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Archives for August 2020

60-Man Pool Additions: Orioles, Brewers

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Here are the latest additions to 60-man player pools from around the majors:

  • Joining the Orioles’ 60-man player pool are righty Kyle Bradish, outfielder Ryan McKenna, and southpaw Bruce Zimmermann. Bradish, a fourth-round pick of the 2018 draft, had a solid year at the High-A level in 2019 and came to the Baltimore organization in the Dylan Bundy swap. The latter two will each be eligible for the Rule 5 draft this fall if they’re not added to the 40-man roster beforehand. McKenna had a tough season last year at Double-A, where slashed just .232/.321/.365 in 567 plate appearances. The 25-year-old Zimmermann topped out at Triple-A in 2019, scuffling in seven starts. But he earned his way there with 101 1/3 impressive frames at Bowie, over which he carried a 2.58 ERA with 9.0 K/9 and 3.0 BB/9.
  • The Brewers have brought outfielder Hedbert Perez and righty Justin Topa into their alternate training site, Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel reports on Twitter. It’s a rather interesting duo. The former only just turned 17 years of age and is obviously still a long ways away from the majors. The organization obviously sees quite a lot of potential. Topa is already 29 but sits in the upper nineties with his fastball, so this’ll be an opportunity for the Milwaukee organization to see if he could ultimately be an option at the MLB level. Last year, Topa worked to a cumulative 3.38 ERA with 9.2 K/9 and 2.3 BB/9 over forty frames split between the High-A and Double-A levels.

Mike Soroka Suffers Season-Ending Achilles Tear

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Braves ace Mike Soroka suffered a torn right Achilles on Monday and will miss the rest of the season, Jeff Schultz of The Athletic was among those to report. The injury forced the right-handed Soroka out of his start early in a loss to the division-rival Mets.

Not only is this development horrible news for Soroka and the Braves, but it’s a blow to baseball fans who have been treated to his outstanding performance since he debuted in 2018. Still just 22 years old when he took the mound tonight — his birthday is tomorrow — Soroka was an All-Star last season who has registered a 2.72 ERA/3.34 FIP with 7.27 K/9, 2.17 BB/9 and a 50.4 percent groundball rate in 211 2/3 innings in the majors. Monday was just his third start of the current season, and considering the severity and timing of it, it seems fair to wonder whether Soroka will miss a chunk of time in 2021 as he works his way back.

Soroka’s year-ending injury continues a run of terrible luck in Atlanta’s rotation, which dealt with multiple problems before losing him. Righty Felix Hernandez opted out of the season over coronavirus concerns, and then big-money offseason pickup Cole Hamels went on the 45-day IL because of a triceps injury. After that, the Braves booted one-time All-Star Mike Foltynewicz from their roster in the wake of an alarming drop in velocity. Foltynewicz is still part of the organization, though, and may stand a greater chance of getting back to the majors this year in light of Soroka’s injury.

If Folty isn’t an option, the Braves could still look within, seek a trade or scour a rather uninspiring free-agent market to complement Max Fried, Sean Newcomb, Touki Toussaint and Kyle Wright in their rotation. One thing’s for sure: Even though Atlanta’s 7-4 and atop the NL East, this season has not gone according to plan for its group of starters.

Mets’ Infield Dealing With Injuries

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The Mets are suddenly dealing with a few notable injuries in their infield, Deesha Thosar of the New York Daily News was among those to report. Second baseman Robinson Cano (left groin), shortstop Amed Rosario (left quad) and third baseman Jeff McNeil (lower back) are all battling some degree of “tightness,” per Thosar.

The severity of these injuries are unclear, but they’re the latest hits to an offense that saw outfielder Yoenis Cespedes opt out of the season Sunday. Cespedes got off to a subpar start this season, as has Rosario. On the other hand, Cano and McNeil have been great thus far. It’s especially encouraging in regards to Cano, who was a letdown a season ago, but not surprising in McNeil’s case. After all, he was one of the NL’s best position players last year.

