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Walker Buehler

Ace-Off: Buehler v. Bieber

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Two of the preeminent young starters in baseball have emerged in the cities of Los Angeles and Cleveland over the past couple years. With no disrespect to Dodgers great Clayton Kershaw, who’s one of the best to ever take the mound, right-hander Walker Buehler has assumed the mantle of the club’s most valuable starter when you combine age, contract and performance. Meanwhile, the Indians have a similarly enviable rotation piece to build around in righty Shane Bieber, who joined Buehler among the majors’ most productive pitchers in 2019. So, here’s a question that has no wrong answer: If you had to pick one, which of the two would you choose?

To begin, they’re almost the same age, and they’re under team control for the same number of years. The 25-year-old Buehler won’t be eligible for free agency until after 2024. As a Super Two player, he brings one more pre-arbitration campaign to the table (though it won’t matter if there is no 2020 season). Bieber, who will turn 25 next month, is due to reach free agency at the same time, but he’s in his penultimate pre-arb year.

As for on-field results, Buehler has the edge on Bieber thus far in terms of run prevention. Excluding 9 1/3 rough debut innings as a reliever in 2017, Buehler has parlayed a 96 mph-plus fastball into a sterling 2.98 ERA/3.02 FIP with 10.3 K/9 and 2.08 BB/9 across 319 2/3 innings over the past two seasons.

Bieber also began to make his mark in 2018, and while his 4.55 ERA didn’t wow anyone, his peripherals indicated that he deserved better. Although he doesn’t match Buehler’s velocity (Bieber averages 93 mph on his heater), he nonetheless broke out in earnest last season. Bieber notched a 3.28 ERA/3.32 FIP and put up 10.88 K/9 against 1.68 BB/9 in 214 1/3 frames – the second-highest total in the game (only AL Cy Young winner Justin Verlander amassed a larger amount) and 32 more than Buehler’s 182 1/3. Buehler had a very similar year otherwise, though, posting a 3.26 ERA/3.01 FIP and recording 10.61 K/9 versus 1.83 BB/9. He further put himself on the map with 12 2/3 exemplary innings of one-run ball in a playoff series loss to the eventual World Series champion Nationals.

It’s obvious there’s a ton to like about this tandem. Buehler and Bieber have not only already established themselves as elite pitchers in their mid-20s, but perhaps elite players in general. Going forward, however, which one would you take to head up your rotation? (Poll link for app users)

Injury Notes: Dodgers, Mariners, Altuve, Mets

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The Dodgers expect their top two starters, left-hander Clayton Kershaw and right-hander Walker Buehler, and shortstop Corey Seager to be ready for the beginning of the season, manager Dave Roberts said Sunday (Twitter links via Ken Gurnick of MLB.com). Kershaw – who has been working back from a shoulder issue for two weeks – is set to throw a bullpen session Monday, while Buehler will throw live batting practice again Tuesday or Wednesday. Though Buehler’s not injured, the Dodgers are taking a careful approach with the 24-year-old wunderkind this spring after he experienced a massive innings increase from 2017-18. The Dodgers have also been cautious with Seager, who’s coming off Tommy John surgery and a left hip procedure.

  • Manager Scott Servais issued updates on a few key Mariners on Sunday, per Ryan Divish of the Seattle Times and Greg Johns of MLB.com (all Twitter links). Third baseman Kyle Seager, brother of the aforementioned Corey Seager, underwent an MRI on Saturday on his injured left wrist. The results aren’t available yet, however. Outfielder Mallex Smith, who has been shelved the past few weeks because of a strained flexor mass in his right forearm, is making progress and could take batting practice Monday. Reliever Hunter Strickland has been unavailable since last Sunday with lower back tightness, but Servais doesn’t think it’s serious, nor should it keep the former Giant out for much longer.
  • The Astros are shutting down second baseman Jose Altuve “for a few days,” manager A.J. Hinch told Chandler Rome of the Houston Chronicle and other reporters Sunday. Altuve’s battling left side soreness, though the Astros don’t believe it’s anything “alarming,” and they’re hoping the superstar can return to Grapefruit League action late next week, according to Hinch.
  • Mets reliever Drew Smith is heading back to New York for an evaluation of his sore right elbow, Tim Healey of Newsday was among those to report. Smith’s attempt to win a season-opening spot in the Mets’ bullpen is on hold as a result. In his first major league action last season, the 25-year-old pitched to a 3.54 ERA/3.66 FIP with 5.79 K/9 and 1.93 BB/9 over 28 innings.

