The Angels’ Shohei Ohtani won’t make his season debut during their homestand from April 30-May 5, manager Brad Ausmus told Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register and other reporters Sunday. The two-way star is still on the mend from the Tommy John surgery he underwent on his right elbow last October, which will keep him from pitching this season but won’t prevent him from helping the Angels’ offense. Los Angeles entered Sunday with a middle-of-the-pack offense, though designated hitters Albert Pujols and Kevan Smith have only combined for average hitting to this point relative to their position. Ohtani was far better than that as a rookie in 2018, when he slashed .288/.361/.564 with 22 home runs and 10 steals over 367 plate appearances.
- The injury-ravaged Yankees may have to start dipping into the Double-A level to fill their roster at this rate, as a couple more of their players – infielders DJ LeMahieu and Gio Urshela – left Sunday’s game against the Giants with ailments. LeMahieu departed with right knee inflammation, while Urshela exited after Giants reliever Nick Vincent hit him in the left hand with an 88.5 mph pitch. Luckily for New York, X-rays came back negative in both cases, though LeMahieu will undergo an MRI on Monday (via ESPN.com, Jon Heyman of MLB Network and Kristie Ackert of the New York Daily News). LeMahieu and Urshela have handled third base with aplomb in place of Miguel Andujar, who’s one of 13 Yankees currently on the injured list.
- Red Sox infielders Dustin Pedroia and Eduardo Nunez are set to embark on rehab assignments, manager Alex Cora said Sunday. Meanwhile, fellow banged-up infielder Brock Holt was scratched from his Triple-A rehab game Sunday because of right shoulder soreness (links via Chris Cotillo of MassLive.com). Pedroia landed on the IL on April 18 with yet another left knee injury, but he’s “a lot better” now, according to Cora, who announced he’s likely to play with Double-A Portland beginning May 2. Nunez, down since the 19th with a mid-back strain, will go to Triple-A Pawtucket on Monday and could be back in Boston by May 6, Cotillo writes. Holt has been on the IL since April 6 with a scratched right cornea, and there’s no word on how serious his shoulder problem is. When healthy, Pedroia, Nunez and Holt have posted pitiful production this year, which helps explain why Boston second basemen have recorded the AL’s worst fWAR (minus-0.9).
- Athletics first baseman/outfielder Mark Canha suffered a wrist sprain Sunday and may require a stint on the IL, per Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle. Slusser notes the A’s could recall Skye Bolt or Dustin Fowler to replace Canha, who has hit .200/.377/.375 with a pair of HRs in 53 trips to the plate this year.
It’s a testament to the depth of the Yankees organization that they’re now 17-11. Just wait till the starters are healthy again…
Soft schedule but yea still impressive.
Bostons had a soft schedule too. How’s that been going
Champions
Interesting response.
I can’t imagine anyone’s had a softer schedule than the Yankees. I believe the only team they’ve played that’s not in last or second to last they got swept. Funny too that all those teams were projected to be bad except for the Sox. The Sox played the Ms, As, Dbacks, and Rays twice. So a little different no?
The As are 3 games under five hundred and the Rays are the only team the Sox have been able to beat. You have to be consistent. If you are going to list the Mariners and the Dbacks as good teams then you have to list the As as a bad team. Several of these teams are good because they beat up on the Red Sox. Your team has been terrible and it’s not due to the schedule. The Yankees have lost every starting player but Gleyber Torres and Mike Voit to injury plus the top backup Clint Frazier the ace of their staff and one of their top relievers. Stop making excuses. At least guys on your team stand up and admit they’ve been terrible like Betts and Sale. You fans should learn from them
Lets knock it off on the scheduling thing please? Who really knows start of season which teams really good/bad and still? Which teams are for real, or not.
Maybe the team has just been lucky.
The full squad doesn’t usually go 6-1 on a west coast trip. They are 11-2 in last 13, not so lucky…
Take a look at what they played. But…..saying that a good team hasty beat up the bad teams, n that’s why the Redsox are at the bottom. Coming from a Redsox fan.
They can be lucky and still have depth, they’re not mutually exclusive.
The wins have been banked already, can’t change that.
The show of depth will parley into a nice trade this summer for the playoff run.
There should be a TON of interest in the position players, and Cashman should have a selection of any help he needs.
It’s ok for you to be a little slow Todd.
Or Steve, Todd is a Yankee Hater, or Mets fan, not mutually exclusive. How often does a team face this many IL stints and go on a winning streak?
For those simple minds I will help you out; NONE. 13 players on the IL?Perhaps playing around .500 while eating up games is lucky.
This team is deep and the detractors have simple minds and hidden agendas.
All good. The laughs are on them.
They might be just as lucky as the Red Sox were last year.
Since they all play 162, lucky only factors into things with health. And smart, experienced fans know that it is far more important to be healthy in September and October than it is in April and May. The key for teams that get hit early is to not fall too far behind.
So Sam at least look forward to eating at Boogs BBQ as you watch your hopeless orioles.
not really they were handed an easy schedule if they were facing winning teams they would not have it so easy
Yeh, Kind of like the Red Sox first 25 games of 2018 right!
The Yankees don’t make up the schedule….you play them as they come and regardless of opponent, its a tough schedule when an entire all star squad of players is on the IL at the same time.
There is a difference between 25 games and 162. Sox beat everyone all season. First 25 games were just a taste of what was to come. That could be The Yankees this year but you cannot detract from the dominance the Sox had last season.
