Notes

Injury Notes: Burnes, Blackburn, Hendricks, Haniger

By Steve Adams | April 18, 2023 at 10:16am CDT

Brewers ace Corbin Burnes called for the trainer and exited last night’s game after recording the first out in the sixth inning, with 85 pitches under his belt. After the game, manager Craig Counsell told reporters that Burnes had a minor strain of the left pectoralis in his chest (link via Todd Rosiak of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel). Burnes incurred the injury in the fourth inning after picking off Eugenio Suarez at second base, catching him in a rundown, and stretching to make the tag on the play. Burnes explained that the injury cramped up beginning in the sixth inning. “I had zero command and then clearly the velo started to drop,” said Burnes, who began the inning with a four-pitch walk.

It’s a surely a relative sigh of relief for Brewers fans, though the team figures to have more info on Burnes in the next day or so as he progresses. For now, it seems the 2021 NL Cy Young winner has avoided a major injury, which is particularly important with righty Brandon Woodruff facing a lengthy absence due to a shoulder strain.

Some more injury scenarios to monitor around the league…

Right-hander Paul Blackburn’s return to the Athletics could be further delayed by a blister issue on his pitching hand, tweets Matt Kawahara of the San Francisco Chronicle. The 29-year-old Blackburn rode a first-half breakout to an All-Star nod last summer, but his season went off the rails in mid-July, when he was torched for 21 runs in a span of 14 1/3 innings. He was diagnosed with a torn tendon sheath in his pitching hand, which ended his season. Blackburn looked to be on track for the 2023 campaign, but a fingernail avulsion shelved him briefly. He’s made a pair of rehab starts but will see his third rehab outing delayed by the current blister troubles. Through his first 16 starts last season, Blackburn pitched to a 2.90 ERA with a below-average 18.8% strikeout rate but strong walk and ground-ball rates of 6.2% and 48.7%, respectively, while yielding just an 87.7 mph average exit velocity.
Cubs righty Kyle Hendricks threw 36 pitches in a two-inning simulated game yesterday and came away from that session feeling good, tweets Maddie Lee of the Chicago Sun-Times. Assuming he doesn’t incur any setbacks in the coming days, that could put Hendricks on pace for a minor league rehab stint sooner than later. He’d likely need multiple starts to build up, which generally aligns with Hendricks’ previous statements that he’s aiming to be on a rehab assignment by May. The 33-year-old Hendricks was one of the NL’s most durable and consistently effective starters from 2015-20, pitching to a 3.17 ERA over the life of 967 innings in that time. He’s stumbled to a 4.78 ERA in 48 starts over the past two seasons, however, as he’s become increasingly homer-prone. Hendricks is entering the final guaranteed season of a four-year, $55MM contract, though the Cubs hold a net $14.5MM decision on him for the 2024 campaign ($16MM option with a $1.5MM buyout).
Mitch Haniger is slated to begin a minor league rehab assignment today, tweets Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle. The Giants signed Haniger to a three-year, $43MM contract over the winter (which contains an opt-out after 2024), but he’s yet to make his team debut after suffering an oblique strain during spring training. He went 3-for-10 with a pair of doubles in 10 official spring at-bats before sustaining the injury. Haniger dealt with myriad injuries in 2019-20 and 2022 but played in 157 games apiece in 2018 and 2021, slugging a combined 65 home runs between those two seasons. Once healthy, he’ll add some more thump to a Giants lineup that somewhat surprisingly ranks fourth in the Majors with 25 homers so far.

Dodgers Notes: Gonsolin, Pepiot, Smith

By Anthony Franco | April 17, 2023 at 10:54pm CDT

Tony Gonsolin is getting closer to making his season debut. Dodgers manager Dave Roberts told reporters Gonsolin got through a 30-plus pitch bullpen session today (relayed by Juan Toribio of MLB.com). Gonsolin will begin a rehab stint with Triple-A Oklahoma City on Thursday, with the expectation he’ll throw around four innings.

