Jake Arrieta’s Season Likely Over
The Phillies have placed right-hander Jake Arrieta on the 10-day injured list, and Arrieta himself told reporters today that his season is likely over (Twitter link via Mark Gonzales of the Chicago Tribune). “I’ll probably miss the remainder of the season,” said Arrieta, who is slated to undergo an MRI on Thursday.
The elbow troubles that are sidelining Arrieta aren’t a new revelation. Early in July, it was announced by the Phils that Arrieta was pitching through bone spurs in his elbow that would require eventual surgery. Arrieta has continued to pitch through the discomfort, though it seems as though he’s now reached a tipping point. Right-hander Zach Eflin, who was recently dropped to the bullpen, will return to the rotation to start in place of Arrieta on Saturday, tweets Scott Lauber of Philly.com.
It’s been a rather middling season for Arrieta, 33, as he’s pitched to a 4.64 ERA with 7.3 K/9, 3.4 BB/9 and 1.4 HR/9 through 24 starts — a total of 135 1/3 innings. Arrieta carried a 3.96 ERA through Memorial Day, but the summer hasn’t been kind to him as he’s pitched through those injuries; over his past 65 2/3 frames, he’s stumbled to a 5.76 ERA with a 51-to-25 K/BB ratio, four hit batters and a dozen home runs allowed.
Arrieta is in the second season of a three-year, $75MM contract that contains an opt-out clause after the 2019 season. Given the current injury and his summer struggles, that opt-out seems decidedly unlikely to be exercised, meaning he’ll remain under contract in Philadelphia through the 2020 season, when he’s slated to earn $20MM. The Phillies also hold a two-year, $40MM club option on Arrieta that they’ll surely forgo in light of his current health and recent struggles.
With Arrieta headed to the shelf for what looks to be the duration of the year, the Phillies will lean on Aaron Nola, Eflin, Vince Velasquez and a pair of recent newcomers — Drew Smyly and Jason Vargas — to round out the rotation for now. Both Smyly and Vargas have given the Phillies a pair of strong outings, though Smyly’s two most recent turns haven’t been as sharp. The Phillies have fallen to nine games out of the division lead in the NL East but are still just two games out of an NL Wild Card spot.
Giants Put Sandoval On IL, Activate Dickerson
2:20pm: The Giants announced that Sandoval has indeed been placed on the injured list due to elbow inflammation. Outfielder Alex Dickerson has been reinstated from the IL in a corresponding roster move, although Dickerson is not in today’s lineup.
1:07pm: Giants third baseman Pablo Sandoval says that he expects to be placed on the 10-day injured list, as John Shea of the San Francisco Chronicle was among those to cover (Twitter links). Sandoval is dealing with bone chips in his right elbow.
It seems that Sandoval has already attempted a cortisone shot, without sufficient effect. The malady has limited him when throwing and hitting from the right side of the plate.
It’s not clear at this point how much time the Panda might miss. He indicated that he’s hopeful of making it back to the active roster, even if he’s limited to hitting from the left side of the plate, though it seems a timeline won’t become clear until he has had some time to rest.
Sandoval, who recently turned 33, narrowly made the Giants roster out of camp but has turned out to be a key cog. He has accumulated 295 plate appearances of .269/.314/.509 hitting with 14 home runs — a vintage performance for a player who was once a quality regular. Sandoval will return to the open market at season’s end.
Orioles Designate Jimmy Yacabonis For Assignment
The Orioles announced this afternoon that they’ve designated right-hander Jimmy Yacabonis for assignment. His spot on the roster will go to fellow righty Ryan Eades, whose previously reported waiver claim out of the Twins organization has now been formally announced by the Orioles.
Yacabonis, 27, has struggled substantially in the Majors despite solid, if unremarkable results in the upper minors. He’s in the midst of his final season with minor league options, so the Orioles seemingly value the flexibility that Eades brings to the table over a righty who has received numerous auditions in recent seasons.
Dating back to his 2017 MLB debut, Yacabonis has pitched 101 2/3 innings for the Orioles, mostly as a reliever or opener. In that time he’s turned in a 5.75 ERA while averaging 6.6 strikeouts, 5.0 walks and 1.68 home runs per nine innings pitched. Yacabonis’ heater has averaged 94 mph with slightly above-average spin in that time, but he’s given up far too much hard contact and struggled both throwing strikes and commanding the ball within the zone. He’ll be made available to the other 29 teams in the league via outright waivers in the coming days., though if he clears, the Orioles will be able to retain him and assign him to a minor league affiliate without dedicating a 40-man roster spot to him.
