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Injury Notes: Hendricks, Pence, Haniger, Treinen, A. Wood

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The Cubs lost left-hander Cole Hamels to the injured list Friday, but there’s better news regarding fellow rotation stalwart Kyle Hendricks. The righty, who has been out two weeks because of shoulder inflammation, could return to the Cubs’ rotation as early as the upcoming week. It’s possible Hendricks will skip a rehab start and slot back into the team’s starting staff Tuesday, per Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun-Times. If that happens, the Cubs could get two Hendricks starts before the All-Star break. That would be a boon for NL Central-leading Chicago, whose rotation looks especially shaky at the moment without Hamels and Hendricks. Both starters have enjoyed terrific seasons thus far, with Hendricks having pitched to a 3.36 ERA/3.48 FIP and posted 7.64 K/9 against 1.63 BB/9 in 88 1/3 innings.

More on a few other injured notables…

  • Rangers designated hitter/outfielder Hunter Pence will embark on a two-game minor league rehab stint beginning Monday, Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News reports. Barring setbacks, Pence will return to the Rangers on Wednesday. Pence has been out since June 17 with a right groin strain, but the stunning start the revived 36-year-old jumped out to before then earned him his fourth career All-Star nod. Thanks in no small part to Pence, who’s raking at a .294/.353/.608 clip (142 wRC+) with 15 home runs over 215 plate appearances, Texas owns a 46-37 record and a 1 1/2-game lead on the AL’s last wild-card spot.
  • Mariners outfielder Mitch Haniger won’t return until sometime after the All-Star break, manager Scott Servais announced Saturday (via Greg Johns of MLB.com). The Mariners had been hopeful Haniger would come back a bit before then, but the ruptured testicle he suffered June 6 will ultimately keep him out at least five weeks.
  • Athletics closer Blake Treinen is on track to come off the IL on Wednesday, Martin Gallegos of MLB.com tweets. In the meantime, Treinen’s likely to pitch a rehab game Monday. The A’s placed Treinen on the shelf last Saturday with a right shoulder strain, continuing a disappointing campaign for the 30-year-old. Arguably the majors’ premier reliever in 2018, Treinen has recorded a pedestrian 4.08 ERA/4.11 FIP with 9.17 K/9, 5.35 BB/9 and a 43.2 percent groundball rate in 35 1/3 innings this season.
  • Reds lefty Alex Wood has dealt with multiple setbacks in his recovery from a back injury, an issue that has stopped him from pitching in the majors this year. But he’ll make another attempt to progress toward a rehab assignment, Bobby Nightengale of the Cincinnati Enquirer relays. Wood plans to throw off flat ground Sunday, and the Reds will determine his next step thereafter. “We’re keeping our fingers crossed, hopeful that it wasn’t too big of a setback for him,” manager David Bell said of the latest setback Wood suffered earlier this week.

Baseball Blogs Weigh In: Stroman, Astros, Harper, Pirates, Mets, Tulo

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This week in baseball blogs…

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Latest On White Sox Prospect Jake Burger

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White Sox third base prospect Jake Burger didn’t play at all last year after tearing his left Achilles tendon twice, once in February and again in May. It turns out Burger will also miss this season, owing in part to a bruised left heel, general manager Rick Hahn told James Fegan of The Athletic and other reporters Friday.

The Burger news adds to a vicious week on the injury front for the White Sox, who also ruled injured pitchers Ryan Burr, Jimmy Lambert, Ian Hamilton and Zack Burdi out for the season Friday.

Like Burdi (No. 26, 2016), Burger joined the organization as a recent first-round pick. The White Sox selected Burger 11th overall in 2017 and then inked him for $3.7MM – almost $500K below slot – with the hope the ex-Missouri State standout would lock down third on the South Side for the foreseeable future.

The 23-year-old Burger could still emerge as a long-term building block in Chicago despite this injury-stunted start to his career. It may not happen at third, though, as Kiley McDaniel and Eric Longenhagen of FanGraphs noted back in April he looked like a questionable fit for the position even before this awful run of left leg troubles. Nevertheless, McDaniel and Longenhagen ranked Burger 12th among the White Sox’s prospects and credited him with possessing a “sizable ceiling.” The Sox are hoping Burger will return for Arizona Fall League action this year and finally start showing off his potential in real games again.

Rangers Sign Austin Bibens-Dirkx

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The Rangers have reunited with right-hander Austin Bibens-Dirkx on a minor league contract, Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News reports. Bibens-Dirkx will take the ball for their Triple-A affiliate in Nashville on Saturday.

The well-traveled Bibens-Dirkx was previously a member of the Rangers organization from 2016-18, but knee surgery last September helped hasten his departure. Texas outrighted Bibens-Dirkx in early November, leading him to pursue a free-agent opportunity with the Uni-President Lions of the Taiwan-based Chinese Professional Baseball League. The 34-year-old returned stateside earlier this month to tend to his pregnant wife.

