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Marlins Place Jesus Luzardo On 15-Day Injured List

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12:59PM: The move has been officially announced, with Luzardo’s placement retroactive to June 19.  The left-hander’s injury has been termed as a lumbar stress reaction, and Schumaker floated a recovery timeline of 4-6 weeks to De Nicola and other reporters.  Though Schumaker was speaking in more general terms about recoveries from similar injuries rather than what can be expected for Luzardo himself, it nevertheless remains unclear if Luzardo will be able to pitch again before the trade deadline.

10:42AM: The Marlins have placed left-hander Jesus Luzardo on the 15-day injured list due to a back injury.  The team already announced yesterday that Luzardo was being scratched from his planned start today, and Shaun Anderson is being recalled from Triple-A to take the hill against the Mariners.

Luzardo has been trying to pitch through his back problem “for a couple of weeks,” manager Skip Schumaker told MLB.com’s Christina De Nicola and other reporters, and the team even considered scratching him from his previous start against the Nationals last Sunday.  As De Nicola notes, Luzardo’s velocity was down during that outing, though Luzardo still managed five innings of two-run ball against Washington.

“You don’t want to overdo another side of the body or another part of the body because you’re trying not to hurt whatever is being hurt or is hurting,” Schumaker said.  “You definitely don’t want to push through something, especially the back, because it could lead to other things.  So we’ll see what the results say and what the doctors say, but it’s definitely not something that you push through.”

This is Luzardo’s second IL trip this season, as he also missed just under three weeks dealing with tightness in his throwing elbow.  Luzardo has a lengthy and well-documented injury history that also includes a Tommy John surgery, but the 2023 season showed a glimpse of what the southpaw could do when he was finally healthy.  Over 32 starts and 178 2/3 innings for Miami last year, Luzardo posted a 3.58 ERA, 28.1% strikeout rate, and 7.4% walk rate to help lead the Marlins to a wild card berth.

The numbers have fallen off in 2024, with health undoubtedly some sort of factor in Luzardo’s 5.00 ERA over 66 2/3 frames.  While his 4.20 SIERA is a little more respectable, Luzardo’s strikeout rate has sharply dropped to 21.2%, and his fastball velocity has gone from 96.7mph in 2023 to 95.1mph this year.  As per Statcast, Luzardo’s four-seamer was one of the more effective pitches in baseball last season, but is now a below-average offering.

Anderson has already made one spot start for the Marlins since he was acquired in a trade with the Rangers last month, and now might get more opportunities as Miami continues to deal with an injury-plagued rotation.  Since the last-place Marlins have long since thrown in the towel on contending this season, much of the focus on Miami has been around on what the team might do at the trade deadline, with Luzardo’s name often mentioned a prime candidate to be moved.

Even considering his shaky 2024 production, Luzardo has been viewed as possibly the Marlins’ best trade chip due to his age (26) and the two-plus years of arbitration control that runs through the 2026 campaign.  However, this latest injury creates new doubt that Luzardo will even be back on the mound by the July 30 deadline, given how back problems can tend to linger.  There’s no urgency for the Marlins to move Luzardo this summer when other trades could be explored this winter or really at any time during Luzardo’s remaining tenure with the organization, but naturally another injury-marred season will lower his trade value.

Diamondbacks Place Gabriel Moreno On 10-Day Injured List

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The Diamondbacks announced that catcher Gabriel Moreno has been placed on the 10-day injured list due to a sprained left thumb.  Jose Herrera has been called up from Triple-A, and Herrera with team with Tucker Barnhart as Arizona’s catching combo until Moreno has recovered.

Moreno’s injury took place in last night’s game, as the backstop’s glove hand was hit by a Cristian Pache foul ball in the third inning.  Moreno tried to stay in the game but the discomfort eventually forced him to make an early exit in the sixth frame.  D’Backs manager Torey Lovullo told media (including Alex Weiner of Arizona Sports) after the game that x-rays were negative on Moreno’s thumb, so the catcher at least avoided a more serious structural injury that would’ve cost him more time or even possibly threatened his season.

Heralded as one of baseball’s top prospects during his time in the Blue Jays’ farm system, Moreno and Lourdes Gurriel Jr. were acquired by the D’Backs in exchange for Daulton Varsho during the 2022-23 offseason.  Moreno’s first full season saw him win a Gold Glove, hit .284/.339/.408 in 380 plate appearances, and then excel in Arizona’s playoff run to the NL pennant, seemingly cementing his place as one of the sport’s up and coming stars.

