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Blue Jays Activate Teoscar Hernandez From Injured List

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The Blue Jays announced they’ve reinstated Teoscar Hernández from the injured list. Toronto has an extra active roster spot for today’s doubleheader against the Guardians, so no further move was necessary.

Hernández is back a little more than three weeks after landing on the shelf with a mild oblique strain. The star outfielder had played in only six games before going down. He’d collected six hits and a pair of walks in 23 plate appearances, a strong start to build off his middle-of-the-order output of the previous two seasons. Between 2020-21, Hernández compiled a .295/.345/.538 slash line. By measure of wRC+, that was the 26th-best production on a rate basis in the majors (among those with at least 500 plate appearances).

That kind of hitting would go a long way towards solidifying the Jays’ offense among the league’s best. Toronto’s lineup has been middle-of-the-pack through the season’s first month, a disappointing outcome considering the talent on the roster. That’s at least partially attributable to oblique strains for both Hernández and catcher Danny Jansen.

While the former has been out of commission, Raimel Tapia has stepped into the primary outfield. That hasn’t gone well, with the offseason trade acquisition limping to a .212/.227/.282 line in his first 90 plate appearances with the Jays. Pushing Tapia back into a depth role behind the starting outfield of Lourdes Gurriel Jr., George Springer and Hernández should be a dramatic upgrade on offense.

Dodgers Select Robbie Erlin

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The Dodgers are planning to select left-hander Robbie Erlin onto the big league roster, the team informed reporters (including Jack Harris of the Los Angeles Times). They won’t need to make a corresponding move. Erlin will serve as the 27th man for today’s doubleheader against the Cubs, and they already have a pair of vacancies on the 40-man roster.

Erlin is back in the big leagues for the first time since 2020. A former division rival, the 2009 third-round pick spent the 2013-19 seasons as a swing option for the Padres. A quality strike-thrower, he didn’t miss many bats but he rarely handed out free passes or served up home runs. Erlin posted a cumulative 4.57 ERA in that time, but he missed most of 2016 and all of the 2017 season because of Tommy John surgery.

Upon returning, Erlin assumed more of a multi-inning relief role. He started 12 of 39 outings in 2018 and worked 55 1/3 frames over 37 appearances the following season. He split the shortened 2020 campaign between the Pirates and Braves, struggling to an 8.10 ERA in 26 2/3 innings over nine games.

Last year, Erlin joined the Nippon-Ham Fighters in Japan. He tossed 38 innings of 3.32 ERA ball before returning stateside on a minor league deal with the Dodgers. The 31-year-old has started three of his five outings with Triple-A Oklahoma City, allowing 15 runs in 21 2/3 frames with 20 strikeouts and nine walks.

Presumably, Erlin will take on a long relief role in L.A., given the strength of the Dodgers’ starting staff. The bullpen has also been excellent in the early going, posting a 2.65 ERA that ranks third-lowest in MLB. However, Los Angeles lost star reliever Blake Treinen to the injured list a couple weeks ago, and his recovery from shoulder soreness isn’t going as hoped. Manager Dave Roberts told reporters (including Bill Plunkett of the Orange County Register) the righty is headed for an MRI early next week as he continues to deal with discomfort.

Health Notes: Gray, Murphy, Flaherty, Soroka

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The Twins announced this morning that Sonny Gray has been activated from the injured list to start today’s game against the A’s, with Cole Sands optioned out in a corresponding move. Gray has been out of action since April 16, when he left a start in the second inning due to a right hamstring strain. Acquired from the Reds as the Twins’ biggest rotation pickup of the offseason, Gray has made just a pair of starts with his new club. Despite his three-week absence, Minnesota has gotten excellent production out of their starting staff thus far. Twins starters rank sixth in MLB in ERA (3.12) and eighth in strikeout/walk rate differential (17.1 percentage points). Joe Ryan, Bailey Ober, Chris Archer, Chris Paddack and highly-regarded prospect Josh Winder each have an ERA of 3.26 or lower; Dylan Bundy is currently on the COVID-19 injured list, but the Twins could have an interesting call on how the rotation should be comprised once Bundy returns.

