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George Springer Suffers Sprained Right Wrist

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AUG. 7: Springer has a sprained wrist, manager Dusty Baker said Friday (via Chandler Rome of the Houston Chronicle).

AUG. 6: Astros outfielder George Springer departed the team’s loss to the Diamondbacks on Thursday with a right wrist strain, Jake Kaplan of The Athletic was among those to report. Fortunately, X-rays came back negative, so he shouldn’t sit out for a significant amount of time, per Bob Nightengale of USA Today.

Although Springer seems OK, even a few days off could be damaging to a Houston team that’s off to a 6-6 start. The reiging AL champions have already had to go without ace Justin Verlander and slugger Yordan Alvarez for most or all of the season because of health problems, and their bullpen has taken a beating from injuries. Those troubles have helped lead to an early 2 1/2-game deficit in the AL West, a division the Astros have won three years in a row. They’re now staring up at the Athletics.

Of course, a great deal of Houston’s recent success has been on account of Springer, who has slashed .269/.360/.488 with 163 home runs in 3,398 plate appearances since he debuted in 2014. He’s one of the premier pending free agents in baseball, and with such a short season, any missed time could hurt the 30-year-old’s earning power heading into the offseason.

The Astros replaced Springer with Myles Straw in center field on Thursday. Michael Brantley, Kyle Tucker and Josh Reddick represent the rest of the healthy outfielders on their roster.

Astros Hope To Extend George Springer

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Whether a game is played in 2020 or not, George Springer is slated to become a free agent for the first time this coming winter. The Astros, however, hope to broker a long-term deal with their star outfielder, per Chandler Rome of the Houston Chronicle. While he was overseeing the baseball ops department in between the firing of Jeff Luhnow and hiring of new GM James Click, owner Jim Crane “made it clear” to Springer’s representatives at Excel Sports Management that his club was interested in a long-term deal, Rome writes. Such talks aren’t permitted during the league’s transaction freeze, though the two sides can come back to the table once that freeze is lifted.

Crane made that desire clear not only in his words but also through his actions. As we noted at the time the two sides avoided arbitration, it’s uncommon these days for a team and player to agree on a one-year arrangement after arbitration numbers are filed. But Crane not only bucked the “file-and-trial” trend that permeates the game with regard to Springer — he inked the slugger at a $21MM rate that checked in north of the $20MM midpoint between Springer’s $22.5MM submission and the club’s $17.5MM figure.

Paired with Rome’s report on the situation, that seems like a clear show of good faith that the club hopes to keep Springer around for the long haul — keeping him in Houston alongside already-extended stars Alex Bregman and Jose Altuve. Bregman’s five-year, $100MM extension and Altuve’s $151MM extension both run through the 2024 campaign.

Keeping Springer would be a critical move for the Astros, who currently stand to lose four of their nine 2019 everyday players to free agency this winter. Beyond Springer, each of Michael Brantley, Josh Reddick and Yuli Gurriel is slated to hit the open market. While top prospect Kyle Tucker should be ready to slot into one of those outfield vacancies and Abraham Toro could perhaps occupy first base, that still leaves the club with a pair of holes in the lineup.

The financial feasibility, of course, remains to be seen. Houston has $116MM on the books in 2021 — including $134MM in total luxury tax obligations. That’s not including what should be significant arbitration raises to Roberto Osuna (earning $10MM in 2020), Carlos Correa ($8MM in 2020) and Lance McCullers Jr. ($4.1MM in 2020) — plus smaller raises for Chris Devenski ($2MM in 2020), Aledmys Diaz ($2.6MM in 2020) and Joe Biagini ($1MM in 2020). The Astros barely spent in free agency this winter as the team seemingly eyed a 2021 dip under the luxury threshold, but there’s certainly room to pay Springer on a long-term deal and still successfully make that luxury maneuver next season.

