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Injury Notes: Hiura, Cubs, Ender, Rockies, Mariners

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The playoff-contending Brewers received terrible news Tuesday when their best player, all-world outfielder Christian Yelich, suffered a season-ending broken kneecap. Fortunately for the club, though, one of its other top players is on the way back from the injured list. Second baseman Keston Hiura, out since Aug. 31 with a left hamstring strain, could get “some at-bats maybe over the weekend and more game action and field action on the home stand, is what it’s looking like,” according to manager Craig Counsell (via Todd Rosiak of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel). The Brewers, who are now tied with division-rival Chicago for the Nl’s second wild-card spot, will open up a seven-game home stand next Monday. They’re in contention thanks in part to the rookie Hiura, who has slashed .301/.369/.571 with 16 home runs and nine stolen bases in his first 295 plate appearances in the majors.

  • More unwelcome news for the Cubs, who are in real danger of missing the postseason: They won’t get closer Craig Kimbrel back from the injured list for “at least” another week, Scott Miller of Bleacher Report tweets. The club has been without Kimbrel since Sept. 1 because of right elbow inflammation. Meanwhile, the Cubs will evaluate shortstop Addison Russell when they return home Friday, Jesse Rogers of ESPNChicago.com relays. Russell has been dealing with concussion-like symptoms since last weekend.
  • Braves outfielder Ender Inciarte likely won’t return until the last week of September, David O’Brien of The Athletic suggests. Inciarte has been on the shelf since mid-August with a hamstring strain. It’s the second long-term injury of the year for Inciarte, who previously missed two months with a back issue. Inciarte had been amid a hot streak when he suffered his current ailment, as his OPS skyrocketed from .605 to .740 in the month between his IL stints. He and the soon-to-return Nick Markakis could act as a pair of important outfield reinforcements for the Braves as they gear up for the postseason.
  • Rockies left-hander Tyler Anderson underwent season-ending left knee surgery back on June 11, but he still won’t be at full strength at the beginning of next year, per manager Bud Black (via Patrick Saunders of the Denver Post). The hope is that Anderson will come back “within the first couple of months” of 2020, Black said. The 29-year-old Anderson’s procedure wrapped up a nightmarish campaign for a hurler who was a respectable member of the Rockies’ rotation from 2016-18. He yielded 27 earned runs on 33 hits, including eight homers, in 20 2/3 innings this season.
  • Mariners outfielder Jake Fraley will miss the remainder of the season because of sprained ligaments in his right thumb, Ryan Divish of the Seattle Times reports. Fraley got his first taste of major league action in recent weeks, though he struggled to a .150/.171/.200 line with no home runs in a span of 41 trips to the plate. The 24-year-old offseason acquisition was far better in the minors, though, as he slashed a combined .298/.365/.545 with 19 long balls in 427 plate appearances between the Double-A and Triple-A levels.

Rockies Place Wade Davis On 10-Day IL

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3:20pm: Davis’ oblique injury “is not severe,” Patrick Saunders of the Denver Post tweets.

2:30pm: The Rockies have placed closer Wade Davis on the 10-day injured list, per a club announcement. Righty Jairo Diaz is coming up in his place.

Davis is said to be dealing with a left oblique strain. The length of his anticipated absence isn’t yet clear. His ultimate timeline will obviously depend upon the grade of the strain and how he responds to treatment.

It’s obviously not great for the Rockies to see their top reliever hit the shelf. The club has had a rough enough start even with Davis handling business in the ninth inning.

That’s not to say that Davis has been perfect. He has issued ten walks to go with 18 strikeouts in his 14 2/3 innings of action, though he has also boosted his groundball rate to a personal-high 54.1%. Davis hasn’t yet allowed a home run, which is sure to change at some point. The Rockies had handled him with care in the early going in hopes of avoiding just this sort of scenario.

It’s not clear yet who’ll be installed as the temporary Colorado closer. The team might use a mix-and-match approach. Bryan Shaw has produced good outcomes but his peripherals are ugly. It’s not an entirely different situation for Scott Oberg. Carlos Estevez has been strong and is ripping off nearly a dozen strikeouts per nine, though he entered the season seeking to reestablish himself after failing to crack the bigs in 2018.

Diaz will step back up to the majors for the first time since 2017. He allowed just one earned run on a dozen hits in twenty frames at Triple-A, compiling a 22:6 K/BB ratio and keeping the ball in the yard. It’s nice to see this moment for a player that has come through injuries and personal tragedy, as documented recently by Nick Groke of The Athletic (subscription link).