While Bibens-Dirkx turned pro way back in 2006 when the Mariners drafted him in the 16th round, his lone major league experience has come with the Rangers. He put up a 5.27 ERA/5.63 FIP with 5.59 K/9 and 2.68 BB/9 over 114 1/3 innings with the club during the prior two seasons. Bibens-Dirkx has mostly served as a reliever in the majors, whereas the majority of his recent Triple-A frames have come as a starter. He owns a 5.25 ERA with 7.3 K/9 and 3.0 BB/9 across 466 career innings at the minors’ highest level.

Padres Designate Matt Wisler

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The Padres announced that they’ve designated right-hander Matt Wisler for assignment. They’re replacing him on the 25-man roster with righty Robert Stock, who’s up from Triple-A El Paso.

Wisler’s in his second stint with the Padres, though his designation could once again lead him elsewhere. Formerly a well-regarded prospect, Wisler initially left the Padres in April 2015, when the Friars sent him to the Braves in a deal for closer Craig Kimbrel and outfielder Melvin Upton Jr. Wisler lasted into 2018 with the Braves, who traded him to the Reds in July to acquire outfielder Adam Duvall, before returning to San Diego this past April in a swap for righty Diomar Lopez.

Now 26 years old, Wisler saw his first action with the Padres this season before his DFA, logging an unimpressive 5.28 ERA over 29 innings and 21 appearances. Wisler has, however, posted a 4.11 FIP with 10.55 K/9, 3.1 BB/9 and a 43.4 percent groundball rate in the majors this year. Including his days with the Braves and Reds, Wisler has pitched to a 5.18 ERA/4.83 FIP with 6.74 K/9, 2.92 BB/9 and a 36.8 percent grounder rate in 367 big league frames.

AL East Notes: Stroman, Yankees, Voit, Rays, Castillo

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Blue Jays right-hander Marcus Stroman left his start against the Royals in the fifth inning Saturday with “discomfort,” Shi Davidi of Sportsnet tweets. Stroman’s final pitch – a two-seam fastball – clocked in at 89.5 mph, down about 3 mph from his typical velocity, per Davidi. While Stroman’s status isn’t yet known, a serious injury would be a rather unfortunate turn of events for Toronto leading up to the July 31 trade deadline. Stroman, if healthy, figures to end up as one of the best starters on the move over the next month. [UPDATE: Stroman has a left shoulder pectoral cramp, Scott Mitchell of TSN was among those to report. He won’t miss any time, manager Charlie Montoyo told Davidi and others.]

More from the AL East…

  • Yankees first baseman Luke Voit exited the team’s London-based slugfest against Boston on Saturday with tightness in his core muscle, according to the Bombers (via ESPN.com). Voit told reporters (including Bryan Hoch of MLB.com) that he hopes to avoid the injured list, but the team will know more about his status Sunday. The 28-year-old collected four hits in as many attempts prior to his exit Saturday, upping his 2019 line to .280/.393/.509 (140 wRC+) with 17 home runs in 349 plate appearances. That would obviously be difficult production for the red-hot Yankees to lose, especially considering they may have just seen fellow slugger Giancarlo Stanton go down until at least August. The Yankees replaced Voit on Saturday with Gio Urshela and moved Urshela to third base for the sizzling DJ LeMahieu, who shifted to first.
  • Sticking with the Yankees, ace righty Luis Severino is still at least five to seven days from throwing, George A. King III of the New York Post reports. Severino has been shelved for almost three months with a lat strain – an injury that’s 90 percent healed, according to King. However, Severino’s still battling some soreness in the area. There has been plenty of speculation about the Yankees acquiring a starter (perhaps Stroman) in the next month, but they’d likely benefit more from a healthy Severino than any other hurler they could land in the coming weeks.
  • The Rays aren’t ruling out a return before the All-Star break for injured reliever Diego Castillo, manager Kevin Cash said Saturday (via Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times). The club placed Castillo on the IL last Sunday with right shoulder inflammation. That came on the heels of a few rough appearances for the flamethrowing Castillo, whose ERA was 2.05 as recently as June 11 but now sits at 3.93.

Minor MLB Transactions: 6/29/19

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The latest in minor moves from around the game…

  • Twins lefty Gabriel Moya has cleared waivers and been outrighted to AAA-Rochester, tweets Do-Hyoung Park of mlb.com. Moya, 24, had struggled with command at Rochester this season before his designation last week, the first time in eight professional seasons he’d exhibited such an issue. FanGraphs lauds the lefty’s 60-grade changeup, which won’t effectively be put to use if the wildness continues.
  • Angels infielder Wilfredo Tovar has cleared waivers and been outrighted to AAA-Salt Lake, per the team. Tovar had a 16-game stint with Los Angeles earlier this season, during which he slashed a meager .195/.283/.293 in 46 plate appearances. The 27-year-old’s been mostly punchless in 12 professional season thus far, though he continues to flash his sticky leather all around the infield.
  • The Pirates have signed former farmhand Gift Ngoepe, per the team’s Altoona Curve affiliate. Ngoepe, 29, will report to Altoona after a less-than-stellar showing with AAA Lehigh Valley in the Phillies system this year. Like Tovar, Ngoepe hasn’t hit much in the minors over his career, though his defense has his earned him call-ups with both Pittsburgh and Toronto over the last two seasons.

