Cardinals right-hander Carlos Martinez, whose injured shoulder has kept him out of action this year, is “expected” to return at some point next month, Rick Hummel of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch writes. “I feel so much better. Right now I’m 85 percent, 90 percent,” Martinez declared. “In two weeks … I think I’m going to be great. When I come back to the major leagues, I’m going to be 100 percent.” The electrifying 27-year-old has flashed front-line starter potential during his career, but thanks in part to his own wishes, he’ll work out of the Cardinals’ bullpen when he comes back. However, Martinez’s goal is to rejoin the Redbirds’ rotation after the All-Star break, Hummel relays. Meanwhile, though there’s no official timetable for fellow banged-up Cardinals righty Mike Mayers’ return, he’s aiming for July. The reliever went to the injured list April 16 with a strained lat.
More from St. Louis and a couple other big league cities…
- Martinez and Mayers certainly aren’t dealing with embarrassing injuries, but the same isn’t true for teammate Alex Reyes. The prized 24-year-old suffered a fractured left pinky after punching a wall following his most recent Triple-A start, general manager Michael Girsch told Derrick Goold of the Post-Dispatch and other reporters Sunday. Reyes will now head to the Cardinals’ facility in Jupiter, Fla., to continue building his arm up, though this injury likely leaves the righty at least a month from returning to St. Louis, per Goold.
- Outfielder Brian Goodwin was on release waivers a month ago, when the Royals cut him in favor of Lucas Duda. All Goodwin has done since then is slash .333/.430/.556 in 87 plate appearances as a member of the Angels, making him one of the game’s elite hitters in the early going. The Royals could end up ruing their decision to part with Goodwin, but manager Ned Yost and GM Dayton Moore explained to Lynn Worthy of the Kansas City Star that they don’t regret the choice. Yost noted that Goodwin has struggled as a pinch hitter, which played a part in the Royals’ decision to release him, and observed that “it just made more sense” to have the lefty-swinging Duda and the righty-batting Frank Schwindel (who’s now in the minors) as pinch-hitting options and Terrance Gore as another bench choice. The Royals also had plenty of other outfield possibilities, notes Worthy, who points out Goodwin didn’t exactly make a case for a roster spot during an unproductive spring with KC. “There probably wouldn’t have been a lot of at-bats for him,” said Moore, who suggested he’s happy Goodwin found a better opportunity elsewhere.
- Injuries continue to haunt forgotten but well-compensated Yankees outfielder Jacoby Ellsbury, who last appeared in a game Oct. 17, 2017. Manager Aaron Boone said Saturday (via George A. King III of the New York Post) that Ellsbury is “dealing with different things,” “a number of little things that continue to pop up,” and “certainly” won’t return in the near term. The 35-year-old Ellsbury has battled a litany of health problems over the past couple seasons, including plantar fasciitis in 2019. The Yankees owe Ellsbury $21MM salaries through 2020 and can then cut the cord on him with a $5MM buyout.
I can’t EVEN imagine that Ellsbury will ever play in an MLB game again, much less in pinstripes.
Jordan Montgomery is going to have Tommy John surgery and beat Ellsbury back from his “assorted maladies”. Something is amiss here.
Yankees recover a decent amount of his salary from insurance the longer the charade continues. My only question is, what’s in it for Ellsbury to keep playing along? I guess he’s really not physically able to play, yet doesn’t want to retire and lose his paycheck. He’s probably getting a bonus from Hal Steinbrenner to keep his perpetual rehab going rather than force the issue and get released. I’m thinking the insurance company isn’t going to be happy and claim fraud at some point.
If you got hurt doing your job would you just retire and forgo your paycheck?
When did he say he should? Reading isn’t that hard…
Quoted from the OP
“My only question is, what’s in it for Ellsbury to keep playing along? I guess he’s really not physically able to play, yet doesn’t want to retire and lose his paycheck.
Check yourself before you wreck yourself next time. Apparently reading isnt your strong suit.
OP brought up a question about why ellsbury continues to play.
Reading is fundamental, but not quite so fun for mentals.
Or bigmouth arm chair gums who love to come on here and post away with their silly emotions.
What’s in it for Ellsbury is a huge paycheck for doing nothing.
We’re glad that insurance companies don’t “think” like you with their emotions and waste money claiming fraud. It’s part of business so it’s time to take your feelings and get real 1966.
Insurance companies routinely look into workers comp situations so you think they aren’t already up to date and reviewing everything when paying out $14-15M/year? Please.
