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Archives for August 2024

Austin Riley Diagnosed With Fractured Hand

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The Braves announced Monday that Austin Riley has been diagnosed with a fractured right hand that will sideline him for six to eight weeks. With just under six weeks remaining on the regular season schedule, it could very well prove to be a season-ending injury for the two-time All-Star. Riley was hit by a pitch in yesterday’s game, and while initial imaging was inconclusive, an MRI performed Monday revealed the fracture. Atlanta will presumably make a corresponding roster move to place Riley on the injured list and bring up another infielder (e.g. Nacho Alvarez Jr.).

Atlanta also announced that right-hander Reynaldo Lopez has been reinstated from the injured list, with right-hander Jimmy Herget being optioned to Triple-A Gwinnett in his place. He’s been out since Aug. 2 due to inflammation in his right forearm.

The loss of Riley is another crushing blow for a Braves club that has been hammered by major injuries all season. Even on Opening Day, Atlanta lost catcher Sean Murphy to an oblique strain that ultimately cost him about two months of the season. That set the tone for a 2024 campaign that has seen Spencer Strider (torn UCL and internal brace surgery), Ronald Acuna Jr. (torn ACL), Ozzie Albies (fractured wrist), A.J. Minter (hip surgery) and Michael Harris II (Grade 2 hamstring strain) all endure considerable, if not season-ending injuries.

Riley, 27, hasn’t been at his best all season but has, until now, been in the lineup nearly every day. He’s also picked up the pace considerably since a dreadful start to the season. Riley lugged an awful .228/.295/.353 slash into the month of June … and has since erupted with a .275/.339/.531 that falls right in line with his career averages. In a lineup that’s frequently been without some of its best hitters, he’s been a constant alongside designated hitter Marcell Ozuna. Now, it’s very possible that Riley’s 2024 season will draw to a close with 110 games played — although the specific wording of the team’s announcement leaves the door cracked for Riley to perhaps play a few games late in September if he heals more quickly than expected and the Braves are still in Wild Card contention.

In some ways, the fact that the Braves are even still in possession of a Wild Card spot is remarkable. Strider pitched in just two games and yielded seven runs in nine innings prior to landing on the shelf with what became a season-ending ligament injury. Acuna played in only 49 games. Acuna, Albies (90), Harris (72) and Murphy (50) have all played in fewer than 100 of the Braves’ 124 games this season.

While the Braves have had exceedingly poor injury luck, they’ve also had several things go right. Atlanta has improbably gotten not only a healthy season out of Chris Sale but a vintage, Cy Young-caliber showing out of the 35-year-old lefty, who’s thrown just 10 fewer innings this season than he did in the entire four-year period preceding the 2024 season. Right-hander Spencer Schwellenbach has debuted and outpaced expectations. Reynaldo Lopez has improbably gone from reliever to Cy Young-caliber results himself.

Still, the loss of Riley is a gut-punch, particularly given how well he’d been hitting since the calendar flipped to June. The top of the Braves’ order will now need to rely on the aforementioned Ozuna, deadline pickup Jorge Soler and a trio of stars who’ve struggled through down seasons: Harris, Murphy and Matt Olson. Atlanta has gotten solid production out of some bargain-bin pickups like Ramon Laureano and Whit Merrifield, but the offense they’re trotting out on a nightly basis moving forward won’t resemble the powerhouse lineup they were expected to field this season.

Riley will likely be replaced by some combination of Alvarez and Luke Williams, neither of whom has looked comfortable against big league pitching this season. Alvarez, the organization’s top position-player prospect, still has just 38 games of Triple-A experience. He’s hit well there, but the 21-year-old went 3-for-30 in his first taste of the majors earlier in the summer and likely still needs some additional development time. He’d never played above A-ball prior to 2024. Williams is 2-for-17 in the majors this season. The 28-year-old journeyman has seen action in parts of four big league campaigns and is a .218/.277/.284 hitter in 283 trips to the plate.

