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Trea Turner Undergoes Surgery On Index Finger

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Nationals shortstop Trea Turner underwent surgery this weekend on his index finger, according to an Instagram post from the player’s profile relayed by Todd Dybas of NBC Sports (link).

The shortstop originally suffered a fracture to the digit while trying to bunt in an Apr 2 game against the Phillies. Though the break required Turner to sit on the IL for roughly six weeks, the 26-year-old ultimately returned to action and gutted out another strong season. If Turner was hindered by only having full use of nine fingers, his .298/.353/.497 slash line over 569 PAs certainly indicated otherwise.

While the bad hand didn’t seem to dampen Turner’s output at the plate, his defense certainly may have suffered as a result; the NC State product logged a -10 DRS and -7 UZR at short in 2019 after recording slightly above-average fielding metrics in 2018. Still, Turner’s overall performance was good enough for 3.5 fWAR and 2.4 bWAR valuations on the year.

While D.C. may have to address the departure of key contributors like Stephen Strasburg, Anthony Rendon, and Howie Kendrick this offseason, the shortstop position projects to be a source of stability for the next several years. After avoiding his first trip through arbitration last year by agreeing to a $3.725MM salary figure with the Nats, Turner is projected to take home a $7.5MM arbitration award in his second trip through the system this offseason. Washington retains control of Turner through the 2022 season.

Health Notes: Turner, Kepler, Wong, G. Sanchez

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Nationals shortstop Trea Turner suffered a fractured right index finger April 3, and though the speedster made it back in mid-May, he’s nowhere near healthy, Brittany Ghiroli of The Athletic details (subscription required). The index finger is a “swollen, disjointed mess,” per Ghiroli, whose piece includes quotes from Turner and some Nationals teammates and coaches in regards to his ability to play through it. Third baseman Anthony Rendon, who revealed to Ghiroli that Turner also broke his right middle finger, is in awe of the season he has had despite the injury. “I don’t know how he does it. When I messed up my thumb or whatever earlier in the year, you can’t even hold a bat,” said Rendon. “You don’t realize you need to use all your freaking fingers, but he can’t, which is even more impressive.” The Nationals locked up a wild-card spot Tuesday with a doubleheader sweep of the Phillies. All Turner did was collect three hits, including two doubles, in Game 1 and then belt a go-ahead grand slam in a come-from-behind victory in the evening.

  • Twins outfielder Max Kepler has been dealing with left shoulder issues since Sept. 8, when he left a game against Cleveland after swinging awkwardly. The ailing Kepler hasn’t taken an at-bat in almost two weeks (Sept. 14), and it’ll be a little while longer before he does. The breakout 26-year-old is currently planning to make it back “no later than the beginning of a possible postseason series,” Do-Hyoung Park of MLB.com writes. The Twins are on the verge of clinching the AL Central, so avoiding the wild-card game will give Kepler a bit of extra time to get ready for a first-round series.
  • The left hamstring strain Cardinals second baseman Kolten Wong suffered last Thursday is a Grade 2 tear, according to Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. That likely sounds worse than it is, as Wong’s hopeful he’ll be able to come back during the Cardinals’ final series of the regular season. The Redbirds are closing in on a division title thanks in part to Wong, a .285/.361/.423 hitter with 11 home runs and 24 stolen bases in 549 plate appearances. His absence has enabled Matt Carpenter to get back into the Cardinals’ everyday lineup at third base, while highly productive rookie Tommy Edman has taken over for Wong at the keystone.
  • Yankees catcher Gary Sanchez is hoping to return from a groin strain this weekend, James Wagner of the New York Times tweets. That would give Sanchez a bit of time to tune up before the AL East champions’ first-round series. The slugger hasn’t played since Sept. 12, which has left New York’s catcher position to Austin Romine and Kyle Higashioka.

Nationals Activate Trea Turner, Option Wilmer Difo

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The Nationals have announced a series of roster moves, led by the return of shortstop Trea Turner from a lengthy stint on the injured list. Fellow infielder Wilmer Difo was optioned to create space for him.

