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Adalberto Mondesi

Adalberto Mondesi To Undergo Shoulder Surgery

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Royals shortstop Adalberto Mondesi will undergo surgery next week to repair a tear near the joint of his left shoulder, the team announced to reporters Wednesday (Twitter link via Jeffrey Flanagan of MLB.com). Mondesi will recover five to six months to recover from the operation, per team trainer Nick Kenney, which could obviously impact his ability for the start of the 2020 season.

It’s a discouraging development for the ultra-talented Mondesi, who has displayed a tantalizing combination of extra-base pop, blistering speed and strong defensive ratings at shortstop over the past two seasons. Mondesi only just turned 24 but has already amassed 26 home runs and 89 stolen bases in just 943 plate appearances at the MLB level. His questionable plate discipline and penchant for punching out will likely lead to persistent on-base issues, but the blend of speed, power and glovework makes him a clear foundational piece for the rebuilding Royals.

The tear and subsequent shoulder surgery may call into question the Royals’ decision to bring Mondesi back into the fold at all. Mondesi missed two months with a subluxation of his left shoulder this summer but returned to the lineup on Sept. 1. At the time of his activation, manager Ned Yost suggested that Mondesi had been instructed not to dive for balls in the field or dive headfirst into bases for the remainder of the season (Twitter link via Flanagan). Mondesi, however, reinjured his shoulder doing precisely that: diving to his right for a hard grounder off the bat of Twins slugger Nelson Cruz (video link).

Dating back to Opening Day 2018, Mondesi has hit at a .268/.297/.454 clip while generating 5.6 rWAR and 5.2 fWAR in a total of 177 games. He won’t be eligible for arbitration until next winter and is under club control through the 2023 season.

Adalberto Mondesi Injures Shoulder, Done For Year

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Amidst a 100-loss season, Royals fans are likely ready to pack things in with an eye toward Spring Training 2020–unfortunately, their season won’t end with a bit more bad news, as it appears promising young shortstop Adalberto Mondesi reinjured his left shoulder in today’s loss to the Twins. While the severity of the injury isn’t yet known, Manager Ned Yost told MLB.com’s Jeff Flanagan that Mondesi’s season is over with only five games left to play (link).

Mondesi’s left shoulder already forced him to miss nearly two months of action in 2019, as a subluxation suffered on July 17 truncated his second season as a full-time starter. The 24-year-old was reintegrated into the lineup when rosters expanded on Sept. 1, but he will apparently be headed for a little more rest and recovery.

Although the smooth-fielding Angeleno logged just an 81 wRC+ across 442 plate appearances this year, his campaign wasn’t without its highlights. For one, he tied with Arizona’s Eduardo Escobar for the MLB lead in triples with 10 and logged 43 stolen bases in just 101 games. Defensively, Mondesi logged a nice +9 DRS figure in 800-plus innings at short this season. 2020 will mark Kansas City’s last year of team control over Mondesi before arbitration proceedings begin in 2021.

AL Notes: Astros, Tribe, Kluber, Mondesi, M. Chapman, Twins

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The Astros had interest in trading for catcher Martin Maldonado before the Cubs acquired him from the Royals on Monday, Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reports (subscription link). Maldonado was a pre-deadline pickup for Houston last July, when it acquired him from the division-rival Angels, but the Astros’ attempt to re-sign him during the offeason failed. The Astros then brought in free agent Robinson Chirinos, who has been their No. 1 backstop all year but has slumped of late. Chirinos is a better hitter than Maldonado, but the latter is far and away the superior defender. Astros backup catcher Max Stassi is another defense-first option, though he’s having a much worse season at the plate than Maldonado. For Houston, re-acquiring Maldonado could have brought about the end of the out-of-options Stassi’s time on its 40-man roster.