In addition, the Rox announced that Tyler Anderson has been recalled and moved to the 60-day injured list. The lefty is said to be dealing with a chondral defect in his left knee. It was reported previously that he’d undergo season-ending surgery; by placing him on the 60-day IL, the club will open a 40-man spot. The move also resolves Anderson’s arbitration status: since he’ll be on the MLB IL, he’ll be a 4+ service-class player this coming fall.

Tyler Anderson To Undergo Knee Surgery

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Rockies lefty Tyler Anderson is scheduled to undergo surgery on his left knee, manager Bud Black tells reporters including MLB.com’s Thomas Harding (Twitter link). The outlook — including whether or not he’ll have a shot at making it back to the mound this season — will depend upon the precise work that ends up being done to the joint.

Anderson, 29, was the twentieth overall pick in the 2010 draft. It took him some time to establish himself in the majors, but he turned in a solid effort last year. With 176 innings of 4.55 ERA ball in 2018, Anderson set himself up for a $2,625,000 in his first season of arbitration eligibility.

Unfortunately, things turned south early this year as Anderson dealt with inflammation in the knee. He has taken five starts in the majors, coughing up 27 earned runs on 33 hits with a 23:11 K/BB ratio over 20 2/3 innings.

Though he was optioned down recently, Anderson had not appeared with a minor-league affiliate. Whether he’ll be placed on the MLB or minor-league injured list isn’t yet known. That status will have a notable bearing on his arbitration situation, as Anderson hasn’t yet reached four full years of MLB service.

Despite his tough start to the year, Anderson was obviously an important part of the Rockies’ rotation picture. Much like Anderson himself, the unit as a whole has struggled quite a bit on the heels of a strong 2018 season.

NL West Notes: Giants, Altherr, Anderson, Cordero, Jankowski

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Yesterday’s news that Derek Holland was being moved to the Giants bullpen came with some eyebrow-raising comments from the left-hander, who was critical of the front office’s decision and claimed that his April 29 injured list placement due to a bruised index finger was a “fake injury.”  Giants president of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi said Saturday that Holland’s injury was legitimate, and further discussed the matter today with reporters (including Kerry Crowley of the Bay Area News Group).  “I think every organization would like to create an environment where guys feel comfortable talking about their concerns in-house,” Zaidi said.  “To the extent guys don’t feel comfortable, that’s on me. Maybe I haven’t been around as much as I should be.”  The entire situation, Zaidi intimated, could be due to the shared displeasure between the front office and the players over the Giants’ lackluster start to the season: “If we’re 23-16, I don’t think we’d be sitting in this room right now. I understand it. I’m as frustrated as anybody. But again, I want us to have a culture of accountability where people are looking in the mirror and asking what they can do better.”

More from around the NL West…

  • The Giants claimed Aaron Altherr from the Phillies yesterday, though the outfielder has been on San Francisco’s radar for a while.  According to NBC Sports.com’s Alex Pavlovic, the Giants first asked the Phils about Altherr two months ago, when Bryce Harper’s arrival created a surplus in the Philadelphia outfield.  Giants skipper Bruce Bochy said Altherr’s arrival won’t impact Mac Williamson’s status as the team’s regular left fielder, as Williamson will be given an extended look as an everyday player.  Altherr, meanwhile, “be eased in,” Pavlovic writes, both because Altherr hasn’t played much in recent weeks and because Altherr has struggled since the start of the 2018 season.
  • Rockies southpaw Tyler Anderson will have his bothersome left knee examined by a specialist on Monday, manager Bud Black told the Denver Post’s Sean Keeler and other media.  Anderson missed two weeks in April due to knee inflammation, and he been hit hard in five starts this season (an 11.76 ERA over 20 2/3 IP).  He was optioned to Triple-A in the wake of another rough outing on May 3, though Anderson hasn’t since pitched.  Anderson emerged as a solid, if unspectacular, innings-eater for Colorado last season, with a 4.55 ERA and league-high 30 homers over 176 frames.
  • In other injury updates, Franchy Cordero and Travis Jankowski aren’t expected to return to the Padres’ active roster anytime soon, Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union-Tribune writes.  Cordero has begun to hit in the batting cage, though “the work is limited” as Cordero continues to recover from an elbow sprain that has kept him on the IL since April 9.  Jankowski has yet to play this season after breaking his right wrist in early March, and the injury “is not healing as fast as anticipated.”  Jankowski was originally estimated for a three-month IL stint, though it doesn’t seem as though he’ll meet that timeline.

