Tigers Place Ivan Nova On Injured List
Detroit Tigers’ starter Ivan Nova is headed to the 10-day injured list with right triceps tendinitis, the team announced. Right-hander Anthony Castro has been recalled to fill the roster spot.
Nova, 33, was brought in this winter to provide a veteran and reliable presence in the rotation. The Tigers are flush with rotation prospects – Matt Manning, Tarik Skubal, Casey Mize, among them – but in the near-term, Detroit wanted to reliability to join with injury-bitten and/or inconsistent arms like Jordan Zimmermann, Daniel Norris, and Michael Fulmer. Nova is off to a rough start, going 1-1 with a 8.53 ERA/6.34 FIP through four starts.
It’s not yet clear who will step into Nova’s spot in the rotation. Dario Agrazal is not likely to be the guy, per Evan Woodbery of MLive.com. The Tigers aren’t likely to need to name a replacement until Tuesday or Wednesday’s game. Fans and pundits alike will be hopeful that Mize gets the call here, but the Tigers have shown a reluctance to bring up their top rotation prospects.
Leury Garcia To Undergo Surgery
Leury Garcia of the White Sox is headed for surgery after severing his thumb ligament during Monday’s game against the Tigers, per MLB.com’s Scott Merkin. He will be out until October at the earliest.
Danny Mendick will see a majority of time at second in the near-term while Nick Madrigal remains on the injured list. Ryan Goins can also fill in at second. Mendick, 26, has appeared in 13 games this season, slashing .250/.318/.325 across 44 plate appearances. The former 22nd-round draft selection put together a strong audition reel last season in Triple-A with a triple slash of .279/.368/.444.
Garcia, 29, held a significant role in the early going for the Southsiders. He started the year at second before sliding to short to cover for Tim Anderson‘s IL stint. Across 16 games, the veteran Garcia answered the call with a triple slash of .271/.317/.441. The injury is unfortunate for Garcia, who held the line for the White Sox during their extensive rebuild, only to miss the rest of this season as they finally attempt to enter the (expansive) playoff picture.
The White Sox acquired Garcia from the Rangers way back in 2013 after just a sampling of playing time in the bigs back. Garcia was the player to be named later in a mid-season trade for Alex Rios. Rios finished 2013 strong with the Rangers, hitting .280/.315/.457 the rest of the way. The Dominican-born Garcia, meanwhile, has appeared in every season since the deal, earning a semi-regular role for the Pale Hose as a utility player over the last three seasons.
White Sox Ian Hamilton Out With Shoulder Soreness
The Chicago White Sox have made a number of roster moves. Reliever Ian Hamilton has been placed on the injured list with shoulder soreness, while Leury Garcia moves to the 45-day IL. Bernardo Flores and Cheslor Cuthbert are getting the call to join the major-league team, per The Athletic’s James Fegan (via Twitter).
Garcia held a significant role in the early going for the Southsiders, but he is out until October with a torn ligament in his thumb. He started the year at second before sliding to short to cover for Tim Anderson‘s IL stint. Across 16 games, the veteran Garcia held the line with a triple slash of .271/.317/.441.
Hamilton, 25, projects for a high-leverage role in the Chicago bullpen at some point in the future, but he’ll have to stay healthy first. In four appearances this season, he allowed a pair of runs across 4 innings, though he walked 5 in that span. Hamilton had an exceptionally rough 2019, first injuring his shoulder in a car accident in March, and later taking a line drive to the jaw that ended his season in June. Listed by MLB.com as Chicago’s #18-ranked prospect, Hamilton can hit triple digits on the radar gun with a sinking fastball, but for now, an overabundance of caution is understandable given the 2019 season Hamilton endured.
Flores’ stay won’t be long, as he’s joining the White Sox as the 29th man for today’s doubleheader, per Daryl Van Schouwen of the Chicago Sun-Times. To see the full advantage of the roster move, the lefty Flores should have a better chance than not of seeing action out of the bullpen sometime during the twin bill. The 24-year-old has appeared in 3 games for the White Sox this season, tossing 5 innings and allowing just a pair of earned runs.
Cuthbert is a corner infielder formerly of the Kansas City Royals. This is his second call-up of the season, the first resulting in just a single at-bat. Over six seasons in KC, Cuthbert slashed .250/.300/.378 across 1,160 plate appearances.
Outrighted: Phillies, Angels
Let’s check in on a few of the latest outrights…
- Phillies hurlers Enyel De Los Santos and Trevor Kelley cleared waivers and were outrighted to Triple-A Lehigh Valley on Friday, Todd Zolecki of MLB.com tweets. The Phillies designated both right-handers for assignment in recent days. De Los Santos joined the Phillies in a one-for-one swap with the Padres for infielder Freddy Galvis before 2018. While De Los Santos then had a strong first season in the Phillies’ system, his stock fell last year in a rough showing divided between Triple-A and the majors. Kelley, whom the Phillies claimed off waivers from the Red Sox last winter, allowed four earned runs on eight hits in 3 1/3 innings this year before Philly designated him.
- The Angels outrighted Jose Rodriguez to their alternate site after he cleared waivers. Rodriguez has thrown 21 1/3 innings of 2.53 ERA ball as an Angel since 2019, but he has allowed five home runs, struck out just 13 hitters while walking 12, and logged a 6.72 FIP/6.27 xFIP.
Rays Add Xavier Edwards To Player Pool
The Rays added infielder Xavier Edwards to their 60-man player pool Friday, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times tweets. He reported to their alternate training site.
Edwards was a first-round pick of the Padres in 2018, when the club selected him 38th overall. He’s now a top 100-caliber prospect, but the Padres traded him to the Rays last winter in a prominent deal that also saw outfielder Hunter Renfroe go to Tampa Bay. San Diego landed outfielder Tommy Pham and infielder Jake Cronenworth in return.
