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Robinson Cano Suffers Fractured Right Hand

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3:45pm: Cano told Greg Johns of MLB.com and other reporters that he’ll head to Philadelphia to see a hand specialist on Tuesday. Meanwhile, manager Scott Servais suggested that Gordon won’t be taking over for Cano at second, per Divish.

3:01pm: Mariners second baseman Robinson Cano has suffered a a fractured fifth metacarpal in his right hand, Ryan Divish of the Seattle Times tweets. The injury occurred Sunday when Cano took a pitch off the hand from Tigers starter Blaine Hardy, forcing him to exit the game in third inning.

It’s unclear how much time Cano will miss, though it’s worth noting that Pirates second baseman Josh Harrison and Giants ace Madison Bumgarner have suffered similar injuries in recent weeks. Harrison’s in the middle of at least a six-week recovery, while Bumgarner will end up missing around two months. It stands to reason Cano is likely in line for a similar absence, which is an awful development for a 22-17 Seattle team that’s just a game out of a wild-card spot as the season nears the quarter pole.

The 35-year-old Cano has been one of the driving forces behind the Mariners’ success this season, having slashed .287/.385/.441 with four home runs in 169 plate appearances. The former Yankee was clearly on his way to his fifth straight above-average campaign with the Mariners, who signed him to a 10-year, $240MM contract entering the 2014 season. Now, the durable Cano is likely to end up playing his fewest games in a season since he amassed 122 appearances as a second-year man in 2006. Entering 2018, he had appeared in at least 150 games in 11 straight seasons.

The Mariners replaced Cano on Sunday with utilityman Andrew Romine, but he likely doesn’t have the offensive skills to serve as a regular. The same goes for Taylor Motter, a 40-man option who’s currently in Triple-A, and fellow minor leaguer Gordon Beckham (he’s not on Seattle’s 40-man). The Mariners have a logical replacement for Cano in the 30-year-old Dee Gordon, who was a more-than-capable second baseman with the Marlins prior to this season. Seattle acquired Gordon in an offseason trade, and thanks to Cano’s presence, the club immediately shifted the speedster to center field. Gordon hasn’t drawn great reviews in the grass, though, with negative marks from Defensive Runs Saved (minus-8), Ultimate Zone Rating (minus-2.7) and Statcast’s Outs Above Average metric (minus-2).

While it’s unknown whether the Mariners would consider moving Gordon back to the keystone, it’s clear there aren’t many available choices on the open market. Veteran Brandon Phillips looks like the best of the free-agent bunch. Interest in Phillips has been scant, but he wants to play, and this injury could perhaps open the door for his return to the majors. The Mariners may be hard pressed to find someone who’s clearly superior to the 36-year-old Phillips on the trade front – general manager Jerry Dipoto’s preferred route. Not only are deals hard to come by at this point in the season, but the Mariners likely don’t have a strong enough farm system to acquire an impact player.

Orioles Claim Renato Nunez From Rangers

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The Orioles have claimed infielder/outfielder Renato Nunez off waivers from the Rangers, Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com tweets. In a corresponding move, Baltimore transferred infielder Tim Beckham to the 60-day DL.

Nunez lost his spot with the Rangers when they designated him on Friday. The 24-year-old logged 41 appearances with the club prior to then and batted just .167/.244/.278. He offered similar production from 2016-17 in Oakland (.167/.194/.267 in 31 PAs), which jettisoned him in mid-April. Nunez has been far better at Triple-A, where he owns a .242/.301/.460 line in 1,113 PAs, and is capable of lining up in the corners.

Most of Nunez’s professional action has come at third base, where the Orioles have been without Beckham for a few weeks. Beckham underwent core muscle surgery April 26 and is in the early stages of what will be at least a six-week recovery, making his shift to the 60-day DL a logical move for the Orioles. This has been a year to forget thus far for Beckham, who slashed .179/.247/.262 in 93 PAs before landing on the shelf. Beckham’s fall from grace since last season, when he was an effective piece for Baltimore after it acquired him from Tampa Bay in July, has been one of many clear causes for the Orioles’ 12-28 start.

