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Josh Hamilton Out For Season; Shin-Soo Choo Back To DL

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Rangers outfielder Josh Hamilton will not suit up for the club this year, GM Jon Daniels told reporters including Jared Sandler of the Rangers Radio Network (Twitter link). He’ll undergo surgery in early June that will sideline him the rest of the way.

Texas also took another hit to its outfield, as Shin-Soo Choo is heading back to the DL. He had just finished up a rehab assignment for a calf strain when he went down to a hamstring issue. The club waited a few days, but finally decided it needed to free up a roster spot.

Hamilton, who just turned 35, had already been sidelined for the season to date after having work done on his knee several times in the last year. But hopes were that he’d provide another option at some point in the middle of the year.

Instead, he’ll look ahead to 2017, with Daniels stressing that the slugger fully intends to play. He’ll be earning another $30MM in the final season of his free agent contract, though of course the Angels are responsible for the bulk of that. As things stand, he’s provided just 182 plate appearances of .253/.291/.441 hitting to the Rangers since he was re-acquired in April of last year.

As for Choo, it’s obviously promising that he wasn’t immediately placed on the DL, but concerning that he hasn’t bounced back as quickly as hoped. The emergence of Nomar Mazara has changed the outfield dynamic, and reduced the impact of Choo’s loss, but center fielder Drew Stubbs is dealing with his own injury that still may lead to a DL stint as well.

For the time being, Texas will purchase the contract of outfielder Jared Hoying, which will require a complementary 40-man move. The 27-year-old earned his MLB debut with an excellent start to the year at Triple-A. Of course, Opening Day center fielder Delino DeShields Jr. remains available at Round Rock as well.

Injury Updates: Hardy, Britton, Hamilton, Alvarez, Kelly

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Here’s the latest on some injury situations around baseball…

  • J.J. Hardy fouled a ball off his left foot today, leaving behind an injury that is being termed as just a contusion for now since x-rays were negative.  The Orioles shortstop will undergo a CT scan on Monday to check for any further damage, manager Buck Showalter told reporters (including MASNsports.com’s Roch Kubatko).  Hardy was plagued by injuries last season and already missed some time this season with calf and shoulder issues.  Hardy is hitting .244/.291/.410 with two homers in 86 plate appearances.
  • In other Orioles injury news, closer Zach Britton will undergo an MRI on his left ankle on Monday.  X-rays were negative on Britton’s ankle, which he sprained during Saturday’s game.  Showalter hinted that the O’s will use a closer-by-committee based on situations, though if Britton has to miss a significant amount of a time, you would think ideally a single reliever may emerge as the top replacement closer.  Be sure to follow @CloserNews (MLBTR’s sister Twitter site) for more on Britton’s status and news about all ninth-inning situations around baseball.
  • Josh Hamilton felt soreness in his left knee while running the bases in a rehab game today, as Rangers GM Jon Daniels told reporters (including Jeff Wilson of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram).  Hamilton was pulled from the game and given a cortisone shot, with an eye towards getting back on the field next week.  Hamilton’s bothersome left knee has undergone two operations within the last eight months and this latest setback is another ominous sign for the former AL MVP.
  • Henderson Alvarez looked good in a rehab start on Saturday, and Athletics manager Bob Melvin told reporters (including MLB.com’s Willie Bans) that the righty could be ready to make his A’s debut during a mid-May homestand.  Alvarez missed most of 2015 due to shoulder problems that required required last July, and after the Marlins non-tendered him, the A’s inked Alvarez to a one-year deal worth $4MM in guaranteed money.
  • Joe Kelly tells WEEI.com’s Rob Bradford that his right shoulder is feeling much better after he began strengthening exercises targeting the muscles around his labrum.  The Red Sox righty is hopeful that these new exercises will get him back from the DL in due course and also help solve what has been a long-term nagging injury for Kelly over his career.

