10:51pm: Manager Ron Gardenhire said the Tigers expect Jones to miss the rest of the season, Cody Stavenhagen of The Athletic tweets.
9:58pm: Tigers outfielder JaCoby Jones exited the team’s game Tuesday after taking a pitch from the Brewers’ Phil Bickford off the left hand. It turns out Jones suffered a fracture, the Tigers announced.
With just a few weeks remaining in the regular season, this should bring Jones’ 2020 to a close. If so, this will be the second straight year in which a fractured has ended Jones’ season. He went down in August 2019 after suffering a fractured left wrist on a hit by pitch.
Unlike last season, the Tigers actually have something to play for this year, making Jones’ injury that much more of a blow. After crushing the Brewers on Tuesday, they improved to 17-16 just one year after finishing with the majors’ worst record. The 28-year-old Jones has certainly factored into the Tigers’ unexpected turnaround, having batted .268/.333/.515 with five home runs in 108 plate appearances, though he has cooled off after a torrid start to the campaign.
Unfortunately, Detroit’s outfield has now taken multiple hits this week, which could decrease its chances of continuing this Cinderella run. The club weakened its depth in the grass Monday when it traded Cameron Maybin to the Cubs prior to the deadline. The Tigers then replaced Jones on Tuesday with Travis Demeritte, who took over in right field as Victor Reyes slid to center. Aside from Jones, Reyes is the only Tiger who has played multiple games in center this season.
Not his pimp hand!
Should be Derek Hill time. He is on the 40 man roster and looked really good during the summer camp.
He would be good defensively but looked overmatched at the plate. I do believe he’s an option, however. Reyes is the obvious choice to be the everyday CF though. He’s hitting the cover off the ball of late and has been fantastic defensively.
Harold Castro played CF for them last year, plus the plan is to give Willie Castro some time in the OF also. Biggest surprise would be if they called up Greene.
Harold Castro is still on the IL, but I suppose he could be activated tomorrow. I think Willi would be better suited as a corner outfielder, if they do follow through with that plan. I would be beyond shocked if they call up Greene. I believe the corner outfielders would consist of Stewart/Bonifacio in left and W. Castro/Demeritte in right with Reyes getting a majority of the reps in CF. Whoever takes JaCoby’s spot could spell Victor on occasion.
Avila should put a waiver claim in on Phillip Ervin off waivers from the Reds. He was just DFA’d by the Reds a few days ago.
This was the first thing I thought of. Ervin’s had a rough year so far but he’s a solid player and former first round pick that imho just needs consistent playing time. Being in the mess in Cincy this year certainly hasn’t helped.
I would bring Daz Cameron up over Hill, time to see if he can make it. We know about Hill.
Daz is on the IL possibly with Covid. He hasn’t played since spring training and who knows if he’s going to be activated at all in 2020.
Indeed, Cameron does not seem to be available or at least at full speed. This is a shame, because he is considered to be a better prospect than Hill and has already played one year at AAA. This would have been Cameron’s golden opportunity – now it seems to be Hill’s.
Gruß,
BSHH
“If so, this will be the second straight year in which a fractured (something or other) has ended Jones’ season.”
Left hand this year, left wrist last season.
Willi Castro has been working out in the OF. I expect he’ll see action there now.
No way they bring up Derek Hill. He’s lost at the plate in AA so MLB pitching would eat him alive. Would be awesome to see a few weeks of Riley Greene but it won’t happen. Avila will just have Gardenhire shuffle what parts he already has like always.
On the telecast yesterday, Kirk Gibson and Matt Shepherd said something about Hill battling some injuries in Toledo recently. They commented that Brandon Dixon has looked extremely good. Mentioned Cameron but because of the Covid situation, they didn’t say much. He supposedly in not currently on the 40 man. If JaCoby goes on 45 IL, it does open a 40 man slot if they want to bring up Dixon or Cameron.
Thank you for the information. Dixon would certainly not be able to play CF, though. The Tigers would have to rely on Reyes staying healthy then.
Gruß,
BSHH
Very disappointed in Craig Counsell. He should have pulled Bickford after he plunked two guys in a row, breaking Jones’ hand. It seems reckless to leave him in, indicating Counsell had no concern for the health of Tiger players.
He didn’t hit anyone after that so it wouldn’t have changed anything. It was Bickford’s first mlb appearance and obviously it got to him. I’m sure he feels terrible about it. You can always retaliate today if you think it was intentional….but hitting our 6 guys all under .200 might actually help us.
I don’t believe it was intentional; there was no reason for it to intentional. I just think it was disrespectful of Counsell to not give a “darn” about the health of Tiger players. That isn’t his job, of course, but Karma can be a tough taskmaster.
I think they were the first 2 batters of the inning. Is the 3 batter minimum still in effect for wildness?
A situation that screams for Rob Refsnyder.
I am huge Tigers fan and feel terrible for Jones. But I do hope Tigers do NOT “retaliate”. Bickford didn’t do it intentionally. It was his first game and nerves were high. I’m sure the guy feels bad about what happened. But no need for Tigers to start a brawl and risk more injuries and suspensions which could derail a potential run at the Blue Jays for #8. Gardy is an old schooler though (not always a good thing…) so someone like Sogard or Gamel should probably be on high alert today or next week.
The time to retaliate was last night. If I were Gardy, I would have approached the home plate umpire and asked for a conference of umpires and Counsell to express my concern about leaving Bickford on the mound given his wildness.
I guess I’m still butt-hurt about a situation a few years ago when Trevor Bauer drilled three Tigers, including a head-shot to Kinsler and a shot at V-Mart’s thrice-repaired knees. It was clear retaliation for Kinsler’s line-shot up the middle that hit Carlos Carasco (as if batters have precise control over where their hits go!). Classless Francona said that Bauer was a bit wild that day, but he threw something like 21 out of 27 first-pitch strikes!
Reyes is a more than adequate replacement for Jones in CF. I believe Reyes is going to be an all star soon. He’s getting better and better.
If Willi Castro can play a corner OF spot, hooray. I’m not sure. Bonafacio is no better than a 4th OF’er.
Harold Castro is underappreciated. He’s a gamer. His bat is fine, if not somewhat lacking in power. But he’s versatile and plays hard. I’d prefer him over Daz Cameron or Demeritte.
If they really want to make the playoffs they need to make a trade. Players can still be traded they are just unable to play in the post season, jays did it in 15 or 16 with Darwin Barney.
Tigers brought up Hill. +++defender and has some foot speed. I wouldn’t expect much offense. I guess Harold Castro is not healthy yet.
I remember a game late last year when H Castro was playing CF, hustled and took a ball, one hop, off the CF wall and threw a strike to the cutoff man who gunned a guy down at the plate. It was a top notch play.
Hill isn’t getting any younger. They might as well give him a shot and see if he has any MLB potential. If not, they will be needing his spot on the 40 man so they might as well know what they have (or don’t have).
This makes the trade of Maybin even more ridiculous, especially since the Tigers are now on the cusp of playoff contention. What was the purpose of giving up a quality player for a nothing prospect? I’m stumped.
I couldn’t figure out why they traded Maybin in a season where they could possibly contend. This makes it even worse.
They need to send a message to the Brewers… hit Yelich in the face or something.