Some other injury updates around the league:

  • Mariners catcher Tom Murphy left last night’s game against the Rays after dislocating his shoulder on a tag attempt at home plate. After the game, skipper Scott Servais said Murphy will be out for a while (via Corey Brock of the Athletic). The team will presumably provide a more specific timetable in the coming days, but it’s all but certain he’ll head to the injured list before tonight’s contest. The M’s optioned Opening Day backstop Cal Raleigh to Triple-A last week, and it’s likely he’ll be recalled to pair with Luis Torrens behind the dish. Murphy had been off to an excellent start to the year, reaching base in 18 of his first 42 plate appearances.
  • Cardinals ace Jack Flaherty is set to throw a bullpen session before tonight’s game against the Giants, tweets Katie Woo of the Athletic. She notes that it’s Flaherty’s first bullpen work since he was shut down from throwing in Spring Training due to shoulder bursitis. It’s obviously a notable step in the righty’s recovery timeline, but manager Oli Marmol cautioned the club was prepared for a “pretty lengthy (rehab) progression” and still doesn’t have a target date for his return. Flaherty missed a month last season because of a shoulder strain (in addition to a longer absence on account of an oblique issue), so it’s wholly unsurprising the team is proceeding with caution. St. Louis has managed an impressive 3.15 rotation ERA — albeit with more pedestrian peripherals — in the absence of arguably their top starter.
  • Braves right-hander Mike Soroka hasn’t thrown an MLB pitch since August 2020, the result of successive Achilles ruptures that have sidetracked a fantastic start to his young career. The most recent of his surgeries occurred last June and came with an estimated year-long recovery timeline, and he opened this season on the injured list. Soroka remains on track in his rehab, he and manager Brian Snitker informed reporters yesterday (via Justin Toscano of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution and Mark Bowman of MLB.com). The right-hander has thrown off a mound without issue around five times, and he’s soon to begin pitcher-fielding practice. The club is still hoping he can make it back to the majors shortly after the All-Star Break, and Toscano notes they’re not considering transitioning him to relief to expedite his return.

Twins To Promote Royce Lewis

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Per a report from Jon Morosi of MLB Network, the Twins will promote top prospect (and top overall pick in the 2017 draft) Royce Lewis today. He’ll likely take the roster spot of offseason signing Carlos Correa, who’s set to undergo a CT scan after clubhouse X-rays indicated a likely non-displaced fracture of his right middle finger — an injury not likely to keep him out for several months but that will likely require an IL stint. Should Lewis find his way into bench coach Jayce Tingler’s lineup (manager Rocco Baldelli is currently away from the team after testing positive for COVID), the Twins will be replacing one 1-1 (the Astros selected Correa first overall in the 2012 draft, one spot ahead of teammate Byron Buxton) with another.

It isn’t clear whether Baldelli, Tingler, and Twins’ front-office duo Thad Levine and Derek Falvey intend to keep Lewis in the majors after Correa returns — or, indeed, exactly how long Correa will be out — but it’s unlikely they’d have promoted him if they didn’t expect him to play every day, at least until their $105.3MM man returns. While he’s unlikely to maintain the same level of production in his first taste of the big leagues, Lewis’ red-hot start to the year in the International League may well indicate that he’s ready to meet the challenge. Through 107 plate appearances at Triple-A St. Paul, the 22-year-old is slashing a robust .310/.430/.563 with nearly as many walks (17) as strikeouts (20).

