Diamondbacks’ Corbin Martin To Undergo Lat Tendon Surgery, Likely To Miss 2023 Season
TODAY: Martin has chosen to undergo surgery to repair his lat tendon, Lovullo told Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic and other reporters. It is “doubtful” that Martin will be able to return before the end of the 2023 season, Lovullo said.
MARCH 18: Corbin Martin left Wednesday’s game due to injury, as the Diamondbacks right-hander was brought to his knees in obvious pain after throwing a pitch. Martin has been diagnosed with a tear in the lat tendon under his right shoulder, and though manager Torey Lovullo said that Martin is exploring a second opinion on the injury, “we’re talking months instead of weeks” before the righty can return to action.
“We’re going to get that second opinion but no matter what, we feel like it’s going to be a long road to recovery and he’ll get back out there as soon as possible,” Lovullo said during an appearance on the Burns & Gambo radio show.
Even if Martin is able to avoid a surgery, the lat tear represents another tough setback for the 27-year-old. Martin missed most of the 2019 season and all of the 2020 season recovering from Tommy John surgery, and an oblique strain prevented him from even a cameo appearance near the end of the abbreviated 2020 campaign. Martin has hit the injured list in each of the last two seasons while also being shuttled back and forth between Arizona’s roster and Triple-A Reno.
With only a 6.71 ERA to show for 57 2/3 career innings in the majors, Martin has yet to really get on track as a big leaguer. The Astros took Martin in the second round of the 2017 draft and the righty even drew some top-100 prospect attention prior to the 2019 season. His stock was high enough that even after the Tommy John surgery, Martin was still sought after by the D’Backs as part of the four-player package for Zack Greinke at the 2019 trade deadline. This spring, the D’Backs were using Martin in a new bullpen role in an attempt to help keep him healthy.
Between Martin’s lat tear and Mark Melancon‘s shoulder strain, Arizona is suddenly facing two long-term injury absences and two holes to fill in the bullpen. The Diamondbacks have a long list of experienced relievers in camp on minor league contracts, and of that group, Jeurys Familia look to be the favorite to win a job on the Opening Day roster. Familia has looked sharp in posting a 1.59 ERA over 5 2/3 innings in Cactus League play, and he would receive a guaranteed $1.5MM salary if he did crack the D’Backs roster at any point during the season.
Austin Nola Leaves Game After Being Hit By Pitch In The Face
Padres catcher Austin Nola suffered a scary injury during today’s Cactus League game, as he was hit in the face by an errant Michael Fulmer pitch. Nola was carted off the field, though he was able to get up under his own power. Padres manager Bob Melvin suggested to reporters (including Jeff Sanders of the San Diego Union-Tribune) that Nola suffered a broken nose given the circumstances, but no official word has come from the team about the nature of the injury.
With just 11 days until Opening Day, it certainly looks as if the Padres will be missing their starting catcher for at least the beginning of the regular season. Nola was still projected to get the majority of playing time behind the plate this season, though former top prospect Luis Campusano (who was himself set back with a hamstring injury this spring) is slated for at least the backup role, and the Padres would surely be pleased if Campusano plays himself into a timeshare of catching duties.
With Nola now facing the injured list, however, Campusano might be the starter by default as the season opens. Brett Sullivan is also on the Padres’ 40-man roster but non-roster invitee Pedro Severino has MLB experience and would likely get the nod as the replacement in the event of Nola’s absence.
Acquired from the Mariners at the 2020 trade deadline, Nola has hit .254/.327/.348 over 665 plate appearances and 185 games in a Padres uniform, translating to a 95 OPS+. He also missed a big chunk of the 2021 season due to finger, thumb, and knee injuries, resulting in only 56 games during the 2021 campaign. Public defensive metrics were also very down on Nola’s glovework in 2022, with Statcast and Fangraphs each giving him subpar framing grades, as well as minus-6 Defensive Runs Saved.
The always-aggressive Padres explored the idea of signing Willson Contreras and Christian Vazquez during the offseason, before opting to stand pat with their catching corps apart from Severino’s minor league deal. It stands to reason that San Diego could be actively seeking out more catching help in the coming days, whether that comes in the trade market, or in pursuing any free agents who may soon be available due to end-of-camp roster cuts or veterans opting out of their minor league contracts.
Braves Outright Jackson Stephens
The Braves announced that right-hander Jackson Stephens was outrighted to Triple-A. The move was necessary to remove Stephens from the 40-man roster since he is out of minor league options, but the righty will remain in Atlanta’s organization.