Not saying that…just reaction to hankwilliams shade against the Yankees.
Read my comment again and you may get it!
Hey Hank…weren’t the Red Sox handed an easy schedule last April as well?
Duhhh…
And by the way, by definition it’s far easier to sweep bad team in August and September when they have learned to give up from being beat up for 3 months than it is in April when the team doesn’t know how bad it will be and doesn’t give up so hard.
So the door swings both ways when you criticized the Yankees for getting beat in early April, dope.
DJ LaMahieu and Gio Urshela were a large part of that winning streak.
Easiest schedule in the majors.
That is because they do not have to play the Yankees.
Not so easy when you’re missing 13/25 of the team
impressive indeed, regardless of schedule difficulty.
Other starters will go down?
Tough news to swallow. How can the A’s replace Mark Canha’s production?
The A’s don’t need Canha’s .216 AVG and 15 TB.
I think the previous comment was sarcasm…..
One thing to say about Canha, he was good at times with clutch moments and good with runners in scoring position particularly last year.
He has hardly been given many chances so far. He’s a platoon player who smashes lefties, and hasn’t had that many at bats against lefties or consistent at bats against righties to really get into a groove.
I don’t really see Fowler getting called back up. He’s been struggling since opening the season hot.
Fowler’s line so far in Triple A: .258/.327/.461
Bolt’s line so far in Triple A: .338/.397/.648
Bolt has the advantage over Fowler in terms of defense versatility, since he can play all 3 outfield spots at an average level, although I’d probably say he’s above average at the corners, and he’s a switch hitter.
Bolt also has an 80 grade name, which definitely counts for something.
Bolt also went 2-5 today (with 3 K’s, but young players gonna K sometimes) with a homer and 3 RBI’s.
Actually, he hit 2 homeruns today.
Would the Red Sox fan with the voodoo dolls please stop. You’ve made your point.
LOL!
I laughed the moment I read pitiful in regards to Pedroia Holt and Nunez.
I’d just as soon keep Chavis in the lineup with his limited range and thus far lethal bat, then get Holt back as the super sub and do away with Nunez altogether.
With Ohtani coming back maybe the Angels can trade Calhoun to Yankees….or another team but only after they make sure Ohtani can play every day in RF….he has to work up to full strength….plus with Upton out they may not have the depth to trade in the first place….but once Upton is back and Ohtani is full strength maybe by July they can unload Calhoun….
Ohtani will only DH. He’s a pitcher also, who won’t be pitching this year. The Yankees AA prospects are better then Calhoun.
Lol
He ain’t playing the field when he comes back. He won’t play the field. Dude had tjs not a broken bone
That’s what I was mentioning to usafcop.
My message was to the beret wearer
Good point by both David’s Angels and lowtalker1….not sure why I was thinking he would play RF….I guess he could in a pinch but his best asset at the moment is his bat and that plays at DH while resting his recovered arm from TJ surgery….I just hope one day he will pitch again because he was nasty….also both of u were right that Calhoun is probably immovable due to his contract out playing him….as the Yankees have better options than him at his salary….
@ lowtalker1….beret wearer….lmao that is great….not many know what Security Forces or SECFOR is or what they do….
Ohtani is a strict DH. He had Tommy John surgery on his arm. Why would they put him in the field?
Kole Calhoun is an outstanding defensive RF. His AVG is down but has a good number TB with 47. The Yankees won’t take on the $10.5 M this season and $14 M next..
The $14 M is a club option
Time to DFA Nunez and Thornsburg. Nunez was not good last year. Either. Give Marco H.,Holt, Pedrioa, Lin, and Chavis playing time. They are not going to get anything for them. Pearce and JBJ? What are possible options for them? Rusney? Shaw? Mejia? Hernandez? Larkin? Cora needs to push them. DD’s off-season plan has been a total flop Some addiction through substraction..
Exactly!
Addiction through subtraction…well said 😉
Skye Bolt may be the most action hero name since Jett Bandy
The May 4th and 5th games are not what Ausmus is talking about because they are not in Anaheim. Most people that cover the Angels believe he will be playing in the Mexico series versus the Stros
having an ounce of hockey toughness is really an admirable trait that won’t be confused with the 2019 Yankees
Hey yanks we have a 3b for ya and u know him The Toddster Just give a pitcher like Loiasiga or Adams lol
Still don’t get what is wrong with Pedroria’s knee. He’s had over a year to recover. What’s going on?
He’s old
Here’s a more precise explanation:
Dusty is finished.
Ok?
He apparently has no cartilage left in his knee. That’s not really something that can be fixed, just sort-of managed. The careers of small players tend to be short, especially guys like Pedroia who played all-out in his prime. He had a fine career but it’s probably over at this point.
It is weird to look at his B-R page and realize that Pedroia only played 6 full seasons.
I was in San Francisco for the Saturday game. What I thought was interesting is that San Francisco could have traded with the Yankees a starter for some Yankee position players. Instead, the Giants choose to stand pat so the Giants rolled out the most sub .200 lineup I’ve ever seen on a Giants team. They had one player batting .245 ….Tyler Austin a former Yankee.
Yeah, the Giants traded their future for those three championships, and FFF, but this is such a bad team they’re running out there now. I do wonder if they could get some value back in a Bumgarner trade, but Bumgarner looks terrible this year.
DJ LeMahieu my choice for the best move for the Yankees! I hope they keep him.