More on a few other American League clubs…

  • Indians ace Corey Kluber’s recovery from the fractured right forearm he suffered May 1 took a significant step Wednesday, per Paul Hoynes of cleveland.com. Kluber threw an all-fastball, 20-pitch bullpen session – his first since incurring the injury – without any issues. “Everybody came out smiling,” manager Terry Francona said. Kluber will throw a bullpen again Sunday, though there’s still no timetable for his return to the majors. Despite having to deal with long-term absences of Kluber and fellow rotation stalwarts Carlos Carrasco and Mike Clevinger this season, the Indians are 54-40 and tied for the AL’s second wild-card spot.
  • Royals shortstop Adalberto Mondesi went to the injured list with a left shoulder subluxation Wednesday. Fortunately, the injury isn’t as severe as Mondesi initially feared, Lynn Worthy of the Kansas City Star tweets. With that said, it remains unknown how much time the 23-year-old cornerstone will miss. A former stud prospect, Mondesi has developed into an untouchable major leaguer for the Royals, having combined passable offense with plus defense and excellent base running since a breakout 2018.
  • Athletics third baseman Matt Chapman left their win over the Mariners on Wednesday with left ankle soreness, Oakland announced. Chapman is day-to-day, Rusty Simmons of the San Francisco Chronicle relays. Winners of eight of 10 and tied with Cleveland for the AL’s second wild-card position, the A’s are rolling thanks in part to Chapman, who’s enjoying another superstar-caliber campaign. The 26-year-old has torched the opposition for a .279/.363/.552 batting line with 22 home runs and 4.2 fWAR over 405 plate appearances in 2019.
  • The Twins designated reliever Mike Morin for assignment Tuesday, which came as somewhat of a surprise considering the 3.18 ERA and .79 BB/9 the right-hander has posted in 22 2/3 innings this season. Manager Rocco Baldelli admitted it was a “very difficult” decision to jettison Morin, who did “his job very well” (via Do-Hyoung Park of MLB.com). With 37 players on their 40-man roster after Morin’s DFA, the Twins “will almost certainly” select a reliever from the minors (recent pickups Cody Allen and Carlos Torres are among the candidates) or acquire one via trade to replace him.

Adalberto Mondesi Diagnosed With Shoulder Subluxation

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The Royals announced today that budding star shortstop Adalberto Mondesi has been placed on the 10-day injured list with a left shoulder subluxation. It’s not surprising to hear of the IL placement, but the diagnosis represents a potentially worrying turn to the situation.

The club has not yet given indication as to the course of treatment or anticipated timeline for Mondesi’s return. He’ll be replaced on the active roster by infielder Humberto Arteaga. Just-acquired lefty Mike Montgomery is also coming to the majors, with righty Jake Newberry optioned to make way.

We won’t know more until the team elects to disclose further information, but it is worth noting that shoulder subluxations can be rather significant injuries for position players. In recent years, players such as Marco Hernandez, Guillermo Heredia, and Jesse Winker have required surgery for injuries falling under that category. In Winker’s case, he was declared out for the remainder of the season following a late-July procedure but was able to get back to health for the start of the ensuing campaign.

Regardless of the particular outlook for Mondesi, the club’s unfavorable postseason outlook won’t be altered. But he’s one of the Royals’ chief ballpark draws and it’d certainly be preferable to keep him on the field and gaining further experience against MLB pitching. Mondesi hasn’t quite followed up on his strong output from 2018. Through 335 plate appearances this year, he’s slashing .266/.294/.433 with seven home runs but carries a suboptimal combination of 16 walks and 101 strikeouts.

If Mondesi can find a way to improve in the plate-discipline department and get that OBP heading north, he’d have even greater opportunity to put his exceptional legs to work on the basepaths. As it stands, he already leads the league with 31 swipes. This injury will limit Mondesi’s reps at the plate in 2019, robbing him of some opportunity for further development.

Injury Notes: Mondesi, Hembree, A’s, Webb

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Royals shortstop Adalberto Mondesi is headed for an MRI on his left shoulder after sustaining an injury on a diving attempt at a foul pop in yesterday’s game, writes Jeffrey Flanagan of MLB.com. Mondesi told teammate Hunter Dozier that he thinks he dislocated his shoulder upon impact, and the video of the injury makes it apparent that the shortstop immediately knew something was wrong in his shoulder; Mondesi briefly attempted to lift his left arm before leaving it still and motioning toward his left shoulder with his right hand. The Royals obviously aren’t contending for a postseason berth, and Mondesi himself was never a trade candidate, but a prolonged absence would still be deflating for the club. The 23-year-old Mondesi has slumped a bit lately but generally been a bright spot since claiming an everyday role in 2018. Dating back to last season, Mondesi is hitting .270/.299/.462 with 21 home runs and a whopping 62 stolen bases in roughly a full season’s worth of work (156 games, 648 plate appearances).