Springer, 31 in September, landed third on MLBTR’s Free Agent Power Rankings back in late February — trailing only Mookie Betts and J.T. Realmuto. Skeptics will surely question the legitimacy of his excellence at the plate in the wake of the team’s sign-stealing scandal — and it’s only fair to point out that Springer had one of his best seasons amid that trash-can scandal in 2017. But the slugger’s best season was actually in 2019, when he laid waste to opposing pitching with a .292/.383/.591 slash line (150 OPS+, 156 wRC+) and ripped 39 home runs in just 122 games/556 plate appearances.

It should also be emphasized that while Springer and his teammates surely benefited from that sign-stealing operation, his offensive ability has never been in doubt. He was the 11th overall pick in the 2011 draft and posted an OPS of .900 or better at each minor league level (plus in the Arizona Fall League) on his way to the big leagues. Springer posted a 129 wRC+ in three seasons prior to that nefarious 2017 campaign and, over the course of his MLB career, has been 31 percent better than the league average hitter per OPS+ and 33 percent better per wRC+. He also rates well defensively in both center field and right field.

A long-term deal for Springer would be likely be expected to cover at least five years under normal circumstances, although the loss of revenue presents some uncertainty as to what to expect with regard to contract negotiations — extensions and free agency alike — whenever transactions do resume.

Nearly Half The Astros’ Starting Lineup Is Up For Free Agency This Winter

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The Astros’ run atop the AL West has been buoyed by the presence of one of MLB’s most prolific sluggers, George Springer, and a revolving door of steady veterans in the corners. (Yes, you may insert your jokes here about what else has propelled their run of winning seasons, but the aim here is to take an actual look at the looming roster conundrums they’ll face.) Michael Brantley and Josh Reddick flanked Springer in 2019, while other iterations of the club have included Nori Aoki and Marwin Gonzalez in left field. Over the past few years, the since-traded Jake Marisnick has been a glove-first reserve option to help stabilize the mix.

Now, the Astros stand to not only lose Springer to free agency this coming winter, but also both Brantley and Reddick. Springer will hit the open market for the first time after reaching six years of MLB service, while Brantley’s two-year, $32MM deal and Reddick’s four-year, $52MM pact are both set to expire.  Things get even murkier for the Astros with the impending departure of Yuli Gurriel, whose initial five-year deal with the team comes to a close with the 2020 season. Gurriel agreed to a new one-year deal overwriting the final season of that previous pact last offseason, and he’s set to join Springer, Brantley and Reddick this coming winter.

It’s rare that any team, let alone a perennial World Series contender, enters an offseason with the potential of turning over 44 percent of its starting lineup, but that’s the precise situation in which newly hired GM James Click will find himself before year’s end.

On the plus side, the ’Stros have some likely replacements in house already. Kyle Tucker, 23, has been regularly ranked among the game’s elite prospects since being selected just three picks after Houston took Alex Bregman in the 2015 draft. (Bregman, of course, was a college player while Tucker was coming out of high school, hence the discrepancy in their timeline to the big leagues.)

A 2018 cup of coffee for Tucker didn’t produce much in the way of results (.141/.236/.203, 72 plate appearances), but he had a big Triple-A season in 2019 and hit .269/.319/.537 in an identical sample of plate appearances. In 998 PAs at the Triple-A level, Tucker has a .297/.375/.571 slash with 58 homers and 50 steals (in 59 tries). Tucker has All-Star potential that he hasn’t yet had a regular chance to show off due to the team’s largely set outfield mix. At the same time, the Astros have steadfastly refused to consider making him available in trades. He should get his opportunity in 2021 at the latest, and his ability to play all three outfield spots (even if he fits best in a corner long term) give the Astros some flexibility in pursuing other options. The club doesn’t have many pure outfield options right now, having traded the likes of J.D. Davis, Ramon Laureano, Derek Fisher and Teoscar Hernandez away in recent years.