How he’ll react to the promotion remains to be seen, of course, but Twins fans will have high hopes for the club’s first top overall pick since Joe Mauer. While Correa ultimately landing in Minnesota was surprising for a number of reasons, Lewis’ presence wasn’t near the top of the list. Correa was and is widely expected to opt out of the final two years of his three-year guarantee to test the market again this winter (though that could change should his finger injury prove more serious than initial reports suggest), and Lewis hadn’t played an official game since 2019 after the cancellation of the 2020 minor league season due to the COVID pandemic and a February 2021 ACL tear that held him out of action for another full season. Indeed, that Lewis even opened the season in Triple-A was a bit surprising given he’d played only 33 games above High-A heading into the season.

Between the time missed and his relatively pedestrian numbers prior to the ACL injury (he slashed a combined .236/.290/.371 in 566 trips to the plate between High-A Fort Myers and Double-A Pensacola in 2019 before raking in the Arizona Fall League), Lewis had fallen somewhat precipitously down prospect lists. Baseball America, for instance, had ranked him the 9th-best prospect in the game ahead of the 2019 season, but he’d fallen to number 82 heading into 2022. The talent that led the Twins to take him first overall in 2017 clearly remains, though, and the toolsy shortstop will shortly get his first chance to prove he can hack it in the bigs — albeit a fair bit earlier than anyone would have expected as recently as a day ago.

Should Lewis prove himself capable of producing in the majors, it isn’t clear how the Twins will handle the infield logjam upon Correa’s return, though this would, of course, be something of an enviable problem to have. Lewis is unlikely to unseat Correa (by some metrics, including the 2021 Fielding Bible Awards, the best defensive shortstop in baseball) on a permanent basis, but he could likely shift to either second or third with relative ease, perhaps pushing Gio Urshela to first base (at least while Miguel Sanó recovers from recent meniscus surgery) or moving around the infield while others rotate in and out of the DH role. Regardless of how Lewis’ first taste of the majors pans out, though, Twins fans will surely be excited to get their first look at their likely shortstop of the future. But with their team holding an early lead in the AL Central, they’ll also hope to see him produce — particularly if Correa’s IL stint proves at all lengthy.

Outrights: Gutierrez, Fulmer, Guerra

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A trio of players recently designated for assignment have cleared outright waivers.

  • The Orioles announced that third baseman Kelvin Gutiérrez passed through the wire unclaimed and has been assigned to Triple-A Norfolk. Having never previously been outrighted and owning less than three years of MLB service time, Gutiérrez doesn’t have the right to refuse a minor league assignment. He’ll join the Tides and try to play his way back to the big leagues, where he’s seen some action in each of the last four years. The majority of that time came in 2021, when he combined for a .232/.292/.316 showing in just under 300 plate appearances with the Royals and O’s. The 27-year-old logged only sporadic action in each of his other three seasons, including 12 games with Baltimore this year.
  • Dodgers reliever Carson Fulmer has cleared waivers, according to the club’s transactions tracker at MLB.com. Selected to the majors last weekend, he stayed on the active roster for just two days and didn’t make an appearance before losing his spot. The 28-year-old is coming off a 6.66 ERA in 25 2/3 innings with the Reds last season, a continuation of big league struggles for the former eighth overall pick. The Dodgers were intrigued enough by Fulmer to take a no-risk flier in the minor league portion of the Rule 5 draft over the offseason. Assigned to Triple-A Oklahoma City, he has allowed only four runs in 11 2/3 innings with 12 strikeouts but eight walks. Fulmer has previously been outrighted, meaning he had the right to refuse the assignment; he is again listed on OKC’s active roster, however.
  • Rays reliever Javy Guerra has passed through waivers unclaimed, tweets Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times. A recent convert from shortstop to pitching, Guerra has very little mileage on his arm, including just 24 1/4 innings in the minors. He’s logged 33 frames at the big league level over the past four seasons, with an 8.45 ERA. Lack of results notwithstanding, he’s just 26 years old and is playing catch-up. If he can learn to harness his triple-digit velocity into better results, he could earn himself another shot at the bigs.

