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Injury Notes: Altherr, Correa, Hicks, Bryant, Swanson, Harvey, Walker

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Phillies outfielder Aaron Altherr has been diagnosed with a torn ligament in his big toe, per Jim Salisbury of NBC Sports Philadelphia (via Twitter). He suffered the injury on Monday when crashing face-first into the left field wall while chasing a ball that ultimately cleared the fence. The Phillies were optimistic about Altherr coming into the season after a .272/.340/.510 showing in 2017, but he struggled out of the gate with -0.7 fWAR before being sent back to AAA in July. The injury may factor in to some extent to the Phils’ decisionmaking process this offseason, when Altherr reaches arbitration for the first time. Altherr has struggled with consistency and health across three seasons in the majors, but this year set the low-water mark as he closes out the 2018 campaign with an ugly slash line of .181/.295/.333 over 285 plate appearance. Philly could non-tender him in November; conversely, he’s unlikely to break the bank the first time through arbitration, and with money to spend, Philadelphia may prefer staying the course to see if the 27-year-old can regain the pop he flashed in 2017.

In other injury news around the league…

  • Astros star Carlos Correa will be ready to DH tomorrow night after taking 30-40 swings today, per the Athletic’s Jake Kaplan via Twitter. Houston skipper A.J. Hinch will be looking to see “freedom in his swing,” according to Kaplan. Getting Correa healthy is surely a priority for the Astros as they prepare to defend their World Series title, starting with a matchup against the Cleveland Indians in the ALDS. Battling through back troubles for much of the year, Correa owns only a .238/.323/.400 slash on the season. When he’s right, though, Correa is a game-changer.
  • On another playoff-related injury note, the Yankees received good news today from an MRI on Aaron Hicks’ hamstring. The outfielder has been cleared of a tear, Bryan Hoch of MLB.com was among those to tweet. Manager Aaron Boone still plans to rest Hicks for a few days. Certainly, with Didi Gregorius tearing cartilage in his wrist, the Yanks would like to avoid any more injuries leading up to the AL Wild Card game against Oakland. Hicks has proven himself an important, if undervalued piece of the Yankees outfield, hitting .247/.368/.465 on the year with a 15.8% walk rate and a career-high 26 dingers.
  • Meanwhile, it seems the Cubs avoided a truly worrying injury to Kris Bryant. He exited with a wrist injury after being hit by a pitch, but was cleared of a fracture, as ESPN.com’s Jesse Rogers was among those to tweet. In further wrist news with NL playoff implications, the Braves are still awaiting further news on shortstop Dansby Swanson after he was pulled from today’s game for precautionary reasons, as David O’Brien of The Athletic tweets.
  • In decidedly non-playoff-related injury news, Orioles pitching prospect Hunter Harvey was cleared of structural damage in his right elbow after being examined recently. Still, the Orioles will keep their former first-round pick out of the Arizona Fall League, Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com reports. Harvey has dealt with ongoing arm issues that have kept him from finishing his development. Though he has multiple option years remaining, and the most recent news suggests there’s still hope for a healthy 2019 season, Harvey still needs to prove that his body is capable of withstanding the rigors of a full season.
  • Diamondbacks first baseman/outfielder Christian Walker is done for the year as well. Per Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic (via Twitter), Walker sustained a sinus fracture after getting hit by a pitch last night. It’s a disappointing finale for Walker, who rebuilt his stock with two quality offensive seasons in Reno with the Diamondbacks’ AAA affiliate. Walker was drafted in the 4th round of the 2012 amateur draft by the Orioles, with whom he got cups of coffee in 2014 and 2015. Three waiver claims and five years later, Walker found himself back in the bigs last season, albeit quite briefly. This year, in the most extensive MLB time of his career, Walker has limped to a .163/.226/.388 slash with 22 strikeouts in 53 plate appearances spread over 37 games.

