Mariners first baseman Josh Naylor was removed from Friday’s 3-2 loss to the Dodgers due to groin tightness, according to Daniel Kramer of MLB.com. Manager Dan Wilson described the move as precautionary, which is quite a relief for M’s fans as they gear up for the postseason. Naylor has been one of the team’s best hitters since being acquired from the Diamondbacks in July, batting .299/.341/.490 triple in 54 games with his new club. He has also been a positive on defense, posting five Defensive Runs Saved and three Outs Above Average at first base.
It makes sense for Seattle to play it safe with Naylor’s health. The team has already clinched the No. 2 playoff seed in the American League, which gives them a first-round bye through the Wild Card Series. Their first game is set for Saturday, October 4, against either the Guardians or the Tigers. With a week off until then, the club wants to make sure Naylor is at full strength for what will hopefully be a deep postseason run.
Some more notes from around the Junior Circuit…
- Initial x-rays on Yankees second baseman Jazz Chisholm Jr. were negative, and he is set to undergo a CT scan as well, according to Erik Boland of Newsday. Chisholm was removed from yesterday’s 6-1 victory over the Orioles after being hit by a pitch in the fifth inning. The 27-year-old is having a great year for New York, posting a .243/.333/.482 triple slash that rates as 27% better than league average by wRC+ while continuing to provide good defense at the keystone. Heading into their final regular season game, the Yankees are tied with the Blue Jays for first place in the AL East, although they have clinched a postseason spot regardless. With that in mind, the club may give Chisholm the day off to rest up before a potential Wild Card Series on Tuesday.
- Astros second baseman Jose Altuve told Chandler Rome of the Athletic that his right foot injury “is pretty painful,” adding that he “had no choice but to go out there and play.” Houston had been fighting for the last AL Wild Card spot recently, but with the Guardians defeating the Rangers 3-2 yesterday, the Astros were eliminated from postseason contention. Altuve has hit .265/.329/.442 in his age-35 season, good for a 113 wRC+, but his defense has graded out poorly. In addition to 66 games at the keystone with -8 DRS, he has also spent significant time in left field, earning -10 DRS in 47 games there. According to Rome, Altuve will meet with doctors to discuss his next steps, though it is unclear if surgery is on the table.
- Orioles outfielder Colton Cowser played through two broken ribs which he incurred back in June, according to Andy Kostka of the Baltimore Banner. The 25-year-old previously missed time due to a thumb fracture as well as a concussion. Regarding this additional injury, he explained that even though he felt good enough to play, he was “still trying to find [his] way back” performance-wise. In 91 games this year, Cowser has batted just .198/.272/.390 with an 85 wRC+, with the injuries undoubtedly affecting his performance. Baltimore is out of postseason contention, so Cowser will look toward the offseason to get back to full strength in order to help his team in 2026.
Seattle not guaranteed to play Cleveland or Detroit. If Detroit and Cleveland both win today Red Sox are 6 and face Guardians so Seattle could face them.
Is Altuve’s foot injury caused by too much kneeling?
Is this comment some sort of internal projection?
He had a buzzer taped to the bottom of his foot.
lowenstein with the most original comment of the last 8 years.
Cowser didn’t have two broken ribs. He had a different injury called an “Avulsion fracture” which is a different thing. He shouldn’t have been playing, though.
The Orioles are full of excuses.
No, he had both and more. Kostka explicitly states that.
I think you’re reading that wrong, you are inferring the rib fractures and the avulsion fracture as being two different injuries but it appears they are the same.
However, the larger point is that he should not have been playing at all.
Exactly!
Was Naylor hurt when he tagged up from 2nd and got thrown out at 3rd? It was one of the dumbest plays ever. You never make the 3rd out at 3rd base, it cost them a run since Naylor was thrown out before Raleigh crossed the plate, it cost them a runner in scoring position, and quite possibly cost them the game in a one-run loss.
And now the injury?
It was a rookie mistake by a really good baserunner just trying to be over-aggressive. He had been grimacing in pain before that, when he slid back into 1st base on a pickoff play.
Had Cal been sprinting, the run would have counted. I’m sure he didn’t know Naylor was going to tag. Either way, dumb play. Meaningless game.
It’s not that serious. I sincerely doubt he would have tried that in a playoff game, or a game of any consequence, whatsoever.
If you hadn’t focused on typing a whole lot of words on the exact implications of how/why a 3rd out at 3rd base shouldn’t happen in a meaningless game when both teams are already clinched for the postseason along with a hyperbolic claim of it being “one of the dumbest plays ever”…
Then yes, the article states that Naylor was taken out of the game due to groin tightness as a precautionary measure.
“batting 299/.341/.490 triple”
I think this is supposed to mean his triple-slash line, but the phrasing is odd.
Maybe he meant “batting .299/.341/.490 with a triple” ?
Across, his one triple was not with Seattle.
AJ is a new MLBTR writer, so maybe he’s still learning the company lingo or adding his own flavor, but this one doesn’t feel right.
I think Razor Ramon got it. Probably meant to put triple-slash line. And he’s new so we’re not used to his writing style yet.
Forgot to delete that part of the template.
Cowser has looked wrong the entire season. You hope that the step back offensively from him is merely due to injury or is otherwise an aberration. But you do need to prepare in case it’s actually a sign of things to come.
The whole team looked wrong all season. The only ones that looked right got shipped out. No 20 homerun hitters for an entire season? Yikes. Hope they all are dedicated this off-season to getting healthy and right
O’Neill might play 25 games next season. Maybe.
Everyone was dealing with injuries.
Mullins didn’t look right after about the first 2 weeks of the season, and continued to plummet after the trade.
Aldey couldn’t stay on the field, Mounty missed most of the season. Westberg and Henderson were in and out of the lineup. Cowser got hurt. The only one that stayed on the team and remained healthy all season was Holliday.
So, I think the Orioles should stop letting these players do their own workouts and institute their own training program to keep these guys from breaking down every other week.
Yankees want Chisholm healthy for the postseason so he’s sitting out Game 162.
Astros took Altuve out for a pinch-hitter as soon as they were eliminated. Doubt he’ll play their season finale.
The O’s need to be fined for allowing a guy play with broken ribs like that. Absolutely ridiculous. Anyone with eyes could see there was something wrong with him.