Headlines

Go To Pro Hockey Rumors
Go To Hoops Rumors

Injury Notes: Astros, A. Reyes, Cain, Dodgers, Lamet

By | at

Astros right-hander Corbin Martin is dealing with “a potentially serious elbow injury,” Brian McTaggart of MLB.com writes. Martin suffered the injury during a start for Triple-A Round Rock on Sunday. MLB.com’s 48th-ranked prospect, Martin made his major league debut earlier this season when the Astros were looking for a fifth starter, though he wasn’t able to lay claim to the spot. The 23-year-old made five starts and posted a 5.59 ERA with 8.84 K/9 and 5.59 BB/9 in 19 1/3 innings before the Astros optioned him back to the minors.

  • Cardinals righty Alex Reyes has been diagnosed with a strained pectoral muscle that will cost him to two to three starts, according to president of baseball operations John Mozeliak (via Mark Saxon of The Athletic). It’s the latest in a growing line of injuries for the touted Reyes, who, largely because of health issues, hasn’t been able to stay in the majors since his 2016 debut. The 24-year-old has spent almost all of this season at Triple-A Memphis, where he has recorded a 7.39 ERA with 12.21 K/9 and 7.71 BB/9 in 28 innings (10 appearances, seven starts).
  • Brewers center fielder Lorenzo Cain underwent cryptotherapy on his right thumb Tuesday, but it should only keep him out a couple days, Adam McCalvy of MLB.com relays. Cain has undergone the procedure on a few occasions during his career, per McCalvy, who notes the 33-year-old has been battling pain for weeks. That likely helps explain Cain’s surprising decline in production. One of the majors’ most valuable players from 2017-18, Cain’s off to a .253/.314/.357 start in 331 plate appearances this year.
  • The Dodgers are hopeful shortstop Corey Seager will return immediately after next month’s All-Star break, manager Dave Roberts said Tuesday (via Jorge Castillo of the Los Angeles Times and Bill Plunkett of the Orange County Register). Seager would end up missing about a month in that scenario, having gone to the IL with a left hamstring strain June 13. Meanwhile, fellow Dodgers infielder David Freese’s injured hamstring is “not responding like we’d hoped,” Roberts revealed. Nevertheless, the Dodgers are optimistic Freese – who just hit the shelf over the weekend – will come back prior to the break.
  • The Padres could soon have “a serious conversation” about whether to add rehabbing righty Dinelson Lamet to their rotation, per manager Andy Green (via AJ Cassavell of MLB.com). The team’s “getting more and more excited about that concept” of plugging in Lamet, who’s mending from April 2018 Tommy John surgery and may only be one more rehab start from heading back to San Diego. The 26-year-old’s first major league start of the season could come as early as July 4, Cassavell reports. Lamet showed promise in his only big league season, 2017, during which he logged a 4.57 ERA with 10.94 K/9 and 4.25 BB/9 in 114 1/3 innings.

Nick Burdi Undergoes Season-Ending Surgery

By | at

Pirates right-handed reliever Nick Burdi has undergone surgery to relieve symptoms of neurogenic thoracic outlet syndrome, Rob Biertempfel of The Athletic reports. Burdi will miss the rest of 2019, though the hope is that he’ll be ready to resume baseball activities by next spring.

The 26-year-old Burdi hasn’t pitched since April 22, when he exited an outing against the Diamondbacks with what looked like a catastrophic injury. Burdi was then diagnosed with a nerve issue, thus avoiding a second Tommy John surgery. Burdi, a second-round pick of the Twins in 2014, underwent TJS in 2017 and has also dealt with other arm injuries that have kept him from realizing his potential in the majors.

While Burdi avoided another Tommy John procedure, TOS surgery is ominous in its own right. Regardless of how much time Burdi ends up missing because of this surgery, it’s the latest significant step back in a career that hasn’t gotten off the ground because of injuries. A Pirate since they acquired him during the 2017 Rule 5 Draft, Burdi has thrown just 10 major league innings so far.