The Yanks would be better served to just release Ellsberry, eat his salary and be donne with him taking up a place on their roster. He’s been horrorable since they got him. Never has he been even close to his Boston years.
Why are we getting Jacoby Ellsbury updates? Does anyone really think he’s coming back? If he does, it will be just to save face and he won’t play. Come on MLBTR writers… you don’t need a Yankee in every article.
Hey Melchez just move on alread.
Reyes is on his way to becoming a bust.
An injury for playing with passion is not concerning. If he somehow blew out his shoulder, that would be different, but he didn’t. He broke a finger on his non-pitching hand.
So punching walls is now excusable? Cards fans always believing their players can do no wrong…sigh…
I don’t think he was going with “excusable” so much as “better than a career altering situation.”
Way to group an entire fan base into one groupthink….jackass.
A pitcher punching a wall is a act of stupidity. You never punch a wall if you are a pitcher. He is not the first pitcher to do that and will not be the last. card fans should just hope management chews him out big time and he learns his lesson stop acting like a fool.
It is stupid, but not on the level of declaring a player a bust.
As long as Insurance continues to cover 75% of Ellsbury’s salary he ain’t going anywhere.
That’s the key, insurance paying most of his worth, they’re hiding him with all these little injuries so they don’t hafta pay him. How’s that FA signing?
Add up Hanley, Pablo, Rusney’s salaries and the the Yankees come out ahead.
Ramirez’s is off the books now and sandoval’s (thank goodness) ends after this season Cereal. Castillo’s doesn’t count towards the salary cap since he was outrighted off the 40 man prior to the last CBA.
Another terrible contract you may have forgotten of is Allen Craig, which finally ended cpl years back.
This season should wipe free all the awful deals for now and then hope that the last 3y of pedroia’s deal doesn’t turn sour.
What I don’t get is ppl talking up insurance on a deal, as if that’s the most important aspect to a team like NY and Boston and u and i both know it isn’t, but salary cap space which insurance does squat for. Those bad deals count the exact same, regardless. can’t polish a turd people. Leave the insurance factor alone. CBA space is what matters for the big market teams.
John exactly. People seem to worry about what these two financial behemoths spend, like it’s gonna affect their inheritance. I was just taking a swipe at pasha2k, because well I think you know.
Except for the reality Silver that price and sale have sold the Red Sox on a pile or empty promises as two pitchers who have piled on hi stress innnings and will be worth less as time goes on.
Stop the charade. Ellsbury has been dead for years. Elvis is gonna play outfield for the Yanks before Jake.
Jacoby Ho-Tep?
Crazy thing, is if he were actually able to play, he would have gotten a decent amount of playing time last year and especially this year.
Hey Cards fans seems like the 24 year old Reyes with…how do you put it…unlimited potential…isn’t working out so well.
Meanwhile, Stroman continues to dominate each and every game he starts. My trade idea looks better and better each passing day. Too bad it’s the Jays scoffing at you now!!!
Reyes has only allowed 4 hits in 10.1 innings in Memphis this year, and the cards will have 3 more years of control over him than Stroman. Too early to say which pitcher will have more value toward either organization
You sure showed them…
Let’s see, the Cards are only one of four teams to be playing over .600 ball, and the Jays are under .500, and they are doing this without Martinez and Reyes. I doubt Stroman is on their radar. Not sure they would move Ponce de Leon for Stroman.
Yes, they surely wouldn’t want better players because they are currently playing well. That totally makes sense and isn’t an asinine argument at all. Take a lesson from JFactor on how to craft an actual rebuttal.
You’ll keep hearing about jacoby because, at least for the fans of 29 teams, it is entertainment.
Practically speaking, it costs the yanks about 5m per year after insurance. Figure 10 mil for 19&20, and I don’t think the insurance helps on the 5 mil buyout.
So for $15 million, he’s gone in ’21. I believe he will be 36, going into age 37 season by then?
You might see a minor league ST pact with a rebuilding team – IF he wants to play. Otherwise he may be happy with his $$$$ and content to retire. From my memories of him on the team he was always a money player, not a love of the game guy such as pedroia.
Ellsbury was planted in NY by the Red Sox, thus keeping the Yankees from a pennant while the Sox excelled. Thanks NY for being naive and signing anyone to ridiculous long term contracts.
Hey pot the kettle is on line 1. omfg
Hey cereal, get over it and move on already.