Gonsolin is rehabbing from an ankle sprain he suffered midway through Spring Training. Roberts indicated he’d need at least two rehab starts before he’s ready to head back to the MLB rotation. That could position him for a return towards the tail end of next week. That’d be a very welcome development, as Gonsolin worked to a 2.14 ERA through 130 1/3 innings in an All-Star season last year.

Ryan Pepiot had been expected to take Gonsolin’s rotation spot out of the gate. Unfortunately for the 25-year-old, he suffered an oblique strain at the end of Spring Training. It appears he’s a ways off, as Roberts said the righty is still limited to plyometric work and hasn’t yet started throwing (via Fabian Ardaya of the Athletic). While the return timetable isn’t clear, it’s apparent that Pepiot’s progress has been slower than initially hoped.

L.A. has turned to Michael Grove with Gonsolin and Pepiot out of action. The West Virginia product was hit hard in his first two starts of the season before a strong showing on Saturday. He allowed just one run with six strikeouts and two walks in 5 2/3 innings in a win over the Cubs. Even that solid work still brought Grove to a 9.00 ERA in 13 frames this season.

The Dodgers were dealt a hit on the position player side last week. Catcher Will Smith landed on the concussion injured list retroactive to April 13. That only contains a minimum stint of seven days, meaning Smith could return as early as Thursday. The star backstop attributed the injury to a series of recent foul tips off the mask (link via Bill Plunkett of the Orange County Register). Smith said he’d proceed with understandable caution given the nature of the injury but noted that he’s already working out and plans to travel with the club on their road trip spanning April 20-27.

It seems he’s on track to return without a rehab stint if all goes well, perhaps not long after he’s first eligible. The Dodgers signed Austin Wynns to a major league deal to back up Austin Barnes while Smith is out. Wynns has exhausted his minor league option years, so his stay on the 40-man roster may prove brief if the Dodgers don’t plan to carry three catchers once Smith makes his return.

Rockies Notes: Marquez, Grichuk, Bard, Senzatela

By Mark Polishuk | April 16, 2023 at 9:55pm CDT

The Rockies provided updates to MLB.com’s Thomas Harding (Twitter links) and other reporters about several injured players, including right-hander German Marquez. After Marquez was placed on the 15-day injured list last Wednesday due to forearm inflammation, the initial diagnosis was Marquez had avoided any serious injury and might be back in relatively short order. A good step was taken in that direction today as Marquez started throwing for the first time since his IL placement, engaging in a game of catch prior to the Rockies’ game with the Mariners.

It remains to be seen how long Marquez might be sidelined, as even with a minor forearm issue, the Rox aren’t going to rush the hurler back into action. Marquez’s first three starts in the year resulted in a 4.41 ERA over 16 1/3 innings, and while it’s a small sample size, early points of interest include some improved control (a very good 3.2% walk rate) and a marked increase in Marquez’s usage of his slider. The righty is still allowing a lot of hard contact and is striking out batters at a subpar rate, but that was also often the case for Marquez in his better seasons.

Randal Grichuk and Daniel Bard both started rehab assignments at Triple-A today, after first working in games during extended Spring Training. Neither player has yet made their season debut — Grichuk underwent surgery in early February to correct a bilateral sports hernia, while Bard was placed on the 15-day IL just prior to Opening Day due to anxiety issues. Grichuk naturally has a more set recovery timeline, as he was initially expected to be back by mid-April, and it looks like he’ll return to Colorado’s lineup only slightly after that projected date. Bard’s timeline is more fluid due to the uncertainty of anxiety issues, but the start of a rehab assignment indicates that he might be closing in on a return to the Rockies’ bullpen.

Antonio Senzatela’s return is still a ways away, as the righty is recovering from a torn ACL suffered last August. However, Senzatela did pitch two innings in an extended Spring Training game on Friday, and he’ll pitch in another extended camp game on Tuesday. Depending on how Senzatela comes out of Tuesday’s outing, the Rockies might then set a course for his rehab plan. The initial expectation was that Senzatela might be back in the majors by May, and Colorado starting the season with Senzatela on the 15-day IL (instead of the 60-day IL) is indicative of their hope that the right-hander don’t miss too much more time.

