After Ron Gardenhire’s sudden retirement this weekend, the Tigers have a managerial opening that could be one of the more appealing around baseball. Lloyd McClendon has taken over managerial duties for the rest of this season, and he’ll get a look for the full-time job over the winter. A.J. Hinch, Will Venable, George Lombard, Vance Wilson, Don Kelly, Pedro Grifol, and Mike Redmond are also expected to enter the conversation, per MLB Insider Jon Morosi (via Twitter). Of course, it’s still too early to call this a comprehensive list.
Though they haven’t had a winning season since 2016 and haven’t made the playoffs since 2014, Detroit has had plenty of time to build a deep arsenal of interesting young arms that are nearing ML-readiness. Casey Mize, the first overall pick of the 2018 draft made his Major League debut this season, as did fellow prospects Tarik Skubal and centerfielder Daz Cameron. Matt Manning and Alex Faedo aren’t far behind, while the selection of power bat Spencer Torkelson at 1-1 replenishes the system with a top shelf offensive prospect to dream on. But there’s still some season to be played this year, so let’s check in on some injury news from around the game…
- Tim Anderson is suffering from cramps in his right hamstring that may keep him out of a game or two, per James Fegan of The Athletic (via Twitter). His official status is day-to-day, but the White Sox won’t want to be long without their chirpy leadoff hitter. Anderson could be closing in on his second consecutive American League batting title. The 27-year-old shortstop has unexpectedly morphed into an all-around terror at the plate with a triple slash of .366/.401/.611 and a league-leading 43 runs scored. Even limited to a 41-game sample and coming off a batting title, it’s still fairly shocking to see Anderson put up a season that will merit serious MVP consideration. While Southsiders would no doubt love to see Anderson return to bolster his case, the organization’s priority will be to ensure his health for the postseason.
- Los Angeles Angels infielder Franklin Barreto will undergo shoulder surgery on Tuesday, though it’s unclear as of right now what kind of recovery timeline Barreto will face, per Jeff Fletcher of the Southern California News Group (via Twitter). Barreto appeared in six games for the Halos after being acquired from the A’s for Tommy La Stella. It was a rough year on the whole for Barreto, who slashed .074/.107/.074, though he only had opportunity for 27 plate appearances between both clubs.
- Athletics utility player Chad Pinder took some hacks in the batting cage while returning to baseball activities today, per Matt Kawahara of the San Francisco Chronicle (via Twitter). It remains entirely unclear if he’ll return before the postseason. The 28-year-old Pinder may not look like much from his .226/.281/.396 slash line, but he could play an important role for the A’s in the playoffs. With Matt Chapman out for the year, Pinder has a good chance to get the start at third base against southpaws while Jake Lamb and Vimael Machín fill out the hot corner rotation. Pinder boasts a 108 career wRC+ against lefties versus 89 wRC+ against same-handed hurlers.
Tim Anderson suffering from “camps” in his right hamstring? “Camps” is a new injury for me.
Anderson suffered “camps” while dancing on Ru Paul’s tv show on MTV.
It is weird to see cramping in baseball @electraglide.
It’s happened to me playing football (calves). Was simply due to dehydration.
Also:
Triumph. Street Triple.
“chirpy”
Shut Tim Anderson down until the postseason!
(A in-no-way-self-serving suggestion)
Maybe sit TA for the Cleveland series only.
Then he can fatten up his BA against the Cubs and win back to back BA titles!
Would you go away
This
Just because no regular Cub is challenging for the BA Title, no regulars batting .300, and maybe 60% of them batting below the “Mendoza line” and/or not hitting their weight is no reason to take it out on a Sox fan!
Go to any post about the Sox recently. Youll notice, no Cubs fans are posting the same nonsense you do. Worry about your own team. The Cubs are almost certainly going to win their division, same as the Sox. And theres no telling what will happen in the postseason.
Chris Ilitch: Do NOT give the full-time gig to McClendon. A pocketful of chewed-up bubble gum would be a better option than Lloyd.