As expected, starter Anibal Sanchez was placed on the 10-day injured list after suffering a hamstring injury yesterday. Righty Kyle McGowin will head onto the active roster to take the opening and provide the club with some innings in a swingman capacity.

Despite a forgettable opening quarter of the season, the Nats are hardly fully buried in the postseason hunt. They’ll need Turner to get back to his high-flying ways if they’re to overcome some other areas of concern and make up the six-game gap separating them from the Phillies (in addition to leap-frogging the Braves and Mets).

The 25-year-old Turner got off to a great start to the season, but was injured in only his fourth game of action. At his best, he’s among the better all-around shortstops in the game. It remains to be seen whether the fractured finger will have any lingering effects in the field or at the plate, but it shouldn’t prevent him from resuming his torrid stolen-base pace (four in four games after swiping more than forty in each of the past two seasons).

As for Difo, 27, he has had his chances over the past few campaigns but just hasn’t been able to provide enough offense. This year represented a new low, as he’s carrying only a .231/.301/.298 slash through 134 plate appearances. Without Difo, the roster lacks a true shortstop reserve, though Brian Dozier could slide over from second when Turner needs a rest.

McGowin may or may not end up getting a shot at taking a start in place of Sanchez. It’s also possible the club could give the ball to Erick Fedde, though he has been working in a relief capacity. Odds are the Nats will utilize both of those pitchers as needed in the coming days and wait to reassess when Sanchez’s turn comes up again on Tuesday.

Trea Turner Begins Rehab Assignment

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Nationals shortstop Trea Turner is set to launch a rehab assignment today, Mark Zuckerman of MASNsports.com reports on Twitter. He’ll open at High-A Potomac.

Turner was off to a scorching start to the season before he suffered a broken right index finger, with two home runs and four steals in just four games of action. The club’s ensuing struggles can’t be blamed entirely on the absences of Turner and others, but it has most assuredly not helped.

It isn’t yet known how long Turner will need to ramp back up, but his rehab assignment is capped at twenty days. It seems reasonable to hope that the Nats will have Turner in action for most or all of the month of June; they’ll need him to be at his best if they’re to regain ground in the NL East.

Health Notes: Kluber, Ohtani, Donaldson, Soto, Turner

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We can expect an update tomorrow from the Indians on injured righty Corey Kluber, Paul Hoynes of the Plain Dealer writes. It’s not yet known whether Kluber will require surgery for a forearm fracture. Even if he’s able to avoid a procedure, though, he’s likely to be sidelined for a lengthy stretch. Kluber is one of the game’s most accomplished hurlers, even if he hasn’t quite been himself to open the yea. The hope is that he’ll at least be able to target a late-summer return.

While we wait to learn more on that health situation, here’s the latest on a few others of note from around the game:

  • Shohei Ohtani is nearing activation by the Angels, manager Brad Ausmus tells reporters including Bill Shaikin of the Los Angeles Times (Twitter link). The precise timeline isn’t yet clear, but the DH is expected to return to action before the club opens a homestand on May 17th. Ohtani won’t be able to make it back to the mound this year after undergoing Tommy John surgery at the end of the 2018 season, but he’ll be able to contribute from the batter’s box.
  • The Braves seem to have averted a significant problem with third baseman Josh Donaldson and his ailing calf. That’s the same area that wiped out a huge chunk of his 2018 season. But Donaldson is due back this weekend, manager Brian Snitker tells reporters including Gabe Burns of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution (Twitter link). The 33-year-old Donaldson has thus far rewarded the faith of the Atlanta organization, slashing a smooth .258/.395/.495 through 119 plate appearances with the club.
  • There’s also generally positive news for the Nationals on the injury front. Outfielder Juan Soto was held out tonight owing to back spasms, but MLB.com’s Jamal Collier tweets that an MRI did not reveal any cause for concern. It’s not yet clear when he’ll be back in action, but Soto hasn’t gone on the injured list and will likely be slotted right back in the lineup as soon as he feels up to it. The club also can begin to look forward to a return from shortstop Trea Turner. As Jesse Dougherty of the Washington Post reports (via Twitter), Turner is moving a bit faster than had been expected and could be ready to begin swinging a bat this weekend. That’s a significant step for a player nursing a fractured finger.

