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COVID Notes: 6/13/21

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The latest on coronavirus situations around the league:

Latest Updates

  • Before this afternoon’s game against the Red Sox, the Blue Jays placed left-hander Steven Matz on the COVID-19 injured list, relays Scott Mitchell of TSN (Twitter link). Matz’s most recent test turned up an inconclusive result, leading to today’s IL placement, but the 30-year-old is not feeling any symptoms of the virus. He’ll undergo further testing. Reliever Jeremy Beasley has been recalled from Triple-A Buffalo to take his active roster spot for now.

Earlier Notes

  • The Marlins are activating left-hander Trevor Rogers from the COVID-19 injured list, notes Jordan McPherson of the Miami Herald (Twitter link). Rogers went on the IL yesterday but was always expected back in short order. Preston Guilmet, who was selected to the roster in his place, has been removed from the 40-man roster. Because Guilmet was selected to replace a player going on the COVID IL, he needn’t be exposed to waivers. He’ll be sent back to Triple-A Jacksonville without having appeared in an MLB game.

Reds Reinstate Aristides Aquino From Injured List

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The Reds announced they’ve activated outfielder Aristides Aquino from the 60-day injured list. Fellow outfielder Mark Payton was optioned to Triple-A Louisville to create active roster space. To open a 40-man roster spot for Aquino, utilityman Nick Senzel was transferred from the 10-day to the 60-day IL.

Aquino fractured the hamate bone in his left hand in mid-April. The break required a surgical repair, and the 27-year-old ultimately wound up missing two months. Prior to the injury, Aquino had served as something of a designated pinch-hitter, coming off the bench in all ten of his appearances. With Jesse Winker and Nick Castellanos having incredible seasons in the corner outfield, Aquino figures to assume that role once again.

The Reds are in a bit of a bind when it comes to Aquino. He burst onto the MLB scene in 2019, hitting a staggering 14 home runs in 115 plate appearances that August. Aquino really struggled over that season’s final month, though, and he didn’t perform at the start of 2020 either. Ultimately, he spent a good portion of last year at the alternate training site. He’s not a natural fit in center field, and with Winker, Castellanos and Joey Votto ahead of him on the depth chart at the bottom of the defensive spectrum, there’s not been much of an opportunity for manager David Bell to give Aquino everyday run.

Aquino is out of minor league option years, meaning the Reds can’t send him to Louisville without designating him for assignment. Given the promise he flashed as a rookie, Cincinnati hasn’t wanted to run the risk of losing him for little or no return on waivers or via a small trade. That dilemma will likely keep him on the Reds bench for now.

Senzel was placed on the injured list on May 21, retroactive to May 19. The transfer rules him out for 60 days from the time of his original IL placement- not today- so he won’t be eligible to return to the majors until mid-July. The 25-year-old, who has dealt with a barrage of health problems throughout his professional career, underwent arthroscopic surgery on his left knee shortly after going on the IL.

The procedure originally came with a four-to-six week rest period. There’s no indication that’s meaningfully changed. He’ll surely need to go on a minor league rehab assignment before getting back to the big leagues. If he’d been tracking towards the latter end of his projected timeline anyhow, there’s little harm for the Reds in moving him to the 60-day IL and giving him an extra few days to rehab, particularly considering his injury history.

Latest On MLB’s Crackdown On Illegal Subtances

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JUNE 13: Umpires will check starting pitchers at least twice per game and will examine relievers at least once during each contest, reports Ken Rosenthal of the Athletic. A position player will only be checked if umpires believe him to be altering the ball on his pitcher’s behalf. If the umpire finds illicit substances on the pitcher, his equipment will be confiscated and he will be ejected from the game, per Rosenthal.

JUNE 12: Within the next few days, Major League Baseball will send a memo to teams detailing the existing rules against the use of foreign substances on the baseball and how the league will plan to enforce these rules going forward, ESPN.com’s Buster Olney reports.  The official order to umpires is expected to come around June 21, since according to one league source, “It’d be great if we could get it cleaned up before they actually start enforcing the rule.  The enforcement has not started yet because all parties involved want to give pitchers time to adjust.”

With so much focus and controversy surrounding the illegal-substance problem, there has already been some indication that this pressure might be having an impact on the field.  (To name two high-profile examples, Trevor Bauer and Gerrit Cole have had recent drops in their spin rates.)  It’s safe to assume that MLB would prefer to avoid the spectacle of suspending multiple pitchers or even one pitcher for doctoring baseballs, though the league is also planning to take a firm hand in the event of a rules violation.  As another source tells Olney, “Nobody wants to see suspensions. But it’s going to happen if somebody is found with something.”