At seven games back and now down another star player, Atlanta doesn’t have much of a path to overtaking the Phillies for the NL East crown. The Braves currently hold the final NL Wild Card spot but are only two games up on the division-rival Mets and four games up on the Giants. The Cardinals, Cubs and Reds are all within six games of that final postseason slot as well.

Giants’ Randy Rodriguez Shut Down With Flexor Strain

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Giants reliever Randy Rodríguez was diagnosed with a flexor strain over the weekend, tweets Andrew Baggarly of the Athletic. He’ll be shut down from throwing for two weeks before going for further evaluation.

It’s a concerning diagnosis considering how frequently flexor strains serve as a precursor to some kind of elbow surgery. There’s no indication that’s under consideration for Rodríguez at the moment, though the team should provide more information after follow-up testing a couple weeks from now. San Francisco already placed the rookie right-hander on the 15-day injured list last week.

Rodríguez, 25 next month, has had a quietly strong debut campaign. He has tossed 50 1/3 innings across 33 appearances, turning in a 3.93 ERA with encouraging peripherals. He has fanned nearly a quarter of batters faced with a solid 7.6% walk rate. Rodríguez has done a nice job staying off barrels and has gotten swinging strikes at a robust 13.7% clip. While he worked primarily in low-leverage spots early in the season, Rodríguez had clearly earned manager Bob Melvin’s trust of late. No San Francisco reliever has more frequently come into key spots (as measured by the game’s leverage index) than Rodríguez since the All-Star Break.

That’s on hold for at least the next few weeks. With five-plus weeks on the regular season schedule, there’s no guarantee Rodríguez makes it back this year. Even a best-case scenario where he’s cleared to resume throwing early in September wouldn’t leave much time for him to build back into game shape. The Giants recently optioned scuffling closer Camilo Doval back to Triple-A, leaving them with Ryan Walker, Taylor and Tyler Rogers and former starter Jordan Hicks as their top late-inning arms.

Padres Notes: Kim, Tatis, De Vries

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The Padres were dealt a scare yesterday when Ha-Seong Kim was forced out of their loss to the Rockies after jamming his throwing shoulder diving into first base. San Diego sent the shortstop for imaging today and came away encouraged by the initial results.

“(Early testing) seems to be mostly favorable, but there’s zero timeline to it,” manager Mike Shildt told reporters before tonight’s series opener with the Twins (via the MLB.com injury tracker). “We’re initially fairly pleased with what it looks like. We’re still gathering information.” The Friars did not place Kim on the injured list, though he’s not available for tonight’s game.

Tyler Wade drew into the lineup at shortstop tonight. He’d seemingly be the favorite for playing time if Kim requires an IL stint. Wade provides speed and defensive versatility but limited offensive upside. He entered tonight’s game with a .241/.318/.259 batting line in 134 trips to the plate. Wade only has two extra-base hits (both doubles) all season. Kim is not an impact hitter, yet he’s far more of a threat than Wade. The South Korea native has 11 homers with a roughly average .223/.330/.370 slash across 470 plate appearances.

Kim has avoided the injured list in each of his first four MLB seasons. That durability will be a major selling point for the 28-year-old when he hits free agency during the upcoming offseason. There’s technically an $8MM mutual option on his deal with San Diego, but Kim will surely decline his end in favor of a $2MM buyout and look for a longer-term deal.

If Kim does require his first MLB injured list stint, he’ll join Fernando Tatis Jr. as lineup fixtures on the shelf. Tatis has been down for nearly two months after sustaining a stress reaction in his right leg. Dennis Lin of the Athletic wrote this evening that club officials have suggested Tatis could be out into the middle of next month (though there’s still no official timetable). The injury halted an All-Star campaign. Tatis was one of the most productive outfielders in the National League during the first half of the season, drilling 14 homers with a .279/.354/.468 line in 80 games.

The Friars have relied on David Peralta as their right fielder since Tatis went down. The 37-year-old veteran has been a surprisingly strong offensive contributor, running a .269/.331/.438 slash in 175 trips to the plate. Peralta is coming off a well below-average season with the Dodgers and wasn’t hitting well in Triple-A early this year.

