With another weekend of baseball set to kick off, here are some things we’ll be keeping our eye on around the league…
1. Harper dealing with back spasm
Phillies superstar Bryce Harper was removed from last night’s game due to a mid-back spasm and will undergo further evaluation, with Todd Zolecki of MLB.com among those to relay the info. It’s unclear at this point how serious the issue is, though it would obviously be an unwelcome development if Harper had to miss any time. Manager Rob Thomson described Harper as day-to-day, per Matt Gelb of The Athletic. Harper already missed over a month of the season due to last year’s Tommy John surgery and has also been limited defensively since being activated in early May.
He has been able to hit but hasn’t quite been himself. His .294/.380/.429 batting line amounts to a wRC+ of 120, still well above average but that would be his lowest rate of production since 2016. He’s seemingly been getting better as the year has gone along, however, slashing .303/.386/.438 in July and .324/.350/.622 in August. Having to put a pause on his season after building so much momentum would be unfortunate for the Phils, though they will surely hope the issue is mild and passes quickly.
2. Will Chang finally clear waivers?
Infielder Yu Chang hasn’t hit too much in the majors but his defensive acumen clearly has appeal. Last year, he began the season with the Guardians but had exhausted his option years and bounced around quite a bit. After getting designated for assignment by the Guards in May, he went to the Pirates in a cash deal before bouncing to the Rays and Red Sox on waiver claims.
The Sox non-tendered Chang in November but later re-signed him on a major league deal when Trevor Story required elbow surgery. Chang missed over two months due to a hamate fracture and has now been nudged off the roster by the return of Story, getting designated for assignment on Tuesday. He’s hit just .204/.265/.359 in his career but is above-average at all four infield spots and can be controlled for two seasons beyond the current campaign. With the trade deadline having passed, he will be on the waiver wire again and could appeal to a club that seeks infield depth.
3. The return of Sale?
The Red Sox haven’t listed a starter for tonight’s game against the Tigers but it seems likely to be Chris Sale. The lefty has been on the injured list for over two months due to shoulder inflammation but has been on a rehab assignment of late and manager Alex Cora recently hinted that Sale could be back in the big leagues by Friday, with Christopher Smith of MassLive among those to relay the info.
Injuries have been a huge issue for the southpaw in recent years, as he hasn’t thrown 60 innings in a season since 2019. Prior to landing on the IL, he tossed 59 innings this year with a 4.58 ERA. The Sox would surely love to get him back to his previous ace level, but results similar to earlier this year would also be welcome. They have frequently been deploying openers and bullpen games to cover for the absences of Sale, Garrett Whitlock and Tanner Houck. Both Whitlock and Houck are currently on rehab assignments and could return to the club soon as well.
Cora is quoted as saying, “4 Innings, 50 piches” for Sale tonight as posted in the Globe. Doesn’t he normally throw 20 or 25 per inning? Not being sarcastic, serious question.
DBH – At this point I honestly think it’s more about preserving his trade value than anything else.
Nobody will trade for him. He’s done!
He showed before the last setback he was becoming his old self. That said, no matter what he does the rest of the year, Boston would have to pay down his contract to the point he’s worth more to stay in Boston.
Not sure limiting an injury prone player to low pitch thresholds preserves trade value. IMO, his stock is the lowest it has ever been. Don’t get me wrong, when healthy, Sale was a beast. It is just sad to see his body wearing down. Sale was always one of my favorite pitchers to watch.
I’d think he’d mean “4 IP or 50 pitches”, whichever comes first. No way to know how many pitches he’ll throw an inning.
Never trust a cheat and liar.
But other than that he’s a good guy right??
The Hangover, Part IV: Utility Infielders
Over his last 5 games he averaged 15.2 pitches per inning
That was easiest for me to find
Think he can be convinced to be a $27.5 million Closer? We could let him cut up those Yellow Uniforms
You asked a question
I answered it
You didn’t answer anything. You threw out a number (still 96 pitches in 6 Innings) and didn’t consider his ego or any other factors
You asked a question about how many pitches he throws per inning
I answered it
His ego or other factors have nothing to do with how many pitches he throws per inning, so, no, I didn’t consider them. Why on earth would I.
Your ego seems like the bigger deal here and you’re about a response away from having me mute you. It doesn’t seem like you were actually asking a “serious question”.
