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Injury Notes: Engel, Lorenzen, Antone, Reds, Kelly

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Adam Engel will begin the season the injured list, as White Sox manager Tony La Russa told reporters (including Daryl Van Schouwen of the Chicago Sun-Times) that Engel will miss “at least a couple of weeks” due to a right hamstring strain.  Long known for his glovework moreso than his bat, Engel hit .295/.333/.477 over 93 plate appearances in 2020, and was projected to serve as Chicago’s fourth outfielder this year, also getting his share of right field platoon duty with the left-handed hitting Adam Eaton.  [UPDATE: Engel told The Athletic’s James Fegan and other reporters that his injury carries a normal recovery timeline of 2-4 weeks, though that projection will depend on how his body responds to treatment.]

Utilityman Leury Garcia could fill Engel’s role, and La Russa also mentioned three other candidates in camp — prospect Luis Gonzalez, and non-roster invitees Billy Hamilton and Nick Williams.  Mikie Mahtook is another center field-capable player with MLB experience in camp.  If Engel does make good progress before Opening Day, it’s possible his IL stint could be fairly minimal, so the Sox might just use Garcia or Gonzalez as short-term replacements rather than make a 40-man roster move to accommodate one of the players on minor league deals.

More injury situations from around baseball….

  • With Sonny Gray already slated to begin the season on the IL, two more pitching concerns arose for the Reds on Saturday.  Michael Lorenzen suffered a minor shoulder strain while pitching in an intrasquad game, and Tejay Antone ended a side session due to hip flexor irritation.  GM Nick Krall told reporters (including Bobby Nightengale of the Cincinnati Enquirer) that “we got as good of news as possible” on the two right-handers, saying “I think we’re hopeful that both will start the season on time, but we’re still monitoring the situation.”  Lorenzen was taken out as something of a precaution, while Antone may perhaps be taken along a bit slower, considering that he was already trying to recover from a slight groin strain.  Since the Reds have two off-days in the first eight days of the schedule, they could get by with just a starting four of Luis Castillo, Wade Miley, Tyler Mahle, and Jose De Leon should Lorenzen to miss time.  If Antone is healthy and isn’t instead ticketed for the bullpen, he could also pitch as a starter rather than De Leon.
  • Brewers pitching prospect Antoine Kelly underwent thoracic outlet syndrome surgery last November, MLB.com’s Adam McCalvy writes, and it isn’t yet certain when the southpaw might be back on the mound.  “I think it’s unlikely for him to be ready by the start of the Minor League season….I think we do envision him pitching over the summer. Exactly when, we don’t know,” Milwaukee president of baseball ops David Stearns said.  Kelly was a second-round pick in the 2019 draft, and he made 10 starts (nine in rookie ball, one in A-ball) that year before working out at the Brewers’ alternate training site last summer.  Baseball America ranks Kelly as the fourth-best prospect in Milwaukee’s system, citing his plus fastball and plus slider, and saying he “has the attributes to develop into a mid-rotation or better starter.”

Royals Sign Salvador Perez To Four-Year Extension

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The Royals announced a contract extension with longtime catcher Salvador Pérez that could keep the backstop in Kansas City through the 2026 season.  The contract’s four guaranteed years will pay Pérez $18MM in 2022, $20MM apiece in 2023 and 2024, and $22MM in 2025.  There is also a club option for the 2026 season that is valued at $13.5MM with a $2MM buyout.  In total, the deal guarantees Pérez at least $82MM with the potential to max out at $93.5MM over five years if the option is exercised.  Pérez is a client of Beverly Hills Sports Council.

The 30-year-old (31 in May) is a face of the franchise, having spent his entire professional career in the Royals’ organization. A workhorse behind the plate and an instrumental piece of Kansas City’s back-to-back pennant winners and 2015 World Series team, Pérez was set for free agency after the season, but now looks to have a shot at spending his entire career in Royals blue.  He is also set to surpass ten years of service this season, locking in full no-trade protection as a player with ten years in MLB and the last five with one team (not that a trade ever looked likely).

Salvador Perez

Were he to play his entire career in Kansas City, Pérez would follow Alex Gordon as career-long Royals. Gordon’s four-year, $72MM deal from January 2016 previously stood as the largest investment in franchise history, Pérez’s extension now takes the title.