East Notes: Fried, Bello, Red Sox, Donaldson, Bader, Garcia

By Mark Polishuk | April 16, 2023 at 5:58pm CDT

Left-hander Max Fried is slated to make his return to the mound on Monday, when the Braves open up a three-game series against the Padres. Atlanta manager Brian Snitker told reporters (including David O’Brien of The Athletic) that Fried will be activated from the 15-day injured list prior to the game. Fried will end up missing only 16 days due to a strained left hamstring, as he went to the IL on April 4 but with a backdated placement of April 1, so ensure a quicker return as long as the hamstring issue turned out to be pretty minimal.

With Fried and Kyle Wright now healthy, Atlanta’s rotation is more or less back in its expected form, with Fried, Wright, Spencer Strider, and Charlie Morton comprising the top four, and Bryce Elder pitching well in a bid to cement his spot. The Braves had planned to use Jared Shuster or Dylan Dodd as the fifth starter heading into the season, but while the two rookies have struggled against MLB hitters, while Elder has an impressive 1.53 ERA over three starts and 17 2/3 innings.

More from both the NL and AL East divisions…

Brayan Bello is also expected to be activated from the 15-day IL on Monday, as the Red Sox righty will make his season debut in a start against the Angels. Bello dealt with some forearm tightness early in Spring Training, which delayed his ramp-up enough that a short IL stint was necessary to open the season. With Bello expected to be a regular starter, the Boston Globe’s Alex Speier suggested that the Sox might utilize a six-man rotation until their next off-day on April 27, in order to give a bit more rest to a pitching staff that hasn’t many good results early in the season. Tanner Houck might ultimately be the odd man out of the rotation, and while Houck told Speier that he would prefer to stay as a starter, “I don’t have much say over it. We’ll have conversations, but I can only go out there and compete and put my best foot forward and continue to fight for the spot.”
The Yankees are likely to activate Josh Donaldson from the 10-day IL on Wednesday, manager Aaron Boone told ESPN’s Marly Rivera and other reporters. Donaldson will play in a minor league rehab game on Tuesday and then take the field against the Angels on Wednesday. A right hamstring strain sent Donaldson (retroactively) to the injured list on April 6, and his return will provide some relief to a lineup that is missing Giancarlo Stanton and Harrison Bader. In Bader’s case, he has been working out and taking part in baseball activities at Yankee Stadium, and Boone indicated that a minor league rehab assignment might begin this week as Bader makes his way back from a left oblique strain.
X-rays were negative on Avisail Garcia’s right wrist after the Marlins outfielder was hit while swinging at a pitch in today’s game. Jesus Sanchez had to replace Garcia to finish the rest of the plate appearance, but Garcia looks to have avoided serious injury, even if the Marlins might hold him out a day or two to monitor the wrist. After a rough first season in Miami, Garcia’s struggles have continued in 2023, as he has hit only .162/.225/.270 over his first 41 plate appearances.

Reds Notes: Santillan, Votto, Sims

By Nick Deeds | April 16, 2023 at 11:15am CDT

The Reds have halted the rehab of right-hander Tony Santillan, as noted by The Athletic’s C. Trent Rosencrans. Santillan was limited to just 19 2/3 innings of work in 2022 due to low back pain, and was diagnosed with a Pars stress fracture in his low back this spring that has kept him out of action ever since. He appeared to be on the verge of returning to big league action, as he had begun a rehab assignment in Triple-A recently, but Santillan is now dealing with discomfort in his right knee that will keep him out of action for longer, according to Rosencrans.

Santillan struggled to a 5.49 ERA during his injury-plagued 2022 season, but impressed in his 2021 rookie season with a 2.91 ERA (162 ERA+) in 43 1/3 innings, though it came with a concerning 4.62 FIP thanks to Santillan stranding an unsustainable 90% of baserunners, though he did post an impressive 29.5% strikeout rate that season. When healthy, Santillan could join the likes of Alex Diaz and Fernando Cruz in covering late-inning duties for the Reds.

