- The Marlins acquired catcher/first baseman Lorenzo Quintana in a trade with the Astros. The 32-year-old Quintana is a veteran of seven seasons in Cuba’s Serie Nacional, hitting an impressive .310/.377/.438 over 1636 plate appearances. Quintana signed with the Astros in November 2017 and hit pretty well in his first three minor league seasons, including a .311/.372/.340 slash line in 113 plate appearances with Triple-A Sugar Land this season. While his power dropoff is a concern, Quintana gives Miami another depth option in the minors, particularly at the catcher position.
Astros Rumors
Astros Notes: Click, Luxury Tax, McCullers, Garcia
The luxury tax “is a factor,” in what the Astros will do at the trade deadline, GM James Click told broadcaster Robert Ford on the team’s pregame radio show (hat tip to Chandler Rome of The Houston Chronicle). However, Click also noted that the Competitive Balance Tax “is not a hard cap,” which is something of a broad remark that could imply the Astros are willing to exceed the $210MM threshold if necessary, or it could just be a simple statement of fact. Houston is currently quite close to the $210MM threshold — Cot’s Baseball Contracts has the team’s estimated tax number just shy of $207MM, while Roster Resource has the Astros with even less breathing room at roughly $208.8MM.
The Astros exceeded the CBT threshold last year, though since they didn’t top the threshold by more than $20MM and it was their first time in excess, the club paid the minimal first-timer rate of a 20 percent tax on the overage (for a total bill of $3,263,800). For passing the threshold again, the Astros would be taxed at 30 percent of the overage, though that again wouldn’t represent a big payout assuming they stayed under the $230MM mark.
As The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal has pointed out, however, if the Astros were tax-payors, their additional penalty would include lesser draft pick compensation if a qualifying-offer rejecting free agent (i.e. Carlos Correa or Justin Verlander) left for another team. It would also cost Houston higher draft picks off their own board as compensatory picks if they were to sign a QO-rejecting free agent of their own. The Astros may have to get creative in adding any sort of salary at the trade deadline if they are to stay under the tax threshold, since doing nothing would seem like a wasted opportunity for a club that has the look of playoff contender.
More from Houston…
- Lance McCullers Jr. is scheduled to return from the injured list and start Tuesday’s game against the Rangers, manager Dusty Baker told MLB.com’s Brian McTaggart and other reporters. McCullers went on the 10-day IL on May 26 due to a sore right shoulder, and he’ll be on a pitch limit as the Astros will look to ease him back into action. Jake Odorizzi will work as the piggyback pitcher behind McCullers, as he too is working his way back to full strength following an IL stint due to a forearm strain.
- Both McCullers and Odorizzi will be part of a six-man rotation Houston will deploy over a stretch of 20 games in 20 days, beginning on Tuesday. It is quite possible that further injuries or lack of performance could alter the Astros’ plans over the next three weeks, but assuming everyone is healthy and effective, Chandler Rome thinks Luis Garcia could be the odd man out once the rotation reverts to a five-man staff that would consist of Zack Greinke, Jose Urquidy, Framber Valdez, McCullers, and Odorizzi. Garcia has pitched quite well this season, with a 2.98 ERA/3.64 SIERA over 63 1/3 innings and above-average strikeout and walk rates. Despite several injuries to the rotation earlier in the year, Houston is now in “good problem to have” territory with a surplus of arms — Cristian Javier has already been demoted to the bullpen after delivering good results as a starter. With Garcia also possibly joining the mix in July, he could provide a nice boost to the Astros’ middle-of-the-pack relief corps.
Astros’ Tyler Ivey Unlikely To Pitch Again In 2021
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.
Astros Place Joe Smith On IL
- 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 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.
