The Weekly Rundown: 2/12/23 - 2/18/23
Padres still spending, injury scares to start spring training, and more.
Good morning!
Spring training is underway and you’re well aware of that if you follow any MLB reporters on social media. ‘Tis the season for your Twitter timeline to be filled with photos and videos of players you’ve never heard of throwing a baseball or doing a drill that you don’t care about And you know what? I’m not complaining. A) It’s beautiful and B) I’m guilty as charged.
Covering the Boston Red Sox at spring training in 2019 was the experience of a lifetime. Yes, it was my job (and still is if my employer asks me to head to Fort Myers again), but I’d be lying if I said the child baseball fan in me didn’t come out at points during the trip.
I spent my life dreaming about the opportunity to join players on the field for batting practice, talk to them in the clubhouse, and get a front-row seat to watch them work on their craft. That dream became a reality four years ago and you’re damn right I took every opportunity to post photos and videos of the experience all over social media.
There were many more where that came from, but you get the point.
Anyway, with spring training in full swing, these Weekly Rundowns should be more fun to put together (and to read, of course). If you haven’t already, you can subscribe below to get them in your e-mail inbox bright and early every Sunday morning. It’s free and if you’re a baseball fan, I promise you’ll be glad you did.
As for those of you who have already subscribed, you know the drill. Grab your coffee and jump into this week’s rundown.
Padres Add Pitching
The San Diego Padres were looking stacked heading into the 2023 season, though their one weakness appeared to be the back of their starting rotation. They attempted to remedy that issue by signing right-hander Michael Wacha to a unique one-year contract.
Wacha, who’s coming off a season with the Boston Red Sox, has player options for 2024 ($6.5 million), '25 ($6 million) and '26 ($6 million). The contract also includes a two-year club option for 2024 and '25 ($16 million each year). Wacha has a $4 million salary for 2023 and a $3.5 million signing bonus.
If Wacha can duplicate his 2022 efforts, he’ll bring a much-needed boost to a Padres club with NL West and World Series champion aspirations. The 31-year-old veteran was Boston’s most consistent starting pitcher, posting a 3.32 ERA and 1.115 WHIP in 23 starts (127.1 IP). He’ll stabilize the back end of what appears to be a six-man rotation with Nick Martinez and Seth Lugo offering flexibility.
And that wasn’t the Padres’ only addition of the week.
San Diego also took a flier on veteran southpaw Cole Hamels, who has made one big-league start since 2019. The 39-year-old signed a minor league deal with an invitation to spring training that will be worth $2 million if he cracks the MLB roster.
Hamels is a total wild card at this point. While he deserves a shot somewhere with his résumé (four-time All-Star, World Series MVP, 3.43 career ERA in 15 seasons), it’s hard to believe he can turn back the clock and provide consistent production at the major league level after missing the last three seasons. Still, it’s a low-risk move for the Padres that could wind up paying dividends if he proves himself in camp.
The deGrom Dilemma
Here we go again.
The Texas Rangers desperately needed to add starting pitching this offseason, so they were willing to take the risk of signing oft-injured two-time Cy Young winner Jacob deGrom to a $185 million contract. It didn’t take long for them to get their first injury scare with their new ace.
deGrom’s spring training has been delayed after he felt “a little tightness” in his left side during a bullpen session. GM Chris Young downplayed the issue and called the delay of deGrom’s Rangers debut “precautionary” due to the wet weather in Arizona, but New York Mets fans have seen this movie before.
deGrom hasn’t made more than 15 starts in a season since 2019 due to various back and arm injuries. There’s a reason Steve Cohen paid soon-to-be 40-year-old Justin Verlander rather than re-signing deGrom in free agency.
It’s too early for Rangers fans to panic. If deGrom and the Rangers are brushing this off as a minor setback, it should be taken as good news until proven otherwise. But there’s no doubt it’ll be a stressful experience every time deGrom takes the mound this season.
Another Strasburg Setback
Speaking of injury-plagued aces, Stephen Strasburg suffered a setback in his rehab from thoracic outlet syndrome. There is no timetable for the 2019 World Series MVP to return to the mound.