AL West Notes: Fast, Correa, McCullers, Sipp, Simmons, Rangers

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Astros director of research and development Mike Fast has left the organization, as MLB.com’s Brian McTaggart was among those to cover (via Twitter). The former Baseball Prospectus scribe joined the organization well in advance of its rise to prominence, forming a key part of the front office team assembled by GM Jeff Luhnow. Fast tells Jake Kaplan of The Athletic (subscription link) that he’s hoping “to latch on with another team” in some capacity, though he did not otherwise offer any clues as to the reason for his departure or his expectations in pursuing a new opportunity.

It’ll be interesting to see both where Fast lands and how he’s replaced. Here’s more from Houston and some division rivals …

  • The postseason-bound Astros are getting ready for the ALDS, which means a focus on health. As Kaplan reports (Twitter links), star shortstop Carlos Correa will get some time off to rest his back before ramping back up next week. Meanwhile, Lance McCullers Jr. will throw from the pen upon returning to action early next week. Ensuring that Correa is at full strength is obviously of critical importance to the organization’s hopes of repeating as World Series champs. Though he hasn’t hit to his typical standards this year, Correa undeniably possesses the talent to be a force in October. Likewise, getting back McCullers, who has been sidelined with a forearm strain, would also be notable. Though it may not be likely that he’ll shoulder anything approaching a starter’s workload in the playoffs, McCullers would represent another high-quality arm on a staff that’s already loaded with them.
  • Astros southpaw Tony Sipp is flipping the script in 2018, as Chandler Rome of the Houston Chronicle writes. The veteran reliever discusses his tough moments over the last two seasons with candor. It came as a wake-up call, he suggests, when he found himself “having to answer questions about making a team when your contract is guaranteed,” as occurred this spring. As it turns out, the 35-yer-old has bounced back from a pair of homer-plagued seasons, posting a 2.06 ERA with 10.0 K/9 and 3.3 BB/9 over 35 frames in 2018. He’ll return to the open market this winter, but first will play an important role in the ’Stros postseason pitching mix.
  • The Angels have faced their share of disappointments this year, but have also watched as shortstop Andrelton Simmons has cemented himself as a premium all-around performer alongside the peerless Mike Trout. Indeed, the 29-year-old Simmons has again topped 5 fWAR with a blend of solid, contact-oriented hitting and otherworldly defense. That doesn’t mean that he doesn’t have designs on improvement, however. As Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register explores, the game’s premier defender is hoping some added strength will lead to a power boost going forward.
  • While the Rangers have only just begun looking for a new skipper, after firing Jeff Banister today, that doesn’t mean it’s too soon to begin thinking of the possibilities. Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News runs through some of the names he believes could be considered for the job, including interim skipper Don Wakamatsu. There are plenty of notable names contemplated in the post, so Texas fans will want to give it a full read and reach their own conclusions on the right path for the organization to take.

AL West Notes: Astros, Athletics, Rangers, Colon

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A forearm strain has kept Astros right-hander Lance McCullers Jr. out of action since Aug. 4, but he’s progressing toward a return. McCullers threw a 30-pitch bullpen session Saturday, saying afterward (via Chandler Rome of the Houston Chronicle) that it represented “a big step,” even though he didn’t throw any curveballs. The plan is for McCullers to mix in his famous curve during his next bullpen session, which is scheduled for Wednesday. If that goes well, there may be a clearer picture regarding a potential return date for McCullers, whom the Astros are likely to use in relief when he does come back.