The Mets entered the day at 3-7, so any further bad news for their lineup could make it even harder for the team to dig out of the hole it’s in at the one-sixth mark of the season. The Mets replaced their three lost starters with Brian Dozier, Andres Gimenez and Luis Guillorme on Monday.

Carlos Rodon Departs With Shoulder Soreness

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8:33pm: Rodon experienced shoulder soreness, the team announced. He also reported pain in the neck area, James Fegan of The Athletic tweets.

8:16pm: White Sox starter Carlos Rodon left his start today after just two innings. The lefty’s fastball velocity dropped precipitously in his second frame, as MLB.com’s Adam McCalvy observes on Twitter.

It’s too soon to tell what caused the velo drop, but the South Siders obviously were concerned enough to give a quick hook after just 26 pitches. Rodon allowed three hits and one earned run before departing.

Rodon, 27, already turned in one rough outing to open the season. He had been hoping for a full campaign after missing significant time due to Tommy John surgery. Rodon can be controlled through arbitration for one more season after the 2020 campaign.

That TJ procedure and an earlier shoulder surgery provide a worrisome backdrop to the developments this evening. There are obviously quite a few other potential explanations for a sudden loss of arm speed, but that recent history suggests some added cause for concern.

Rockies V. Padres: Who’s More Likely To Make Playoffs?

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Neither Colorado nor San Diego entered the season as teams expected to contend for playoff berths, but both the Rockies and Padres have been among the National League’s best teams a week-plus into what will go down as a strange 2020 campaign. The NL West rivals met over the weekend, and the Rockies took two of three to vault them into first place in the division – yes, even ahead of the mighty Dodgers – with a 6-2 record. The Padres, who are trying to snap a 13-year playoff drought, are now a game back at 6-4.

When the dust settles at year’s end (if a full season actually happens), there’s little doubt that the Dodgers will be the top team standing in the NL West. Frankly, they’re too loaded to expect otherwise. But it would still be a major accomplishment for the Rockies or Padres to earn wild-card berths. Colorado’s not far removed from back-to-back playoff spots, having played meaningful October ball in 2017-18, though the team fell on hard times during a 71-win effort last season and did little to nothing to improve during the offseason. San Diego was pretty aggressive, meanwhile, though it entered the winter as a 70-win team with a similarly high hill to climb.

The fact that the league added three extra playoff teams in each league for 2020 obviously helps the causes of every club, especially those that have started well this year. The Rockies have charged to first in their division on the strength of some of the usual suspects (Trevor Story, Charlie Blackmon, German Marquez and Jon Gray), and they’ve done so despite struggles from team MVP Nolan Arenado. Surprisingly, though, veterans Daniel Murphy, Matt Kemp and Daniel Bard – whose best days seemed long gone when the season started – have picked up some of the slack.

The Padres are playing .600 ball in the early going thanks in no small part to continued marvelous performances from second-year stars Fernando Tatis Jr. and Chris Paddack, but they’ve also gotten excellent production from other sources. Outfielder and offseason acquisition Trent Grisham has been fantastic; so have currently injured first baseman Eric Hosmer and outfielder Wil Myers, both disappointments in recent years, as well as righty Dinelson Lamet. To the surprise of no one who has paid attention to his career, newcomer and outfielder Tommy Pham has also thrived. The Padres also sport an impressive bullpen on paper, though the unit’s off to a surprisingly poor start. Regardless, in order to upgrade their cast of pitchers, the Padres could pick from a deep well of prospects (MacKenzie Gore? Luis Patino?) if they need to bolster their roster in the next couple months.

It’s going to be interesting to see if either of these rival clubs will emerge as playoff teams in 2020. They’ve certainly begun well, but which one is more likely to keep up its current pace? (Poll link for app users)

Mike Soroka Helped Off Field With Lower-Leg Injury

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Braves starter Mike Soroka had to be helped off of the field after suffering an evident injury. He was attempting to cover first base when he came up limping and ultimately could not bear weight on his right leg.

While it’s obviously far too soon to know what kind of prognosis Soroka will face, replays suggest he may well have suffered damage to his Achilles tendon. That could be a potentially devastating injury to the hurler, who turns 23 tomorrow.