AL Notes: Porcello, White Sox, Headley, J. Hamilton

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Red Sox right-hander Rick Porcello has been at his best during his 33 starts with Boston when he has relied on his sinker, Scott Lauber of ESPN.com details. During his first 20 starts last season, Porcello threw his sinker 28 percent of the time against lefties and 41 percent versus right-handed hitters – down from career rates of 42 and 52 percent, respectively – and he pitched to an ugly 5.81 ERA. After a stint on the disabled list, Porcello returned and finished the season strong (3.14 ERA in eight starts) while throwing sinkers 44 percent of the time to lefty batters and 58 percent against righties. He’s at 49 and 57 percent this year, respectively, and has been among the top pitchers in baseball with a 2.76 ERA, 9.92 K/9, 1.65 BB/9 and 49.4 percent ground-ball rate over 32 2/3 innings (five starts). “He had to work extremely hard to get the sink back, to get that mindset back, because he had gotten away from it a little bit,” pitching coach Carl Willis told Lauber. “But once you get to that point, I think it’s simple because it allows him to then be himself and pitch to his strengths.” In addition to throwing more sinkers, Porcello helped his cause by changing his arm slot late in Spring Training after he raised it slightly thanks to an increased use of four-seam fastballs, per Willis.

More from around the American League…

  • White Sox executive vice president Ken Williams says the team has gotten over the Spring Training Adam LaRoche saga, which isn’t a surprise considering the club’s AL-best 17-8 record. “I had to do what was best for all parties. I’ve tried to stay above the fray and chose the road less traveled — the high road. We don’t talk about it anymore,” he told Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe. Williams, of course, took plenty of heat from White Sox players when he told LaRoche that his son had to spend less time in the clubhouse, leading the first baseman/designated hitter to retire in March with $13MM left on his contract.
  • Yankees third baseman Chase Headley failed to amass a single extra-base hit in April while batting .150/.268/.150 in 71 plate appearances, and his struggles are thanks in part to his home ballpark. “Everybody talks about how good of a ballpark Yankee Stadium is to hit in, but it’s pretty big with the exception of right field,” he told FanGraphs’ David Laurila. “The rest of it plays as big, or bigger, than most yards. It’s maybe a better fit for guys who hit the ball high down the line than it for guys who hit the ball like I have for a lot of my career.” Headley is “working on” hitting the ball in the air more to right field and wants to increase elevation in general to combat defensive shifts. The 31-year-old has a 46.8 percent ground-ball rate and a fly ball percentage of 29.8 percent this season. Both of those numbers are worse than his career rates of 44.6 and 33.6, respectively.
  • Rangers outfielder Josh Hamilton began a minor league rehab assignment Saturday in Double-A and totaled two at-bats, per Dave Sessions of MLB.com. Hamilton, who missed all of Spring Training with left knee problems, will need to accrue at least 20 to 30 ABs during his rehab assignment before rejoining the Rangers, manager Jeff Banister said. It’s unclear how Hamilton, who hit .253/.291/.441 with eight home runs in 182 plate appearances last year, will fit into the Rangers’ outfield plans when he returns. In addition to Hamilton, Shin-Soo Choo should come back later this month month from a calf injury to join an outfield that has mostly relied on Nomar Mazara, Delino DeShields and Ian Desmond this year.

Quick Hits: Rockies, Hamilton, Gimenez, Mazara, Padres

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The Rockies and visiting teams have tried several run-prevention strategies at Coors Field over the years with little success, though ESPN’s Buster Olney (subscription-only column) suggests a novel idea — what if the Rockies and others used a fourth outfielder?  The idea, which stemmed from a chat with Jake Peavy, would be a natural extension of the defensive shifts that have become more common in recent years.  Here’s more from around the baseball world…