Starting Pitching Notes: Fernandez, Kershaw, Buehler, deGrom, Pineda

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The late Jose Fernandez would have been eligible for free agency this offseason, a concept The Athletic’s Jayson Stark explores (subscription required) in an outstanding remembrance of the former Marlins ace.  Fernandez emerged as perhaps the top young pitcher in all of baseball over 471 1/3 innings with Miami from 2013-16, and he would’ve reached free agency as a 26-year-old, the same age as Bryce Harper and Manny Machado this winter.  Assuming Fernandez had continued his dominant pace, agent Scott Boras had visions of a $400MM deal for his client.  Miami had already offered to sign Fernandez to an extension prior to the 2015 season, and even though Fernandez was coming off Tommy John surgery, he rejected that $40.7MM in guaranteed money to bet on himself — a sign of the self-confidence that had both positive and negative effects on Fernandez throughout his life.  Stark’s piece includes comments from a wide range of former teammates, coaches, and Marlins personnel about their memories of the star right-hander, who had already become a Miami baseball icon at the time of his tragic passing on September 25, 2016.

Some items from around the starting pitching scene…

  • Dodgers manager Dave Roberts provided an update on Clayton Kershaw to reporters (including MLB.com’s Ken Gurnick), saying that Kershaw had a five-minute game of catch for the second straight day.  “Clayton said he let it go about 80 percent and he felt good, he felt strong,” Roberts said.  “Tomorrow we’re going to stretch him out some more as far as length and intensity. In talking to him today, we’re pretty encouraged.”  Kershaw was shut down last week due to shoulder soreness, and the Dodgers will continue to take it slow with their ace southpaw.
  • The Dodgers are taking a similar path with Walker Buehler, who has only been throwing on flat ground since tossing a single bullpen session during the first week of spring camp.  There isn’t anything physically wrong with the young righty, Roberts said, as Buehler is simply being “slow-played” in his ramp-up to the 2019 season as a nod to his increased workload last year.  Between the minors, the MLB regular season, and the postseason, Buehler tossed 177 innings in 2018.  It was a vast increase for a pitcher in just his third pro season, especially considering Buehler underwent Tommy John surgery in 2015 and tossed only 98 total innings in 2017.
  • There hasn’t been much reported progress in contract talks between the Mets and Jacob deGrom, and according to the New York Post’s Joel Sherman, “the word circulating is specifically [Mets owner] Fred Wilpon” has some hesitation about extending the right-hander.  As Sherman points out, if the elder Wilpon has concerns, they wouldn’t be unjustified — deGrom turns 31 in June, has undergone a Tommy John surgery in his past, and is already controlled through the 2020 season.  (Plus, the Mets have been burned on several pricey contracts in recent years.)  Sherman proposes a possible extension that could satisfy both sides; a four-year deal covering the 2020-23 seasons for $124MM in guaranteed money, plus a vesting option for 2024 that pays deGrom another $10MM in a buyout, and up to $31MM for 2024 if the option vests.
  • Michael Pineda tossed two scoreless innings and threw 18 of his 26 pitches for strikes in an outing against the Red Sox today, his first time facing MLB hitters since July 5, 2017.  He threw between 93-95mph, matching his old fastball speed, though Pineda told The Athletic’s Dan Hayes and other media that “I’m not focused on the velocity.  My goal is to be healthy and get some focus and be back. And be Michael Pineda, back like he used to be.”  Pineda underwent Tommy John surgery in July 2017, and his hopes of a return in 2018 were dashed after he suffered a torn meniscus.  After signing a two-year, $10MM deal with the Twins in the 2017-18 offseason, Pineda is making positive steps towards being a contributor for Minnesota this year.