At first base, the club could turn things over to Abraham Toro, who hit .306/.393/.513 in the pitcher-friendly Double-A Texas League before clubbing Pacific Coast League opposition at a .424/.506/.606 clip in 79 PAs. Toro didn’t do much in limited MLB time at the plate, but his bat appears mostly MLB-ready. He’s a third base prospect with questions about his glovework there, and some scouting reports (including those at FanGraphs, MLB.com and Baseball America) suggest that he could fit better at first base or (in FanGraphs’ case) left field. Yordan Alvarez is technically an option in left field or at first base, but the Astros feel better about him as a regular designated hitter and may not be keen on deploying his glove on an everyday basis.

Assuming Tucker and Toro are entrusted with two spots in the lineup, the Astros will still need to bring in at least two everyday players via trade or free agency, and they’ll need to do so with some semblance of cost efficiency. Houston already has nearly $117MM on the books in 2021 and more than $134MM worth of luxury tax obligations. That’s before factoring in arbitration raises on the 2020 salaries of Roberto Osuna ($10MM), Carlos Correa ($8MM), Lance McCullers Jr. ($4.1MM), Chris Devenski ($2MM), Aledmys Diaz ($2.6MM), Joe Biagini ($1MM) and Dustin Garneau ($650K).

Re-signing any of Gurriel, Brantley or Reddick would fill one spot without requiring a particularly long-term commitment, although Reddick’s bat has waned in recent seasons. C.J. Cron and Jake Lamb will both be options at first base, while Nick Markakis, Kevin Pillar and old friends Marwin Gonzalez and Hunter Pence represent short-term outfield possibilities. Springer and Mookie Betts are the top options on the outfield market, but signing either would likely bring the ’Stros within striking distance of a second straight season of luxury penalization. More affordable names include Marcell Ozuna, Joc Pederson and Jackie Bradley Jr.

Trade candidates are a bit more difficult to suss out this far in advance, although it wouldn’t be a surprise if Corey Dickerson (Marlins), Ender Inciarte (Braves), Gregory Polanco (Pirates), Brian Goodwin (Angels), Eddie Rosario (Twins) or Kyle Schwarber (Cubs) were to appear on the rumor circuit this summer.

Regardless of how Click and his staff choose to proceed, the Astros seem likely to be in the hunt for multiple regulars this winter, and their notable arbitration class and crop of high-priced 2021 salaries will necessitate a creative and/or low-cost addition or two.

Camp Battles: Astros’ 26th Man

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The Astros final roster spot will be a two-man showdown between Myles Straw and Garrett Stubbs, per MLB.com’s Brian McTaggart. Of course, this particular “camp battle” has as much to do with the pieces around the players as the players themselves. For that matter, it may come down to a conversation between Dusty Baker and new GM James Click. The two are likely still developing a cohesive philosophy when it comes to roster construction. That they have an extra roster spot in the 26th man this season ought to help smooth the waters. Still, there’s a decision to be made here, and as with many clubs, the decision may come down to just how many catchers they want to have on the roster. Let’s take a deeper dive into the candidates. 

  • One would think that Myles Straw is the frontrunner to make the opening day roster. Without him, the Astros don’t have a natural backup for George Springer in center. With Jake Marisnick now on the Mets, Straw is the likeliest candidate to fill that void as a pinch-runner and late-game defensive replacement. Josh Reddick would probably fill that role as a backup were Straw not to make the team, though it would be surprising if that were the case for the entire season. Even if Straw doesn’t make the cut, expect him to occupy a roster spot at times throughout the season.
  • Stubbs, 26, has spent the last two seasons in Triple-A, and he’s certainly ready enough to get some time as a backup in 2020. He has a good approach at the plate, will take his walks and doesn’t strike out (16.2% K-rate last season). He’s reliable enough defensively, but it’s hard to see where the Astros would benefit from rostering a third catcher. Martin Maldonado will be the primary starter, and he could be used as a defense replacement in games he doesn’t start. On the other hand, they may risk burning their bench by pinch-hitting for Maldonado in spots. Still, Dustin Garneau is on hand for those occasions. Garneau has some power potential, but Kyle Tucker or Josh Reddick will be the first lefty bat off the bench, while Aledmys Diaz will be the guy from the right side. One backup catcher ought to suffice.
  • The sleeper candidate here is Abraham Toro. He debuted last season with a .218/.303/.385 line over a mere 85 plate appearances. Toro offers a quality combination of speed/power and the ability to play either corner in the infield as well as second base in a pinch. He’s a switch-hitter, which provides some utility beyond the overlapping skillset he shares with Diaz or Yuli Gurriel, but he also has options available. The Astros, therefore, will feel no pressure to keep him on the major league roster. That said, Toro gained some popularity last season, a quality the Astros are short on these days. Having a young player that fans can root for unequivocally may get Toro an extra look.

