White Sox Place Dylan Covey On 10-Day IL
The White Sox have announced that right-hander Dylan Covey has been placed on the 10-day injured list due to inflammation in his throwing shoulder. Righty Thyago Vieira is coming up from Triple-A Charlotte to fill Covey’s spot on the 25-man roster.
Covey has a 4.58 ERA over 37 1/3 innings this season, starting seven out of his nine appearances for Chicago. The 27-year-old hasn’t missed many bats (5.3 K/9) while also posting a 4.82 BB/9, so between those numbers and a generous .239 BABIP, ERA predictors paint a significantly downcast view of Covey’s performance — 5.66 FIP, 5.84 xFIP, 6.12 SIERA.
Covey moved into the rotation when Carlos Rodon was lost for the season due to Tommy John surgery, and Covey’s absence further thins out Chicago’s pitching mix. Depending on how long Covey is out, the White Sox may be able to get by without a fifth starter altogether, as the club only plays eight times over the next 11 days. Beyond that, Odrisamer Despaigne is the only experienced option available at Triple-A, and he would need to be added to the 40-man roster. Of course, the White Sox also have one of baseball’s top pitching prospects in Dylan Cease, though it remains to seen if the Sox will promote Cease (and burn valuable service time) this season or wait until 2020.
Mets Place Robinson Cano On 10-Day Injured List
The Mets have placed Robinson Cano back on the 10-day injured list due to a strained left quad, as reported by several media outlets (including Newsday’s Tim Healey). Right-hander Tim Peterson‘s contract has been selected from Triple-A to take Cano’s spot on the active roster, thus giving the Mets 39 players on their 40-man roster.
After returning from a 12-game IL absence due to a previous quad strain on June 5, Cano almost immediately re-aggravated the injury while running out a grounder. Cano didn’t play any rehab games during his previous IL stint, though Joel Sherman of the New York Post tweets that one will be required this time around, as the Mets want to ensure that Cano is fully ready to go once he is eligible to come off the injured list.
While the quick return to the IL is undoubtedly frustrating to Cano, it’s possible the 36-year-old could see it as an unofficial restart to what has been a subpar 2019 season. Cano has hit .238/.284/.366 (career lows in all three slash categories) with three home runs over 183 plate appearances. His hard-hit ball metrics on Statcast indicate some level of bad luck, with a .324 xwOBA that is well above his real-world .284 wOBA, though obviously a .324 number isn’t exactly cause for celebration.
It’s also possible that Cano has simply needed some adjustment time to NL pitching after spending his previous 14 seasons in the American League, though the specter of a mid-30’s decline certainly can’t be ruled out — a scary scenario for the Mets, given that Cano is still owed well over $100MM through the 2023 season (though the Mariners will cover $15MM of that remaining salary).
With Cano out, Jeff McNeil is likely to continue seeing the bulk of action at second base, opening up some more time in left field for the hot-hitting Dominic Smith. Adeiny Hechavarria is available on the bench as further middle infield depth.
Yankees Place Domingo German On 10-Day IL
The Yankees have placed right-hander Domingo German on the 10-day injured list due to a left hip flexor strain. The placement is retroactive to June 8. Southpaw Stephen Tarpley has been called up from Triple-A in the corresponding 25-man roster move.
One of many unheralded players who have stepped up for the injury-riddled Yankees this season, German has been a stalwart of New York’s rotation over the first two months. The 26-year-old has a 3.86 ERA, 9.9 K/9, and 4.05 K/BB rate over 70 innings, starting 12 of his 13 appearances. His most recent results, however, haven’t been as productive; 14 of the 30 earned runs allowed by German this season have come over his last 14 2/3 IP, which could indicate that hitters have started to get a book on German, or perhaps he has been hampered by his hip issue.
With German out, the Yankees are in need of a fifth starter to slot behind Masahiro Tanaka, James Paxton, J.A. Happ, and C.C. Sabathia. The club could try to get by with openers and bullpen games (such as today’s game, as Chad Green is scheduled to “start”), though even despite the depth and quality of New York’s relief corps, that might not be a feasible answer is German is sidelined for any length of time beyond the 10-day minimum. Nestor Cortes Jr., called up on Saturday while Tanaka is briefly on the paternity list, has been regularly starting at Triple-A this season and might get the first crack at filling German’s place. Chance Adams could also be recalled from the minors for starting duty.