Injury Notes: Wainwright, Buehler, Stripling, Urias, Rivera

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After pitching in his sixth minor league rehab outing on Saturday, Adam Wainwright could be back in the Cardinals rotation sometime this week, Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch writes.  The former ace has been limited to just four starts and 18 innings in 2018 due to three separate DL stints, the latter two for right elbow inflammation.  During this rehab stint, however, Wainwright has seemingly gotten on track, tossing 17 shutout innings over his six appearances.  While the longtime Cardinal can add some experience to a young St. Louis rotation, it has been some time since Wainwright has exhibited his old front-of-the-rotation form, as injuries and ineffectiveness have plagued the veteran over the last four seasons.

Here are some more injury updates from around the big leagues…

  • Walker Buehler will receive a precautionary x-ray on his left foot following today’s start, the Dodgers told reporters (including J.P. Hoonstra of the Southern California News Group).  It isn’t clear how or when Buehler suffered the apparent injury, though he did see some extra action on the basepaths after hitting two singles today.  The rookie right-hander has been outstanding in his first extended stint in the majors, posting a 2.92 ERA, 9.89 K/9, 2.41 BB/9, and a 48.5% grounder rate over 104 2/3 innings, including today’s quality start against the Diamondbacks.  It isn’t known how serious this injury could be, though losing Buehler would obviously be a blow to the Dodgers as they push for another NL West title.
  • The Dodgers should be getting another arm soon in Ross Stripling, who told the L.A. Times’ Bill Shaikin (Twitter link) and other media that he is targeting next weekend for his return from the disabled list.  Stripling has been sidelined since mid-August due to a sore back, and has been preparing for multiple roles, as he said the Dodgers want him to be capable of either starting or working as a multi-inning reliever.  Despite an outstanding first half as a starter that earned him an All-Star berth, Stripling had been moved to the bullpen just prior to his injury, as the Dodgers had a glut of rotation options and a need for help in their struggling relief corps.
  • The news isn’t as good for Julio Urias, as Dodgers manager Dave Roberts told MLB.com’s Ken Gurnick and other reporters that “I don’t know when [Urias is] going to pitch again” this season.  Urias underwent anterior capsule surgery in June 2017 and hasn’t been back to the majors since, though Roberts and the team had hoped that he could potentially make a September return as a reliever.  In Urias’ most recent minor league rehab outing, however, he was removed after reaching his pitch count after just three batters faced.  “We said from the beginning that when he’s right physically and performance-wise, then he’ll come [back to the majors].  If either of those things doesn’t happen, then it doesn’t make sense for us or him,” Roberts said.
  • The Mets have shut down infielder T.J. Rivera for the season, MLB.com’s Anthony DiComo reports.  Rivera underwent Tommy John surgery in September 2017, and only played in six minor league rehab games in July before suffering a setback in the form of a right elbow sprain.  Over 106 games and 344 PA for the Mets in 2016-17, Rivera hit .304/.335/.445 with eight homers while seeing significant time as a fill-in at first, second, and third base.  As DiComo notes, however, Rivera could face a tough path back to the big league roster in the spring, as other utility infield options have passed him on the depth chart.

Manny Machado Trade Rumors: Monday

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2:40pm: Outfielder Brett Phillips is one prospect who could go from the Brewers to the Orioles in a potential trade package, reports ESPN’s Jerry Crasnick (via Twitter). Phillips doesn’t have a clear path to playing time in an outfield mix that has Lorenzo Cain, Christian Yelich, Ryan Braun, Eric Thames and Domingo Santana, but he’s more or less big league ready and could give Baltimore a potential replacement for Adam Jones in center field. Crasnick notes that Jones, a free agent at season’s end and a trade candidate in his own right, wouldn’t stay in center field beyond 2018 even if he ultimately returned to the O’s.

Phillips, 24, is in his second season at the Triple-A level and has batted a combined .280/.359/.498 with 23 homers and 20 steals through 716 plate appearances at that level. He entered the season ranked as the game’s No. 80 overall prospect, per Baseball America.

9:34am: Morosi now tweets that in addition to Buehler and Verdugo, the Dodgers are also unlikely to include Ruiz in a trade for a rental player.