Stephens first joined the Braves on a minor league deal last winter, and he ended up seeing quite a bit of Major League work in tossing 53 1/3 innings out of the bullpen (including three innings as the designated starter of a bullpen game at the end of the regular season). Stephens posted a 3.69 ERA and did an excellent job of inducing soft contact, even if his strikeout and walk rates were both below the league average.
It was a respectable showing for Stephens’ first MLB action since 2018 as a member of the Reds, and the performance earned Stephen a new contract with the Braves back in December. Since that deal was a split contract that wasn’t fully guaranteed, however, Stephens will only earn his $740K salary if he appears on Atlanta’s active roster at any point during the season.
Stephens didn’t acquit himself well in Spring Training, with a 33.75 ERA to show for 1 1/3 frames over two appearances of Grapefruit League work. (The Orioles tagged Stephens for five runs in one-third of an inning on March 13.) The outright assignment puts Stephens out of the running for a job in the Braves’ Opening Day bullpen, and the club also has another 40-man roster spot to work with in contemplating other moves. Most immediately, the Braves might have that space earmarked for one of Dylan Dodd or Jared Shuster, who are competing to be the team’s fifth starter.
Mariners Sign Delino DeShields To Minors Contract
The Mariners have signed outfielder Delino DeShields to a minor league deal, according to the team’s official transactions page. DeShields last played in the big leagues in 2021, as a member of the Reds.
Seattle becomes the eighth different MLB organization of DeShields’ career, though he has seen official game action with only three of them, playing with Texas from 2015-19, Cleveland in 2020, and then Cincinnati in 2021. The outfielder was also briefly a member of the Red Sox in between stints with the Rangers and Reds in 2021, and he signed minor league contracts with the Marlins and Braves in 2022. DeShields spent the 2022 campaign with Triple-A Gwinnett, hitting .220/.367/.264 over 426 PA for Atlanta’s top affiliate.
While DeShields has rarely contributed much with his bat, his speed and defense has consistently earned him looks from teams in need of outfield depth. Taylor Trammell and utilityman Dylan Moore will both start the season on the Mariners’ injured list, so the M’s might see DeShields as a bit of extra experience to have on hand in camp, along with fellow veteran minor league signings Kole Calhoun and Leonys Martin. Julio Rodriguez, Teoscar Hernandez, AJ Pollock, and Jarred Kelenic are projected as Seattle’s regular outfielders, with Pollock and Kelenic slated to split duties in left field.
Red Sox Acquire Angel Pierre From Royals
The Red Sox announced that infielder Angel Pierre has been acquired from the Royals. Pierre is the player to be named later included along with Adalberto Mondesi in the January swap that sent Josh Taylor to Kansas City.
Pierre was an international signing for the Royals in January 2022, and the 19-year-old’s first year as professional saw him hit .300/.424/.550 with two home runs over 125 plate appearances in the Dominican Summer League. Pierre hails from “the Cradle of Shortstops” in San Pedro de Macoris, Dominican Republic, but he mostly played third base in DSL action, with a handful of games as a shortstop and second baseman.
NL East Notes: Braves, Nimmo, Painter
The Braves have a handful of areas on the roster that have yet to be settled, even with Opening Day only a little over a week away. The fifth starter competition has been upended since the beginning of spring, as Michael Soroka has once again struggled with injuries while early favorites Ian Anderson and Bryce Elder fell out of favor thanks to excellent springs from prospects Jared Shuster and Dylan Dodd. The final spot in the bullpen and the fourth outfielder position are other areas with uncertainty, but perhaps the most interesting camp battle at this point in the Spring is one few expected headed into the year.
As noted by Justin Toscano of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, the shortstop position is still up for grabs, though most considered youngster Vaughn Grissom all but locked into the role as camp began last month. Since then, though, prospect Braden Shewmake has paired already-excellent defense with a torrid spring at the plate as he’s slashed .333/.400/.482 in 12 grapefruit league games. While it seems that the most likely conclusion to this remains Grissom as the starting shortstop, backed up by Orlando Arcia, Shewmake has made a case for himself this spring, and it’s worth noting that his left-handed bat could serve as a better complement to the right-handed Arcia than Grissom, who also bats righty. Toscano notes that it seems unlikely the Braves would roster both players to open the season, but it’s reasonable to expect that even if Shewmake fails to take the starting shortstop gig for himself to open the season, an opportunity to make his big league debut will open up at some point this season.