However, the sophomore slump seems to have bitten Moreno in his follow-up campaign, as he has hit only .230/.313/.346 with three homers over 217 PA.  A .261 BABIP hasn’t helped his efforts, though Moreno isn’t making much hard contact.  On the plus side, his strikeout and walk rates are both well above average, and Moreno’s defense remains remains elite.

A’s Place Abraham Toro On 10-Day IL, Select Armando Alvarez

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11:17AM: The Athletics officially announced Toro’s IL placement and Alvarez’s selection.

7:54AM: Abraham Toro made an early exit from the Athletics’ 6-5 win over the Twins Friday, and manager Mark Kotsay told MLB.com’s Martin Gallegos (links to X) and other reporters that Toro will be placed on the 10-day injured list due to a hamstring strain.  Gallegos reports that infielder Armando Alvarez will have his contract selected from Triple-A Las Vegas to take Toro’s spot on the active roster, with no other corresponding move required since Oakland has space on its 40-man roster.

The A’s acquired Toro in a trade with the Brewers last November, as while Toro was a non-tender candidate for Milwaukee, he has become basically an everyday player in Oakland.  Toro has played mostly third base, while also getting a good dose of DH time, regular second base duty when Zack Gelof was on the IL, and a couple of games as a first baseman and left fielder.  In addition to this versatile fielding, Toro has hit .260/.303/.386 with six home runs over 295 plate appearances, translating to an exactly league-average 100 wRC+.

It’s a solid return for a player on a modest $1.275MM salary, and Toro is also under arbitration control through the 2026 season.  This cost-effective control could make Toro an interesting trade chip for the Athletics at the deadline, or make him likelier to stick around in Oakland as an inexpensive and useful part of the roster.  First things first, of course, Toro will have to return healthy before any consideration can be give to his trade potential, and the severity of his hamstring strain isn’t yet known.  Toro also missed a couple of other games earlier this week due to a sore shoulder.

Tyler Nevin and Aledmys Diaz will likely get the bulk of third base duty while Toro is sidelined, though the A’s might take the opportunity to give Alvarez some playing time.  Alvarez (who turns 30 next month) is getting his first look in the majors after eight pro seasons.

A 17th-round pick for the Yankees in the 2016 draft, Alvarez spent much of his career in New York’s farm system before joining the Giants on a minors deal in 2023, and then another minor league contract with the Athletics this past winter.  Alvarez has played almost all of the last four seasons at Triple-A and has been posting some quality numbers since 2022, including a .311/.401/.528 slash line across 187 PA for Las Vegas this season.

Since Darell Hernaiz and Brett Harris are both recovering from injury themselves, Alvarez became the next man up at third base with Toro hitting the IL.  Alvarez has spent the large majority of his career as a third baseman, though he has seen increasingly more time as a second baseman and first baseman over the last two seasons, as this boost in versatility could help him find a niche on a big league roster.

Cardinals Place Ivan Herrera On 10-Day Injured List, Select Nick Raposo

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The Cardinals announced that catcher Ivan Herrera has been placed (retroactive to June 19) on the 10-day injured list due to lower back tightness.  Backstop Nick Raposo will replace Herrera on the active roster after St. Louis selected Raposo’s minor league contract.  To create a 40-man roster spot for Raposo, the Cardinals moved Keynan Middleton from the 15-day IL to the 60-day IL — Middleton underwent flexor tendon surgery earlier this month and will miss the rest of the season.

With Willson Contreras already on the injured list, the Cardinals have had to dig deeper into the depth chart to replace both their starting catcher and now their top backup option in Herrera.  The good news for the Cards is that Contreras might be back in action fairly soon, as he is already on a minor league rehab assignment after undergoing forearm surgery in early May.  Contreras was behind the plate yesterday for Triple-A Memphis, and St. Louis manager Oliver Marmol told reporters (including Jeff Jones of the Belleville News-Democrat) that Contreras is slated to catch again today, to gauge how well he holds up to catching in consecutive games.  A DH day is scheduled for Contreras tomorrow, so Monday represents the absolute earliest that he could return to the active roster.

Herrera has capably held the fort with Contreras sidelined, as Herrera has hit .279/.340/.378 over 192 plate appearances for a 108 wRC+.  While his Statcast numbers don’t stand out on the whole, Herrera’s .359 xwOBA is well above his .319 wOBA, even if that number is somewhat balanced out by a .346 BABIP.  St. Louis had been trying to find playing time for both Herrera and (as a DH) Contreras even when both were healthy, though the team’s attempts to use both in the lineup will have to wait at least until Herrera recovers from his back problems.