8:50am: The Manny Machado saga continues to be the focal point of Major League Baseball’s rumor mill and appeared to take a step forward over the weekend. Seven teams have reportedly made offers for Machado, with the Dodgers and Brewers now reported to be the most serious suitors. Today, MLB.com’s Jon Morosi takes a look at those top two teams and the manner in which each lines up with Baltimore as a trade partner.

Morosi echoes a prior report from USA Today’s Bob Nightengale, writing that he hears Dodgers Class-A right-hander Dustin May is of particular interest to the Orioles. So, too, is Double-A catcher Keibert Ruiz, whom Baseball America recently dubbed the No. 26 prospect in all of baseball. It’s not clear how willing the Dodgers are to part with either player, though Morosi notes that L.A. would be reluctant to trade away either Walker Buehler or Alex Verdugo for a half-season of Machado (or any rental player).

The Brewers, however, appear to be a better fit in terms of the type of MLB-ready arms that they can offer, Morosi observes. Corbin Burnes and Luis Ortiz are both on the cusp of MLB readiness (to say nothing of Brandon Woodruff), and the Brewers have multiple players with MLB experience that have been back and forth between Triple-A and the Majors this season, including Orlando Arcia, Domingo Santana and Keon Broxton.

Meanwhile, Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com reports that some of the teams who’ve approached the Orioles have expressed interest in package deals involving both Machado and one of the Orioles’ relievers — Zach Britton, Brad Brach and Mychal Givens, specifically. The Orioles are open to packaging Machado and Britton or Machado and Brach in order to enhance a potential return, per Kubatko, but the team’s preference would be to hang onto Givens, who is controlled through 2021.

It’s certainly easy to understand why the O’s would prefer to hang onto Givens, whose stock is down from last year thanks to worsened control an a half-mile-per-hour dip in his average fastball velocity. There’s no urgency to trade him as there would be with Brach or the struggling Britton, each of whom is a free agent at season’s end. If Givens is finishes the season strongly or turns things around in 2019, his value could take a substantial step forward given that remaining club control. Of course, there’s also a case to be made that the O’s should be amenable to the idea of trading virtually anyone on the roster, given the poor quality of the farm system and the sizable gap between them and the Yankees and Red Sox — not only in 2018 but over the next few seasons as Baltimore reshapes its roster.

West Notes: Beltre, Rangers, Ohtani, Giants, Buehler

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Rangers third baseman Adrian Beltre spoke about his future Saturday, telling Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News and other reporters that he’s unsure if he’ll return in 2019. But if Beltre does come back for what would be his age-40 season, the impending free agent only wants to play for the Rangers. “If I’m going to play next year, I want it to be here,” Beltre said. “Right now, that’s a big if. But, if I play, I think I owe it to these fans. And I want to retire as a Ranger.” The Rangers seem open to welcoming back Beltre if he continues playing, as general manager Jon Daniels said that “having him finish his career here would be an honor.” In the meantime, it’s possible Beltre will finish this season on a playoff contender if Daniels trades him. However, given that Beltre has 10-and-5 rights, he could stand in the way of a deal.

  • Angels star Shohei Ohtani took part in a simulated game consisting of 10 at-bats on Saturday, per Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register. “It all went well. It’s definitely a positive step for him,” said manager Mike Scioscia, leading Fletcher to posit that Ohtani could be within a week of returning if he doesn’t suffer any setbacks. Damage in Ohtani’s ulnar collateral ligament has kept the two-way standout off the field since early June, and he might not pitch again this season as a result. It appears the 23-year-old rookie will factor into the Angels’ offense again in 2018, though, and that would be a boon for the club. Before going on the DL on June 8, Ohtani slashed an excellent .289/.372/.535 with six home runs in 129 plate appearances.
  • As the July 31 non-waiver trade deadline approaches, staying under the $197MM competitive-balance tax figure is “a target, not a mandate” for the Giants, according to general manager Bobby Evans (via John Shea of the San Francisco Chronicle). At the moment, the Giants are under the threshold, per Evans. If they stay under it through the end of the season, the Giants would lower their tax rate from 50 percent to 20 percent in time for the offseason, when rumored target Bryce Harper is scheduled to be among the majors’ available free agents. Indeed, “there are a lot of incentives to stay below it,” Evans added. But it could be difficult, Shea explains, especially if the Giants remain in playoff contention around the deadline. They entered Saturday at 43-40, putting them just 1 1/2 games out of a wild-card spot.
  • Dodgers rookie righty Walker Buehler had worked exclusively as a starter this year until Thursday, when he came out of the bullpen in his return from the disabled list. That outing – Buehler’s first with the Dodgers since June 8 – didn’t go well, and after yielding five earned runs over an inning against the Cubs, LA optioned him to the Single-A level on Friday. Now, Buehler will have to make a minimum of two minor league rehab starts before returning to the Dodgers’ rotation, manager Dave Roberts told reporters, including Bill Shaikin of the Los Angeles Times. The Dodgers’ plan was for Buehler to work three innings Thursday in lieu of a rehab assignment, but that blew up in their faces.

