Injury Notes: Heaney, Means, Elias, A’s
While there was an unfortunate spate of injuries covered at MLBTR yesterday, a few more have emerged in recent hours:
- Angels’ left-hander Andrew Heaney will throw a 60-pitch simulated game Monday, reports Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register. Assuming that goes according to plan, Heaney could take the mound for the Halos next weekend in Boston, as the organization isn’t planning on sending him on a minor-league rehab assignment. Heaney, who was placed on the injured list two weeks ago with shoulder inflammation, hasn’t had a banner season, pitching to a 5.09 ERA over nine starts despite a strong 27.3% strikeout rate, as he’s been particularly susceptible to the home run ball (1.76 HR/9).
- The Orioles are also set to welcome back a left-handed starter in the coming days. Manager Brandon Hyde tells Joe Trezza of MLB.com that All-Star John Means will be activated from the injured list to take the mound Wednesday. Means will miss just more than the 10-day minimum, having hit the shelf with rotator cuff inflammation in his throwing arm July 26. The previously-unheralded 26 year-old has emerged as the club’s best starter in 2019, working to a 3.12 ERA. While it’s tough to imagine him continuing that level of run prevention with a below-average 19.3% strikeout rate and 34.9% ground ball rate, Means is a volume strike-thrower who looks like a solid back-end starter, a welcome find for the pitching-starved club.
- Nationals left-handed reliever Roenis Elías has “tweaked his hamstring,” tweets Jesse Dougherty of the Washington Post. There’s no indication yet the injury is serious, but any Elías absence would be a blow to his new employer, who acquired him from the Mariners for two relief pitching prospects at the trade deadline. A fly ball pitcher, Elías has given up his share of home runs this season and is fortunate to be carrying a 3.59 ERA, but he’s still one of the better pieces in a Washington bullpen that has been the worst in baseball at preventing runs.
- Melissa Lockard of the Athletic provides updates on a pair of A’s prospects (via Twitter). Triple-A catcher Sean Murphy, a gifted defender with some raw power, recently re-aggravated a preexisting meniscus tear. Fortunately, there doesn’t seem to be any new damage- just some pain and swelling- and Murphy could return to action by the end of August. More encouragingly, top left-handed pitcher Jesus Luzardo threw a simulated game this week as he looks to work his way back from a lat strain. Like Murphy, Luzardo has played his way to Triple-A and looked like he may be able to help the big league club this season before his injury.
Rangers Release Asdrubal Cabrera
The Rangers announced yesterday they have requested unconditional release waivers on third baseman Asdrúbal Cabrera. Texas designated the 33 year-old for assignment Thursday, an unceremonious end to a one-year, $3.42M contract.
It has been a tough season for the long-productive big leaguer, who has limped to a .235/.318/.393 line in 2019 despite calling hitter-friendly Globe Life Park home. After adjusting for the friendly enviornment, Cabrera’s 81 wRC+ means he’s been 19 percent below league average at the dish, not enough for a player no longer capable of manning shortstop.
There’s little solace to take in the underlying metrics, either. Cabrera remains a fairly patient hitter and is sporting his best walk rate in years, but that has come with a career-high strikeout rate. More worrisome, he’s simply lacked punch at the plate, with Statcast’s batted ball estimators pegging him for an anemic .212 expected batting average and .342 expected slugging percentage. Moreover, Cabrera’s been so pull-oriented this year, particularly on ground balls, he’s been exceptionally easy to defend.
Interested suitors will have to look to Cabrera’s lengthy track record instead. Indeed, he was an above-average hitter for the Mets and Phillies as recently as last season. He’ll almost certainly clear release waivers, then be eligible to sign with another club for the stretch run. Given his struggles this year following a lukewarm offseason market for his services, he may be forced to settle for a minor-league pact. Texas will remain on the hook for the rest of his salary, minus the prorated portion of the league minimum for any MLB time he logs with another organization.
Cardinals Place Tyler O’Neill On IL
The Cardinals announced yesterday they have placed outfielder Tyler O’Neill on the 10-day injured list with a left wrist strain. The placement is retroactive to August 1, meaning O’Neill could return to action as soon as next Sunday.
