7:10pm: Despite that ominous report from Rosenthal, manager Bud Black tells reporters that Story’s MRI did not show any structural damage, and his ulnar collateral ligament is intact (Twitter link via Bleacher Report’s Scott Miller). In fact, Black adds that he hopes to have Story back in the lineup in “a few days.”
1:59pm: There’s nothing official yet, and perhaps the details are still unknown even to team and player, but the initial indication is not terribly promising. Per Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic, via Twitter, Story is “facing potential UCL damage in [his] right elbow.”
In the worst case, of course, a tear of the ulnar collateral ligament can require Tommy John surgery, though there’s no indication to this point whether that will even be considered. Story’s outlook will be better than that of a pitcher, regardless of the final diagnosis, but even a strain could require enough rest to knock him out for the rest of the season and most, if not all, of the postseason.
8:16am: The Rockies are awaiting further word on shortstop Trevor Story, who exited last night’s contest with what the team described as elbow soreness. Story is slated to undergo further examination and testing today, as Kyle Newman of the Denver Post reports (Twitter links).
It’s a worrying situation for a Colorado club that went on to drop the first of a critical three-game set to the Dodgers, thereby surrendering the top spot in the NL West. Even a brief absence from Story could be of great significance; as Dan Symborski of Fangraphs observed on Twitter, the outcome of this series has a massive impact on the probabilities of which team will win the division.
Story, 25, has turned in an outstanding season after a sophomore slump in 2017. Through 623 plate appearances, he’s carrying a .288/.343/.550 slash with 33 home runs. He still strikes out a lot and doesn’t draw many walks, but Story has pared back on the swing-and-miss (26.2% K rate; 11.5% swinging strike rate) as against his prior seasons, even while increasing his swing and chase rates.
While his glovework hasn’t graded as brilliantly this year as last, Story also combines with third bagger Nolan Arenado to form a gifted defensive pairing. Story is even expanding his repertoire a bit this year, swiping 26 bags after not reaching double-digits in either of his first two MLB campaigns.
In sum, the Rockies don’t have much hope of replacing Story’s productivity for any stretch he ends up missing. At this stage of the season, there’s little to do but call upon the next man up and hope for the best. Of course, Story has played almost every inning at short this season, so it’s not entirely clear how the club will fill in. Ian Desmond spent much of his career there and has shifted to short twice already this season. Otherwise, Pat Valaika and Garrett Hampson are the only active players who’ve appeared at the position in 2018.
Clearly, then, a swift return would be most welcome. Story says he experienced pain while throwing and swinging after diving for a ball early in the game, which sounds a bit ominous. But Black suggests there’s at least some cause for optimism after the initial look from the team’s training staff. Of course, he also acknowledged “some apprehension” while waiting for imaging results — an understandable position with so much at stake.
What a story, Mark!
Oh hai Mark
Time to call up Brendan Rogers.
Rut Roh Reorge
Oh man, I hope he’s not looking at a TJ surgery. This guy has had such an awesome year and has been a huge part of the team’s success.
I’m rooting for Dodgers (though O’s fan) in this compelling race but this is sad news indeed. Hoping for the best for Story.
Who cares
Apparently, you do.
Big relief.
It’s pretty unusual for a player to be taken out of a game in the middle of an AB. I was at this game so I didn’t get to see more than one replay of the swing, but it sure didn’t look awkward or painful.
I think he hurt it on his dive earlier in the game.
You mean the one where he stabbed that hard line drive? That was a heck of a play, even Dodger fans were applauding that one. Would be a bummer for him to get robbed of the rest of the season just for having robbed one base hit.
Yep. Cool you were at the game. (Was at Emmys.) Went to a game in the last DBacks/Dodgers series. Great great environment at the Stadium!!!
I was also at one of the games in the last series against the D’backs, the one where Puig walked it off. Pandemonium. Hasn’t always been a lot of fun at Dodger Stadium this season but we’ve managed to see a few good ones.
Went to the Greinke/Ryu game when Turner jacked a go-ahead solo shot in the 8th. Great game by both sides.
I was also at that game!
Good game, yeah? Greinke was fun to watch: not a plus-velocity fastball but he located so well, changes speeds, fields his position so well and just competes. Plus, he hits!
He says he felt it pop on the throw after the dive, actually.
Got it. Ouch/yikes.
The Rockies hitters are currently in snooze mode at the plate. The loss of Story would make them even less productive.
Thanks, Captain Obvious.
No! Thank You Captain Stupid Comments!
He can’t avoid it. Mommy locked him in the basement again.
Sucks!
….not sure Ian Desmond can move back to SS, tho, to be fair, he was pretty good there in his day…..
Kill the messenger!!!!
As a Dodger fan and I pretty sure we all feel this way heres to a speedy recovery for Story. This is how we felt when Seager came down with the same injury
First Seager, now Story, it’s been a rough time for young and talented shortstop elbows. Start warding yourselves from evil spirits now Correa and DeJong!
Just came here to comment that. Lindor and Simmons need to be bubble wrapped
And Gleyber last season
UCLs are the worst.
As a Giants fan who was rooting for the Rockies, this is Karma. I laughed when Corey tore his UCL. I was wrong. Sorry Colorado,
Touche. Except with a D.
I would laugh if you took the toaster into the bathtub
Lots of talent. Lots of injuries. Reminds me of a former Rockies SS. Hmm.
At least he doesn’t need TJ. But it seems more and more likely the Dodgers win the division… which is good because I have a team to root against.
You give Gnats fans a bad name…go away
Nah. You know u got excited like Christmas morning when you heard the news about Seager.
I’ve seen worse fans. Like the bandwagons. At least I’ve been loyal for years. May be a douche, but a loyal douche at that.
Now every rockies fan including myself can breathe again. Thank goodness
A Happy ending for Story?
A Storybook ending if you will!!
PS Rockies and Trevor are quite lucky!
Tested negative for Tuloculosis.
I didn’t even realize the Rockies were in the vicinity of a playoff game. Didn’t they have a bad first half marked by a terrible bullpen? Or did I imagine that all? Where the hell have I been man
Their bullpen has been bad but they’ve gotten some of the pieces sorted out; they were getting a bit lucky, for sure – as of this writing the Rockies have been outscored by their opponents this season by 5 runs, while the Dodgers have outscored their opponents by 152. Dodgers should be running away with this, but that’s why they play the games. Colorado is getting, arguably, the best Starting Pitcher season they have ever had in Freeland, and Lemahieu, Arenado and Story can cover up a lot of subpar bullpen performances.
The Dodgers had a pretty unlucky stretch up until July. I think they had +50 run differential and were around .500. Coming from a Giants fan, I definitely think the Dodgers are the most deserving of the division. Hope the Rockies pull through though.