Pedro Pages has been working as Herrera’s backup and will now likely get the majority of starts until one of the Cardinals top two catchers gets healthy.  Backing up Pages is Raposo, who will be making his Major League debut the first time he appears in a game.  Raposo began his pro career by signing with the Cardinals in 2020, and went undrafted due to the pandemic-shortened five-round nature of the 2020 draft.

From there, Raposo made a pretty quick rise through the St. Louis farm system, playing at Triple-A Memphis in each of the last two years.  He has batted a modest .204/.274/.340 over 275 PA at the Triple-A level, but the Cardinals aren’t expecting much from Raposo’s bat over what might be a cup of coffee stint in the majors if Contreras is able to return this week.

Giants Place Keaton Winn, Mike Yastrzemski On Injured List

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The Giants announced some roster moves this morning, including the news that right-hander Keaton Winn and outfielder Mike Yastrzemski have both been sidelined with injuries.  Winn has been placed on the 15-day IL with inflammation in his throwing elbow, while Yastrzemski is headed to the 10-day IL with a left oblique strain.  Both placements are retroactive to June 21.  Outfielder Luis Matos and infielder David Villar were called up from Triple-A in corresponding moves, and the Giants also sent utilityman Tyler Fitzgerald to Triple-A.

Yastrzemski left Thursday’s game due to his strain, and while oblique problems are known to have fluid timelines, the outfielder told the San Francisco Chronicle’s Susan Slusser (all links to X) that he doesn’t think he’ll miss much if any time beyond the minimum 10 days.  After a very slow start to his season, Yastrzemski’s bat has started to heat up over the last few weeks, bringing him to an above-average 104 wRC+ and a .224/.304/.406 slash line over 215 plate appearances.

Yaz has been the Giants’ regular right fielder when a right-handed pitcher is on the mound, but his absence will leave the team short on left-handed bats as a whole, with LaMonte Wade Jr. is also on the IL and Jung Ho Lee is gone for the season.  It isn’t an ideal situation for a team that likes to play matchups as much as the Giants, though Matos can help fill the void in the outfield overall, even though Matos is another right-handed hitter.

This is the second time Winn has visited the IL this season, as a forearm strain put him on the shelf for four weeks.  He had made three starts since his last activation from the 15-day, though the righty has struggled both before and after his IL stint, posting a 7.16 ERA across 55 1/3 innings.

As much as the Giants were hoping Winn could become a solid rotation piece in his first full Major League season, health is now the bigger question for the 26-year-old.  Winn missed the entire 2021 season recovering from Tommy John surgery, so a pair of injuries to his forearm/elbow area in quick succession certainly is a big cause for concern.  Past health history notwithstanding, it is also possible Winn’s current issue is just some basic soreness that can be cleared up with 15 days of rest and rehab.

Logan Webb and Jordan Hicks are now the only two healthy starters in San Francisco’s rotation, though both Blake Snell and Robbie Ray will pitch in rehab work for Triple-A Sacramento on Sunday.  Giants manager Bob Melvin told Slusser and other reporters that Snell might just need the one rehab start before being activated from the 15-day IL, if all goes well.  Kyle Harrison is rehabbing from a sprained ankle and might not need any rehab work after being placed on the IL last weekend with an ankle sprain.

Dodgers Transfer Max Muncy To 60-Day Injured List

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The Dodgers transferred third baseman Max Muncy to the 60-day injured list this evening. The move opened a spot on the 40-man roster for righty Kyle Hurt, who was reinstated from his own stint on the 60-day IL and optioned to Triple-A Oklahoma City.

Muncy has been out since May 17 with an oblique strain. While the team initially expressed hope that he’d back in relatively short order, that’s not how things played out. Muncy is now officially out of action through the All-Star Break. He’ll be eligible for reinstatement when the season’s second half gets underway. Muncy has been taking ground-balls but has yet to resume swinging a bat.

Enrique Hernández has gotten the majority of the third base work in Muncy’s absence. He’s hitting .191/.276/.324 in 76 plate appearances over that stretch. The Dodgers have given a few third base reps to Cavan Biggio, Miguel Rojas and Chris Taylor as well. Neither Biggio nor Taylor has hit well this season. Rojas is having a nice year but had to move to shortstop after the Mookie Betts injury.

Muncy was out to his typically solid start before the injury. He’d driven nine home runs with a .223/.323/.475 slash in 167 trips to the plate. The Dodgers’ fill-in options at third base are a clear downgrade, though there’s no indication they’re especially alarmed. L.A. has built a wide enough lead in the NL West to withstand injuries to Betts, Muncy and Yoshinobu Yamamoto, among others. GM Brandon Gomes said earlier in the week that the team wasn’t changing its deadline approach to compensate for losing Yamamoto and Betts. The same is presumably true of Muncy, assuming the Dodgers expect him back sometime in July.