I moved on right into your noggin.
Keep dreaming about Ellsbury. LOL
Ah, so we found the new Hunter Strickland. I get being competitive is good, but you’re doing that in AAA while trying to get yourself to the big leagues? Wow that’s not too smart.
Yeah, really. There’s a serious difference between “competitive” and “stupid.” This is disappointing.
smart enough to use his left hand. premeditated?
Anytime an executive opines it’s better to have Lucas Duda than Player X, you know it’s time for a new regime. Adding on top of that, his thought of bench players as pinch hitters (as if KC was an NL team) instead of platoon players shows their behind-the-times thinking.
Yeah quotes were mind numbingly ridiculous.
The royals are run by clowns
Clowns with two AL pennants and a WS title in the past 5 seasons…
30 years of crap before that, with 30 more incoming.
Ned or Dayton? Ned is a from the NL (manager of the brewers & a bench coach for the Braves I think). and almost never uses his bench unless there’s an injury or something
I will NEVER understand why FO’s don’t just say “wow we sure are happy for the kid but tell you the truth we missed it. All of us did.”…..
Also a handful of teams didn’t claim him who could right? So it wasn’t just KC… Just saying. Not everyone has to act the smartest and know EVERYTHING
Its all being in the right place at the Right time. He got lucky that he was claimed by a team with injury openings that occurred. Would he be putting up decent numbers playing once a week off the bench? who knows?
Estrada got shot in a robbery and came back faster than Jacoby
Thankfully insurance covers most of pillsbury’s owed salary. He might be the most fragile mob player I’ve ever seen smh
Ok my fellow my baseball fans who returns first ? Pillsbury or cespedes ? Lmao
Curious why do you care what insurance covers?
Goodwin runs like he’s on a waterbed.
One would think that if Martinez is planning a return to the rotation after the break that Reyes may indeed be down longer per the instructions of the upper management. This is another instance of poor judgement by Reyes.
I don’t like either one in the rotation. Throw them in the pen and let them use their stuff to overpower late in the game. Martinez loses every other start in the 1st inning and Reyes will give up 5 walks in 4 innings more often than not.
It’s a long season. With Wacha and Waino in the rotation pitching reasonable at the moment there is always the concern with either going on the IL at any time. That said Miko has me a little concerned as well. I would think having either of these guys as options to stretch out will not only be desired, but will likely also be needed. Ponce pitched well the other day, and there are other options as well, but none have the pure “stuff” that Cmart or Reyes have.
Best team money can buy:
C Martin Russell – $20M
1B Miguel Cabrera – $30 M
2B Dustin Pedroia – $15 M
3B David Wright – $15 M
SS Troy Tulowitzki – $20 M
LF Yoenis Cespedis – $29 M
CF Jacoby Ellsbury – $21.1 M
RF Yasmani Tomas – $15.5 M
DH Prince Fielder – $24 M
1B Albert Pujols – $28 M
LF Matt Kemp – $21.75 M
1B Chris Davis – $23 M
1B Ryan Zimmerman – $18 M
1B Brandon Belt – 17.2 M
SP Jordan Zimmermann – $25 M
SP Homer Bailey – $22.5 M
SP Felix Hernandez – $27.9 M
SP Johnny Cueto – $21.8 M
SP Alex Cobb – $14 M
RP Wei-Yin Chen – $20 M
Martin Russell lol
If Ellsbury doesn’t play this year the insurance money will have paid for the rest of his contract. At that point the Yanks will release him. Ellsbury is only costing the Yanks 5 million being injured. Players that are playing and under performing like Chris Davis are much worse.
Insurance money doesn’t count against payroll. Like someone said earlier, why do the Yankees expenditures concern people?
Hey Steve-
Jealousy.
I bet the premiums the yanks are paying for that insurance is substantial. It is a savings, but how many premiums are being paid, while they only benefit from the Ellsbury policy?
I think the only way Dayton signed Lucas Duda & got rid of Goodwin was through a dark side sith mind trick. The excuse about no place for him is ridiculous!
I’m just hoping Carlos Martinez’s flipped attitude and his non-ability to shake off petty injuries doesn’t affect the youthful pitchers the Cardinals have. Personally I think the cards are doing fine without both he and the perpetual prospect Reyes!!! Martinez should be packaged up in a deal to the Giants for Bumgarner. At least that would give a veteran lefty to the Cardinals. No mater how he fares the rest of the season.