We’ve seen foreign stints help spur big league revivals from quite a few players. Eric Thames, Miles Mikolas, and Chris Martin are among those that played significant roles in the 2019 MLB campaign. Whether any of the players covered below will do so remains to be seen, but there’s certainly a path.

We started by looking at position players and pitchers in South Korea’s Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) before turning to the hitters of Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB). Remember, teams in these leagues face limits on the number of non-native players they can carry on a roster. That creates a lot of pressure to secure big production from those roster spots, which often spurs mid-season change.

Here’s a 2019 wrap on the NPB’s hurlers from abroad …

• The Saitama Seibu Lions slugged their way to the best record in the Japan Pacific League, but they got some of their best innings from imported pitchers. Former Dodgers and Athletics righty Zach Neal turned in 100 1/3 innings of 2.87 ERA ball after spending some time with their minor league affiliate early on. He could be eyeing a return to the Majors, though a 4.6 K/9 rate in Japan is a red flag even if it’s accompanied by a pristine 1.3 BB/9 mark. Righties Kyle Martin and Deunte Heath, who had quite brief stints with the Red Sox and White Sox, respectively, helped the Lions as well. Martin notched a 3.67 ERA in 41 2/3 innings (albeit with 28 walks), while Heath chipped in 31 1/3 innings of 3.73 ERA ball and averaged 9.8 K/9 against 4.0 BB/9.
• Mariners fans surely remember Cuban-born lefty Ariel Miranda, who started 40 games for them from 2016-18. Now 30, Miranda tossed 86 innings for the Fukuoka Softbank Hawks and notched a respectable 4.19 ERA in a hitter-friendly league, though he carried an unsightly 58-to-48 K/BB ratio. Dutch righty Rick van den Hurk hasn’t pitched in the Majors since 2012, having carved out a career between the KBO and NPB. He only pitched 17 2/3 innings for the Hawks this season but turned in a 3.12 ERA and a terrific 22-to-2 K/BB ratio. Given his track record there — 3.50 ERA in nearly 500 NPB innings — the 34-year-old could be in Japan to stay. The Hawks also enjoyed 57 2/3 innings of 3.90 ERA ball from Japanese-born southpaw Tsuyoshi Wada, who was with the Cubs from 2014-15 before returning to Japan. At 38 years of age, he’s still chugging along.
• Former Twins righty Alan Busenitz and former Indians righty Frank Herrmann formed a dominant setup combo for the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles. Busenitz chipped in 51 frames with a 1.94 ERA with 7.9 K/9 against 3.5 BB/9. Herrmann’s 3.04 ERA and 49-to-16 K/BB ratio in 47 2/3 innings hardly went unnoticed, either. Herrmann will turn 36 early next season, but Busenitz is still just 29.
• The Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters didn’t benefit much from former big leaguers, as right-hander Johnny Barbato struggled through 32 innings. Avid Indians fans may remember right-hander Toru Murata, who pitched 3 1/3 innings for the Tribe in ’15 after spending several years in their minor league system. He chipped in 34 innings with a 3.18 ERA but walked nearly as many hitters (21) as he struck out (22). Former Cubs righty Justin Hancock tossed seven innings but was hit hard. Padres diehards may remember minor league righty Bryan Rodriguez, who tossed 91 1/3 innings of 3.25 ERA ball for the Fighters.
• Left-hander Andrew Albers, formerly of the Twins and Mariners, was dominant for the Orix Buffaloes in 2018 but took a step back with a 5.83 ERA in in 63 1/3 innings. The Buffaloes, however, received a seventh strong season from perhaps forgotten Cardinals righty Brandon Dickson, who posted a 3.03 ERA in 35 2/3 frames and has racked up 856 innings of 3.32 ERA ball since first signing with the Buffaloes back in 2013. Orix also picked up former Pirates prospect Tyler Eppler prior to the 2019 season, and after spending some time with the Buffaloes’ minor league club, he emerged with a 4.02 ERA, 7.2 K/9 and 2.6 BB/9 in 31 1/3 innings.
• The 2019 Yomiuri Giants received innings from four former big league pitchers: Taylor Jungmann, Rubby De La Rosa, Scott Mathieson and Ryan Cook. Jungmann struggled to an ERA just over 6.00 in 44 1/3 innings, while De La Rosa fared best (2.25 ERA in 25 innings). Mathieson, now 35, was limited to 22 2/3 innings of 4.37 ERA ball but has been a consistently impressive presence in the Giants’ bullpen since 2012 (2.46 ERA, 54 saves in 431 frames). Cook tallied just 15 innings and surrendered eight runs.
• Lefty Edwin Escobar’s biggest claim to fame in affiliated stateside ball might’ve been being included in a trade for Jake Peavy, but the 27-year-old has become a force in Japan. In his third season overseas, he turned in 75 1/3 innings of 2.51 ERA ball with 10.5 K/9 and 2.9 BB/9 for the second-place Yokohama DeNa BayStars. Former Cubs righty Spencer Patton took a step back after a dominant 2018 with the BayStars, tossing 36 2/3 innings but posting a 5.15 ERA. He did rack up 45 punchouts in that time. And former Nats lefty Sammy Solis made a brief 2019 cameo with the Yokohama club as well, tossing 4 1/3 innings with one run allowed.
• Right-hander Randy Messenger, of mid-2000s Marlins/Giants/Mariners fame, has become one of NPB’s best starters but struggled a bit in his age-37 season (4.67 ERA in 79 innings). But with more than 1600 innings of 3.13 ERA ball in a decade’s worth of time in Japan, he’s left a legacy with the Hanshin Tigers and been compensated handsomely for his efforts. The Tigers also received 103 2/3 innings of 4.69 ERA ball from righty Onelki Garcia, who tossed a combined 7 1/3 innings between the Dodgers and Royals in MLB. Hanshin was also a who’s-who of former Cubs, with righties Pierce Johnson, Kyuji Fujikawa and Rafael Dolis logging significant time. Johnson was brilliant, notching an immaculate 1.38 EA with 14.0 K/9 against 2.0 BB/9 in 58 2/3 frames. Fujikawa (1.77 ERA) and Dolis (2.11 ERA) split closing duties and combined for 35 saves in 111 1/3 innings (both split almost evenly).
• Former big league righties Casey Lawrence (Mariners) and Johnny Hellweg (Brewers) made extremely fleeting appearances with the Hiroshima Carp, who boasted perhaps the most impactful foreign pitcher in the league: lefty Kris Johnson. The former Twins/Pirates hurler has been flat-out dominant in five seasons with the Carp, totaling 756 1/3 innings with a 2.54 ERA, 7.0 K/9 and 3.0 BB/9 since making the jump. He’ll turn 35 next week, but it’s perhaps worth noting that the former Sawamura Award winner’s record contract is expiring.
• Remember situational lefty Enny Romero? He’s not only starting games for the Chunichi Dragons, he’s doing so fairly well. In 116 frames this year, he posted a 4.26 ERA with 8.1 K/9 against 4.3 BB/9. Fellow southpaw Joely Rodriguez, who spent parts of two seasons with the Phillies, overwhelmed NPB hitters with a 1.64 ERA, 11.5 K/9 and 2.1 BB/9 in 55 2/3 frames out of the Dragons’ pen. Even Daisuke Matsuzaka — yes, that Daisuke Matsuzaka — tossed 5 1/3 innings with the Dragons at the age of 39, but he didn’t fare well. To this point, however, he’s announced no plans to retire.
• Lastly, the Yakult Swallows had five former big leaguers suit up for them: righty David Buchanan, right-hander Scott McGough, southpaw David Huff, righty Ryota Igarashi (blast from the past!) and right-hander Albert Suarez. Buchanan paced the group at 99 2/3 innings, though his 4.79 ERA wasn’t much to behold. McGough notched 11 saves and a 3.15 ERA, however, while Huff continued his strong overseas career with a 3.97 ERA. Igarashi is still going strong with a 2.98 ERA at age 40, and Suarez yielded just three runs in 17 2/3 innings.