Cardinals To Place Marcell Ozuna On 10-Day IL With Finger Injury

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Cardinals outfielder Marcell Ozuna, who jammed multiple fingers on his right hand, including the middle, which club officials fear may be fractured, in a baserunning incident during last night’s game against San Diego, will be placed on the 10-Day IL shortly, per manager Mike Shildt (h/t to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch’s Derrick Goold). The team is “leaning” toward promoting outfielder Tyler O’Neill to take his place.

Ozuna, 28, has been one of the lone bright spots for a struggling Cardinals offense, slashing .259/.331/.515 (118 wRC+) in regular left-field action for the club.

An aging Cardinal lineup, thought to be driven by the dynamic Matt Carpenter/Paul Goldschmidt duo, has often sputtered in the early going. The club ranks 11th in NL park-adjusted output, with the team’s hitters amassing the fourth-fewest homers in the Senior Circuit despite a hard-hit rate that ranks among the league’s best. Statcast’s xwOBA metric pinpoints both Goldschmidt and Jose Martinez as hard-luck hitters this season, with the latter ranking as one of the league’s unluckiest thus far in 2019.

O’Neill, who’s slumped a bit in both limited big-league action and extended Triple-A time this year (his .261/.312/.528 line is somehow below league-average in the PCL this season), would figure to get the bulk of the action in Ozuna’s absence.  The club could also turn full-time to Jose Martinez, though his corner-outfield defensive metrics again paint a rather bleak picture in semi-regular action thus far.

Giants Sign First-Rounder Hunter Bishop

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Per Jim Callis of MLB.com, the Giants have agreed to terms with first-rounder Hunter Bishop on a $4.1MM, below-slot deal. The deal is over $500K south of the approximately $4.74MM slot value for the 10th overall selection.

Bishop, the brother of Mariners outfielder Braden Bishop, is an outfielder who attended the same high school (Serra, in San Mateo, CA) and college (Arizona State) as Giants legend Barry Bonds.  The 6’5 lefty came late to baseball after devoting much of his pre-university energies to football, a sport he initially pledged to play at the University of Washington.

Bishop’s freshman and sophomore outputs were muted, but an offseason swing change unlocked a full range of theretofore unseen offensive talents, including top-scale bat speed and a plate discipline that endeared him to club executives across the league. Baseball America takes particular care to laud his “70-grade power” and “plus running ability” while noting that, though he’s possessing of the requisite tools to remain in center field, he may better suited for a corner. FanGraphs’ scouting report is notably bearish on Bishop’s current 30-grade arm, which the publication believes could be an issue in seasons to come.

Regardless, Bishop will hope to pair with other highly-touted offensive talents Joey Bart, Heliot Ramos, and the electric Marco Luciano to form the core of what the Giants hope will be the club’s next championship squad.

Bishop’s signing was just one in a slew of high-round inkings for the club today: as Callis notes, the Giants also agreed to terms with second-rounder Logan Wyatt (for $1MM; slot value: $1.47MM), fourth-rounder Tyler Fitzgerald (for full-slot $497.5K), and eighth-rounder Caleb Killian (for $400K, more than double the pick’s $176.3K slot value).

Danny Salazar To Begin Rehab Assignment

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Per Zack Meisel of The Athletic, Indians righty Danny Salazar will begin a rehab assignment with the club’s Arizona League affiliate tomorrow evening. It’s been a long road back for the 29-year-old Salazar, who’s been beset by shoulder injuries since his last appearance in a major league game on September 27, 2017.

Salazar’s shoulder surgery, which took place nearly a year ago to the day, was exploratory in nature and left the fireballing righty no timetable for a return. The team had initially expressed optimism that the 2016 All-Star could return early in 2019, but Salazar suffered multiple setbacks in his rehab process and had been unable to return to bullpen mounds until earlier this month.

When healthy, the five-year vet’s dynamite repertoire is among the nastiest in the game. Salazar’s yet to complete a season, partial or otherwise, where he didn’t set down at least a batter an inning, and in 19 starts for the club in 2017, the flamethrower averaged 95.1 MPH on his fastball and struck out nearly 13 men per nine. A fully healthy, back-to-form version of Salazar, who’d project to return around the same time as ace Corey Kluber, could give the Indians the AL’s most formidable rotation and supercharge the team’s push toward the AL Central crown.

Such a scenario may be pie in the proverbial sky, though, as the club will almost certainly let caution reign with the still-controllable righty, who’s set to hit arbitration for the final time in 2020. The club hasn’t been shy about deploying Salazar as a ’pen arm in the past, a role which may again be his if he’s to return to Cleveland without incident in ’19.

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