The most visible enforcement of the rule will come in the form of on-field checks, as umpires will make somewhere in the neighborhood of 8-10 checks per game looking for any foreign substances — essentially anything that be applied to a baseball, except rosin — on both pitchers and position players, with the idea that a position player could secretly sneak something to their teammate on the mound.  As to how “visible” these checks will be to fans who aren’t in attendance at the ballpark, umpires will likely conduct their checks between innings, when there is already a natural break in the action.

Olney’s piece also contains the interesting (and perhaps ominous) detail that MLB and the players’ union haven’t had many direct communications about the foreign-substance situation.  “Much like estranged spouses speaking through a mutual friend,” Olney notes that the league and the MLBPA have been discussing the issue using the umpires’ union as a go-between.  In the wake of last year’s disputes over the abbreviated season and the lack of an agreement over a universal DH this past offseason, this is the latest note of discord between the league and the players, which certainly doesn’t bode well heading into Collective Bargaining Agreement talks this winter.

Red Sox Select Ryan Weber, Designate Brandon Brennan

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The Red Sox announced they’re selecting the contract of right-hander Ryan Weber. Fellow righty Brandon Brennan has been designated for assignment to open active and 40-man roster space.

Weber makes his return to Boston, where he saw big league action in 2019-20. The sinkerballer pitched to a 4.73 ERA/4.89 FIP in 83 2/3 innings over that time. Weber doesn’t miss many bats, striking out a minuscule 15.3% of opponents with the Red Sox. He’s thrown plenty of strikes and kept the ball on the ground at an above-average clip, though. Weber was outrighted off the roster last offseason and began this year with Triple-A Worcester. He’s made seven appearances (six starts) with Worcester, managing a 4.63 ERA with a 22.4% strikeout rate and solid 6.8% walk rate.

The Sox claimed Brennan off waivers from the Mariners in early May. He spent his first month in the organization at Worcester, tossing 8 1/3 frames of two-run ball. Brennan struck out eleven against five walks at Triple-A, earning him a call-up yesterday. The 29-year-old worked three scoreless innings out of the bullpen in last night’s loss to the Blue Jays. Unfortunately for Brennan, his 42-pitch workload took him out of commission for the next day or two. The Red Sox ultimately decided to bring in a fresher arm in his place.

Boston will have a week to trade Brennan or place him on outright waivers. He still has all three minor league option years remaining, so it wouldn’t be a surprise to see another club bring him in. A former Rule 5 draftee, Brennan has a 4.21 ERA/4.61 SIERA over 57 2/3 MLB innings.

Luis Severino Headed For MRI Due To Groin Injury

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JUNE 13: Severino will undergo an MRI this afternoon and go for further examination on Monday, per Bryan Hoch of MLB.com.

JUNE 12, 5:24PM: Early indications are that Severino has suffered a groin injury, according to Kristie Ackert of the New York Daily News (via Twitter).

JUNE 12, 4:57PM: Luis Severino’s recovery from Tommy John surgery hit an apparent setback today, as the right-hander left his minor league rehab outing due to a lower-body injury.  Reporter G.T. Julian Guilarte (Twitter link) has footage of the aftermath, as a clearly pained Severino had to be helped off the field.

While perhaps the only consolation is that Severino didn’t suffer another arm injury, it certainly looks like the right-hander will now have to work his way back from another serious-seeming problem.  Since Severino wasn’t expected to be an option for the Yankees until at least the start of July and likely closer to the All-Star break, it is possible that his latest injury could threaten his entire season.

Such a scenario would make it essentially three lost seasons in a row for Severino.  Shoulder and lat injuries limited him to 20 1/3 combined innings in the 2019 regular season and postseason, while the 2020 season was a total writeoff after Severino underwent Tommy John surgery in February of that year.

New York was eyeing Severino as a midseason rotation boost, adding depth to a starting five that has been generally solid thanks to Gerrit Cole, Domingo German, and Jordan Montgomery.  Corey Kluber had also been pitching well before a rotator cuff injury sent him to the 60-day IL until at least late July, while Jameson Taillon has struggled — a nightmarish outing against the Phillies today boosted Taillon’s ERA to 5.74 over 53 1/3 innings.  Michael King has been filling in for Kluber, and if Severino is unavailable, Deivi Garcia and Nick Nelson are now the top depth options if Taillon can’t get on track or if another injury surfaces.