First baseman Joey Votto is also halting his rehab process, per a club announcement. Votto returned to Cincinnati and spoke with reporters today, with Bobby Nightengale of the Cincinnati Enquirer noting that Votto has not suffered any setbacks and MLB.com’s Mark Sheldon relaying that the first baseman remains optimistic about returning to big league action in the near future, though he isn’t ready to do so yet. As Nightengale notes, Votto could begin another rehab assignment in five days if he’s ready to do so.

Votto underwent surgery on his rotator cuff and bicep last season after struggling to a slash line of just .205/.319/.370 in 91 games last year, the worst performance of his future Hall of Fame career. Following his surgery, Votto took things slowly this spring, and has continued to work his way back at a careful pace as he has repeatedly expressed a desire to not return to the club until he’s fully healthy and ready to return. The Reds have given their veteran slugger the latitude to guide his own rehab process, including leaving the decision about whether he would start the season on the Opening Day roster up to him.

In more positive injury news, reliever Lucas Sims is scheduled to pitch for a second day in a row at Triple-A today, according to Nightengale, with a return to the big leagues later this week a possibility if all goes well. A first round pick by the Braves in the 2012 draft, Sims was part of the return for the trade that sent Adam Duvall from Cincinnati to Atlanta at the 2018 trade deadline. Since then, Sims has been a bullpen regular for the Reds, posting a 4.44 ERA (107 ERA+) and 3.87 FIP in 127 2/3 innings of work with the club. Sims pitched just 6 2/3 innings last year before being placed on the IL with lower back spasms last May, an issue he’s dealt with ever since. Fortunately, it appears Sims is primed to return to big league action and join a bullpen that currently features the likes of Derek Law and Buck Farmer covering the middle innings.

Padres Notes: Rotation, Wacha, Engel

By Nick Deeds | April 16, 2023 at 8:24am CDT

Padres right-hander Joe Musgrove is expected to make his final rehab start today for the organization’s Single-A affiliate, as noted by Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union Tribune. That would put Musgrove on track to return to the Padres sometime later this week, a welcome development for a club that has seen its current six-man rotation set-up lead to an overly taxed bullpen.

With only seven relievers on the roster, the club needs its starters to be able to go deeper into games and cover more innings, but that hasn’t been the case early in the season. San Diego starters have failed to complete six innings in nine of the club’s 16 games this season, with just three starts lasting into the seventh inning. The return of Musgrove, who pitched at least six innings in 22 of his 30 regular season starts last season, should help relieve some of the load off the bullpen, but the question remains as to who Musgrove will replace in the rotation.

Ken Rosenthal suggested on FOX Sports yesterday that right-hander Nick Martinez could head to the bullpen as the odd man out, while Jeff Sanders of the San Diego Union Tribune suggested that it could be young left-hander Ryan Weathers who is either optioned to Triple-A or pushed to the bullpen in order to make room for Musgrove, though Sanders notes that the club’s schedule, which includes two off-days in the final week of April and five throughout the month of May, could make the current six-man rotation setup untenable in the longer term and force the club to look at moving Martinez or righty Seth Lugo to the bullpen.

Weathers, 23, struggled to a 5.49 ERA with a 5.42 FIP the past two seasons, with all of that work except for a single 3 2/3 inning spot start coming during the 2021 campaign. He’s done well so far in 2023, posting an strong 2.70 ERA in two starts (10 innings) so far this season, though he’s struck out just five batters so far and failed to record an out in the sixth inning. By contrast, Martinez has struggled in terms of run prevention, with a 5.60 ERA across three starts, but has been able to go deeper into games, failing to make it out of the fifth inning just once while recording six and seven innings in his other two appearances.