Solis, 30, has enjoyed a solid season in Triple-A El Paso to date, putting up a 3.57 ERA through 22 2/3 innings in that hitter-friendly setting. Solis has punched out 28 hitters against eight walks in that time and, despite a tiny 21.4 percent ground-ball rate, has held opponents to three home runs.

The past couple of seasons in D.C. were ugly ones for Solis, who most recently turned in a dismal 6.41 ERA in 39 1/3 frames for the Nats in 2018. Even in that down year, though, Solis averaged 10.1 K/9 with a solid 12.9 percent swinging-strike rate, and a 31.7 percent chase rate on pitches outside the strike zone. He’s averaged 94 mph on his heater at the big league level, and his track record in Triple-A aligns closely with what he’s done this season. Solis has been a bit more effective against righties than lefties in his career at the big league level, and that has emphatically been the case thus far in a small sample of innings with El Paso. At his best in 2015-16, he found success against hitters from both sides of the dish.

He’s a long ways from earning a trip back through the arbitration process, but if Solis does return to the Majors and find enough success that a new team wants to keep him into the offseason, he’d be controllable for multiple seasons. At present, Solis would be controlled through 2021 via arbitration, but by mid June there wouldn’t be enough time left in the season for him to reach four full years of MLB service, which would push a team’s control over him back another year.

March 11: Left-hander Sammy Solis’ foray into the free-agent market apparently proved to be extraordinarily brief; after being released by the Nationals on Saturday, Solis has agreed to a minor league contract with the Padres, according to Robert Murray and Dennis Lin of The Athletic (Twitter links). Solis is represented by CAA Baseball.

