10:51am: Gordon has a grade two-plus strain and is expected to miss eight weeks of action, manager Ned Yost told reporters, including McCullough (Twitter links). Surgery does not appear to be necessary, per Yost.
10:09am: While we are still awaiting news on the MRI results, the Royals have already gone ahead and added Alex Gordon to the 15-day DL. The outfielder left the club’s game last night with a left groin strain.
Kansas City will welcome the return of righty Yordano Ventura, who was activated as part of a series of moves. Lefty Brandon Finnegan was also recalled to the big league club.
Gordon, an easy All-Star selection after a typically excellent first half, took a scary spill while pursuing a ball hit to the left field wall. After the game, manager Ned Yost did not express much confidence, indicating that Gordon could be lost for a significant stretch.
Kansas City, which owns the American League’s best winning percentage, does have internal options. The speedy Jarrod Dyson figures to see a good piece of the action, while the right-handed-hitting Paulo Orlando provides a platoon mate.
Depending upon the prognosis, an outside addition remains possible, though the team may still prioritize starting pitching and/or second base. Adding a player capable of manning both the corner outfield and the keystone — Ben Zobrist being the best-known example of that archetype — would have obvious facial appeal.
For Gordon, 31, it’s not the best time to go down for a lengthy stretch, and not only because of team considerations. He faces a (rather easy) decision on his player option and pending free agency. Gordon’s value probably will not take much of a hit if he’s able to demonstrate a return to health later this year, though he already faces some age-related limitations on his earning power.
One less KC All-Star! (although he’s arguably pretty deserving)
Haters gonna hate. GG each of the last 4 years along with a Platinum glove……Must be jealous your team doesn’t have him?
He probably isn’t hating. Would you want to see 4 or 5 guys starting for the all star game for a team you particularly didn’t care for? I am a huge Cubs fan, and I wouldn’t want to see 5 guys make the starting roster (idk if that is what he is referring to) but I like to see a variety of players from a variety of teams.
With that aside, Alex definitely deserves to be there. Hate to see guys get hurt
I didn’t hear any complaints when all Yankees players made an All Star game. When the fans vote, they vote for who the see as more popular.
When did all the Yankees’ players make the All Star Game? Most the time fans vote for the best players with a few exceptions each year. This year, that wasn’t the case.
I don’t have data in front of me, but popular teams generating 4 starters seems about right from my memory. The fact that these teams usually won and the manager managed the AS Game also tended to pack the reserves.
Yea, I do not recall when all Yankees players made an All Star game. Again, I don’t have a problem with multiple people from the same team making the team, but when you have Omar Infante almost be your starting 2nd basemen, you have a flawed system that needs addressed, quickly.
I can’t recall an instance where the fans voted in a Yankee who just happened to be the worst hitter in the league statistically. We’re very fortunate that didn’t end up happening this year, but it came close.
Well, Jeter wasn’t very good last year, but I think we can all agree that there was a special reason why he got so many votes
You didn’t hear complaints because half these Royals fans were Yankees fans then. I’d like to know where they were when Mike Sweeney was quietly one of the best bats in the AL. If they can come out of the woodwork for a roster…they could have for Sweeney
Easy goat cheese. Apparently you’re new to sports. Yes, there are fans that only follow winners but there’s also fans that are die hard Royals fans and there’s a lot more of them than you think. I’ve been a Royals fan since birth thanks to me growing up in Omaha where I got to watch the majority of big leaguers in KC mature in Triple A. There’s been a lot of dark years as a Royals fan and sometimes we didn’t show our pride like we do now, but don’t think for a second “half” of the Royals fans are bandwagoners. It was hard for me to justify more than a couple 3 hour road trips a year to go watch the Royals, spending well over $100 each time, when they were struggling, so I/we had season tix for the Omaha Royals/Golden Spikes/Storm Chasers.
There weren’t sites like this to complain on back then. (Were computers even invented?)
When the Red Sox and Yankees dominate they also dominate All Star voting….just odd to see the Royals do it….something odd about the voting…. The totals were higher than normal by maybe 33%. I’m not going to be surprised when we hear stories come out down the road. Either a small group of people were hijacking the vote…or MLB was throttling votes to create pr for the game.
Jeez, did you stop reading after the first 4 words? I said he was pretty deserving.
I believe I”m calling you out on the “arguably”. It’s not arguable at all home skillet.
As I Tigers fan, I am sad to see this. Do not like to see players hurt, even on rival teams. Hope he can get back soon!
That being stated, It is possible that he may have played his last game with the Royals. That is awful.
