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Angels Reinstate Jose Iglesias From Injured List, Option Jose Rojas

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The Angels have reinstated shortstop Jose Iglesias from the injured list, per Jack Harris of the LA Times (via Twitter). Jose Rojas was optioned to create the open roster spot.

Iglesias went down on May 28th with a left hamstring strain, though by the looks of it, that move was made retroactive to May 25th, the last time Iglesias appeared in a ballgame. Regardless, he’s back and easing back into action as the designated hitter tonight. For the season, he’s hitting .283/.317/.396 with four home runs and two stolen bases over 167 plate appearances.

Rojas, 28, made his Major League debut this season, and he’s seen relatively regular duty for most of the season. Appearing in 43 games, the multi-positional, lefty-swinger has batted .190/.246/.364 across 130 plate appearances. Rojas has started 10 games at second, 11 at third, one game in left and seven in right field while also appearing in two games at first.

With Anthony Rendon healthy, the Angels are hoping they won’t need as much coverage at the hot corner, and Iglesias’ return mitigates their need up the middle. Kean Wong and Phil Gosselin will be the primary backups on the infield, while Taylor Ward has laid claim to a role as a corner outfielder. Gosselin and Wong are also both capable of playing in the grass.

Tigers Option Zack Short, Activate Jose Urena From Injured List

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The Tigers optioned infielder Zack Short to Triple-A Toledo after today’s ballgame, the team announced. Starter Jose Urena will be reinstated from the 10-day injured list tomorrow. He will re-join the rotation.

Short was recalled on his 26th birthday, May 29th. Though he did not appear in a game on his birthday, he did make three appearances, starting two games at shortstop. He made just nine plate appearances, but Short can consider it a success after going 2-for-6 at the plate with three walks, a couple of runs, and his first career stolen base.

All that said, the Tigers will welcome Urena back to the rotation, as they’re a little short-handed on the hill. The Tigers not only placed Spencer Turnbull on the 10-day IL, but an injured list stint could follow for Michael Fulmer as well. He has been unavailable the past couple of days because of arm fatigue, tweets Chris McCosky of The Detroit News. Fulmer has mostly pitched out of the pen, but he’s been a reliable source of innings with 35 innings pitched across 20 outings (four starts). His 3.34 ERA/3.57 FIP are the best run prevention numbers posted by Fulmer since his rookie campaign in 2016.

Urena has provided solid innings through ten starts this season, and the Tigers will hope he can get right back to it. He owns a 4.14 ERA/3.84 FIP across 54 1/3 innings on the season.

Nationals Place Stephen Strasburg On 10-Day Injured List

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JUNE 2, 10:23 pm: Today’s MRI revealed nerve irritation in Strasburg’s neck, Martinez told reporters (including Zuckerman). He’ll rest and rehab the injury for now.

JUNE 2, 4:35 pm: The Nationals announced they’ve placed Strasburg on the 10-day injured list with a neck strain. The team didn’t provide a timetable for his potential return. Kyle McGowin was recalled from Triple-A Rochester in a corresponding move.

JUNE 1: Nationals manager Dave Martinez and Washington’s trainer visited with right-hander Stephen Strasburg after he began Tuesday night’s game with a four-pitch walk, and despite some obvious discomfort (noted by Chelsea Janes of the Washington Post), Strasburg stayed in the game. His fastball velocity was down to the point that his four-seamer was registering as a change-up, per Mark Zuckerman of MASNsports.com (via Twitter) who provides some spin rate evidence to back his claim.

Stras would ultimately leave the game early, though it took a 109.6 mph comebacker off the bat of William Contreras to get Strasburg out of the game. The underlying issue, however, was a tight trapezius muscle, noted the Athletic’s Maria Torres and others after the game. The Nats’ right-hander will have an MRI on Wednesday, but whatever the results, Strasburg is clearly not his usual self.

In the meantime, the Nats are running dangerously low on arms. They won Tuesday’s game, but they required seven pitchers to do so. Only Tanner Rainey and Kyle Finnegan were left in the pen by game’s end. Austin Voth earned the win, but in using 50 pitches to get through three innings, he likely rendered himself unavailable for Wednesday. Jon Lester was already scheduled to start Wednesday’s game on short rest, but now they’ll ask the veteran to give them some length as well.

Tomorrow was originally set up to be Erick Fedde’s start, but the Nats did not feel he was stretched out enough to come off the injured list, per Torres. Instead, Fedde will make a rehab start in Single-A on Thursday and prepare to join the Nats over the weekend, tweets Zuckerman. In the meantime, the Nats could choose to option Sam Clay, Wander Suero or Paolo Espino in order to bring up a fresh arm. All three have options remaining. Typically, Washington does not aggressively manage their organizational arms in this way, but given the state of the rotation, it would not be surprising to see them make some kind of move.

