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Injury Notes: Rendon, Lester, Cobb, Angels

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Third baseman Anthony Rendon departed the Nationals’ loss to the Marlins on Saturday after taking a 95 mph Jose Urena fastball off the left elbow. Fortunately for Rendon and the Nationals, X-rays came back negative, Jesse Dougherty of the Washington Post tweets. It’s unclear whether Rendon will avoid the injured list, though, as manager Dave Martinez said the Nats will reevaluate the 28-year-old Sunday morning. An IL stint would be another unlucky development for the Nationals, who are already missing injured shortstop Trea Turner along the left side of their infield. They’ve gone just 9-10 thanks in part to Turner’s absence, though Rendon has tried his best to lift the team with an all-world showing thus far. Rendon’s consistently great output in Washington may help him land a contract extension.

  • A hamstring injury forced Cubs left-hander Jon Lester to the IL on April 9, though it appears the well-respected hurler is nearing a return. The Cubs could activate Lester during their upcoming series against the Dodgers, which runs from Tuesday to Thursday, the Associated Press relays. The 35-year-old looked “very good” during a 45-pitch sim game Saturday, according to manager Joe Maddon. The Maddon-led Cubs haven’t needed a replacement starter since Lester went down, instead relying on Cole Hamels, Kyle Hendricks, Jose Quintana and the struggling Yu Darvish, but that will change Sunday when Tyler Chatwood takes the ball against Arizona. Chatwood fell on his face as a starter during a walk-happy 2018, the first season of a three-year, $38MM contract, and has continued to exhibit control problems as a reliever this season.
  • The Orioles brought righty Alex Cobb off the IL on Saturday to make his first start since a right lumbar strain sent him to the shelf on April 6. In hindsight, the Orioles probably wish they’d have started someone else. Cobb endured one of the worst outings in his career in a loss to the Twins, who thrashed him for nine earned runs on 10 hits and three homers in 2 2/3 frames. It continued a subpar Orioles tenure for Cobb, now in the second season of a four-year, $57MM contract. The rebuilding Orioles would likely jump at the chance to deal him, but Cobb’s ongoing woes won’t make it easy to find a taker.
  • The Angels are off to a dreary start, in part because their rotation is banged up yet again. Oft-injured starters Tyler Skaggs, Andrew Heaney and Nick Tropeano are making progress, though, per reports from Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register and Rhett Bollinger of MLB.com. Skaggs, on the IL since April 15 because of a left ankle sprain, enjoyed a productive bullpen session Saturday and may return as early as Tuesday. Heaney’s still a ways off because of elbow issues, though he could get back on a mound within the next week, Fletcher writes, and manager Brad Ausmus said Saturday his rehab has been “all positive so far.” Tropeano, who’s on the mend from a right shoulder strain, threw a four-inning sim game Saturday and is nearing activation. The Angels will option Tropeano to Triple-A Salt Lake when he does exit the IL, Bollinger suggests.

AL West Notes: Astros, Mariners, Swarzak, Tropeano, Choo

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Astros owner Jim Crane spoke with reporters Wednesday and addressed a number of topics, including his thoughts on potential rule changes throughout the game, Manny Machado’s recent agreement with the Padres and the potential for some Astros moves (link via Chandler Rome of the Houston Chronicle). Crane acknowledged that the Astros “certainly are going to look at” the possibility of a contract extension with Justin Verlander and/or Gerrit Cole. However, he didn’t put a timeline on those talks and was generally vague, suggesting they could take place anytime between now and at the end of the season. “…[I]t just all depends on what they want to do and whether they want to stick here and for what number they want to stick here,” Crane said of his top two starters.

Crane wouldn’t comment much on former Astros Dallas Keuchel and Marwin Gonzalez, both of whom remain unsigned, though he didn’t expressly rule out a reunion. “Hopefully they’ll land in the right spot and certainly it could be one or two of them might be back here,” said Crane, though he declined to say whether Houston has made an actual offer to either player (beyond the qualifying offer which Keuchel rejected back in November).