  • Red Sox right-hander Heath Hembree’s average fastball velocity is down roughly 2.5 mph since his return from the injured list, Chris Cotillo of MassLive.com observes. As one would expect, Hembree’s decreased velocity and his potentially related struggles — three runs on three hits and no outs recorded Tuesday — raised red flags with manager Alex Cora and the coaching staff. Cora said after the game that the Sox would “check in” Hembree to gauge how he’s feeling, acknowledging some concern over the right-hander.
  • Stephen Piscotty, on the injured list due to a sprained MCL in his right knee, is confident that he can return to the Athletics on the shorter end of his initial four- to six-week timeline, writes Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle. He could begin a minor league rehab stint next week and potentially return before month’s end. Meanwhile, lefty Sean Manaea will make a third rehab start with Class-A Stockton on Thursday before transferring his rehab to Triple-A — likely for another three starts. That’d put Manaea in line for an August return — an encouraging timeline for an A’s club that once feared he’d miss the entire 2019 season.
  • An MRI on Jacob Webb’s right elbow did not reveal any structural damage, writes Andrew Wagner of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. As such, the Braves are hopeful that the right-hander, who was placed on the IL with an elbow impingement Monday, can begin playing catch within a matter of days. Webb, 25, has been a breath of fresh air for an Atlanta ’pen that struggled early in 2019. Through 32 1/3 innings, he’s pitched to a 1.32 ERA with nine holds and a pair of saves. Beyond the bottom-line results, Webb’s numbers are a bit of a mixed bag. He sports pedestrian strikeout and walk rates, and he’s benefited from a .233 average on balls in play and an 86 percent strand rate. However, his swinging-strike rate (13.1 percent) suggests more punchouts could manifest in the future, and Statcast is bullish on the low quality of contact he’s allowed to opponents (.281 xwOBA).

Health Notes: Story, Kluber, Tigers, Brewers, Royals, Jays

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Rockies shortstop Trevor Story will start a Triple-A rehab assignment Saturday, Nick Groke of The Athletic relays. It’ll be a two-game rehab stint for Story, whom the Rockies placed on the injured list June 20 with a right thumb issue. It seems Colorado dodged a bullet in this instance with the all-important Story, who missed a large portion of the 2016 campaign with a torn UCL in his left thumb.

  • Indians ace Corey Kluber has received clearance to begin a throwing program, per Mandy Bell of MLB.com. The venerable Kluber has been out since suffering a non-displaced fracture in his right forearm May 1. Kluber’s absence, not to mention the other adversity the Indians have faced this season, has left the three-time reigning AL Central champions out of the playoff picture at the 80-game mark. They’re eight games back of the division-leading Twins and a half-game out of a wild-card spot.
  • The Tigers put righty Spencer Turnbull on the injured list Friday with shoulder fatigue after he departed Thursday’s start early. The team plans to welcome Turnbull back after the All-Star break, according to Jason Beck of MLB.com. That Turnbull seemingly isn’t dealing with a serious injury is undoubtedly a relief to Detroit, which has seen the 26-year-old post terrific production as a rookie this season. Turnbull has pitched to a 3.31 ERA/3.91 FIP with 8.43 K/9, 3.41 BB/9 and a 49 percent groundball rate in 89 2/3 innings.
  • The Brewers announced that they’ve placed Jimmy Nelson on the 10-day IL, retroactive to June 26, with a right elbow effusion. It’s an issue that has bothered Nelson since spring training, Robert Murray of The Athletic tweets, and may help explain his 2019 struggles. Nelson made his season debut June 5 after sitting out since September 2017, when he underwent surgery on a torn shoulder labrum. The 30-year-old has since allowed 13 earned runs on 18 hits and 14 walks (with 15 strikeouts) in 14 innings. The Brewers pulled Nelson from their rotation last weekend.
  • Royals shortstop Adalberto Mondesi will begin a rehab assignment at the Double-A level Saturday, Lynn Worthy of the Kansas City Star tweets. Mondesi has been on the IL since June 19 with a groin injury. Prior to that, the 23-year-old batted .269/.302/.441 (91 wRC+) with six home runs, 27 stolen bases on 30 tries and 2.1 fWAR in 312 plate appearances.
  • Blue Jays lefty Ryan Borucki will need at least three to four minor league rehab starts before making his 2019 major league debut, manager Charlie Montoyo said Friday (via Gregor Chisholm of MLB.com). Borucki’s not on track to rejoin Toronto until the end of July as a result. Elbow problems have kept the 25-year-old Borucki from building on an encouraging 2018 rookie campaign. The starter turned in a 3.87 ERA/3.80 FIP with 6.17 K/9, 3.04 BB/9 and a 46.8 percent grounder rate over 97 2/3 frames last year.

Royals Place Adalberto Mondesi On 10-Day IL, Designate Ben Lively

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The Royals announced a series of roster moves today. Shortstop Adalberto Mondesi is headed to the 10-day injured list with a groin injury. His placement is backdated to the 19th.

To replace Mondesi on the active roster, the club selected the contract of infielder Humberto Arteaga. Righty Ben Lively was designated for assignment to open a 40-man spot.