  • Josh Hamilton and Chris Gimenez are both playing games in extended spring training, Rangers manager Jeff Banister told reporters (including MLB.com’s T.R. Sullivan).  Gimenez could start a rehab assignment as soon as Monday, as the catcher looks to return after being sidelined for a month by an ankle infection.  Hamilton faces a longer road back to the bigs, as he’ll play in extended spring games for the next week and then some minor league action.  Banister said the Rangers want to see Hamilton get around 35 plate appearances before considering a return to the MLB roster.  Hamilton has battled left knee problems all offseason, and has already undergone two operations and a stem cell/PRP injection within the last eight months.
  • The Rangers have a solid history of producing good young position players, MLB.com’s Phil Rogers writes, and Nomar Mazara is one of the most exciting of them all.  The 20-year-old Mazara has made a huge impact in his first taste of big league action, taking a .378/.419/.514 slash line over 43 PAs into Saturday’s play.
  • Melvin Upton is enjoying a good season and could eventually be a trade chip for the Padres, Dennis Lin of the San Diego Union-Tribune writes as part of a reader chat.  San Diego would probably still have to eat some of the roughly $30.18MM owed to Upton through the 2017 season to make a trade work.  That would still represent something of a win for the Padres and Upton, as his deal was though to be one of the worst in baseball at this time just a year ago.  In two seasons as a Padres, however, Upton has regained some value by hitting .261/.334/.433 with seven homers over 292 PA and he also posted above-average defensive metrics in center field in 2015.
  • Albert Abreu would be a much-hyped prospect in most farm systems, but he’s something of a hidden gem within the Astros’ deep minor league organization.  Baseball America’s Ben Badler profiles Abreu, a 20-year-old righty from the Dominican Republic who signed a $185K international deal in 2013.  Abreu has a 5.11 ERA over 12 1/3 innings at high-A ball this season, though with very impressive peripherals (13.9 K/9, 4.75 K/BB rate, no homers allowed).

Josh Hamilton To Begin Season On Disabled List

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Josh Hamilton will miss the first month of the regular season after receiving stem cell and PRP injections in his troublesome left knee, the Rangers announced today.  (Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News has the details from the team’s briefing with media.)  The Rangers’ plan, as outlined by assistant GM Thad Levine, is for Hamilton to play some minor league rehab games in late April and then be activated off the DL in early May.

“We are giving him an eight-week program because we don’t want to cut any corners,” Levine said. “Last year, we may have accelerated things and he suffered the hamstring injury early and it was an issue all year. This way he will get the benefit of a full spring training.”

It’s been an open question as to how much Hamilton will be able to contribute to the Ranger this season, as the 34-year-old has battled continued pain in his left knee despite two operations in the last six months.  The former AL MVP has played in just 139 games over the last two seasons due to a variety of injuries and Texas was already planning to use Hamilton in a semi-platoon role in left field to try and keep him healthy.

As Jeff Wilson of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram puts it on Twitter, the Rangers are “taking [a] guarded approach” to Hamilton’s injuries.  While the team is still talking to free agent outfielders, Texas could also use internal options like Ryan Rua, Joey Gallo, Justin Ruggiano or perhaps prospects Nomar Mazara or Lewis Brinson.  Levine said that Hamilton’s DL status doesn’t greatly change the club’s plans for left field since the Rangers weren’t expecting Hamilton as a full-time option anyway.

Outfield Notes: Holliday, Hamilton, De Aza, Victorino, Pagan

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All 1663 of Matt Holliday’s career games in the majors have come in left field or DH, but the veteran is getting some time at first base, MLB Network’s Jon Heyman reports (Twitter link).  Holliday’s offseason workouts at first were initially reported by Heyman in December, as Holliday is hoping to extend his career by adding some positional versatility.  Quad injuries limited Holliday to just 73 games in 2015 but he has been an extremely productive and usually durable player over his six-plus years with the Cardinals, and he tells Heyman that he hopes to remain in St. Louis “as long as possible.”  The Cards will face a decision in the fall about whether to exercise their $17MM club option on Holliday for 2017 or buy him out for $1MM, though the 36-year-old could cause the option to vest with a top-10 finish in MVP voting.  Here’s some more about other prominent outfield names…