Tigers Select Carlos Torres’ Contract
TODAY: Torres has officially been added to Detroit’s roster, as per a team announcement. Reininger was optioned to Triple-A, while Josh Harrison was moved to the 60-day IL to create a 40-man roster spot. Harrison hasn’t played since May 27, and is facing a six-to-eight week absence due to hamstring surgery.
SATURDAY: The Tigers are set to select right-hander Carlos Torres‘ contract from Triple-A Toledo, Jason Beck of MLB.com tweets. The team will option fellow righty Zac Reininger to create a 25-man spot for Torres, but it’ll also need to make a corresponding 40-man move.
Sunday will mark the two-week anniversary since Torres joined the Tigers on a minor league deal. Since then, the 36-year-old has pitched 5 2/3 shutout innings at the Triple-A level with five hits allowed and three strikeouts against no walks. Torres previously notched respectable numbers as a member of the Padres’ Triple-A club, with which he logged a 2.49 ERA/4.18 FIP with 8.17 K/9, 3.55 BB/9 and a 50.7 percent groundball rate over 25 1/3 frames. Torres exited the organization when he opted out of his minors pact May 15.
A 15th-round pick of the White Sox in 2004, Torres has seen MLB action in every season but 2011 since he debuted in 2009. Torres owns a 4.04 ERA/4.21 FIP with 7.89 K/9, 3.43 BB/9 and a 44.4 percent grounder mark in a combined 500 2/3 innings with the ChiSox, Rockies, Mets, Brewers and Nationals.
Rangers Select Peter Fairbanks, Designate Nick Gardewine
The Rangers have selected right-hander Peter Fairbanks from Triple-A Nashville and designated fellow righty Nick Gardewine for assignment, executive vice president of communications John Blake announced. The team also optioned lefty Joe Palumbo.
Fairbanks joined the Rangers as a ninth-round pick in 2015. The 25-year-old has divided 2019 among the Single-A, Double-A and Triple-A levels and pitched to a 2.35 ERA with a whopping 14.1 K/9 against 2.0 BB/9 in 23 innings. Gardewine, also 25, totaled 13 innings with the Rangers from 2017-18 but has spent this season with their Triple-A affiliate. The 2013 seventh-round pick has thrown 4 1/3 scoreless, three-hit innings this year with eight strikeouts against two walks.
Athletics Place Nick Hundley On IL, Select Beau Taylor
The Athletics have placed catcher Nick Hundley on the 10-day injured list with back spasms and selected the contract of fellow backstop Beau Taylor from Triple-A Las Vegas, per a team announcement.
Hundley, whom Oakland signed to a minor league contract in February, made its roster but got off to a miserable start prior to his IL placement. The 35-year-old hit just .200/.233/.357 (55 wRC+) in 73 plate appearances before landing on the shelf. Nevertheless, he and Josh Phegley are the only Athletics catchers who have logged playing time this season.
A fifth-round pick of the A’s in 2011, Taylor experienced a brief stint with the club in 2018 but only picked up six PA. The A’s then outrighted Taylor on Nov. 5, only to re-sign him to a minor league deal a week later. The 28-year-old slashed an excellent .297/.450/.492 (141 wRC+) with five home runs and 33 walks against 38 strikeouts in 151 PA as a member of the team’s Triple-A affiliate before it called him back up.
Twins Select Ryan Eades, Option Willians Astudillo
The Twins have selected the contract of righty Ryan Eades and optioned C/INF/OF Willians Astudillo to AAA-Rochester, the team reported.
Eades, 27, had appeared in 17 games as a swingman for Rochester, notching a 5.88 ERA despite excellent peripheral markers. The former second-rounder struck out 42 men over those 33 2/3 innings while walking just 12. After his second-round selection in the 2013 draft, Eades has never cracked the top 30 in Baseball America’s assessment of the Twins system, though pre-draft reports lauded his “power curve” and “athletic frame.” He’s been generally stellar since transitioning to a mostly-relief role following the 2016 season, and he’ll look to make his mark as a likely longman in an unsung Twins pen.
