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Justin Turner Leaves Game With Apparent Injury

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11:01pm: Dodgers manager Dave Roberts, in a postgame scrum, announced that Turner has a grade 2 hamstring strain and seemed to imply that his season is indeed over. “I think that’ll be it for him,” Roberts said, according to Hoornstra and others.

9:51pm: Justin Turner left tonight’s NLCS game four matchup against Atlanta with an apparent injury, as relayed by several reporters, including J.P. Hoornstra of the Southern California News Group. Turner grounded into a double play in the bottom of the seventh inning and limped his way to first base, then didn’t return to the field for the top of the eighth.

It has been a frustrating series for the third baseman, as he has also been dealing with a neck injury of late that caused him to be held out of the starting lineup in game two. The severity of this new injury is unclear at this point, but this raises the specter of Turner’s season being over. There are, at most, three games remaining in the NLCS after tonight, which doesn’t leave him much time to convalesce before the World Series.

Losing Turner for any amount of time would be a blow to the Dodgers, as he has been one of their best and most-reliable hitters for eight straight seasons. From 2014 to 2021, he has been a mainstay of the lineup, with a batting average between .275 and .340 each year. His wRC+ has always been between 123 and 158 during that span. He was worth at least 3.3 fWAR in each of those seasons, except for the shortened 2020 campaign, where he put up 1.3 fWAR. In 2021, he slashed .278/.361/.471 for a wRC+ of 127 and 4.0 fWAR.

This year’s postseason has been a struggle for him, perhaps due to these underlying injuries. Going into tonight’s game, he was slashing just .097/.200/.194 through 35 plate appearances.

Injury Notes: Grandal, Muncy, McCullers

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Yasmani Grandal recently underwent knee surgery, as the catcher himself relayed on Instagram, and passed along by The Athletic’s James Fegan. Fegan also says the club expects him to be ready to go for spring training.

Grandal spent almost two months on the IL this year due to a torn tendon in his knee, although it didn’t seem to hamper him at the plate at all. In 93 games, he hit .240/.420/.520, for a wRC+ of 159, easily the highest of his career. His defensive numbers trended downward in 2021, though that’s not terribly surprising given how important healthy knees are for a catcher. The switch-hitter is guaranteed $36.5MM over the next two years, making his recovery from this procedure incredibly important for the White Sox as they look to build on back-to-back postseason appearances.

More injury notes…

  • Max Muncy brought out the lineup card for tonight’s NLCS game four matchup against Atlanta and didn’t appear to be wearing a brace on his injured left elbow, according to Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic. This would seem to indicate at least some superficial progress, given that Muncy was using the brace even while sleeping as recently as three days ago. The narrative around Muncy’s return figures to continue for as long as the Dodgers’ season is still alive. He hit 36 home runs this year, a personal best, on his way to slashing .249/.368/.527. His wRC+ of 140 on the campaign placed him in the top 15 among qualified hitters in all of baseball. He has missed the entirety of the playoffs so far after being injured in a collision with Jace Peterson on the final day of the regular season.
  • Similar to Muncy, the status of Lance McCullers Jr. figures to be an ongoing question as long as the Astros are still playing. The latest update comes from MLB Network’s Jon Heyman, who says McCullers is “seen as not likely” to pitch in the World Series, should the Astros qualify. Since this bout of elbow tightness put the righty on the shelf, the Astros’ rotation has been shaky in his absence. Through the first four games of the ALCS, no Houston starter lasted longer than 2 2/3 innings. However, game five saw Framber Valdez turn that ship around by throwing eight innings of one-run ball. McCullers threw 162 1/3 excellent innings this year, with an ERA of 3.16, 27% strikeout rate and 56.4% ground ball rate. He then threw 10 2/3 innings in the ALDS with an ERA of 0.84 before landing on the shelf.