Soroka was excellent last year, his first full campaign in the majors, as he earned an All-Star nod and came in second in the A.L. Rookie of the Year voting. He finished the season with 174 2/3 innings of 2.68 ERA pitching.

It had been more of the same early in 2020, as he carried a 1.59 ERA through his first two outings. While Soroka is anything but overpowering, he has succeeded to this point in his young career by keeping batters off balance and limiting the long ball.

Soroka is on track for likely arbitration qualification as a Super Two player after the 2020 season. His earning power would be reduced greatly if he’s unable to participate fully in the truncated season.

Any significant absence would obviously also pose a major problem for the Braves. They’re already missing Cole Hamels and Felix Hernandez from the anticipated rotation mix.

Shohei Ohtani Diagnosed With Strain Of Flexor Pronator Mass

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Angels right-hander Shohei Ohtani has been diagnosed with a Grade 1-2 flexor pronator mass strain, the team announced. Ohtani is unlikely to begin throwing for at least four to six weeks. He’s day-to-day as the club’s designated hitter.

Considering the timeline the Angels provided, it doesn’t seem probable that Ohtani will factor into their rotation again this season. With so little time left in the season, a bullpen role might be a best-case scenario. Either way, it’s yet another awful blow to Ohtani’s attempt to become a two-way star in the majors. He has dealt with multiple injuries – including Tommy John surgery – that have limited him to 53 1/3 innings since he emigrated from Japan as a much-ballyhooed prospect prior to the 2017 season.

Ohtani didn’t pitch at all last season after undergoing TJS, and his return from the procedure didn’t go well this year before this latest issue. He made two starts and could only muster a combined 1 2/3 innings, in which the 26-year-old allowed seven earned runs on three hits and eight walks (with three strikeouts). Ohtani’s average fastball also fell below 94 mph, well under the near-97 mph mean he posted as a rookie.

Already off to a dismal 3-7 start this season, the Ohtani news is one of the last things the Angels needed at the 10-game mark. Fortunately for the Halos, there have been bright spots in their starting staff this season in the form of Dylan Bundy, Griffin Canning and Andrew Heaney. Some combination of Patrick Sandoval, Matt Andriese and Julio Teheran figure to round out their Ohtani-less rotation.

While the loss of Ohtani takes away a potential front-line starter from their staff, it shouldn’t stop him from factoring in as a DH option. Even when he was recovering from TJS last year, Ohtani turned in a solid .286/.343/.505 line with 18 home runs and 12 stolen bases across 425 plate appearances. He’s off to a rough start at the plate this year, though, having batted .148/.179/.407 with a pair of HRs in 28 PA.

Astros To Acquire Chase De Jong

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The Astros have struck a deal to pick up righty Chase De Jong, per Mark Berman of FOX 26 (Twitter link). He had been working with the indy league Sugarland Skeeters.

It’s not immediately clear whether De Jong will join the Astros’ active roster or instead head to the team’s alternative training site. Regardless, he’ll first have to pass a physical and covid screening.

De Jong, 26, is a former second-round pick who has appeared in each of the past three MLB seasons. He hasn’t found much success at the game’s highest level, allowing 31 earned runs with a 26:22 K/BB ratio in 47 total frames. He also ran into the Triple-A home run buzzsaw last year, but did carry a 3.66 ERA in 160 frames at the highest level of the minors in the 2018 campaign.

Twins Select Caleb Thielbar

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The Twins have selected the contract of lefty Caleb Thielbar, per a club announcement. To create active roster space, the team optioned outfielder LaMonte Wade Jr.

Thielbar, 33, is making a triumphant return to the majors after four seasons away. He worked to a 2.74 ERA over 98 2/3 innings with the Twins from 2013-15, but teams obviously didn’t buy into his ability to sustain anything approaching that level of output.

In the interim, Thielbar has kept turning in good results, first in the indy ball ranks and then in the upper minors. Last season, he worked to a 3.22 ERA in 78 1/3 Triple-A innings with 94 strikeouts and 16 walks.

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