AL Notes: Cano, Red Sox, Rays, Tigers

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Mariners second baseman Robinson Cano departed in the third inning Sunday after taking a pitch off the right hand from Tigers starter Blaine Hardy, Greg Johns of MLB.com was among those to report. Seattle’s left to hope this isn’t a serious injury for Cano, who has slashed a robust .287/.381/.441 over the first 168 plate appearances of his age-35 campaign. Thanks in part to Cano’s efforts, the Mariners have jumped out to an encouraging 22-16 start as they attempt to break a league-worst 16-year playoff drought. The club replaced Cano on Sunday with utilityman Andrew Romine.

More from the AL…

  • With second baseman Dustin Pedroia nearing a return from offseason knee surgery and knuckleballer Steven Wright set to come back Monday from a 15-game suspension for a violation of the league’s domestic violence policy, the Red Sox have some difficult roster questions looming, Jen McCaffrey of The Athletic observes (subscription required). Pedroia’s return looks likely to force a choice between Brock Holt and Blake Swihart for Boston’s utility infielder spot. Holt’s better suited for that, even though he has an option left and Swihart doesn’t, McCaffrey argues. On the pitching side, the Red Sox may have to select between sending down righty Hector Velazquez (who does have an option left) or losing the out-of-options lefty Brian Johnson once Wright’s back. Alternatively, the Red Sox could keep those two and jettison Wright, who’s also out of options, McCaffrey notes. Wright’s only two years removed from earning an All-Star nod, but injury issues – including season-ending left knee surgery last May – have helped derail him since then. He hasn’t made a big league appearance since April 29, 2017.
  • Rays two-way prospect Brendan McKay, the fourth pick in last year’s draft, is inching closer to the majors. The Rays have moved him from Single-A to High-A, per Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times. Prior to his promotion, the left-handed McKay, 22, opened the year with a 1.09 ERA and 14.59 K/9 against .73 BB/9 in 24 2/3 innings. He also held his own as a hitter, albeit not quite as much, with a .254/.484/.333 line in 91 PAs. Rays senior VP Chaim Bloom told Topkin that McKay “has been exceptional,” adding: “The results we’ve seen (as a pitcher) have been so phenomenal that he would be really hard-pressed to match that as a hitter. But he’s shown such as advanced approach at the plate, in fact to the point it felt at time he was being pitched around at that level.”
  • Tigers third baseman Jeimer Candelario was out of the starting lineup Sunday with a left wrist problem. The issue has bothered the 24-year-old “off and on” throughout his career, notes MLB.com’s Jason Beck, who adds that Candelario will undergo an MRI (Twitter links). Despite his balky wrist, the switch-hitting Candelario has gotten off to a terrific start this year with a .272/.359/.497 line and five home runs in 167 trips to the plate. Meanwhile, teammate Jordan Zimmermann won’t come off the disabled list to make his scheduled start Wednesday, Evan Woodbery of MLive.com tweets. The right-hander isn’t ready to return from the shoulder impingement that shelved him earlier this week.

Padres Place Phil Maton On DL

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The Padres announced that they’ve placed right-hander Phil Maton on the 10-day disabled list with a a right lat strain. His roster spot will go to fellow righty Kazuhisa Makita, who’s returning after a short stint at the Triple-A level.

At 15-26, the Padres appear likely to finish under .500 for the eighth straight season. This year’s club isn’t teeming with bright spots, then, though Maton and the bullpen in general have been outstanding. The 25-year-old Maton has pitched to a microscopic .56 ERA with 9.56 K/9, 3.94 BB/9 and a 42.2 percent groundball rate across 16 innings. He’s among a slew of relievers who have been effective for the Padres, whose bullpen ranks toward the top of the majors in fWAR (third), ERA (sixth), K/BB ratio (sixth) and grounder rate (seventh).

Makita, on the other hand, didn’t do San Diego’s run prevention numbers any favors before it demoted him earlier this week. The 33-year-old rookie, an offseason free-agent pickup from Japan, has notched a 6.75 ERA and a paltry 22.2 percent grounder mark over his first 16 MLB frames. On the positive side, the soft-tossing Makita has matched Maton’s K/BB rates and logged an impressive swinging-strike percentage (15.4).