Yankees Claim Ryan Dull
The Yankees announced Wednesday that they’ve claimed right-hander Ryan Dull off outright waivers from the Giants. In order to open a spot on the 40-man roster, right-hander Brady Lail was designated for assignment.
Dull, 29, was designated for assignment by both Bay Area teams in the span of nine days this month. The longtime Athletics reliever never made it to the Majors with the Giants in his extremely brief time with the organization, as San Francisco optioned him to Triple-A Sacramento immediately upon acquiring him.
Dull has been up and down with Oakland over the past five seasons, pitching to a collective 4.08 ERA with 8.7 K/9 against 2.6 BB/9 in 167 2/3 innings of work. The right-hander’s best year came with the 2016 A’s, when he logged 74 1/3 frames of 2.42 ERA ball, but he’s been hampered by knee and shoulder injuries since that time. In a total of 76 1/3 big league innings since Opening Day 2017, Dull has posted an underwhelming 5.66 ERA with a 74-to-27 K/BB ratio. He’s averaged just over 11 strikeouts and 2.3 walks per nine innings pitched throughout his minor league career.
Lail, 25, was the Yankees’ 18th-round pick back in 2012 and made his MLB debut just last week, tossing 2 2/3 innings but allowing three runs (two earned) on five hits. He’s been solid out of the bullpen across three minor league levels this year, as evidenced by a 2.79 ERA with 11.8 K/9 and 2.8 BB/9 in 42 innings of work.
Orioles Claim Ryan Eades
The Orioles have claimed right-hander Ryan Eades off outright waivers from the Twins, Roch Kubatko of MASNsport.com reports (via Twitter). Baltimore’s 40-man roster is full, so a corresponding roster move will need to be made.
Eades, 27, was Minnesota’s second-round pick out of Louisiana State University back in 2013. He made his big league debut earlier this summer when he tossed 3 2/3 innings of shutout ball, but his minor league track record has been rather spotty. The 6’2″, 210-pound righty has never ranked among the Twins’ best pitching prospects, despite his draft status, and he was shifted to the bullpen back in 2016 after posting lackluster numbers in the rotation.
Eades showed well out of the ‘pen in 2018, tossing 76 1/3 innings with a 3.54 ERA, 10.4 K/9, 2.6 BB/9, 0.6 HR/9 and a 40 percent ground-ball rate in 76 1/3 innings between Double-A and Triple-A. The bottom-line results for Eades in 2019 haven’t been as encouraging; he’s posted a 5.51 ERA in 50 1/3 innings with Minnesota’s top affiliate in Rochester. However, he’s also averaging a career-best 11.2 K/9 against 2.8 BB/9. Eades’ HR/9 mark has doubled to 1.2, but long balls throughout all of Triple-A are through the roof now in 2019 after the decision to switch over to the Major League ball (the same one that has led to record home-run paces throughout MLB).
The addition of Eades will give the Orioles some optionable depth for the foreseeable future. Because his contract was only selected this season, Eades can be optioned back and forth not only for the remainder of the 2019 season but also in two additional seasons beyond the current campaign.
Athletics Designate Beau Taylor
The Athletics announced that they have designated catcher Beau Taylor for assignment. His 40-man spot was needed for the team to select the contract of Corban Joseph, as had previously been reported. Outfielder Nick Martini was optioned for active roster space.
Taylor, 29, has spent his entire career with the Oakland organization since being taken in the fifth round of the 2011 draft. He has seen minimal action at the MLB level in each of the past two seasons. In 240 plate appearances at Triple-A in 2019, Taylor carries a strong .257/.408/.461 slash line with eight long balls.
Rays Place Avisail Garcia On 10-Day IL, Recall Jose De Leon
The Rays announced today that they have placed outfielder Avisail Garcia on the 10-day injured list with an oblique strain. To take his place on the active roster, the club has promoted righty Jose De Leon.
There had been hope that the oblique injury would not prove serious enough to require an IL stint at all. But it seems the club found reason to believe today that Garcia would need a substantial rest.
The opening of active roster space will facilitate the return of De Leon to the majors after a long time away. Once a top prospect, the 27-year-old made just one appearance in Tampa Bay following his acquisition in the 2016-17 offseason.
