Player News
Nick Kurtz is not in the lineup for Wednesday’s game against the Mariners.
Kurtz gets the matinee off even with right-hander Bryan Woo on the mound for Seattle. The 22-year-old rookie will take a seat with Seth Brown in the lineup in Kurtz’s absence.
Gabriel Moreno (side) is not in the starting lineup for Wednesday’s game against the mets.
Moreno was scratched Tuesday due to soreness in his side, and the Diamondbacks will have him begin Wednesday’s contest on the bench again. He was available off the bench Tuesday, so there’s a chance he’ll be available for this one, as well. In the meantime, Jose Herrera gets the start behind the plate.
Aaron Civale (hamstring) will make a rehab start Thursday for Triple-A Nashville.
Civale suffered a setback from his strained hamstring in the middle of April, but the 29-year-old has progressed enough to get back on the mound. The right-hander will assuredly need multiple outings before coming back to the majors, but he should be ready for the rotation by the end of May if he doesn’t have another setback.
William Contreras is playing with a fractured middle finger on his catching hand.
Contreras had X-rays last night, which revealed the fracture. It is reportedly an old fracture that “has bothered him for some time.” Contreras has played through it and will continue to do so. However, his catching hand is also the lead hand for his swing, so the fracture may be impacting some of his quality of contact. His barrel rate is just 3.1 percent on the season, and his average exit velocity is down almost three mph while posting a career-low hard hit rate. His bat speed has also fallen, with him ranking in the 65th percentile with an average bat speed of 72.8 mph after posting a 74.7 mph mark last year.
Rangers signed RHP Cory Abbott to a minor league contract.
Abbott had a 2.40 ERA in 15 innings for los Tecos de los Dos Laredos in the Mexican Independent League, striking out 15 batters and walking eight in an extremely hitter-friendly environment. He’s the third player signed out of the Mexican Independent League this week, with the Rangers also signing Robert Dugger and the Dodgers signing Nick Senzel. Abbott figures to join the starting rotation for Triple-A Round Rock.
Yordan Alvarez (hand) was diagnosed with a muscle strain on the top of his right hand.
The injury was previously reported as “inflammation,” but now we know that the inflammation is the result of a strain. Astros manager Joe Espada said the diagnosis was “good news,” and the team still hopes Alvarez will have a minimum stint on the IL, but he’ll obviously need to wait for the strained muscle or tendon to heal, which might take more than a week depending on the severity of the strain.