Minor MLB Transactions: 6/25/19

By | at

Keeping track of Tuesday’s minor moves from around baseball…

  • The Padres announced that right-handed reliever Kazuhisa Makita has cleared waivers and been outrighted to Double-A Amarillo. This is the second time the Padres have outrighted Makita, which gives him the right to elect free agency, but that would mean leaving what’s left of his $1.9MM salary on the table. The Padres inked the Japanese submariner to a two-year, $3.8MM contract entering 2018, but it hasn’t worked out for either side thus far. The 34-year-old Makita struggled in the majors last season and hasn’t pitched in the bigs at all in 2019. Makita has instead worked at the Double-A level, where he has put up a 3.82 ERA with 8.6 K/9 and 1.7 BB/9 in 37 2/3 innings.
  • The Marlins have released righty Ben Meyer, Wells Dusenbery of the Sun Sentinel tweets. To this point, Meyer has spent his whole career with the Marlins since they chose him in the 29th round of the 2015 draft. The 25-year-old’s nightmarish production in the majors in 2018 and with Triple-A New Orleans this season sealed his fate with the organization. In his MLB debut last year, Meyer registered a 10.42 ERA/6.42 FIP with 4.26 K/9 and 6.63 BB/9 over 19 innings. Meyer then notched a 7.43 ERA/6.90 FIP with 9.0 K/9 against 5.57 BB/9 in 63 Triple-A frames this season before Miami said goodbye to him.
  • The Rangers’ top affiliate in Nashville has released infielder Nolan Fontana, per the Pacific Coast League transactions page. Texas was the third AL West organization for the 28-year-old Fontana, a 2012 second-round pick of the Astros who also played for the Angels. Fontana racked up his only 35 major league PA with the Angels from 2017-18. He has hit .230/.350/.357 in 1,639 PA at the Triple-A level.

Zack Cozart Not Progressing

By | at

Infielder Zack Cozart’s Murphy’s Law tenure with the Angels continues. Out since late May because of left shoulder tightness, Cozart revealed Tuesday that he’s not progressing toward a return, as Mike DiGiovanna of the Los Angeles Times tweets.

“It’s not too promising,” said Cozart, who will visit a doctor Monday. Cozart’s still “hopeful” he’ll play again this season, per DiGiovanna.

For Cozart, this is the latest unsettling development in an Angels stint loaded with disappointment. The former Red joined the Halos on a three-year, $38MM contract in December 2017, though injuries and underperformance have defined his career since then.

Always known for his defense, Cozart found another gear at the plate during an eyebrow-raising .297/.385/.458 showing (140 wRC+) with 24 home runs in 507 attempts in 2017 – his last season in Cincy. Cozart hasn’t come anywhere near that line as an Angel, though, nor has he been durable. The 33-year-old underwent season-ending shoulder surgery last June, thus limiting him to 58 games and 253 PA, and came back this year to total 38/107 in those categories before landing on the IL with yet another shoulder problem. Worsening matters, Cozart has batted a miserable .190/.261/.296 (55 wRC+) with five HRs and minus-0.6 fWAR in 360 trips to the plate as an Angel.

Now, Cozart’s no longer the necessary piece the Angels regarded the veteran as when they signed him. Primary second baseman Tommy La Stella and main third baseman David Fletcher have each blown by Cozart on the team’s pecking order to help comprise a respectable infield alongside currently injured shortstop mainstay Andrelton Simmons. Still, it’s far from ideal Cozart’s eating so much payroll space. The Angels will owe him another $12.6MM-plus in 2020 to conclude his ill-fated deal.

Alex Wood Suffers Setback

By | at

Reds left-hander Alex Wood had finally been moving toward his 2019 debut, but that’s now on hold. Wood “felt some soreness” while stretching and will see a doctor for a follow-up appointment, C. Trent Rosecrans of The Athletic reports.

Wood, out all season because of back issues, had been scheduled for his first rehab start this Thursday. He was supposed to throw a bullpen session Tuesday in preparation for that outing, but it didn’t occur because of his soreness.

This is hardly the first setback of 2019 for Wood, who has been battling back troubles since late February. Those problems have stopped the 28-year-old from helping the Reds, who landed Wood as one of their key offseason acquisitions, and from making a case for a payday in free agency during the upcoming winter. Plus, while the 36-40 Reds are potentially lining up as sellers entering the July 31 trade deadline, it appears they can forget about flipping Wood for anything remotely valuable.