The backstop’s standing with the organization no doubt played a role in this extension, but Pérez isn’t being paid off mere nostalgia. He’s coming off the best offensive season of his career on a rate basis, having slashed .333/.353/.633 with eleven home runs over 156 plate appearances last year. Pérez won’t sustain a .345 batting average on balls in play or a .300 isolated power (slugging minus batting average), but he needn’t hit at that level to remain productive. Despite taking on a heavy workload behind the plate, Pérez hit .251/.285/.466 between 2017-18. He has some rather notable on-base deficiencies as a result of minuscule walk rates, but Pérez offers plenty of pop and has outhit most at the position.

Tommy John surgery sidelined Pérez for the entire 2019 season, but he didn’t show any ill effects last year. An eye condition led to a three-week IL stint but was never expected to be a long-term concern. Indeed, Pérez’s quality production at the plate offers reason for Royals’ brass to believe he has put those issues behind him.

Defensively, Pérez has long rated as a below-average pitch framer (although he was around average in last year’s small sample). He has helped offset some of his receiving issues with a plus arm, though, and the Kansas City brass obviously believes strongly in his leadership and softer skills behind the plate, having now reached agreements on three separate extensions with the backstop over the course of his career.

With this deal set to begin in 2022, the Royals’ payroll outlook for this season is unchanged. Pérez will make $14.2MM in 2021 under the terms of his previous extension. Kansas City’s long-term books are fairly clear. Before the Pérez extension, the Royals had just $29.75MM in guaranteed commitments next season (including buyouts of 2023 options). Two years from now, only the recently-extended Hunter Dozier joins him on the books.

Pérez had been the top catcher option scheduled to hit free agency next winter. Excluding players with club options that seem likely to be exercised, Travis d’Arnuad and Yadier Molina are now set to headline the class behind the dish.

Lynn Worthy of the Kansas City Star was first to report the $20.5MM average annual value (Twitter link). Alec Lewis of the Athletic first reported the existence of the club option and the deal’s specific terms (via Twitter).

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

Angels Option Jo Adell To Minors

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The Angels announced a series of Spring Training cuts tonight, as outfielder Jo Adell, infielder Matt Thaiss, southpaw Jose Suarez, and right-hander Kyle Keller were all optioned.

None of the cuts were unexpected, though it is noteworthy that Adell put in a very strong showing at the plate, posting an 1.072 OPS over 25 Cactus League plate appearances.  It would’ve likely taken an even bigger spring to convince the Angels to include Adell (who turns 22 in April) on the Opening Day roster, given how he missed an entire year of minor league development in 2020.

Adell didn’t hit well (.264/.321/.355) over 131 Triple-A plate appearances in 2019, his only taste of action at the highest minor league level.  In a normal 2020, Adell would have gotten some more Triple-A experience under his belt and then received a promotion to the big league club, though the cancellation of the minor league season meant that Adell’s development was shifted to the Angels’ alternate training site.  Adell did end up making his MLB debut, but with lackluster results — he hit just .161/.212/.266 with a whopping 55 strikeouts in 132 PA, and also didn’t look good in the outfield.

While some contractual considerations were undoubtedly at play considering Adell already had 153 days of Major League service time, an argument can certainly be made that Adell needs a bit more seasoning before his next appearance in an Angels uniform.  Los Angeles has a pair of veterans (Justin Upton and Dexter Fowler) looking for bounce-back years in the corner outfield, with Taylor Ward, Jared Walsh, and minor league signings Jon Jay, Scott Schebler, and Juan Lagares all providing further depth and platoon opportunities on the grass.  Adell and fellow top prospect Brandon Marsh are both expected to be called up at some point in 2021.

COVID Notes: 3/21/21

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The latest on COVID-19 situations throughout the league:

  • Tigers starter Spencer Turnbull looks unlikely to return to Spring Training before the end of camp due to health and safety protocols, manager A.J. Hinch told reporters (including Chris McCosky of the Detroit News).  Hinch didn’t rule out the possibility of Turnbull taking a turn in the season-opening rotation, although it seems he’s now more likely to be pushed to the back end rather than take the ball on Opening Day.
  • Joey Votto returned to Reds’ camp today after testing positive for COVID-19 eleven days ago.  The former MVP is still on Cincinnati’s COVID injured list, but has been cleared for workouts and Spring Training games. It remains to be seen whether Votto will be able to sufficiently ramp up in time for Opening Day, as Reds GM Nick Krall told MLB.com’s Mark Sheldon and other reporters that the team was going to let Votto “get his legs underneath him and go from there.  I can’t give you a timetable.”