Giants’ Latest Roster Moves

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The Giants made a number of roster moves on Tuesday, provided here by Kerry Crowley of the Bay Area News Group (via Twitter). On the pitching front, San Francisco purchased Dominic Leone’s contract from Triple-A and optioned righty Nick Tropeano. The recently-acquired Sam Delaplane was also moved to the 60-day injured list.

The well-traveled Leone has a 4.09 career ERA over 253 career innings for the Mariners, Diamondbacks, Blue Jays, Cardinals, and Indians, for whom he pitched in 2020. Tropeano, 30, pitched well in four appearances, giving up just one earned run in six innings. He threw two scoreless against the Angels on Monday, so his demotion could simply be about getting a fresh arm in the bullpen.

The Giants also made a change behind the plate, placing Curt Casali on the 10-day injured list with a left wrist sprain. He’s not expected to be out for more than the 10-game minimum, writes Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle. Those hoping to see top prospect Joey Bart will be disappointed, however. It’s reasonable to assume that the short-term nature of the injury does not warrant disrupting Bart’s development.

Instead, Chadwick Tromp has been recalled to serve as Buster Posey’s backup behind the plate for the next 10 days. The 26-year-old backstop debuted last season, posting a 65 wRC+ in 64 plate appearances.

Lastly, Crowley adds that Evan Longoria’s injury appears to be a mild intercostal strain, and he’ll avoid a stint on the injured list. Longoria is enjoying a resurgent season at the plate this year with a 139 wRC+ and 1.5 fWAR through 178 plate appearances.

Quick Hits: Workman, Gallen, Tatis Jr.

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Brandon Workman has opted out of his contract with the Boston Red Sox. They now have less than 48 hours to decide whether or not to add him to the active roster, per Chris Cotillo of MassLive.com. The 32-year-old returned to the Red Sox after being released by the Cubs at the end of April. He put up a 6.75 ERA in 10 appearances with Chicago, but followed that up with a 1.29 ERA over seven innings for the Triple-A Red Sox. He racked up strikeouts at both spots with a combined 30.0 percent strikeout rate. As has been the issue with Workman in the past, however, his control has been spotty (15.7 percent walk rate). If Boston decides not to add him to their active roster, Workman will again be a free agent. Elsewhere around the game…

  • Diamondbacks’ ace Zac Gallen threw at 90-feet today, and he’s scheduled to throw a bullpen tomorrow to truly begin the road back to the active roster, per the Athletic’s Zach Buchanan (via Twitter). After starting the season on the injured list, Gallen returned with five strong outings from April 13th to May 7th, but he landed back on the IL with a UCL sprain.
  • Fernando Tatis Jr. left today’s game against the Cubs in the sixth inning, though there was no apparent injury at the time. The Padres did not waste much time in acknowledging his removal (via Twitter); he exited as a precautionary measure due to oblique tightness. Given his level of stardom, his central role on a contender, and the myriad injuries he’s dealt with so far this season, any health issue for Tatis Jr. rates as a potential game-changer. He did not seem particularly perturbed at the time of his exit, however, and there’s no reason to do anything but take the Padres’ at their word and hope the injury is, at it seems, a minor one.

Rockies Notes: Story, Joe, Trejo, Bowden

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The Rockies can breathe a sigh of relief: There is no structural damage to Trevor Story’s elbow, per the Athletic’s Nick Groke (via Twitter). The star shortstop’s MRI came back clean, so the Rockies can now look forward to his return as early as next Tuesday.

While the biggest news out of Colorado was no doubt results of that MRI, they also completed a couple of roster moves. The Rockies recalled infielder Alan Trejo from Triple-A and optioned Connor Joe.

Joe has done a nice job in 52 plate appearances, particularly getting on base with a .365 OBP, but the 25-year-old Trejo brings the ability to play up the middle. At least while Story is out, Trejo provides the Rockies with more defensive insurance, especially as they run with a four-man bench. Trejo made his Major League debut earlier this season, slashing .216/.268/.270 in 41 plate appearances.

Yesterday, southpaw Ben Bowden was reinstated from the injured list and optioned to Triple-A, per the team. The 26-year-old Vanderbilt product posted a 6.39 ERA/4.54 FIP in 15 appearances prior to the left shoulder strain that landed him on the injured list.

Yankees Acquire Connor Cannon To Complete Mike Tauchman Trade

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The Yankees have acquired infielder Connor Cannon from the Giants to complete the April 27th trade that sent Mike Tauchman to San Francisco for Wandy Peralta and a Player To Be Named Later. The Yankees announced the completion of the deal.