More from around the NL East…
- Mets outfielder Brandon Nimmo tells reporters, including Joel Sherman of the New York Post, that he was “relieved” following his diagnosis with a sprained knee and ankle that there was no structural damage in either area. Nimmo believes he will still be ready for Opening Day next week, which is surely a relief for Mets fans who recently lost fellow high-dollar returning free agent signing Edwin Diaz for the season to knee surgery. Should Nimmo miss time, it seems likely that would open up playing time for the likes of Tommy Pham and Tim Locastro.
- Phillies GM Dave Dombrowski told reporters, including Todd Zolecki of MLB.com, that he still expects top prospect Andrew Painter to make his big league debut at some point this season. Painter was diagnosed with a UCL sprain earlier this spring which took him out of the fifth starter competition in Philadelphia, but the young right-hander has not been recommended for Tommy John surgery, instead attempting to rehab the injury after a four week shutdown. Should the rehab route prove successful, it’s no surprise that Painter would be in the mix to make his debut later this season, as he proved himself to be clearly MLB-ready with a dominant spring prior to the sprain.
Glenn Otto To Undergo MRI On Right Lat Muscle
The Rangers’s rotation depth has been dealt another blow, as right-hander Glenn Otto, who was scratched from his start yesterday with “right lat tightness”, tells reporters (including Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News) that he is set to undergo an MRI on the muscle after feeling more soreness this morning.
Otto, who celebrated his 27th birthday last week, made 27 starts for the Rangers last year, pitching to a 4.64 ERA that was 15% below league average by ERA+. Underlying metrics further underscore Otto’s struggles last year, as he posted a strikeout rate of just 18.2% against a 10.6% walk rate, with a whopping 8.9% of his batted balls allowed resulting in barrels. All that added up to a 5.21 FIP, more than half a run higher than his ERA. Given that performance, its no surprise that Texas’s offseason spending spree on starters that saw them acquire Jake Odorizzi, Jacob deGrom, Andrew Heaney, and Nathan Eovaldi while re-signing Martin Perez pushed Otto out of the rotation picture. Still, Otto figured to compete for a roster spot with Cole Ragans and Dane Dunning following the announcement that Odorizzi would begin the season on the injured list.
Though Otto was far from the favorite to secure that roster spot, it’s worth noting that virtually every team needs depth starters throughout the regular season, and Otto was sure to make appearances in the big leagues at some point this year even if he didn’t make the Opening Day roster. That’s especially true for the Rangers, who have a starting five featuring a handful of players who have missed significant time in recent years: deGrom and Heaney both failed to clear 75 innings of work last year, while Eovaldi has pitched more than 111 innings just once since the end of the 2016 season.
Should Otto join Odorizzi on the injured list to open the season and miss significant time, that lines Ragans and Dunning up for a battle to be the long man out of the Rangers’s bullpen to open the season, with the other likely headed to Triple-A to serve as a depth starter alongside Spencer Howard. That being said, it’s worth noting that both Eovaldi and deGrom are expected to open the season on limited pitch counts, meaning it could behoove the Rangers to carry both Ragans and Dunning into the season in order to have more long relief options available to shoulder the additional workload while Eovaldi and deGrom ramp up.
While few details regarding Otto’s injury are available, MLB.com notes that lat strains come in three grades, with the mildest ones requiring a recovery time of just a few weeks while the most severe ones can require surgery and a lengthy rehab afterward. With such a wide range of possible outcomes, it’s impossible to predict the outcome of Otto’s MRI, the severity of his injury, or the timetable for his return to action.
Phillies Interested In Right-Handed Hitting Outfielders
With just over a week until Opening Day, the bench group in Philadelphia is beginning to come into focus. As discussed by The Athletic’s Matt Gelb, the Phillies view each of backup catcher Garrett Stubbs, and utilitymen Edmundo Sosa and Josh Harrison as locks to make the roster. With Bryce Harper slated to begin the season on the injured list as he rehabs from Tommy John surgery, the Phillies have no set, everyday DH, leaving them with effectively five seats on the bench. With three locked in, two spots remain available for the Phillies to fill.
Gelb notes that the Phillies are interested in acquiring a right-handed fourth outfielder to complement the starting outfield trio of Kyle Schwarber, Brandon Marsh, and Nick Castellanos, but there are plenty of internal candidates also capable of securing one of the remaining bench jobs: utilitymen Scott Kingery, Dalton Guthrie, and Kody Clemens are joined by outfielder Jake Cave and first baseman Darick Hall in the hunt for a spot on the Philadelphia bench to open the season.