Rockies Option Tyler Anderson, Place Harrison Musgrave On IL

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The Rockies have optioned left-handed starter Tyler Anderson to Triple-A Albuquerque and placed southpaw reliever Harrison Musgrave on the 10-day injured list with a flexor strain in his pitching elbow, according to Patrick Saunders of the Denver Post. The club recalled righties Yency Almonte and DJ Johnson from Albuquerque to take the spots of Anderson and Musgrave.

Anderson, a first-round pick of the Rockies in 2011, has been a full-time member of their rotation since debuting in 2016. While Anderson’s numbers have gone downhill since an impressive 19-start, 114 1/3-inning rookie campaign, he has nonetheless looked like another solid homegrown arm for the Rockies for most of his career.  Prior to 2019, Anderson had pitched to a matching 4.30 ERA/FIP with 8.23 K/9, 2.7 BB/9 and a 42.7 percent groundball rate over 376 1/3 innings.

Unfortunately, things have gone off the rails this year for Anderson, who has opened with five starts of 11.76 ERA/7.52 FIP pitching and averaged a mere four innings per appearance. Anderson did strike out 21.7 percent of batters in that 20 2/3-inning span, right in line with his career mark of 21.8, but he also walked 10.4 percent (well above his lifetime figure of 7.4) and yielded a whopping 3.48 home runs per nine. And though Anderson’s .391 batting average on balls in play, 51.4 percent strand rate and .476 weighted on-base average against indicate fortune hasn’t been on his side, he has still surrendered the majors’ 10th-worst xwOBA (.414).

Neither mechanics nor health are to blame for Anderson’s woes, per manager Bud Black, who says the 29-year-old needs to work on pitch-to-pitch “consistency” in the minors. As they wait for Anderson to work his way back, the Rockies may recall righty Jeff Hoffman to replace Anderson in their rotation, Saunders suggests. Hoffman, 26, was once among the game’s finest pitching prospects, but he has lost a substantial amount of luster in the majors and minors over the past couple seasons. Triple-A hitters have tattooed Hoffman for 19 earned runs on 23 hits and nine walks in just 18 2/3 innings this year.

Meanwhile, Colorado’s bullpen will have to make do without Musgrave for a to-be-determined period of time. Musgrave was subpar as a rookie last season, but he has begun this year with a 3.60 ERA/2.82 FIP and 10.8 K/9 in 10 innings. Musgrave was effective against both left- and right-handed hitters before his injury, though he also walked 6.3 per nine and only induced grounders at a 25 percent clip.

Rockies Place Kyle Freeland On 10-Day IL

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The Rockies announced today that southpaw Kyle Freeland has been placed on the 10-day inured list with a blister. He’ll be replaced by fellow southpaw Tyler Anderson, who was activated from his own stint on the IL.

It had been hoped that the blister to Freeland’s left middle finger wouldn’t require any time on the shelf, but it seems not to have responded quite as well as had been hoped. Blisters can become major problems for pitchers, though there’s no reason at this point to think Freeland’s will turn into a long-lasting issue.

The news comes as a mild disappointment for a club that has been on a nice run of late. Freeland, 25, finished fourth in the Cy Young voting last year and is a key rotation cog for Colorado. Then again, it may not amount to much at all; with his IL placement backdated to April 19th, he could in theory will miss only a single start. That’s just what the southpaw is hoping for, Nick Groke of The Athletic tweets.

As for Anderson, the 29-year-old will be looking to bounce back after experiencing knee inflammation and throwing two rough outings to open the year. He hasn’t reached the heights some might have hoped for a first-round pick, but has been useful for the Rox since reaching the majors in 2016. Anderson showed a worrying velocity drop of nearly 2 mph to open the current campaign; that’s something to watch now that he’s back in action.

Rockies Place Tyler Anderson On IL, Recall Yency Almonte

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According to a team announcement (Twitter link), the Rockies have placed left-handed pitcher Tyler Anderson on the 10-day injured list due to left knee inflammation. In a corresponding move, the team recalled right-hander Yency Almonte from Triple-A.