Injury Notes: Buehler, Maeda, Cashner, Cabrera, Archer, Cahill

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The Dodgers announced that they’ve placed right-hander Walker Buehler on the 10-day disabled list with a microfracture in his right rib and recalled left-hander Caleb Ferguson from Triple-A. Pedro Moura of The Athletic tweets that Buehler made three starts with the fracture before being forced to the DL and is playing catch today. Moura adds that the Dodgers are hopeful that it’ll be a matter of a couple weeks as opposed to an extended absence.

There’s good news for the Dodgers, however, as Buehler’s spot will be filled by an established face. Manager Dave Roberts revealed to reporters Tuesday night that Kenta Maeda will be activated from the DL to start on Wednesday (Twitter link via the OC Register’s Bill Plunkett). While he’ll be limited in terms of pitch count and innings, the return of Maeda serves as a welcome breath of fresh air for a Dodgers pitching staff that has been utterly hammered by injuries of late. Even with Maeda’s return, Buehler will join Clayton Kershaw, Rich Hill, Hyun-Jin Ryu, Julio Urias and Dennis Santana on the DL.

More injury news from around the game…

  • Orioles righty Andrew Cashner landed on the 10-day disabled list due to a lower back strain, per a club announcement. Left-hander Donnie Hart is up from Triple-A Norfolk to take his roster spot for now. Cashner, 31, signed a two-year deal worth $16MM this offseason but has struggled through his first 13 starts in Baltimore. The well-traveled righty has a 4.98 ERA with 7.7 K/9 against 4.2 BB/9 and a 38.9 percent ground-ball rate in 72 1/3 innings. While Cashner’s strikeout rate is up noticeably from 2017, he’s also seen his walk rate rise substantially and has also been plagued by a 1.62 HR/9 mark. Dylan Bundy, Kevin Gausman, Alex Cobb and David Hess remain active in the Baltimore rotation, and there’s been no announcement as to who’ll start tomorrow in Cashner’s place.
  • The Tigers announced that Miguel Cabrera left tonight’s game against the Twins with a biceps tendon strain. He’s undergoing an MRI to evaluate the extent of the damage, per the announcement. The 35-year-old Cabrera has had a bounceback season at the plate in terms of his average and on-base percentage, but he’s hit just three homers in 155 plate appearances and hasn’t shown much power. Cabrera is hitting .301/.394/.451 on the season overall and has already missed nearly a month of the season due to a strained hamstring.
  • Chris Archer has had a minor setback in his rehab from an abdominal strain, writes Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times. Rays manager Kevin Cash stated Tuesday that Archer woke up feeling “not that great” and added that the team is taking a more “conservative” approach in light of the news. Archer clarified to Topkin (Twitter links) that he hasn’t had a major setback but some post-bullpen soreness that could slow him for a few days. Topkin notes that that could be enough to push Archer into a minor league rehab assignment, which would delay his return to the Tampa Bay staff. After a terrible start to the season, Archer has turned in a 2.47 ERA with a 40-to-15 K/BB ratio in 43 2/3 innings across his past seven appearances.
  • Athletics righty Trevor Cahill hasn’t seen any improvement in his ailing Achilles tendon and is likely headed to the disabled list, manager Bob Melvin told reporters Tuesday afternoon (Twitter links via Jane Lee of MLB.com). If that likely outcome does come to pass, then right-hander Chris Bassitt will “certainly be the first option” to step into Cahill’s spot in the rotation, the skipper adds. Cahill, who signed a one-year deal worth $1.75MM late in Spring Training after Jharel Cotton went down with Tommy John surgery, has been excellent when healthy enough to take the hill for the A’s. In 48 2/3 innings, he’s notched a 2.77 ERA with 47 punchouts against 11 walks.

