- The Astros have placed reliever Joe Smith on the IL with an ominous-sounding issue – right elbow soreness (via Chandler Rome of the Houston Chronicle). Houston recalled righty Brandon Bielak to take over for Smith, who has put up an uncharacteristically high ERA (6.23) in 17 1/3 innings. While Smith has only walked 4.8 percent of hitters, his second-lowest strikeout rate (18.1), a 23.1 percent home run-to-fly ball rate and a .414 batting average on balls in play against have worked against him.
Astros Rumors
Astros Aledmys Diaz Out Six To Eight Weeks With Fractured Hand
Astros utilityman Aledmys Díaz will miss six to eight weeks after X-rays revealed he fractured his left hand in last night’s loss to the Blue Jays, manager Dusty Baker told reporters (including Brian McTaggart of MLB.com). Díaz was injured when he was hit by a Ross Stripling pitch.
Losing Díaz for the foreseeable future is a difficult blow, considering he’s off to a very strong start at the plate. The 30-year-old is hitting .278/.341/.435 with three homers across 126 plate appearances this year. That’s his best work since his stellar 2016 rookie campaign with the Cardinals. Díaz has also continued to serve in a super-sub role, starting multiple games at all four infield positions and in left field.
With Díaz inevitably ticketed for the injured list, Houston figures to turn to Robel García as their top utility option off the bench in the coming weeks. Abraham Toro is off to a good start with Triple-A Sugar Land and is already on the 40-man roster, so he could be an option if the Astros want to add some more infield help.
For now, however, the team is planning to fill Díaz’s active roster spot by activating outfielder Michael Brantley from the injured list before their upcoming series in Boston, McTaggart notes. Brantley, who went on the 10-day IL on May 28 due to hamstring tightness, is off to his customary strong start. One of the game’s most consistent hitters, Brantley has put up a .305/.346/.455 line to this point in the season.
Aledmys Diaz To Undergo X-Rays On Hand
John Means left his start today in the first inning with what’s currently being identified as “left shoulder fatigue,” per Rich Dubroff of Baltimorebaseball.com. Said Means after the game, “This is something I’ve been battling the last few weeks. Not really during the games, but after games. I felt it more so in warmups when I was out there, the last couple of pitches when I really started to let it eat.” The O’s lefty will undergo an MRI on Sunday morning. Elsewhere in the American League…
- The Twins have not gotten the kind of production they need from Matt Shoemaker this season. The 34-year-old veteran gave up eight earned runs while recording just one out against the Royals on Friday. For the season, Shoemaker’s 7.28 ERA/5.98 FIP rank last by a fair margin among starters with at least 50 innings this season. He will continue to make his turns in the Twins’ rotation for now, per the Athletic’s Dan Hayes.
- Even if the Twins wanted to make a move, they’re somewhat hampered by recent injuries in their minor leagues. Minor league hurlers Lewis Thorpe and Matt Canterino were placed on the injured list today, per Do-Hyoung Park of MLB.com (via Twitter). They are dealing with a left shoulder strain and right elbow strain, respectively. Canterino, pitching in High-A, was not likely to help out at the big league level this season, but Thorpe already has 14 innings in four appearances (three starts) with the Twins this season. He has pitched exclusively out of the pen at Triple-A.
- J.D. Martinez was a late scratch from the Red Sox’ lineup with a sore wrist, per Pete Abraham of the Boston Globe (via Twitter). He appeared to jam his wrist sliding into second base during play on Friday. The injury does not appear to be serious. Per Christopher Smith of Masslive.com, manager Alex Cora commented on the situation, saying, “…we’ll take care of him today, get treatment. If he feels good and we need him late in game, then probably we’ll use him.”
- Aledmys Diaz will undergo X-Rays after being hit by a pitch and suffering a left hand contusion, per Mark Berman of Fox 26 (via Twitter). Diaz would be missed. He’s posted a solid .281/.339/.439 line in 124 plate appearances this season.
Astros’ Kent Emanuel To Undergo Season-Ending Surgery
Astros lefty Kent Emanuel announced on Instagram today that he’ll undergo season-ending surgery to repair an injury to the ulnar collateral ligament in his left elbow. The southpaw is not yet certain whether he’ll be undergoing Tommy John surgery or a primary repair procedure that comes with a shorter recovery period (but is only possible with a certain extent of tearing at a specific location on the ligament). As FOX 26’s Mark Berman explains (Twitter link), that’s because the determination won’t be made until the surgery is underway and the surgeons can get a closer look at the ligament.