Injury Notes: Turner, Muncy, Garcia, Meyers

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Justin Turner isn’t in the starting lineup for Game 2 of the NLCS, as Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said the third baseman is battling a neck stinger.  “He couldn’t turn his head to the right,” Roberts told MLB.com’s Juan Toribio and other reporters.  “Justin will do anything we ask, but I just don’t think it’s right to put him in that spot, and for us as a club, I think we have other options also.”  Chris Taylor will instead get the start at third base in Turner’s spot.

The injury first occurred during batting practice prior to Game 1, though Turner was well enough to play and went 1-for-4 in the Dodgers’ 3-2 loss to the Braves.  Roberts hopes Monday’s off-day will allow Turner to be ready for Game 3 on Tuesday, and Turner might only be used today in an emergency pinch-hit scenario.  Turner has yet to get going this postseason, as his hit in Game 1 was just his third of the playoffs; the veteran has only a .381 OPS through 30 plate appearances.

More injury notes from the postseason bracket…

  • Max Muncy updated reporters (including Bill Plunkett of The Orange County Register) yesterday on the status of his dislocated left elbow.  While “the range of motion has actually been pretty decent the last couple days [and] we’re able to get more movement in it than we thought,” Muncy admitted that “it’s just one of those things where it’s not really close to normal and probably won’t be.  If we’re able to play, it’ll be essentially gutting through.”  Muncy said he has been participating in some unspecified rehab that may or may not be baseball activity-related, though he is also wearing a brace on his left arm at almost all times, even while sleeping.  The Dodgers didn’t include Muncy on their NLCS roster and it remains to be seen if he can be healthy enough to participate in the World Series, should Los Angeles get past the Braves.
  • Right knee discomfort forced Luis Garcia out of yesterday’s ALCS Game 2 in the second inning, though the Astros right-hander appears to have avoided serious injury.  Manager Dusty Baker told FOX 26’s Mark Berman (Twitter links) and other reporters that Garcia threw a bullpen session today, and the righty himself said “I feel really good, and I think whenever they say it’s time for me to get back on the mound I’ll be good to go.”  It isn’t known when Garcia might be able to pitch again, or if he’d be used in a starting or a relief capacity.  Garcia only threw 33 pitches in Game 2, but was also torched for five runs on three walks and two hits, including a J.D. Martinez grand slam.
  • Baker also told Berman and other media that Jake Meyers was throwing today, and the outfielder is doing better in the wake of his left shoulder injury from Game 4 of the ALDS.  Meyers collided with the outfield wall in pursuit of a Gavin Sheets home run and had to leave the field in the second inning.  The Astros included Meyers on their ALCS roster though he has yet to make an appearance against the Red Sox.

Dodgers Remove David Price, Billy McKinney For NLCS

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The Dodgers narrowly survived a five-game tilt with their rival Giants, but now they must quickly turn the page and prepare for a seven-game NLCS rematch with the Atlanta Braves. Unfortunately for Dodger fans, the club will continue without star first baseman Max Muncy. The injury the knocked Muncy out of the lineup in game 162 will keep him out at least through the World Series.

Here’s how the rest of the roster breaks down for the NLCS…

Right-Handed Pitchers

Left-Handed Pitchers

Catchers

Infielders

Outfielders

The most notable subtraction from the NLDS roster is southpaw David Price. He’s essentially replaced on the roster by the southpaw Bruihl. Though Price was on the NLDS roster, he did not appear in a game against the Giants. Bruihl provided the Dodgers with a more traditional bullpen lefty while giving up the potential length provided by Price. The veteran Price has plenty of postseason experience, whereas Bruihl is a 24-year-old rookie with just 21 big league games under his belt.

Regardless, it will be Bruihl in the bullpen alongside Vesia preparing for showdowns with Freddie Freeman, Eddie Rosario, or Joc Pederson. Bruihl faced 43 lefties over his 18 1/3 Major League innings, compared to just 30 right-handers. Those same-handed hitters struggled to a .150/.209/.150 mark with just six hits – none for extra bases. Of course, Freeman is usually protected in the lineup by righty Austin Riley, and with the three-batter rule, Bruihl likely won’t escape usage against opposite-handed hitters if he makes an appearance.

