Mining the News (6/19/24)

American League

Angels

• Ben Joyce added a splinker.

Strickland, who has thrown sinkers in previous years, learned this grip from Angels pitching strategist Bill Hezel. It’s more like a one-seam sinker as opposed to the conventional two-seamer, and as a result, Strickland’s sinker is averaging about seven more inches of vertical break this season compared with 2022 (he did not appear in the Majors in ’23).

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Joyce has not shied away from using his splinker in game action. He estimated that he threw it on 10 of his 27 pitches on Friday. He went heavy on it again as the opener on Sunday, throwing it for around 20 of his 42 pitches.

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Although Joyce’s fastball averages a tick under 101 mph, it’s been hittable. So has his upper-80s slider. The splinker comes in at a third speed — the mid-to-high 90s — and moves differently due to its lower spin rate. And because the release point for all three is similar, it’s more difficult to identify which pitch is leaving Joyce’s hand.

This pitch is a one-of-one. While Johan Duran’s splinker is the closest comp, Joyce throws slower and with more spin.

Astros

• Chas McCormick might be headed to AAA.

Houston may be nearing an inflection point with McCormick, who still has minor-league options and may benefit from a mental reset at Triple A to work on his swing. Brown even mentioned McCormick on Friday as someone who stands to lose playing time if and when Loperfido returns to the major-league club.

• Joey Loperfido won’t play first base in the majors.

First base, however, still feels far off. Loperfido has started 10 games there at Triple A, but neither Brown nor Espada seems eager to test him at the major-league level — even with Abreu gone.

“There will be some at-bats for him somewhere here, but I’m not saying Loperfido is going to come and a rookie player is going to be the savior at first base for us,” Brown said.

• Justin Verlander’s neck has been bothering him for a few weeks.

Verlander said his neck began bothering him “a couple weeks ago” but he attempted to pitch through it. He lasted just five innings in each of his past two starts, during which Verlander displayed some scattered command and surrendered eight earned runs.

“When I was out there, I felt like it wasn’t really bothering me, but when I go home and sit down and really think about it, I think it’s too much of a coincidence that my mechanics were really thrown off at the same time I was dealing with this,” Verlander said Saturday afternoon.

Orioles

• It’s unknown if Dean Kremer will need more rehab outings.

Kremer made a rehab start for Triple-A Norfolk on June 16, when he allowed five runs (two earned) in 3 2/3 innings vs. Memphis. The 28-year-old right-hander gave up four hits, issued one walk and recorded three strikeouts in his return to game action.

The Orioles expect Kremer to rejoin their rotation in the near future, although it has not yet been determined if he’ll need additional rehab outings.

Twins

• On June 13th, it was noted that a “healthy” Alex Kirilloff was headed back to AAA.

It’s not that he’s striking out a lot more or swinging and missing a ton (though both rates are up slightly) — but it’s when he makes contact, most of his line drives have been replaced by ground balls and high fly balls.

Kirilloff didn’t seem to have any indication of what’s been going wrong, either. He and Baldelli have pointed out that he has hit so many different ways throughout his career, all coalescing around his unique ability to put barrel to ball and drive it hard, all over the field. Kirilloff said he’d been trying not to overthink and keep hitting with feel, even amid these struggles.

• Kirilloff fessed up to playing through pain for a while and didn’t let the team know so instead of being in AAA, he’s on the major league IL.

Though Kirilloff had been optioned down to Triple-A St. Paul last Thursday to address those struggles, the Twins instead rescinded the option and placed him on the Major League 10-day injured list for what is currently deemed an unspecified back issue. Kirilloff will seek a second opinion and determine next steps from a back specialist.

“The communication on that, if that was something that was worsening and he was unable to play, does need to be better and something he needs to be able to bring up and say,” manager Rocco Baldelli said. “He had the opportunity to do it. Hopefully, we can do that better next time.”

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But this back issue worsened, Kirilloff said, since he first started feeling it in earnest roughly a month ago, and he and Baldelli agreed that the Twins hadn’t necessarily been made aware of that. Kirilloff said he’s now feeling soreness and pain in his lower back, coupled with related nerve issues that have started running down his leg.

He had the chance to bring it up to Baldelli when he was brought to the office for that conversation regarding the option down to Triple-A but did not, and perhaps attributed that in part to his surprise at being optioned at the time, though he ultimately took responsibility for the lack of communication.

White Sox

• Reading between the lines here, it sounds like Jonathan Cannon will be in the rotation for a while.

White Sox senior advisor to pitching, Brian Bannister, raved about Cannon upon talking to the media on Saturday in Arizona. Cannon has backed up those plaudits.

“I think the biggest thing is the lefty attack. And then I feel like everything is a little bit sharper than it was last time,” Cannon said. “Just kind of looking at some of the videos from some of my earlier outings, I like my stuff a lot better where it is right now.”

“He knows he belongs here,” Lee said. “It’s one of the humps you have to get over when you are in this league. You are meant to be here for a reason. He’s 100% meant to be here. I have full confidence in him. He has full confidence in me.”

National League

Cardinals

• Pedro Pagés might stay in the majors when Willson Contreras returns from the IL.

There is, and it’s a likely one. The Cardinals’ lack of right-handed depth off the bench has been a discussion point over the last few weeks. There’s an argument to be made that when Contreras is activated, Pagés can stay up as the backup while Herrera serves as a bench bat. While carrying three catchers isn’t ideal, it would at least give manager Oli Marmol some flexibility off the bench while other players continue progressing from injuries.

Mets

• Starling Marte will continue to miss time because of his knee.

Marte returned to the lineup Sunday after he was scratched Saturday because his knee flared up. He missed a game last week because of the same issue. Mets manager Carlos Mendoza said he wasn’t too concerned about the ailment, but added that it was something the Mets must monitor regularly “to make sure this doesn’t turn into a long-term injury.”

Marte said Sunday that as long as he treats the knee issue properly through work with the training staff, it’s not something that should continuously keep him out of action. He said the feeling could come and go at any moment, which is why managing it and being proactive about it is important.

Padres

• Fernando Tatis Jr. has been playing with a quad injury since April.

Standing in a quiet clubhouse, he revealed he has been playing through right quad tightness since the “third week of April.”

“Just not at my best,” Tatis said. “I feel like most people can notice I’m not stealing bases, I’m not running the way I know I can run. Just a little bit banged up right now, but we’re gonna keep fighting to see how we can find a way to stay on the field.”

Tatis has stayed on it almost all season, starting 76 of 77 games and trailing only teammate Jurickson Profar in wins above replacement among National League outfielders. His injury evidently is manageable, and Shildt said the Padres are “not overly concerned.” During Tuesday’s cameo, Tatis did not appear compromised as he chased a game-ending ground-rule double.