O’Neill’s 2019 production has been more or less what we’ve come to expect from the 24 year-old. He’s got prodigious raw power and shocking speed, but he’s yet to translate those immense physical gifts into consistent big league results. In 266 MLB plate appearances over the past two seasons, O’Neill has slashed a solid but unspectacular .266/.309/.467 (106 wRC+). That output is propped up by an unsustainable .382 batting average on balls in play, masking a dreadful combination of strikeouts (37.1%) and walks (5.0%). As a player with strong exit velocities and elite speed, it’s fair to note O’Neill has the type of profile conducive to maintaining a high BABIP, but even the game’s best hitters come nowhere close to sustaining a figure near O’Neill’s .382 mark over multiple seasons.
While O’Neill’s early MLB stats aren’t the most encouraging, there’s still ample promise in his long-term profile. Injuries and a crowded corner outfield mix in St. Louis have kept him from getting a chance to play everyday at the highest level. This current IL stint will mark O’Neill’s fifth over the past two seasons. It seems too early to label O’Neill an injury-prone player, though, and an extended run of health and playing time could give the prodigious athlete a chance to iron out the plate discipline woes that have been his undoing so far. Further, his career high minors performance has been superb, and unlike some bat-first performers in Triple-A, O’Neill comes with a top prospect pedigree.
Whether that extended big league opportunity comes in St. Louis or elsewhere remains to be seen. O’Neill wasn’t entirely off limits in discussions leading up to the July 31 deadline (although they seemingly never aggressively shopped him either), so the team could theoretically revisit talks this offseason. However, the aforementioned corner outfield crunch may sort itself out organically. Marcell Ozuna, who was activated from his own IL stint to take O’Neill’s place on the active roster, is an impending free agent and has earned a competitive market with a strong platform season. José Martínez, meanwhile, figures to again pop up in trade rumors this winter involving AL clubs, where his bat-first profile is an easier roster fit. It seems the Cardinals can make space long-term for the supremely talented, if still flawed, young slugger.
Indians Place Danny Salazar, Tyler Olson On 10-Day IL
Today: Fortunately, Salazar’s groin strain is “mild,” tweets Zack Meisel of the Athletic. Nevertheless, there is no current timetable for his return, Meisel adds.
Friday: The Indians have placed righty Danny Salazar and southpaw Tyler Olson on the 10-day injured list, per a club announcement. The former is dealing with a right groin strain and the latter a “non-baseball medical condition.”
To take the open roster spots, recently acquired righties Phil Maton and Hunter Wood were recalled from Triple-A. Those two hurlers were picked up in separate deals during the month of July.
It’s massively disappointing to see Salazar head right back to the IL after just one outing. The 29-year-old had last pitched in 2017, with major arm issues keeping him off the mound in the interim.
Unfortunately, Salazar’s return was less than promising even before the groin problem was revealed. He barely topped 88 mph with his fastball, a stunning loss of velocity for a pitcher who always sat in the mid-nineties.
It’s not yet known how long Salazar might be sidelined, or what his path back might look like. Similarly, there’s no indication whatsoever what kind of absence the club is anticipating from Olson. The southpaw carries a 4.40 ERA in 30 2/3 innings, but has continued to be tough on lefties, who’ve managed only a .245/.333/.367 line against him this season.
Pitcher Notes: Kluber, Stripling, Alvarado
Indians fans will be relieved to hear that Corey Kluber was back to throwing darts at Progressive Field again on Saturday–even if Kluber’s teammates weren’t set to take the field for several hours. Before Cleveland’s game with the Angels today, the decorated hurler threw roughly 35 pitches in a simulated game setting, according to a report from Anthony Castrovince of MLB.com. While facing three batters from the organization’s Double-A Akron affiliate, Kluber was able to get his fastball up to 89 mph, which manager Terry Francona saw as encouraging progress. “I was kinda surprised [Kluber] was actually at that point, just because [of] the lack of what he’s been doing for three months,” Francona told reporters. Kluber has been sidelined since May 1st with a non-displaced fracture to his arm’s ulna bone–an injury he suffered when struck by a comebacker off the bat of Miami’s Brian Anderson. After the Progressive session, Francona said Kluber would start his rehab assignment in the minors on Thursday.