Here’s more from the division…

  • The Mariners could be active in their efforts to pick up some bullpen depth over the course of Spring Training, per Ryan Divish of the Seattle Times. Divish notes that right-hander Anthony Swarzak, acquired to help balance out the financial component of the Robinson Cano/Edwin Diaz blockbuster, isn’t likely to be ready for Opening Day (due to shoulder discomfort). With that in mind, Seattle is likely to take to the waiver wire in an effort to bolster its depth, though it doesn’t sound as if the club is intent on spending significantly in order to bolster its ’pen at this point.
  • Angels righty Nick Tropeano is still two and a half weeks from throwing a full bullpen session and is roughly five to seven weeks from being ready to pitch in a game setting, writes Rhett Bollinger of MLB.com. Tropeano experienced a December setback in his rehab from shoulder issues that dogged him throughout the 2018 season, which has him behind schedule this spring. Tonight’s update provides a clearer timetable than was previously available. Tropeano tells Bollinger that he’s been doing increased video work with new pitching coach Doug White (formerly the Astros’ bullpen coach) to make adjustments to his delivery that’ll hopefully lessen the stress he places on his shoulder.
  • In a Q&A with Jeff Wilson of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, Rangers designated hitter Shin-Soo Choo addressed a number of topics, including Adrian Beltre’s retirement, the atmosphere under new skipper Chris Woodward and his own future in baseball. Choo, who is signed for another two seasons, empathized with Beltre’s desire to spend more time with his family but also voiced a desire to continue playing so long as he is physically able to do so. “Baseball, sports, is a short career,” said the veteran slugger. “If you’re healthy and can perform on the field, I definitely can play. At the same time, I have a family. My wife has been a single mom for eight months for 16 years.” Choo’s bat cratered in the second half last season, but he was slashing a robust .293/.405/.506 at the All-Star break. He’s owed $21MM in each of the next two seasons.

AL Injury Notes: Ellsbury, Angels, Salazar, Kaprielian

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Yankees general manager Brian Cashman announced to the media Wednesday that outfielder Jacoby Ellsbury won’t be reporting to camp until next month, as he’s currently being slowed by a case of plantar fasciitis (link via Dan Martin of the New York Post). It’s not yet clear whether Ellsbury will be ready for Opening Day, nor is it clear how much playing time would be available to Ellsbury considering a Yankees outfield mix that features Aaron Judge, Aaron Hicks, Brett Gardner and Giancarlo Stanton (with Clint Frazier also looming in the minors). Ellsbury seems poised for a bench role after missing the entire 2018 season due to injury (most notably including hip surgery).

The injury news didn’t stop there for the Yanks, either, as right-handed pitching prospect Mike King has been shut down for the next three weeks after an MRI revealed a stress reaction in his right elbow. He’ll be re-evaluated after that three-week down period. The 23-year-old King posted a ridiculous 1.79 ERA with 8.5 K/9 against 1.6 BB/9 in 161 1/3 innings across three levels last season, topping out with a brilliant six-start run in Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.

Some more injury notes from around the American League (we checked in on some NL health statuses earlier today, as well)…