In a bit of minor league injury news, Jeff Sanders of the San Diego Union-Tribune writes that top prospect Leodalis De Vries suffered a right shoulder strain that seems likely to end his season. While it’s not believed to be a long-term issue, the Low-A season only runs into the second week of September. De Vries was widely perceived as the most talented prospect in the most recent international signing class. The Dominican Republic native has only elevated his stock in the past few months, reaching Low-A while playing the entire season at age 17. The switch-hitting shortstop has turned in a .237/.361/.441 mark with 11 homers against much older competition. The Padres reportedly made him (and top catching prospect Ethan Salas) more or less untouchable at the trade deadline.

Rays Select Rob Brantly

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8:40pm: Manager Kevin Cash told reporters that Fairbanks would be shut down from throwing entirely for two to four weeks (link via Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times). That makes it seem unlikely he’ll be able to return this season, though Cash didn’t officially rule his closer out for the year.

5:20pm: The Rays announced a series of roster moves today, including selecting catcher Rob Brantly to the roster. He’ll take the active roster spot of fellow backstop Ben Rortvedt, who has been placed on the paternity list. The club already had a 40-man vacancy and won’t need to make a corresponding move there. The Rays also placed right-hander Pete Fairbanks on the 15-day injured list with a right lat strain, as was reported yesterday, with righty Joel Kuhnel recalled to take his spot. There’s still no word on exactly how long Fairbanks will be out of action.

Brantly, 35, is a veteran depth catcher who has frequently carved out part-time roles in the major leagues. He has already appeared in eight major league seasons, suiting up for the Marlins, White Sox, Phillies, Giants and Yankees, with minor league appearances for several other clubs. But all those stints have been fairly brief, as his career highs for games and plate appearances were set with the 2013 Marlins, when he got into 67 contests and stepped to the plate 243 times.

He signed a minor league deal with the Rays this offseason and has been with Triple-A Durham all year so far. He has appeared in 45 games for the Bulls, hitting .262/.323/.418 for a wRC+ of 91. That’s a bit better than his major league track record, which consists of a .225/.287/.326 line and a 68 wRC+ in his 456 plate appearances.

The Rays have split most of their playing time behind the plate between Rortvedt and Alex Jackson this year. René Pinto is also on the 40-man roster but he was placed on the minor league injured list at the end of July and hasn’t played in the past few weeks. With Rortvedt now stepping away for a few days, Brantly will slot in next to Jackson to share the catching duties for the time being. Brantly is out of options, so he may end up getting designated for assignment when Rortvedt returns.

Dodgers Designate Nick Ahmed For Assignment

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The Dodgers designated shortstop Nick Ahmed for assignment and optioned rookie outfielder Andy Pages to Triple-A Oklahoma City this evening. The move opened spots on the major league roster for Max Muncy and Tommy Edman, both of whom have returned from the 60-day injured list. Ahmed’s DFA opened one spot on the 40-man roster, while the Dodgers transferred River Ryan to the 60-day IL to create an additional spot. Ryan underwent Tommy John surgery and is done for the season. Los Angeles also recalled catcher Hunter Feduccia and placed veteran backup Austin Barnes on the 10-day injured list with a toe fracture.

Ahmed signed with the Dodgers a month ago. With Mookie Betts and Miguel Rojas out at the time, Los Angeles added Ahmed directly onto the major league roster. The defensive stalwart started 14 games at shortstop. He continued to provide defensive value but didn’t produce much offensively. While Ahmed hit a go-ahead home run to help beat the Giants (his former team) early in his Dodger tenure, he ultimately hit just .229/.245/.292 in 49 trips to the plate.