  • Josh Hamilton is visiting Dr. James Andrews’ clinic to get what is being termed as a second opinion on his left knee, which led Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News to rhetorically and somewhat ominously wonder “what was the first opinion?”  Hamilton has undergone two knee surgeries in the last six months and another procedure could be an option to relieve the knee soreness and pain that has continued to plague the outfielder.  The Rangers were already known to be looking for outfield depth, but if Hamilton isn’t healthy enough to manage even the platoon role that the team had laid out for him, Grant figures Texas might pursue a regular left fielder rather than a backup center fielder.  The Rangers might also be forced to give such a player a Major League contract if he’s getting regular playing time.
  • Alejandro De Aza finds himself in the unusual position of having just signed with a new team as a free agent but immediately facing trade speculation, yet the maybe temporary Mets outfielder told reporters (including ESPN.com’s Adam Rubin) that he was just focusing on preparing for the upcoming season.  The Mets’ surprising re-signing of Yoenis Cespedes created a surplus in New York’s outfield, and De Aza could already be the odd man out.  He cannot be traded without his permission until June 15, though this may not be an issue if De Aza wants more playing time elsewhere.  The Rangers have notably been linked to De Aza in trade rumors, pending the Hamilton situation.
  • Shane Victorino is yet another name on the Rangers’ list but Texas is reportedly only interested in signing him to a minor league contract.  Victorino is still holding out for a Major League deal, however, and SB Nation’s Chris Cotillo tweets, that the veteran outfielder could find such a contract within the next few days.  (Again, Hamilton’s health could be a factor if the Rangers remained interested in Victorino’s services.)  On Monday, Yahoo’s Tim Brown tweeted that the Cubs seem like a fit for Victorino, who would fill a reserve role in Chicago.
  • Angel Pagan admitted to reporters (including Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle) that he “was a little surprised” by the Giants’ signing of Denard Span.  “It’s not like I was mad, but I had to sit down with my family and explore what was going on and accept it and move on,” Pagan said.  With Span on board, Pagan will spend most of his time in left field, and while he admits it’ll be an adjustment not being a regular center fielder, “I’m just being unselfish to make that move. I just want to be able to provide the best I can to this team.”  Pagan is a free agent himself this coming offseason, so 2016 will be an important platform for him to rebound from three injury-plagued seasons and potentially earn another lucrative contract.

Rangers Monitoring Market For Outfielders

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Josh Hamilton reported to camp with inflammation in his recently-repaired left knee, as MLB.com’s T.R. Sullivan reports. With ongoing uncertainty surrounding his availability, the Rangers are keeping an eye on several options for bolstering the club’s outfield depth, Jon Morosi of FOX Sports reports.

No deals are close to being struck at present, per FOX Sports, but the club is monitoring multiple possibilities. If it adds a bat, Texas would rather a left-handed hitter, though that isn’t seen as essential. The club wouldn’t be looking for a full-time regular so much as a veteran part-timer, it would appear.

One possibility raised in the report is a swap for Mets outfielder Alejandro De Aza. He was only just signed this winter — for one year and $5.75MM — and would therefore have the right to reject any deal. But De Aza has been discussed as a possible trade piece due to New York’s subsequent signing of Yoenis Cespedes.

Alternatives include free agents David Murphy and Will Venable, Morosi adds. Those two former Rangers remain unsigned, among several other notable players lined up as Dexter Fowler and Austin Jackson look for new homes. (For what it’s worth, Fowler and Jackson have long seemed speculative matches with Texas, though there’s no indication they are a present consideration.)

It’s interesting to wonder to what extent the Rangers would prioritize the addition of a center field-capable player. After all, as Sullivan notes, some combination of Justin Ruggiano and Ryan Rua (from the right side) and Joey Gallo, James Jones, or even Ike Davis (from the left) could potentially form a platoon in left if Hamilton misses time. Meanwhile, a potential partner for Delino DeShields Jr. wouldn’t be the worst idea, with only the unproven Jones representing an in-house candidate for that role. Both De Aza and Venable could present such an option.

West Notes: Darvish, Ethier, Wilson, Hamilton, Gallardo

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Major league baseball has determined Rangers’ starter Yu Darvish was not involved in the gambling ring operated by his brother, tweets Jeff Wilson of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. The story broke last week, although at no point in time was Darvish directly implicated. Based on the most recent reports, Darvish remains on pace to return to the Rangers in mid-May.