The Royals are going nowhere fast in 2019, and there doesn’t appear to be any long-term concern, so the loss of Mondesi should be only a temporary blip. The 23-year-old switch-hitter hasn’t been quite as good with the bat this year as last, but he has been close enough to league average at the plate and good enough in the field and on the bases to rack up 2.2 fWAR.

Lively was knocked around in his only MLB outing of the year. He carries a 4.07 ERA in 42 frames at Triple-A, with a 41:19 K/BB ratio. The 27-year-old as had his share of chances over the years but has not yet managed to hold down a steady big league job.

Royals Reportedly Ready To Trade “Nearly Anybody”

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With just a 19-39 record to show for the 2019 season, the Royals have the second-worst record in baseball, and are already looking ahead to next year.  MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand reports that Kansas City is open to trading “nearly anybody on their roster,” with the obvious exception of a few key young players.  Adalberto Mondesi and Hunter Dozier are two of “the select untouchables,” though it seems as if K.C. is willing to at least discuss anyone else.

This includes Whit Merrifield, despite the fact that the super-utilityman just signed a $16.25MM contract extension with the Royals before the season.  As MLBTR’s Jeff Todd explained at the time of the deal, however, Merrifield’s extension was something of a unique circumstance, as the contract only extended Kansas City’s control over Merrifield by as much as one free agent season (via a club option for the 2023 campaign) and thus didn’t offer much financial risk to the Royals beyond what Merrifield likely would have earned anyway in his arbitration years.  From Merrifield’s perspective, he was able to lock in at least one big guaranteed payday in his late-blooming career, as Merrifield is already in his age-30 season.

From a trade perspective, that extension also makes Merrifield all the more attractive as a long-term piece for interested suitors.  He is enjoying another strong year at the plate, hitting .300/.355/.508 over 262 plate appearances, with seven homers and a league-high seven triples to go along with eight stolen bases.  Merrifield has significantly increased his pop (a .208 Isolated Slugging mark) and hard-hit ball rate (43.1%) from last season, though that latter number offers some promise of regression, as Merrifield’s xwOBA is only .349 (compared to a wOBA of .364).

Merrifield has spent much of his time at second base and right field this season, though he has experience playing everywhere but catcher and pitcher over his four MLB seasons.  His age could be a minor red flag, though between Merrifield’s hitting prowess, defensive versatility, and long-term control, he stands out as one of the better trade chips available this deadline season.  It’s also worth noting that since Merrifield is locked up on an affordable deal, Kansas City is under no particular pressure to deal the 30-year-old unless the club really wants to sell high.  As Feinsand puts it, “the Royals will need to be overwhelmed by an offer to trade” Merrifield.

Besides Mondesi and Dozier, it’s probably safe to assume that other younger, club-controlled Royals players (i.e. Brad Keller, Nicky Lopez, Jakob Junis, Jorge Lopez) are also unavailable in trade talks.  Alex Gordon is in the midst of a comeback year, though the veteran has already indicated that he wants to spend his entire career with the Royals, and thus isn’t willing to waive his no-trade production as a 10-and-5 player to approve a swap to a contender.

Beyond that group, any other Royal could potentially be on the trade block.  Feinsald cites such notable names as Jorge Soler, Danny Duffy, and Ian Kennedy, though for the latter two players, the Royals would have to eat a big portion of their remaining contracts to accommodate a deal.

AL Central Notes: Fulmer, Twins, Mondesi, O’Hearn

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Anthony Fenech of the Detroit Free Press examines the aftermath of a brutal season for Tigers right-hander Michael Fulmer. The results are hard to deny. As Fenech puts it, Fulmer has gone “from being the most important trade piece of the Tigers’ rebuild … to a missed opportunity.” Of course, there were reasons that the team elected not to move off of the big price tag it placed on the young hurler, as Fenech explores while noting it’d be unfair to use hindsight to say the Tigers “should” have traded Fulmer sooner. As things stand, it seems the Detroit organization will pay Fulmer his arbitration salary for 2019 (as a Super Two) and hope he can regain his standing. After all, he’s still controlled for four full seasons, and a vintage first half or even a strong full season would likely serve to quickly rebuild some of Fulmer’s stock.