Between San Francisco and L.A., Ahmed carries a .232/.271/.300 batting line through 221 plate appearances. While he has never been a huge offensive threat, Ahmed has particularly struggled at the dish over the last two seasons. The two-time Gold Glove winner remains a strong defender, but the lack of firepower at the plate has squeezed him off a trio of rosters within the past two seasons. The Dodgers have welcomed Betts and Rojas back in recent weeks. Even with Betts returning to the outfield, they were comfortable enough with their infield depth to waive deadline pickup Amed Rosario after five games.

Los Angeles now adds two more infield-capable players in Muncy and Edman. The former should return to his everyday work at third base, moving Enrique Hernández back into a utility role. Muncy has been out for three months after suffering an oblique strain that proved more significant than the team initially expected. The power-hitting infielder was out to a .223/.323/.475 start to the season.

Edman is a versatile defender who can play essentially anywhere aside from catcher. He has spent the entire 2024 campaign on the injured list. Edman underwent postseason surgery on his right wrist while he was a member of the Cardinals. St. Louis hoped he’d be ready around Opening Day, yet a much slower recovery process kept him from even going on a rehab assignment until mid-July. The Dodgers nevertheless acquired Edman alongside Michael Kopech in a three-team trade that was one of the biggest moves of deadline season. St. Louis landed Erick Fedde and Tommy Pham from Chicago, who centered their return around Miguel Vargas from Los Angeles.

The Stanford product is now set for his Dodger debut. Manager Dave Roberts told reporters last week that Edman will get the bulk of his work in center field (X link via Fabian Ardaya of the Athletic). A middle infielder by trade, Edman had never started a major league game in center until last season. The Cards gave him 310 2/3 innings there and were rewarded with strong defensive grades — which has been a theme for Edman no matter where he’s played — in that relatively limited sample.

Plugging Edman into the outfield squeezes Pages off the MLB roster for now. The 23-year-old has had a decent if unexceptional rookie season, hitting .246/.305/.388 across 394 trips to the plate. Kevin Kiermaier should move into a fourth outfield capacity while Pages gets everyday playing time for a couple weeks in OKC. Reporter Francys Romero tweets that the Dodgers are likely to recall the Cuban-born outfielder once active rosters expand to 28 players on September 1.

Jack Harris of the Los Angeles Times first observed that Pages and Ahmed were being sent out.

Freddie Freeman Playing Through Hairline Fracture In Finger

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August 19: Freeman was diagnosed with a hairline fracture, Roberts told reporters on Monday (X link via Fabian Ardaya of the Athletic). The former MVP will attempt to play through the injury and is in the lineup tonight against Seattle.

August 18: Star first baseman Freddie Freeman came out of the Dodgers’ game against the Cardinals yesterday due to what was at the time termed a jammed finger, but despite initial x-rays coming back negative, the situation has worsened overnight. As manager Dave Roberts told Mike DiGiovanna of the Los Angeles Times and other reporters, Freeman isn’t able to grip a bat due to swelling. Freeman was out of today’s lineup and is still considered day-to-day, but is scheduled to undergo a CT scan on Monday.

The loss of Freeman would be devastating for a Dodgers club that has had its trio of superstar hitters back on the roster together for just six games since Mookie Betts returned from the injured list to rejoin Freeman and Shohei Ohtani at the top of the lineup last week. Even with Betts having recently returned, however, the loss of Freeman’s .292/.391/.488 slash line is sure to be a major blow to the Dodgers’ offense for however long he’s out of action. With the Padres and Diamondbacks rapidly gaining ground in the NL West title hunt, a lengthy absence for Freeman could mean that the Dodgers might have to go down to the wire in this pennant race without one of their best hitters.

Fortunately for the Dodgers, reinforcements for the lineup appear to be just around the corner. DiGiovanna notes that the club is expected to activate infielder Tommy Edman from the injured list tomorrow, and could do the same with Max Muncy.  Earlier reports suggested that Muncy wasn’t rejoining the roster until later in the week, but Roberts said (as per The Athletic’s Fabian Ardaya) the infielder is flying into L.A. to make sure he’s available Monday if needed.