They also removed outfielder/first baseman Billy McKinney from the roster. The well-traveled McKinney had mostly been used as a late game replacement at first base. With Beatty, Pujols, and Bellinger on the roster, however, that’s a role the Dodgers should have no trouble filling. Manager Dave Roberts likely trusts both Beatty and Bellinger at first late in games, depending on what the match-ups at the plate dictate.

What is interesting is that the Dodgers chose to add an additional pitcher for this round. Right-hander Evan Phillips will give Roberts another arm with which to mix-and-match. They now have 13 pitchers and 13 position players. Phillips, 27, is a well-traveled righty who has logged innings in his professional career with the Braves, Orioles, Rays, and Dodgers. He made one appearance with Tampa this season before being claimed off waivers by the Dodgers. He appeared seven times down the stretch for the Dodgers, logging more than one inning in five of those seven outings.

The decision to remove McKinney and add Phillips leaves Roberts with a five-man bench. Most days, Pujols, Barnes, Beatty, Souza Jr., and Lux will be available to Roberts off the bench.

As for the rotation, the Dodgers are going with a bullpen game in game one, with Knebel serving as the opener, just as he did in game five against the Giants. Scherzer and Buehler should line up for games two and three.

Poll: Who Will Advance To The World Series?

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Both League Championship Series are now set, following the Dodgers’ 2-1 victory over the Giants in Game 5 of the National League Division Series. Over the next week-plus, we’ll see the Astros (home field advantage) battle the Red Sox for the AL pennant while the Braves (home field advantage) take on the Dodgers for the NL crown.

All four teams are dealing with either uncertainty surrounding a key player. It’s still not clear whether the Astros will have Lance McCullers Jr. for the ALCS after he exited his last start against the White Sox due to forearm discomfort and underwent an MRI. On the other side of this matchup, Red Sox star third baseman Rafael Devers has been playing through a forearm injury that has impacted his swing but has yet to detract from his production.

The Braves, meanwhile, don’t know when or whether they’ll get slugger Jorge Soler back into the mix after he tested positive for Covid-19 just hours before their own Game 5 showdown against Milwaukee. The Dodgers have been without Max Muncy throughout the postseason, and both manager Dave Roberts and president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman were deliberately vague when asked about him following last night’s win (Twitter links via Jorge Castillo of the L.A. Times and Bill Plunkett of the Orange County Register).

With just four teams remaining in the field and a fresh pair of best-of-seven series set to kick off over the next two days, it seems like a good time to give MLBTR readers a chance to weigh in on who they’re taking in the ALCS and the NLCS (and perhaps an avenue to voice their thoughts on any, um… questionable… calls from last night’s game).

Who's going to the World Series?
Dodgers and Astros 38.68% (5,998 votes)
Dodgers and Red Sox 26.85% (4,164 votes)
Braves and Red Sox 19.50% (3,023 votes)
Braves and Astros 14.97% (2,321 votes)
Total Votes: 15,506
(link to poll for Trade Rumors iOS/Android app users)

Latest on Mets’ Front Office Search

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October 13: The Mets’ wide-ranging search for a new PBO apparently won’t reach as far as the NFL.  Joel Sherman of the New York Post reports there had been some speculation that Paul DePodesta, currently the chief strategy officer for the Cleveland Browns, was being considered as a possible candidate, but DePodesta tells Sherman he’s not interested in leaving his current position. Prior to making the jump to football in 2016, DePodesta had a long run working in various MLB front-office jobs with Cleveland, Oakland, the Dodgers, San Diego and the Mets.

On the other side of the ledger, you can add Dodgers’ assistant GM Brandon Gomes to the list of names the Mets may want to interview, writes Andy Martino of SNY.  However, Martino suggests the Dodgers could consider promoting Gomes themselves if the Mets express serious interest in poaching him.

