Under The Knife 8/13/21

Rearranging the Deck Chairs

The Field of Dreams game was awesome and everyone in the world will write and comment on it, so let’s do something different.

Ken Rosenthal wrote on Wednesday that decisions loom for three teams when it comes to their front offices - the Mets, Mariners, and Rockies. With two of those, there will be new people in place. I think the Mets will keep Zack Scott, but bring in someone to help as Sandy Alderson transitions out of a baseball role. The Rockies have been looking for a while and sources I speak with tell me they seem no closer than before, cycling through a list of possibilities while hoping someone pops up that they fall for. The Mariners are more of a wild card, coming down to whether some progress this year balances a lot of losing the last few as Jerry DiPoto guided the team. I think he exits as well, but are there more teams possibly in the GM/President/shotcaller want ads? Yes.

Look no further than Detroit and Arizona. While Mike Hazen has been on leave taking care of his wife - and best wishes to them - the question does have to be asked if the Diamondbacks are heading the right direction. I don’t anticipate them making wholesale changes, but there may be tweaks or Hazen might simply step aside. In Detroit, there’s some rumblings that AJ Hinch would like to have more influence in the front office as well, perhaps going as far as taking on both roles. I think that’s unlikely, but Al Avila may end up having to fall in line there if that’s the way ownership wants to go, or bringing in someone like Sig Megdal from the Orioles who could easily do the job but wouldn’t be your standard GM either.

To me, the Rockies are the most interesting. They’ve had a short list, largely of usual suspects, but Jeff Luhnow’s inclusion there has stood out. Where I think it’s headed there is that they’ll be a bit reactionary - does some team go on a run to a World Series title and have someone stand out that the Rockies could bring over? If we think about the likely playoff teams, are there number twos or threes who could make that shift? Jeff Kingston from the Dodgers, Jeremy Shelley from the Giants, and Jason Pare from the Braves are well thought of around the game, but one source tells me that he’ll be stunned if the Rockies end up with, as he called it, “another white baseball guy.” Billy Owens, Michael Hill, and DeJon Watson should be at the top of any list, but I think the Rockies ownership may go outside the box. Look for Jessica Mendoza to be considered strongly for the job, with the idea of pairing her with someone more experienced, “like a Theo-Sandy type,” I was told. One name to watch there is Paul DePodesta, who’s been out of baseball for a while with the Cleveland Browns, but that several teams think could be lured back to baseball for the right position and control.

I think there’s one other team where the GM might walk away and if so, that will be a coveted job, though I think that if it happens, the job will be filled internally. That’s Kansas City, down a bit this year, but still a job with very solid ownership. Dayton Moore has been there a long time (14 seasons!) and might shift out of a direct baseball role. JJ Picollo is the assumed heir, but he’s been there almost as long and there may be a push for some new leadership from inside a deep front office.

We’ll see where this goes, but I don’t think it will be a boring off-season in this sense. Along with the CBA negotiations, there’s not going to be much of a downtime and honestly, that’s a good thing for baseball. Now, on to the injuries:

Yu Darvish SP SDP (back spasms)
Dinelson Lamet SP SDP (infected hip/strained forearm)

The Padres pitching has been held together by a string all season, but Yu Darvish has been mostly durable, with only a minor hip issue sidelining him in a season where a game log of the starters will look insane. Darvish left his last start with back tightness and a source tells me this is simple back spasm, with no relation to that previous hip injury. The Padres medical staff will work to free this up, but as always, back issues like this are tough to get to the root cause and it’s often just chasing symptoms. Darvish is expected to make his next start, but that will depend on how he responds to treatment. If he makes his side work, that will be a good sign.

Dinelson Lamet hasn’t been durable, but he’s been good when out there. Word that he had to have a “hip procedure” to clean out an infection isn’t good, nor is there any word on the cause, but this isn’t a significant surgery that will take him out for a long time. This is roughly just washing out an area, getting antibiotics into a specific space, and isn’t really surgery at all, just a lot of needles. The Padres are saying he’ll be sidelined a week to monitor the infection (and perhaps do another round of antibiotics), but then should begin another throwing program. Previous to the hip issue, Lamet was throwing pens and looked to be close to a return, so it will be interesting to see how much this sets him back. Getting him back and functional for the way they’ve used him previously could be big in the competitive NL West race.

Akil Baddoo OF DET (concussion)
Derek Hill OF DET (bruised ribs)

After their nasty collision earlier this week, both Akil Baddoo and Derek Hill landed on the IL, but different lists. Baddoo had some concussion symptoms and has been placed on the 7-day concussion IL, while Hill went on the standard 10-day IL with a ribcage contusion.

For Baddoo, the timing is an unknown, as with any concussion. A source tells me the symptoms are relatively mild, but there’s not going to be any rush with Baddoo, who’s been a nice surprise for the Tigers this season. He’s a Rookie of the Year candidate and one of those cheap finds that a team needs, especially in a rebuilding phase. He’s certainly one of the more valuable Rule 5 picks in recent memory and this injury shouldn’t throw off his 2021 much.

