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Astros Activate Jose Altuve; George Springer Nearing Rehab Stint

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TODAY: As expected, Altuve is now active and in the ’Stros lineup. Southpaw Cionel Perez was optioned out to make way.

YESTERDAY: Already in possession of a 48-25 record and an 8 1/2-game lead in the AL West, key reinforcements are on the way for the Astros. Second baseman Jose Altuve is set to return from the injured list Wednesday, while outfielder George Springer will embark on a rehab assignment Thursday at the Double-A level, Chandler Rome of the Houston Chronicle was among those to report (Twitter links).

Altuve last played May 10, when he went to the IL with a left hamstring strain. The Astros then sent Altuve on a rehab stint, but he suffered a late-May setback in his right leg – on which he underwent surgery last offseason – which caused the team to shut him down. Adding to Houston’s problems, Altuve’s immediate replacement, Aledmys Diaz, hasn’t played since May 26 on account of his own left hamstring strain.

The injuries to Altuve and Diaz have left the Astros’ second base position to Tony Kemp and Jack Mayfield. Kemp has logged playable production this season, but Mayfield has struggled. Neither player has come close to approaching Altuve’s numbers. Even though this has been a down season for Altuve, a six-time All-Star and former AL MVP, he has still batted .243/.329/.472 (117 wRC+) with nine home runs in 164 plate appearances.

No Astro has been more effective on a per-PA basis this season than Springer, who slashed .308/.389/.643 (172 wRC+) with 17 HRs in 216 tries before a left hamstring strain took him down May 25. Springer divided his season between center and right field before then. For the most part, Jake Marisnick and Josh Reddick have handled those positions in Springer’s absence, though both players’ numbers have dropped since hot starts.

D-Backs Agree To Terms With First-Rounder Corbin Carroll

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The Diamondbacks have agreed to terms with first-round draft pick Corbin Carroll, according to MLB.com’s Jim Callis (via Twitter). The high school outfielder will receive the full slot value that comes with the 16th overall pick ($3,745,500).

This is the latest in a string of early draft signings for the Snakes, who had the game’s highest overall draft bonus pool due to a series of compensation picks. They’ve now reportedly inked four of their five highest selections, with only 26th overall choice Blake Walston still to go.

Carroll was the top target of the Arizona organization. He’ll forego a commitment to UCLA to begin his professional career. Entering the draft, MLB.com’s pundits graded him the 15th-best player available, right near his actual selection point. He landed 12th on the Baseball America board and ninth on the Fangraphs ranking.

There was one draft watcher who was quite a bit more bullish. ESPN.com’s Keith Law slotted Carroll way up in the number four spot on his own draft board. He posits that Carroll’s slate of exceptional tools — everything but his arm is a plus — warrant top-five consideration despite the youngster’s relatively diminutive frame. While Carroll stands at just 5’10, Law points to a variety of current big leaguers who deliver ample power from similarly modest heights.

Pitcher Notes: EJax, J. Wilson, King Felix, Wainwright

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The latest on a few injured hurlers…

  • The Blue Jays placed right-hander Edwin Jackson on the 10-day injured list Tuesday with a lower back issue, Scott Mitchell of TSN tweets. Jackson has endured a nightmarish season with Toronto, the record 14th major league team for which he has pitched, having notched a 12.43 ERA/9.65 FIP with 6.04 K/9 and 4.26 BB/9 in 25 1/3 innings. The 35-year-old allowed seven earned runs on six hits (three homers) and two walks during a 2/3-inning shellacking at the hands of the Angels on Monday. For now, Jackson’s IL placement will stave off a potential designation for assignment.
  • Mets left-handed reliever Justin Wilson had been nearing activation, but he has suffered a setback in his injured elbow, per Anthony DiComo of MLB.com. That’s yet another negative development for the woebegone Mets, who also received bad injury news on outfielder Brandon Nimmo and reliever Jeurys Familia on Wednesday. Like Familia, another of the Mets’ big-ticket offseason pickups, Wilson has trudged through a season to forget thus far. The 31-year-old Wilson has been on the IL twice – including since May 11 – with elbow troubles, and he has only logged a 4.82 ERA/5.96 FIP in 9 1/3 innings since the Mets signed him to a two-year, $10MM contract.
  • Mariners right-hander Felix Hernandez underwent an MRI on his sore lat muscle on Tuesday, according to Greg Johns of MLB.com. Hernandez – who hasn’t pitched in the bigs since May 11 – had been on a rehab assignment, but concern arose when he exited a minor league start last Friday with shoulder fatigue. “Felix had some discomfort in the back of his shoulder,” manager Scott Servais said. “It’s concerning enough to get new images of that. Let’s find out exactly what is going on in there.” Thanks in part to Hernandez’s injuries, it appears the Mariners legend’s tenure in Seattle will go out with a whimper. The impending free agent, 33, has followed up his woeful 2018 production with an even worse 6.52 ERA/5.37 FIP in 38 2/3 innings and eight starts this season.
  • Cardinals righty Adam Wainwright will come off the IL to start Thursday, Jenifer Langosch of MLB.com relays. Wainwright has been on the shelf since he departed a June 9 start with left hamstring tightness. Like most of St. Louis’ other starters, the 37-year-old Cardinals icon has registered unspectacular numbers this season. Wainwright owns a 4.46 ERA/4.59 FIP with 7.77 K/9 and 3.95 BB/9 in 70 2/3 innings.