NL East Notes: d’Arnaud, Anderson, Kieboom

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The Mets’ decision to cut Travis d’Arnaud so early in the season calls into question the decision to ever tender him a contract in the first place, Joel Sherman of the New York Post opines in a lengthy look at the process. The team’s stance is that it has spent the past two months — Spring Training included — evaluating d’Arnaud, though he’s received only 25 big league plate appearances in part due to a stint on the IL. General manager Brodie Van Wagenen simply stated a belief that Tomas Nido, recalled to replace d’Arnaud, “makes us better.” The defensive-minded Nido does give the team a glove-first backup to a more bat-first primary catcher in Wilson Ramos, though that much was always apparent — even from the time the Mets tendered d’Arnaud a $3.52MM contract while he worked his way back from Tommy John surgery. Van Wagenen asserted that he has no regrets about tendering d’Arnaud and added that he couldn’t let “a few dollars shortchange” the team or d’Arnaud from an opportunity to get a look at him this season, though as Sherman points out, those “few dollars” seem all the more costly given ownership’s track record of spending at a lesser level than one would expect from a team in the game’s largest market. More broadly, the column looks at whether d’Arnaud was a scapegoat of sorts and whether any reactionary moves might follow.

More out of the NL East…

  • Just a month into the season, the Marlins have “at least temporarily” moved Brian Anderson from third base back to right field, Jordan McPherson of the Miami Sun-Sentinel reports. The organization’s stance heading into the season was that Anderson would move back to his natural position, but manager Don Mattingly acknowledged that right field “turned into kind of a mess,” thus prompting the switch. Miami entered the season hoping that a combination of Garrett Cooper, Peter O’Brien, Austin Dean and Rosell Herrera could hold down the fort in right, however, so it’s hardly a surprise that the club ran into troubles there. The 28-year-old,  6’6″, 230-pound Cooper entered the season with all of 125 professional innings in right field and profiles better at first base, while O’Brien (also 28) is years removed from being an interesting power prospect with substantial defensive question marks. Mattingly wouldn’t comment on how long Anderson will be in the outfield, but the lack of solid in-house alternatives suggests that Anderson’s full-time move back to the hot corner won’t be anything close to “full-time” after all.
  • Jesse Dougherty of the Washington Post looks at the timing of Carter Kieboom’s promotion in an attempt to determine what prompted the Nationals to make the move when they did. While Kieboom’s promotion ensures that he won’t be able to tally the 172 days of MLB service needed to reach one full year of service, Dougherty points out that service time considerations haven’t been a factor in the past when the Nats promoted star prospects like Bryce Harper, Victor Robles and Juan Soto. Rather, he speculates that perhaps Trea Turner’s timeline is closer to the eight-week time period than originally hoped, and the lack of offense from shortstop proved glaring. As for what’ll become of Kieboom, who has already homered twice, when Turner returns from his broken index finger, GM Mike Rizzo didn’t out keeping the 21-year-old Kieboom around. While Rizzo stated that Turner would return to shortstop once healed, he also indicated that the club could find a way to keep Kieboom on the big league roster at that point. The Nats kept Soto at the MLB level last year when he was initially promoted as an injury replacement, so there’s some recent precedent for that type of path. Turner is also still weeks away from a return, and it’s possible that other injuries on the roster will create a clearer opening for Kieboom to stick at the big league level even with Turner at shortstop.

Injury Notes: Dahl, Turner, Cobb, Mariners

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The Rockies announced Tuesday that they’ve placed outfielder David Dahl on the 10-day injured list due to a “left-side core injury.” Fellow outfielder Yonathan Daza has been recalled from Triple-A in his place. Dahl’s injury isn’t believed to be especially serious, and the hot-hitting 25-year-old in fact told MLB.com’s Thomas Harding that he hopes to return after a minimal 10-day stay on the IL (Twitter link). Dahl joins Daniel Murphy as a key middle-of-the-order presence whose absence will surely be felt by a Rockies lineup that entered play Tuesday tied for 20th in total runs scored (37th), 24th in batting average (.219), 26th in on-base percentage (.283) and 23rd in slugging percentage (.350). Dahl was off to a scintillating .343/.385/.629 start to the season through 39 plate appearances.

