In The Field
Albert Pujols is dealing with left knee inflammation and was placed on the DL late last week..... Carlos Correa is still dealing with his back stiffness and isn't at the point yet where the team can send him out on a rehab assignment. AJ Hinch said on Monday that he's not doing anything on the field that would warrant him being sent out. He also said that they'll send him out as soon as they can, but that they are still taking the process slow.... Brian McCann is recovering from his knee surgery and it's still not certain whether he'll return to the Astros this year. The Astros have been linked in trade talks with Wilson Ramos which may mean that the injury is worse than the Astros initially thought.... Josh Donaldson is continuing his running progression for the Blue Jays as he's working back from his calf strain. The team is hoping he'll return by the end of the month.... Lourdes Guirrell Jr was placed on the seven day DL with a concussion on Monday the 15th.... Kevin Pillar hurt his SC joint (where sternum meets collarbone, I had to look it up too) on a diving catch on Sunday and was placed on the 10-day DL the following day. He's expected to miss 4-to-6 weeks.... We have new info on Lonnie Chisenhall's injured calf and per an update on July 10th he's going to miss eight to ten weeks putting him possibly returning in September.... Mike Zunino could return to the Mariners after the All-Star Break. He's expected to start his rehab assignment this week.... Christian Arroyo was sent on a AAA rehab assignment on July 12th, and then was activated from the DL on Monday and was optioned to AAA.... Matt Duffy was scratched from the lineup on Sunday with a sore ankle but it's not anything that should cause him to miss any time after the break..... Wilson Ramos left the game Saturday early with hamstring tightness, didn't play Sunday, and also was not going to play in the All-Star Game to avoid anything worse happening. He was ultimately placed on the DL and it's expected that he's going to be sidelined through July 31st, the non-waiver trade deadline.... Rafael Devers was placed on the DL on July 12th, retroactive to the 11th, but it doesn't sound like the team believes that there's anything underlying that could be causing any additional issues. He's struggled this season overall, but is still just 21 years old and had a solid June.... Christian Vasquez underwent surgery on his pinky finger July 10th and will miss 6-to-8 weeks for the Red Sox. Sandy Leon started every game at catcher last week.... Strangely enough, almost a month after the initial injury to Jorge Soler (broken foot) we still have no updates as to a potential timetable for him..... Logan Morrison received a cortisone shot, per a July 12th update, and it sounds like he may be able to return to the lineup when he's eligible to be activated on July 22nd..... Nicky Delmonico was sent out on a AAA rehab assignment on July 13th. He's been on a tear for the AAA team and he's been playing first base primarily.... Avisail Garcia participated in BP last Sunday and there's a chance that he'll be activated possibly as soon as Friday for the team.... Gary Sanchez is currently on his rehab assignment in AAA and has homered twice, and it sounds like he's going to be activated as soon as Friday. He's struggled this year with his average but he's still been an excellent power hitter for the Yankees.... Gleyber Torres has resumed running for the Yankees as of a July 12th update. He talked with some reporters during the All-Star Festivities and said that he feels he's ready to return now to the lineup, so it sounds like it may not be long before we see him back in action..... Vlad Guerrero Jr is officially back in action and has been activated off the DL and assigned to Dunedin for Toronto. The last we saw Vlad he was in AA and now he's been activated and sent right back to New Hampshire to continue his season.
IN THE ROTATION
Garrett Richards is undergoing Tommy John surgery to fix his torn UCL and will likely miss all of next season. I expect he gets a deal like Nathan Eovaldi did where a team will essentially pay him to rehab next season in hopes that he's healthy in 2020. ... Marco Estrada was placed on the DL last Friday and but there's no information out there that he's expected to miss any sort of significant time. ... Aaron Sanchez was slated to head to the Blue Jays' minor league complex over the All-Star Break to continue a throwing program...... Corey Kluber received an injection in his right knee on July 13th, after his worst start of the season where he allowed six runs in 7.1 innings. The team doesn't expect him to miss any additional time that just the All-Star Break as he's expected to make his next start on July 23rd..... Felix Hernandez was placed on the DL July10th with back stiffness. He played catch last weekend without any sort of issues and he's expected to take the mound on Saturday the 21st against the White Sox..... James Paxton left his final start before the All-Star Break with back tightness but it ended up not being anything serious, and the Mariners are planning to use that extra time off to get him right for his next start. He's scheduled to start the fourth game for the Mariners after the break, so him begin placed on the DL was more of a move for the M's to get fresh arms into the bullpen..... Chris Tillman started last Sunday for AAA Norfolk in what possibly could be his last rehab start before returning to the majors. Why the Orioles are still trying to make this work is beyond me, unless they literally have no one they can promote or trust more than Tillman..... Jake Faria has been on the DL with an oblique strain and we're closing in on the date that he can be activated from the 60-day DL. He's due back with the team by the end of the month and the Rays could definitely use some more starting pitching, even if their bullpen game have worked extremely well for them..... Drew Pomeranz is slated for another rehab start on Wednesday the 18th and the last reports coming from Boston were that his mechanics are still out of whack and he's having trouble piecing everything back together. There's no telling as of right now where the Sox would use him when he's able to come back, as it's equally possibly he ends up in the rotation or possibly in the bullpen.... Steven Wright's injured knee is coming along slower than expected according to reports out of Boston. Wright has had success with the knuckleball this year but he's outperforming his FIP by over a full run, and with the knuckleball things can spiral down quickly.