… and don’t hire a homeless beggar like the Lions did.
HInch? yeah, that’s a good idea…
I’ll echo another sentiment I read somewhere else – what happens if the Tigers hire Hinch and they become as good expected based on pure talent (Mize, Skubal, etc.)? The cheating cloud will hang over the Tigers organization despite the players succeeding on their own.
In conclusion: nobody hire Hinch ever.
Just like how everyone remembers how the fishy Marlins bought their World Series Title and then sold everyone who was worth a dime. No won respects that championship. Hinch knew about the cheating and didn’t put a stop to it. One example is against the rules AND the other one isn’t but BOTH EXAMPLES stink like a bunch of angry skunks.
@Prospectnvstr
There isn’t near a stink about the Marlins’ WS ring as the Astros. Plenty of teams (ex. Yanks, Dodgers, Boston) tried to buy WS titles. Granted they didn’t have a fire sale afterwards, but if the Marlins knew they weren’t going to stay competitive that long afterwards, that’s their choice to sell off. It may make for an angry fan base, but the Astros stigma is far worse than the Marlins.
BTW, I think the Astros earned their WS ring despite the scandal. Even though the hitters may know what’s coming, they still have to hit the ball. A trash can bang isn’t going to tell you the location of the ball or whether the fastball is going to be 95 as opposed to 100. It just made the guessing easier.
I fully understand why people are up in arms over the scandal, but to me it was overblown. But cheating is cheating, no way around that. The penalty fit the crime, end of story, as far as I’m concerned. Just my opinion.
1) I want Gardy back….
2) Tim Anderson is one of the best all round players, playing today. Hopefully he gets better for the playoffs.
It’s just “camps”.
TA will be fine.
Well if it’s a DAY camp he should be back in no time. However, if it’s a SUMMER camp those could go on for weeks.
If it’s a Church camp retreat pray he’s back sooner rather than later
Gardy was a great manager, especially when with the Twins. I was hoping the Sox might somehow get someone like him.
But as a Sox fan, I thank the Tigers (and Royals) for their generosity in 2020! I think over the years things have been reversed more often than not, so we enjoy being on the winning end for a change, probably for the first time in a decade.
Tigers can wait til some other team jettisons a good manager for a bad reason.
Barreto is only 24, but he’s running out of time to develop even a passable bat. In 237 career PA he’s slashing .175/.207/.342 with 100 k’s and 7 bb. He better have one heck of a glove.
I’ll preface by saying the Sox still have a chance to win it all, despite how they’ve played recently, especially with the 1st round a best-of-3. And I wouldn’t be surprised at all if one of the 8th seeds beat the #1.
That being said, I don’t see the Sox going too far this year. I would love to see them win it all, but I have a feeling they’ll get bounced in the 1st round, either by the Indians or Yanks. They still aren’t there yet, and that’s a scary thing for the rest of MLB. They can really do some damage in ’21 and beyond.
I think it’s just a year too early for the Sox. Still, I’ll root for the Sox this October, because you never know, especially as crazy as this year has been.
Random (or not-so-random) thoughts:
Cease is where Giolito was in ’18, albeit with better overall numbers. If he can make the adjustments this Winter like Giolito did after ’18, he will be a TOR. Dunning is still too new, and Lopez (though pitching much better) is still inconsistent.
I actually like seeing Robert struggling the last couple of weeks. Get it out of his system now. This happened to Eloy last year and Yoan in ’18. Leave that bad taste in his mouth all Winter, so he can come out charging like a bull in ’21.
They only need a RF on offense (even the bench is fine). Once Vaughn makes it up, Abreu shifts to DH, solving that problem. They should ONLY go after a TOR. If they can’t get one, then stick with what they have. They have Giolito, Keuchel, Cease, and Dunning already. They have Kopech, Crochet, possibly Lopez, and even Rodon (though no one can count on him for obvious reasons). They’ll need bullpen help, but every team in MLB needs that.