  • More from Rome, who delves into the surprising struggles of Astros shortstop Carlos Correa. The 23-year-old has been woeful since Aug. 10, when he returned from an almost two-month layoff. Correa was on the shelf with a lower back injury, and he revealed Saturday that his back has occasionally been a problem since he came off the DL, noting that “it’s just been hard to get in a rhythm.” Correa doesn’t want to use his back as an excuse for his slump, Rome writes, but he admitted that “it definitely has played a role in the way my swing has changed a little bit and some of the bad habits I’ve acquired.” When he went on the DL, Correa was sitting on a .265/.351/.474 batting line. He’s now at .242/.326/.415 – good for an 84-point drop in his OPS.
  • Athletics southpaw Brett Anderson is nearing a return from a forearm strain, per Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle. Anderson, who has been out since Aug. 28, may rejoin the A’s rotation as early as Wednesday or Thursday, Slusser reports, as the 30-year-old offered an encouraging assessment after a bullpen session Saturday. His absence, not to mention those of other injured A’s starters (including Sean Manaea), has helped steer the playoff contenders toward incorporating more bullpen games. But once Anderson returns, Oakland may cut down on those, Slusser writes.
  • In an effort to evaluate their younger players, the Rangers are removing right-hander Bartolo Colon from their rotation in favor of fellow righty Adrian Sampson, Jeff Wilson of the Star-Telegram reports. Unless Texas plugs Colon back into its rotation within the next few weeks, it’s fair to wonder whether the 45-year-old has made his last major league start. Colon wants to pitch in 2019, but whether he’ll draw much interest in the offseason is in question. The estimable Colon’s effectiveness has evaporated dating back to last season, including during his 144 1/3 innings with the Rangers this year. Across 26 appearances and 24 starts, he has posted a 5.55 ERA/5.31 FIP. As a result, he may be in line to finish 2018 (and perhaps his career) as a reliever.

Quick Hits: Bumgarner, Strasburg, Correa, Happ

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Kerry Crowley of The Mercury News boldly calls Madison Bumgarner’s contract situation the Giants’ “elephant in the room”. Crowley wonders whether Bumgarner must be traded in order to spark a rebuild for the club, who failed to make any significant moves at the trade deadline and now sit at 57-58 on the season after struggling to the league’s worst record last year (tied with the Tigers, of course). Whether the club ultimately decides to “rebuild or remodel”, Bumgarner’s the only player on the roster whose contract might warrant teams forking over a significant prospect return; something an aging Giants team could certainly use. Crowley describes Bumgarner’s future as “uncertain” in the amidst a mediocre team with a gargantuan payroll.

More on a few interesting items from around MLB this evening…

  • The Nationals received some welcome news on Stephen Strasburg today, as the right-hander reportedly “felt good” after tossing a 42-pitch bullpen session. According to Jorge Castillo of the Washington Post, he’s likely to throw another one tomorrow and could potentially embark upon a rehab assignment soon thereafter. He’s been on the DL since June 26th with a cervical nerve impingement, but on the bright side he was cleared of any structural damage in his shoulder shortly thereafter.
  • The Astros appear to be even closer to getting a valuable asset back on the field, as Carlos Correa was spotted at Minute Maid Park today, with Christian Boutwell of MLB.com among those eye witnesses. Though he was inactive for today’s game, the former Rookie of the Year shortstop believes he could be back on the field as soon as tomorrow. Correa’s having a down season by his standards, hitting .268/.352/.480 with a slightly-bloated 24.4% strikeout rate.
  • The Yankees, for their part, already got a notable player back from the DL. J.A. Happ was activated today, filling the roster spot left vacant after they optioned Chance Adams to Triple-A last night. Happ’s been on the DL with hand, foot and mouth disease for the past week plus, but will return to the rotation and attempt to provide the value the Bombers envisioned when they traded Brandon Drury and Billy McKinney in order to obtain him. Happ’s posted a 4.05 ERA through 21 starts

Trade News & Rumors: Trade Value Rankings, Dozier, Andujar, Britton

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Fangraphs recently released its annual rankings of the top 50 most valuable contracts in baseball, or the players who would have the highest value in a trade. High atop the list sits a pair of Indians infielders (Jose Ramirez and Francisco Lindor), while Aaron Judge, Mike Trout and Carlos Correa round out the top five. The rankings take into account the amount of money each player is owed and the length of his contract in relation to his expected future performance. While the list is top-heavy with young stars (as one might expect), there are a few surprising names later down in the rankings, and a few top prospects even make the list.

