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Archives for August 2021

Twins Place Michael Pineda On 10-Day Injured List

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The Twins placed right-hander Michael Pineda on the 10-day injured list due to a mild left oblique strain.  Right-hander Ralph Garza Jr. was called up from Triple-A to take Pineda’s spot on the active roster.

The injury developed during Pineda’s start against the Rays last night, as Pineda allowed four runs over 2 2/3 innings before leaving the game after a visit on the mound from the team trainer.  Speaking with reporters (including Betsy Helfand of the St. Paul Pioneer Press) today, Twins manager Rocco Baldelli said the injury isn’t expected to be serious enough to prevent Pineda from returning to the mound before the season is through.

That’s good news in both the short term and the longer term for Pineda, who can use his remaining starts to further bolster his free agent case for the offseason.  The subject of several rumors leading up to the July 30 trade deadline, Pineda ended up staying in Minnesota, which counted as a surprise considering his rental player status and the fact that as of July 26, the Twins had yet to engage the righty’s representatives in negotiations about a contract extension.

It’s been a mixed bag for Pineda in 2021, making him an interesting entry for teams to evaluate on the open market this winter.  Pineda has a solid 4.13/4.24 ERA over 85 innings, and he has continued his career-long ability to limit free passes by delivering another excellent (4.8%) walk rate.  However, Pineda has also allowed a lot of hard contact and his 20.6% strikeout rate is well below the league average.

Durability is also still a question mark, as Pineda has now made three trips to the injured list this season.  (He had a 10-day absence in May after undergoing a procedure to have an abscess removed from his thigh, and he also missed three weeks due to elbow inflammation.)  Pineda has missed two full seasons of his pro career due to a shoulder surgery and a Tommy John surgery, and he also missed 60 games spanning the 2019-20 seasons due to a PED suspension.  Heading into his age 33 season, Pineda has tossed 354 innings since the start of the 2017 campaign.

Giants Reinstate Evan Longoria From 60-Day Injured List

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Evan Longoria is back with the Giants, as the team announced that the veteran third baseman has been activated off of the 60-day injured list.  The Giants also placed righty Jay Jackson on the COVID-related injured list and optioned Thairo Estrada to Triple-A, while calling up left-hander Sammy Long from Triple-A to start tonight’s game.

Longoria suffered a sprained shoulder in early June, which halted a major comeback year for the 35-year-old.  After posting a below-average 94 wRC+ from 2017-2020, Longoria exploded for a 140 wRC+, nine home runs, and a .280/.376/.516 slash line over his first 186 plate appearances of the 2021 season.  Small sample size notwithstanding, the advanced numbers backed up Longoria’s improvement, as he had a whopping 61.3% hard-hit rate (per Statcast) at the time of his injury.  There were some earlier hints of a breakout, as Longoria greatly underperformed his xwOBA in both 2019 and 2020, though his underperformance this season (.380 wOBA to a .401 xwOBA) is at least a fairer representation of how well he has been hitting.

The Giants have kept on winning in Longoria’s absence, and his return as the regular third baseman will create some shuffling around the roster.  Wilmer Flores and, most recently, Kris Bryant have been seeing action at the hot corner, and it’s safe to assume that those two and Tommy La Stella could get the odd start at third base to spell Longoria.  Bryant will be playing everyday in some capacity around the diamond and will likely see more time in the outfield with Longoria back, while Flores, La Stella, and Donovan Solano will jostle for playing time at second base.

This surplus of talent falls into the “good problem to have” category for the first-place Giants, and Estrada is going to Triple-A despite hitting .300/.371/.438 over 89 PA this season.  Estrada, however, still has minor league options remaining, which makes him the unlucky odd man out on the rather stacked San Francisco roster.

Jackson’s absence is due to vaccine side effects, according to Kerry Crowley of the Bay Area News Group (Twitter link).  That should mean a very brief absence for the 33-year-old, who has a 3.77 ERA and 37.5% strikeout rate over 14 1/3 relief innings this season.

Dodgers Place Julio Urias On 10-Day Injured List

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The Dodgers have placed left-hander Julio Urias on the 10-day injured list due to a left calf contusion.  The open roster spot will be filled by utilityman Zach McKinstry, who has been recalled from Triple-A.

Urias was hit by a pitch in his left calf during last night’s 6-5 Dodgers win over the Mets, though the southpaw went on to pitch two more innings after sustaining the injury.  Assuming that this IL placement is only related to that incident, this could be a pretty minimal absence for Urias, who could end up missing only one start due to an August 23 off-day on the Dodgers’ schedule.  It would leave Los Angeles even more short-handed in the rotation, but the team could conceivably cover Urias’ one missed outing with a bullpen game.