October 12: The Mets have discussed Josh Byrnes as a possibility in their ongoing search for a new president of baseball operations, reports Buster Olney of ESPN (Twitter link). Byrnes has spent the past eight seasons as the Dodgers’ senior vice president of baseball operations.

Jon Heyman of the MLB Network suggested last month that Byrnes might pop onto the Mets’ radar, and it indeed seems he’s caught the attention of owner Steve Cohen and team president Sandy Alderson. It’s rather easy to see Byrnes’ appeal. The Dodgers have been among the game’s most successful franchises over the past few years, and executives like Alex Anthopoulos (Braves) and Farhan Zaidi (Giants) have done quite well after taking over baseball operations elsewhere following stints in the L.A. front office. Byrnes interviewed for the Phillies’ leadership position that eventually went to Dave Dombrowski last winter but ultimately decided to remain in Los Angeles.

Byrnes also has plenty of experience running day-to-day baseball ops. Before joining Los Angeles, the 51-year-old had stints as the general manger of the Diamondbacks and Padres. In a somewhat ironic twist, Byrnes reportedly came close to landing the Mets’ GM job that went to Alderson back in 2010. Now, Alderson finds himself with a key role in settling on New York’s next baseball operations leader. While he assumed control over day-to-day operations for the final few weeks of this season, Alderson is planning to move back into a broader team president role for 2022.

Byrnes becomes the latest big name tied to the Mets, who are planning to request permission to interview A’s executive VP Billy Beane and Brewers’ president of baseball operations David Stearns. Unlike Beane and Stearns, Byrnes isn’t currently in charge of baseball ops elsewhere, which could make the initial hurdle of getting permission from his current club for an interview — should the Mets decide to take that step — easier than it is with the other candidates. The Mets already interviewed Theo Epstein, but the former Red Sox and Cubs leader will not be taking over in Queens.

Ryan Meisinger, Kevin Quackenbush Elect Free Agency

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Right-handers Ryan Meisinger and Kevin Quackenbush have elected for free agency, as per the official transactions page for Triple-A West.  The two hurlers had been part of the Dodgers organization, and both had the option of becoming free agents since they have both been outrighted off 40-man rosters more than once in their careers.  Los Angeles outrighted both Meisinger and Quackenbush within the last two months.

The Dodgers claimed Meisinger off waivers from the Cubs in August but he never saw any big league action in Dodger Blue, though he did impress at the Triple-A level with an 0.84 ERA over 10 2/3 frames for the Oklahoma City affiliate.  Over 40 1/3 combined innings at Triple-A in 2021, Meisinger had a 3.35 ERA and a very impressive 34.6% strikeout rate, but also with an 11.17% walk rate.

Meisinger has had pretty solid numbers in the minors, except with steadily increasing walk and homer rates as he has moved up the ladder, culminating in some rough numbers over his brief big league career.  Over 31 career IP with the Orioles, Cardinals, and Cubs, Meisinger has allowed eight homers and issued 19 walks (against 30 strikeouts), resulting in a 7.26 ERA.

Quackenbush signed a minor league deal with L.A. in May and made it to the majors for one game, tossing a third of an inning in the Dodgers’ 8-2 win over the Angels on August 8.  This cup of coffee represented Quackenbush’s first MLB action since 2018.  A regular in the Padres bullpen from 2014-17, Quackenbush has since bounced around to a few different clubs, including a previous stint in the Dodgers’ farm system in 2019.  Like Meisinger, Quackenbush also pitched well at Triple-A this season, posting a 1.65 ERA over 43 2/3 frames of work.

Clayton Kershaw Will Not Require Surgery, Will Not Pitch This Postseason

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OCTOBER 8: Kershaw told reporters he had a platelet-rich plasma injection in his ailing elbow yesterday (via Chelsea Janes of the Washington Post). That officially brings to an end any chance of his pitching this postseason, but Kershaw said he expects to be ready for Spring Training in 2022.