Cannon was drafted in the 17th round of the 2019 draft out of UC Riverside. The 23-year-old hit .326/.399/.689 in rookie ball during his first taste of pro action after being drafted, but he has yet to appear this season. Probably a first baseman, Cannon pitched some at college, but his power at the plate is by far the greater talent.

The 6’5″, 240 pounder will be on the older side for a prospect wherever he ultimately reports this season, but he does have some promise at the plate, particularly for an American League club that might envision him as a designated hitter. FanGraphs named his as the Giants’ 40th-ranked prospect, crediting him with top-of-the-scale, 80-grade raw power but bottom-of-the-scale, 20-grade speed.

Cardinals To Place Jack Flaherty On 10-Day Injured List With “Significant” Oblique Injury

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The Cardinals will place Jack Flaherty on the 10-day injured list, but the news is much worse than just that, per MLB.com’s Jeff Jones (via Twitter). Flaherty suffered a “significant” oblique injury, adds the Athletic’s Katie Woo. There is no timetable for his return, but the initial word choices here do not paint a positive picture for the Cardinals’ right-hander, who may be looking at a Grade 2 or Grade 3 oblique strain – though no official designation has been given.

This comes as unwelcome news for the Cardinals, who are trying to fend off the Cubs and Brewers for first place in the NL Central. Obviously, losing their ace won’t help that cause. Flaherty has a 2.90 ERA/3.68 FIP in 62 innings through 11 starts, good for 1.0 fWAR. He has been allowing more fly balls than usual with a career-low 36.3 percent groundball rate, but those air-balls haven’t been leaving the yard – 11.7 HR/FB% is the lowest of his career.

The rest of Flaherty’s profile looks pretty close to what we’ve come to expect from the 25-year-old. He’s striking out 26.3 percent of opponents while walking 7.8 percent – both of which are above-average rates for starters this season. He’s averaging 93.9 mph on his four-seamer, which is right in line with the past couple of seasons. He’s gone with more four-seamers than sinkers than usual, but not enough to suggest a change in approach.

In the short-term,Johan Oviedo will take Flaherty’s spot in the rotation. Oviedo was recently optioned to Triple-A, but he’s been recalled in light of Flaherty’s injury. The 23-year-old has a 5.40 ERA/6.02 FIP in 20 innings this season. Before you ask, young hurlers Alex Reyes and Genesis Cabrera have already been ruled out by manager Mike Shildt as rotation options, tweets Jones. Daniel Ponce de Leon or Jake Woodford, however, could be stretched out with the possibility of opening games on the hill.

A’s Place Ramon Laureano On Injured List, Recall Skye Bolt

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The Athletics have placed outfielder Ramon Laureano on the 10-day injured list with a strained right hip, retroactive to May 28th. Skye Bolt has been recalled from Triple-A, per Matt Kawahara of the San Francisco Chronicle (Twitter links). The A’s have confirmed the move.

Laureano hasn’t played since last Thursday because of the injury, which was originally termed “right groin tightness,” per Kawara. It’s been a strong season for Laureano, who has already posted 1.9 bWAR/2.1 fWAR through 48 games. Mark Canha figured to continue to see time in centerfield in Laureano’s absence.

As for Bolt, he was claimed off waivers by the Giants on April 5th, but he managed just one plate appearance across the bay. The A’s re-acquired him exactly a month later for cash considerations. He has mashed at Triple-A this season for Oakland, slashing .375/.488/.625 over 80 plate appearances with the Las Vegas Aviators.

Angels Activate Max Stassi, Option Jose Quijada

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The Angels have activated catcher Max Stassi from the injured list, per the team. He’ll be in the lineup and starting behind the plate for the Angels tonight. Meanwhile, Drew Butera has cleared waivers and been outrighted to Triple-A, and Jose Quijada was optioned to Triple-A in order to create the roster spot to bring Stassi off the IL.

Stassi returns to the lineup with a .241/.313/.345 batting line across 32 plate appearances. He’s one of three catchers currently on the roster, along with Kurt Suzuki and Anthony Bemboom. If healthy, Stassi figures to get a healthy share of the playing time behind the dish.

The veteran Butera remains in the organization to serve as further depth. The Angels’ catching corps has been beat up for much of the season – and they’re not a young group – so Butera may very well find himself with another opportunity this year. He’ll be seeking a redemptive effort after going just 3-for-32 with 16 strikeouts in 32 plate appearances.

As for Quijada, the 25-year-old southpaw logged 3 1/3 scoreless innings across a pair of outings. He went 1 2/3 innings yesterday, and while he didn’t allow a run and struck out three, he also walked three and allowed both of his inherited runners to score – one via a wild pitch and the other via a Wilmer Flores double.

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