All five players have relatively secure spots in the organization headed into the season: Guthrie, Clemens, Cave, and Hall all are on the 40-man roster with minor league options remaining, while Kingery is not on the 40-man roster but is set to remain in the organization during the final year of his ill-fated six-year, $24MM extension he signed with the Phillies ahead of the 2018 season, before he had taken a big league at-bat. Without fear of losing any of these players by not dedicating an Opening Day roster spot to them, the Phillies have plenty of flexibility in making their final decisions about which players to roster.
Looking at external options, the best right-handed fourth outfield option remaining unsigned is likely Albert Almora. Almora played in 64 games for the Reds in 2022 with solid defense at each of the three outfield spots, but struggled at the plate as he slashed just .223/.282/.349 in 235 plate appearances, good for just a 71 wRC+. That seems to be about in line with what a club should expect from Almora should they sign him for this season, given his career 80 wRC+ drops to 71 when looking at his performance since the start of the 2018 season.
While the pickings are currently slim on the free agent market, it remains possible that a player squeezed off their current club’s roster could be made available either by trade or by opting-out of their current minor-league pact and returning to the free agent market. Jake Marisnick, Monte Harrison, and Michael Hermosillo are among the numerous players around the league for whom that is a possibility as Spring Training draws toward a conclusion.
If the Philies are unable to find anyone outside of the organization to their liking, both Kingery and Guthrie are right-handed hitters with experience at all three outfield spots. Kingery has had a better spring to this point that Guthrie, as the former has raked to a .394/.459/.515 line this spring that far outshines Guthrie’s .250/.273/.375 line. With that being said, Guthrie has advantages of his own. As previously mentioned, he already has a 40-man roster spot, while Kingery would require a corresponding move to roster. Additionally, Guthrie raked in his first taste of big league action last season, posting a whopping 184 wRC+ in his fourteen-game cup of coffee that earned him a spot on the postseason roster during Philadelphia’s NL championship run.
It’s also worth noting that Kingery has largely struggled in his major league opportunities to this point in his career, with his already mediocre 73 wRC+ in 325 career games mostly buoyed by a 2019 season where he was league average at the plate (100 wRC+) in 500 plate appearances. Since then, Kingery has posted a brutal wRC+ of just 21, indicating he’s been 79% worse than league average at the plate in 52 big league games since the start of the 2020 season. Given his long-lasting struggles, it would be understandable if the Phillies were hesitant to trust his torrid spring.
Assuming the Phillies would like another left-handed bat on the bench in addition to Stubbs, the spot that doesn’t go to one of Kingery, Guthrie, or an external fourth outfielder would likely go to one of Hall, Clemens, or Cave. All three have raked in Grapefruit League play, but one separator could be that Clemens has by far the most positional flexibility of the three. Cave is confined to the outfield while Hall is limited to first base and the DH slot while Clemens has experience in the four corner spots and at second base, though Gelb indicates that the Phillies don’t see Clemens as a factor at the keystone.
That being said, Cave has the advantage of a long track record of major league experience, with 335 big league games under his belt to this point and a career wRC+ of 92, though he posted just an 81 in 54 games with the Twins last year. While the most defensively limited of the three options, Hall is the most interesting bat of the three, as he posted a 119 wRC+ in 101 Triple-A games last year before carrying that success into the big leagues, where he slashed .250/.282/.550 with a wRC+ of 120. For a team set to start the season without Harper, it’s possible that Hall’s lefty power might be too attractive to pass up, even with his defensive limitations.
While pairing Hall with one of Guthrie or Kingery certainly seems like an attractive option for the Phillies right now, an external addition or injury could certainly change that over the course of the next week or so, to say nothing of the reality that all five internal options seem sure to get major league opportunities at some point this year as the roster churns through the regular season.
Rockies Notes: Grichuk, Cron, Blackmon, Gilbreath
Outfielder Randal Grichuk has been ruled out for Opening Day, reports Danielle Allentuck of The Denver Gazette. The 31-year-old underwent sports hernia surgery in early February and was given a six-week estimated recovery timeline. That would have meant that he could have been back in action prior to the March 30 opener, but Allentuck relays that he’s only recently started doing full-day workouts. Once he gets into games, he’ll need a couple of weeks or so for his spring ramp-up and to get his timing down. He expects to be back in the middle of April.
There’s a couple of other issues in the club’s lineup, as Allentuck adds that outfielder Charlie Blackmon and first baseman C.J. Cron are each dealing with back issues. Blackmon left a game on March 10 with mid-back stiffness and it has lingered longer than expected. Cron, meanwhile, was scratched from Thursday’s game with back spasms. Allentuck reports that neither player is in jeopardy of missing Opening Day at the moment, but there’s also no timeline on their respective returns.