Marcus Stroman Discusses Future

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As those who closely follow the majors know, Blue Jays right-hander Marcus Stroman may not be for long for Toronto. Not only are the Blue Jays rebuilding and out of contention, but Stroman’s team control is dwindling, making him a logical trade chip leading up to the July 31 deadline.

The 28-year-old Stroman discussed his future with Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet, Gregor Chisholm of MLB.com and other reporters Tuesday, saying the Jays have not pursued a contract extension. As such, even though Stroman loves Toronto and “everything about” Canada, he realizes his time there may be winding down.

“It doesn’t seem like I’m going to be signed here to a long-term deal. It’s just something you have to come to terms with,” Stroman said.

Stroman has been a Blue Jay since they chose him 22nd in the 2012 draft. The 5-foot-8 hurler ascended to the majors in 2014 and has since been one of the faces of the Toronto franchise. Stroman owns a 3.83 ERA/3.62 FIP with 7.22 K/9 and 2.56 BB/9 in 752 2/3 innings dating back to his debut. While he’s not a strikeout pitcher, Stroman’s a worm-burning wizard whose groundball rate – 59.2 percent – ranks second among starters since he initially came up.

So far in 2019, which may go down as his last year in Toronto, Stroman’s on pace for one of his best seasons. After allowing three earned runs in seven innings during a loss to the Angels on Tuesday, Stroman carries a stellar 3.23 ERA/3.83 FIP with 6.75 K/9, 2.76 BB/9 and a 58 percent grounder rate through 94 2/3 innings.

The production Stroman has posted this season is far better than what he managed during a truncated 2018, when multiple injuries limited him to 102 1/3 frames, and will only increase his appeal going up to the deadline. Over the next month-plus, plenty of teams figure to push for Stroman, who’s on a reasonable $7.4MM salary and eligible for arbitration for one more year.

MLB Draft Signings: 6/18/19

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Here’s a look at the latest noteworthy draft signings, with the newest moves at the top of the post.  Click here for the full list of slot values and draft pool bonuses, and you can find prospect rankings and scouting reports from Baseball America’s Top 500,  Fangraphs’ Top 200, MLB.com’s Top 200, and the Top 50 of ESPN.com’s Keith Law….

  • The Rangers announced the signing of second-round right-hander Ryan Garcia, the 50th pick in this year’s draft. The club gave him full slot value ($1,469,900), per TR Sullivan of MLB.com. Garcia came in at No. 98 in MLB.com’s pre-draft rankings. The former UCLA Bruin could develop into a No. 4 starter in the bigs, Jim Callis and colleague Jonathan Mayo write.
  • The Diamondbacks have signed second-round pick Ryne Nelson to an above-slot deal, Callis tweets. Nelson’s pick, No. 56, came with a slot value of $1,276,400, but the Diamondbacks awarded him $1.1MM. Nelson’s a former two-way player from the University of Oregon who could end up as a major league reliever, according to Callis and Mayo.
  • The Cubs have signed second-rounder Chase Strumpf (No. 64) for full slot value – $1,050,300 – Callis reports. Callis and Mayo ranked Strumpf as the 41st-best player entering the draft, noting the former UCLA second baseman’s a high-potential offensive player who should be able to handle the keystone going forward.

Padres Sign Third-Rounder To Record Bonus

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The Padres have signed third-round pick Hudson Head, the 84th selection in this year’s draft, to a $3MM bonus, Jim Callis of MLB.com reports. That’s a colossal payday relative to Head’s slot, which came with a value of $721,900, and represents a record bonus for a third-rounder.

Head’s a high school outfielder from Texas who fell short of where the Padres picked him, according to prominent draft pundits. FanGraphs (No. 90), MLB.com (No. 122) and Baseball America (No. 128) all placed the ex-Oklahoma commit below 85th. But Head, 18, has an “advanced feel for hitting” and “could wind up with solid or better tools across the board,” Callis and Jonathan Mayo write.