Regardless of the exact nature of the surgery, Emanuel, who turns 29 tomorrow, won’t pitch again in 2021. It’s an abrupt end to a promising rookie campaign for the 2013 third-rounder, who’d pitched to a 2.55 ERA with a 13-to-4 K/BB ratio through his first 17 2/3 MLB innings.
That Emanuel’s debut campaign came at age 28 is in part due to the fact that’s he’s already endured one Tommy John procedure earlier in his career. That injury limited him to just 14 2/3 innings in 2015 and 84 2/3 frames the following season.
Emanuel has also missed time with an 80-game PED suspension, though he’s among the growing number of players to raise issue following a positive test of trace amounts of DHCMT (seven picograms, in his case). The Wall Street Journal’s Jared Diamond explored the issue at length back in August, and Emanuel himself posted an 11-minute video on Instagram discussing his bewilderment over the positive test. Many fans will be skeptical of any player claiming innocence following a positive PED test, but it’s certainly worth reading Diamond’s column and watching Emanuel’s video for those who didn’t track the story at the time.
Turning back to the present-day ramifications of the injury, Emanuel figures to eventually be moved to the 60-day injured list, where he’ll accrue a year of service time as he goes through the rehabilitation process. If he indeed requires a second Tommy John procedure, he’ll likely miss at least half of the 2022 season as well; a primary repair could potentially have him ready for 2022, though that is again dependent on the extent of the damage in his elbow. An exact timeline for rehabbing from that procedure is tougher to pin down, given the general lack of successful instances. Rich Hill is the most recent example of a pitcher to return after a primary repair, as he had the procedure in the 2019-20 offseason before eventually signing with the Twins.
For the Astros, they’ll be reduced to two left-handed bullpen options: Brooks Raley and Blake Taylor. To this point, neither has pitched well in 2021, with Raley sitting on a 6.95 ERA in 22 2/3 innings and Taylor having yielded five runs (four earned) in 5 1/3 frames of his own. Both southpaws played key roles in Houston’s 2020 bullpen and should have decent leashes as a result. Raley has punched out 30.6 of his opponents this year against just an 8.2 percent walk rate, but he’s been plagued by a historically fluky strand rate. That’s not an exaggeration, either; per FanGraphs, Raley’s 39 percent strand rate is the seventh-lowest single-season mark of any pitcher (min. 20 innings) since 1900.
Should Raley and/or Taylor continue to struggle, left-handed relief figures to be an area of focus for the ’Stros this summer on the trade market as they seek another postseason berth.
Astros Injury Notes: Urquidy, Taylor, Gurriel, Alvarez, McCullers
The Astros’ long list of injured pitchers will get a bit shorter today, as Jose Urquidy and Blake Taylor have both been activated from the 10-day injured list. Urquidy will get the start in today’s game against the Red Sox. Right-handers Andre Scrubb and Ralph Garza were optioned to Triple-A to make room for Urquidy and Taylor on the active roster.
Urquidy hit the IL on May 16 due to right shoulder discomfort, though that potentially ominous-sounding diagnosis wasn’t considered too serious. The right-hander will indeed return in pretty short order, and he’ll look to continue what has thus far been a solid 2021 season. Urquidy has a 3.22 ERA and a very strong 5.1% walk rate over 44 2/3 innings, though advanced metrics (such as a 4.58 SIERA) haven’t been as impressed with his work. Urquidy has both a low strikeout rate (18.6%) and grounder rate (28.5%), and he has been relying on a lot of soft contact and some batted-ball luck (.242 BABIP) to retire batters.
Taylor has been out of action since suffering a right ankle sprain on April 17, and he has been on a Triple-A rehab assignment since last week. Taylor made his MLB debut last season, and he has a 3.12 ERA, 18.4% strikeout rate, and 12.3% walk rate over 26 total innings in the big leagues. With Kent Emanuel still on the IL, Brooks Raley has been the only other left-hander in Houston’s bullpen, so Taylor’s return will add some depth in that area.
The lineup will continue to be shorthanded, however, as manager Dusty Baker told reporters (including MLB.com’s Brian McTaggart and The Houston Chronicle’s Chandler Rome) that neither Yuli Gurriel or Yordan Alvarez are available for today’s game, though both are “close” to returning. Alvarez appears to be the nearest of the two, though Baker said he “nixed” the idea of Alvarez in the lineup in order to give the young slugger another day of recovery.
This will make it five games missed for Alvarez due to a wrist problem, while Gurriel is now on track to miss his third game due to inflammation in his left middle finger. Baker did say Gurriel would return at some point during Houston’s four-game series with the Red Sox that begins today.
“It’s a situation where they’re not hurt badly enough where you can put them on ten days and lose them, so you’d rather wait two or three days extra and not lose them for ten,” Baker said.