AL East Notes: Atkins, Choi, Stewart, Arroyo

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The Blue Jays are having “active conversations” with general manager Ross Atkins about a contract extension, team president Mark Shapiro told Sportsnet.ca’s Shi Davidi.  Atkins’ current deal with the Jays expires at the end of the season, Davidi writes, which means that the extension Atkins inked back in June 2019 was a two-year pact.  Since Shapiro’s own recent extension runs through the 2025 season, it’s fair to speculate whether Atkins’ next contract might have a similar term length.

The Jays have a 337-371 record since Atkins was hired in the 2015-16 offseason, a tenure that began with a postseason appearance in 2016, three down years as the Jays embarked on a rebuild, and then a return to the (expanded) playoffs in 2020.  With a wealth of homegrown young talent and some high-priced free agents — Hyun Jin Ryu, George Springer, Marcus Semien — on the roster, Toronto has the pieces in place to become a consistent contender, marking quite the franchise overhaul in the five-plus years of the Shapiro/Atkins regime.

More from around the AL East…

  • Ji-Man Choi has been sidelined with a knee problem, and Rays manager Kevin Cash told reporters (including Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times) that “we’re preparing as if he will not be ready for us by Opening Day.”  Choi was shut down for 10 days following a cortisone shot on March 13, but Cash said that the team will continue to take it easy with Choi even after that 10-day span is up, in order to prevent further re-aggravation of the knee.  The ever-deep Rays have Yoshi Tsutsugo available to take Choi’s spot as the primary first baseman against right-handed pitching, while Yandy Diaz and Mike Brosseau can cover the position when a lefty is on the mound.  In the likely event of Choi’s placement on the injured list, Cash wasn’t yet sure if the Rays would replace Choi on the roster with another position player, or another pitcher for additional bullpen help.
  • Orioles outfielder DJ Stewart is also in danger of missing the start of the season, as a bad hamstring has kept him out of a proper Spring Training game since March 5.  Stewart has been working out with the team, but manager Brandon Hyde told MASNsports.com’s Roch Kubatko and other media that he won’t put Stewart into a game until the outfielder is fully healthy, so “it’s becoming more and more challenging” to envision a scenario where Stewart avoids the IL.  The former first-round pick has shown some solid pop over his brief MLB career, with 14 homers (and a .224/.334/.433 slash line) over 301 career plate appearances from 2018-20.
  • After signing Enrique Hernandez and Marwin Gonzalez in the offseason, the Red Sox might have another super-utilityman on hand in Christian Arroyo, as manager Alex Cora told reporters (including MassLive.com’s Chris Cotillo) that Arroyo had recently asked about getting some work as a left fielder.  Over his 85 career big league games and 445 games in the minors, Arroyo has played a lot of third base, second base, and shortstop, but no outfield work.  Adding another position surely can’t hurt Arroyo going forward, whether to carve a future niche for himself as an even more versatile player, or just as a short-term method of earning extra playing time for the Sox this year.

NL Notes: Realmuto, Padres, Nola, Rockies, Reds, Delmonico

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Initially expected to make his Spring Training debut as a designated hitter this afternoon, J.T. Realmuto wound up scratched from the lineup. It seems there’s no cause for alarm, with Phillies manager Joe Girardi saying the star catcher just had some general body soreness after working in a simulated game yesterday (via Todd Zolecki of MLB.com). The Phillies continue to hope Realmuto will be available on Opening Day, with Girardi reiterating to MLB Network Radio on SiriusXM (Twitter link) that “the important day (in his recovery) is April 1.” Realmuto suffered a fracture in his right thumb last month.