More from San Diego…

As noted by Chris Cotillo of MassLive.com, Padres right-hander Michael Wacha entered the offseason hoping to return to the Red Sox, for whom he posted a 3.32 ERA in 127 1/3 innings in 2022. Cotillo notes that the Red Sox never appeared close to re-signing the 31 year-old righty, who eventually signed in San Diego on a complex four-year, $26MM deal with multiple team and player options involved. Wacha noted that Boston expressed interest in retaining him for the 2023 season, but ultimately did not get into specifics of his negotations with the club, saying that “you might have to ask [Red Sox GM Chaim Bloom] about that one.” That being said, Wacha did note the importance of San Diego’s willingness to offer a multi-year deal held in his ultimate decision to sign with the club.
As noted by Sanders, outfielder Adam Engel, who’s been sidelined to this point in the season with a hamstring injury. began a rehab assignment in Triple-A yesterday. With David Dahl having recently joined Engel on the injured list, the club’s outfield depth has been tested, with the likes of Rougned Odor and Brandon Dixon making recent starts in the outfield alongside Juan Soto and Trent Grisham. Engel’s impending return should provide some much-needed support to the Padres outfield, as should Fernando Tatis Jr., who is set to return from his suspension later this week.

AL Notes: Urias, Ortiz, Romano, Red Sox, Springs

By Mark Polishuk | April 15, 2023 at 9:00pm CDT

Ramon Urias is in concussion protocol after a scary incident in the Orioles’ 7-6 loss to the White Sox today. Urias was hit in the head by a Kendall Graveman fastball in the seventh inning of the game, but fortunately the infielder was able to leave the field under his own power. At the very least, Urias certainly doesn’t look like he’ll be playing in Sunday’ game, and it remains to be seen if a stint on the seven-day concussion-related injury list is necessary. Urias had a single and two walks prior to his HBP today, boosting the Gold Glover’s slash line to a productive .250./.388/.400 over his first 49 plate appearances of the season.

Infielder Joey Ortiz would be the roster replacement if Urias is sidelined, as MASNsports.com’s Roch Kubatko was among the reporters who noted that Ortiz was removed from the lineup for Triple-A Norfolk tonight. Since the Orioles don’t play on Monday, it’s possible the club might not make a roster move prior to Sunday’s game, in order to give Urias more time to recover and undergo further examination in the hopes that an IL stint could be avoided. Ortiz has yet to make his MLB debut, and is yet another talented youngster from Baltimore’s farm system — both MLB Pipeline and Baseball America included Ortiz near the end of their preseason top-100 prospect lists.

NL East Notes: Scherzer, Arcia, Sosa, Suarez, Harper

By Mark Polishuk | April 15, 2023 at 7:16pm CDT

Max Scherzer was scheduled to start for the Mets on Sunday against the Athletics, but Jose Butto will now take the hill tomorrow and Scherzer will be pushed to Wednesday. Mets manager Buck Showalter told the New York Post’s Mike Puma (Twitter links) and other reporters that Scherzer has some “lingering soreness” in his side, though Scherzer said that scans of the area below his scapula didn’t reveal any structural damage.

Butto was tentatively expected to receive a spot start at some point during the Mets’ road trip, so today’s news seems mostly precautionary in nature, notwithstanding Scherzer’s injury history. There might also be a bit of gamesmanship at play, since rather than face the struggling A’s, Scherzer is now lined up to face the Dodgers on Wednesday in a game with more implications on the NL playoff race.

Pitching Notes: Woodruff, Verlander, Wainwright

By Simon Hampton | April 15, 2023 at 9:39am CDT

Brewers starter Brandon Woodruff had an MRI on his right shoulder and remains shut down until doctors map out a path forward, manager Craig Counsell relayed to Todd Rosiak of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. The team has already placed Woodruff on the IL.

There was initial hope that it’d just be a short stint on the IL, and that hasn’t been ruled out yet, but obviously the uncertainty over how best to proceed is a little concerning. Woodruff made another strong start to the season, giving up just one earned run across two starts and 11 1/3 innings. An injury for any length of time would be a significant blow to the Brewers, who have made a strong start to the season.

Woodruff has blossomed into one of the game’s better starting pitchers in recent years, compiling a 2.97 ERA across 94 starts since the 2019 season. While he did miss some time for a high ankle sprain last year, he’s never missed time in the big leagues with an arm-related injury.