Speaking of trades…

  • Twins second baseman Brian Dozier has drawn trade interest from the Brewers, reports Darren Wolfson of KSTP. That comes as little surprise considering the tight NL Central pennant race and the fact that Milwaukee’s second basemen have combined for the third-worst production in baseball to date. However, Wolfson also reports that another (unnamed team) has been “showing stronger interest”. For their part, the Twins (who now sit 8.5 games out of first place in the division) are open to moving Dozier.
  • The Yankees tried to acquire left-hander Brad Hand (who recently went to the Indians), but balked when they were asked to include young third baseman Miguel Andujar in the return, reports Andy Martino of SNY. That’s just one name the club had been targeting in a search for pitcher, but the prices for some of the available names (Cole Hamels and J.A. Happ, for instance), remain “insane” according to Martino.
  • The trade interest in Orioles lefty Zach Britton is “intensifying”, according to Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com. Kubatko says that he expects Britton to be the “next Oriole out the door.” The Braves have thrown their hat into the ring recently, while the Cubs, Astros, Phillies, Red Sox, Yankees, Dodgers and Giants have also been “in the mix”. As Kubatko aptly points out, the removal of Hand from the pool of available names should turn a lot of attention towards Britton.

Injury Notes: Bryant, Correa, Dyson, Joyce, Feliz

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Here’s the latest on some injury situations from around the league…

  • Kris Bryant worked out with the Cubs today and appears to be close to a rehab assignment, MLB.com’s Carrie Muskat writes.  The third baseman felt some soreness in his left shoulder a few days ago, which delayed his hopes of returning to the lineup this weekend.  Bryant shouldn’t need too much time to get back to game readiness, so Chicago seems likely to activate him sometime this week.
  • Carlos Correa tells MLB.com’s Brian McTaggart (Twitter link) that he is hopeful of getting back to action before the All-Star break, though Correa has yet to begin any baseball activities.  The Astros star’s 10-day DL placement due to lower back soreness was backdated to June 26, so is eligible to return at any point.  Manager A.J. Hinch said that the team was going to be cautious with the young star, so it could be that Correa is held out through the break to make sure he is completely recovered.
  • The Diamondbacks are worried that the injury that placed Jarrod Dyson on the DL earlier this week is similar to the core injury that prematurely ended his 2017 season, The Athletic’s Zach Buchanan tweets.  Dyson previously underwent surgery for that core injury in mid-September 2017.  It isn’t clear how long another procedure would keep Dyson sidelined, though the seriousness of Dyson’s current issue has also yet to be determined.   The outfielder has delivered outstanding defense and baserunning this year, making him a useful asset for Arizona despite a severe lack (.189/.282/.257 in 237 PA) of production at the plate.
  • The Athletics announced that outfielder Matt Joyce has hit the 10-day DL due to a lumbar strain, with a placement retroactive to July 5.  Outfielder Nick Martini is up from Triple-A to take Joyce’s roster spot.  This is the second time in almost exactly a month that Martini has replaced Joyce due to the veteran’s ongoing lumbar issues.  It’s safe to say that the back problems have contributed to Joyce’s down numbers, as he is hitting just .203/.311/.359 with seven homers through 226 PA this season.
  • The Pirates reinstated right-hander Michael Feliz from the 10-day DL and also selected the contract of righty Alex McRae from Triple-A Indianapolis, as per a team press release.  Righty Dovydas Neverauskas and southpaw Josh Smoker were demoted to Triple-A in corresponding moves.  Feliz missed about two weeks due to right shoulder inflammation and will try to turn around a season that has seen him post a 5.51 ERA over his first 32 2/3 innings for the Bucs.  McRae, a 10th-round pick for the Pirates in the 2014 draft, will get his first taste of Major League action after posting a 4.61 ERA, 8.6 K/9, and 2.05 K/BB rate over 84 innings for Indianapolis this season.

Astros To Place Carlos Correa On 10-Day DL

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The Astros will place star shortstop Carlos Correa on the 10-day disabled list, manager A.J. Hinch told reporters including MLB.com’s Brian McTaggart (video link on Twitter). The move will formally be made tomorrow.