Amidst all of the Dodgers’ pitching injuries, Urias (whose 25th birthday was two days ago) has been a source of stability, tossing 139 2/3 innings over 24 starts.  He has also has an above-average 26.4% strikeout rate and an outstanding 5.3% walk rate while posting a 3.29 ERA.  After playing a huge role in the Dodgers’ championship run last October, Urias looks poised to deliver more important innings for the team this postseason.

Astros Activate Yuli Gurriel, Place Kyle Tucker On Injured List

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The Astros are exchanging one offensive star for another, as Yuli Gurriel was activated off the 10-day injured list today, but outfielder Kyle Tucker is now heading to the IL.  No specific reason was given for Tucker’s placement beyond health and safety protocols.

Gurriel’s IL stint retroactively began on August 3, so he is back after a minimal absence due to neck stiffness.  The 37-year-old will now resume what has been the finest of his six MLB seasons, as Gurriel is hitting .324/.388/.490 with 12 home runs over 417 plate appearances as Houston’s everyday first baseman.  Gurriel has delivered both quality contact and quantity, as he has one of the lowest strikeout rates of any player in baseball — he has almost as many walks (41) as strikeouts (45) this season.

Tucker isn’t far off Gurriel’s overall offensive production, as the outfielder has 22 homers and a .272/.334/.519 slash line over 420 plate appearances.  The non-specific nature of Tucker’s placement would hint that his absence is related to COVID-19, though it could be due to contact tracing or general symptoms rather than an actual positive test for the coronavirus.  (As a reminder, teams aren’t obligated to publicly disclose reasons why a player is on the COVID list.)  Tucker already spent a week on the COVID list in June for precautionary reasons after he displayed flu-like symptoms.

Luis Severino To Undergo MRI On Right Shoulder

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Yankees right-hander Luis Severino reported tightness in his throwing shoulder yesterday, and was scratched from a planned Triple-A rehab start.  MLB Network’s Jon Heyman (Twitter link) reported that Severino will see doctors on Monday, with Yankees manager Aaron Boone telling reporters (including Newsday’s Erik Boland) that Severino will undergo an MRI.  More will be known once Severino is examined, with Boone expressing hope at this point that the injury is only “something minor,” and saying “I feel awful for [Severino]” in the wake of yet another potential injury setback.

Severino missed much of the 2019 season due to shoulder and lat injuries, and then didn’t pitch at all in 2020 because of Tommy John surgery.  His return from that rehab was tentatively scheduled for around the All-Star break before he suffered a groin injury in June that pushed his timetable back another month.  The righty had already made four minor league rehab appearances, and it is possible Friday’s outing might have been his final hurdle before finally returning to the Yankees’ active roster.

Now, it is fair to wonder if Severino might be sidelined for another full season, given the timing of this shoulder issue.  Anything beyond basic soreness could require another shutdown, so it could conceivably be September before Severino again appears in a game.  It’s worth noting that Severino didn’t make his 2019 debut until September 17 (appearing in three regular-season games before starting two postseason contests), though even this usage may not be feasible depending on the nature of this new shoulder problem.  After such a long layoff, the last thing the Yankees would want is for Severino to incur yet another injury due to a desire just to get any game action in for the 2021 season.

The Bronx Bombers have long been counting on Severino to provide a late boost to the pitching staff, especially considering the team’s pitching ranks have been decimated by other injuries and a COVID-19 outbreak.  On the latter front, there is some good news, as Boone said Gerrit Cole and Jordan Montgomery threw bullpen sessions yesterday and are on pace to be activated from the COVID list early next week.

Yankees Sign Sal Romano To Minors Contract

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The Yankees have signed righty Sal Romano to a minor league contract.  Conor Foley of The Scranton Times-Tribune (Twitter link) was the first to report that Romano was working out today with the Yankees’ Triple-A affiliate.

Romano is back with the Yankees less than three weeks after being designated for assignment by New York and then claimed off waivers by the Brewers.  Romano pitched in just one game for Milwaukee before being designated again, and he chose to become a free agent rather than accept an outright assignment to the Brewers’ Triple-A club.

This makes it four uniform changes in less than three months for Romano, who began the season with the Reds before declining another outright assignment to catch on with the Yankees on his previous minor league deal.  Romano is out of minor league options, so he could face yet another round of DFA limbo should New York recall him to the big leagues and then again cut ties to make roster space for another player.

Amidst all the movement, Romano has a 5.63 ERA over 24 total innings in 2021 (one with the Brewers, 2 1/3 IP with the Yankees, and 20 2/3 with the Reds).  A veteran of five Major League seasons, Romano has a 5.18 ERA over 274 1/3 career innings, all with Cincinnati prior to 2021.

Marlins Designate Shawn Morimando, Place Zach Pop On 10-Day Injured List

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The Marlins have designated left-hander Shawn Morimando for assignment and placed righty Zach Pop on the 10-day injured list.  Right-hander Jorge Guzman and left-hander Sean Guenther were called up from Triple-A to take the two spots on the active roster.  (MLB.com’s Christina De Nicola was among those to report the moves.)