Wood came to Cincinnati last winter as one of the hurlers who was supposed to fix what had been a terrible rotation. Hoping Wood would help rescue their starting staff, the Reds acquired him in a late-December blockbuster with the Dodgers. Six months later, Cincy’s rotation has taken sizable steps forward, but Wood hasn’t been able to contribute at all.

Wood, to his credit, still owns an impressive 3.29 ERA/3.36 FIP in 803 1/3 career innings divided between Atlanta and LA. However, it continues to look as if Wood will have a hard time building on his 2019 salary of $9.65MM if he reaches free agency in the coming months.

Alex Meyer Retires

By | at

Right-hander Alex Meyer has announced his retirement via Instagram, Mike DiGiovanna of the Los Angeles Times reports.

“After multiple surgeries and countless hours of rehab, the end of the road for my baseball career has come,” said the 29-year-old.

As Meyer noted, injuries were a problem throughout his career, which began in 2011 when the Nationals chose the ex-Kentucky Wildcat 23rd overall. The 6-foot-9 Meyer’s union with the Nationals came together three years after he declined to sign with the Red Sox for $2.2MM as a 20th-rounder in 2008.

Meyer lasted with the Nationals through the 2012 season, after which they traded him to the Twins for outfielder Denard Span. While the hard-throwing Meyer eventually blossomed into one of baseball’s top 50 prospects with Minnesota, he dealt with shoulder issues as a member of the organization and made minimal impact in the majors. Meyer totaled 6 1/3 innings as a Twin from 2015-16, and the team traded him to the Angels in an August 2016 deal that delivered Hector Santiago to Minnesota.

Meyer ultimately garnered almost all of his major league experience as an Angel, with whom he pitched to a 3.94 ERA/4.09 FIP and posted 10.01 K/9 against 5.56 BB/9 across 89 innings and 18 starts from 2016-17. Meyer then underwent surgery on a torn shoulder labrum in September 2017 and never made it back to the majors, though the Angels did re-sign him to a minor league contract last December.

Although Meyer’s time in pro baseball didn’t go the way he wanted, he still ended on a high note. In the final appearance of his career July 19, 2017, Meyer tossed seven innings of shutout, one-hit ball with seven strikeouts against one walk in a 7-0 win over his first team, the Nationals.

Marlins Activate Neil Walker

By | at

The Marlins announced infielder Neil Walker’s reinstatement from the injured list Tuesday. Walker missed over three weeks with a right quad strain. The club optioned right-hander Jeff Brigham to Triple-A New Orleans to make room for Walker.

The fact that Walker’s healthy as the July 31 deadline draws nearer is an encouraging development for rebuilding Miami, which isn’t chock-full of potential trade pieces. But the versatile, switch-hitting Walker stands out as a Marlin who could find himself on the move over the next month-plus.

Since joining the Marlins on a $2MM contract last winter, Walker has slashed .295/.375/.443 (122 wRC+) in 168 plate appearances. As a defender, the 33-year-old has seen substantial action at first and second base this season, and has also worked at third and in the corner outfield during his career.

Aside from 2018, when Walker signed with the Yankees in mid-March after not finding a deal to his liking in the offseason, he has consistently performed well in the majors. Also a former Pirate and Met, Walker has hit a lifetime .269/.340/.430 (112 wRC+) with 145 home runs in 4,898 trips to the plate. Walker’s affordable salary, solid career production and 2019 numbers figure to make for an appealing combination leading up to the deadline.

Jordan Hicks To Undergo Tommy John Surgery

By | at

June 25, 3:54pm: Hicks will undergo Tommy John surgery Wednesday, president of baseball operations John Mozeliak told Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch and other reporters.

1:10pm: The Cardinals have formally placed Hicks on the injured list and also optioned lefty Genesis Cabrera to Triple-A Memphis. Right-handers Daniel Ponce de Leon and Dominic Leone have been recalled from Memphis in a pair of corresponding moves.

June 24: Cardinals closer Jordan Hicks has suffered a torn ulnar collateral ligament in his right elbow, the team announced. Hicks may need to undergo Tommy John surgery as a result, though the club noted it’s still determining the next course of action.

Should the 22-year-old Hicks have to go under the knife, he’d miss the rest of this season and likely the majority of 2020 on top of it. Hicks would continue to accrue service time in the process, meaning he’d stay on track to reach arbitration after 2020 and free agency at the end of the 2023 campaign. More importantly, though, Hicks’ loss would be a devastating near-term shot to St. Louis’ bullpen, which has seen him turn into one of the game’s most imposing relievers since he debuted in 2018.