Marlins Place Brian Anderson On Injured List

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The Marlins announced to reporters, including Jordan McPherson of the Miami Herald, that Brian Anderson has been placed on the injured list. No designation for Anderson’s placement was given, suggesting he’s likely on the Covid-related injured list. Bryan De La Cruz has been recalled to take his place on the roster.

With no further information coming from the club, it’s unclear if Anderson tested positive or if he’s been placed on the IL due to experiencing symptoms or because of contact tracing. Under the league’s 2022 health-and-safety protocols, players who test positive are subject to a 10-day absence from the club, though it’s possible to be reinstated in less time if the player has gone 24 or more hours without a fever, received a pair of negative PCR tests, and been given approval from a team physician and the MLB/MLBPA joint committee (a panel of one league-appointed and one union-appointed physician). Players who are experiencing symptoms but do not test positive can return in shorter order if their symptoms abate.

Anderson had an excellent three-year run with the Marlins from 2018 to 2020, hitting .266/.350/.436 for a 115 wRC+ in that time. Last year, injuries limited his playing time and his production, as he only got into 67 games and hit just .249/.337/.378, 99 wRC+. This year, however, has been a tremendous bounceback thus far. 20 games into the campaign, he’s walked at an incredible 14.7% rate and produced a batting line of .258/.387/.387, 135 wRC+. That progress will have to be put on hold for the time being.

Although primarily a third baseman in recent years, Anderson is also capable of playing the outfield corners. With the acquisition of Joey Wendle, he’s been spending a bit more time on the grass this year. In his absence, De La Cruz will join an outfield mix that consists of Jorge Soler, Jesus Sanchez and Avisail Garcia. De La Cruz has largely been coming off the bench as a late-game replacement this year but has been making the most of his time. In 25 plate appearances across 16 games, he’s hit .316/.440/.474, 168 wRC+. Despite those excellent numbers, he was optioned to Triple-A yesterday when the club needed a fresh arm for the bullpen. However, players are allowed to return after a stay less than the 10-day minimum option length if they are replacing a player going on the IL, as is the case here.

Giants Promote Sean Hjelle, Activate LaMonte Wade Jr.

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The Giants announced a series of roster moves to reporters today, including Maria I. Guardado of MLB.com. Right-hander Sean Hjelle has been recalled from Triple-A Sacramento, while outfielder LaMonte Wade Jr. has been activated off the injured list. Sam Long and Mauricio Llovera were both sent to Triple-A to create roster space.

Hjelle was a second round selection of the Giants in the 2018 draft and has been working his way up the minor league ladder since then. His promotion is something of an early birthday present, as he turns 25 years old tomorrow. The 6’11” right-hander was ranked #5 in the club’s system by Baseball America back in 2019, though he has slid a bit in those rankings as he has struggled with higher levels of competition.

In 2019, he reached Double-A for the first time, throwing 25 1/3 innings with a 6.04 ERA. After the minor leagues were canceled in 2020, Hjelle returned to Double-A in 2021 and fared much better, putting up an ERA of 3.15 in 14 starts, along with a 25.2% strikeout rate, 6.9% walk rate and 54.6% ground ball rate. In Triple-A last year, however, his ERA shot up to 5.74. He was still getting grounders at a 54.1% clip, but saw the strikeouts dip down to 14.1% and the walks bump up to 11.7%. This year, he’s made five Triple-A starts and has improved those results somewhat, getting his ERA to 4.37 and his walks down to 5.1%, along with a 54.8% grounder rate. He’s still not racking up Ks though, with a 14.3% rate on the year. Whenever he gets into a game, it will be his major league debut.

Wade is coming off an excellent breakout campaign in 2021, where he hit 18 home runs and slashed .253/.326/.482, 117 wRC+. This year, he’s yet to make his season debut due to inflammation and a bone bruise in his left knee. After a seven-game rehab assignment, he’s now back on the roster and should slot into regular action in the outfield next to Mike Yastrzemski, with Luis Gonzalez, Joc Pederson, Austin Slater, Darin Ruf and Mauricio Dubon also in the mix.