Following Solis’ release, manager Dave Martinez told MLB.com’s Richard Justice that the Nats opted to part ways with Solis in order to give him a chance to latch on with another club while Spring Training as still underway. It’d been determined that he wouldn’t make the team in Washington, and cutting ties with Solis not only gave him a chance to join another Major League camp in pursuit of a roster spot but also saved the Nationals a bit more than $700K of his non-guaranteed $850K salary. In that sense, the move helped out all parties, as Solis will still have more than two weeks to attempt to secure a roster spot in San Diego.

As Lin points out, the interest in Solis was heightened by the recent injury to fellow lefty reliever Jose Castillo, who sustained a flexor strain that, as of March 1, was expected to sideline him for six to eight weeks. San Diego still has multiple lefties on the roster even with Castillo out — both Aaron Loup and Robbie Erlin are expected to claim roster spots — but Solis will provide a depth piece and could yet even work his way into a somewhat unsettled Opening Day bullpen role. Kirby Yates, Adam Warren, Craig Stammen, Loup and Erlin are all set for bullpen spots, but there are at least two jobs up for grabs — perhaps three, if San Diego carries eight relievers.

Solis, 30, has had a pair of rough seasons with the Nationals — most recently working to a dismal 6.41 ERA in 39 1/3 frames last year. However, he also averaged 10.1 K/9 last season and turned in strong marks in terms of swinging-strike rate (12.9 percent) and opponents’ chase rate (31.7 percent). Solis has averaged 94 mph on his fastball in his career and has generally excelled at the Triple-A level. He also still has only three years, 61 days of MLB service time, meaning that if he does find success in the Padres’ pen, the team can control him through at least the 2021 season (and potentially 2022, depending on the timing of a promotion to the Majors).

Elsewhere in the division…

• Because of the numerous off-days baked into the early-season schedule, the Mets are likelier to open the season with seven relievers than they are with eight, tweets Mike Puma of the New York Post. Edwin Diaz, Jeurys Familia, Justin Wilson, Robert Gsellman and Seth Lugo are locks to hold down five of those spots, and Puma adds that non-roster lefties Luis Avilan and Hector Santiago are strong candidates to claim the other two slots. Both veterans signed minor league contracts with invites to Spring Training, and both have thrown quite well to open camp. That’d give manager Mickey Callaway three lefties to utilize out of the ’pen early in the season, although it wouldn’t leave the team with too much in the way of roster flexibility. With so many veteran relievers on board, the only three pitchers of that bunch who could technically be optioned to the minors would be Lugo, Gsellman and Diaz — none of whom would figure to be sent down to the minors at any point. If the Mets do eventually shift to carrying eight relievers, they’d be able to use that final ’pen slot to shuffle some fresh arms back and forth between the Majors and Triple-A Syracuse.
• Left-hander Sammy Solis was caught “completely off guard” by the Nationals’ decision to release him, the pitcher tells Richard Justice of MLB.com. Solid seemingly took the abrupt and unexpected news in good stride, thanking the organization and expressing some disappointment over having to say goodbye to longtime teammates. As manager Dave Martinez explains, the move was made with an eye toward giving Solis a chance to find another organization before the season begins. “For me, it was more about giving Sammy an opportunity to latch on with another team and get a chance to have that Spring Training elsewhere,” said Martinez. The Nats also shed $713K in salary with the move, which surely played a factor as well. The 30-year-old Solid has had a pair of unsightly seasons over the past two years, including a 2017 campaign that was shortened by elbow troubles. He maintains that he’s healthy now, though, and one would imagine that a lefty who averaged nearly 94 mph on his fastball to go along with a 12.9 percent swinging-strike rate in 2018 will garner interest — even if only on a minor league contract.
• Right-hander Pablo Lopez is making a strong case to open the season in the Marlins’ rotation, but manager Don Mattingly said this weekend that no decisions have been made as to who’ll round out the rotation behind Jose Urena and Dan Straily, per Jordan McPherson of the Miami Herald. Lopez tossed four perfect innings and picked up four punchouts in his most recent outing against a Nationals lineup featuring many regulars. He’s now allowed just one run on three hits and a walk with eight strikeouts in nine spring frames. Wei-Yin Chen’s contract — he’s owed $42MM over the next two seasons — makes him a likely candidate to get a long look, while other rotation hopefuls include Sandy Alcantara, Trevor Richards and southpaw Caleb Smith.

Solis, 30, had spent the entirety of his 9-year professional career with the organization, appearing in 141 games (all in relief) at the MLB level. In 39 1/3 IP last season, where he was deployed mostly as a lefty specialist, Solis’s ugly 6.41 ERA was at least somewhat offset by an encouraging 10.07 K/9 and 45% grounder rate.

Despite his traditional left-handed role in the Nats’ pen, Solis has actually been more effective against right-handers over the course of his career, notching a combined .306 wOBA against, compared to .329 vs same-side bats. Beset for much of his big-league time by persistent command issues, Solis’s also been a victim of the recent homer surge around the game, with over 17% of his fly balls coming to rest in the seats since the start of 2017.