Considering when he was rehabbing he said “I don’t really think I have a say in what the role they want me In anymore, I’m open to anything” his ego has nothing to do with it…
This is something called a follow up question
I love when someone who is like the 400,000th best insurance sales person in the US wants to talk trash on someone who is almost certainly one of the 1000 best baseball players in the world. It is comical in it’s absurdity.
Please cut up, burn or donate those hideous yellow and blue uniforms. As I’m not sure another country would take them, cut or burn them ASAP!
I hate the yellow jerseys too but they do seem to win a lot in them. 24-5 in the fugly city connects since 2021
Chang’s a utility infielder who’s hit .204/.265/.359? Sounds like a Cashman signing.
“He had some good at bats.” – Boone
He fit right in Detroit with that awful lineup hell he’d be there best defender if they signed him
Actually, Detroit is one of the better defensive teams, and Baez still offers defense (if nothing else).
Chang can join Franchy Cordero, Ryan Weber, Greg Allen….as Red Sox rejects on the Yankees
He’d be a starter for the White Sox.
And the A’s
Chris Sale will be one of the best pitchers in baseball once he leaves Boston.
See Ryan Braiser???!!!!!
It’s like a car warranty: 4 years or 80,000 miles, whatever comes first. Maybe 2 2/3 innings?
Let’s just say he’ll be tonight’s opener.
Look for Harris to sign Chang and Hinch bat him cleanup.
1. Guy can’t stay healthy anymore. Time to DFA him and move on. He’s a shell of himself.
2. Yankees will add to the dumper diving season and pick him up.
3. Should have DFA’d him and moved on. Yet another player that is a shell of himself. If no, he should be moved to the pen.
That would make no sense. They owe him big money for next year so you’d rather send him off and pay the entire bill minus league minimum, instead of keeping on the team, pay the bill, and perhaps there’s a chance he can give you a decent season?. Cutting him loose totally I don’t think is even a remote possibility.
Proposing DFA-ing him is the worst take of the day. Do you actually think they should do that? Or was the comment based on emotion? I am genuinely curious
Sale has a 102 ERA+ and FIP- and xFIP around 85
And people want to DFA him
There’s a reason you are like an assistant manager at Applebee’s and not working in baseball
Jesus
I love when ppl talk about how you have to have perfect mechanics im a white sox fan and they tried moving him to bullpen had to be 2011 great career
From the moment the Phils started talking about playing Harper at first base, I started writing about what a huge mistake it was. He’s too valuable a player to get injured, playing a position the Phils could man with other players. Harper is overly competitive, not of particularly large stature, unfamiliar with the nuances of first base, prone to injury, and a target, nay, a sitting duck for any player or team intent on taking him out of a game. The Phils are only playing Harper at first because Schwarber can play no other position than DH. Even there, his .182 batting average and growing number of strikeouts. make him a liability. With a wealth of young outfielders, Bohm, Hall, and Clemens available to play first base, and Harper’s status now uncertain, the Phils have to think ahead. Personally, I’d relegate Schwarber to a pinch hitting role and use the available players in the outfield and at first base that have earned the chance to play and contribute on an every day basis. The Phils might not like the idea of having a $19 million pinch hitter, but protecting Harper in the DH position for the rest of the season must become an organizational priority, regardless of whose feelings are hurt.
Yeah. No. He’s fine. It’s minor back spams. He was heating up at ths plate. Phillies are rolling and can afford to rest him. It’s all good. He’ll be playing 1B again shortly. He doesn’t need protection. He needs to play baseball.
VPH, “We’ll see,” said the Zen Master.
VPH,
There’s no such thing as “minor” back spasms. There is nothing minor about a neuromuscular abnormality that causes pain of any consequence and limits motion to any degree.
If Harper’s symptoms were as minimal as you imply, he would have played tonight.
He was literally diagnosed with “mild” back spams. Sorry I used the word minor instead of mild. He got a day off because it’s the smart thing to do. Harper gets days off if he sneezes. It’s not only precautionary, but Topper likes to rest his stars. Harper will likely get another day or two off this week as well. Phillies are playing well and building a lead in that WC race. It really doesn’t seem like a big deal at all. But time will tell. Maybe this is serious, but it just doesn’t seem that way to me yet.
Harper missed one game. It appears that VPH, was correct. Harper is the dh tonight ( Saturday), after missing one game with the “mild back spasms”!!