The Blue Jays will indeed select the contract of third baseman Matt Dominguez today, Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet.ca reports on Twitter. Nicholson-smith had suggested the move was likely once Drew Hutchison cleared optional waivers and could be removed from the active roster, and it appears that Dominguez will indeed get his first chance at the majors since 2014. At one time, the Astros considered the 26-year-old an important future piece, even dabbling in extension talks after he hit 21 home runs in 2013. But while Dominguez has shown a good bit of power from the corner infield, he’s struggled to reach base at a reasonable clip and has drawn mixed reviews in the field. While he doesn’t strike out much, Dominguez also doesn’t draw many walks and owns a .255 BABIP in the majors. Meanwhile, DRS and UZR were split on his fielding in ’13, but both saw him as a negative the following year. While Jesus Montero seemed a more direct replacement option for the suspended Chris Colabello, Toronto evidently preferred a player who could also spell Josh Donaldson at third.
Here’s more from the AL East:
- Another MRI on Yovani Gallardo’s ailing right shoulder has left the Orioles feeling fairly upbeat about his prognosis, MLB.com’s Britt Ghiroli tweets. He only appears to be experiencing tendinitis, which seems to bode well for his chances of returning in relatively short order. Of course, the 30-year-old still faces plenty of questions after a rough start. Among other things, he’s lost over two miles per hour on his average fastball even after showing declines in recent years. And his already-falling swinging strike rate is down to 5.1%.
- The Boston Globe’s Alex Speier corrects a previous report in which he tweeted that Red Sox prospect Michael Chavis has a torn ligament in his thumb (links to Twitter). Speier clarifies that he misunderstood his source when reporting the information, and Chavis’ diagnosis is not yet certain. The 2014 first-round draft pick will undergo an MRI on his thumb, but until that takes place, no diagnosis can be definitively made. A torn ligament remains a possibility for Chavis, per Speier, but the extent of his injury remains unknown for the time being. Chavis was off to a strong .356/.415/.576 start at the plate in a repeat run at the Class A level.
- Shifting in baseball remains a fascinating subject to watch. As Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports explains, the Red Sox may be partaking in the strategy more than some numbers might suggest. For Boston, shifting and pitching strategies go hand in hand, with GM Mike Hazen explaining that “pitching to the shift” allows the team’s hurlers to “be more aggressive pitching inside.” While the Sox utilize frequent shifts, the team’s alignments may not be quite as dramatic as some others. “Some teams unilaterally shift,” per Hazen. “We’re more selective in how we shift. Even though we’re shifting in every game on a large group of players, it’s not as unilateral.” The club’s field staff also discusses the concept with Rosenthal in an interesting piece that warrants a full read.
Can’t mlb do something about shifts because the game in my opinion has gotten boring because of shifts
Absolutely, they call tell the hitters getting payed millions of dollars to learn to hit or bunt away from the shift.
Its not that simple. Half the shift is the way the hitter is pitched – you cant hit an inside sinking fastball to the opposite field. Not saying it should be against the rules or anything, but its just not a simple matter of “going the other way” when the pitcher is doing everything he can to make the hitter pull a ground ball. Chris Davis beats the shift by hitting over top of into the stands, and by talking a lot of walks. If you are (for example) Chris Davis that’s a pretty sound strategy.
Explain.
Blame the batters and hitting coaches for not learning to be better hitters. Shifts are easily exploitable unless you’re a stubborn hitter. Bryce Harper is willing to bunt against the shift – if one of the best left handed hitters in the game is not too full of himself to bunt against the shift, nobody should be.
Agreed. As soon as hitters prove they can hit the ball the other way, the pull side will open back up for them. Not sure if it’s ego or just a lack of confidence (in their ability to hit the ball the opposite way) that causes hitters to continue to pull the ball, but I’d be fine with a team lining up all 7 fielders behind the pitchers mound if they wanted. Hitters just need to adjust
It’s not that they can’t learn its that their entire career has been built on them pulling the ball.
It’s muscle memory and when you see a pitch inside you’re supposed to pull it. I agree that hitters should learn to hit to all fields but it isn’t as easy to do especially when the ball is inside.
Btw. That wasn’t meant to minimize your comment. You’re totally right I’m just saying it’s hard to erase 10 or more years of pulling the ball. Including those away.
and when it’s inside you shouldn’t try to go the other way. Pull it and pull it hard.
If the defense is set up and the pitcher hits his spot, then that’s just good defense and pitching.
Pitching inside to a left handed hitter is very dangerous. Most lefties have a lot of pull power and if you miss middle in, well it’s probably going to be crushed, and if you miss too far in you are likely to hit the guy or lose the whole at bat in terms of setting a guy up.
I am strongly opposed to any rule that changes where the 7 defensive fielders can set up
If you are creative about where they should stand and it helps you, that’s simply management. It would be like creating a rule that all pitchers have to bat 9th, because a team develops a well above league average hitting pitcher and they bat him 5th
You don’t change rules because teams are smart.
The art of hitting requires going with pitches. The art of pitching requires off setting a hitters timing, the art of defense requires the gathering of outs.
Be the best at your art
If Gallardo really has tendinitis. Then it’s no wonder he has lost over 2mph on his fastball. I had a factory job when I was young. Where I was constantly twisting and tying thick plastic bags. I ended up with tendinitis in my wrist. With which I could barely lift anything let alone do my job well. I can totally see where a decrease in velocity would go with having tendinitis.
Degeneration injury, be worried, be veryyyyy worried