Angels Select Hans Crouse

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The Angels announced they’ve selected righty reliever Hans Crouse onto the MLB roster. Los Angeles opened an active roster spot last night by placing José Soriano on the 15-day injured list. They already had an opening on the 40-man roster, so no further move was necessary.

Crouse, who signed a minor league deal with the Halos in February, reaches the big leagues for the first time in three years. The 6’4″ hurler was a second-round pick of the Rangers back in 2017. Crouse was initially a well-regarded prospect whom the Rangers sent to the Phillies at the 2021 trade deadline. He started two games for the Phils late in the season, allowing four runs in seven innings.

That’s the entirety of his MLB experience. Crouse lost most of the following year to injury and the Phils waived him at the end of the ’22 campaign. He went unclaimed and spent last season in the minors. Philadelphia moved Crouse to the bullpen, but he didn’t find much immediate success. He surrendered a 6.75 ERA while walking more than 20% of opposing hitters over 16 Triple-A appearances.

Crouse has flipped the script with a huge performance this season. He carries a 2.70 earned run average through 23 1/3 frames with Triple-A Salt Lake. He has cut his walk rate all the way to 7.4% while striking out 44.7% of batters faced. No pitcher with at least 20 innings at the top minor league level has fanned opponents at a higher rate. That earns the 25-year-old another shot against MLB hitters. Crouse still has two options remaining and could bounce between Angel Stadium and Salt Lake without going on waivers.

Rockies Select Sam Hilliard

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The Rockies announced they’ve selected outfielder Sam Hilliard onto the MLB roster. Colorado also reinstated second baseman Brendan Rodgers from the 10-day injured list. The Rox placed Charlie Blackmon and Adael Amador on the 10-day IL in corresponding moves. Amador has right oblique tightness — manager Bud Black had termed it a mild strain last night — while Blackmon suffered a strained right hamstring. Blackmon’s placement is retroactive to June 19.

Hilliard joins the big league club for the first time this year. He’s in line for his second major league stint with the Rockies. Colorado initially drafted him back in 2015. Hilliard turned in a .212/.294/.424 line in parts of four seasons. The Rox traded him to the Braves within days of the 2022-23 offseason getting underway. Hilliard played in 40 games for Atlanta a year ago, running a .236/.295/.431 slash in 78 trips to the plate.

Last winter, the Wichita State product bounced from Atlanta to the Orioles and back to Colorado via waivers. The Rox designated him for assignment in Spring Training and successfully passed him through the waiver wire. Hilliard reported to Triple-A Albuquerque and has had an excellent season. He owns a .288/.374/.542 mark with 14 homers and 13 stolen bases over 65 contests. Hilliard has drawn walks at a strong 12.5% clip while striking out around a quarter of the time.

Whiffs have been the biggest problem for Hilliard at the MLB level. He has significant raw power in a 6’4″ frame but hasn’t made enough contact to tap into it on a consistent basis. The left-handed hitter has punched out in 33.8% of his 717 MLB plate appearances. Despite a decent 9.8% walk rate and 32 home runs, the strikeouts have led to a subpar .215/.294/.424 career batting line.

Blackmon’s injury will give Hilliard another opportunity to put things together offensively. Colorado’s veteran DH/right fielder has taken his customary spot atop the batting order. He’s hitting .266/.337/.410 across 246 plate appearances. Blackmon returned for his 14th season in Denver on a $13MM extension last fall. He would unlock up to $2MM in incentives by tallying 500 plate appearances ($500K apiece at 425, 450, 475 and 500 PAs).

Colorado had an open spot on their 40-man roster for Hilliard after placing reliever Gavin Hollowell on waivers earlier this week. They’ll need to create a 40-man spot on Sunday when they reinstate Kyle Freeland from the 60-day injured list. Hilliard is out of options, so the Rox can’t send him back to Albuquerque without again exposing him to waivers.

Astros Designate Blair Henley For Assignment

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The Astros made a series of roster moves today, including the previously-reported promotion of Jake Bloss. They also recalled outfielder Joey Loperfido, a move that was relayed on X last night by Ari Alexander of KPRC 2. To open active roster spots for those two, catcher Victor Caratini was placed on the 10-day injured list with a left hip flexor strain, retroactive to June 20, and right-hander Luis Contreras was optioned to Triple-A. To open a 40-man spot for Bloss, right-hander Blair Henley was designated for assignment.