Edman, 29, won’t help the club’s situation at first base very much, but the versatile switch-hitter should improve the lineup in other areas. He’s previously been expected to play center field for the club on a regular basis, but it’s possible that he could see additional time on the infield given the small-sample success Kevin Kiermaier has had with the club since being acquired from the Blue Jays. If Edman, Miguel Rojas, and Enrique Hernández can cover the left side of the infield while Gavin Lux handles second base, that would allow Muncy to act as the club’s regular first baseman until Freeman is ready to return to the lineup.

The 33-year-old Muncy has been out of action since mid-May due to an oblique issue but was off to a strong start — a .223/.323/.475 slash line across 40 games that’s good for a wRC+ of 117, matching his 2023 performance. Edman, meanwhile, has not played in the majors this year due to a lengthy rehab from offseason wrist surgery, but the Dodgers still acquired him from from the Cardinals in a three-way trade with the White Sox prior to the deadline last month. Edman sports a lengthy track record as a roughly league average bat with excellent defense at multiple positions that will hopefully make him an asset to the Dodgers once healthy.

Jacob deGrom To Begin Rehab Assignment

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Rangers right-hander Jacob deGrom is set to begin a rehab assignment this week. The righty himself tells Jeff Wilson of Rangers Today (X link) that he’ll likely start for Double-A Frisco on Thursday. Manager Bruce Bochy says that it will either be Thursday or Friday, which will be the first of four rehab outings, per Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News on X. If all goes according to plan, the righty could be back in the majors by September 10.

deGrom underwent Tommy John surgery in June of last year and is now about 14 months removed from that procedure. Once upon a time, it seemed as though deGrom would be part of a trio of heroes riding in to help the Rangers in the second half of 2024. Tyler Mahle also underwent Tommy John surgery last year and was slated for a midseason return, while Max Scherzer opened the season on the IL after undergoing offseason back surgery.

The 2023 World Series champions hoped that they could stay afloat through the first half of 2024 with a strong offense and a rotation mix consisting of Nathan Eovaldi, Jon Gray, Andrew Heaney, Michael Lorenzen, Cody Bradford, Dane Dunning and others. Ideally, they would have gotten stronger throughout the year and made a strong push in defending their title.

It hasn’t exactly played out that way, unfortunately. The team’s hitters have slashed a collective .239/.308/.381 for a 94 wRC+, putting them ahead of just seven teams in the majors. On top of that, the pitching has been a challenging carousel for the club all year. Due to various ailments, no one on the pitching staff has reached 130 innings pitched yet this year, while Eovaldi and Heaney are the only guys currently on the team with more than 100 frames. Lorenzen was traded to the Royals at the deadline and both Gray and Scherzer are currently on the IL.

The combination of injuries and some struggles around the roster have bumped the Rangers towards the back of the American League playoff race. They are 11 games back of the Astros in the West and then 12.5 games out of a Wild Card spot. The Playoff Odds at FanGraphs give them just a 0.2% chance of cracking the postseason while the PECOTA Standings at Baseball Prospectus are slightly more bullish at 0.8%.

At this point, the club is likely viewing deGrom’s return less as a spark plug for a 2024 postseason push and more about getting a few starts under his belt in preparation for the 2025 campaign. He and the Rangers signed a five-year, $185MM deal heading into 2023, though he’s only been able to make six starts on that deal so far, due to his aforementioned surgery.

The club managed to win the World Series last year even without him, but there’s still three years left on that deal, making him a key part of their next chapter. The righty has been one of the better pitchers in the world over the past decade, though the injuries have been an issue in recent years.

From 2014 to the present, he has a 2.53 earned run average in 1,356 1/3 innings pitched, striking out 31% of batters faced while only walking 5.8%. Among pitchers with at least 700 innings in that time, only Clayton Kershaw has a lower ERA while only Scherzer and Chris Sale topped deGrom in terms of strikeout rate.

In recent years, deGrom has provided even higher quality but with less quantity. He topped 200 innings from 2017 to 2019 but hasn’t even hit 100 since. The 2020 season was shortened to just 60 games by the pandemic and then deGrom missed time in the two subsequent seasons due to right side tightness, right forearm tightness and a stress reaction on his right scapula.