As for Hill, this is a bit more concerning. My source said the bruising was “pretty severe” and that they would likely have to revisit the imaging just to be sure nothing was fractured. There’s some worry that he has some bruising internally as well, so he’s being monitored pretty closely. With Daz Cameron and Niko Goodrum also out, the Tigers outfield is pretty thin in the short term.

Both Baddoo and Hill were what would normally be called aggressive promotions. Baddoo’s was forced with the Rule 5, but talking to people around the league, it seems as if there’s a lot of players that really used 2020’s lost minor season to their own benefit and some that didn’t, and that teams are really taking note of which is which.

Francisco Lindor IF NYM (strained oblique)

Francisco Lindor was on the field hitting ahead of the Mets’ game on Wednesday, a step from hitting in the cages earlier this week. He’s ramping up and while there’s really no difference between the cage and the field, there is a perceived step there. If nothing else, the team is willing to let everyone see exactly where the player is when you put them on display.

For Lindor, the oblique seems to have healed and he looks relatively normal. I can’t wait for the day when we have better data on this, but I’m told that internally, the Mets are watching this, though no one would tell me exactly how. (I have a sneaking suspicion that HawkEye is it, which adds a new dimension to hitting outside.) The team thinks that this week has been good for Lindor and that by the end of the weekend, they’ll know when he’s back.

A rehab assignment would seem to be next, but that seems to be up for some debate. Not only are the Mets trying to hold on to a playoff spot, the acquisition of Javier Baez makes seeing him with their long term shortstop a priority, to decide how strongly they’ll try to retain him this off-season. I don’t see how they make that deal work next to Lindor’s absent letting Noah Syndergaard go, which is certainly possible.

I think we’ll have a much clearer idea of Lindor’s timeline at the start of next week. My guess is he’ll hit on the field at least once more, maybe twice, and that we’ll either get a rehab assignment or - possibly - an activation after that.

Jose Devers IF MIA (torn shoulder labrum)

The setback that Jose Devers had in his rehab was significant. Devers had surgery to repair his posterior labrum and I’m told there was more damage in the shoulder that was either fixed or at least cleaned up. This is a tough surgery to come back from and even then, there’s not a lot of data to work from. Matt Kemp was always the “uh oh, look what happened to him” guy for this kind of surgery and while we do get better and quicker results, Cody Bellinger hasn’t been good and his shoulder surgery is often pointed to as part of that. (I don’t think it should bear the full blame, but that’s a different story.)

With only 46 plate appearances, the 21 year old has another year with limited opportunities. He certainly has the talent and the genetics, but Devers needs to show that he’s more than just Rafael’s brother. The Marlins haven’t done him favors, but he also hasn’t been overmatched in his limited appearances. Devers should be ready for spring training if all goes to plan and he’ll have to show his hitting isn’t going to be down like so many others that have come back from shoulder problems. He’s young, so I don’t think this is full make-or-break, but it could define whether he has a chance to be the second star in the family, or just a utility guy with a good glove.

Quick Cuts:

Trevor Story left after a HBP to his forearm. No fracture, but he’ll be sore and could miss some games … Yasmani Grandal started his rehab assignment at Double-A Birmingham. Yes, putting him there after knee surgery is by design, though his rehab is said to have gone well … Travis d’Arnaud was activated Wednesday and Huascar Ynoa should be activated early next week as the Braves get back some of their injured players. That should help in that very tight NL East … Kyle Schwarber was due to make a rehab start at Triple-A Worcester, but rain wiped that out. We’ll see if the Red Sox leave him there for Friday, as there was some talk of bringing him up quickly … Hunter Greene was scratched from his Wednesday Triple-A start with a shoulder issue. Bears watching as he’s knocking on the door of a callup. In previous Septembers, he’d be a lock … I was on 101 ESPN in St Louis Friday talking about Jack Flaherty and his Friday return. I think he’ll have few issues despite it being a severe oblique strain. He’s healed up and had good functional strength and flexibility, meaning it took a severe strain to take him out at all … Tyler Beede was the first ‘20 TJ to make it back, but he’s been awful since his return, even in Triple-A. Now he has a back issue that has him shut down, so while ‘back’ it’s definitely not a successful return. Cracking why the ‘20 class had such a tough time is one of those issues MLB should be working on … Justus Sheffield should start his rehab assignment this week, putting him on track for a late August return … Kole Calhoun is back on the IL and it’s once again a hamstring strain. I’m worried this is a chronic issue, but the D-Backs medical staff is very good at precisely this sort of issue.

*Oh, you wonder who I think will get those other two likely open jobs? I do think the Mariners will open up. That’s been a tough front office and it’s a good situation as the rebuild has at least bottomed out. The Kendall Graveman deal is the latest issue that shows the disconnect between the front office, the locker room, and the fans. I think they’ll go for someone established — Michael Hill is going to top the list here. As for the Mets, I think this is Theo Epstein’s Plan C, but Steve Cohen may try to make it his Plan B. (Plan A is the Commissioner’s Office.) Beyond that, I think he’ll try to figure out who the next Theo Epstein is. (Good luck with that.) Alderson and Epstein are very different people with different skill sets, so will Cohen try to triangulate that? I don’t pretend to know who that might be. Want a really out-there possibility? Rob Manfred. If Manfred could get a soft landing that wouldn’t require a move, that’s something he might just accept for a team that could use his skill set.