  • In what’s become all too familiar a theme for Angels fans, there’s some early trouble regarding right-handers Nick Tropeano and Alex Meyer. Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register reports that Tropeano has only just resumed “light” throwing after suffering a December setback in his rehab from the shoulder woes that derailed much of his 2018 season (Twitter links). Tropeano had three DL stints pertaining to his shoulder in ’18 and was eventually shut down after undergoing a platelet-rich plasma injection. He’s unlikely to be ready for Opening Day, per Fletcher. Meanwhile, Meyer had yet another surgery on his perennially problematic right shoulder — this time an arthroscopic procedure performed in November. He’s not yet been cleared to throw. The former top prospect was a long shot to factor into the pitching staff anyhow given his extremely lengthy injury history. He was cut loose by the Halos earlier this winter but returned on a minor league contract.
  • MLB.com’s Mandy Bell writes that Indians right-hander Danny Salazar is confident he’ll be able to begin throwing off a mound by the end of Spring Training. That doesn’t create much optimism for an early 2019 return, nor does the fact that Bell suggests Salazar could be able to return to the Major League roster “prior to the All-Star break.” Given Cleveland’s strong rotation and the fact that Salazar didn’t even pitch in 2018 due to shoulder troubles that necessitated surgery in July, he’ll be a part of the team’s bullpen picture whenever he does return. With the righty still only playing catch on flat ground, however, it’ll likely be awhile before a more definitive timeline takes shape.
  • An MRI performed on Athletics right-hander James Kaprielian revealed a strained lat muscle, per Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle (Twitter links). He won’t throw for the next two to three weeks. Kaprielian, 25 next month, was once regarded as one of the game’s top pitching prospects and was a key piece acquired in the 2017 trade that sent Sonny Gray to the Bronx, but he hasn’t pitched since 2016 due to 2017 Tommy John surgery and a series of shoulder issues in 2018.

Players Avoiding Arbitration: American League

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The deadline for players and teams to exchange arbitration figures passed at 1pm ET yesterday, meaning over the next few hours, there will be a landslide of settlements on one-year deals to avoid an arbitration hearing. We’ll track today’s minor settlements from the American League in this post. Once all of the day’s settlements have filtered in, I’ll organize them by division to make them a bit easier to parse.

It’s worth mentioning that the vast majority of teams have adopted a “file and trial” approach to arbitration, meaning that once arbitration figures are exchanged with a player, negotiations on a one-year deal will cease. The two parties may still discuss a multi-year deal after that point, but the majority of players who exchange figures with their team today will head to an arbitration hearing.

As always, all salary projections referenced within this post are courtesy of MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz, and we’ll also be updating our 2019 Arbitration Tracker throughout the day…

Today’s Updates

  • Yankees 1B Greg Bird will make $1.2 MM next season, per Bob Nightengale on Twitter.
  • The controversial Roberto Osuna will make $6.5MM next season, per Feinsand. Teammate Jake Marisnick, who again scuffled in ’18 after a promising 2017, will make $2.2125MM.
  • Per Mark Feinsand on Twitter, A’s lefty Sean Manaea $3.15MM in what’s sure to be an injury-marred 2019.
  • Hard-throwing reliever Mychal Givens will make $2.15MM, per Eduardo A. Encina of the Tampa Bay Times (via Twitter), with additional incentives for making the All-Star team or placing in the Top-3 for the Rivera/Hoffman Reliever of the Year Awards, added MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand (via Twitter).
  • The Mariners agreed on a $1.95MM deal with outfielder Domingo Santana, per MLB.com’s Greg Johns (via Twitter). Santana is the second and last of the Mariners’ arbitration-eligible players.
  • The Angels agreed to contracts with a pair of players yesterday, per Maria Torres of the LA Times (via Twitter). Reliever Hansel Robles signed for $1.4MM. Robles threw 36 1/3 innings of 2.97 ERA baseball after the Angels claimed him off waivers from the Mets in June. Luis Garcia, acquired via trade from the Phillies this winter, signed for $1.675MM.
  • The Tigers and reliever Shane Greene settled on $4MM, per USA Today’s Bob Nightengale (via Twitter).
  • The Yankees reached an agreement with Sonny Gray for $7.5MM, per Nightengale. Gray, of course, has been involved trade rumors most of the winter, but for the time being, he stands to play a role in the Yankee pen while providing insurance for the rotation.
  • Didi Gregorius has also come to an agreement with the Yankees on a one-year, $11.75MM deal in his final season before free agency, per USA Today’s Bob Nightengale (Twitter links).
  • New Yankee James Paxton signed for $8.575, per Nightengale (via Twitter). Paxton is under contract for the 2020 season as well.
  • The Houston Astros came to an agreement with Collin McHugh for $5.8MM, per Nightengale (via Twitter). McHugh could be moving back into the rotation after a stellar season in the pen, either way this will be his final season of arb eligibility before hitting the open market.
  • Jonathan Villar comes away with $4.825MM for what will be his first full season in Baltimore, per Nightengale (via Twitter).