IN THE BULLPEN
Roberto Osuna has started pitching in games in the minors and he's eligible to come back to the team later this month. The Blue Jays have already said he'll slot right back in at closer for them.... Andrew Miller as sent on a AAA rehab assignment on Wednesday the 17th. There's no exact timetable from the team in his return but it shouldn't be too long after the All-Star Break assuming all things go well..... Addison Reed was placed on the DL July 11th with an elbow impingement. The Twins said at the time of the injury that there didn't appear to be any structural damage to the elbow, but also that they weren't sure when he'd be able to return to the bullpen.
TRADE WATCH
Zach Britton is the next Oriole that's likely to be dealt after the Orioles shipped shortstop Manny Machado to the Dodgers on Wednesday. The main teams being connected to Britton according to MLB Trade Rumors are the Astros, Cubs, Yankees, Phillies, and the Red Sox.
Texas has reportedly been considering shopping veterans Cole Hamels and Adrian Beltre prior to the deadline. Keone Kela is possibly another name that the Rangers are considering moving as he tuned in a 3.27 ERA (2.51 FIP) with a K% just shy of 30%. He could be an interesting trade target if a team wants a relievers with contract control, but isn't interested in ponying up the cost of Brad Hand.
PLAYERS TO ADD
Zach Britton and Brad Brach are both worth taking a look at for the Orioles as Britton is currently the closer for the team and hasn't allowed a run in seven straight outings while picking up either a save or a win in each of the last four, or Brach who likely takes over the ninth inning once Britton is inevitably traded. While we don't know where Britton ultimately will end up, there's a decent chance that whatever team it does end up going to, he likely wouldn't be the closer on that team without some sort of injury or blowup happening first.
ESPN OWNERSHIP BRITTON: 38.9%, up 6.3% over the last week
ESPN OWNERSHIP BRACH: 12.9%, down 1.5% over the last week
Hector Rondon is the closer for one of the best teams in baseball and still is under 50% owned on ESPN. I wrote a few weeks back that Rondon was worth picking up, but also that Ken Giles was worth keeping an eye on as he was throwing well, and since then Rodon has continued to dominate out of the pen and Giles was sent to AAA after using some colorful language towards AJ Hinch after he removed him from the game. Rondon has completed four of his last five save chances and he's striking out batters at a career high 31.4% rate. If you are in leagues deep enough to speculate on handcuffs though, Colin McHugh has been lights out for the Astros all season.
ESPN OWNERSHIP: 44.1%, up 9.4% over the last week.
Andrew Heaney has pitched extremely well over his last three starts striking out 26 batters against six walks in 20.1 innings. His fastball is ticking slightly up over those three starts as well sitting just under 92 MPH while his fastball for the season is hovering around 90 MPH. His swinging strikeout rate has also skyrocketed in these starts after just being mediocre all season, as he's generate swing and misses on 16.5% of strikes currently. Heaney is a former top prospect and as we all know, prospect growth isn't linear, so we may be seeing Heaney in the beginning of an ascension to another level for him.
ESPN OWNERSHIP: 43.5%, up 9.4% over the last week/
If you really want to get speculating as to who may play shortstop for the Orioles since Manny Machado is gone, an interesting option could be Orioles #1 prospect (MLB Pipeline 79 overall), and current AA SS/3B Ryan Mountcastle. Mountcastle is hitting .314 in AA this season with a .201 ISO and nine homers to go along with 39 RBI. He's been on fire lately at the plate too going 5-for-11 since the Future's game and he has hit safely in 16 of his last 17 games. He or Tim Beckham could potentially play shortstop while the other mans the other spot, so it'd be interesting to see if they feel like this is the time to call him up.
ESPN OWNERSHIP: 0.4%, up 0.1% over the last week.
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