While none of these three players seems to be facing a significant absence, it will be a situation worth monitoring for the club in the early parts of the season. They are already down a couple of players, as second baseman Brendan Rodgers and outfielder Sean Bouchard each recently underwent surgeries that have the potential to be season-ending. With Grichuk slated to miss the first couple weeks of the schedule, the outfield will be without a second member. If Blackmon’s back issue doesn’t clear up soon, it might make the timing a bit awkward with Opening Day now just 11 days out.
Kris Bryant and Yonathan Daza should have two of the outfield jobs spoken for, with Blackmon perhaps in line for the third. Even if he’s healthy, the club will likely need someone else to take regular time out there, as Blackmon made more starts as the designated hitter last year than he did in the outfield. While Grichuk is out, it perhaps opens up a spot for someone like Nolan Jones, though he’s also in the mix for the third base job, with Ryan McMahon moving to second to cover for Rodgers. Michael Toglia is on the roster and could be an option, but the club could also look to selecting a non-roster invitee such as Harold Castro. The club’s 40-man roster is full but they could easily make room for someone like Castro by moving one of their injured players to the 60-day IL, such as Rodgers, Bouchard or Lucas Gilbreath.
Speaking of Gilbreath, the lefty recently spoke with Allentuck about his upcoming year. He won’t be able to participate as a player as he underwent Tommy John surgery this month, but he already seems to have plans for how to make use of the downtime. In addition to documenting his rehab process on social media, he’s going to work with the Rockies’ research and development team, learning analytics.
“I think for me being able to learn from them and even help them out would be fun,” Gilbreath said. The southpaw says he has a desire to work in a front office after his playing career is over. That’s likely a few years off as he’s only 27 and has had some solid results so far. He made 94 MLB appearances over the past two years with a 3.78 ERA. His 13.2% walk rate is certainly on the high side, but he also struck out 25% of batters faced and got grounders at a 45.7% clip. He should still have plenty opportunities ahead of him once he’s healthy, but it seems he’s using this setback to lay some groundwork for future opportunities.
Jose Altuve Leaves WBC Game After Hit By Pitch
9:43PM: The “initial concern” is that Altuve had suffered a broken right thumb, Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic tweets, but it isn’t confirmed if this is Altuve’s actual injury.
8:56PM: According to Astros GM Dana Brown, Altuve’s injury is to his right hand. The second baseman is undergoing tests now, and the Astros will have more information on Sunday. (Hat tip to Chandler Rome of the Houston Chronicle.)
8:48PM: Jose Altuve was removed during the fifth inning of tonight’s United States/Venezuela World Baseball Classic game after being hit on the right hand with a pitch. The 95.9 mph sinker from Daniel Bard sailed up and in, catching Altuve and knocking the second baseman to the ground. Altuve was in visible discomfort as he left the field, with a team trainer supporting Altuve’s right hand and wrist area.
More will be known about the nature of the injury once an official announcement is made to media, and a more in-depth diagnosis won’t be known until Altuve undergoes tests and imaging. Regardless of the outcome of tonight’s game for Venezuela, it would certainly appear as though Altuve has played his last game of the 2023 WBC, as the Astros will undoubtedly want their longtime star back in camp for fuller examination of the injury.
With Edwin Diaz‘s knee surgery still lingering in the public consciousness, it would be devastating to see another marquee name lost due to another significant injury in WBC play. A hand or wrist issue may not carry the potentially season-ending weight of Diaz’s knee injury, but the worst-case scenario of a fracture or outright break could still mean a lengthy absence for Altuve.
Altuve continues to excel as he approaches his 13th Major League season, as he hit .300/.387/.533 with 28 homers in 2022 while helping the Astros capture their second World Series championship. With eight All-Star appearances and the 2017 AL MVP Award, Altuve has become the face of this golden era of Astros baseball, and one of the sport’s most prominent names.
Houston’s bench depth was already something of a question mark given the relative lack of big league experience on hand, and that could become an even more glaring problem if Altuve is out of action. Utilityman Aledmys Diaz signed with the A’s in free agency, and Houston was expected to use David Hensley and Mauricio Dubon as the primary utilitymen this season. Rylan Bannon was also claimed off waivers from the Tigers and Dixon Machado is in camp on a minor league deal, but in the event that Altuve faces a long absence, the Astros might be quickly scouring the market for any free agents available now, or who might enter the market as teams make their final spring cuts.