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Josh Staumont

AL Central Injury Notes: Moncada, Smith, Staumont, Meadows

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White Sox third baseman Yoan Moncada should be activated from the 10-day injured list on Tuesday, manager Tony La Russa told MLB.com’s Scott Merkin and other reporters.  Moncada’s placement (due to a right hamstring strain) was retroactive to June 18, so Tuesday would represent the minimum 10 days for the infielder.

Between this brief IL visit and the oblique injury that sidelined Moncada for the first month of the season, Moncada seems to have barely gotten out of the blocks in 2022, hitting only .179/.230/.292 in 113 plate appearances.  While the Sox are happy to remove a name from their increasingly crowded injured list, they’ll need Moncada to get back to his old form in order for Chicago to start making a move in the playoff race.

Let’s catch up on some other injury situations from around the AL Central…

  • The Twins placed veteran reliever Joe Smith on the 15-day injured list due to tightness in his upper trap muscle.  Left-hander Jovani Moran was called up from Triple-A in the corresponding move.  Now in his 15th Major League season, Smith has 2.78 ERA over 22 2/3 innings out of Minnesota’s bullpen, with his 62.7% grounder rate helping make up for an unimpressive set of Statcast metrics.
  • The Royals placed right-hander Josh Staumont on the 15-day IL (retroactive to June 23) due to a neck strain.  In corresponding moves, K.C. also optioned lefty Foster Griffin to Triple-A and called up right-handers Jackson Kowar and Matt Peacock.  Staumont told MLB.com’s Anne Rogers and other reporters that his neck problem had been “lingering for the past couple games,” and Rogers noted that Staumont’s velocity had clearly been impacted over those last few outings.  Staumont has a 3.81 ERA, 27.6% strikeout rate, and a high 14.7% walk rate over 26 innings for the Royals this season, and six of Staumont’s 17 walks allowed have come over his last four games.
  • Austin Meadows will start a minor league rehab assignment this week, with Tigers manager A.J. Hinch telling reporters (including Chris McCosky of The Detroit News) that Meadows will likely start game action on Tuesday.  Meadows was placed on the COVID-related IL on June 17 after testing positive for the coronavirus, but he has now cleared health protocols.

Central Notes: Royals, Cardinals, Tigers

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The Royals are placing Brad Keller on the 10-day injured list with a right lat strain, per Anne Rogers of MLB.com (via Twitter). Josh Staumont has returned from the COVID-related injured list to take his roster spot. Keller has reliably taken his rotation turn all season long for Kansas City, totaling 133 2/3 innings across 26 starts (though he was removed from his last start). The quality of those turns hasn’t perhaps been what Keller or the Royals would hope, however, as he owns a 5.39 ERA/4.72 FIP and -0.2 rWAR. Staumont, for his part, spent just one day on the injured list.

Let’s take a spin around the Midwest and see what shakes loose…

  • Carlos Martinez is probably done for the year, per MLB.com’s Zachary Silver (via Twitter). Wade LeBlanc is also questionable to return after feeling some elbow pain in his latest bullpen. If Martinez’s season is truly over, it will have been a disappointing one for the one-time Cardinal ace. Martinez owns a 6.23 ERA over 82 1/3 innings. A 4.76 FIP suggests it might not have quite been the disaster season that those baseline numbers suggest, however.
  • While we’re here, we might as well check in with Jack Flaherty, who is also questionable to return this season. The Cardinals are putting him through a series of assessments now. What matters most is making sure he’s healthy for 2022, per Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Same story for Ryan Helsley, who will have arthroscopic surgery on his left knee and look ahead to next season.
  • The Tigers released Renato Nunez, per Evan Woodbery of the MLive Media Group (via Twitter). Manager A.J. Hinch suggested that there weren’t enough at-bats to go around in Triple-A for Spencer Torkelson, Aderlin Rodriguez, and Nunez. The Tigers outrighted Nunez a few days ago, and he will now be free to sign anywhere.