Correa has been dealing with lower back soreness for a few days but had hoped to avoid the DL. The 23-year-old last played on June 25th, so the club can backdate the placement to the 26th. It seems the hope is that Correa will be back after missing only the minimum, or close to it.

Hinch explains that the young slugger is “doing great” in his progress, but says the club did not want to set up a situation that allowed uncertainty as to whether or not he’d be available on any given day. Rather than take any risks, the call was made to take Correa off of the active roster until he is “completely symptom-free.”

There’s no reason, then, to think that this issue will be much of an impediment for Correa or the ’Stros. There hasn’t been much stopping either to this point of the season, with Correa carrying a 129 wRC+and the ballclub tied for the AL lead with 54 wins.

Astros Renew Carlos Correa’s Contract At $1MM

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The Astros have renewed the contract of star shortstop Carlos Correa at $1MM, reports FanRag’s Jon Heyman (Twitter link). That comes in just shy of the record for a pre-arbitration player, set by Kris Bryant last offseason when the Cubs agreed to a $1.05MM salary. Correa’s $1MM mark ties the previous record holder, Mike Trout, who earned $1MM in 2014 as a pre-arb player before agreeing to his $144MM contract extension the following offseason.

It’s worth noting, though, that the Astros renewed Correa’s contract. That indicates that, in spite of the near-record-setting nature of Correa’s pre-arbitration salary, the two sides did not see eye to eye on his 2018 earnings. Teams can negotiate with their pre-arb players, and the two sides will often agree to terms on a salary — typically within the vicinity of the league minimum for most players but sometimes a few hundred thousand or so greater for higher-profile players that have not yet reached salary arbitration.

However, if the two sides cannot agree to a negotiated salary, then the team can renew the player’s contract at any amount at or above the league minimum. In this instance, the fact that Correa’s contract was renewed could mean that he and his representatives at the Legacy Agency were hoping to set a new record and simply elected to let the team renew the contract.

Certainly, though, it’s nothing new for this player and team. A renewal also occurred in each of the past two seasons. Most notably, the ’Stros gave Correa only the league-minimum salary for the 2017 campaign. Of course, there’s still no real indication whether the failure to agree could hint at underlying discord that might impact future contractual matters.

The deal isn’t a straight MLB contract, it’s also worth noting, per a tweet from Bob Nightengale of USA Today (Twitter link). Houston elected instead to make it a split deal, providing a $267,500 rate of pay in the exceedingly unlikely event that Correa is optioned down. Clearly, as with Correa’s own decision not to agree to the offered amount, the sides have elected to stand on their rights — even if there’s no reasonably anticipated practical difference.

Astros Notes: Keuchel, Springer, Correa, Altuve

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The Astros’ enviable core of talent has already delivered one World Series title and set them up as contenders through at least next season.  The big-picture question facing Houston, however, will be which members of the roster are kept over the long term.  Here are some notes from FanRag Sports’ Jon Heyman on the state of any Astros contract extensions…