Strasburg, 34, has made only eight starts since propelling the Washington Nationals to the 2019 World Series title. He made just one start in 2022.
The issues began in 2020 when he was diagnosed with carpal tunnel syndrome. Strasburg underwent surgery after making two starts and made five appearances in 2021 before undergoing thoracic outlet surgery. Last July, he felt nerve discomfort in his ribcage area that forced him to miss the entire second half of the season.
The news is a real bummer as baseball is much more fun when Strasburg is pitching at full strength. The last time he was fully healthy, the three-time All-Star went 18-6 with a 3.32 ERA and 1.04 WHIP with 251 strikeouts in 209 innings. That effort earned him a fifth-place finish in NL Cy Young voting.
Let’s hope we haven’t seen the last of a healthy Strasburg on a big-league mound.
Missing Montas
The New York Yankees’ 2022 trade deadline deal to acquire Frankie Montas from the Oakland A’s has turned out to be an utter disaster.
Montas is likely to miss the entire 2023 season as he’ll undergo arthroscopic surgery on his shoulder on Tuesday. That means, with Montas scheduled to become a free agent next winter, the Yankees got virtually zero value out of the 29-year-old right-hander. Montas struggled mightily after coming over from Oakland, posting a 6.35 ERA in eight starts with the Yankees. New York sent prospects Ken Waldichuk, JP Sears, Luis Medina, and Cooper Bowman to Oakland in the trade.
Making matters worse for the Yankees is southpaw Nestor Cortes’ hamstring strain, which has put his status for the start of the season in jeopardy. Suddenly, there are a handful of question marks in the rotation after the 1-2 punch of Gerrit Cole and Carlos Rodon.
More Injury Scares
Sensing a trend here? Most of the news to come out of spring training so far has been injury-related. Not ideal. A couple more relevant injury updates for you…
The Red Sox are shutting Brayan Bello down from throwing this weekend after the 23-year-old righty complained of forearm tightness. Both Bello and the Red Sox downplayed the issue, but it’s worth monitoring going forward. The former top prospect is entering his first full MLB season and is considered one of the most exciting players on the Red Sox roster heading into the new campaign.
Houston Astros starter Lance McCullers Jr. also has been shut down after experiencing soreness in his throwing arm. There’s obvious concern here since McCullers made only eight starts last year due to a forearm strain. As the Red Sox did with Bello, the Astros assured reporters that shutting McCullers down was precautionary and the righty is “feeling good.” We’ll see.
Rapid Fire
Former Cleveland Guardians slugger Franmil Reyes signed a minor league deal with the Kansas City Royals and will join the team at spring training. The contract includes an opt-out at the end of the spring. The 27-year-old struggled at the plate with the Guardians and Chicago Cubs in 2022 but is a candidate for a bounce-back campaign. He hit 30+ homers in 2019 and 2021.
The Rangers needed to add some outfield depth and they did so by signing Robbie Grossman to a one-year contract worth $2 million. Grossman, 33, hit .209 with a .621 OPS last season but excelled with a .320/.436/.443 slash line against left-handed pitching. Expect Texas to platoon Brad Miller and Grossman in left field.
The Rumor Mill
Right-handed ace Aaron Nola and the Philadelphia Phillies reportedly have had discussions about a possible contract extension. The 29-year-old currently is scheduled to be among the top free-agent pitchers on the market next winter. If no agreement is reached ahead of Opening Day, Nola prefers to put the negotiations on hold until the offseason. Nola finished fourth in NL Cy Young voting last year with a 3.25 ERA, 2.58 FIP and 0.96 WHIP in 205 innings pitched.
San Diego Padres star third baseman Manny Machado said he plans to opt out of the remainder of his contract after the 2023 season. Doing so would leave five years and $150 million on the table. Interestingly enough, as I mentioned last week, the Padres reportedly were expected to pursue a contract extension with the 2022 NL MVP runner-up before Opening Day. This is a storyline worth monitoring over the next month as San Diego hasn’t been afraid to throw cash around this offseason.
Thanks as always for reading. Hopefully next rundown we’ll have less injury news and more baseball news.
Stay tuned for a World Baseball Classic preview and a bunch of content to get you prepped for Opening Day. Have a great week!