Earlier Updates

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Players Avoiding Arbitration: Thursday

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The deadline for teams and players to exchange arbitration figures is tomorrow afternoon at 1pm ET. With the vast majority of teams now adopting a “file-and-trial” approach to arbitration — that is, halting negotiations on one-year contracts once figures have been exchanged and simply going to a hearing at that point — there will be a deluge of arbitration agreements in the next 24 hours. It’s a minor deadline day in terms of newsworthiness — outside of the largest cases, at least — as few arbitration cases will have a significant impact on their team’s overall payroll picture. From a broader perspective, though, the exchange of arb figures is perhaps more notable. With most or all of their arbitration cases out of the way, teams can focus more heavily on the trade and free-agent markets.

As always, it’s interesting to refer back to MLBTR’s annual arbitration projections. Here are the day’s deals:

  • The Tigers will pay Shane Greene $4MM for the coming campaign, Murray tweets. Entering his second year of eligibility, the 30-year-old had projected at $4.8MM, owing largely to his strong tally of 32 saves. Despite appealing K/BB numbers, though, Greene finished the season with an unsightly 5.12 ERA.
  • Righty Nick Tropeano settled with the Angels at $1.075MM. (That’s also via Murray, on Twitter.) That falls well shy of his $1.6MM projection. The first-year arb-eligible hurler was not terribly effective in his 14 starts last year and has just over two hundred career frames in the big leagues, due in no small part to a long rehab owing to Tommy John surgery.

Earlier Updates

  • Newly acquired outfielder Domingo Santana will earn $1.95MM in his first season with the Mariners, Bob Nightengale of USA Today reports on Twitter. That’s just a touch below the $2.0MM that MLBTR & Matt Swartz had projected. The 26-year-old Santana swatted thirty long balls and had a productive overall 2017 season, but only received 235 plate appearances in the ensuing campaign — over which he hit five home runs and carried a .265/.328/.412 slash — before being dealt to Seattle.
  • The Angels are on the hook for $1,901,000 to rehabbing righty J.C. Ramirez, Robert Murray of The Athletic tweets. Ramirez will receive a nominal raise on his 2018 salary after requiring Tommy John surgery after just two starts.
  • Phillies righty Hector Neris has settled at $1.8MM, according to Jim Salisbury of NBC Sports Philadelphia (Twitter links). He had projected at $2.0MM but will settle for a bit less in his first season of arb eligibility. Right-handed starter Jerad Eickhoff, meanwhile, is slated to receive $975K. His projected first-year salary was much higher, at $1.7MM, but Eickhoff presented a tough case since he missed virtually all of his platform season with arm troubles.
  • Southpaw Ryan Buchter has agreed with the Athletics on a $1.4MM deal, Nightengale of reports on Twitter. That lands just a smidge over his $1.3MM projection. Soon to turn 32, Buchter worked to a sub-3.00 for the third-straight season in 2018, but only threw 39 1/3 innings while working as a lefty specialist.
  • Red Sox reliever Heath Hembree will receive a $1,312,500 salary next year, Alex Speier of the Boston Globe reports (Twitter link). Starter Steven Wright checks in just a shade higher, at $1.375MM, per Nightengale (via Twitter). Both players had projected in this range, with Swartz pegging $1.2MM for the former and $1.4MM for the latter. It’s Hembree’s first time through the process and Wright’s second.
  • First-time arb-eligible righty Scott Oberg settled with the Rockies for $1.3MM, according to Nightengale (via Twitter). It’s $100K over the projected rate for the 28-year-old hurler, who turned in far and away his most productive MLB season in 2018.
  • The Yankees have a $1.2MM deal in place with first baseman Greg Bird, Nightengale was first to tweet. Though he had projected a bit higher, at $1.5MM, Bird’s relatively robust number of home runs (31 total in 659 career plate appearances) were threatened to be overshadowed in a hypothetical hearing by his rough overall stats over the past two seasons. He’ll need to earn his way back into a larger share of playing time in 2019.
  • Infielder Travis Jankowski will earn $1.165MM with the Padres, per Murray (via Twitter). He projected at a heftier $1.4MM, but the Super Two qualifier will still earn a nice raise after his best season in the big leagues. Jankowski will be looking to crack 400 plate appearances for the first time in the season to come.
  • The Nationals have agreed to a $1MM contract with righty Joe Ross, Murray also tweets. Though Ross projected at $1.5MM for his first season of eligibility, that was based largely upon the innings he accumulated over the prior three seasons. Ross made it back from Tommy John surgery in time for only three outings in 2018.
  • A pair of backstops have also put pen to paper on new salaries. Curt Casali will earn $950K with the Reds, per Bobby Nightengale of the Cincinnati Enquirer (Twitter link). John Ryan Murphy has a $900K agreement with the Diamondbacks, the elder Nightengale tweets. Casali, a Super Two, had projected for a $1.3MM salary, while Murphy projected at $1.1MM in his first arb year.