  • Dallas Keuchel is currently in the process of switching his representation.  The ace southpaw has one final year of arbitration eligibility (MLBTR projects him to earn $12.6MM) before hitting the open market as part of the star-studded 2018-19 free agent class.  The agency change “and timing could suggest he’s thinking about change,” Heyman writes, though Keuchel has been willing to discuss an extension with the Astros in the past.  Previous talks didn’t result in a long-term deal, however — Heyman notes that one of the team’s initial offers was similar to the early-career extensions signed by Madison Bumgarner and Chris Sale.
  • There haven’t been any extension talks with George Springer in “at least a year and a half.”  Houston also made an early-career extension offer to Springer, and then a significantly larger offer around two years ago.  Springer is in line for extra money as a Super Two player, as he earned $3.9MM in 2017 and is projected for a big raise up to $8.9MM in 2018.  Since the Astros have Springer under team control through the 2020 season, there isn’t any immediate need for an extension, unless the Astros want cost-certainty over his arb years or want to establish Springer as a long-term cornerstone player into the next decade.
  • Some interesting details are provided on Jose Altuve’s representation history, as the second baseman initially parted ways with Scott Boras in 2013 when Boras advised Altuve against signing an extension with the Astros.  Altuve went on to indeed sign that extension in July 2013, and Altuve’s subsequent rise to superstar status made that four-year, $12.5MM deal with two club option years into a major bargain.  (Houston exercised the first of those club options for 2018, netting Altuve another $6MM in guaranteed money.)  Altuve re-hired Boras as his agent in July 2016, which Heyman writes “could be taken as an indication he has a different mindset now that he has the security” of that initial contract.  Boras clients generally end up reaching free agency, though there have been enough high-profile exceptions to that trend (i.e. Stephen Strasburg, Carlos Gonzalez) that there is still hope at a longer-term deal to keep Altuve in Houston.
  • Carlos Correa seems perfectly willing to go year-to-year until he hits free agency.  The shortstop said last spring that he was at least willing to listen about a long-term deal but only until he hit his arbitration years; Greg Genske, Correa’s agent, made the bolder statement that Correa had no interest at all in an early-career extension.  Last April, MLBTR’s Charlie Wilmoth explored the many forms a Correa extension could take, if the two sides did happen to come to an agreement.  Correa will become eligible for arbitration next offseason, so the team has one more year to work out a multi-year deal, assuming Correa’s previously-stated deadline still holds.

AL Notes: Astros, Tigers, Angels, Rays

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One of the premier players in baseball, Astros shortstop Carlos Correa, will make his return Sunday against the Mets, per Brian McTaggart of MLB.com.  Correa hasn’t played since tearing a thumb ligament on July 17, before which the 22-year-old put himself in American League MVP consideration by hitting an excellent .320/.400/.566 with 20 home runs and posting 4.1 fWAR in 375 plate appearances.  While Houston was a juggernaut prior to Correa’s injury, it went backward during his absence. The team jumped out to a 62-31 start with Correa in the fold, but it went just 20-22 when he was on the shelf.  Still, the Astros hold an insurmountable 12.5-game lead in the AL West and should have a realistic World Series shot now that their best player is back.

Elsewhere around the AL…

  • Although the Tigers went into a full rebuild this week when they traded Justin Verlander and Justin Upton, 35-year-old second baseman Ian Kinsler wouldn’t be averse to staying in Detroit.  “I have no problem being part of a rebuilding team if that’s what the Tigers wish. I don’t know what they wish,” Kinsler told Evan Woodbery of MLive.com and other reporters Saturday.  “I don’t know if they want me a part of it or if they don’t want me a part of it right now. If they do want me a part of it, I’m fine with that. I have no problem trying to pass my experience along as best I can to the younger players and help anyway that I can.”  Kinsler’s having a down 2017 (.236/.316/.387 in 510 plate appearances), but the Tigers fielded an offer for him last month, and he’s likely to draw offseason interest as an affordable player entering the final year of his contract ($10MM club option).  While Kinsler has a 10-team no-trade clause, he suggested his fate mostly lies in general manager Al Avila’s hands.
  • Angels right-hander Garrett Richards will make his long-awaited return to their rotation Tuesday against Oakland, Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register was among those to report. Richards hasn’t started since April 5, his lone outing of the year, on account of biceps nerve irritation. The 29-year-old will be on a 50-pitch limit in his upcoming start and will gradually increase the count toward 100 by the end of the regular season, Fletcher relays. Both Richards and manager Mike Scioscia are confident the front-end starter is healthy and will fare nicely when he comes back, even though injuries have limited him to 39 1/3 innings since 2016.
  • The Rays sent representatives to Japan to watch Nippon Ham Fighters ace Shohei Otani’s start last week, according to Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times. Along with the Rays and the Yankees, there were around a dozen other teams in attendance to watch Otani, whose fastball hit 100 mph, Buster Olney of ESPN reports. The changes in the collective bargaining agreement could theoretically give low-payroll teams like Tampa Bay a better chance to land the two-way phenom, though the Rays already spent $3.825MM of their available international money ($5.25MM) on Dominican shortstop Wander Franco on July 2.
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