More hurler hat tips from around the web…
- Dodgers righty Ross Stripling was also seen on the mend today, as a “max effort” bullpen session didn’t seem to produce any pain in his injured neck and biceps, according to Orange County Register writer Bill Plunkett (Twitter link). Manager Dave Roberts later told Plunkett that Stripling would make an appearance with the club’s affiliate in Rancho Cucamonga on Tuesday, with the team still uncertain of his post-activation role on the roster (link). Of course, the Texas A&M product has shown comfort in his career thus far in both bullpen and starting roles: since his debut in 2016, Stripling has posted a 3.24 ERA in 125 career relief innings, contrasted with a respectable 3.70 ERA in 248 starting frames.
- Sidelined Rays reliever Jose Alvarado told Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times that he will likely rejoin his team next weekend for a slate of games against the Mariners, after completing two scheduled rehab appearances with Tampa affiliates (Twitter link). Juan Toribio of MLB.com further elucidates that Alvarado (oblique) will pitch tomorrow for High-A Charlotte–welcome news for a Rays team that has been without the strikeout-inducing arm of Alvarado since July 7th. The Tampa pen unit has pitched well in the last week following a rough July, but would surely benefit from the inclusion of Alvarado into a mix that was augmented greatly by the team’s moves at the MLB trade deadline.
Rangers Release Carlos Tocci
The Rangers released outfielder Carlos Tocci from his contract at Triple-A Nashville today, according to a tweet from team VP John Blake (link).
Tocci originally signed out of Venezuela in 2011 via a $759K agreement with the Phillies. He became a Rule 5 draft pick of the White Sox in 2018 and was ultimately traded to the Rangers for cash. The defensively gifted outfielder was then stashed on Texas’s big league roster throughout the entirety of the 2018 campaign, despite profound struggles in limited playing time (.225/.271/.283 slash in 135 at-bats). At just 23 years of age, it would stand to reason that Tocci would be worth keeping around the Rangers org–if not for his upside, then certainly for the substantial commitment Texas has already placed in him.
Apparently, though, Texas found Tocci’s 2019 production with Nashville to be underwhelming enough to justify walking away altogether. After being designated for assignment on July 22nd, Tocci was outrighted last week to the club’s Triple-A roster–a roster where he recorded just a 55 wRC+ in 367 Pacific Coast League at-bats on the year.
Aaron Hicks Scheduled For MRI
A doubleheader of games, a doubleheader of injuries for the Yankees today, as Bryan Hoch of MLB.com reports that outfielder Aaron Hicks injured his elbow in Saturday’s nightcap with the Red Sox. Hicks will undergo an MRI tomorrow (Twitter link).
Of course, this news comes hand-in-hand with the news that Edwin Encarnacion will miss 3-5 weeks with a fractured wrist suffered in the first game of today’s double-tilt with Boston. Though it’s important to note that the extent of Hicks’ impairment isn’t yet known, followers of New York’s 2019 campaign have surely already been conditioned to expect the worst in regard to player prognosis.
Hicks–who already spent more than a month as an injured list resident this year following a preseason back injury–would not qualify as the 25th New York player to hit the IL this year, but his apparent injury is surely enough to cause handwringing for manager Aaron Boone. The outfielder, who is earning $8MM this season in the first year of a just-dried seven-year, $70MM pact, has been roughly league-average at the plate this year, with a 98 wRC+ in 251 at-bats (.229/.319/.440 slash line).