We’re assuming here, of course, that the Astros will go with an eight-man bullpen. That’s hardly a foregone conclusion, though it’s the likeliest result in the case of most teams, and given that the Astros have some uncertainty at the back end of their rotation, they may enjoy having an extra arm to leverage until the number four and five starters establish some consistency.

Astros Players Deny Using Buzzers

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Thursday looks like yet another tough day for the Astros in an offseason packed with them. The club sent a few representatives out to discuss its sign-stealing scandal that many believe has tarnished its laundry list of accomplishments from recent years. The news conference wasn’t well-received, as multiple players and owner Jim Crane only offered perfunctory apologies for the team’s wrongdoing. What’s more, Crane called on manager Dusty Baker to ask for forgiveness on the club’s behalf. The problem? Baker had nothing to do with the Astros’ misdeeds. He only just joined the Astros as their skipper Jan. 29, a couple weeks after the team bid adieu to suspended predecessor A.J. Hinch.

Among their possible crimes, Astros hitters may have worn electronic buzzers under their jerseys last season in order to help identify which pitches were coming. Major League Baseball investigated the matter, but it didn’t find any evidence supporting those accusations. Questions about it have persisted, though. Crane said Thursday, “I truly believe there were no buzzers ever.” Prominent members of the roster agree, for what it’s worth, as Chandler Rome of the Houston Chronicle relays.

Second baseman Jose Altuve’s walk-off home run against the Yankees in Game 6 of last year’s American League Championship Series sent the Astros to the World Series. Altuve wouldn’t let his teammates rip off his jersey as he approached home plate to celebrate, but he quickly went into the locker room to change his shirt after that. Some may regard that as damning evidence that he was wearing a device at the time, though the former AL MVP vehemently denied those claims Thursday.

“It was a fake Twitter account that started everything,” Altuve said. “It makes me upset that a fake Twitter account had that much credibility. Like I said, I feel bad for 2017 but I can say something that I didn’t do was the buzzer thing. No one on this team wore a buzzer.”

The “fake Twitter account,” now deactivated, belonged to someone claiming to be the niece of former Astro Carlos Beltran – one of the central figures in the team’s 2017 sign-stealing scheme. The Beltran family denied that was the case when the story came out last month, however.

Along with Altuve, shortstop Carlos Correa, outfielders George Springer and Josh Reddick, and ace Justin Verlander all shot down the idea that the team utilized buzzers.

“That’s a lie. Nobody wore buzzers. Nobody wore devices,” insisted Correa, who added the “story should be killed already.”

Both Springer and Reddick said that was “absolutely not” the case, while Reddick offered, “no, not to my knowledge.”

Considering the events of the past few weeks, you’d be within your rights to have a hard time believing what the Astros are saying. But even if the team didn’t wear buzzers, it’s obvious at this point there were other violations in recent years. Hence, the mess the Astros find themselves in now.

Astros, George Springer Avoid Arbitration

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The Astros and center fielder George Springer have agreed to terms on a one-year contract worth $21MM, Mark Feinsand of MLB.com reports. The Excel Sports client had filed for a $22.5MM salary against the Astros’ offer of $17.5MM (as shown in MLBTR’s 2020 Arbitration Tracker), so his deal will check in north of the $20MM midpoint between those two figures.