After avoiding arbitration by signing a one-year, $850K pact with the team in November, Solis was set to compete for the second-lefty role in the Washington pen with longtime teammate Matt Grace. With the release, the Nats owe the lefty just one-sixth of his agreed-upon salary for 2019.

We’ll track today’s pre-tender agreements here, with all referenced projections coming courtesy of MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz…

• Giants infielder Joe Panik settled at a $3.8MM price tag, per Heyman (via Twitter). That’ll represent a savings as against the $4.2MM projected salary. Many had wondered whether the new San Francisco front office would move on from Panik, who has one more year of arb eligibility remaining. Meanwhile, Heyman tweets that reliever Sam Dyson has agreed to a $5MM pact. That also comes in $400K below his projection.
• The Padres settled with righty Bryan Mitchell for $900K, Heyman tweets. Mitchell had been a non-tender candidate at a projected $1.2MM sum.
• Newly acquired first baseman C.J. Cron has agreed to a $4.8MM contract, the Twins announced. He projected to a $5.2MM salary; this becomes the latest of many indications of the unstable market position of defensively limited slugger types.
• The Indians have settled with righty Danny Salazar for $4.5MM, Jon Heyman of Fancred tweets. He was projected at $5MM, with some wondering whether the Cleveland organization might non-tender him. The talented hurler missed the entire 2018 season. Meanwhile, righty Nick Goody is slated to earn $675K, Heyman tweets.
• Southpaw Jonny Venters avoided arb with the Braves, David O’Brien of The Athletic tweets. It’s a $2.25MM deal, sitting well over the $1.5MM projection, though certainly his unusual career path could have led to some additional arguments for a stronger raise.
• The Cardinals announced an agreement with lefty Chasen Shreve. Terms aren’t yet known. The 28-year-old had projected to take home $1.2MM for the 2019 campaign, but will settle at $900K per Heyman (via Twitter).
• Pirates righty Michael Feliz has avoided arbitration with the club, Rob Biertempfel of The Athletic was among those to report on Twitter. Feliz projected at a $900K salary and will get $850K, Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports tweets. It’s a split agreement that promises $375K in the minors, per Bill Brink of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (via Twitter).
• Infielder Tyler Saladino has agreed to a $887,500 salary with the Brewers, Jon Heyman of Fancred tweets. That comes in below the $1MM he projected to earn.
• The Athletics settled at $2.15MM with Liam Hendriks, per Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports (via Twitter), all of which is guaranteed. That’s just where he projected ($2.1MM) on the heels of a fascinating 2018 season. Hendriks was dropped from the MLB roster in the middle of the season but returned late in the year in dominant fashion as the A’s “opener.”
• Lefty Sammy Solis agreed to terms with the Nationals to avoid arbitration, the club announced. He profiled as a potential non-tender candidate, so it seems likely the organization pushed to get something done before the deadline. Solis, who has an intriguing power arsenal but struggled through a homer-prone 2018, projected at $900K. He’ll earn $850K, per Chelsea Janes of the Washington Post (Twitter link).
• The Athletics announced that they’ve agreed to a one-year deal with righty Ryan Dull in advance of tonight’s deadline. He’ll get $860K, Fancred’s Jon Heyman tweets, which checks in pretty closely with his $900K projection. Dull, 29, posted a 4.26 ERA with 21 strikeouts and seven walks in 25 1/3 innings of relief in 2018.
• Heyman also tweets that the Padres and Greg Garcia, whom they claimed off waivers earlier this offseason, settled on a one-year deal worth $910K that aligns with his $900K projection. Garcia hit .221/.309/.304 in 208 plate appearances with St. Louis last season and is a career .248/.356/.339 hitter in 860 plate appearances.

Earlier Agreements

• The Brewers and Hernan Perez avoided arbitration by agreeing to a one-year deal worth $2.5MM, as first reported by Heyman. He’ll check in a bit shy of his $2.7MM projection but remain on hand as a versatile utility option in Milwaukee.
• Left-hander Tony Cingrani and the Dodgers avoided arb with a one-year deal worth $2.65MM. That checks in just south of the lefty’s $2.7MM projection. Cingrani turned in a brilliant 36-to-6 K/BB ratio in 22 1/3 innings but was also tagged for a considerably less palatable 4.76 earned run average.
• The Red Sox announced that they’ve agreed to terms on a one-year contract for the 2019 season with right-hander Tyler Thornburg. They’ve also tendered contracts to the remainder of their arbitration-eligible players, though the terms of those deals will be negotiated in the coming weeks. Evan Drellich of NBC Sports Boston tweets that Thornburg will earn $1.75MM i 2019 and can earn another $400K via incentives. I’m told that includes $100K for reaching each of 45, 50, 55 and 60 appearances. Thornburg, 30, was roughed up to the tune of a 5.63 ERA in 24 innings for the Sox this season — his first action for Boston since being acquired prior to the 2017 season. His Boston tenure has been utterly derailed by thoracic outlet syndrome and the ensuing surgery. Thornburg was excellent for the 2016 Brewers, and Boston parted with Travis Shaw in order to acquire him, so the Sox will surely hope that a regular offseason of rest and further removing himself from TOS surgery will get the righty back on track. This will be Thornburg’s final season of club control. He’d been projected to earn $2.3MM.