Edwards, who just turned 21 last week, has topped out at the High-A level as a professional. While Edwards didn’t hit any home runs during his 217-plate appearance debut there last season, he did slash .301/.349/.367 with a measly 8.8 percent strikeout rate and 14 stolen bases on 16 tries. MLB.com ranks Edwards as the Rays’ fourth-best prospect.
Mariners Release Patrick Wisdom
The Mariners have granted infielder Patrick Wisdom his unconditional release, Greg Johns of MLB.com relays. The club previously designated Wisdom for assignment on Aug. 10.
Wisdom joined the Mariners as a minor league signing last November, but he never took an at-bat with the club before it axed him. He’s best known as a former first-round pick of the Cardinals in 2012, when Wisdom went 52nd overall.
Wisdom had his moments in the St. Louis organization, especially during a 2018 major league debut in which he slashed .260/.362/.520 with four home runs in 58 plate appearances, but the Cardinals traded him to the Rangers prior to the ’19 campaign. Wisdom struggled to a .154/.185/.192 line with 15 strikeouts in 26 PA as a Ranger.
While his time in the majors has certainly been inconsistent, Wisdom will bring a track record of decent minors production to the next organization that signs him (if one does). He posted an .844 OPS in Triple-A ball last year and owns a .252/.328/.478 line with 82 homers in 1,674 trips to the plate at the highest level of the minors.
Logan Morrison Elects Free Agency
The Brewers announced Friday that first baseman Logan Morrison cleared waivers, rejected an outright assignment and elected free agency. Milwaukee designated Morrison for assignment Aug. 10.
Morrison was an offseason minor league signing for the Brewers, who took a low-risk chance on him after a pair of rough, abbreviated seasons divided between the Twins and Phillies. The 32-year-old didn’t give the Brewers the results they were looking for this season, as he walked to the plate 28 times and only mustered a line of .120/.214/.280 (35 wRC+) with one home run.
While Morrison isn’t that far removed from a terrific 2017 Rays season in which he slashed .246/.353/.516 (131 wRC+) with 38 homers in 601 plate appearances, the 32-year-old has typically been an unspectacular contributor relative to his position. Since debuting with the Marlins in 2010, Morrison has batted .238/.323/.425 (105 wRC+) with 140 homers in 3,779 trips to the plate. That’s certainly a much better career than most MLB players could realistically hope for, but based on his recent output, it seems unlikely Morrison will reemerge as an impact player in the bigs if another organization gives him a chance.
Nationals To Promote Luis Garcia
The Nationals will promote infield prospect Luis Garcia, per Mark Zuckerman of MASNsports.com (via Twitter). He’s expected to join the team for its game this evening.
Garcia, who just turned 20 in May, will step right into the starting lineup. He had been on the club’s taxi squad but an immediate opening arose when Starling Castro suffered a wrist injury earlier today. Castro’s outlook remains to be seen.
The Nats have not hesitated to call upon their best young talent, with generally excellent results. Garcia will now have an opportunity to take a place in a still-developing new core of position players on the D.C. roster.
Though he’s still quite young, Garcia did play a full season at the Double-A level last year. He ran into some challenges there, ultimately slashing just .257/.280/.337 over 553 plate appearances, but was markedly better in the second half.
Talent evaluators see Garcia as a potential everyday player. For now, he’ll line up at second base alongside regular shortstop Trea Turner. It remains to be seen how lengthy an opportunity Garcia will receive. No doubt that’ll depend both upon the health status of Castro and Garcia’s ability to adapt to MLB pitching.
Indians Option Mike Clevinger, Zach Plesac
The Indians have reinstated starters Mike Clevinger and Zach Plesac from the restricted list. In a surprising twist, both rotation members have been optioned to the alternate training site.
This news comes in the aftermath of a forehead-smacking decision by this talented pair of right-handed hurlers. They each violated collectively bargained MLB coronavirus protocols and then — as rotation mate Adam Plutko explained — lied to the team about their poor decisions.
The decision to option both pitchers came on the heels of a team meeting involving them both, as Ryan Lewis of the Akron Beacon Journal covers (Twitter links). It’s clear the organization decided it had to send a message.
It’s unlikely but not impossible that the optional assignment will have a significant impact on either player’s contractual situation. Clevinger entered the year with 3.041 years of MLB service while Plesac had 125 days. Unless the Indians leave them down for an extended stretch, they’ll still be able to move into the next service class. But the move could ruin Plesac’s hopes for potential early arbitration qualification as a Super Two.
Orioles Select Chandler Shepherd
The Orioles announced that they’ve selected the contract of right-hander Chandler Shepherd and optioned righty David Hess to their alternate training site. Baltimore’s 40-man roster is now up to a total of 39 players.
Shepherd, 28 later this month, made his big league debut with the O’s last season and allowed 14 runs in 19 frames — albeit with a solid 17-to-6 K/BB ratio. The longtime Red Sox farmhand had a solid track record in Triple-A prior to last year’s offensive explosion at that level, carrying a 3.91 ERA to that point in his career.
Shepherd has generally fared well in the upper minors while averaging a bit less than a punchout per frame and about two and a half walks per nine innings pitched. He sat at 92.2 mph with his fastball in last year’s debut effort and has posted roughly average ground-ball tendencies between Double-A and Triple-A.
Hess has a solid track record between Double-A and Triple-A over the past three seasons as well, but he’s yet to find success in the big leagues. He’s logged 190 1/3 frames since debuting back in ’17 and struggled to a 5.98 ERA with a 6.41 FIP in that time.