NL West Notes: Kershaw, Bumgarner, Padres

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A few items from the National League West…

  • Dodgers ace Clayton Kershaw will choose whether to opt out of the remaining two years and $65MM on his contract after the season ends, and Buster Olney of ESPN looks at several factors that could play into the process. Health is chief among them, which isn’t surprising considering Kershaw’s recent injury issues. The 30-year-old is currently on the DL with biceps tendinitis after missing time during the previous two seasons with back and hip issues. If Kershaw does opt out, Olney wonders if his legacy with the Dodgers will help influence them to give him a megadeal. They’ve shied away from overly long commitments in recent years, including when they allowed Zack Greinke to sign with the rival Diamondbacks for a six-year, $206.5MM guarantee in December 2015, Olney points out.
  • The Giants are taking an aggressive approach in ace Madison Bumgarner’s recovery from a fractured pinky finger, Kerry Crowley of the Bay Area News Group relays. Manager Bruce Bochy indicated that Bumgarner may only need one rehab start and could return shortly after May 25, when he’s eligible to come off the 60-day DL. Bumgarner hasn’t pitched yet this year, and his debut will be an especially timely one for a San Francisco team that just lost fellow front-of-the-rotation starter Johnny Cueto for up to two months with an elbow strain.
  • The Padres’ decision to designate veteran infielder Chase Headley on Saturday opened up a spot for infielder/outfielder Cory Spangenberg, whom they recalled from Triple-A. Now, Spangenberg may be in a do-or-die spot with the organization, Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union-Tribune suggests. The 27-year-old Spangenberg will see more time at third base than the 34-year-old Headley did, per Acee, as the bottom-feeding Padres want to find out if the younger player is capable of emerging as a long-term piece. Spangenberg, who has been with the Padres since they chose him 10th overall in the 2011 draft, has offered roughly league-average offensive production (.262/.319/.399, 97 wRC+) across 1,009 major league plate appearances.
  • In the wake of Headley’s exit from the Padres’ roster, Dennis Lin of The Athletic (subscription required) opines that “the jury’s still out” on A.J. Preller’s ability to make trades. The fifth-year general manager took on Headley and his $13MM salary during the offseason in order to acquire righty Bryan Mitchell from the Yankees, and that hasn’t worked out at all thus far. Both that trade and the 2015 swap in which Preller sent infielder Jedd Gyorko to the Cardinals for outfielder Jon Jay “have been duds,” Lin writes.

Blue Jays Designate Carlos Ramirez

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The Blue Jays have designated right-hander Carlos Ramirez for assignment, per a team announcement. The club also selected righty Deck McGuire from Triple-A Buffalo and optioned infielder Lourdes Gurriel Jr.

Ramirez, who debuted with the Blue Jays organization in 2014, garnered his first big league experience last season. The 27-year-old notched a 2.70 ERA with 7.56 K/9, 1.62 BB/9 and a 27 percent groundball rate over that 16 2/3-inning span. Ramirez then tossed just 2 1/3 major league frames this season prior to his designation, allowing an earned run on one hit and five walks (with three strikeouts).

McGuire, 28, is in his second stint with the Blue Jays. The first began in 2010 with quite a bit of fanfare, as the club selected McGuire 11th overall in the draft. McGuire was unable to work his way to the majors with Toronto, though, and the club went on to trade him to Oakland for cash considerations in 2014. McGuire then spent time with Dodgers, Cardinals and Reds, making his big league debut with the latter in 2017. He fared nicely over 13 2/3 innings (2.63 ERA, 7.24 K/9, 1.32 BB/9) before returning to the Jays on a minors pact last November.

Gurriel, whom Toronto signed to a seven-year, $22MM deal in 2016, has struggled in his MLB debut this season. The 24-year-old racked up 70 plate appearances prior to his demotion and hit just .206/.229/.309 with two home runs, two walks and 17 strikeouts. Gurriel is now set for his first Triple-A action, having previously jumped from Double-A to the majors.

