J.T. Realmuto was removed during the sixth inning of Sunday’s 13-6 Phillies win over the Marlins after feeling tightness in his left hamstring, Matt Breen of the Philadelphia Inquirer writes. The issue arose while Realmuto was running the bases during a seven-run inning for the Phils, and the blowout nature of the game may have also contributed to the early exit, since Realmuto said the injury wasn’t serious. The All-Star catcher described the problem as “just a little standard tightness thing,” and manager Gabe Kapler felt Realmuto would likely be fine for the Phillies’ next game on Tuesday. Realmuto has yet to really catch fire since coming to the Phillies from Miami in a blockbuster trade, as his 95 wRC+ (off a .265/.319/.431 slash line in 310 PA) represents his lowest numbers since 2015. Still, Realmuto’s .353 xwOBA far outpaces his actual .320 wOBA, so his production is likely to improve as long as he keeps up the quality contact.
Some more stray items as we head into July…
- Also from Breen, Seranthony Dominguez will receive a re-evalution of his damaged right UCL on Wednesday. This is the latest step in Dominguez’s quest to avoid Tommy John surgery, as the Phillies right-hander instead opted for a platelet-rich plasma treatment. If everything checks out on Wednesday, Dominguez could begin throwing at the beginning of next week.
- Cubs right-hander Carl Edwards Jr. is set to begin a Triple-A rehab assignment, ESPN.com’s Jesse Rogers tweets. Edwards has been on the IL (retroactively) since June 10 due to a left thoracic strain. 2019 has been a tale of two seasons for Edwards, who allowed six runs over his first 1 2/3 innings of the season and was demoted to the minors, though he then delivered a 2.03 ERA over 13 1/3 frames after being recalled.
- Two-way star Brendan McKay made his debut on the mound for the Rays on Saturday, though it isn’t yet known if McKay will also get any plate appearances at the Major League level, MLB.com’s Juan Toribio writes. “We’ve expressed that I don’t think the at-bats are going to come as consistent for him over the next week or so, but if there’s an opportunity to get him in there where we feel it fits with his workload, then we’ll do that,” Tampa Bay manager Kevin Cash said. McKay is set to start again on Friday, though in the interim, he’ll be both going through his usual pre-start routine and also getting some swings in, both during batting practice and in the Tropicana Field. While McKay’s pitching was more developed than his hitting in the minor leagues, McKay did hit .265/.400/.551 over the small sample size of 60 plate appearances at Triple-A this season.
It was pretty much inevitable that one part of Mckay’s Game was going to outpace the other. At this point in his career he’s not really going to be a suitable big league DH. Meadows has been doing more than fine in that role. Getting a start here and there probably won’t do much for Mckay’s Development there either. It’s hard to scrap the hitting idea altogether but you might want to do that for the duration of this year.
It’s irrelevant to dwell on McKay’s bat when Tampa’s looking to secure a postseason berth without Glasnow for a while. They need McKay to dominate on the mound. Maybe he hits next year. Until then, it’s all about the pitching.
Then the Rays have to find out what they need and who they are willing to part with. Could see them standing pat or making a very minor move at the deadline.
McKay will get plenty of pinch hit opportunities and probably a DH start too; given how inconsistent most of the lineup has been.
One advantage to McKay getting games as a DH would be he can enter next year as a two-way player. Don’t forget that next year starts the limit on pitchers (that number has not been set yet) on the 25 man.
If McKay gets 20 games with 3 AB’s and pitches 20 innings he will qualify as 2-way when the season starts. That opens a pitcher position and the way the Rays use pitchers that will be an advantage.
I don’t say it often on this site, but that’s a really good point.
The Rays are always ahead of the curve, Mckay is elite. However, sadly that curve has been thrown at its fans with the 2 city home being rammed down our throats.
The 2 way Rays aren’t going to happen. No city will spend $500 mil for a half season of games. It’s a not well disguised ploy to either give them an excuse to move or get a new stadium in Tampa where it should’ve been all along.
Show up to games then.
If McKay is a 2-way player and the Rays become a 2-way team, will that make McKay a 4-way player?
I would get McKay as many at bats as possible. Tough when it isn’t a national league team
I would think it would be easier for AL teams to get him at bats. DH him when he doesn’t pitch and DH for a purely defensive catcher when he does pitch.
SecsSeksSecks
DH can only be used for a pitcher, not an offensively limited position player.
Also to gain the designation as a two-way player he must play 20 games with at least 3 PA’s. They could let him hit when he pitches but that would mean going the whole game without a DH and if he doesn’t acquire 3 PA’s (which is doubtful in this day and age where a SP rarely lasts that long) it would be all for naught.
Man… That’s kinda lame. So does Ohtani hit for himself when he pitches or use a DH?On the other side I guess if 2-way player becomes that important next year they could still DH McKay for 20 games and if he is that above average of a hitter it shouldn’t really hurt them that much. I really don’t like the fact that the rule you just explained to me exists. I don’t understand the reason for it. It basically just insures that if someone is both one of the best hitters as well as THE best pitcher on your team then they still can’t get regular at bats everyday unless they simultaneously learn how to play a 2nd defensive position well enough to be the primary starter on his team at that position as well as having the sheer luck of being able to play in the NL over the AL. It’s like the best way to go is to get a current well hitting everyday position player on a Major League team and then teach him how to pitch. Why would the AL punish a good hitter just because he is also talented enough to pitch? It only makes it worth it to let the pitcher hit if he is one of the absolute best hitters on the team. He would have to be better than the DH that gets paid to do nothing but hit. Why is it not okay for a pitcher to hit if he is something like the 6th, 7th or even 8th best hitter on the team?
I haven’t heard much about this guy McKay. Is he the next Ohtani or something? Maybe a slightly worse hitter but a slightly better pitcher?
Am I the only one that (considering his relatively mediocre season) was disappointed to see Realmuto get the All-Star over McCann? I also thought (considering he was the NL leader in votes right up until almost the end) Albies would have at least got a spot as a backup second baseman.