• Some in the Orioles front office apparently see the merit in weighing at least a partial sell-off if the club’s fortunes don’t change before the trade deadline, Jon Heyman of Fan Rag writes. But that will still require the sign-off of owner Peter Angelos, who Heyman notes may not be inclined to give up on the current season. Though the O’s are still within sight of the Wild Card chase, there’s no indication at present that the team’s starting pitching woes will really improve. Then again, the organization has managed to surprise quite a bit in the recent past.
• Even if the O’s do begin marketing some pieces, Heyman says there’s no indication they’ll be willing to part with their core position players. But relievers could be fair game, he suggests, with late-inning arms Zach Britton, Brad Brach, and Mychal Givens all generating phone traffic from rival organizations. The Dodgers are one team with interest in Britton, Heyman writes, as Los Angeles looks into the possibility of adding a big-time lefty to the pen. It seems the Nationals may also be at least looking into Britton, though obviously relations between the Nats and O’s aren’t exactly sunny.
• Indeed, the long-broiling MASN television rights fees dispute between the Orioles and Nationals is still ongoing. But it did reach an important point today, as Chelsea Janes of the Washington Post notes on Twitter. A New York appellate court ruled that the proper arbitral forum for the dispute is MLB’s Revenue Sharing Definitions Committee — the same body that gave the Nats an award for past years’ rights fees that spurred the current legal battle. That ruling itself can still be appealed, of course, and even then it seems the sides could still need to go through another arbitration process (barring settlement but also possibly subject to its own appeal). While that appears to be a nice win for the Nationals, then, it’s not as if the team will suddenly gain access to the money it has long sought from the Orioles, who control the jointly owned television network.
• Meanwhile, as the Nats weigh all manner of bullpen possibilities, the team has officially announced that lefty Sammy Solis was optioned to Triple-A. He had only just been activated from a lengthy DL stint, but was hammered in four outings since his return. Presumably, the Nats will hope to work out the kinks for the power lefty over the next few weeks, but his struggles could feature prominently in the team’s thinking at the deadline.

[RELATED: Updated Nationals Depth Chart]

Turner, an offseason minor league signing, cracked the Nationals’ rotation in early May but ended up doing most of his work out of the bullpen before his designation. The 26-year-old wasn’t part of the solution for the Nats’ beleaguered relief corps, though, as he pitched to a 5.20 ERA and yielded a .288/.355/.545 batting line in 27 2/3 innings from their bullpen. All told, Turner has recorded a 5.08 ERA, with 5.31 K/9 and 3.46 BB/9, in 39 frames, making this the latest disappointing major league season for the 2009 first-round pick of the Tigers and former high-end prospect.

Meanwhile, if his output from 2015-16 is any indication, Solis’ return actually could be a significant boon to Washington’s bullpen. Solis was especially brilliant last year, when he registered a 2.41 ERA, 10.32 K/9 and 4.61 BB/9 in 41 innings, though he got off to a rough start this season before going on the DL in late April with elbow inflammation. The 28-year-old has given up four earned runs on four hits and three walks in 4 1/3 innings in 2017, but that’s obviously a small sample and he still owns a 3.11 ERA in 66 2/3 career frames. That type of run prevention would be a godsend for the Nats, whose relievers rank second last in the majors in both ERA and fWAR.

Clearly, Seattle’s deadline plans could be altered by Smyly’s progress (or lack thereof). If the team finds itself in a strong Wild Card position at the end of July, but doesn’t think it’ll get the rotation boost it needs, it’s at least possible to imagine a move to  bolster the rotation. Here are some more notable injury situations from around the game:

• Young Braves hurler Patrick Weigel is headed for Tommy John surgery, per David O’Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. That’s the result that was feared when it was learned that he had suffered a partial UCL tear. Soon to turn 23, Weigel had reached Triple-A in just his third professional season. He could’ve conceivably provided the Braves with a rotation option for 2018, so the loss should only increase the organization’s interest in adding a significant outside starter.
• It seems the Astros are wisely taking a measured approach with southpaw Dallas Keuchel, who is working back from a pinched nerve in his neck. As Jake Kaplan of the Houston Chronicle writes, skipper A.J. Hinch acknowledges that the club is “just being conservative” by “methodically putting a few more challenges in front of him” to bring Keuchel along slowly. With Keuchel in need of at some rehab outings before returning to the MLB hill, it seems he won’t likely make it back until after the All-Star break. That timeline surely works just fine for the front-running Astros, who are as close to a postseason shoe-in as there can be at this stage of the season.
• The Nationals’ bullpen needs have long been a focus of the 2017 trade season. Just how many arms the Nats will go looking for could well depend in part upon the progress of several current pitchers. Per a club update, via Mark Zuckerman of MASNsports.com (via Twitter), Sammy Solis appears to be making real strides after missing a significant stretch with elbow issues, as he was able to take the ball for Triple-A Syracuse. If the power lefty can return to health and to form, that’d be a significant boost. Meanwhile, Shawn Kelley (out with a trap strain) has resumed throwing — which is not yet the case for fellow righty Koda Glover (who is dealing with back issues).
• There’s some positive momentum for Indians righty Danny Salazar, as Jimmy Miller of the Akron Beacon Journal writes. Salazar says his shoulder feels good, and he’s now slated to begin a rehab assignment. The high-octane hurler, 27, could potentially re-take a spot in the rotation or provide Cleveland with another fascinating, multi-inning-capable bullpen arm.
• Likewise, the Cubs saw progress from righty Kyle Hendricks, as Patrick Mooney of CSN Chicago tweets that he was able to throw (albeit only from 90 feet) without experiencing any issues in his hand. Hendricks has been dealing with tendon problems in his pitching hand, leading to a DL placement. Before going down with the injury, Hendricks had turned in eleven somewhat worrying starts. Expectations were high after he landed third in the 2016 Cy Young voting, but Hendricks has shown a significant velocity loss (over two miles per hour on his fastball) and a big drop in swinging-strike rate (from 10.0% to 7.3%). Getting him healthy and back to form would represent a big boost to the Cubs, though it’s not clear whether they’ll have a real read on his capacity before making deadline plans.
• While the Reds haven’t yet made a move, it seems likely that lefty Brandon Finnegan is heading back to the DL. Initial indications were that he had only experienced a triceps strain during his first start after rehabbing an injury to the teres major muscle in his shoulder. Instead, per manager Bryan Price (on MLB Network Radio on Sirius XM, via Twitter), the injury was traced to that same muscle. While it’s said to be in a different part of the muscle, it nevertheless seems rather concerning that Finnegan is experiencing issues in that same narrow area. The broader prognosis remains unclear at this moment, though Price said he expects the southpaw to miss “at least … several weeks, if not longer.”

More on the NL East division leaders…

• Manager Dusty Baker tells reporters that left-handed reliever Sammy Solis threw a lengthy bullpen session and also pitched a simulated game this week (Twitter link via the Post’s Chelsea Janes). The Nats, though, appear to be taking a cautious route with the 28-year-old, as Baker wouldn’t yet commit to a minor league rehab assignment. Solis tossed 62 1/3 innings of 2.74 ERA ball from 2015-16 with the Nats and averaged better than 10 strikeouts per nine innings last year, but he’s been limited to just 4 1/3 frames in 2017 thanks to inflammation in his left elbow.
• Janes also tweets that top prospect Erick Fedde has been promoted to Triple-A Syracuse. The former first-rounder is viewed as a starter by the Nationals in the long-term but was moved to a bullpen role earlier this year in order to help manage his innings and to allow him to surface as a potential midseason option in relief. Through 56 1/3 innings in Double-A Harrisburg, Fedde posted a 3.04 ERA with 8.6 K/9, 2.9 BB/9 and a 50.7 percent ground-ball rate.
• While there’s been speculation that the Nationals could put 2017 first-round pick Seth Romero in the bullpen in an effort to fast-track him to the Majors in 2017, GM Mike Rizzo says the team views Romero as a starter, according to MLB.com’s Jamal Collier. Rizzo has never had a player reach the Majors the same year he was drafted, though he didn’t firmly rule it out as a possibility in Romero’s case. “We’re going to develop him at his own pace and utilize our strong player development system,” the GM told reporters. “And hopefully he’s a guy for us down the road.” Romero was considered a possible top 10 pick but slipped in the draft due to makeup concerns after he was kicked off the University of Houston’s team this season despite being its top pitcher in terms of performance. The Houston Chronicle’s Joseph Duarte has reported that Romero failed a drug test in 2016 (one of multiple recreational drug-related incidents) and was finally dismissed from the team this season after getting into a fight with one of his teammates. Romero had previously been suspended by the Cougars on two separate occasions prior to the physical altercation.

Here’s more from the National League East:

• Things obviously haven’t gone as hoped thus far for the Marlins, though that doesn’t mean president of baseball operations Mike Hill is giving up just yet, as Tim Healey of the Sun-Sentinel reports. Time may be running short to engineer a turnaround, but “there’s no panic” in the organization, says Hill. With lapses cropping up all over the roster, says the veteran executive, “it makes it even harder” to find a solution. For the time being, then, it seems there’s little the club can do but continue to press on.
• Outfielder Christian Yelich is among the Marlins players who has not quite performed to expectations thus far. Now, he’s dealing with a new injury, as Healey reports. Yelich left last night’s game after his right hip flexor tightened up. The club is waiting to see how Yelich feels today before determining the next steps.
• Also leaving his game with a seemingly minor injury was Mets outfielder Jay Bruce, as Christian Red of the New York Daily News reports. Bruce is dealing with lower back tightness, though he says that “hopefully it’s just an isolated incident.” With the Mets still trying to scramble back into contention, the team will surely hope that’s the case. The resurgent Bruce has been one of the club’s most productive players, slashing .250/.331/.513 with 11 home runs over 181 plate appearances.
• The Phillies announced yesterday that outfielder Daniel Nava would head to the 10-day DL with a hamstring strain. That’s unfortunate timing for the 34-year-old, who was off to an excellent start after a rough 2016 season. Through 73 trips to the plate, Nava is slashing a robust .305/.425/.458 with more walks than strikeouts — potentially making him a trade candidate this summer for organizations looking at adding a bench bat.
• With the Phillies struggling to find offensive production, the club ought to consider bringing back Roman Quinn, Ryan Lawrence of the Philly Voice argues. The young outfielder has been particularly productive over the last month at Triple-A, Lawrence notes. He also showed fairly well in a brief debut last year. Though there’s not a clear path to everyday time, Lawrence suggests the Phils could cut back on the plate appearances currently going to the struggling Michael Saunders and even center fielder Odubel Herrera to fit the speedy Quinn into the lineup.
• Two Nationals relievers are showing at least some signs of progress, as Chelsea Janes of the Washington Post reports (Twitter link). Sammy Solis and Joe Blanton are at least throwing the baseball at present, though it’s still not clear whether either is yet working off a mound. Solis, in particular, has been a significant question mark given his seeming lack of progress from an inflamed nerve in his elbow. The Nats will hope that both can make it back and bolster a late-inning mix that has been questionable all year long.

Here’s more on some pitching health issues from around the game:

• It has been a long wait for the White Sox as young lefty Carlos Rodon, who hasn’t yet pitched in 2017 due to a biceps injury. Skipper Rick Renteria was somewhat coy when asked about the southpaw, as Daryl Van Schouwen of the Chicago Sun-Times reports on Twitter. While Renteria emphasized that the club was “very happy” with Rodon’s progress, he declined to say whether the 24-year-old has been cleared to work off of a mound.
• Southpaw Cole Hamels was scratched from his outing for the Rangers today, as Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News tweeted. Oblique tightness was given as the reason, though the severity isn’t yet clear. Texas can scarcely afford anything less than a healthy and effective Hamels as the team seeks to dig itself out of the AL West basement. The veteran has managed just 4.1 K/9 on the year, less than half his career average, with a 7.5% swinging-strike rate that’s well off his typical pace (12.3% lifetime). That said, he still carries a 3.03 ERA through 32 2/3 innings.
• Also leaving with an injury today was Marlins righty Edinson Volquez. As MLB.com’s Joe Frisaro writes, Volquez had an incredibly unusual stat line, compiling an unprecedented combination of eight walks and nine strikeouts through 4 1/3 innings before departing with a thumb blister. After the game, manager Don Mattingly said that Volquez could miss his next scheduled outing, as Clark Spencer of the Miami Herald tweets.
• Corey Kluber of the Indians failed to make it through his start, too, as MLB.com’s Jordan Bastian reports on Twitter. The righty was dealing with lower back issues that have been a nagging problem of late. He had struggled through three innings before being pulled. Kluber is off to an uncharacteristically slow start to the year, with a 5.06 ERA through 37 1/3 innings.
• The Nationals have thrived despite subpar work from their bullpen, but the team would no doubt prefer to see some improvement. It would surely help to get Koda Glover and Sammy Solis back from the DL, though as Chelsea Janes of the Washington Post reports (Twitter links), the outlook seems better for the former than the latter. Glover, who’s out with a hip issue, says he expects to return after the minimum ten days on the DL. But Solis has yet to begin playing catch. While there’s still no reason to fear a significant injury, elbow nerve inflammation has yet to subside.

Here’s more on the injury front:

• First baseman Lucas Duda is also nearing a return for the Mets. He started a rehab assignment this evening and played for six innings. Given the fairly limited duration of his layoff for a hyperextended elbow, it seems reasonable to think he’ll be back up in just a few days.
• It seems there’s forward momentum for Tigers star Miguel Cabrera, as MLB.com’s Jason Beck reports on Twitter. Cabrera, who was forced to the DL with a groin strain, was able to jog and take batting practice today at the park.
• The Angels are assessing another injury for lefty Tyler Skaggs. Per a club announcement, he left his outing tonight with “right side tightness.” Just that means for the 25-year-old isn’t clear at this time. Heading into the current season, Skaggs had made only 41 starts since debuting in 2012. Over his five starts and 29 1/3 innings in 2017, Skaggs has pitched to a 3.99 ERA with a strong 29:9 K/BB ratio.
• Orioles closer Zach Britton may also be back Sunday — or, if not, then after the team’s off-day on Monday — per Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com (via Twitter). The southpaw is preparing to return rather quickly from an initially worrying forearm injury. He figures to step right back into the closer role for the O’s.
• The Rangers welcomed back Sam Dyson from his short DL stint. Though he jumped right back in and pitched in the ninth tonight, working a scoreless frame, that came in a losing effort. Unlike Britton, Dyson has likely been bypassed in the closer role, at least for the time being.
• While the Nationals are holding their breath over a new and potentially serious injury issue tonight, the team did get a bit of positive news earlier. An MRI came back clean for southpaw Sammy Solis, as Mark Zuckerman of MASNsports.com tweets. While there’s some inflammation present in his balky elbow, there’s no ligament issue.
• There are a few updates on some Reds hurlers who are working back from injury, as C. Trent Rosecrans of the Cincinnati Enquirer reports. Homer Bailey will throw a pen session early next week — his first since having bone spurs removed over the offseason. Fellow righty Anthony DeSclafani, meanwhile, is unfortunately still not ready to start throwing. Doctors will reassess his sprained UCL after allowing it a few more weeks of rest. And lefty Brandon Finnegan, who’s dealing with an oblique issue, is still a week away even from being examined again by physicians. The club is allowing him plenty of rest before taking stock of his path back tot he rotation.
• Dodgers skipper Dave Roberts provided the latest on a few of his team’s ailing players, as Andy McCullough of the Los Angeles Times was among those to report (links to Twitter). “Mechanical” issues are still holding back lefty Scott Kazmir, who still doesn’t seem to have a clear path back to the majors. The club will soon activate several position players, though, with Franklin Gutierrez likely to be followed within a week or so by Joc Pederson and Logan Forsythe. That’ll likely mean dropping top prospect Cody Bellinger back to Triple-A, McCullough notes.
• Athletics southpaw Sean Manaea is likely to miss a start and may hit the 10-day DL, as Joe Stiglich of NBC Sports Bay Area tweets. But the overall news is good. Manaea, who came down with some shoulder stiffness in his most recent outing, is not expected to require an extended absence.

Ross, 23, was always slated to join the team’s rotation, but was allowed to start the season off slowly at Triple-A since he was limited to 105 MLB frames last year due to shoulder issues. He ended up throwing 9 2/3 innings over two starts, though, so it’s not as if he didn’t log any innings. And in the meantime, the Nats ended up getting a very poor outing from Jeremy Guthrie.

While the early season machinations may not have worked out quite as hoped, Ross will now step back into the fifth starter’s spot. He’ll look to continue the success he has enjoyed over his first two years in the majors, over which he has run up 181 2/3 innings of 3.52 ERA pitching with 8.0 K/9 and 2.5 BB/9.

As for Solis, there was no real indication of a problem last night, when he threw a scoreless frame. That was his first work in nearly a week, though, and he has dealt with arm issues in the past. Solis has been working at his customary 93 to 94 mph range with the fastball, but has been drawing swings and misses at just one-third the rate he did last year.

The move will provide an opportunity for Solis to try to rest up and get back on track. It’ll also avoid a more difficult question for the organization. Washington cannot option Matt Albers and Enny Romero, who are perhaps the two players who’d otherwise have been most at risk of losing their roster spots.

Here are some more pitching health notes:

• The Mets plan to put lefty Steven Matz on the hill tomorrow after he showed well in a bullpen session yesterday, MLB.com’s Anthony DiComo tweets. “He looked very good,” said manager Terry Collins. “He looked nice and easy.” New York’s most recent attempt to ease a starter back into the rotation did not end well, and the team is certainly hoping for a smoother transition this time around. If he can stay healthy, Matz would represent a key asset over the final ten days of the regular season as well as a hopeful postseason berth beyond that.
• While their own rotation health situation is generally on the upswing, the Dodgers will be looking to see whether southpaw Scott Kazmir can hold up in a major league start, as MLB.com’s Ken Gurnick tweets. The 32-year-old last appeared a month ago and carries a 4.59 ERA in 135 1/3 innings on the year. He’ll follow Brett Anderson, who goes today, as the team looks to assess its options for the playoffs.
• Also facing postseason roster decisions with a key arm are the Indians, who are hoping that righty Danny Salazar can return — albeit as a reliever, per MLB.com’s Jordan Bastian. Salazar is still not ready for mound work, but has begun rebuilding arm strength in hopes that he can be ready for a possible relief role in the ALDS. For now, it’s still a measured process. “If he starts to feel real good, they can speed it up,” said manager Terry Francona.
• It’s unclear whether the Red Sox will give serious consideration to using right-hander Steven Wright in the postseason, if he’s able to return, but there’s some hope that he’ll soon present that option. As Scott Lauber of ESPN.com tweets, Wright is set to meet up with the team and may be ready for a pen session as he continues to test his balky shoulder.
• It’s also not apparent what plans the Nationals may have for left-handed reliever Sammy Solis, who has been sidelined with his own shoulder troubles. But it seems he’s now making forward progress, as Dan Kolko of MASN tweets that Solis felt good after a 25-pitch session on the mound. He could soon face hitters, which might pave the way for a return to the majors right at the end of the regular season, conceivably making him a playoff option.