Rangers Purchase Brandon Mann’s Contract

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The Rangers have purchased the contract of left-hander Brandon Mann from Triple-A Round Rock, according to an announcement from the team. Texas optioned southpaw Yohander Mendez to Triple-A in a corresponding move.

Mann is finally in position to make his major league debut 16 years after the franchise formerly known as the Devil Rays selected him in the 27th round of the 2002 draft. Set to turn 34 on Wednesday, Mann is in line to become the second-oldest Ranger to make his MLB debut, per the team’s executive VP of communications, John Blake (via Twitter).

Mann has taken a circuitous route to get to this point, as you’d expect. In addition to spending several years in the minor leagues with multiple franchises, Mann has garnered experience on the independent circuit and in Japan. After playing the previous couple seasons with the Oakland organization, including a 2016 campaign in which he earned an 80-game suspension for performance-enhancing drugs, Mann inked a minors pact with the Rangers over the winter. He then produced excellent results in Round Rock to open the year, with a 1.56 ERA and 6.8 K/9 against 2.6 BB/9 across 17 1/3 innings (12 appearances, one start), en route to a big league promotion.

Will The Dodgers Make The Playoffs?

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With a major league-best 104-58 record, a National League-high plus-190 run differential and their first pennant since 1988, the Dodgers were a juggernaut in 2017. Because most of that great roster returned this year, expectations were that the Dodgers would once again rank among the majors’ so-called super teams. Instead, as the season nears the quarter pole, Los Angeles’ record places it in company with the dregs of the league.

LA dropped to a stunningly poor 16-23 on Saturday when it lost its third straight game to lowly Cincinnati, which at 13-27 is one of just three NL teams with a worse mark. The Dodgers will have to fight Sunday to stave off an embarrassing four-game home sweep and perhaps an even larger deficit in the NL West, a division they already trail by eight games. Not only have the rival Diamondbacks gotten off to the NL’s best start (24-15), but they’ve manhandled the Dodgers in the process, winning eight of 12 matchups. The two teams won’t see each other again until the end of August, and if they maintain something resembling their current pace, the Dodgers will be out of both the division and wild-card races by then.

Given the talent on the Dodgers’ roster, it stands to reason they’ll at least push for a wild card, though they’re already 6.5 games back in a crowded race. Ten of the league’s 15 teams are over .500, and eight of those clubs have posted positive run differentials. LA is among those clubs, having scored one more run than it has allowed (168 to 167) en route to an above-.500 Pythagorean record (20-19). It seems the Dodgers have been the victims of bad luck in the win-loss department, then, and they’ve definitely had poor fortune on the injury front.

LA’s laundry list of ailments began in earnest late in spring training when elite third baseman Justin Turner suffered a broken left wrist and hasn’t subsided since then. Along with Turner – who hasn’t yet debuted in 2018 – Clayton Kershaw, Corey Seager, Yasiel Puig, Hyun-Jin Ryu, Rich Hill, Logan Forsythe, Tony Cingrani and Tom Koehler are among key Dodgers who have spent time on the DL this year. Kershaw has been out for a week with a biceps issue, and it’s unclear when he’ll return. Meanwhile, the groin strain Ryu suffered earlier this month will keep him out until after the All-Star break.

The injuries to Kershaw and Ryu, not to mention the 2017 shoulder surgery young lefty Julio Urias is working back from, have dented an LA rotation that isn’t blessed with as much depth as it had during the team’s NL-winning showing last year. To their credit, Dodgers starters still rank toward the top of the majors in ERA (ninth) and fWAR (sixth), thanks in part to the much-needed emergence of rookie Walker Buehler.

The team’s relief corps has been ineffective, on the other hand, owing to closer Kenley Jansen’s shockingly rough start, a lack of help from offseason acquisitions Koehler (who hasn’t pitched) and Scott Alexander, and the loss of now-Cub Brandon Morrow in free agency. Only nine bullpens have posted a worse ERA than the Dodgers’ 4.49, while just two are short of the unit’s minus-0.1 fWAR. No Dodgers reliever has been a greater source of concern than the 30-year-old Jansen, who was utterly dominant from 2010-17 but has seen his velocity drop this year en route to career-worst numbers in the run prevention, swinging-strike, strikeout, walk and home run categories.