Elsewhere in the AL Central…

  • Jake Depue of 1500 ESPN takes a look at some of the 40-man roster decisions the Twins will have to make in advance of the Rule 5 Draft this offseason. Nick Gordon stands out at the most obvious minor leaguer in need of protection, but the Twins will also need to clear roster space for names like outfielder LaMonte Wade, infielder Luis Arraez and relievers Jake Reed and Tyler Jay, among others. However, with four free agents (Ervin Santana, Logan Forsythe, Matt Belisle, Chris Gimenez) and several non-tender/outright candidates on the fringes of the roster at present, Minnesota should have a fair bit of flexibility as that early offseason deadline approaches.
  • Both Adalberto Mondesi and Ryan O’Hearn have been impressing with the Royals lately, Jesse Newell of the Kansas City Star writes. Mondesi, in particular, is the focus of the column, with manager Ned Yost and quality control coach Pedro Grifol (via Yost) weighing in on the improvements in the second-generation infielder’s improvements. “I just think he’s really, really talented,” Yost said of Mondesi, noting that the organization is pleased and feels he’s improved in “all phases of his game.” Mondesi has indeed been a bright spot in a bleak Kansas City season — MLBTR’s Jeff Todd just recently listed him as the primary silver lining for the Royals — as he’s shown a promising blend of speed, power and defense. Mondesi, who homered again tonight, is now hitting .290/.316/.496 with 11 homers, 26 steals and quality defensive marks at both shortstop (+2 DRS, +2 UZR) and second base (+3 DRS, +1.7 UZR). O’Hearn may not have garnered as much attention, but the 25-year-old first baseman is sporting a ridiculous .272/.372/.632 slash and 11 homers through his first 145 MLB plate appearances (albeit while showing some enormous platoon splits in that small sample).

Royals Notes: Moustakas, Herrera, Escobar, Mondesi, Rebuild

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Now that the Royals have traded Kelvin Herrera to the Nationals in a surprisingly early deal of significance, the organization’s focus is shifting to Mike Moustakas, it seems. Jon Heyman of FanRag Sports writes that Kansas City is now “looking to find takers” for the slugger, who burst out of the gates with a .301/.335/.569 slash through his first 194 plate appearances but has slumped to an ugly .219/.301/.375 batting line in the 146 PAs that have followed.

Moustakas is earning $6.5MM in 2018 and is still owed about $3.53MM of that sum through season’s end. While his contract technically contains a mutual option for the 2019 season, there’s no reason to think it’ll be exercised by both parties. It’s exceedingly rare to see both sides exercise a mutual option, and if Moustakas ends up playing well enough that a club wants him at the $15MM value of that option, he’ll very likely feel emboldened to go seek a multi-year deal, knowing that he cannot be saddled with the burden of a qualifying offer for a second time.

More out of Kansas City…

  • The Royals’ return in the Herrera trade — third baseman Kelvin Gutierrez, outfielder Blake Perkins and 17-year-old righty Yohanse Morel — has been regarded by many pundits as light, but GM Dayton Moore explained some of his thinking in an interview with Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic (subscription required). “The thing we knew about Perkins and Gutierrez is that they have a chance to be elite defenders,” Moore said of the two more advanced prospects he acquired. Moore said the team hopes to rebuild its roster around pitching and defense, and he likens the Herrera trade to the Zack Greinke blockbuster with the Brewers that brought Lorenzo Cain, Alcides Escobar, Jeremy Jeffress and Jake Odorizzi to Kansas City. Moore says that the organization viewed Cain and Escobar similarly — unsure how much they’d hit but confident they’d be premier defenders.
  • The trade of Herrera and likely trade of Moustakas aren’t the only forward-looking moves in store for the Royals. Manager Ned Yost told reporters this week that Adalberto Mondesi will begin to start a game or two per week at shortstop in place of Alcides Escobar (link via MLB.com’s Jeffrey Flanagan). Escobar will see some time at third base, second base and even in center field, while Mondesi will see some time at second base as well. The move will allow the team to evaluate Mondesi as a potential building block, and as Yost points out, it could be beneficial to Escobar as well. “He’s at a point in his career now where it will increase his value if he can play multiple positions, especially center field, third base, second base and shortstop as he can,” said Yost. Indeed, with Escobar hitting just .202/.251/.286 as an impending free agent, it’d behoove him to demonstrate defensive aptitude at a variety of positions.
  • Sam Mellinger of the Kansas City Star takes an excellent look at the early stages of the Royals’ rebuild, noting that it seems the organization is aiming for a fairly accelerated timeline. As evidence, Mellinger points to the slew of college arms the Royals took near the top of the draft as well as the fact that they targeted fairly advanced, defensive-minded prospects rather than lower-level talents with higher ceilings but more risk in the Herrera deal. Mellinger writes that part of the reason that the Royals aren’t likely to be open to a Salvador Perez trade is that they could be hopeful of being competitive again by the 2020 season, when Perez will still be under contract and will still be just 30 years of age.
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