Under The Knife 8/23/24

Short and Sweet

Let’s get to the injuries … and let’s make it free today:

JAZZ CHISHOLM, IF NYY (sprained elbow)

Things have gone from “ambitious” to routine in a hurry for Jazz Chisholm. While he has a sprained elbow and is facing off-season surgery, he’s quickly been able to show that he’s able to do the things he needs to do. A source tells me he’s had good data in batting sessions where the Yankees data team basically went hard on him and he was able to generate very similar data to what he was doing before the injury. “He matches his intake,” I was told, referring to the testing done on Chisholm when he first came to the Yankees not too long ago.

Several have asked if Chisholm could be at risk on either another slide or a diving play in the field. The answer is yes, but he’s already facing surgery, so this is basically a known risk of discomfort more than risk of doing more damage, or at least more damage that would change the outcome, which will be reconstruction. That’s baked in now and if Chisholm can continue to play well, it’s a risk both he and the Yankees seem very comfortable with. The comparisons to Bryce Harper are apt, but remember most of Harper’s restrictions came after his surgery when there was some risk of damaging the surgical fix.

Chisholm could be activated as soon as Friday, the minimum, but it could come at any point after based on the Yankees current needs, matchup, and roster. There are more moving parts than just “Chisholm up, someone down” right now with the state of the rotation. More on that below, but don’t take a delay of Chisholm’s return as setback. EDIT: There’s late word that Chisholm will be activated on Friday.

CLARKE SCHMIDT, SP NYY (strained lat)
LUIS GIL, SP NYY (strained back)

The Yankees rotation is in a bit of flux right now with Luis Gil - who stabilized the rotation early, but now has a back strain - hitting the IL and Clarke Schmidt getting ready to do a rehab start on Friday. He’ll go 50 pitches and there’s probably one more behind it, but he’s close and if you pair that with Gil coming off at the minimum, it could be pretty similar in timing. At that stage, you’d think it’s a good problem to have, but then you have to think about the construction of the roster. (See above.)

Let’s assume that Gil and Schmidt both come back, as does Chisholm this weekend. Anthony Rizzo could come back from his fracture soon as well, and Jon Berti’s on the comeback trail as well. Four potential slots needed and … well, who comes off? DJ LeMahieu isn’t hitting, but that’s a tough cut. Oswaldo Cabrera has bounced back and forth to Triple-A, so he knows the way. That’s two. Will Warren likely gets bounced out of the rotation, subbing for Gil, but there’s still one more necessary slot. Is that Ben Rice with Rizzo at first?

It’s a bunch of tough decisions, but they all might be moot if the Yankees can’t keep people healthy. They’ve done well with some things, bad with others, but Brian Cashman has had to juggle a 26-man more than I can remember for the Yankees, who over his QUARTER CENTURY IN THE JOB has always preferred a stable lineup. IL slots open up ways to juggle, but it’s not what any team wants to do. Then again, being forced into hard decisions can be a positive. Eating two years of DJLM would be a tougher sell than most, but allowing Marcus Stroman within shouting distance of his vesting option next year is almost as bad.

By the way, if you don’t think Brian Cashman is a Hall of Famer, I can’t help you. Theo Epstein goes in. Billy Beane might get some love. A lot more deserve it, but if I had a vote, Cashman would be just behind Barry Bonds for me.

JARED JONES, SP PIT (strained lat)

For all the talk about how rehab starts might be outdated now and that innings have to be deployed properly in these parts, sometimes things show that they do have purpose. Jared Jones looked downright bad in his first two rehab starts, but then looked amazing in his third. Did something click? Was he just working on things and this time pitched like he has for the past couple seasons? There’s zero local coverage of the Indy Indians, but hey, it’s my back yard so I asked a source there and he said “Jones was just good.” Insight.

The thing I’m interested in is whether Jones was having trouble finding his release point. With the lat strain or any upper shoulder issue, there can be some issue with finding that exact spot. All Triple-A parks have Hawkeye cameras, so the Pirates know, even if it isn’t readily available to the rest of us. I’m curious why it took two bad starts to correct if so, but Jones looks ready to come back. That could happen as soon as Monday.

