Baseball Daily Dose: Daily Dose: Dinged Up D'backs
It was one step forward, two steps back for the Diamondbacks on Friday.
The club placed two starting pitchers, Shelby Miller and Rubby De La Rosa, on the 15-day disabled list while learning one of its best hitters, David Peralta, will begin playing extended spring training games next Wednesday with an eye on returning next weekend.
The move to place Miller on the disabled list with a sprained right index finger is one that has been in the making for over a month. The right-hander twice hit his hand on the mound during his follow-through while pitching at Petco Park on April 16, and Diamondbacks manager Chip Hale said Miller hasn’t been the same since the start.
“Obviously he hasn’t been successful, as successful as we feel like he can be, and it’s just his feel for the ball has not been as good as you want it,” Hale said. “Definitely what we’re going to be working with him on is getting him back to where he’s our No. 2 guy. That’s what we got him for, and we still believe he’s going to be that when this injury is healed.”
Miller is just 1-6 with a 7.09 ERA and 1.86 WHIP in 10 starts this year after being one of the team’s biggest offseason acquisitions this past Winter. De La Rosa has been better, owning a 4.15 ERA, 1.15 WHIP and 49/15 K/BB ratio over 47 2/3 innings.
His injury is less concrete, described as elbow soreness, as is his timetable for a return. The 27-year-old said he expects to miss around a month. Hale said the only certainty is that it won’t be the minimum 15 days.
“Any time you shut a pitcher down, you’ve got to start it back up at some point,” Hale said. “Obviously it’s not going to be the 15 days, it’ll be longer than that.”
On the plus side, Peralta, who has been out three weeks with right wrist inflammation, has been swinging a bat for a few days as he moves toward a return. Assuming he’s able to start playing games in extended spring next Wendesday, the 28-year-old should only need a few games before being ready for activation. Peralta was hitting .260/.321/.439 with three homers and two steals in 33 games before the injury.
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Carrasco Heading On Rehab Assignment
Carlos Carrasco‘s road back to Cleveland will begin in Akron on Saturday.
Carrasco will make his first rehab start Saturday at Double-A Akron, with the right-hander set to throw 60 pitches or four innings, whichever comes first. The rehab start will come just over a month after leaving a start on April 24 with a strained left hamstring.
Indians manager Terry Francona said Carrasco won’t necessarily need to build his stamina up to the 100-pitch level before being activated, and depending on how Saturday’s start goes, Carrasco could be back with the Tribe sooner than later.
“By all accounts he’s raring to go,” said Francona. “We just need to make sure that he can field his position, cover first base and not think about it when he’s pitching. By all accounts, he’s doing great. We’re just trying to get him stretched out again. He’ll come quick.”
The injury derailed what was a good start to the season for the right-hander. Carrasco had a 2.45 ERA, 0.95 WHIP and 20/5 K/BB ratio through 22 innings. Coming into the year, big things were expected from the 29-year-old after he won 14 games with a 3.63 ERA, 1.07 WHIP and 216 strikeouts in 30 starts in 2015.
Trevor Bauer moved into the rotation when Carrasco went down, but Carrasco’s return may not spell the end of Bauer’s time as a starter. Bauer has pitched decently well in his six starts, turning in three quality starts in his last four outings, meaning youngster Mike Clevinger could end up being the odd man out upon Carrasco’s return.
Urias Has Debut To Forget
This isn’t how it was supposed to go.
Julio Urias, the 19-year-old phenom making his major league debut on the biggest stage, for an organization that has a storied history of talented, young left-handers, struggled in 3 2/3 innings of work Friday, giving up three runs on five hits with four walks in a no-decision. Urias was chased with the bases loaded in the third inning, getting just eight outs in his debut.
The last teenager to start an MLB game was Felix Hernandez in 2005, and it was 1980 when Fernando Valenzuela started a craze in Los Angeles as a 19-year-old. Clayton Kershaw, Urias’ teammate who said the young lefty is better now than he was at Urias’ age, was 20 years old when he debuted on May 25, 2008.
Urias will be better than he showed Friday, but he may not have a chance to show it in the near future. With Alex Wood hoping to return to the rotation as early as Monday, Urias could be shifted to the bullpen or sent back down to Triple-A to continue his development.
National League Quick Hits: A right hamstring strain could spell trouble for Matt Cain. Cain suffered the injury in the second inning of Friday’s game against the Rockies, and the team will have to make a decision on a DL stint in the coming days … Christian Yelich (back) remained out of the Marlins’ lineup Friday, but he was used as a pinch-hitter in a loss to the Braves. Yelich walked in his only plate appearance, and his usage suggests he should be back sometime this weekend … Maikel Franco (ankle) returned to the Phillies’ lineup Friday. The third baseman had a sac fly RBI and an RBI single in a loss to the Cubs … sluggers Brandon Belt (ankle) and Hunter Pence (hamstring) were both held out again Friday. Belt hasn’t played since Wednesday, while Pence has been dealing with hamstring discomfort for the past week … Matt Adams (back) was out of the Cardinals’ lineup Friday. Adams departed Thursday’s game with mid-back stiffness … Jung Ho Kang homered and drove in three runs in a Pirates romp over the Rangers. Kang finished the night 2-for-5 and is now hitting .308/.367/.731 with six homers and 17 RBI in his first 60 plate appearances … Erick Aybar left Friday’s game after being hit in the foot by an Adam Conley pitch. X-rays came back negative, and Aybar is day to day … a game that began with a focus on Urias’ issues ended with a walk-off homer. Curtis Granderson bailed out closer Jeurys Familia, who had allowed four runs in the top of the ninth inning, with a solo homer leading off the bottom of the frame. The Mets won, 6-5.
American League Quick Hits: Eduardo Rodriguez (knee) will make his season debut Tuesday against the Orioles. Rodriguez has missed two months due to a right patella subluxation. The move means Clay Buchholz and his 6.35 ERA will head to the bullpen for the time being … Jose Bautista served his one-game suspension Friday for his part in the Blue Jays-Rangers brawl. Bautista appealed the suspension but had it upheld by MLB … Jurickson Profar was promoted and batted leadoff for the Rangers Friday in Rougned Odor‘s absence. The infielder went 1-for-5 and should continue to play while Odor is out serving his own suspension … Michael Brantley (shoulder) took some dry swings and was possibly going to hit off a tee on Friday. It’s a nice step, but there remains no timetable for Brantley to return to games … the Mariners placed one of their hottest hitters, Leonys Martin, on the 15-day disabled list Friday due to a strained left hamstring. Enjoying a fresh start in the Pacific Northwest, Martin was hitting .262/.339/.483 with nine homers and eight steals before the injury … Josh Donaldson homered twice and had five RBI in a win over the Red Sox on Friday. Donaldson finished 4-for-5 in the game, with each of his four hits driving in runs … Yovani Gallardo (shoulder) will throw a simulated game on Saturday. Gallardo was cleared to face hitters after getting through a 30-pitch bullpen session Wednesday with no issues. It’s possible he’ll be cleared to begin a rehab assignment after the simulated game, although that hasn’t been decided yet … Matt Shoemaker‘s resurgence continued Friday, as the right-hander struck out 11 over 8 1/3 innings in a win over the Astros. The dominant outing came one start after Shoemaker struck out 12 Orioles hitters … Troy Tulowitzki (quad) was back in the Blue Jays’ lineup Friday after missing two games with a sore right quad, but he may have been better off waiting until Saturday. The shortstop wore the golden sombrero, going 0-for-4 with four strikeouts against the Red Sox.