These days, it’s atypical to see a team and a player settle on a one-year arrangement after figures have been exchanged. Most clubs prefer the so-called “file and trial” approach — essentially halting negotiations on anything other than a multi-year deal once figures have been swapped. That near-universal adoption of that line of thinking has led to an increase in the number of arbitration hearings in recent years, but it seems the organization was willing to discuss one-year parameters with one of its best players.

Of course, this week’s events with the Astros factor into the storyline here. Owner Jim Crane fired president of baseball operations Jeff Luhnow after commissioner Rob Manfred revealed the results of an investigation into the Astros’ sign-stealing scandal, and the club is currently operating without a president of baseball operations or general manager. Crane himself even said that he’ll personally be overseeing baseball operations for the time being, so it seems the willingness to compromise in this instance stemmed directly from ownership.

Springer, 30, will head into his final season of club control after posting a .292/.383/.581 slash with a career-high 39 home runs in 2019. Barring an extension, he’ll enter free agency next winter having recently turned 31 and figures to be ranked among the market’s best available free agents.

With Springer’s case now settled, Aledmys Diaz is the Astros’ only unresolved player. He filed for a $2.6MM salary against the team’s $2MM submission.

Quick Hits: Record Contracts, Springer, Realmuto, Robot Umpires, Royals Front Office Changes

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It was a busy filing day around baseball, with multiple arbitration records topped and 20 unresolved cases headed towards hearings if deals aren’t brokered in the coming days. Two notable record highs carried the day for players, noted MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand. Cody Bellinger took home the highest-ever salary for a first-time arb-eligible player, while Mookie Betts’ one-year, $27MM deal eclipsed Nolan Arenado’s previous record figure for a single season salary under the arbitration umbrella. Some significant battles loom, however…

  • George Springer will join the list of the top ten richest one-year contracts no matter how his case is resolved. J.T. Realmuto, meanwhile, has elevated his case to the level of political statement as he tries to set a new market for all catchers, per @fntsyradio host Craigh Mish. Yasmani Grandal made a similar case last year in justifying his decision to accept a single season deal in Milwaukee over a multiyear offer from the Mets. Hard to know if Grandal moved the line for everyone, but it certainly paid off for him.
  • It’s time to cede the battle against robot umpires, per The Athletic’s Jayson Stark. “This. Is. Happening,” writes Stark, and perhaps as early as 2022. The mental games used to inch the strike zone this way or that has long been a tool of the game’s best – from the hitters whose impeccable eye define it, to the pitchers’ whose pinpoint control push to expand it – but an automated zone will all but abolish the in-game politicking of the strike zone, giving hitters a new advantage they have long been without: certainty. Robot umpires will define the strike zone with better precision than their carbon-based forerunners – but first the humans must decide what they want that strike zone to be. For those particularly fond of strike zone drama, appreciate it now, because deciding on the parameters of the automated zone might be one of the last great strike zone debates before the robots take over.
  • The Royals announced a number of changes to their baseball ops department on Friday, mostly in the form of new hires and promotions (Nick Kappel of Royal Rundown provides the full list). Notables include Rustin Sveum, son of Dale, promoted to minor league video coordinator, former Tampa Bay Ray Damon Hollins returned for an 11th season in Kansas City as the Coordinator of Outfield, Base Running, and Bunting, and the famously high-stockinged Jason Simontacchi named Pitching Coordinator after two years assisting the role.

2020 Arbitration Filing Numbers

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MLBTR’s Arbitration Tracker is the place to go to see the arbitration contracts agreed upon thus far, as well as the figures exchanged between teams and players that were not able to reach agreement before today’s deadline to swap salary positions. Matt Swartz’s arbitration projections are available here.