Here’s a few more notes:

Sonja Chen of MLB.com relays an update from Mets manager Buck Showalter on injured starter Justin Verlander. The veteran is scheduled for a bullpen in Florida, and then if that goes well he’ll throw another side before facing live batters. Once he’s ticked off those, he could be ready for a Mets debut. Verlander hit the shelf after suffering a low-grade strain of the teres major muscle towards the end of spring training. While there’s no firm timetable for his return just yet, it does appear that Mets fans won’t have to wait too much longer to see their star off-season recruit make his debut. The 40-year old Verlander signed with the Mets on a two-year, $86.67MM deal this winter after making 28 starts of 1.75 ERA ball for the Astros last year.
John Denton of MLB.com tweets that Cardinals veteran Adam Wainwright threw a 50-pitch simulated game prior to last night’s game against the Pirates at Busch Stadium. Wainwright is working his way back from a groin injury suffered in spring training. It’s not entirely clear what the next step for Wainwright is, but it wouldn’t be a surprise to see him go and make a rehab start at some point. The 41-year old has remained a steady presence in the Cardinals’ rotation, making 32 starts in each of the past two seasons and working to a combined 3.37 ERA. Jake Woodward made a strong start against the Pirates last night, but he would appear the likeliest to drop out of the rotation once Wainwright returns.

Red Sox Notes: Duvall, Bello, Paxton

By Simon Hampton | April 15, 2023 at 8:00am CDT

Adam Duvall’s hot start to the season was cruelly halted when he sustained a distal radius fracture in his left wrist. There was relief initially that Duvall wouldn’t require surgery, but it still appears it’ll be a lengthy recovery time, with Duvall telling Alex Speier of the Boston Globe that he won’t be able to swing the bat for six weeks.

“[It’s] maybe six weeks before I can swing again. I’m going to keep running and keep throwing to stay in shape,” Duvall said.

It’s still hard to pinpoint exactly when Duvall might be ready to return to action, but certainly six weeks plus time to build back up again would suggest a return well into the summer. Duvall, a lifetime .233/.292/.472 hitter, went 15-for-33 over his first eight games of the season, slugging four home runs while manning center field for the Red Sox.

It’s a much shorter timeline for starter Brayan Bello to return to the team. The youngster is slated to return on Monday against Shohei Ohtani and the Angels on Boston Marathon day, per Speier. Bello was slowed this spring discomfort in his elbow. Such discomfort is usually hugely alarming in a young pitcher, but it seems it was in fact minor and Bello will only miss the first few weeks of the season.

Bello worked to a 4.71 ERA over 57 1/3 innings last year with a 20.5% strikeout rate and a 10.1% walk rate. Bello was tagged for a .404 opponent BABIP, which suggests he might expect to be a little more fortunate in that department over a larger sample size, and indeed his FIP sat at 2.94.

It’ll be intriguing to see how Boston’s rotation shapes up over the next few weeks. Bello’s return will likely be followed by veteran James Paxton, who made another minor league rehab start as he works his way back from a hamstring injury. According to Speier, manager Alex Cora expects Paxton to make at least one more rehab start, but it seemingly won’t be long before he too can be activated from the IL.

Since 2020, Paxton has made just six starts for the Yankees and Mariners, getting tagged for a 6.65 ERA in that small number as he battled injury. He signed with the Red Sox last season, but Tommy John recovery and a lat strain prevented him from ever taking to the mound. He exercised a $4MM player option ahead of the 2023 campaign, but the hamstring injury sustained in spring training delayed his debut.

When he does return the Red Sox will have some decisions to make in their rotation. Chris Sale and Corey Kluber likely aren’t going anywhere, which would leave Tanner Houck, Nick Pivetta and Garrett Whitlock as the options to be forced out. The Sox seemed determined to give Whitlock a shot at becoming a starter, but if he struggles he might be an easy option to return to a relief role where he found tremendous success. Of course, given the injury history of a number of Boston’s starters, it’s possible all of this just figures itself out or they opt to go with a larger rotation to reduce the workload on their arms.

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