Royals Designate Nick Heath For Assignment

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The Royals announced Wednesday that they’ve designated outfielder Nick Heath for assignment, reinstated righty Josh Staumont from the injured list and optioned righty Carlos Hernandez to their alternate site. Staumont was only just placed on the injured list earlier this week, though the Royals did not specify a reason.

Players can be placed on the injured list for Covid-19 related reasons — a positive test, close contact with someone who was positive, or self-reported symptoms — and briefly be removed from the 40-man roster while on the IL. Staumont has obviously been cleared to return in a day’s time, which suggests there was no positive test. However, the Royals also selected the contract of veteran righty Ervin Santana last night, so with Staumont now coming back onto the active roster, they needed a 40-man spot. Heath’s DFA will provide that roster spot.

Heath, 27, made his MLB debut in 2020 and went 2-for-13 with a double and a pair of steals in four tries. He’s not a particularly imposing threat at the plate, evidenced by a .266/.348/.361 batting line in four minor league seasons, but Heath is one of the fastest players in professional ball. Scouting reports at FanGraphs, MLB.com and Baseball America peg him at either 70- or 80-grade speed on the 20-80 scale. He’s swiped 160 bases in 200 tries (80 percent) through just 323 total minor league games.

Heath can play all three outfield spots and has a full slate of three minor league options remaining, so he could certainly intrigue another club in a minor trade or in the event that the Royals try to pass him through outright waivers. Kansas City will have a week to trade him or place him on waivers.

Royals Select Ervin Santana

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Right-hander Ervin Santana is returning to the majors for the first time since 2019. The Royals selected the veteran’s contract, placed righty Josh Staumont on the IL for an undisclosed reason, recalled righty Tyler Zuber and optioned infielder/outfielder Ryan McBroom, Anne Rogers of MLB.com tweets.

Santana pitched for five big league teams, including the Royals, from 2005-19, and typically produced solid results while eating up a significant number of innings. The 38-year-old has six seasons of 200-plus innings under his belt, 2,421 in total, as well as a 4.09 ERA. While with the Royals in 2013, he fired 211 innings of 3.24 ERA ball, though Santana then rejected KC’s qualifying offer and went through a prolonged stay in free agency before signing with the Braves.

Santana lasted just one year in Atlanta before joining Minnesota, with which he delivered quality seasons in 2016-17. However, a middle finger injury limited Santana to five starts, 24 2/3 innings and an ugly 8.03 ERA. He continued to struggle during his most recent action, as he recorded a 9.45 ERA in three starts and 13 1/3 frames as a member of the White Sox. Santana finished the year in the Mets organization, but he didn’t pitch for them that season, and he sat out 2020 before signing a minors pact with the Royals.

Santana has started in 384 of 387 appearances, though it remains to be seen which role he’ll fill now. Notably, Royals starters have put up a 5.56 ERA – the sixth-worst mark in baseball.

Royals Designate Wily Peralta For Assignment

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The Royals have designated righty Wily Peralta for assignment, per Jeffrey Flanagan of mlb.com. Right-hander Josh Staumont will be recalled in his place.

Once a promising young starter for the Brewers, Peralta hit the skids in 2015 and couldn’t steady himself even after a 2017 transition to the bullpen. Kansas City’s reclamation attempt also fell flat: in 42 relief appearances for the club this season, Peralta posted a 5.80 ERA/5.85 FIP on back of a mere 5.36 K/9. Command was always an issue for the now 30-year-old, who often flashed electric heat but rarely displayed the bat-missing secondary stuff to match.

The move was somewhat overdue for the Royals, whose players are afforded some of the longest leashes league-wide. The KC ’pen has again been shaky this season, though the trio at the back-end (Ian Kennedy, Jake Diekman, Scott Barlow) has been far more reliable than last season’s iteration.