As for Long and Llovera, Guardado’s tweet says that Long was optioned and Llovera was returned to Triple-A. The language different could be significant. Under the 2022 health and safety protocols, the commissioner’s office has the sole discretion to determine whether a team has been sufficiently impacted by COVID to call up “substitute” players. If granted permission, the team can then return those substitutes back to Triple-A (and, if he was not previously on the 40-man, off the roster entirely) without utilizing a minor league option or passing the player through waivers. Llovera was selected to the club’s 40-man roster a week ago amid a run of positive tests among Giants’ players. The fact that he has been “returned” to Triple-A, suggests that he is no longer on the roster. However, Llovera’s transactions tracker at MLB.com says he was optioned, meaning it’s possible he still has that roster spot.

A’s Place Cole Irvin On Injured List

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6:35pm: Irvin has shoulder tendinitis, manager Mark Kotsay told reporters (including Matt Kawahara of the San Francisco Chronicle). Kotsay isn’t ruling out the possibility of Irvin returning when first eligible on May 17.

12:55pm: The Athletics announced this afternoon that starting pitcher Cole Irvin has been placed on the 15-day injured list, retroactive to May 2, due to soreness in his throwing shoulder. Fellow southpaw Zach Logue has been recalled from Triple-A Las Vegas to take his spot on the active roster. Martín Gallegos of MLB.com tweets that Logue is expected to start this evening’s game in Minnesota.

Irvin’s shoulder soreness cropped up between starts during the week. The still-nebulous diagnosis and lack of a timetable provided by the team leave it unclear how long he’ll be sidelined. Irvin will miss at least a couple starts, though, as the return of the 15-day IL for pitchers is now in effect after being suspended for the first month of the season.

Acquired from the Phillies over the 2020-21 offseason for cash considerations, Irvin has stepped directly into the A’s rotation and proven a nice find. He made 32 starts and tossed 178 1/3 innings last year, posting a reasonable 4.24 ERA in spite of a lack of velocity or swing-and-miss stuff. Throughout his minor league career, he’d demonstrated excellent control. That strike-throwing prowess has carried over to the majors, as Irvin walked a meager 5.5% of batters faced. His pitch-to-contact style played better in front of an excellent A’s defense and in Oakland’s cavernous home ballpark than it had in Philadelphia, where he’d gotten terrible results in limited action between 2019-20.

The 28-year-old Irvin got off to another solid beginning this year. Through five starts, he owns a 2.93 ERA in 27 2/3 innings despite a subpar 15.9% strikeout rate. He’s again thrown plenty of strikes and seen an early uptick in ground-balls relative to last year. While he’s sidelined, the A’s will need to plug a rotation spot behind Frankie Montas, James Kaprielian, Daulton Jefferies and Paul Blackburn.

Adam Oller, acquired from the Mets in the Chris Bassitt trade this past offseason, has been the top rotation depth candidate in the early going. He’s not fared well in his first three MLB appearances, though, and he tossed three innings with Las Vegas on Tuesday after being optioned out.

Like Oller, Logue was acquired as part of the A’s Spring Training sell-off. The 26-year-old was one of four players sent from the Jays in the Matt Chapman deal. He made his MLB debut in relief last month but will now get his first big league start. Over four starts with the Aviators, he has a 5.63 ERA in 16 innings.

Twins Activate Alex Kirilloff

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The Twins have activated corner outfielder Alex Kirilloff from the 10-day injured list, the team announced. They’ve also confirmed the previously-reported promotion of top prospect Royce Lewis to make his big league debut and recalled rookie right-hander Cole Sands. In corresponding moves, Minnesota placed Dylan Bundy and Luis Arraez on the COVID-19 injured list and optioned left-hander Jovani Moran to Triple-A St. Paul.