After a busy day of dealmaking, 161 players (at last check) have reached agreement on arbitration salaries for the coming season. But 29 other tendered players have yet to reach reported agreements with their clubs. Of course, those players can still settle before their hearings (which will take place in early to mid-February). If the case goes to a hearing, the arbitrator must choose one side’s figures, rather than settling on a midpoint. It’s hardly an unusual number of unresolved cases at this stage, but there are quite a few high-dollar situations still at issue and teams have increasingly adopted a “file-and-trial” approach to the process in recent years. (That is, no negotiations on single-season salaries after the deadline to exchange figures.)

We’ve gathered the highest-stakes arbitration situations remaining in this post, but you can find them all in the tracker. We’ll update this list as the figures are reported:

Arbitration Breakdown: George Springer

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Over the coming days, I am discussing some of the higher profile upcoming arbitration cases. So far, we’ve previewed Josh Bell, Cody Bellinger, Francisco Lindor, Trevor Bauer, Mike Clevinger and Jonathan Villar. For these pieces, I rely partly on my arbitration model developed exclusively for MLB Trade Rumors, but will also break out some interesting comparables and determine where the model might be wrong. 2020 projections are available right here.

George Springer enters his final year of arbitration eligibility after playing out a two-year, $24MM deal that covered his 2018-19 seasons. Springer only played in 122 games last season due to a hamstring strain, but he still managed to belt 39 home runs and knock in 96 runs despite consistently batting in the leadoff spot — all while hitting .292. While being limited to 556 plate appearances could hurt an otherwise strong arbitration case, his impressive counting stats should get him a hefty raise.

George Springer | Erik Williams-USA TODAY Sports

Players outside their first year of arbitration eligibility are generally awarded raises on top of their prior salary and only based on the prior year of production. In general, Springer would not expect to receive different compensation than he would have based on his .265/22/71 performance in 620 plate appearances in 2018. However, cases like Springer’s can sometimes be considered as “re-slot” cases where they are paid based on career performance or at least on the two prior years that were covered under a multi-year deal.

Further complicating matters is that the salary on which Springer’s raise will be based is not all that clear. Springer received $24MM for his two-year pact, in matching installments of $12MM per season. However, he would never have earned $12MM in arbitration in 2018 (in fact, he filed for $10.5MM), and he was obviously compensated under the assumption that he would have received more than $12MM in 2019 had he gone year to year.

In cases like this, in which the player and team have both filed at the time the multi-year deal was reached, I usually assume the first year of the deal was valued at the midpoint of the team’s and player’s filing. In this case, that’d put year one of Springer’s two-year deal at $9.5MM, since the Astros filed at $8.5MM. The 2019 base salary, then, would be be treated as $14.5MM.

Based on his performance, my model estimates a $6.9MM raise, which would take Springer to $21.4MM if we use that theoretical $14.5MM sum as his base. If we look for useful comps, this seems somewhat plausible. Unfortunately, two of the players who have similar power numbers and service time both played half their games at Coors Field, inflating their statistics. Charlie Blackmon hit 37 home runs with 104 runs batted in in 2017, although his case was stronger than Springer’s in some ways because he hit .331 and racked up 725 plate appearances. That all earned him a $6.7MM raise. The following year, Nolan Arenado got an $8.25MM raise after his 38 HR and 110 RBI, while hitting .297 in 673 plate appearances.

Neither Blackmon nor Arenado looks exactly right. Arenado plays third base. Blackmon hit for higher average. Both had more plate appearances. Additionally, Blackmon was only eligible for arbitration for the third time, unlike Arenado and Springer, who had four arb-eligible years due to their status as Super Two players. Also, Blackmon and Arenado further differ because both received raises after one-year deals. We know Springer’s case to be less common, as he’s coming off a two-year contract.