Tigers Select Buck Farmer

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The Tigers announced this morning they’ve selected the contract of Buck Farmer. Beau Burrows was optioned to Triple-A Toledo last night to clear active roster space. Jeimer Candelario was placed on the COVID-19 injured list yesterday while he goes through intake protocols after going on bereavement leave. That temporarily opens a 40-man roster spot for Farmer, but Detroit will need to make another 40-man move once Candelario clears the intake process.

Farmer returns to Detroit, where he’s logged big league action in every season since 2014. The right-hander was a durable and generally productive middle reliever from 2018-20, a stretch in which he tossed 158 1/3 innings of 3.92 ERA/4.20 FIP ball. His strikeout, walk and groundball rates were all just worse than league average, but his ability to soak up decent innings out of the bullpen made him a fairly valuable part of the Detroit pitching staff.

The 2021 season began in nightmarish fashion for the 30-year-old, though. In 10 2/3 frames, Farmer coughed up fifteen runs on as many hits, walking nine batters while striking out ten. Between his huge spike in walks and massive drop in grounders, the Tigers felt they could no longer keep him on the active roster. Detroit designated Farmer, who is out of minor league option years, for assignment and passed him through waivers last month. He’s since tossed 11 1/3 relief innings with Toledo, allowing five runs with a 7:4 strikeout-to-walk ratio. Since Farmer is out of options, the Tigers will need to carry him on the active roster from this point forward or again designate him for assignment.

Dodgers Place Max Muncy On 10-Day Injured List

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JUNE 13: Manager Dave Roberts told reporters (including Juan Toribio of MLB.com) the Dodgers are hopeful Muncy will be able to return after a minimal 10-day IL stint, but cautioned that the team won’t rush him back before he’s ready.

JUNE 12: The Dodgers have placed infielder Max Muncy on the 10-day injured list due to a right oblique strain, the team announced.  Outfielder Luke Raley has been called up from Triple-A to fill Muncy’s spot on the active roster.

Muncy hit a two-run homer in the first inning of the Dodgers’ 12-1 win over the Rangers on Friday, but he was replaced at first base by Albert Pujols for the start of the second inning.  The home run was Muncy’s team-leading 14th of the season, continuing an outstanding season that has seen Muncy hit .264/.418/.528 with a league-best 46 walks.

Unfortunately for the Dodgers, they’ll now be without this productive bat for at least the next 10 days, and potentially quite a few more if Muncy has suffered anything beyond a minimal strain.  Muncy has also been bothered by a sore ankle in recent days, so it’s possible that even if his oblique problem is a minor one, the Dodgers might give Muncy beyond the 10-day minimum just to get him fully healed up and ready to go.  Muncy was scheduled to undergo more tests on his oblique today but the team has yet to release any update on the severity of the injury or any sort of recovery timeline.

With Muncy out, Pujols and Matt Beaty could now serve as a righty/lefty platoon at first base.  Beaty has been a productive part-timer in his three seasons with L.A., and Pujols moving into a semi-starting role for the World Series champions represents quite a turn-around for the future Hall-of-Famer over the last month.  It seemed as if Pujols’ career might have been over after the Angels cut him loose in May, but since signing with the Dodgers, Pujols has hit .268/.317/.571 with five home runs over 60 PA.

If Muncy’s injury wasn’t enough, Cody Bellinger also left Friday’s game due to left hamstring tightness.  Bellinger’s issue doesn’t seem to be as serious, since manager Dave Roberts told MLB.com’s Juan Toribio and other reporters that Bellinger could potentially be back in action by Sunday.

Astros’ Tyler Ivey Unlikely To Pitch Again In 2021

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Astros right-hander Tyler Ivey’s season may be over due to injury, Chandler Rome of the Houston Chronicle writes.  Ivey has been pitching through elbow pain since suffering a grade one UCL strain back in 2019, a fact he only recently disclosed to Astros staff.  Tests didn’t reveal any new UCL damage, however, according to a nerve specialist, Ivey said “apparently I have the nerve endings of a 75-year-old man in my elbow.  That probably explains a lot.”

Rather than elbow surgery, Ivey might potentially have to undergo thoracic outlet syndrome surgery.  The latter would also rule him out for the rest of the 2021 season and is perhaps a more ominous possibility than a Tommy John procedure or another elbow surgery, since TOS surgery has a much less-established track record of success.  Whether a surgical outcome is necessary or not, Ivey doubts he will pitch again this season.