Kirilloff has been out of action for around three weeks after experiencing some inflammation in his right wrist. That was a worrisome development considering he’d had a surgery that ended his 2021 season on that joint last July. This latest injury didn’t turn out to be too problematic, however, and Kirilloff figures to step back into the everyday lineup.

A former first-round pick and top hitting prospect, Kirilloff tallied his first 231 big league plate appearances last season. He hit a slightly below-average .251/.299/.423, showcasing an intriguing combination of power and bat-to-ball skills but something of an overaggressive approach at the plate. Kirilloff has always been a bit of a free swinger, but the Twins are no doubt bullish on his ability to overcome a fairly low walk rate based on his excellent track record in the minors. He’s been limited to five games this season, with another recent top prospect Trevor Larnach getting the bulk of the work in left field while he’s been on the shelf.

There’s still a path for Larnach to get playing time at first base or designated hitter — or perhaps to kick Kirilloff to first and keep Larnach in left — with Miguel Sanó suffering a meniscus tear that required surgery. Arraez had been playing a fair bit at first, but he and Bundy tested positive for the virus yesterday. Minnesota had already called up top infield prospect José Miranda when Sanó landed on the IL, and Lewis became the next highly-regarded youngster to join the team.

Lewis’ reported promotion was spurred by fear that Carlos Correa would miss time after injuring his finger in last night’s game. Initial x-rays indicated the star shortstop might’ve suffered a fracture, but further testing today revealed only bruising and inflammation. Correa isn’t going on the injured list at the moment, but he’s not in tonight’s lineup. Lewis gets the nod at shortstop against the A’s.

D-Backs Activate Josh Rojas, Designate Sergio Alcantara

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The Diamondbacks announced a handful of roster moves before tonight’s game against the Rockies. Closer Mark Melancon is back from the COVID-19 injured list, while utilityman Josh Rojas has been reinstated from the 10-day IL. To create active roster space, Arizona optioned right-hander Corbin Martin to Triple-A Reno and designated infielder Sergio Alcántara for assignment. The team’s 40-man roster tally remains at 38.

Rojas opened the year on the shelf after suffering an oblique strain in Spring Training. That cost him the first month of the year, a disappointing development after the left-handed hitter showed pretty well last season. Over 550 plate appearances, Rojas hit .264/.341/.411 with 11 home runs and nine stolen bases. He drew walks at a solid 10.5% clip while striking out a hair more often than the average batter.

It was a decent performance for the 27-year-old in his first full MLB season. Acquired from the Astros as part of the four-player return for Zack Greinke, Rojas has overcome a modest 26th-round draft status to develop into a capable hitter. He’s a versatile defender — he suited up at each of second base, third base, shortstop and in both corner outfield spots — but he’s a bat-first player who hasn’t rated particularly well with the glove anywhere on the infield.

Now that he’s back to full strength, Rojas figures to take over as the Snakes’ primary third baseman. Arizona has gotten league-worst production out of the hot corner in the early going, with a group of five players combining for a woeful .160/.209/.247 slash line. The switch-hitting Alcántara has taken 45 of the 88 plate appearances there, but he’s limped to a .189/.200/.321 start overall.

Arizona acquired Alcántara from the Cubs for cash considerations during Spring Training. It was the second stint in the D-Backs organization for the slick-fielding shortstop. Alcántara hasn’t offered much at the plate during his MLB career, however, as he’s coming off a .205/.303/.327 showing in 255 trips for the North Siders. He’s out of minor league option years, so the D-Backs had to designate him for assignment if they’d determined not to continue carrying him on the active roster as he scuffled offensively. They’ll now have a week to trade him or try to to run him through waivers.

Melancon, meanwhile, went on the IL last Friday after contracting the virus. Signed to a two-year deal over the offseason, the veteran closer has collected four saves and tossed eight innings of three-run ball in his new environs. He’ll step back into the ninth inning for skipper Torey Lovullo.

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