NL West Notes: Buehler, Turner, Hand, Marte

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Walker Buehler left last night’s game before he was able to get through the sixth, but it wasn’t due to poor performance. The promising young right-hander left due to a side injury. Thankfully, Bill Shaikin of the LA Times reports that Buehler is describing his injury as “bruised ribs”. There’s no word yet as to whether he’ll need to land on the DL for a stint, but the news ought to bring a mild sigh of relief to Dodgers fans. Such a description would seem to eliminate the dread of an oblique or intercostal strain, if Buehler’s self-description holds up. Bruises seem far less likely to disrupt his excellent season thus far; Buehler’s been worth 1.7 fWAR across nine starts in part thanks to a 4.91 K/BB ratio and 54.5% ground ball rate.

Other items out of the NL West…

  • The Dodgers have received news on Justin Turner that’s far less promising, however. Shaikin also reports that Turner’s performance could be diminished all season by lingering wrist issues. The slugger spent most of the season thus far on the DL after suffering a fractured wrist during a spring training game. Shaikin also points out that he’s been held out of the lineup in three of the last four games, and has managed just a .668 OPS since returning from the disabled list.
  • AJ Cassavell of MLB.com revisits the Brad Hand extension in his recent piece, reminding readers that it significantly reduced the likelihood of the reliever being traded any time soon. Hand has been one of the best relievers in baseball in recent seasons by metrics such as WPA, fWAR and ERA, and though he’d certainly fetch a hefty price for the rebuilding Padres, they now control him through 2021. That’s a season in which they could feasibly be contending for a title. For his part, Hand certainly had that in mind. “”When I signed the contract, that was the big part of it,” he said. “I wanted to be here, I wanted to help the young guys come up, and I wanted to win a World Series here.”
  • Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo believes Ketel Marte is “100% playable” in spite of a recent injury, says MLB.com’s Steve Gilbert. However, Lovullo adds that he “created some tenderness” with a headfirst slide into third base this past Sunday. He was held out of the lineup on Saturday, but the move seems to have been largely precautionary; his manager reportedly wanted to give him a day to get ahead of the injury. Marte has struggled to produce offensively throughout his career, sporting a .258/.313/.364 line since debuting in 2015. However, his excellent defense has played him to 2.6 wins above replacement, according to Fangraphs’ metric.

NL West Notes: Buehler, Padres, Melancon, D-backs

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Dodgers right-hander Walker Buehler has pitched his way into the club’s rotation for the foreseeable future, manager Dave Roberts told Bill Plunkett of the Orange County Register and other reporters Saturday (Twitter link). Although Buehler is a past Tommy John surgery recipient who hasn’t yet thrown 100 innings in a professional season, his workload isn’t the Dodgers’ primary concern at the moment. “Right now we need to win games,” Roberts said of a potential innings limit for Buehler, who has combined for 29 between the majors and minors in 2018. The 23-year-old Buehler is regarded as one of the game’s elite pitching prospects, and he has lived up to the hype during his first three major league starts this season. Not only has Buehler tossed 16 innings of 1.13 ERA ball with 10.69 K/9 and 3.94 BB/9, but he was on the hill for the first six frames of the Dodgers’ combined no-hitter against the Padres on Saturday. His emergence has been especially timely for an LA team that just lost starter Hyun-Jin Ryu until the second half of the season.