Henley, 27, was selected to the club’s roster in April. The Astros were scrambling to fill their rotation at the time due to injuries. Justin Verlander and José Urquidy were each part of the planned Opening Day rotation but both started the season on the injured list. Then Framber Valdez had some elbow soreness pop up, which prompted the club to turn to Henley and give him his major league debut.

Unfortunately, he didn’t get the storybook version of getting to the show. His first and thus far only major league start saw him record just one out while surrendering five earned runs on four hits and three walks. He was optioned back to the minors after that and has been pitching in Triple-A since then.

His numbers for Sugar Land haven’t been especially impressive. In his 13 starts, he has a 4.50 earned run average but might even be lucky to have that. His 19.2% strikeout rate and 13.2% walk rate are both a few points worse than average and he has stranded 76% of baserunners despite allowing ten home runs, which leads to a 6.69 FIP at that level this year.

The Astros will now have one week to trade Henley or pass him through waivers. The results this year haven’t been great but he’s a former seventh-round pick with a full slate of options. Tommy John surgery wiped out most of his 2021-22 seasons before he returned to the mound last year. He logged 106 2/3 innings at Double-A last year with a 5.06 ERA, 22.3% strikeout rate, 11.1% walk rate and 51.2% ground ball rate.

Players with a previous career outright or three years of service time can reject an outright assignment in favor of free agency. Henley doesn’t qualify on either count and would therefore stick with the Astros if he were passed through waivers unclaimed.

Yankees Designate Victor González For Assignment

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The Yankees announced today that they have selected the contract of right-hander Phil Bickford, with left-hander Victor González designated for assignment in a corresponding move. Right-hander Yoendrys Gómez was also recalled, with a roster spot having been opened for him when right-hander Ron Marinaccio was optioned last night.

González losing his roster spot might come as a surprise, since his 3.86 earned run average on the year seems perfectly acceptable. But digging a little deeper, the numbers aren’t nearly as nice. He has issued 13 walks on the year compared to just 11 strikeouts, leading to respective rates of 13.4% and 11.3% that are both significantly worse than average.

His 55.1% ground ball rate is strong but his .149 batting average on balls in play is unsustainably lucky. His 5.93 FIP and 5.59 SIERA suggest that regression is coming, so perhaps the Yanks decided to quit while they’re ahead.

They will now have a week to trade González or pass him through waivers. Though his work this year has been fairly unimpressive, he could garner interest based on his past performance. He made 93 appearances for the Dodgers from 2020 to 2023, missing the 2022 campaign due to an elbow injury that required an arthroscopic debridement procedure. But in his time with the Dodgers, he had a 3.22 ERA, 23.2% strikeout rate, 8.4% walk rate and 58.1% ground ball rate.

He exhausted his final option year in 2023, which likely motivated the Dodgers to flip him to the Bronx in the offseason alongside Jorbit Vivas for Trey Sweeney. That inability to send him to the minors will limit interest from other clubs, but he can be controlled through 2026, which may tempt some club to give him a shot. Since his service time count is between three and five years, he would have the right to reject an outright assignment if he clears waivers, but doing so would mean forfeiting the remainder of his $860K salary.

His roster spot will go to another former Dodger in Bickford. The 28-year-old has had a strange offseason. Acquired by the Mets from the Dodgers in August of last year, he qualified for arbitration as a Super Two player.

He and the Mets didn’t agree to a salary, going to a hearing over a tiny difference. He and his reps filed at $900K while the club filed at $815K. He technically won that hearing but it wasn’t a real victory. Under the current CBA, arbitration salaries are guaranteed if the sides agree but not if there’s a hearing. The Mets would only owe him 45 days’ termination pay if they released him prior to Opening Day and they did just that.

That led to a minor league deal with the Yankees in early April, with a $1.1MM base salary in the majors, likely prorated based on when he was selected to the roster. Since signing that deal, he has tossed 27 2/3 Triple-A innings with a 2.93 ERA and 29.9% strikeout rate. His 10.3% walk rate is a tad high but the punchouts are clearly intriguing enough to get him back to the majors.

Those numbers are fairly comparable to his big league numbers in 2021 and 2022. Over those two seasons, he had a 3.85 ERA in 112 1/3 innings, striking out 27.8% of batters faced while walking just 7.3%. Last year, his strikeout and walk rates both moved in the wrong direction a bit to 25% and 12.8%, which led to his aforementioned transactions.

He is out of options and can’t be sent back down to the minors without first being exposed to waivers. But if he manages to stick on the roster, he can be controlled for three more seasons beyond this one.

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