Some more notable injury updates from around the game…

  • Brittany Ghiroli of The Athletic tweets that there’s a “tentative” timeline of four to six weeks for Nationals star Trea Turner (from the time of his injury). Turner landed on the injured list with a fractured index finger last week. Light-hitting Wilmer Difo has filled in for Turner since he exited last Tuesday’s game after injuring his right (throwing) hand on a bunt attempt in his first plate appearance.
  • The Orioles announced that right-hander Alex Cobb, who had been slated to start tomorrow night’s game, has instead been placed on the 10-day injured list with a lumbar strain. The move is backdated to April 6. Cobb quickly follows righty Nate Karns (forearm strain) to the injured list, though there’s no timetable for a return on either right-hander. Baltimore has yet to announce a corresponding 25-man roster move for Cobb, who opened the season on the IL due to a groin strain. He’s thrown just 5 2/3 innings in one appearance so far this season. The early durability issues don’t help the Orioles’ already minimal chances of finding a summer trade partner willing to take on a portion of the $43MM still owed to Cobb through the 2021 campaign.
  • Mariners right-hander Chasen Bradford has been placed on the 10-day injured list due to inflammation in his right shoulder, per a team announcement. The Seattle organization will turn to fellow righty Erik Swanson in his stead. There’s no immediate rotation opening for Swanson, one of the focal pieces of the trade that sent James Paxton to the Yankees, so the 25-year-old seems ticketed for the bullpen for the time being. If Swanson finds his way into a game, he’d be making his big league debut. An eighth-round pick by the Rangers in 2014, Swanson went from Texas to New York in the 2016 Carlos Beltran trade before being sent to the Mariners in the aforementioned Paxton swap. He pitched at three levels in the Yankees’ system last year, working to a combined 2.66 ERA with 10.3 K/9 against 2.1 BB/9 in 121 2/3 innings.

Trea Turner Diagnosed With Fractured Index Finger

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TODAY: Turner is officially going on the 10-day injured list. Infielder Adrian Sanchez will take his spot on the active roster for the time being. Since Sanchez already has a 40-man spot, no further moves will be necessary.

YESTERDAY: The Nationals received bad news on shortstop Trea Turner tonight, as X-rays revealed that he sustained a fractured right index finger on a bunt attempt, manager Dave Martinez revealed following tonight’s loss (Twitter link via ESPN’s Buster Olney). He’ll be out for a yet-to-be-determined period of time.

Turner, looking to bunt his way aboard in the first inning of tonight’s game, left too much of his hand exposed and caught the brunt of a 92 mph Zach Eflin fastball on his right index finger. He was replaced by Wilmer Difo without finishing the at-bat and could very well be replaced by Difo for the foreseeable future with a trip to the injured list surely around the corner. Alternatively, the Nats have one of the game’s best infield prospects in Carter Kieboom, though the 21-year-old is not yet on the 40-man roster and has only played in 62 games above A-ball.

The loss of Turner comes at time when the Nats have opened the season 1-3 and been outscored by opponents at a 26-16 clip. Swapping out Turner, one of the team’s best offensive players, for the light-hitting Difo won’t do the lineup any favors. There’s little available on the open market at present, though the A’s did just cut veteran middle infielder Cliff Pennington loose if Washington is eyeing some veteran minor league depth from outside the organization.