  • Buehler and three relievers combined to fan 13 hitters Saturday, thus contributing to the Padres’ league-high strikeout rate (27.3 percent) and second-worst swinging-strike percentage (12.6). Padres manager Andy Green has seen just about enough, as Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union-Tribune relays. “It’s well-known that we’ve punched out way too much,” Green said. “We’re at a point in time with hitters here where your opportunity will pass you by if you don’t make an adjustment and start putting the ball in play. The opportunity will start going to somebody else. We’ll continue to churn if we can’t get the job done.” Thanks in part to their swing-and-miss ways, the Padres are off to an 11-22 start – their worst since 2012, notes Acee, who suggests they could soon promote high-end middle infield prospect Luis Urias. The 20-year-old Urias, who has slashed .298/.416/.417 in 101 Triple-A plate appearances this season, would perhaps give San Diego’s offense a much-needed jolt.
  • Giants closer Mark Melancon threw a 20-pitch bullpen session Saturday and then informed reporters (including Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle) that he’s aiming to return from the 60-day disabled list May 25, when he’s first eligible (Twitter link). Melancon hasn’t pitched at all this season, the second of a four-year, $62MM deal, on account of a flexor strain in his right elbow. Nevertheless, the Giants’ bullpen has fared better statistically than it did in 2017, and fill-in closer Hunter Strickland has performed respectably in Melancon’s place.
  • Diamondbacks righty Kris Medlen had an ugly outing Friday in his first major league outing since 2016, allowing seven earned runs on nine hits and four walks in a loss to the Astros. The veteran lost his 25-man roster spot Saturday when the D-backs optioned him to Triple-A in favor of righty Braden Shipley, per a team announcement. Fortunately for Arizona, whose rotation will go without Robbie Ray (oblique strain) for several weeks and Taijuan Walker (Tommy John surgery) for the rest of the year, an intriguing reinforcement is making progress. Righty Shelby Miller, who’s on the mend from the TJ surgery he underwent last year, could pitch in an extended spring training game next week, manager Torey Lovullo told Richard Morin of the Arizona Republic and other reporters Saturday. Miller threw live batting practice Friday – and that went “very, very good,” per Lovullo – and is slated for a bullpen session Tuesday.

Hyun-Jin Ryu Out Until Second Half; Walker Buehler Joining Dodgers’ Rotation

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12:37pm: The diagnosis is brutal for the Dodgers, as Roberts revealed to reporters that Ryu won’t return before the All-Star break (Twitter links via Pedro Moura of The Athletic). The injury sounds rather gruesome. Roberts explained that a muscle in Ryu’s groin tore completely off the bone.

Ryu will be replaced in the rotation by top prospect Walker Buehler (Twitter link via Andy McCullough of the L.A. Times). J.P. Hoornstra of the Southern California News Group adds that Buehler is on an innings limit, however, so he although he will nominally be the team’s fifth starter, he may not technically start every fifth day.

12:12pm: The Dodgers announced that they’ve placed left-hander Hyun-Jin Ryu on the 10-day disabled list with a left groin strain and optioned infielder Breyvic Valera to Triple-A on Thursday. In a pair of corresponding moves, utilityman Tim Locastro and right-hander Yimi Garcia have been recalled from Triple-A.

The press release didn’t include any sort of timetable for Ryu’s return, though manager Dave Roberts said after last night’s game that the strain was a “pretty good” one and called the injury a “big loss” for the team, which doesn’t exactly exude optimism regarding a minimal DL stay for Ryu. Roberts is hardly exaggerating when he calls any absence for Ryu significant, as the 31-year-old has dominated opposing lineups in 2018, working to a 2.12 ERA with 10.9 K/9, 3.0 BB/9, 0.9 HR/9 and 56.7 percent ground-ball rate in 29 2/3 innings.

Garcia, 27, will give the Dodgers the potential for a quality boost to the relief corps in what will be his first MLB action since undergoing Tommy John surgery back in 2016. Garcia possesses a 3.12 ERA with 9.7 K/9, 1.4 BB/9, 1.2 HR/9 and a 30.6 percent grounder rate in 75 innings at the Major League level and looked to be an emerging key cog in the L.A. bullpen before incurring his torn ligament. So far in Triple-A, he’s allowed three runs in 7 2/3 innings of work and picked up seven strikeouts without issuing a walk.

Locastro, 25, has experience at both middle-infield slots and in the outfield corners. He has just one MLB plate appearance under his belt but was off to a fast start in Triple-A, hitting .342/.448/.507 there. Valera, 26, has similarly impressive Triple-A numbers this season and was hitless in four MLB plate appearances. Locastro, though, has more recent experience at shortstop, so it seems he’s viewed as the better option to help provide depth in Corey Seager’s absence for the time being.

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