The Cardinals are set to promote righty reliever Mitch Harris on Tuesday, Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch tweets. When Harris makes his first pitch with the Cardinals, he’ll become the first graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy to pitch in the big leagues in nearly a century, as Yahoo! Sports’ Jeff Passan wrote last month. The Cardinals drafted the 29-year-old Harris in the 13th round all the way back in 2008, but Harris spent several years honoring his commitment to the Navy, traveling the world as a weapons officer. The Navy didn’t allow him to join the Cardinals organization until the 2013 season. Once he did, though, the Cards moved him quickly through the minors, and after a handful of innings at Triple-A Memphis, he appears set to make his big-league debut. Perhaps that will come in Washington, where the Cardinals play tomorrow through Thursday. Here are two more quick notes from the Central divisions.
- Justin Verlander’s MRI last Thursday confirmed the Tigers’ initial diagnosis that he has a strained right triceps, James Schmehl of MLive.com writes. He won’t throw anymore until his arm stops feeling sore. Schmehl notes that Verlander is currently on the disabled list for the first time in his ten-year career. He has not yet pitched this season.
- In other injury news, Brewers catcher Jonathan Lucroy is headed to the disabled list with a broken left toe, MLB.com’s Adam McCalvy tweets. The loss of one of their superstars is an awful blow to a Brewers team that’s already in a 2-10 hole this season. Lucroy was hitting .167/.250/.214 in 48 plate appearances in 2015. Martin Maldonado will, presumably, handle the bulk of the Brewers’ catching duties in his place.
The wheels seem to be completely coming off of the Brewers’ season.
If things don’t start looking up for them soon, they had better start thinking about becoming sellers. I’m not one to over analyze things this early in the season, but I really don’t like their outlook.
What have they really got to sell? Everyone that is classically sellable (Ramirez, Lohse, Broxton) is having a horrible year so far. Everyone else is either making too much money or young enough to be part of a rebuild.
I’d say it’s too early to give up on those guys’ individual performance. To me, I’d be surprised if Ramirez was moved anyways due to his intent to retire after this season. Lohse and Broxton I feel hold some value even considering their early scuffles, and I’d throw Garza in the mix as well. If they really want to get bold and get a real return to bolster their future, Gomez(assuming he gets back healthy) would be the most interesting trade chip they’ve got.
Gomez would net the best return of anyone on their roster. With Braun’s contract hamstringing the budget into next decade, they won’t be able to afford to sign Gomez to an extension, so why not get something in return and start the rebuilding process?
Verlander is not done. He is injured. So far, the Tigers don’t need him. Might be a blessing in disguise, if he pitches fewer inning this year, prolonging the “tread on his tires”.
With all due respect, Verlander has BEEN done, especially when considering his contract. This is a guy who has hit that decline point far sooner than anyone hoped, and the team is still on the hook for what… 28mil per through 2020? Nice contract guys. Tigers don’t need him… you are right there, and I think they planned for this. But it isn’t about Verlander not being “done” because he is done, at least as more than anything but a #3 or #4 starter.
1. He is signed through 2019.
2. His FIP last year was lower than Doug Fister. Bad luck and bad defense last year.
3. He played injured last year. Seems like people would like him more if he just did not play at all last year. True?
4. Rick Porcello will be the highest paid Red Sox in AAV and it is very doubtful that he will be better than Verlander (barring injury). Verlander had 4+ pitches. His Fastball may have permanently regressed (so he may only have 3+ pitches), but it is still better than Porcello’s. Verlander at 32 > Porcello 26. No doubt. Their price tags will only be ~$7M/year different over the next 5.
Verlander is done throwing 97+mph and only relying on his heater to win games.It is how he adjusts to his new physical limitations that will determin if he can perform as a #2 or #3 SP. What exactly is his decline point? Must be the fact that he has not put up Cy Young numbers in 2013-14. He won it in 2011 and came in 2nd in 2012.
He still pitched 200+ innings each year and had a winning record each year. Even pitched 2014 while recovering from an injury that would have kept many others on the sidelines.
Regarding his contract, that was a business decision to keep him in Detroit for his whole career and enter the Hall of Fame as a Tiger. Same goes for Cabrera.
Now if only we could get word that Nathan is being shut down
I miss the excitement of the ninth inning. Soria is the only proven commodity in the bullpen so far, due to the excellent beginning of the season by the starters. I was scared when they brought in Joba last night. Thankfully, Ellsbury’s screamer was where Kinsler could turn it into a DP. Joba had every right to celebrate: his pitch got hammered, and his team mates bailed him out. Maybe when Verlander is ready, we could move him to the bullpen 
= just joking