Injury Notes: Carpenter, Contreras, Simmons
As our thoughts remain with those affected by the events in El Paso tonight, a few collected injury notes from around the game of baseball…
- It’s been a season to forget for Cardinals infielder Matt Carpenter, who, before being placed on the IL with a foot contusion on July 16th, was scuffling to the worst batting line of his accomplished career. Good news tonight, though, from Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, who reports that Carpenter will rejoin his teammates on Saturday night in advance of a possible Sunday activation. Carpenter has some work to do in the season’s remaining months if he wants to end up with a more characteristic batting line–his .215/.321/.372 slash and 86 wRC+ are a far cry from the production Cardinal nation has become accustomed to over the years (129 career wRC+).
- As Jordan Bastian of MLB.com points out, the Cubs might have erred in trading defensive backstop extraordinaire Martin Maldonado in a deadline deal–with the hamstring injury endured by starter Willson Contreras on Saturday, Chicago’s catching depth is likely about to be tested. Contreras grabbed his right leg while running out a fly ball in the seventh inning, but manager Joe Maddon was unwilling to place a firm prognosis on the injury. “I really don’t know at this point,” said the manager. “We’ll just wait and see how it plays out.” While Contreras is scheduled for an MRI on Monday, the club will look to Victor Caratini to man the dish in his absence. The call-up of Triple-A Iowa’s Taylor Davis is a definite possibility in the event of an eventual injured list placement.
- Early in the day, Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register reported that Angels shortstop Andrelton Simmons was a scratch from Saturday’s game due to “left foot soreness”. Fletcher later relayed that Simmons injured his foot in the batting cage before Saturday’s loss to the Indians and that an MRI was set to follow. Any extended loss of the defensively stingy Simmons would obviously be a blow to the beleaguered Los Angeles club, who turned to David Fletcher to man short in today’s action. Simmons had been hitting .274/.315/.382 on the year while turning in typically strong defensive marks.
Felix Pena Suffers Right Knee Sprain
In a 24-hour cycle that has seen big leaguers hitting the IL in droves, it may be time to declare the “dog days” as being officially upon us. Angels hurler Felix Pena–he of the emotionally charged combined no-hitter from earlier this season–is the latest athlete to endure an apparently serious injury, as the team announced via Twitter that Pena was removed from tonight’s game with a right knee sprain.
Given the events happening elsewhere in our nation this evening, it would be crass to make too much of a non-life-threatening injury sustained by an athlete on a baseball field. That said, when paired with the tragic loss of Tyler Skaggs earlier this year, Pena’s injury is just the latest episode in what has been a season from heck for Angels fans. The team in Anaheim has already seen injuries befall Andrew Heaney, Tommy La Stella, and several other contributors amidst a 56-55 campaign.
In addition to his part in that unforgettable no-hitter on July 12th, Pena has logged respectable numbers in his second Los Angeles season, with a 4.66 ERA that looks slightly worse than his solid 9.60 K/9 and 3.23 BB/9 markers. The 29-year-old had been working out of the rotation in tonight’s game with the Baltimore Orioles.
Rockies Place Dahl On Injured List
Following a dramatic removal from last night’s contest with the Giants, Rockies outfielder David Dahl has officially been placed on the 10-day injured list with a high right ankle sprain, according to a team announcement. In a corresponding move, Colorado recalled outfielder Yonathan Daza from Triple-A Albuquerque.
Even casual NL West observers are probably aware of Dahl’s lengthy relationship with the injury bug. Though the sweet-swinging outfielder has been touted as a future offensive force since being selected 10th overall by Colorado in 2012, his only trouble has been remaining available. Dahl missed the entire 2017 season with a series of torso injuries, and just this April suffered a “left-side core injury”, that–similar to today’s news–resulted in an IL placement and a recall of the 25-year-old Daza.
That recall resulted in just 19 at-bats for Daza–19 at-bats in which the outfielder looked generally overmatched. Though no timetable has been given for Dahl’s return, it stands to reason that Daza could have a longer opportunity this time to convince skipper Bud Black that the 132 wRC+ he has posted in Triple-A this season is more than smoke and mirrors. Regardless, the All-Star Dahl will likely be missed by a Colorado group that has struggled mightily in recent weeks; their 51-59 record has them in sole possession of the NL West cellar.