Here’s more from the western divisions:

  • Dodgers’ outfielder Andre Ethier is set to earn 10-and-5 rights in April, writes Steve Dilbeck of the Los Angeles Times. The club has long been rumored to be shopping the outfielder who has two years and $38MM guaranteed on his contract. He could also earn an additional $15MM in 2018 via a vesting option (550 PA in 2017). After a shaky 2014 that saw him relegated to a bench role, Ethier rebounded in 2015 with a .294/.366/.486 line over 445 plate appearances. However, the team used him in a strict platoon. The Dodgers may find it difficult to find a suitor unless they pick up a large portion of his remaining contract. On the plus side, the platoon role almost ensures he won’t trigger his vesting option. Now that Dexter Fowler is the top free agent outfielder on the market, the Dodgers may find it easier to shop Ethier.
  • Teams have asked about Angels’ starter C.J. Wilson, tweets Jon Heyman of MLB Network. Per Heyman, clubs view Wilson as a buy-low candidate, but the Angels have yet to receive an acceptable offer. I would add that the team’s starting pitching depth is a bit of a concern. While they have eight starting pitchers on the 40-man roster, names like Matt Shoemaker, Tyler Skaggs, Nick Tropeano, and Andrew Heaney are either coming of a bad season, recovering from injury, or unestablished at the major league level. However, escaping from part of the $20MM owed to him in 2016 could help the club address another position.
  • Rangers outfielder Josh Hamilton will have his playing time carefully managed in 2016 due to knee inflammation, writes T.R. Sullivan of MLB.com. Hamilton received a cortisone shot on Thursday. GM Jon Daniels described the joint as structurally sound. The aftermath of two surgeries could result in occasional flare-ups like this. Texas has plenty of outfield depth, particularly on the farm where Joey Gallo, Nomar Mazara, Lewis Brinson, and others wait in the wings. Gallo and Mazara are on the 40-man roster.
  • Rockies GM Jeff Bridich has downplayed Colorado’s interest in free agent starter Yovani Gallardo, writes Patrick Saunders of the Denver Post. In recent days, there have been several reports linking the Rockies with Gallardo as one of three finalists. While Bridich characterized talks as merely “checking in,” Saunders speculates that a signing could still come. At the very least, there appears to be some degree of mutual interest.

AL West Notes: Mariners, Astros, Aybar, Martin, Napoli, Jennings

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The Mariners have continued to express interest in catcher Chris Iannetta, Bob Dutton of the Tacoma News Tribune reports on Twitter. Iannetta, 32, hit the open market after four years with the Angels — which was, of course, also the most recent stop of new Seattle GM Jerry Dipoto. The M’s have also reached out to Jarrod Saltalamacchia as the team weights its options for veteran additions behind the dish, SB Nation’s Chris Cotillo tweets.

Here’s more from the AL West:

  • The Astros could aim to achieve “balance” with their roster moves, Evan Drellich of The Houston Chronicle writes. Adding some high-octane arms to the pen and some contact bats to the lineup might prove beneficial, though GM Jeff Luhnow notes that his primary concern is with achieving production through whatever means necessary (and, presumably, at a good value).
  • In other news, also via Drellich, Luhnow says that he’s not inclined to move catcher Jason Castro and center fielder Carlos Gomez, even though both players are a year away from free agency.  “I think Gomez right now is our center fielder and Castro’s our catcher and those guys are hard to replace,” Luhnow said. “We could be looking at a situation next year where either or both of those are in the qualifying offer camp as well, so. If you trade ’em, you’re potentially giving up opportunity to keep them on a one-year deal after next year. Or a draft pick if they choose to sign elsewhere. That’s a valuable situation. But most importantly for us, I think Gomez and Castro are key parts of our team next year.”
  • Similarly, the Angels are not terribly concerned with the contract status of shortstop Erick Aybar, Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register tweets. The Halos have several other priorities, and aren’t currently focused either on working out a new contract with the 31-year-old or finding his replacement.
  • The Rangers will tender a contract to outfielder Leonys Martin, GM Jon Daniels made clear to the media today. As Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News reports, Daniels called that outcome “100%” to occur. There had been at least some questions about the 27-year-old’s status after a tough season, but it seems Texas still sees plenty of value. MLBTR projects Martin to earn $1.6MM in his first season of arbitration eligibility, which is hardly an overwhelming number.
  • While the free agent market has had its draws for the Rangers in recent years, the club has also struck several major trades and is focused on talks with other teams this winter, MLB.com’s Brian McTaggart reports. “I think there’s a little bit of confidence going into the offseason as far as [having] an experienced core, and even the young guys now have experience on a big stage,” Daniels told McTaggart. “You feel you can try to add a couple of pieces and [not] need to reinvent the wheel and totally change over the club. You don’t want to get complacent either, but there’s a confidence, especially [considering] where we were a year ago, and we’ve gotten some real positive answers [for] some of our injured guys.”
  • The Rangers do, however, have interest in bringing back right-handed slugger Mike Napoli, Daniels added. If that happened, the club would look for him to work out in left field during camp to see if he could provide an option there alongside Josh Hamilton (who, it should be noted, just underwent another minor knee surgery).
  • The Rangers have expressed interest in bringing former Marlins GM Dan Jennings into their front office, Jerry Crasnick of ESPN.com reported last week on Twitter. Jennings has reportedly drawn fairly wide interest since he was cut loose after a long run in Miami.

AL Notes: Chen, Hamilton, Athletics, Walters

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Wei-Yin Chen’s start against the Yankees on Saturday was likely his last for the Orioles, Rich Dubroff of CSNmidatlantic.com notes. Chen is expected to depart via free agency. “I would be happy if I was given the chance to come back here,” says Chen. “But sometimes as a professional player, it’s inevitable that you have to change teams and adapt to a new environment. I don’t know where I will pitch next year, I just know I will do my best to pitch [in] each game.” Chen’s initial big-league contract, which covered the 2012-14 seasons, included a 2015 option, and ended up costing a total of about $16MM, was a success for the Orioles — Chen gave them more than 700 quality innings, posting an ERA+ at or better than league average in all four seasons. At age 30, he’s now in good position to cash in on the free agent market. As MLBTR’s Jeff Todd noted in August, though, the qualifying offer the Orioles figure to extend could affect Chen’s value, particularly given the market’s strong group of pitchers. Here’s more from the American League.

  • As part of their complex deal to acquire him in April, the Rangers control Josh Hamilton’s rights through 2017, with the Angels taking on most of his salary. FOX Sports’ Ken Rosenthal tweets that the Rangers’ obligation going forward is extremely minimal — they’ll pay Hamilton nothing in 2016 and only $2MM in 2017. Hamilton has played a small role on the 2015 Rangers, batting .247/.287/.407 in 174 plate appearances.
  • Billy Burns and Mark Canha both unexpectedly played key roles for the Athletics this year, John Hickey of Bay Area News Group writes. Burns thought he would spend most of the year with the Athletics’ Triple-A affiliate in Nashville, while Canha thought he’d be with the Marlins’ Triple-A team in New Orleans. Instead, Burns started about three-quarters of Oakland’s games in center field and hit .295/.333/.394, also stealing 26 bases. Canha, meanwhile, headed to the A’s in the Rule 5 Draft and batted .249/.308/.413. Their emergences have been bright spots in what has otherwise been a lost year for the Athletics.
  • The Indians have announced that infielder/outfielder Zach Walters had shoulder surgery on Friday to fix a labral tear. He’ll be out five to six months, and the team hopes he’ll be ready for the start of the 2016 season. The Indians acquired Walters for Asdrubal Cabrera in 2014 after a hot half-season at Triple-A Syracuse, but he hasn’t been able to maintain the power-hitting pace he set then, either in the minors or the big leagues. He spent most of this season with Triple-A Columbus, batting .249/.310/.416 in 379 plate appearances.
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