Astudillo, also 27, rose to prominence with one of baseball’s most bizarre offensive profiles. The squatty backstop swings at nearly everything – his 63% swing rate was far and away tops in the majors this season – and makes contact nearly every time (his 4.1% strikeout rate was easily MLB’s lowest). The approach hasn’t worked for him so far this year, though, as the Venezuelan slashed just .250/.273/.357 (62 wRC+) in 120 plate appearances for the club. He’ll look to regain the magic-wand touch he brought to the majors last season in what hopes to be a brief stint with the Red Wings.
Pirates Designate Nick Kingham For Assignment
Among a slew of roster moves this afternoon, the Pirates have designated former top-100 prospect Nick Kingham for assignment. The 27-year-old, who established residence on Pirates top ten lists for much of the decade, has been largely ineffective in 110 big-league innings since his MLB debut last summer.
Kingham’s main issue has been the gopher ball – he’s allowed over two per nine over that stretch – but the 6’5 righty’s also struggled to command the ball and keep it on the ground. His 91.4 average fastball velocity is down from the 92-94 MPH reported range in which he sat before his 2015 Tommy John surgery, and Kingham’s swinging strike rates and overall contact percentage against have also been trending in the wrong direction of late. He still sports some affinity for bat-missing, though, so it’s likely another organization will swoop in and attempt to nab the potential reclamation project.
The Pirate staff, currently minus Jameson Taillon, Trevor Williams, Keone Kela, Nick Burdi, and Chris Stratton, was thin to begin and is now almost in shambles. Both Chris Archer and Joe Musgrove have been hammered in recent weeks, and the S.O.S. calls for Kingham, Steven Brault, and Rookie Davis were met mostly with deaf ears. The club may need to turn for good to top prospect Mitch Keller, who’s lately been lights out for AAA-Indianapolis, and hope for unlikely production from any number of sources if it’s to stay afloat in a very competitive NL Central.
Yankees Sign Erik Kratz To Minors Deal
The Yankees have signed catcher Erik Kratz to a minor-league deal, Conor Foley of the Scranton Times-Tribune has reported. Kratz has already reported to AAA-Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.
This’ll be the third organization this season for the 38-year-old Kratz, who was released by Tampa yesterday morning. Oft-lauded for his staunch defense behind the plate, Kratz has never much hit at the MLB level. In 921 plate appearances with ten teams over the last decade, the righty’s slashed just .205/.252/.354 (61 wRC+).
Kratz will provide experienced depth on the farm, should backup Austin Romine or force-of-nature Gary Sanchez be again shelved with injury. The veteran did accumulate a very respectable 0.8 fWAR in just 219 plate appearances with Milwaukee last season, so he should at least be a steadying force behind the dish if duty calls.
Matt den Dekker Retires
Veteran outfielder Matt den Dekker has retired, according to the independent Atlantic League’s transactions page. He had been playing for the Long Island Ducks.
Now 31 years old, den Dekker entered professional baseball as a fifth-round pick of the Mets in 2010. He then ranked as one of the Mets’ top 25 prospects at Baseball America in four straight seasons. Den Dekker made his New York debut in 2013, the first of two consecutive campaigns in which he saw action with the Mets, but only mustered a .238/.325/.310 line with one home run during that 237-plate appearance span.
On March 31, 2015, one week before the season began, the Mets traded den Dekker to the Nationals for left-handed reliever Jerry Blevins. That move largely worked out for the Mets, though den Dekker did hit a solid .253/.315/.485 with five home runs across 110 PA in 2015. Den Dekker then struggled in the minors and during a limited major league sample size in 2016, leading the Nationals to designate him for assignment.
The lefty-swinging den Dekker went on to total another 29 major league PA – eight with the Tigers in 2017 and 21 in a reunion with the Mets last year – before joining the independent circuit this season. He batted .223/.305/.337 with seven homers in 415 tries at the game’s top level and .260/.325/.427 with 61 HRs in 2,248 Triple-A attempts.