From 2020 to the present, he has tossed 254 2/3 innings with a 2.12 ERA and incredible 42% strikeout rate. That punchout rate is tops among all pitchers with at least 250 innings in that stretch, with Spencer Strider a distant second at 36.9%, while only reliever Emmanuel Clase bests deGrom in the ERA department.

At this point, it’s anyone’s guess what kind of form deGrom will be in when he returns. He is now 36 years old and coming off a lengthy injury absence. He also hasn’t been able to make more than 15 starts in a season since 2019.

The Rangers are set to lose both Scherzer and Heaney to free agency in a couple of months. Eovaldi could be joining them, as his deal has a conditional $20MM player option that he unlocks if he totals 300 innings pitched over 2023 and 2024 or finishes in the top five in Cy Young voting this year. Even if he unlocks that option, he might turn it down and head to the open market since he’s having a strong season and could secure a bigger guarantee over a longer deal in free agency.

If Eovaldi does depart, then the 2025 Ranger rotation on paper is deGrom, Gray, Mahle, Dunning and Bradford, with both Gray and Mahle slated for free agency after next year. Jack Leiter and Owen White are each on the 40-man roster but both have dealt with control problems.

Taken all together, deGrom’s form in the coming years figures to be a significant factor for the Rangers, considering how much they have invested in him and that there’s not a lot of long-term certainty in the rotation picture.

Astros’ Luis Garcia Will Not Return This Season

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Astros starter Luis Garcia will not pitch in the majors this season, manager Joe Espada told the team’s beat (X link via The Athletic’s Chandler Rome). Garcia has hit a few snags in his build-up from last May’s Tommy John procedure. The righty will resume throwing this weekend but is no longer pursuing a 2024 comeback; he’ll turn his attention fully to getting ready for next spring.

Garcia set out on a rehab assignment in late June, which is right in line with the standard 13-14 month recovery from Tommy John surgery. The stint did not go as planned. Houston pulled him off the assignment around the All-Star Break after he had a tough time bouncing back between outings. The Astros planned to send Garcia back out shortly after the deadline, but he reported more soreness coming out of a bullpen session and was shut back down.

Neither setback seems indicative of a long-term concern. They’ve been enough to keep Garcia from logging the necessary workload to get himself into MLB game shape before year’s end though. Early in the year, GM Dana Brown had pointed to Garcia and Lance McCullers Jr. as potential late-season returnees to strengthen the rotation depth. Neither player will make a big league appearance in 2024. McCullers also battled lingering arm soreness and is expected to miss the entire season.

Those injuries — paired with this year’s season-ending arm procedures for Cristian Javier and José Urquidy — made it necessary for Brown and his staff to add a starter at the deadline. They did so by sending a three-player package headlined by Jake Bloss to the Blue Jays for Yusei Kikuchi. It was a hefty price, but Kikuchi has had a fantastic start to his Houston tenure. The hard-throwing southpaw has allowed only five runs in 16 2/3 innings across three appearances. He has fanned 24 of 66 opponents while generating swinging strikes at a massive 15.3% clip.

Kikuchi isn’t the only midseason reinforcement. The Astros have been without Justin Verlander since the middle of June because of neck discomfort. Espada told the beat that Verlander will take the ball on Wednesday against the Red Sox (relayed on X by Matt Kawahara of the Houston Chronicle). The future Hall of Famer tossed four innings and logged 57 pitches in a rehab start at Double-A Corpus Christi last Thursday.

The Astros evidently don’t feel he’d benefit from one more minor league start and will give him his next appearance at Minute Maid Park. Houston has pushed their lead on the Mariners in the AL West to four games. If they lock down a playoff berth, Verlander would join Kikuchi, Framber Valdez, Hunter Brown and potentially Ronel Blanco in the mix for postseason starts.