A revival from Jansen would obviously help key a Dodgers turnaround, as would a healthier squad. Fortunately for LA, Turner and Forsythe could return during the upcoming week to bolster a position player group that has actually managed respectable numbers thus far. The Dodgers rank middle of the pack or better in runs (14th), wRC+ (13th) and fWAR (ninth) despite having gone completely without Turner and largely without the excellent Seager, who racked up 115 plate appearances before undergoing season-ending Tommy John surgery in late April.

The loss of Seager was and still is a devastating blow to the Dodgers, who could attempt to fill his shoes via trade (there has been Manny Machado speculation, for instance) if they’re in position to make a splash around the July non-waiver deadline. Any move(s) the Dodgers make may be partially geared toward keeping them under the $197MM competitive-balance tax threshold, which they seemingly worked to avoid during the offseason.. Thanks in part to a low-key winter in which Koehler, Alexander and a seemingly reborn Matt Kemp were their only noteworthy major league acquisitions, the Dodgers sit an estimated $10MM-plus under the CBT after blowing past it in previous seasons.

For its part, Dodgers management insists staying below the CBT isn’t a must, though that’ll be worth monitoring as the season progresses. Of course, the $197MM figure may not matter for the team come late July if it doesn’t do a 180 over the next two-plus months. There’s plenty of work ahead for the Dodgers to get back to .500, let alone firmly in playoff position, but it’s possible we’ll end up looking back on their first-quarter woes as a blip. Last year’s version did lose 16 of 17 games from late August to mid-September, after all, though they’d already banked an incredible 91-36 record prior to that slump. The current Dodgers would need to go 75-13 over their next 88 to match that pace. Not happening. But will the team rebound to earn its sixth straight playoff berth?

(poll link for app users)

Brewers To Place Chase Anderson On DL

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The Brewers will place right-hander Chase Anderson on the 10-day disabled list because of a stomach illness, according to a team announcement. His roster spot will go to righty Freddy Peralta, who’s coming up from Triple-A to make his major league debut Sunday.

Anderson was scheduled to take the ball Saturday in Colorado, but he was physically unable to pitch, leaving the Brewers to plug in lefty Brent Suter for a spot start. Suter struggled over five innings, and the Brewers dropped a 4-0 decision to fall to a still-solid 23-17 on the season. Some of Milwaukee’s success in 2018 has come thanks to Anderson, who leads the team in innings pitched (45.1) and ranks second among its starters in ERA (3.97).

While Anderson has prevented runs at a palatable clip, his other numbers aren’t particularly encouraging. Anderson’s strikeout (5.96 K/9) and walk (3.18 BB/9) rates have gone in the wrong direction since a breakout 2017, when he managed 8.47 and 2.61 in those categories, and he has only induced ground balls at a 36.4 percent clip. Thanks partially to his fly ball tendencies, Anderson has allowed 1.99 home runs per nine – up from .89 last season.

Anderson may well regress toward his subpar 6.02 FIP when he returns from the DL, but this is still an unfortunate development for the Brewers. They now have four established starters on the DL, with Jimmy Nelson, Zach Davies and Wade Miley being the others. Their injuries have opened the door for the 21-year-old Peralta, acquired as part of a 2015 trade with the Mariners centering on first baseman Adam Lind.

Peralta, who began his Brewers tenure at the Single-A level, now ranks as the club’s ninth-best prospect at MLB.com. He opened the year at Triple-A Colorado Springs, a difficult environment for pitchers, and posted a 3.63 ERA/3.12 FIP with 11.94 K/9, 4.41 BB/9 and a 53.6 percent grounder rate over 34 2/3 innings (seven starts).

Baseball Blogs Weigh In: Kershaw, Machado, Dodgers, Yanks, Cards, Bucs

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This week in baseball blogs…

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