Pop has been sidelined with soreness in the middle finger of his throwing hand, interrupting a very respectable rookie season for the 24-year-old.  Over his first 43 1/3 innings in the majors, Pop has a 4.36 ERA/4.05 SIERA, plus a 58.1% grounder rate that has continued his reputation from the minors as a groundball specialist.  The Marlins landed Pop via the Rule 5 Draft (acquiring the right-hander from the Diamondbacks after Arizona drafted him out of the Orioles’ organization), and Pop has certainly pitched well enough to remain on the MLB roster for the entire season, so Miami will retain his rights going forward.

This is the second time the Marlins have DFA’ed Morimando this season, with the first designation resulting in an outright assignment to Triple-A for the southpaw.  After making his big league debut with Cleveland in 2016, Morimando didn’t receive another MLB opportunity until this season, when he posted a 9.58 ERA over 10 1/3 innings for the Marlins.

Cubs Place Adbert Alzolay On 10-Day Injured List

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The Cubs have placed right-hander Adbert Alzolay on the 10-day injured list due to a left hamstring strain.  Righty Trevor Megill was called up from Triple-A in the corresponding move.

Alzolay left his start last night in the second inning due to the injury, adding to a disastrous inning for the Cubs that saw the Marlins score 11 runs en route to a 14-10 victory.  Alzolay was charged with six of those runs over his 1 1/3 innings of work, his worst performance in what has been an inconsistent season for the 26-year-old.  Alzolay has a 5.16 ERA over 106 1/3 frames in 2021, as above-average walk and strikeouts rates haven’t been enough to counter a lot of hard contact from opposing batters against Alzolay’s offerings.

After posting a 2.95 ERA over a small sample size of 21 1/3 innings last season, Alzolay was seen as a candidate to step forward and establish himself as a regular member of Chicago’s rotation.  Given how the Cubs have dealt much of their veteran pitching beyond Kyle Hendricks, Alzolay is still a candidate for the 2022 staff almost by default.  Once he returns from the IL, Alzolay will get the rest of this season to make his case heading into Spring Training and ahead of whatever pitching additions the Cubs could make this winter.

Nationals Claim Patrick Murphy Off Waivers From Blue Jays, Release Rene Rivera

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The Nationals have claimed Patrick Murphy off waivers from the Blue Jays, per Mark Zuckerman of MASNsports.com. Murphy was designated for assignment by the Blue Jays earlier in the week. Additionally, the club has released Rene Rivera, per Jessica Camerato of MLB.com.

Murphy worked as a starter in the minors through the 2019 season. At Double-A that year, he logged 84 innings with an ERA of 4.71. In 2020, with the minor league season wiped out, he was only able to get actual game action in the big leagues, pitching six innings out of Toronto’s bullpen, allowing one earned run on six hits and two walks.

A consistent issue with Murphy has been injuries, which continued this year. He was placed on the 60-day IL back in February and began a rehab assignment in late May. Since that time, he bounced between the majors and minors, being optioned three times. He’s dominated Triple-A hitters in 14 2/3 scoreless innings, with a strikeout rate of 29.3%. Though that also came with a concerning walk rate of 13.8%. At the big league level, he has a 4.82 ERA, but in a small sample size of just 9 1/3 innings. The 26-year-old is in his last option year, meaning Washington can keep him in the minors for the remainder of the season. But once the 2022 season begins, they would have to either keep him in the majors or designate him for assignment again.

As for Rivera, this brings a very short Nationals tenure to an end. The 38-year-old journeyman catcher was released by Cleveland just over a month ago and signed on with Washington in mid-July. He was able to appear in just four games with the Nats. Between the two clubs, his slash line for the season is .232/.293/.362. He will now be free to sign with other clubs. However, Washington had placed him on the IL just last week with an elbow contusion. The severity of that injury could determine the level of interest from other teams.

Cardinals Designate Scott Hurst For Assignment

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The Cardinals have activated Brandon Waddell from the IL and designated Scott Hurst for assignment, per a club announcement. Waddell was optioned and placed on the COVID-IL in mid-July. He will remain with the Triple-A club in Memphis. Hurst’s designation was required to open up a spot on the 40-man roster. (Players on the COVID-IL do not use a roster spot.)

Hurst, a 25-year-old outfielder, had his contract selected by the club in mid-April. He got into just seven games with only five hitless plate appearances before being optioned. His Triple-A performance has been less than ideal on the season, producing a slash line of .186/.289/.270 in 251 plate appearances across 59 games.

Despite those numbers, it’s possible he could be claimed off waivers by a team with an eye on the future. He is still young, can be optioned to the minors and comes with years of team control. However, if he clears waivers, he would not have enough service time to reject an outright assignment and would stay in the Cardinals organization.

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