Springer’s case is very arguably most similar to Josh Donaldson’s case two years ago. Donaldson put up a .270/33/78 season in 496 plate appearances and, crucially, was coming off a two-year deal in which he was paid $28.65MM. That sum was neatly allocated as $11.65MM (roughly the midpoint of his and the Blue Jays’ arbitration filings) in the first year, and $17MM the second year. Donaldson got an even $6MM raise to $23MM in his final year of arbitration. With Springer topping Donaldson in batting average, homers and RBIs at .292/39/96 in 556 plate appearances, it stands to reason that Donaldson would likely get a larger raise. Perhaps that would be similar to his $6.9MM projected raise.

On the other hand, the first year of Donaldson’s two-year pact was better than year one of Springer’s deal. Donaldson hit .284/37/99 in 700 plate appearances, compared to Springer’s .265/22/71 in 620 plate appearances. If that’s part of what is being considered, we’re comparing Donaldson’s combined .270/70/177 performance in 1196 trips to the plate against Springer’s .278/61/167 performance in 1176 plate appearances. In that case, Springer isn’t necessarily a lock to top Donaldson’s $6MM raise.

The only other remotely similar case was Todd Frazier three years ago. He was coming off a two-year deal that effectively paid him $7.5MM. He got a $4.5MM raise after hitting just .225 but with 40 HR, 98 RBI and 15 stolen bases in 666 turns at the plate. This would probably establish $4.5MM as a floor if Donaldson is not already serving as a floor at $6MM.

Overall, it seems pretty clear that the best comp for Springer is Donaldson. Springer should get somewhere in the neighborhood of the $21.4MM that my model has projected him for, albeit perhaps for reasons very different from those the model considered in his case.

Injury Notes: Harper, Springer, Suzuki, Piscotty

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After being hit in the right hand with a Steven Matz pitch on Friday, Bryce Harper sat out the Phillies’ 5-0 win over the Mets today and could also miss Sunday’s game.  X-rays were negative on the injury and Harper told the Philadelphia Inquirer’s Matt Breen and other reporters that he would “be fine,” though he was frustrating at having to miss any time at all during the pennant race.  “Really tough to take a day [off], but I need to do what I need to do,” Harper off.  The Phils’ victory moved them three games behind the Cubs for the last NL wild card berth, and in the midst of such a tight race, certainly can’t afford to miss one of their top players.

While Harper hasn’t quite posted the type of superstar-level numbers you might expect after signing his much-ballyhooed 13-year, $330MM contract last offseason, he has been a thoroughly productive player in his first Phillies season, hitting .254/.372/.497 with 30 homers over an even 600 plate appearances while also contributing strong defense.

More on some key players who may or may not be close to returning to action…

  • George Springer also didn’t factor into today’s play, though Astros manager A.J. Hinch told reporters (including the Houston Chronicle’s Chandler Rome) that the outfielder was available off the bench in Houston’s 2-1 win over Seattle, and would hopefully be back in the lineup on Sunday.  Springer suffered a minor concussion after an ugly-looking collision with the outfielder wall on Tuesday, which resulted in the Astros star being carted off the field.  Fortunately, the injury was less serious than it appeared, and Springer is set to resume what has been another All-Star season.
  • Kurt Suzuki will see a doctor after suffering a potential right elbow injury in tonight’s game, Jesse Dougherty of the Washington Post tweets.  The Nationals catcher felt pain after making a throw to second base in the seventh inning, and was replaced by a pinch-hitter in the top of the eighth.  Suzuki has hit .260/.319/.473 with 16 homers over 301 plate appearances in his first season as a National, splitting time with (and providing much more offense than) Yan Gomes.  Rookie backstop Raudy Read is the only other catcher on Washington’s 40-man roster if Suzuki has to miss any time.
  • Athletics outfielder Stephen Piscotty told Ron Kroichick of the San Francisco Chronicle that he is close to beginning pool therapy on his injured right ankle, and will then further test the injury before determining any next steps.  Piscotty believes he can return before the end of the season, which is perhaps not as positive a development as it seems since there hadn’t really been any thought that Piscotty’s high ankle sprain could cost him the remainder of the 2019 campaign.  After hitting the IL on August 25, the outfielder is still wearing a walking boot.
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