Per a tweet from Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Cardinals second baseman Kolten Wong received some bad news recently. An MRI showed damage in Wong’s knee that might need to be addressed in the offseason, though there’s no official word on that either way. The general belief from the Cardinals’ camp, Wong included, is that the aforementioned knee damage may be contributing to the recurring soreness in his hamstring. There’s also some concern that the severity of the damage could lead to a strain. Despite this issue, Wong’s still put up the most productive season of his career thus far, in part due to outstanding defensive marks that include 21 Defensive Runs Saved and a 19.8 UZR/150.
Other news and rumors from around the league…
- Matt Gelb of The Athletic tweets that the Phillies were “deep in meetings” this morning to plot the club’s final eight contests of the season. Gelb notes that Aaron Nola will pass 200 innings today (and in fact, has, as of me writing this sentence), which could spell the end of the season for the club’s emergent ace. Some in the organization had suggested earlier in the season that the Phillies were planning to limit Nola to 185 innings on the season, but contender status necessitated them to increase that total. Now, though, Philadelphia is no longer playing with October in mind, which may help to explain why Gelb ponders aloud whether today could be Nola’s last start of 2018.
- Speaking of innings caps, Orioles rookie right-hander Evan Phillips won’t pitch again this season, per Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com. He’s reached an innings limit after hurling a career-high 63 relief frames on the season between the Orioles, Braves and the Triple-A affiliates of the two clubs. Phillips, 24, has allowed 11 earned runs in 5 1/3 innings in Baltimore; he became part of the Orioles organization by way of the deadline deal that sent Kevin Gausman and Darren O’Day to the Braves.
- A magnetic resonance imaging exam didn’t turn up any new leads as to the cause of Miguel Sano’s knee discomfort, Mike Berardino writes as part of a piece for the Pioneer Press. Twins manager Paul Molitor provided some words on the subject, which must be frustrating for club and fan base alike. “We tried to eliminate things that might be sources or causes of the aggravation that he continues to feel,” said Molitor. “A little bit of a puzzle that we haven’t been able to solve yet in terms of the discomfort he continues to experience. We’re hoping with treatment and maybe a little bit more rest, we’ll be in a better place come Tuesday.” Sano has only appeared in the lineup once since September 4th, which comes as another black mark on a miserable follow-up to the three strong campaigns with which he began his career.
In my opinion, Wong should win the gold glove over Baez. Baez is the flashier player and he plays more positions, in the end Baez’ flexibility could hurt him due to the lack of one position.
Baez is the most exciting player to watch in the game right now. Flashy or not, he makes plays that only a few elite players in the game can, and easily at that. He’ll get a GG and tge NL-MVP, deservedly so.
GG maybe, MVP no.
GG maybe. MVP no doubt its Baez
Yelich deserves MVP. Baez deserves top 3.
deGrom
Wong has better advanced metrics than Baez, by a lot. Baez has 2 DRS at second at 5 at SS. Wong has 19 at second base.
Quit with your facts, there’s people trying to make unbiased suppositions in here.
Kolten Wong should win the GG at 2b hands down
I also think “most exciting player to watch” is very subjective and shouldn’t really be used/accounted for when it comes to hardware. It’s fully on opinion. I prefer watching Blake Snell pitch than Baez play defense, it’s just an opinion and everybody has their own. As far as position players go, everyone has their own opinion as to who they like to watch play.
1600… I agree. Lindor is the most exciting imo.
There is this guy in Anaheim named Mike Trout. He is pretty exciting to watch.
So does Kolten Wong. They both make outstanding plays at 2B.
He Can’t and won’t get a gold glove with 15 errors! Come on! Ever seen someone win it with 15 errors in a season?! Nope get out of here with this GG crap for Baez.
Ahh using the most subjective dumbest stat ever to prove a point. Yes we have seen seen a dude win a GG with double digit errors. Usually when guys get to more balls than other guys they make more errors. Take away Nolan’s GG he made 14 errors. Get out of here with this crap. I’m not even a cubs fan, just here to call bs.
Somebody should also let Crawford know he didn’t actually win a gold glove last year with 15 errors. Please do research or something and be better than that.
So many examples it’s just a terrible take.
Couldn’t Baez qualify as a SS?
True but Rafael Palmerio won a gold glove at first base in 1999 with only 28 games played
That can’t be true about only playing 28 games and received a Gold Glove. Wong is well deserving to be in the conversation about winning a Gold Glove. Because of Molina’s durability, pitch calling, etc., he should be in the talks for a gold Glove even in a down year. Without Molina behind the plate, the Cardinals are more apt to lose.
It’s true…28 games at 1B and 128 as DH… baseball-reference.com/players/split.fcgi?id=palme…
It was a shame to tarnish the award that way
He may not be a bust (yet), but god I hope the Twins trade Sano this offseason. Maybe the Cardinals??
I can’t see a scenario where they rid themselves of him yet. He’s probably worth more to the Twins than they could get for him. My guess is they put him on a strict strength and conditioning program (one last time) and another diet before they cut him loose. Sadly this guy is really his own worst enemy.
The Cardinals already have an above average but not great third baseman in Gyorko, why would they trade anything for another one?
More like SF. They’re used to dealing with out of shape third basemen.
There were “three strong campaigns with which” Sano “began his career”? I remember him looking good when he first came up for the first time, but nothing after that has been particularly strong at all.
Sano prior to this year has had WAR’s of 2, 1.2, and 2.4, HR totals of 18, 25, and 28. Theres more stats you can look at but by any measure he’s been well above average until this year.
WAR’s of 2, 1.2, and 2.4. I’m not sure how you came to that conclusion he’s been well above average with those figures alone. He tore the cover off the ball in his first season but he has K’d in the mid-high 30’s all threee seasons. His 1.2 War Season was a product of his BABIP dipping to a still above average .320 that season. His BABIP was a ridiculous 390 in his two firmly above average seasons. Well, his first season was really only a half but that doesn’t bode well for him moving forward. He needs to severely cut that K rate or he’s going to be the same inconsistent player we’ve seen.
Sano prior to this year has had WAR’s of 2, 1.2, and 2.4, HR totals of 18, 25, and 28. Theres more stats you can look at but by any measure he’s been well above average until this year.
Gold Glove is a friggin joke and always has been. Rafael Palmerio won the Gold Glove in 1999 for example with only 28 games played.
If you don’t hit good, you can’t win one. Also, Jeter won 5 GG’s somehow.
Sano’s cure: Lose Weight!!!
I know Sano by himself won’t bring anything back, but maybe if packaged with a couple of MN’s top 30 prospects, the Twins could aquire an all-star.
Two-thirds of the earth is under water. The other third is covered by Javier Baez.