Hicks didn’t log impressive strikeout and rates as a rookie last season, when he put up 8.11 K/9 and 5.21 BB/9 in 77 2/3 innings, but still recorded a 3.59 ERA/3.74 FIP with a 60.7 percent groundball rate. He also saved six of seven chances and amassed 24 holds, thanks in part to devastating velocity. Hicks was the only pitcher in the majors to average upward of 100 mph on his four-seam fastball and sinker last season. He has clocked in just below 101 mph on his four-seamer and at 101.1 mph on his sinker this year, and enjoyed even better results before suffering his injury. Hicks made good on 14 of 15 save chances for the Cardinals this season and notched a 3.14 ERA/3.18 FIP with 9.73 K/9, 3.45 BB/9 and a fantastic 67.2 percent grounder rate in 28 2/3 innings.

Losing Hicks is all the more troublesome for the Cardinals given their place in the National League playoff race. The 40-37 Redbirds haven’t been great this season, but they’re still just two games behind the NL Central-leading Cubs and tied with the Rockies for the NL’s second wild-card spot.

Fortunately for the team, it does have at least a few other reliable late-game relievers. John Gant, Giovanny Gallegos and John Brebbia have joined Hicks in turning in good to excellent results, while Andrew Miller has been better of late after a rough start. The Cardinals also have former starter Carlos Martinez, who has been effective in 15 relief innings since making his season debut in May. Still, in the wake of the awful news on Hicks, St. Louis’ relief corps may well end up as an area of focus for the club’s front office as the July 31 trade deadline approaches.

Brewers Sign First-Round Pick Ethan Small

By | at

The Brewers have signed first-round pick Ethan Small, the team announced. Smith inked a deal worth $1.8MM, below the $2,493,900 slot value of his selection, Jim Callis of MLB.com tweets.

The 22-year-old Small’s a former Mississippi State University left-hander who, according to pundits, didn’t rank as highly as the Brewers viewed him entering the draft. Baseball America rated Small 45th in the 2019 class, while ESPN’s Keith Law (No. 50), MLB.com (No. 56) and FanGraphs (No. 58) placed him lower. Small’s a former Tommy John surgery patient whose velocity hasn’t returned since the procedure, per Law, though he notes the hurler “has improved substantially as a pitcher.”

With Small under wraps, the Brewers have now agreed to deals with each of their first three draft picks. They previously inked second-round pitcher Antoine Kelly ($1.03MM) and fourth-round catcher Nick Kahle ($325K). The club entered the draft with the second-lowest pool available at $5,148,200.

Rangers Activate Joey Gallo

By | at

The Rangers announced that they’ve activated outfielder Joey Gallo from the injured list. Gallo went on the IL on June 2 with a left oblique strain.

Texas posted a 13-9 record without Gallo, which is an excellent outcome considering his importance to the team. The 42-36 club is sitting a game back of an American League wild-card spot as it gears up for Gallo’s return.

While Gallo was a 40-home run hitter in each of the previous two seasons, the 25-year-old has truly busted out in 2019 with an exemplary .276/.421/.653 line and 17 home runs in 214 plate appearances. Among those who have amassed at least 200 PA this season, Gallo ranks fifth in wRC+ (168) and eighth in fWAR (3.2). Although offense is Gallo’s calling card, his defense shouldn’t be overlooked. Gallo has helped drive up his value this season with six Defensive Runs Saved and a 5.4 Ultimate Zone Rating across 394 innings divided between center and left field, making him one of the game’s top all-around players.

The Rangers deployed only Danny Santana and Delino DeShields in center during Gallo’s absence, while Santana, Hunter Pence, Shin-Soo Choo and Willie Calhoun handled left. Santana helped fill Gallo’s void of late by going on a hot streak, and DeShields has also performed better recently. Meanwhile, Pence, Choo and Calhoun have held their own at the plate this year over disparate sample sizes. Pence is unavailable at the moment, though, having gone to the IL on June 16 with a strained groin.

MLB Trade Rumors is not affiliated with Major League Baseball, MLB or MLB.com

Do not Sell or Share My Personal Information

hide arrows scroll to top