Angels Select Contract Of Sherman Johnson

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The Angels announced that they’ve selected the contract of infielder Sherman Johnson and transferred right-hander Nick Tropeano to the 60-day DL in order to clear a roster spot. The Halos also activated left-hander Tyler Skaggs from the disabled list.

Johnson, 28, will be making his big league debut the first time he takes the field. A 14th-round pick back in 2012, he’s spent his entire career in the Angels’ minor league ranks to this point. Johnson hit poorly in 20 games of Double-A duty this season but was quite productive in 46 games of Triple-A work, hitting at a .277/.359/.459 clip with four homers, seven doubles and four triples in 171 trips to the plate. He’s a career .251/.363/.389 hitter in parts of seven minor league campaigns and has walked nearly as often as he’s struck out to this point of his career (14.3 percent walk rate, 18.1 percent strikeout rate).

Johnson’s promotion is likely in part due to hamstring strain for 24-year-old David Fletcher — an injury that could prove to be a season-ender for the promising young infielder. Johnson can fill in virtually anywhere on the diamond, as he’s appeared at every position except catcher and center field this season (including three innings on the mound in Triple-A).

Injury Notes: Stroman, Braves, Ozuna, Tropeano

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Blue Jays right-hander Marcus Stroman “probably” won’t pitch again in 2018, manager John Gibbons told reporters today (Twitter links via Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet). He’s been slowed by a blister on his pitching hand of late and simply won’t have enough time to build back up for a return. Stroman last appeared on Sept. 3 — his only appearance since Aug. 17 — and lasted just 1 2/3 innings. If his season does indeed prove to be over, it’ll go down as a forgettable one for the righty. In 102 1/3 innings, Stroman has posted a dismal 5.54 ERA with 6.8 K/9 against 2.8 BB/9, though his elite ground-ball tendencies and a fluky low strand rate have led fielding-independent metrics to paint a more optimistic picture (3.91 FIP, 3.84 xFIP, 4.04 SIERA). Stroman will be arbitration-eligible for the third time this winter as a Super Two player and will earn a modest raise on this year’s $6.5MM salary. He’s controlled through the 2020 season.