The Astros still scored 15 runs in the two games without Gurriel and Alvarez in the lineup, though naturally the team would like to have two of its best hitters back as soon as possible. Both players have hit seven home runs this season, with Gurriel hitting .309/.380/.511 in 205 PA and Alvarez hitting .310/.343/.525 over 169 PA.
Baker also told McTaggart and company that he is hopeful Lance McCullers Jr. can be back in the rotation by the “middle of June.” McCullers was placed on the 10-day IL on May 26 due to right shoulder soreness but, like Urquidy, the issue as thought to be pretty minor. McCullers is playing catch in the outfield today, Baker said. Over 51 2/3 innings this season, McCullers has a 2.96 ERA/4.02 SIERA, despite allowing a lot of hard contact.
Astros Option Enoli Paredes
- In non-doubleheader roster news, the Astros optioned Enoli Paredes to Triple-a today to make room for Jake Odorizzi, per Chandler Rome of the Houston Chronicle (via Twitter). Paredes struggled mightily with his command, issuing 11 walks in just 4 1/3 innings.
Astros Place Jason Castro On 10-Day IL
- The Astros have put catcher Jason Castro on the 10-day IL (retroactive to May 25) with left Achilles soreness and recalled backstop Garrett Stubbs, Mark Berman of Fox 26 tweets. Castro, who opened his career with the Astros from 2010-16, rejoined the team on a two-year, $7MM guarantee during the offseason. The deal looked good for the Astros before Castro’s IL placement, considering he has hit .271/.397/.479, though he has only taken 59 plate appearances while playing second fiddle to Martin Maldonado.
Astros Place Michael Brantley On 10-Day IL
The Astros have placed outfielder Michael Brantley on the 10-day injured list with right hamstring tightness and recalled infielder Robel Garcia, Brian McTaggart of MLB.com tweets.
Houston will temporarily lose one of its best hitters in Brantley, who’s in his third year with the team. Brantley was a free agent in the offseason, but the Astros brought him back on a two-year, $32MM contract after he posted outstanding production in his first two seasons with the team. This season has been more of the same for Brantley, who has batted .305/.346/.455 (128 wRC+) with three home runs in 179 plate appearances.
Brantley – a former Indian who has dealt with various injuries throughout his career – has already missed eight of Houston’s 49 games this year, and he’ll add to that total now that he’s on the IL. The 34-year-old has spent the vast majority of his season in left field, though he hasn’t started there since May 22, and he hasn’t been in the Astros’ lineup since the 23rd. When Brantley hasn’t been available to man left, the Astros have used Aledmys Diaz and Chas McCormick.
Astros Shuffle Rotation With Valdez, Odorizzi Set To Return
Astros skipper Dusty Baker announced several changes to his team’s pitching staff during his Wednesday media session, revealing that lefty Framber Valdez will return from the injured list to make his season debut Friday and Jake Odorizzi will be activated to start Saturday’s game (all Twitter links via Jake Kaplan of The Athletic). That’s the good news, but Baker also announced that righty Lance McCullers Jr. is headed to the 10-day IL due to shoulder soreness. The team does not believe the issue to be serious at this point.
The Astros have also selected the contract of right-hander Ralph Garza from Triple-A Sugar Land. Injured righty Josh James was moved from the 10-day IL to the 60-day IL to open a roster spot. Lastly, Baker said right-hander Cristian Javier will be moved to the bullpen to accommodate the returns of Valdez and Odorizzi.
It’s a broad-ranging series of roster moves and role changes that carry significant implications for the Astros’ outlook moving forward. The 27-year-old Valdez broke out as one of the team’s best starters in 2020 and was expected to occupy a key role near the top of the rotation in ’21, but a broken ring finger sustained on a comebacker in Spring Training placed his very season in jeopardy. Valdez opted not to undergo surgery that could have cost him the bulk of the year, and he’ll now return to the mound after missing approximately two months of action.
Valdez stepped up in the wake of Justin Verlander’s injury last year, logging 70 2/3 frames with a 3.57 ERA and even better FIP (2.85) and SIERA (3.23) marks. He fanned a hearty 26.4 percent of his opponents against just a 5.6 percent walk rate — all while inducing grounders at a 60 percent clip that ranked among the game’s best. That combination of missed bats, precise control and grounders is a time-honored recipe for success, and he’ll now look to build on last year’s performance to cement himself as one of the club’s best rotation arms.
Odorizzi, 31, inked a three-year deal with the Astros over the winter (the third of which is a player option that’s unlikely to be exercised but was included as a means of manipulating the luxury tax). He made a pair of starts for the ’Stros earlier this season after a short ramp-up before being placed on the IL with a pronator muscle strain. Those first two outings didn’t go well, but Odorizzi will look to put that pair of outings and an injury-ruined 2020 season with the Twins behind him.