Ironically, if the Tigers did become sellers, Cespedes would be a perfect replacement. Would two AL Central Teams make a deal like that?
I’m wondering if the Royals go after Cueto and Bruce now
Makes things more even with Miggy out 8 wks also. Also, Illitch is not going to let the Tigers be sellers. They may not be buyers, but they won’t be sellers. Gordon might look good in LF at Comerica next year, replacing Cespedes. With Avila possibly leaving, they could use the LH bat.
I felt the same way about the Tigers losing Cabrera. I’m not a Detroit fan but this guy is one of the greatest hitters in MLB history and it’s a blow to the game to lose someone of his talent.
How about Delmon Young?
He wears down White Sox pitching as Hawk said the other day and he hits Lefties. That is definitely something the Royals can use.
Delmon Young defensively is about as different as you can get from Gordon.
Well, it was just an idea. I mean what else is available out there?
Maybe KC could DH Young and put Morales in LF? Now that would be fun to watch.
8 weeks? Sept 3rd v. Tigers in KC.
He would have almost a full month of playing time before the playoffs if he can manage 8 weeks.
If they wanna look outside for a replacement, they’ve got to look at Gerardo Parra. Would slot in perfectly in LF, and would also make a great 4th OFer after Gordon comes back (can play all three OF positions, and is a good bat to have off the bench).
Aren’t they using Rios as a starter in right? If so, Parra would be an upgrade over him too. Come play-off time, they could have an OF alignment of Gordon-Cain-Parra with Rios and Dyson on the bench. That would be a great outfield.
I don’t think you have to sell KC on Parra’s value. The numbers speak for themselves. I’m more worried Brewers won’t get full value for Parra. Parra’s having a year comparable to Melky Cabrera who the Blue Jays gave a QO to last winter and better than Markakis who many thought would get a QO from Baltimore and Parra’s only 28.. It’s possible the Brewers could do the same, but hopefully make out better than the Jays who ended up with White Sox pick in 3rd round.
Brewers need to set the price high on Gerardo Parra and not take anyone’s first offer.
If the Brewers set the price high on Parra, they will get to keep him.
I think we need to be careful about this. I think we’ll for sure get more in return for him than we paid for him last trade deadline, but we can also be sure that no team will overpay for him. We can set a higher price, but we need to come down if no one’s biting. We are NOT better served by holding onto him, because the QO makes no sense for him. I mean, last offseason the QO was $15.3MM. Most people think we overpaid him with the roughly $6.5MM we gave him for this season.
The Jays got a first rounder for Melky…
I am really sorry to see this, Gordon has quietly been one of my favorite players for awhile. But the timing of this could potentially be huge. It opens up the Central race if the right team can piece something together. It also plays an interesting factor for his impending free agency. 5/90 was probably close to the top of his earning potential to begin with. If he gets knocked down to 4/70-80, I would hope my Red Sox could snag him. A great all-around LF to replace Hanley would be huge. He extends an already good lineup, and maybe we could convince Ramirez to get his head out of his rear end and play 1st?
I doubt he loses contract money because he missed time with a groin injury. I’d also say there’s a 75% chance the Royals resign him.
I will be surprised if he resigns. I’ll say 25%.
I believe being local will play into it. His dream growing up in Nebraska was to be a Royal. Royals have financing now, and are likely planning to keep in him the fold. In most cases I’d say free agency plays against a team….but he’s somewhat similar to Joe Mauer in Minnesota. Of course, it might not work out and he could end up elsewhere…but I see it working out.
I’d say he is getting more than 5/90MM unless he takes a discount to stay in KC. I think he could earn around 5/110MM if he comes back strong. As for Hanley in LF, I hope they move him soon too. I’m not sure I’d target another OFer though as Margot isn’t too far away though he could be traded for pitching.
Yes, Boston most definitely needs to add to their OF logjam. Maybe they should trade for another 3B too.
Not much of a log jam anymore. Hanley is useless out there, Victorino is gone, Craig imploded, JBJ can’t hit enough. That leaves Betts, a struggling Castillo, and an empty space. and De Aza for a bench bat
Gordon is a nice player but he’ll be 32 next year….an age when players slip in production. Anything more than a three year contract for about $40 mil would be a mistake IMO. He’s a lot like Sin Soo Choo….a guy the Rangers made a HUGE mistake with and still owe him over $100 million for the next five years!
I’m not sure Choo is a great comp. He actually didn’t have that great of a track record, while Gordan got started late and offers quality around the board. I think the Rangers were buying potential… But Choo wasn’t even consistent in Cleveland