De Leon ultimately missed all of the 2018 season owing to Tommy John surgery. He has worked back to health this year. In 14 appearances at Triple-A, he carries a 3.65 ERA with 13.0 K/9 and 4.9 BB/9 — quite a nice showing in the high run-scoring environment of the International League.
Jeff McNeil Diagnosed With Mild Hamstring Strain
The Mets seem to have caught a big break, as the club learned today that second baseman/outfielder Jeff McNeil has only a mild hamstring strain, MLB.com’s Anthony DiComo tweets. It is anticipated that McNeil will miss about ten days of action; unsurprisingly, he will go on the IL, per Jon Heyman of MLB Network (via Twitter).
There had been concern that McNeil may have suffered a more significant injury when he departed last night’s contest. Losing him for a lengthy stretch would’ve been devastating to the team’s chances in a tightly contested postseason race.
Placing McNeil on the 10-day injured list will free an active roster spot for Ruben Tejada. As expected, he will be selected to the 40-man and be ready for duty today, Andy Martino of SNY.tv tweets. It’ll be Tejada’s first MLB action in a Mets uniform since he broke his leg in the 2015 NLDS.
Latest On Yankees Pitching Plans
The Yankees rotation has long been a source of worry for fans of the club. While the concerns haven’t stopped the Yanks from dominating the AL East, the staff isn’t without question marks. MLB.com’s Bryan Hoch is among the reporters to pass along the latest from the team (in this report and these tweets).
Of most immediate concern was the news that veteran southpaw CC Sabathia will return to the active roster on Sunday. He’ll return following a brief respite for his problematic knee and look to improve upon his 4.78 ERA.
Even if Sabathia is able to get some positive momentum going, he doesn’t seem like an optimal postseason starter. The same holds for the club’s other aging lefty rotation piece, J.A. Happ, whose season-long struggles are well-documented. He’ll be looking for a turnaround outing today.
It’s interesting to think about the possible ways the Yankees could best utilize these veteran southpaws. Perhaps the most intriguing concept is some kind of piggyback arrangement involving a pair of high-octane young righties who may not quite be capable of handling full starter’s duties this season. Jonathan Loaisiga is just returning from injury and hasn’t yet established himself in the bigs, while Luis Severino is still working back. There’s optimism Severino will be a factor next month, though even a minor setback could end his season and he may not be able to ramp up fully so late in the year.
There are also at least some questions involving the late-season handling of the emergent Domingo German. As Hoch explains, German did not reach 100 frames last year and has never thrown more than 123 1/3 in a professional season (a high-water mark he reached in 2014). The club is not going to let him throw an unrestrained volume of innings this year, but also has decided not to publicize the limits.
Indeed, skipper Aaron Boone says that the organization has not “even honestly gotten deep into those conversations yet” as to when and how to pull back on German’s usage. Boone suggests that the return of other hurlers will help the club manage the 27-year-old’s workload. Fortunately, with a big division lead to work with, it seems the Yanks aren’t worried that they’ll miss out on any key innings. “[W]e feel like he’s strong right now and still has a lot left in the tank,” says Boone.
There is still one other intriguing possibility to keep an eye on as well. Tommy John rehabber Jordan Montgomery has thrown a two-inning sim game. Could he be an option late in the year and into the postseason? “We’ll see,” says Boone.
Indians Promote Logan Allen
The Indians have called up lefty Logan Allen, per a team announcement (h/t MLB.com’s Mandy Bell, on Twitter). He’ll take the active roster spot of southpaw reliever Josh Smith, who was optioned down.
Though Allen debuted in the majors earlier this year, this’ll be his first action in Cleveland. The 22-year-old, who was widely considered a top-100 prospect entering the season, landed with the Indians in this summer’s three-team Trevor Bauer blockbuster.
The expectation is that Allen will open his tenure with his new organization in a relief capacity, according to MLB.com’s Jon Morosi (via Twitter). While the Indians will surely hope to utilize their new hurler as a starter in the long run, he’ll be tasked with contributing right away while cutting his teeth from the bullpen.
Allen didn’t exactly thrive in his first taste of the bigs, working to a 6.75 ERA with 14 strikeouts and 13 walks over 25 1/3 frames in San Diego. And he hasn’t excelled this year at Triple-A, before or after the swap. But Allen was a quality performer in the upper minors and the Indians evidently feel he can be a useful piece right now. If nothing else, he’ll help the club cover some innings for the time being.