Verlander will come up well short of 140 innings this season, meaning he will not unlock a $35MM player option. He’ll be a free agent this offseason, as will Kikuchi. Garcia remains under arbitration control through 2026. Since he didn’t pitch this season, he’ll likely match this year’s $1.875MM salary. Valdez and Urquidy are eligible for arbitration as well (though the latter is a non-tender candidate). Brown and Blanco are still in their pre-arbitration seasons, while Javier will make $10MM next year and is under contract through 2027.

Diamondbacks Place Ketel Marte On Injured List

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The Diamondbacks announced that second baseman Ketel Marte has been placed on the 10-day injured list with a sprained left ankle. Infielder/outfielder Pavin Smith has been recalled as the corresponding move.

Marte has been battling an ankle injury for over a week now. Last Saturday, when playing the Phillies, catcher Garrett Stubbs slid into second while trying for a hustle double. Marte received the throw coming in from left field and tried to apply a tag to Stubbs when the two collided but his leg got stuck awkwardly underneath the Philly catcher (video from MLB.com).

Arizona’s second baseman was removed from that game in obvious pain but has tried to play through the injury since then. He was in the lineup for last Monday’s game but appeared to be in pain again and was removed from that contest. He then missed a few days but returned to the lineup on Saturday, serving as the designated hitter. Yesterday, he wasn’t in the starting lineup but entered as a pinch-hitter but appeared to aggravate his injury on a check swing and was removed before finishing his at-bat.

After those failed attempts to stay on the field, he will now spend at least ten days on the shelf. Manager Torey Lovullo doesn’t seem too concerned, per Steve Gilbert of MLB.com on X, saying that they believe it’s a low-grade sprain and that Marte just needs some rest. Whether he needs to miss more than the 10-day minimum or not remains to be seen, but it’s a huge blow to the Diamondbacks regardless as Marte has been putting himself into the MVP conversation with a stellar season.

Marte has 30 home runs this year and a 10.4% walk rate, while limiting his strikeouts to a 17.8% clip. His .298/.370/.560 batting line translates to a 152 wRC+, indicating he’s been 52% better than league average at the plate. Only ten qualified major leaguers have a better mark than that this year. He’s also stolen six bases and received strong grades for his defense at the keystone. Only six players have more wins above replacement than his 5.4 this year, per FanGraphs. Francisco Lindor and Shohei Ohtani are the only two National League players ahead of him there.

Subtracting that kind of production would hurt any team, but the Snakes also have Christian Walker and Gabriel Moreno on the injured list at the moment, meaning they head into this week without three of their best regulars.

The D’backs have been playing very well of late and currently sport a record of 69-56. They are only four games back of the Dodgers in the West and have possession of the second National League Wild Card spot, but teams like Atlanta, the Mets and others are in striking distance. The Snakes will be trying to stay ahead of that pack in the coming weeks but will be doing so without Marte, Walker or Moreno on the roster, and it’s unclear when any of those three could be returning to the club.

Kevin Newman has been playing a lot of second base in Marte’s stead in the past week and may continue doing so. He’s a solid defender but has hit .262/.305/.361 in his career for a 78 wRC+. His .281/.314/.382 batting line this year is slightly better but still translates to a subpar 92 wRC+.

Smith’s recall is likely just about giving the club an extra bat, as he’s only played first base and the outfield in his career. Blaze Alexander is likely the club’s current backup at the three positions to the left of first base, supporting Newman, Geraldo Perdomo and Eugenio Suárez.

Guardians Place Alex Cobb On Injured List

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The Guardians announced that right-hander Alex Cobb has been placed on the 15-day injured list due to a fractured nail on his right hand. Left-hander Anthony Gose was selected to take his roster spot. Lefty Sam Hentges was transferred to the 60-day IL in order to open a 40-man spot for Gose.

Cobb, 36, has dealt with his share of challenges over the past year. While with the Giants last season, he finished the campaign on the IL due to left hip inflammation. He underwent surgery on that hip in October, which was going to put him on the shelf to start 2024, but it was hoped that he could be back some time in May. The Giants seemed to have some belief in that timeline, as they picked up a $10MM club option for this year.

