While there was an unfortunate spate of injuries covered at MLBTR yesterday, a few more have emerged in recent hours:
- Angels’ left-hander Andrew Heaney will throw a 60-pitch simulated game Monday, reports Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register. Assuming that goes according to plan, Heaney could take the mound for the Halos next weekend in Boston, as the organization isn’t planning on sending him on a minor-league rehab assignment. Heaney, who was placed on the injured list two weeks ago with shoulder inflammation, hasn’t had a banner season, pitching to a 5.09 ERA over nine starts despite a strong 27.3% strikeout rate, as he’s been particularly susceptible to the home run ball (1.76 HR/9).
- The Orioles are also set to welcome back a left-handed starter in the coming days. Manager Brandon Hyde tells Joe Trezza of MLB.com that All-Star John Means will be activated from the injured list to take the mound Wednesday. Means will miss just more than the 10-day minimum, having hit the shelf with rotator cuff inflammation in his throwing arm July 26. The previously-unheralded 26 year-old has emerged as the club’s best starter in 2019, working to a 3.12 ERA. While it’s tough to imagine him continuing that level of run prevention with a below-average 19.3% strikeout rate and 34.9% ground ball rate, Means is a volume strike-thrower who looks like a solid back-end starter, a welcome find for the pitching-starved club.
- Nationals left-handed reliever Roenis Elías has “tweaked his hamstring,” tweets Jesse Dougherty of the Washington Post. There’s no indication yet the injury is serious, but any Elías absence would be a blow to his new employer, who acquired him from the Mariners for two relief pitching prospects at the trade deadline. A fly ball pitcher, Elías has given up his share of home runs this season and is fortunate to be carrying a 3.59 ERA, but he’s still one of the better pieces in a Washington bullpen that has been the worst in baseball at preventing runs.
- Melissa Lockard of the Athletic provides updates on a pair of A’s prospects (via Twitter). Triple-A catcher Sean Murphy, a gifted defender with some raw power, recently re-aggravated a preexisting meniscus tear. Fortunately, there doesn’t seem to be any new damage- just some pain and swelling- and Murphy could return to action by the end of August. More encouragingly, top left-handed pitcher Jesus Luzardo threw a simulated game this week as he looks to work his way back from a lat strain. Like Murphy, Luzardo has played his way to Triple-A and looked like he may be able to help the big league club this season before his injury.
angels should not count on Heany past the end of his contract….too fragile
He’s LA’s version of Danny Salazar – his moments of good health and effectiveness are fleeting and spaced out by long stretches of IL and rehab. Lonnie Chisenhall is another one in that category.
good luck, mr. heaney!
The Angels should not be counting on anyone in that starting rotation. Every single starter this year has been straight garbage.
Skaggs was a starter this year. Now you are putting down the dead, you are truly classless.
may he rest in peace….but he would not have been an ace maybe 4th or 5th starter
I’m willing to give Canning and Suarez a pass…lots of talent…they need to grow more…Pena has been a disappointment as was Harvey and Cahill…won’t go to sleep on jc Ramirez
I remeber at the start of the year Angel fans were touting they were a playoff team. Everyone could see their starting staff was held together by a band-aid. Angels need to sign a solid #3 starter that is a work horse instead of signing injured starters that you must hope stays healthy.
amen!…also stick with the use the whole yard approach…hears looking at you Simmons and Upton
I don’t know what planet you were visiting but the vast majority of Angels fans knew this probably wasn’t their year from the beginning.
it’s over. expect some long losing streaks the remainder of the season. if we could finish lower than last place we would.
after all is said and done, 70-92 will be the final numbers.
Ryan is correct. Even Eppler stated at beginning of the season the 2019 team was built to compete, not to win it all.
There is a multi year plan at work. 2019 is a step in that process.
It was unlikely Harvey, Allen and Cahill all would succeed, but odds favored at least one being a solid contributor. That none did was tough.
Otherwise, the team had or found depth in OF (Goodwin, Bourjos, Puello, Hermosillo), and infield depth (rise of Fletcher and Rengifo). Even the bullpen was well-equipped, but it was overworked by underperforming SP.
Even more than the inconsistent offense, the failure of Harvey and Cahill, the lack of health in Heaney, and the loss of Skaggs doomed this team.
In a year or two we will be calling Murphy the best catcher in MLB.
People said the same thing about Matt Wieters, and look how that turned out.
Agreed. Let him actually play in the majors first.
All these setbackd for A’s players that couldve already been on the team months ago is tiresome and concerning. Hard to project future lineups and rotations eith so nuch uncertainty with their injuries.
Every team deals with injuries. Luzardo is the only one of the A’s pitchers whose injuries are “concerning” in any capacity, but he’s also a young man still coming back from TJS.
In Murphy’s case his injuries are all bad luck injuries. Two broken hands on freak plays and a meniscus tear on a freak injury. Nothing concerning there, he’s been unlucky.
Do the Angles’s pitchers throw a lot of sliders? It seems like they have so many elbow problems.Maybe the staff and coaches should have these guys throw different pitches.I know that the Dodgers have their guys that throw power sliders throw more cutters and less of those sliders if they are hard throwing guys.The Angles have a lot of talent it seems to be miss managed though.