Some more notable injury updates from around the league…

  • The NL East-leading Braves should have Arodys Vizcaino back in action on Friday of this week, per Gabe Burns of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution (Twitter links), but righty Jose Ramirez won’t pitch again this season. Vizcaino hasn’t pitched since mid-July due to a shoulder issue and was moved to the 60-day DL earlier this month when the Braves made a series of moves to accommodate September roster expansion. They’ll need to make a 40-man move to accommodate Vizcaino’s return; Ramirez, already on the 60-day DL with a shoulder problem of his own, won’t be that move. Meanwhile, David O’Brien of The Athletic tweets that third baseman Johan Camargo exited tonight’s game due to groin tightness. The team will likely have additional information available either after the game or tomorrow morning.
  • Mark Saxon of The Athletic takes a look at the shoulder troubles that have plagued Marcell Ozuna all season (subscription required). Saxon notes that Ozuna has had difficulty with day-to-day tasks such as taking off a sweatshirt in recent weeks and has played through discomfort all season. Cardinals president of baseball operations John Mozeliak again acknowledged that the team was aware of some ongoing shoulder troubles with Ozuna when trading for him but felt, if anything, they’d impact his throwing from the outfield — not his offense. Still, Mozeliak says surgery has not been recommended for Ozuna, so it seems he’ll hope rest, rehab and perhaps physical therapy this offseason can help. To his credit, Ozuna has absolutely raked at a .333/.371/.615 clip in his past 143 PAs even while playing through that pain.
  • The Angels are shutting down right-hander Nick Tropeano for the season, tweets Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register. The right-hander’s rehab stint was recently halted, and Fletcher adds that he’ll undergo a platelet-rich plasma injection in his right shoulder in hopes of avoiding offseason surgery. Three separate trips to the DL for shoulder issues limited Tropeano to just 76 innings in 2018, and he struggled to a 4.74 ERA with 7.6 K/9 against 3.7 BB/9 in that time. Those 76 frames were actually a career-high for the 28-year-old Tropeano, whose career has been proliferated by injuries — most notably Tommy John surgery in 2016. He’ll be arbitration-eligible for the first time this winter.

Injury Notes: Reds, Cespedes, Angels, Rangers

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Reds infielder Alex Blandino suffered a torn ACL in his right knee on Friday, John Fay of the Cincinnati Enquirer writes. Blandino will miss the rest of the season, though the length of the recovery period (five to six months, Fay writes) suggests his 2019 isn’t in jeopardy. A first-round pick (No. 29 overall) of the Reds in 2014, Blandino debuted in the majors this year and batted .234/.324/.289 in 147 plate appearances. Defensively, he saw action at several positions, logging double-digit appearances at second, third and shortstop.

A few more injury updates from around the game…

  • After returning Friday from a two-month absence, left fielder Yoenis Cespedes missed the Mets’ game Saturday while dealing with soreness, Tim Healey of Newsday reports. Cespedes, who revealed Friday that he has calcification in his heels and may need surgery, will meet with a foot specialist and have an MRI next week, per Healey. Despite that, the Mets haven’t ruled Cespedes out for Sunday’s game, according to manager Mickey Callaway.
  • The Angels activated right-hander Nick Tropeano from the disabled list and optioned fellow righty Eduardo Paredes to Triple-A Salt Lake on Saturday. Tropeano, who started the Angels’ game Saturday, missed just under a month and a half with inflammation in his pitching shoulder. He’s among a cavalcade of Angels who haven’t been able to get through the season unscathed, which helps explain their disappointing record (49-49). The 27-year-old entered Saturday with a 4.83 ERA/4.86 FIP, 7.33 K/9 and 3.33 BB/9 over a 10-start, 54-inning span.
  • Rangers catcher Jose Trevino has undergone season-ending left shoulder surgery, Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News reports, adding that he should be ready for spring training in 2019. The 25-year-old had a poor season at the plate at the Triple-A level (.234/.284/.332 in 201 trips), but he’s a well-regarded defender who ranks as the Rangers’ 21st-best prospect at MLB Pipeline. Trevino also earned his first major league promotion this season, collecting eight PAs.

Angels Place Garrett Richards, Nick Tropeano, Zack Cozart, Jim Johnson On 10-Day DL

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The Angels have announced a significant roster shuffle occasioned by a few injuries. Starters Garrett Richards and Nick Tropeano are each hitting the DL, as are infielder Zack Cozart and reliever Jim Johnson.

It’s not fully clear how severe these injuries are, but it’s still an ugly casualty list for a team that has already had some worrying health issues arise recently. Richards has a left hamstring strain, while Tropeano is dealing with right shoulder inflammation.

With Shohei Ohtani already on the shelf, likely joining JC Ramirez and Matt Shoemaker there for a lengthy stretch, the team’s rotation depth has already been tapped into. It seems the team is likely to call upon John Lamb in the near-term, as Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register tweets that he’s with the team (though not yet active). That’ll require a 40-man move. Otherwise, the best 40-man possibilities are Parker Bridwell, Felix Pena, and Miguel Almonte.