A third-round pick for Houston in the 2017 draft, Ivey is a Texas native, hailing from the Dallas suburb of Rowlett.  MLB Pipeline ranks Ivey as the ninth-best prospect in the Astros’ farm system, with a 60-grade curveball and a 55-grade fastball ranging from 90-95mph.  The righty has posted some strong numbers (3.19 ERA, 29.7% strikeout rate, 7.9% walk rate) over 208 2/3 innings in the minors, though he does have a 7.11 ERA in 6 1/3 innings at Triple-A this season, which represented his first exposure to Triple-A batters.  Beyond the injury, Ivey also didn’t pitch at either Houston’s alternate training site or in the instructional league in 2020 due to a bout of COVID-19.

Despite these struggles, the Astros called Ivey up for his MLB debut in a start on May 21, and his lone big league appearance to date resulted in four earned runs allowed in 4 2/3 innings against the Rangers in 7-5 Astros loss.  Ivey said his desire to reach the majors was the reason for hiding his injury, saying “I knew it was going to be a spot start and I’d be optioned down immediately, so I thought I’d see how long I could go in this start.  I can’t sit there and be like ’Oh, I can’t pitch in Arlington, arm’s kind of hurting, sorry.’ ”

With Ivey facing a stint on the 60-day injured list, the Astros will get an opening on their 40-man roster to work with in the coming weeks.  Ivey was initially placed on the 40-man last November in advance of the Rule 5 draft.

Dodgers Sign Vidal Nuno III To Minors Contract

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The Dodgers have signed left-hander Vidal Nuno III to a minor league contract, according to Triple-A Oklahoma City’s communications director and broadcaster Alex Freedman (Twitter link).

This is technically Nuno’s second stint with the Dodgers, Freeman notes, since Los Angeles originally acquired the southpaw in a trade with the Mariners in November 2016.  Nuno never appeared in a game for the Dodgers, however, as he was flipped to the Orioles in another swap in February 2017.

A veteran of six MLB seasons from 2013-18, Nuno has a 4.06 ERA/3.97 SIERA, 19.6% strikeout rate, and 13% strikeout/walk rate over 377 innings, working out of the bullpen in 113 of his 155 career games.  Never a hard-thrower or a big strikeout pitcher, Nuno relied on a five-pitch arsenal and soft contact to retire his fair share of batters.

Nuno signed minor league deals with the Nationals and Rays in 2019 but didn’t receive another call-up back to the Show.  After not pitching during the canceled 2020 minor league season, Nuno landed with Tijuana of the Mexican League this year, pitching two games for the Toros.

Blue Jays Select Tayler Saucedo

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Prior to today’s 7-2 victory over the Red Sox, the Blue Jays selected the contract of left-hander Tayler Saucedo from Triple-A Buffalo.  In corresponding moves, right-hander Jeremy Beasley was sent to Triple-A to create a 26-man roster spot, while A.J. Cole was moved to the 60-day injured list to create an opening for Saucedo on the 40-man roster.

Saucedo didn’t pitch in today’s game, so he is still looking for the first Major League appearance of his six-year pro career.  A 21st-round pick for the Jays in the 2015 draft, the Hawaii native has a 4.30 ERA and 17.4% strikeout rate over 521 innings in Toronto’s farm system.

Most of Saucedo’s usage has come out of the rotation, though he was shifted to the bullpen in 2019 and has been used as a full-time reliever this season.  The results have been impressive, as Saucedo has a 2.20 ERA and a whopping 35% strikeout rate in 16 1/3 innings for Triple-A Buffalo, against just two walks and no home runs allowed.  Saucedo has consistently posted high grounder rates throughout his minor league career, and he has managed to keep the ball on the ground (51.4% rate) at Buffalo this year while spiking his strikeout rate at the same time.

With the Blue Jays hurting for relief help, Saucedo has plenty of opportunity to stick in the majors if he can come close to replicating his Triple-A numbers.  Saucedo and Tim Mayza are the only left-handers in Toronto’s bullpen, as Ryan Borucki and Travis Bergen are both on the injured list.

Cole will now also see his stay on the IL extended into at least August.  The righty was initially placed on the 10-day IL on June 2 with neck tightness, but today’s placement indicates that Cole has also suffered a left oblique strain.  Cole has signed with the Jays on minor league contracts in each of the last two seasons, and he has delivered quality results — a 2.59 ERA over 31 1/3 total innings in a Blue Jays uniform.

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