Anderson, 29, has looked out of sorts in his first two starts of the season, surrendering 11 runs in just nine innings of work. His slow start comes on the heels of an impressive 2018 campaign in which Anderson worked 176 innings, posting a 4.55 ERA while striking out 164 batters.

It’s disappointing news for a Rockies team that has had to endure more than its fair share of injuries early in the season, with infielders Daniel Murphy and Ryan McMahon also on the IL. With Anderson unavailable, it’s unclear just how the Rockies will fill his spot in the starting rotation. The preferred candidate, Antonio Senzatela, is also on the injured list, so he was not an option to replace Anderson. Yency Almonte, who will fill Anderson’s spot on the 25-man roster, has not started a game at the Major League level, but started 10 games in Triple-A last season. However, the Rockies plan to use Almonte as a reliver in the big leagues.

A bullpen day is not out of the question when Anderson’s turn in the rotation comes up next, but the circumstances are not ideal for a Rockies team that already had questions surrounding the back end of the rotation. For the time being, though, it appears that the Rockies will need to patch together a rotation while Anderson and Senzatela recover from injuries. Anderson’s spot in the rotation will come up next on Wednesday. Jeff Hoffman, who started 16 games for the Rockies in 2017, remains in Triple-A as a depth rotation option.

 

Players Avoiding Arbitration: National League

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The deadline for players and teams to exchange arbitration figures passed yesterday at 1pm ET, and there has been a landslide of settlements on one-year deals to avoid an arbitration hearing. We’ll track those settlements from the National League in this post. Once all of the day’s settlements have filtered in, I’ll organize them by division to make them a bit easier to parse.

It’s worth mentioning that the vast majority of teams have adopted a “file and trial” approach to arbitration, meaning that once arbitration figures are exchanged with a player, negotiations on a one-year deal will cease. The two parties may still discuss a multi-year deal after that point, but the majority of players who exchange figures with their team today will head to an arbitration hearing.

As always, all salary projections referenced within this post are courtesy of MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz, and we’ll also be updating our 2019 Arbitration Tracker throughout the day…

Today’s Updates

  • Rounding out contract numbers for the St. Louis Cardinals, Dominic Leone will take home $1.26MM, Chasen Shreve will make $900K, and outfielder Marcell Ozuna will earn $12.25MM in his last season before free agency, per MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand (via Twitter). Ozuna has the most high-impact potential as he looks to rebound from a still-productive season in 2018 that saw his power output hindered at times by a balky shoulder. He still managed 23 home runs and a .280/.325/.433 slash line while playing just about every day outside of a 10-day DL stint late in August.
  • The Diamondbacks came to terms with a slew of players, per Feinsand (via Twitter), including Matt Andriese for $920K, Steven Souza Jr. for $4.125MM, shortstop Nick Ahmed for $3.6625MM, and potential closer Archie Bradley for $1.83MM.
  • The Rockies and starting pitcher Jon Gray have come to an agreement on a $2.935MM deal, per Feinsand (via Twitter). Gray had an up-and-down 2018 that is generally considered to be more promising than the optics of his 5.12 ERA make it seem.
  • The Pirates have come to terms on one-year deals with both of their arbitration eligible players, per Bill Brink of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Left fielder Corey Dickerson signs for $8.5MM, and reliever Keone Kela takes home $3.175MM. It’s a small arb class for the Pirates, whose list will grow next season as players like Josh Bell, Jameson Taillon, and Joe Musgrove, among others, reach their first season of eligibility.
  • The Dodgers signed a couple of their remaining arbitration-eligible players yesterday, USA Today’s Bob Nightengale (Twitter links). Utility man Chris Taylor has a $3.5MM deal, while outfield Joc Pederson settled at $5MM.

Earlier Updates

Read more

Rockies Place Carlos Gonzalez, Tyler Anderson On 10-Day DL

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JUNE 27: Anderson’s injury will require arthroscopic surgery and could sideline him for up to four weeks, Saunders further reports (Twitter link).

JUNE 26: The Rockies have placed both outfielder Carlos Gonzalez and southpaw Tyler Anderson on the 10-day DL, Patrick Saunders of the Denver Post reports on Twitter. Two relievers will take the open roster spots, with Chad Qualls returning from the DL and Jairo Diaz receiving a call-up.

[RELATED: Updated Rockies Depth Chart]

A sore shoulder has bothered Gonzalez of late, and seems to be the cause for the move. But he’ll also surely welcome a chance to clear his head after a brutal start to the season. Over his 277 plate appearances, CarGo owns a .221/.300/.348 slash line with just six home runs — well shy of his typical output and even worse when adjusted for his advantageous home ballpark.

