Following the loss of Adam Eaton for what could be the remainder of the season, Yahoo’s Jeff Passan touched on the possibility of a Royals/Nationals trade in his latest Ten Degrees column. The Nationals, according to Passan, expressed interest in Lorenzo Cain this offseason before they acquired Eaton in the first place. While the two sides obviously didn’t line up on a deal at the time, Passan notes that the combination of Cain and closer Kelvin Herrera, whom FOX’s Ken Rosenthal tied to the Nationals over the weekend, could present the Nats with the ability to fill two needs with one trade. While multiple reports have suggested that the Royals aren’t yet ready to sell, Passan notes that Kansas City’s 7-15 record and -37 run differential are both the worst marks in baseball, which means that even a strong performance in May might not be enough to turn their season around entirely.
A bit more from the NL East…
- Kristie Ackert of the New York Daily News spoke to a pair of sports orthopedists about the partial tear of Noah Syndergaard’s right lat muscle, discussing the ways in which it can be treated and the potential absence Syndergaard could face. While all of those factors are dependent on the severity of the tear, neither medical expert suggested that surgery was likely. Ackert offers quotes from both Dr. Anthony Maddalo and Dr. Kenneth Mautner (the latter of whom is a team physician with the Braves), with each going into detail on the nature of lat injuries. While a platelet-rich plasma injection isn’t a standard treatment for a torn lat muscle, both said it could theoretically help accelerate the healing process. Rest, rehab and stretching were also suggested as possibilities, with a program along those lines taking potentially up to six weeks, Ackert notes. There’s still no official word on a timeline from the Mets, though Sandy Alderson will address reporters at 4pm ET.
- Syndergaard’s injury is obviously a severe problem for the Mets, but Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports opines that the injury is symbolic of a greater problem for baseball as a whole. The increased emphasis on velocity continues to put pitchers at risk, Rosenthal suggests, as young arms focus more on overpowering hitters than prioritizing durability. Rosenthal spoke extensively with Hall of Famer and current broadcaster John Smoltz on the matter. “(In the past), each pitcher was given the opportunity to learn what kind of pitcher they were going to be,” said Smoltz. “Now they’re all robots. … We’re getting dangerously close to every pitcher red-lining when he doesn’t really have to. They’re not preparing to learn how to pitch like it’s a six-gear car. They’re always in sixth gear. Never in fourth or fifth.”
- Marlins skipper Don Mattingly spoke to Tim Healey of the South Florida Sun Sentinel about the importance of right-hander Jose Urena and lefty Jarlin Garcia to his bullpen. Mattingly suggested that even after Urena was roughed up in his most recent appearance on Friday, the righty has been vital in terms of keeping other relievers fresh (a point that righty David Phelps also emphasized to Healey). Asked if Urena could be a starting pitcher in the long run, as he was in the minors, Mattingly wouldn’t commit to a role for a long-term role for the 25-year-old. As for Garcia, Mattingly offered plenty of praise on the 24-year-old rookie, who made his MLB debut last month. “I think he thinks he’s ready to be here,” said Mattingly, “and that’s always really important for the younger guys. They believe that they can pitch here. Sometimes that takes a little while, gut Jarlin seems to think he belongs here.” Mattingly noted that having multiple southpaws would be preferable, though as Healey notes, the front office emphasized overall effectiveness over handedness this winter.
Before people start bashing syndergaard for not getting the MRI again: the team wanted to get an MRI on his BICEP. a lat issue, what his injury ended up being, would not have shown up
No, but my guess would be the bicep issue led to the lat tear. When a team is paying you $600k a year, if they tell you to get an MRI, there shouldn’t be any discussion. Immaturity on Syndergaard’s behalf.
The reason he hurt is lat is most likely because of the biceps, as was pointed out on MLB Network. He had some kind of minor biceps injury, and because of it likely had to alter his mechanics slightly in order to continue to generate the 100mph velocity we’re familiar with. THAT led to the lat tear
Not saying they will, but saying that the Royals may not have enough time to turn their season around is false. There is plenty of time to come back from eight games under.
Heck, ATL blew a 8.5 game lead in a few weeks at the end of the season a few years ago, in a historic collapse. Definitely more than enough time.
Their roster isn’t all that good though.
These writers like to doom and gloom in the bad times and overreact in good ones. There’s definitely a hot streak in the Royals future, as the nature of baseball goes
I’ve enjoyed reading (and often listening) to the many different comments that Hall of Fame caliber pitchers have about pitching and arm injuries. Certainly Smoltz is no stranger to the subject, but I’ve also seen guys like Tom Glavine, Nolan Ryan and Don Sutton make numerous comments on pitching, pitch counts, and injuries. Those comments often deviate from what has been popular and normal theory.
Ryan, Glavine, etc. may have been experts on their own arms but there’s scant evidence that any of them are knowledgeable about pitching arms in general. Not wise to take general rules from anecdotal evidence, particularly when the individuals involved are, by definition, exceptional.
Smoltzy is right. Plenty of guys hit 100 mph. Kyle Hendricks can’t even hit 90 and he does just fine
….does fine when he’s locating, which he’s been struggling with this year. Even Maddux had a 92mph fastball while Hendricks has been 87-88mph, if I read correctly, which made Maddux’s other talent of mixing up pitches so effective.
down to 85.5 on the sinker and 86 on the four seam this year. And as you mentioned, has been having issues locating as well. It’s not pretty when those two things are going wrong.
Yeah, Maddux and his 92 MPH fastball
We can discuss how to keep pitchers healthy. And we should. However, far too many baseball fans don’t seem to give a you-know-what about keeping players healthy.
Don’t believe me?
Take a quick poll when a starter drags a no-no into the eighth inning at 95 pitches already.
pitch count isn’t an issue. The effort that goes into each pitch that subsequently drags down the pitchers ability to throw more pitches is.
Guys used to throw well into the mid 100’s and above way back in the day
The problem is, nobody seems to give a rat’s behind about keeping a pitcher healthy. Until it’s about 30 seconds too late.
I’m a minor league guy. Largely because duration and days off are closely minded.
In an MLB game, fans flip their lid when a reliever is limited to about 20 pitches. Absolutely flip their lids.
“They should go three innings. Or at least two. Like in my day.”
We don’t know everything about workload. Clearly. However, when fans don’t grasp that relievers tend to break down in the 80-90 inning range, rather seriously sometimes, I get concerned.
Is winning more important than player health?
I say no.
With possible exceptions in or after late August.
Realistically, I want players to stay healthy. Even if it means my Cubs lose.
What makes a platelet-rich plasma injection ethically right, yet blood “doping” or use of a “steroid” is wrong? Besides the fact that MLB has told us it’s wrong.
As far as I know, platelet-rich plasma injections involve beefing up the plasma with growth factors and injecting them into someone to fast track healing of soft tissue damage. Why is that okay, but taking a pill to stimulate growth and recovery is seen as the devil’s work? Heck, steroids can be injected too.
If the Nats valued performance vs. RHP over Defense, a Melky/DRob package could be equally as enticing as Cain/Herrera, as long as the White Sox threw in a hefty amount of $.
I think people need to learn how basic anatomy works. If you workout with weights, you know that pulling movements involve your lats and your biceps. Your biceps are the secondary muscle group that helps with the pulling motion. Think pullups. When your lats are weak, you compensate by using your biceps to help lift you up. When you biceps are weak, your body compensates with other muscle groups. Because his biceps were weak, his lats gave out. Also, who really knows how healthy his lat muscles were prior to the start.
But he’s in tune with his body
lol let’s hope he NEVER makes that statement again for the rest of his career!