Players Added To The 40-Man Roster

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Tonight marks the deadline for players to be added to their respective organizations’ 40-man rosters. Over the nine hours, there’ll be a flurry of moves, ranging from minor trades (like the one the Indians and Rays made yesterday), waiver claims and players being designated for assignment or outrighted. Each will be made to clear room for players who need protection from this year’s Rule 5 Draft. As a reminder, players who signed at 18 years of age or younger and have five professional seasons are eligible, as are players who signed at 19 or older and have four professional seasons under their belts.

Here’s a rundown of players who’ve been added to their respective 40-man rosters (which will be updated throughout the day)…

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Knocking Down The Door: Fowler, Guerrero, Staumont, Stewart, Urias

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“Knocking Down the Door” is a regular feature that identifies minor leaguers who are making a case for a big league promotion.  

Dustin Fowler, CF, Athletics (Triple-A Nashville) | Athletics Depth Chart

Despite a devastating leg injury that occurred during the first inning of his MLB debut last June, many still expected Fowler to be the starting center fielder on Opening Day. While health did not appear to be a major factor—he had 47 plate appearances in 19 games this spring—the 23-year-old was understandably rusty at the plate. He hit just .222 with two walks and 13 strikeouts in the Cactus League. As a result, his Oakland A’s debut would have to wait until he began to show the form that catapulted him up prospect lists with the Yankees last season (.871 OPS, 13 HR, 19 2B, 8 3B, 13 SB in 70 Triple-A games). If the last seven games are any indication, he is getting close.

With 14 hits in his past 33 at-bats, including his first two homers of the season, a trio of three-hit games, three doubles and a pair of triples, Fowler has boosted his batting average over the .300 mark. He also has six stolen bases, which is a good indication that he’s recovered from his injury. The versatile Mark Canha has been productive while getting the majority of starts in center field as of late, but he’ll move back into a part-time role once Fowler arrives.

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Vladimir Guerrero Jr., 3B, Blue Jays (Double-A New Hampshire) | Blue Jays Depth Chart

A 19-year-old with only a few weeks of Double-A experience has no business being on this list. Or being this good, even if his father is a Hall of Famer. But Vladimir Jr., after just 96 plate appearances, is making it clear that he has no business being at this level for much longer. The right-handed hitting third baseman is slashing .380/.442/.582 with two homers, eight doubles, 10 walks and 10 strikeouts in his first 20 games. He was also 7-for-13 in MLB camp during an impressive spring that he capped off with a walk-off homer in an exhibition game in Montreal.

The only question for now is whether he makes a stop in Triple-A before he begins his MLB career. Once he’s in the Majors, he’ll be in the lineup on a regular basis. With Josh Donaldson expected back soon from the disabled list after missing time with shoulder discomfort, it’s possible that Guerrero spells him at third base a few days per week and serves as the designated hitter on other days. The odd man out would be Kendrys Morales, who is hitless in his last 21 at-bats and is 8-for-50 on the season.

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Josh Staumont, RP, Royals (Triple-A Omaha) | Royals Depth Chart

Entering 2017 as one of the Royals’ best prospects, Staumont flopped in his first full season in the upper minors with a 5.56 ERA and 7.0 BB/9 in 124 2/3 innings between Triple-A and Double-A. A move to the bullpen has him back on track so far in 2018.

While the walks are still an issue—he’s walked seven in 10 1/3 Triple-A innings—he’s allowed just one earned run and hasn’t walked more than one batter in seven of his eight appearances. The 24-year-old right-hander has also struck out 22 batters, including 10 over his past two outings (3 2/3 IP). Coincidentally, the Royals have one of the worst bullpens in the Majors. Their closer, Kelvin Herrera, isn’t part of the problem, but he’s expected to be traded to a contender by July 31st and probably sooner than that. Staumont should get a chance to prove that he can be a part of the team’s late-inning, post-Herrera relief crew.