Players Avoiding Arbitration: National League

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The deadline for players and teams to exchange arbitration figures passed yesterday at 1pm ET, and there has been a landslide of settlements on one-year deals to avoid an arbitration hearing. We’ll track those settlements from the National 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

  • Rounding out contract numbers for the St. Louis Cardinals, Dominic Leone will take home $1.26MM, Chasen Shreve will make $900K, and outfielder Marcell Ozuna will earn $12.25MM in his last season before free agency, per MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand (via Twitter). Ozuna has the most high-impact potential as he looks to rebound from a still-productive season in 2018 that saw his power output hindered at times by a balky shoulder. He still managed 23 home runs and a .280/.325/.433 slash line while playing just about every day outside of a 10-day DL stint late in August.
  • The Diamondbacks came to terms with a slew of players, per Feinsand (via Twitter), including Matt Andriese for $920K, Steven Souza Jr. for $4.125MM, shortstop Nick Ahmed for $3.6625MM, and potential closer Archie Bradley for $1.83MM.
  • The Rockies and starting pitcher Jon Gray have come to an agreement on a $2.935MM deal, per Feinsand (via Twitter). Gray had an up-and-down 2018 that is generally considered to be more promising than the optics of his 5.12 ERA make it seem.
  • The Pirates have come to terms on one-year deals with both of their arbitration eligible players, per Bill Brink of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Left fielder Corey Dickerson signs for $8.5MM, and reliever Keone Kela takes home $3.175MM. It’s a small arb class for the Pirates, whose list will grow next season as players like Josh Bell, Jameson Taillon, and Joe Musgrove, among others, reach their first season of eligibility.
  • The Dodgers signed a couple of their remaining arbitration-eligible players yesterday, USA Today’s Bob Nightengale (Twitter links). Utility man Chris Taylor has a $3.5MM deal, while outfield Joc Pederson settled at $5MM.

Earlier Updates

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NL East Notes: Mike Fast, Braves, Nationals,

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Analytics guru Mike Fast joined the Atlanta Braves organization this Wednesday, he announced via Twitter. Fast was formerly the director of research and development in Houston before leaving the organization in late September. The former semiconductor engineer will serve as a special assistant to GM Alex Anthopoulous, who has made it a priority to improve the Braves’ analytics department ever since his hiring in November of 2017, writes the Athletic’s David O’Brien. Per Anthopolous himself, Fast will be part of Atlanta’s senior leadership team, giving his input into all areas of baseball operations. Now, some other rumblings from around the NL East…

  • Right field and catcher clearly require the attention of the Braves’ front office this winter, where current free agents Kurt Suzuki and newly-minted Silver Slugger Nick Markakis have left holes, but improving the bench is not much further down their winter checklist, writes Gabriel Burns of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Versatile defender Charlie Culberson was a bright spot for the bench unit in 2018, but they could use a power bat to fill the spot once occupied by Matt Adams (and most recently by current free agent Lucas Duda). Outfielder Adam Duvall was acquired from the Reds last season in part to fill that role, but he struggled mightily in his 33 games as a Brave. Duvall projects to earn $3.1MM his first time through arbitration this winter, which makes him a likely non-tender candidate. He is a career .230/.291/.454 hitter. Still, while GM Alex Anthopoulos said they will be more “open-minded” about spending significant dollars on the bench this season, that’s not a development likely to happen early in the free agent season.
  • The Nationals do not see upgrading at second base as a priority this offseason, per Jesse Dougherty of the Washington Post. Earlier this week Dougherty tweeted that the Nats were comfortable going into next season with Howie Kendrick and Wilmer Difo manning the keystone. Still, it’s a bit surprising given Kendrick is coming off a ruptured achilles, and Difo hardly looked the part of a starter last season when he hit only .230/.298/.350 in 456 plate appearances. Interestingly, Rizzo cites the organization’s depth, specifically prospects Carter Kieboom and Luis Garcia as reasons for their optimism about the position moving forward. Rizzo’s comments are interesting because it means the Nationals are presumably comfortable keeping Trea Turner at shortstop for the foreseeable future. Further, Washington may view Kieboom and/or Garcia to be closer to the majors than it might otherwise appear. Garcia spent the 2018 season between Single-A Hagerstown and High-A Potomac, though he won’t even turn 19 until May. The 21-year-old Kieboom is the more likely of the two to make a surprise jump to the bigs (a la Juan Soto), as he played the final 62 games of 2018 at Double-A Harrisburg, hitting .262/.326/.395. The Nationals have, however, reportedly expressed some interest in Josh Harrison, though the former Pirates utilityman could back up multiple positions around the diamond.
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