Seth Lugo was scratched from a scheduled start today against the Cardinals, as the Royals right-hander is battling inflammation in the middle finger of his throwing hand. The hope is that Lugo will be out for just one turn in the rotation, manager Matt Quatraro told reporters (including Jaylon Thompson of the Kansas City Star) though “we are in the very early stages of it and we are going to see how [Lugo] responds” to the extra rest. Last season’s AL Cy Young Award runner-up is having another good year with a 3.02 ERA over 56 2/3 innings, though Lugo’s 4.26 SIERA and his Statcast metrics aren’t nearly as flattering.
It was just a few weeks ago that the Royals skipped a Cole Ragans start due to a minor groin strain for the southpaw, but while Ragans was able to avoid the injured list at the time, his nagging injury continues to be a concern. Ragans left during the sixth inning of yesterday’s game due to left groin tightness, though Quatraro described the removal as somewhat preventative. Rookie Noah Cameron will be recalled from Triple-A to start today’s game in Lugo’s place, and Cameron might well be in line for an extended look in the majors if one or both of Lugo or Ragans ultimately require a 15-day IL stint to fully heal up.
More from around the AL Central…
- X-rays were negative on Willi Castro’s right knee after the Twins utilityman made an early exit from yesterday’s 3-0 win over the Brewers. Castro fouled a ball off his knee during a first-inning at-bat and was able to play in left field in the bottom of the frame, but was replaced in the bottom of the second. The injury was officially termed as a knee contusion, and it remains to be seen if Castro will be okay after a day or two of rest, or if he may require a stint on the 10-day injured list. Castro’s numbers (.235/.306/.367 in 108 plate appearances) are down from his All-Star production in 2024, though he has continued to be a versatile option all over the diamond, already logging starts at five positions this year. The injury bug already bit Castro once this season, as he missed over two weeks recovering from an oblique strain.
- Parker Meadows is traveling with the Tigers on their current road trip in Toronto, and the outfielder is scheduled to throw from the outfield to the bases in pre-game drills today. Manager A.J. Hinch told Jeff Seidel of the Detroit Free Press and other reporters that Meadows’ ability to throw is “the last step for him to hopefully get him to a rehab assignment soon,” and the club will monitor how Meadows’ arm is feeling tomorrow. Meadows has missed the entire season due to a musculocutaneous nerve problem in his right arm, and his placement on the 60-day injured list will keep him off Detroit’s roster until May 26 at the earliest. Given the long layoff and Hinch’s observation that Meadows “doesn’t have to be fully 100% back throwing wise to go on a rehab assignment,” it would seem like the outfielder will need quite a few games in the minors to get up to full readiness, so a June return seems more likely. While the 30-15 Tigers have baseball’s best record even without their starting center fielder, the club will be even stronger with a healthy Meadows, a superb defender who was also an offensive sparkplug during Detroit’s late-season surge in 2024.
I can’t wait for Meadows, Vierling, Mize and Cobb to get back.
This new kid Baez has been good in the meantime in CF.
Not bad considering he hadn’t played CF in a long time and his bat has been pretty good too.
He’s never played CF professionally before this season actually.
Before this year, according to Baez, it was little league since he played there
The Tigers have some hard decisions to make soon regarding Meadows, Perez and Vierling.
Malloy and Badoo get sent down for Vierling and Meadows. I’m guessing Perez will have to reestablish his value in Toledo and wait for an injury.
The real question is do they move Meadows to a corner so they don’t disrupt this Javy breakout.
Who would have thought we’d be saying this in mid-May?
Meadows is one of best defensive CF in the game. If hes healthy he is starting CF against RH and Baez against LH. End of story.
And Cobb
Cobb is pretty much a lost cause. He’s been healthy enough to pitch for a few weeks but can’t move to cover first base after his delivery because of hip problems. The same hip issues that led to him considering retirement after last season. No idea why we gave 15m to someone who no one else was coveting and that even Cobb himself was thinking his career was likely over
They forgot to talk about the White Sox and their magical identical record of 14-31 compared to this time in 2024… They just knew if they try hard enough they can try to break their ‘record’ from last year.
If I were the Governor of Illinois, I’d over Reinsdorf a new stadium in a trash landfill area, it would fit this mess of an org. I guess the ‘mummy’ running the show over there should thank the Rockies for being more of a mess.
I can’t see the Tigers moving Javy off of CF at this point. He has been great at the bat, but defensively he’s been one of the better CF’s in all of MLB. But you also really need to get Meadows back up and going as well. My guess is that Meadows will get a pretty long rehab assignment and see where it goes from there. If Javy stays hot on both the field and the plate, there will have to be some decisions made for sure. Not a bad problem to have.
Baez may play CF against lefties and 3B/SS the rest of the time. His BABIP is .355, so he’ll probably regress somewhat, too.
Meadows is a Top-5 defensive CF in the game. If he is healthy he is your starter 75% of the time. If anything it will be a matchup driven pinch-hit fest, like they do with Ibanez & Keith.
If/when Meadows returns healthy, I can see Javy playing CF against lefties and shuffling in at 3B and SS.
The way AJ values Ibanez and McKinstry, it looks like Akil & J-Hen will be the odd men out when Vierling & Meadows return. Perez is going to have to play in Toledo for a while.
There is no way that AJ doesn’t immediately put Meadows back in CF when he is healthy enough. I have loved watching Javy play center but that is Meadows position and he will have it. Javy is due for some major regression at some point, but even then he can play SS and 3B to get ABs. The team question is Vierling. If he comes back and is hitting, who do you sit? I also believe that J-Hen and Badoo will be sent down, but there are only 9 spots in the batting order, so we will definitely have a strong bench. Great issue to have for sure!