmet has been a member of 11 different MLB organizations, not to mention a stint in Japan with the Yakult Swallows. Because the Marlins have already outrighted Guilmet off the 40-man roster earlier this season, he has the right to decline another outright assignment and elect to become a free agent once again.