More from the National League:

  • Like Realmuto, Padres catcher Austin Nola is recovering from a broken digit (in his case, a fractured left middle finger). Nola will test his ability to grip a bat in the next couple days, says manager Jayce Tingler, who expressed some optimism the backstop could be ready for Opening Day (via Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union-Tribune). It seems the more likely outcome is a brief injured list stint, as Acee notes the typical timeline for a return from similar injuries is four-to-six weeks. Nola suffered his break March 13, a little less than three weeks before the season opener. If the 31-year-old indeed hits the IL, the Padres would open with a Víctor Caratini/Luis Campusano catching tandem.
  • Rockies reliever Tyler Kinley has been sidelined the past two weeks with left oblique soreness, writes Patrick Saunders of the Denver Post. Kinley is scheduled to throw a simulated game tomorrow but manager Bud Black acknowledged a season-opening injured list stint is a possibility. Bullpen mate Scott Oberg looks likely to be on the Opening Day roster, Black says (via Saunders). That’s welcome news, as the quality right-hander missed the entire 2020 season due to recurring blood clots in his throwing arm. Oberg underwent thoracic outlet surgery last September.
  • Nicky Delmonico went to high school with Reds centerfielder Nick Senzel, and they may have a chance to be teammates in Cincinnati. Delmonico is 6-for-17 in Spring Training after signing a minor league deal. That performance, as well as his ability to play first base, has the Reds considering selecting the non-roster invitee’s contract, per Bobby Nightengale of the Cincinnati Enquirer. Shogo Akiyama will start the year on the injured list, and with first baseman Joey Votto uncertain for Opening Day after contracting COVID-19, Delmonico’s particular brand of versatility may fit the bill. In four seasons with the White Sox, Delmonico owns a .224/.312/.384 triple slash line across 574 plate appearances with a 24.0 percent strikeout rate and solid 9.8 percent walk rate.

Tyler Clippard Shut Down Six Weeks With Capsule Sprain

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Diamondbacks right-hander Tyler Clippard has a capsule sprain in his throwing shoulder, he told reporters (including Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic). He won’t throw for six weeks.

That rules Clippard out for at least all of April. Quite likely, the 36-year-old will be sidelined deep into May even in a best case scenario, as he’ll need some time to build arm strength back after the layoff. It’s a tough blow to a D-Backs’ bullpen that expected to regularly feature Clippard in a set-up capacity. The 11-year veteran signed a $2.25MM contract with Arizona over the offseason.

It’s also completely unfamiliar territory for Clippard, who has incredibly never gone on the injured list during his MLB career. Other than the 2020 shortened season (when he pitched in nearly half the Twins’ games), Clippard has thrown 60+ innings out of the bullpen every year since 2009. That streak will now come to an end, although there remains hope he’ll be able to log some rather significant work in the late spring and summer.

Royals Reassign Bobby Witt Jr. To Minors

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The Royals are reassigning top prospect Bobby Witt Jr. to the minor leagues, report Ken Rosenthal and Alec Lewis of the Athletic (Twitter link). He is likely to start the season at Double-A, per Jeff Passan of ESPN (via Twitter).

That’s hardly a surprise, given that Witt has yet to play a single game above rookie ball since being drafted out of high school in 2019. Some speculation had arisen that Witt could be a major league option right out of the gate after the 20-year-old impressed during spring training. General manager Dayton Moore even left that door open earlier this week, but a minor-league assignment always seemed the most likely outcome.

With Adalberto Mondesi entrenched at shortstop, any chance Witt had at making the team likely involved moving him (or Mondesi) to second base. Instead, it seems Kansas City will turn to Nicky Lopez and/or non-roster invitee Hanser Alberto at the keystone.

Witt, the second overall pick in that 2019 draft, is universally regarded by public prospect evaluators as a top thirty farmhand in the sport. He draws plenty of praise for his power and defensive ability. If Witt performs well in the minors, he might more realistically emerge as a big league option later in the year. By demoting Witt, the Royals also ensure he won’t accrue a full year of MLB service time in 2021, keeping him under team control through at least 2027. In this case, though, there’s a rather justifiable on-field argument for keeping Witt off the MLB roster on Opening Day.

White Sox Claim Nik Turley

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The White Sox claimed southpaw Nik Turley off waivers from the A’s, Scott Merkin of MLB.com was among those to note (Twitter link). Right-hander Jimmy Cordero has been placed on the 60-day injured list to create 40-man roster space.

Turley, 31, tossed 21.2 relief innings of 4.98 ERA/4.82 SIERA ball with the Pirates in 2020. The A’s acquired him from Pittsburgh for cash considerations in January. Oakland evidently didn’t plan on carrying the out-of-options Turley on the active roster to begin the season, so they placed him on waivers. Turley will have to break camp with the Sox or else again be offered to other clubs.

Cordero underwent Tommy John surgery this week. He’ll miss the entire 2021 season.

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