It appears the return of Odorizzi and Valdez will be utilized by the Astros as a means of managing the 24-year-old Javier’s workload. He’s been quite good thus far in 2021, pitching to a 3.14 ERA with a 29.9 percent strikeout rate and a 10.8 percent walk rate. However, the 48 2/3 innings he’s thrown are already just six shy of his entire 2020 total, and there are still more than four months of regular-season play remaining (plus, the Astros hope, additional October ball to be played). A move to the ’pen will allow the ’Stros to more carefully monitor his overall innings count this year.
The role change doesn’t necessarily rule out a return to the rotation later in the season, and based on Javier’s first 103 big league innings, it’d be a shock if the organization didn’t view him as a starter moving forward. He’s pitched to a combined 3.32 ERA with a 27.5 percent strikeout rate and 9.6 percent walk rate through 21 appearances (19 of them starts). With Verlander and Zack Greinke both slated to reach free agency this winter, there could be a fairly straightforward path to rotation work for Javier in 2022 and beyond.
Turning to the other IL moves announced today, the move of James to the 60-day IL is a procedural one that doesn’t really impact his timeline back to the Majors. He’s been out all year while recovering from hip surgery and was said during Spring Training to be targeting a June return. Today’s placement on the 60-day IL merely means that he can’t be activated until May 31, which wasn’t going to happen anyhow.
The departure of McCullers will be felt in the short-term, as he’s logged an excellent 2.96 ERA through his first 51 2/3 frames this year. The right-hander elected to forgo free agency in favor of a five-year, $85MM extension offer from the Astros during Spring Training, and at least to this point, the 27-year-old looks like a pitcher capable of living up to that deal.
Garza, 27, isn’t considered to be among the team’s top-ranked prospects but has tossed 6 2/3 shutout innings in Sugar Land, yielding just a hit and three walks with 11 punchouts along the way. He’s spent parts of four seasons in Triple-A, pitching to a combined 3.80 ERA with a 26.2 percent strikeout rate. He’ll join the club’s bullpen for now.
Erik Kratz Makes Sign-Stealing Allegations
Former catcher Erik Kratz recently levied some eyebrow-raising allegations of sign-stealing against a couple of National League teams while a guest with John J. Filippelli and Kevin Sullivan on Curtain Call of the YES Network. When asked for his opinion about the Astros’ sign-stealing scandal, Kratz said, “I can tell you that a team that has been to the World Series often recently, we caught them doing something almost similar.”
Since the Dodgers are the only team to have been to the World Series multiple times in recent years (besides the Astros), it seems Kratz is implying the Dodgers took part in some kind of sign-stealing during the 2018 season. He did not expound any further about their specific actions in this podcast, and did not name the Dodgers directly.
Robert Murray of The Athletic wrote in October 2018 during the NLCS between the Dodgers and Brewers, “There is concern among some Brewers that the Dodgers are using video to pick up their signs,” adding, “Others in the organization are unsure.” That article made clear that the Brewers understood that stealing signs from the dugout or basepaths was fair play, while the use of technology would be crossing a line – the commonly held stance on the issue. Murray reported that the Brewers told MLB’s video room security people of their suspicions, but “The security personnel responded that they had not detected anything.”
On the recent podcast, Kratz made a more specific claim against the Rockies, saying, “…And I can also tell you, cause I don’t really care, I don’t know anybody over there: the Colorado Rockies were doing the exact same thing in 2018…They used to take a Theragun and bang it on their metal bench. And they were doing the exact same thing from the TV. So, there you go. If you think no one else was doing it, you are wrong. The difference is, the Astros may have taken it a little too far.”
Kratz’s point on the whole seemed to be that he thought the Astros were being singled out for actions that were more widespread throughout the game. Certainly, the treatment of sign-stealing as a singular instance of misconduct has been a concern expressed elsewhere. That said, Kratz’s comments are certain to require some follow-up by MLB, given the specific allegations.
For context, Kratz was a member of the Brewers during the 2018 season. The Brewers played both the Rockies and Dodgers that postseason, defeating Colorado in the NLDS and falling to Los Angeles in a seven-game NLCS. He was also a member of the Astros briefly during the 2016 season, prior to the time of the sign-stealing allegations.
Kratz last played in 2020 in a part-time capacity for the Yankees. He made the decision not to play in 2021, presumably ending his playing career. Over 11 years since 2010 when he made his debut as a 30-year-old for the Pirates, Kratz played for nine teams, slashing .209/.256/.355 over 951 plate appearances.