As he was ramping things up in March, it seemed he had a chance to beat that projection and come back earlier than expected, but then he hit some snags. Right shoulder inflammation delayed his return and he was transferred to the 60-day IL in mid-April. Even at that point, it was still hoped that a late May return was possible, but his throwing program was shut down in the middle of May due to discomfort in that shoulder.

He was able to get back on the mound and start a rehab assignment on June 30 but was traded to the Guardians a month later, just ahead of the deadline. The Giants had strengthened their rotation by welcoming Robbie Ray and Blake Snell off the IL, while getting encouraging results from rookies Kyle Harrison and Hayden Birdsong.

The Guardians, meanwhile, had far less stability in their rotation. Shane Bieber required Tommy John surgery in April and is done for the year. Gavin Williams missed the first half of the season due to right elbow inflammation and has posted a 5.02 earned run average since being activated. Guys like Triston McKenzie, Logan Allen and Carlos Carrasco have also posted ERAs north of 5.00 this year. Carrasco is now on the IL with a strained hip while McKenzie and Allen have been optioned.

Getting a veteran like Cobb was therefore a sensible move but he’s now back on the IL after just two starts. The club hasn’t yet provided any information about what kind of absence they expect but it’s less than ideal regardless. Even if the finger issue is relatively minor and clears up in a few weeks, it’s yet another hurdle that will make it challenging for Cobb to get into a groove after so many stops and starts this year.

The Guardians have been in first place for a large chunk of the season but the standings have tightened up on them lately. They are now just two games up on the Twins and just three up on the Royals in the Central. Teams like the Red Sox and Mariners aren’t far behind, so it’s possible the Guards find themselves in a tight battle for a playoff spot in the coming weeks.

For now, they will have to try to stay afloat with a rotation that still has lots of uncertainty apart from Tanner Bibee. They recently welcome Matthew Boyd back from a lengthy Tommy John absence and he looked good in his first start of the year, but it’s his fourth straight season of missing time due to a serious injury, so it’s anyone’s guess what he can provide in the coming weeks and months. Ben Lively has a 3.68 ERA on the year but with a .255 batting average on balls in play and 83.6% strand rate. His 4.90 FIP and 4.51 SIERA are less optimistic. As mentioned, Williams has an ERA over 5.00 this year.

The Guardians are off today but then play ten games in nine days starting tomorrow, thanks to a double-header against the Royals next Monday. With Cobb now out of the picture for the next little while, they will have to reach into their depth to fill out the rotation alongside Bibee, Boyd, Lively and Williams. Neither McKenzie nor Allen have been especially strong in the minors this year. Joey Cantillo has a 2.97 ERA in Triple-A but had a 6.23 ERA in his three major league starts earlier this season.

In the meantime, they’ve added another arm to their bullpen by selecting Gose. The lefty was just outrighted off the roster a week ago but accepted an assignment to Triple-A Columbus. The former outfielder has strikeout stuff on the mound but also notable control issues. In 39 Triple-A innings this year, he has a 3.46 ERA and 32.9% strikeout rate but he has also walked 15% of batters that came to the plate.

He missed the 2023 season while recovering from Tommy John surgery and the Guards called him up earlier this month, but he was squeezed off the roster a few days later when Cobb was reinstated from the IL. Now that Cobb is back on the shelf, Gose has his roster spot back. However, Gose is out of options and could potentially be nudged off yet again in the coming days as Cleveland will need to figure out their rotation plans.

Hentges has been on the 15-day IL since July 11 due to left shoulder inflammation. He’s now ineligible to be activated until 60 days from that date, which would be the second week of September. He started a rehab assignment in early July but hasn’t pitched since August 7. A few days after that, Zack Meisel of The Athletic relayed on X that Hentges was slated for more testing. His current status isn’t publicly known but the Guardians apparently don’t expect him to be able to return in the next few weeks.

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