Meanwhile, Anderson returns to the DL after re-injuring his left knee. That same joint kept him on the shelf for most of June. Anderson was excellent last year for Colorado as a rookie, but has struggled for the most part in 2017. Notably, he has already allowed more homers (15) this year than he did last, in barely half as many innings. Anderson carries a 6.11 ERA — albeit with a strong 9.0 K/9 against 3.3 BB/9 — through 63 1/3 frames.

Though Gonzalez is the bigger name here, of course, Anderson’s situation is probably of greater importance to the Rockies’ deadline plans. While Jon Gray is set to return in short order, adding to the top of the rotation, it’s fair to wonder whether the club will at least explore the trade market for starters. The team’s youthful staff has been much better than expected, though the sustainability remains a question and several hurlers have hit rough stretches.

Deepening the relief corps is also a deadline possibility for Colorado, it would seem. Just how much of a priority that will be could depend upon the performances of Qualls and Diaz. The former has not been terribly effective since joining the Rox last year, while the latter has been strong at Triple-A thus far as he works back from Tommy John surgery. Diaz missed all of 2016 after turning in 19 promising innings in the majors in the prior season, when he worked to a 2.37 ERA with 8.5 K/9 and 2.8 BB/9 while sitting at 97 mph with his fastball.

Injury Notes: Conforto, Russell, Anderson, Keuchel, Meadows

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Here’s the latest on some developing injury situations around the game…

  • X-rays were negative on the left hand of Michael Conforto after the Mets outfielder was hit by a Matt Moore pitch today (the SNY MetsBlog has the details).  Conforto remained in the game after being hit but was replaced in the field during the next half-inning.  Conforto is day-to-day with a hand contusion and he said he feels he’ll be able to play by Tuesday, when the Mets next play.  Needless to say, losing Conforto the DL would be yet another major blow to the injury-riddled Mets, as Conforto is in the midst of a big breakout year, entering today with 14 homers and a .288/.406/.553 slash line in 266 PA.
  • Addison Russell left Sunday’s game due to “sharp, pinching pain” in his right shoulder, as he told CSN Chicago’s Patrick Mooney and other reporters.  The Cubs shortstop has been bothered by shoulder problems since Spring Training, which could be a reason for his below-average wRC+ (83) and his .232/.300/.408 slash line through 250 PA.  It isn’t yet known if a DL stint is required to give Russell an opportunity to fully rest the injury, as manager Joe Maddon described the problem as “kind of a nagging thing” that has “never been debilitating.”
  • Rockies southpaw Tyler Anderson was forced to leave during the third inning of today’s start due to an apparent injury to his left knee, MLB.com’s Thomas Harding was among those to report.  This was Anderson’s first start back since hitting the DL in late May due to inflammation in that same knee, though he made a one-inning relief appearance earlier last week.  Advanced metrics indicate that Anderson has pitched better than his 6.11 ERA would indicate, as he has been plagued by home runs (a whopping 25% homer rate) and bad BABIP luck (.337) over his 63 1/3 IP this season.
  • Astros ace Dallas Keuchel isn’t likely to return from the disabled list until after the All-Star Break, Jake Kaplan of the Houston Chronicle writes.  The left-hander was placed on the DL on June 8 due to neck discomfort, the second time Keuchel has been sidelined this season due to neck problems.  The team was known to be taking a very conservative approach to Keuchel’s rehab, and he has yet to begin throwing off a mound, though he has doing some long-tossing at a 120-foot distance.  As Kaplan notes, there isn’t any huge rush to get Keuchel back given the Astros’ big AL West lead, as the team obviously wants to ensure its star lefty is fully recovered and ready for the postseason push.
  • Top Pirates prospect Austin Meadows will miss up to four weeks after receiving a PRP injection for a torn hamstring, Rob Biertempfel of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review reports (Twitter link).  The injury compounds what has already been a difficult season for Meadows, who has hit just .248/.313/.358 over 281 PA at the Triple-A level in 2017.  There had been speculation that Meadows could make his MLB debut sometime this year (possibly if Andrew McCutchen was traded), though that seems less likely in the wake of his lengthy absence and his lack of Triple-A production.  Of course, Meadows still just 22 years old and is regarded as one of the game’s better prospects, so there isn’t any reason yet for long-term concern.

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