Pena is among the four players coming up to take the open roster spots for the time being. He could presumably become a rotation option, but there’s a pressing enough need that it’s fair to wonder if outside possibilities will be pursued.

Along with Pena, the team has called up three additional right-handed hurlers to help absorb innings. Eduardo Paredes, Akeel Morris, and Jake Jewell will all come off of the Triple-A Salt Lake roster to join the club in Oakland. That’ll at least help the team deal with the absence of Johnson, who has a lumbar strain.

In some regards — without knowing details yet from the team — Cozart’s injury may be the most worrisome. It’s particularly poor timing given that Andrelton Simmons is also sidelined, though the real concern here is the question of severity.

Cozart has been diagnosed with a left shoulder subluxation, a potentially worrying injury. That injury has in recent years sent at least two players — righty Carson Smith and infielder Marco Hernandez — to the operating room for season-ending procedures. Hopefully, that won’t be needed in Cozart’s case, but the fates of those players serve to illustrate the seriousness of injuries of this general variety.

Injury Notes: Donaldson, Tropeano, Musgrove, Twins

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The Blue Jays announced tonight that third baseman Josh Donaldson will rejoin the club Thursday and is likely to be activated from the disabled list. A shoulder issue has kept the former AL MVP out of action since April 10, though he’s played in multiple minor league rehab games and appears to be back on track after experiencing some troubles throwing across the diamond earlier this season. The Jays have stayed afloat just fine in the absence of their best player, as they’re currently sporting a 17-13 record and right in the middle of the AL Wild Card mix a month into the season. Donaldson will have plenty riding on a healthy and productive return, as he’s set to hit free agency for the first time following the 2018 campaign.

Some other health-related notes from around the league…

  • Already being hit hard by the injury bug, the Angels took another punch on Wednesday, announcing that righty Nick Tropeano is headed to the 10-day DL with a shoulder issue. The good news for the Halos is that the injury appears minor, as Tropeano told reporters he’ll “100 percent” be ready to return after the 10-day minimum (Twitter link via Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register). As Tropeano explains, he’s not even planning to stop throwing and already played catch earlier today. The Angels, it seems, are merely acting with precaution after the righty felt some something slightly off in his shoulder.
  • Pirates righty Joe Musgrove threw 36 pitches in a rehab outing, writes Oliver Macklin of MLB.com, 29 of which went for strikes. Manager Clint Hurdle added that Musgrove threw his cutter, slider and changeup in the outing and demonstrated “firm” velocity on his fastball. Perhaps more notable is the fact that Hurdle confirmed that Musgrove will indeed be rejoining the Pirates’ rotation when he returns from the disabled list. That could be bad news for rookie Nick Kingham, who turned in one of the best debuts in recent MLB history when he flirted with a perfect game through more than six innings this past Sunday. Kingham is slated to start Friday for the Buccos, though Hurdle said in announcing that earlier this week that there was nothing guaranteed beyond that point. Speculatively speaking, right-hander Chad Kuhl has also struggled in 2018 (5.01 ERA, seven homers in 32 1/3 innings), so perhaps he could be bumped if Kingham impresses in his second big league start.
  • Byron Buxton has yet to progress to running since being diagnosed with a hairline fracture in his toe, writes MLB.com’s Rhett Bollinger. Buxton sustained the injury when he fouled a ball into his foot during a rehab game in Fort Myers as he was working his way back from a bout with ongoing migraine headaches. He’ll rejoin the club on Friday but won’t necessarily be activated from the DL, Bollinger notes, as the team is debating whether he needs another rehab stint now that he’s been off for several weeks due to the foot injury. Bollinger adds that righty Trevor May, recovering from 2017 Tommy John surgery, tossed three innings and 46 pitches in an extended Spring Training game as he pushes his way toward readiness for a rehab assignment with the team’s Triple-A club.
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