The Padres entered this year’s draft with the league’s eighth-highest bonus pool, $10,758,900, which gave them room to splurge on Head. The club previously used a large portion of that money on sixth overall pick C.J. Abrams, whom it inked to a below-slot deal worth $5.2MM.

Minor MLB Transactions: 6/18/19

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The latest minor moves from around baseball…

  • The Rangers have released infielder Chase d’Arnaud, according to the Pacific Coast League’s transactions page. Despite playing in the hitter-friendly PCL this season, the 32-year-old d’Arnaud posted a horrid .164/.275/.316 line (47 wRC+) in 178 plate appearances with the Rangers’ Triple-A club before his release. The major league journeyman and brother of Rays catcher Travis d’Arnaud is a .222/.273/.316 hitter (59 wRC+) in 599 PA at the game’s top level.

Andrelton Simmons To Begin Rehab Assignment

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Injured Angels shortstop Andrelton Simmons will begin a rehab assignment at the Rookie level on Tuesday, Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic tweets. A Grade 3 left ankle sprain has kept Simmons out of action since May 20.

Simmons will have up to 20 days to rehab, meaning he’s on track to return by early July, if not sooner. The fact that Simmons should come back within a month and a half of suffering such a serious injury is a boon to the Angels. Simmons is no doubt one of their premier players, having totaled at least 5.0 fWAR in each of the previous two seasons.

A 29-year-old defensive maven, Simmons came out of the gates this season with a .298/.323/.415 slash (100 wRC+), three home runs, five steals and 1.3 fWAR in 195 plate appearances before his ankle injury. The Angels boast the lowest strikeout rate in the game (16.9 percent) thanks in part to Simmons, who has gone down on strikes a measly 7.7 percent of the time in 2019.

Sans Simmons, the Angels have deployed David Fletcher, Zack Cozart (also now on the IL) and Wilfredo Tovar at short. Tovar has been the Angels’ full-time starter at the position since they selected him from Triple-A Salt Lake on June 7, though the ex-Met hasn’t hit during his first big league action since 2014.

The Angels, to their credit, have hung around the AL wild-card race even without Simmons. At 36-37, they sit 3 1/2 games out of a playoff spot. The club just got back another major reinforcement Monday in left fielder Justin Upton, who had missed the entire season because of a toe injury. Simmons, Fletcher, Upton, Shohei Ohtani, Kole Calhoun and Tommy La Stella, among others, should make for an impressive-looking set of complements to Mike Trout. However, that group will have to overcome a less-than-stellar pitching staff in order for the Angels to break their four-year playoff drought in 2019.

Cubs Place Kyle Hendricks On 10-Day IL

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JUNE 18: Hendricks has a shoulder impingement, Cubs general manager Jed Hoyer told Jordan Bastian of MLB.com and other reporters Tuesday. “I feel like we got ahead of it,” Hoyer said. “We’re not sure how much time he’ll miss, but we’ll try to take it slow and take the length of the season into account.”

JUNE 15: The Cubs have placed righty Kyle Hendricks on 10-Day IL with right shoulder inflammation, per Mark Gonzales of the Chicago Tribune. Righty Rowan Wick will come up from Triple-A Iowa to take his place.

Hendricks, 29, is outpacing his peripheral marks for the fifth time in six big league season thus far in 2019. The righty’s delivered 14 starts of 3.36 ERA ball with his typical microscopic walk rate, though his grounder percentage has dropped to an easily-career-worst 41.9%.

There’s no word yet on how long the command artist will remain sidelined, or who’ll replace him in the Cubs rotation. Tyler Chatwood, the only Cub apart from the opening five of Hendricks, Jon Lester, Cole Hamels, Yu Darvish, and Jose Quintana to get a start this season, would figure to be next in line, but he’s again been shaky in ’19 after signing a 3-year, $38MM deal prior to the 2018 campaign.

Padres Designate Kazuhisa Makita

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The Padres announced that they’ve designated right-handed reliever Kazuhisa Makita for assignment. His roster spot will go to lefty Logan Allen, whom the Padres have officially selected from Triple-A El Paso.

Makita lasted just one day on the Padres’ roster, as they selected him from Double-A Amarillo on Monday. Makita didn’t appear in San Diego’s win over Milwaukee then, but he did log a solid amount of action out of the Padres’ bullpen last year.

After emigrating from Japan on a two-year, $3.8MM contract heading into the 2018 season, the submarining Makita stumbled to a 5.40 ERA/4.85 FIP with a 20.2 percent groundball rate in 35 major league innings last year. Makita did record 9.51 K/9 against 3.09 BB/9 in that span, but the Padres still booted him from their 40-man roster last offseason. The 34-year-old hasn’t been lights-out this season at the Double-A level, where he has posted a 3.82 ERA with 8.6 K/9 and 1.7 BB/9 in 37 2/3 frames.

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