Jones, as I’ve noted before, both increased his fastball and got really good in the past two seasons, but hasn’t put up big innings totals. Yes, that’s over-simplistic modeling but it’s largely what we have at this point. As careful as the team is being with Paul Skenes, Jones isn’t too bad a pitcher and is the same age-22 this season. If the Pirates are ever going to be good in this era, the healthy of Skenes and Jones are paramount and there’s no indication that they’re doing anything different that the rest of the league.

JACOB DEGROM, SP TEX (sprained elbow/rehab)

The Rangers got a nice start from Kumar Rocker and now, Jacob deGrom followed him to the mound. Wait, that’s what many thought the big club would be getting this year after drafting Rocker a couple seasons back in a shock move and signing deGrom to a big deal. Instead, a pair of elbow surgeries have them pitching back to back for the Frisco RoughRiders instead of in Arlington. Still, there’s signs that could happen sooner than you’d think.

DeGrom’s first start was targeted for 30 pitches and two innings - the Rangers want to limit his up/downs - and he did almost exactly that, hitting 29 and 99 on several pitches. He dominated, but it was Double-A hitters of course. Still, overall a success and a clear sign that the stuff and the velocity is still there after his elbow revision.

If deGrom is back in mid-September as stated, he’ll get a couple starts as a confidence boost and a nice nudge to the season ticket salesmen. We could even see a couple back to back games of DeGrom and Max Scherzer, and maybe even Rocker jointing Jack Leiter. All of those were expected to be a part of this season, but the fact we may not even see them until the last month of the season together shows why this team might not even make it to October.

VICTOR VODNIK, RP COL (inflamed shoulder)

I got a text the other night and an insider asked me what I knew about Victor Vodnik. My answer: “absolutely nothing.” I didn’t mean just the injury, but I honestly didn’t know the name. Russian general? Polish pole vaulter? I probably watch the Rockies less than any team in the majors, but I was still surprised not to know a guy with ten saves. Vodnik’s been legit good, a surprise closer who took the job on merit after Jalen Beeks was dealt and no one else took the job.

Unfortunately, Vodnik has a biceps tendon issue, which is near the shoulder and often associated with the labrum. (It’s controversial in the orthopedic world, so just google it and have fun.) For now, it’s simply inflammation which can usually be cleared up with anti-inflammatories, treatment, and rest. The downside is that Vodnik will have to go back to pitching at some point and the root cause of the inflammation is either pitching or something going on inside the shoulder.

With Vodnik on the shelf and the calendar running short, the Rockies will likely go with a committee or hot hand as the play out the string. While it’s unclear if Vodnik will be shut down at some point, the hope is that he can be back in the role in ‘25 and provide at least one answer on a team full of questions.

Quick Cuts:

Zach Eflin (shoulder) thinks he’ll be on the IL the minimum 15-days, which would be great for the O’s given their rotation struggles at the back … Ryan Mountcastle injured his wrist on a slide Thursday. He’s heading for imaging Friday morning which will tell the story … Byron Buxton could be activated as soon as Friday after his hip responded well to an injection … There’s still no clarity on Carlos Correa’s return date as the team continues to work to find a way to get his foot functional … Fernando Tatis Jr (femur) was running at “about 70-75 percent” per reports, a nice sign of progress … Anthony Rizzo (arm) will head to Double-A to start a rehab assignment. It won’t be a quick one as they want to transition him to first base after a couple games of DHing … The Reds sent Jake Fraley to the IL with a knee sprain. No details, but a source indicates a mild MCL sprain. The team remade their roster a bit with a couple pickups, so the ten days will likely be some evaluation with a ‘free’ roster spot … Michael Siani did a full round of BP, his first since his oblique strain. He’ll head to the minors soon for what should be a quick rehab … Max Scherzer has been scratched from his expected Friday start in Frisco. No word on why as yet … Just me or is Sabrina Carpenter almost a Hayden Panetierre clone?