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Christin Stewart, OF, Tigers (Triple-A Toledo) | Tigers Depth Chart

The Tigers had a fairly uneventful offseason, which wasn’t totally unexpected as they moved toward a rebuild. But with several free agents available at a discounted rate—Carlos Gomez, Carlos Gonzalez and Jon Jay are just a few examples—it was a bit surprising that they took a hard pass and began the season with Mikie Mahtook and Leonys Martin in their starting outfield. While it’s not clear whether the Stewart factored in to the decision—he hit 28 homers in Double-A in 2017, but also struck out 138 times—he could soon get the chance to show that he can be a part of the solution.

Not only has the 24-year-old left fielder continued to mash in the upper minors—he’s slashing .311/.404/.568 with four homers, five doubles and 11 walks in his first 89 Triple-A plate appearances—he’s also striking out at a much lower rate than in year’s past (24 % in ’17; 15 % in ’18). Playing alongside Miguel Cabrera and Victor Martinez should only help to continue that trend.

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Luis Urias, 2B, Padres (Triple-A El Paso) | Padres Depth Chart

Padres hitters continue to rack up strikeouts at a record pace. They lead the league with 309 whiffs in 1135 plate appearances and are on their way to surpassing the MLB single-season record of 1571. As a comparison, Urias has struck out 150 times in 1618 plate appearances in the minors. He also has 166 walks. The 20-year-old won’t be their savior in 2018, but he can certainly help this bunch.

Over his first 19 games in Triple-A, Urias is slashing .307/.416/.440 with two homers, four doubles, 13 walks and 15 strikeouts. He has nine hits, six walks and one strikeout over his last 22 plate appearances. The Padres moved quickly to fill two rotation spots with prospects—Joey Lucchesi and Eric Lauer both debuted in April—and now it’s becoming increasingly possible that Urias joins them to replace the struggling Carlos Asuaje (.576 OPS) as the starting second baseman.

Photos courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Central Notes: Staumont, Rodriguez, Dozier

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In college, Royals prospect Josh Staumont was mostly just playing baseball for his scholarship, Rustin Dodd of the Kansas City Star writes. Suddenly, though, Staumont started throwing with electrifying velocity, and he soon became the Royals’ 2015 second-round pick — and, later, one of their better prospects. “It was a way for me to get into the school and get a couple thousand dollars off the tuition. And that was literally all it came down to. I could play a sport that I loved and get an education,” he says. “Of course, as soon as I started throwing harder, that all changed.” During his first scrimmage at Azusa Pacific University, Staumont suddenly started generating 99-MPH radar gun readings that he initially thought were mistakes. His work with the Royals has included plenty more blistering fastballs, although he still has work to do on his control — last season between Class A+ Wilmington and Double-A Northwest Arkansas, he had a 4.23 ERA and an excellent 12.2 K/9, but with a very high 7.6 BB/9. Those numbers might suggest potential as a future reliever, but the Royals aren’t yet giving up on him as a possible rotation option. “It’s easy to look at him in the pen, only because he throws hard,” says assistant GM J.J. Picollo. “But in this climate, in this industry, it’s all about starting pitching.” Here’s more from the Central divisions.

  • The Pirates are likely to replace Sean Rodriguez internally after the utilityman’s departure to the Braves, Stephen J. Nesbitt of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette writes. Rodriguez hit .270/.349/.510 in 2016, and the Bucs will undoubtedly miss him. But they do have Adam Frazier, who posted a .356 OBP while playing second, third and all three outfield positions in an impressive rookie season last year. Also, middle infielder and former top prospect Alen Hanson is out of options and could make the big club as a backup at shortstop and second base.
  • The Twins are telling potential trade partners they aren’t looking to deal Brian Dozier unless they get an excellent return, Mike Berardino of the Pioneer Press tweets. Whatever their new front office’s actual intentions, it’s not surprising they would take that position — Dozier hit 42 homers last year and is signed to a reasonable deal through 2018, so his trade value should be quite high, and they could certainly wait to trade him if they wanted to. The Dodgers have reportedly had interest in Dozier recently, although a trade does not appear imminent between the two teams.

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