OCTOBER 5: Clayton Kershaw left his most recent regular season start on account of recurring forearm discomfort. The Dodgers star did not suffer any UCL damage and will not require surgery, manager Dave Roberts told reporters (including Jorge Castillo of the Los Angeles Times). Nevertheless, the three-time Cy Young award winner is not expected to return this postseason.

The news comes as something of a mixed bag. On the one hand, it certainly seemed ominous when Kershaw left his final start of the year with forearm discomfort, not long after returning from a two-plus month absence due to the same issue. It’s certainly a relief that in spite of that recurring problem, Kershaw won’t need to go under the knife.

That said, he’ll no doubt be disappointed he’s not able to return to help the Dodgers’ efforts to repeat as World Series winners. It’s possible Kershaw wouldn’t have pitched in the postseason even were he healthy. Max Scherzer was likely to get the ball in tomorrow evening’s Wild Card game anyhow, and the Dodgers’ title defense could end with that lone contest. But a lengthier playoff run would surely have seen a healthy Kershaw logging some important innings, and that’ll no longer be the case.

It’s also particularly unfortunate timing for Kershaw personally. The 33-year-old is slated to hit the open market this winter. When healthy, Kershaw has again been excellent. Over 121 2/3 innings, the former MVP worked to a 3.55 ERA while striking out a strong 29.5% of batters faced and issuing walks at just a 4.3% clip. Kershaw’s velocity has steadily ticked downwards in recent seasons, but he’s nevertheless been among the game’s most effective pitchers year in and year out. He was trending towards being one of the top starters available in free agency this offseason, but his recent health woes will throw a wrench in that evaluation for teams.

The Dodgers also provided an update on Max Muncy, who injured his elbow in a collision at first base during Sunday’s regular season finale. Muncy told reporters (including Juan Toribio of MLB.com) he suffered a dislocated elbow and some structural damage. Fortunately, he won’t require surgical repair. Roberts didn’t rule out the possibility of Muncy returning at some point this postseason (Toribio link).

Dodgers Set NLDS Roster

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After toppling the Cardinals in walk-off fashion to advance beyond the Wild Card Game, the Dodgers on Friday announced their 26-man roster for their NLDS battle against the rival Giants. Both Walker Buehler and David Price, who were kept off the Wild Card roster, are on the NLDS roster in place of outfielder Luke Raley and utilityman Zach McKinstry.

Here’s a look at all 26 names…

Right-Handed Pitchers

Left-Handed Pitchers

Catchers

Infielders

Outfielders

There’s not a whole lot of note with the Dodgers’ choices. Buehler started Los Angeles’ regular season finale and was only left off the Wild Card roster in anticipation of his potential Game 1 start tonight. The southpaw Price wasn’t active for the Dodgers’ game against a Cardinals team that leans heavily right-handed, but it was always expected he’d be back to offer some multi-inning relief depth over a longer series.

Max Muncy remains inactive as he recovers from the elbow dislocation he suffered in the regular season finale. Muncy will not require surgery, but his elbow will remain immobilized for the next couple weeks, reports Robert Murray of FanSided (Twitter link). That timeline would seem to make his return at any point in a potential postseason run a longshot, but neither Muncy nor the Dodgers have ruled out that possibility as of yet. The 30-year-old figures to appear on some MVP ballots after popping 36 home runs and walking at an elite 14% clip this season, leading to a .249/.368/.527 slash line that checks in 40 percentage points above league average by measure of wRC+.

MLBTR Poll: NL Wild Card Matchup

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Unlike the American League, where the Wild Card matchup was not known until the final day of the season, the picture in the National League has been clear for some time. The Los Angeles Dodgers are hosting the St. Louis Cardinals.

In one corner, we have the defending World Series champions and the club with 2021’s highest payroll, by a wide margin. The Los Angeles Dodgers are a stacked team that notched 106 victories this season but still couldn’t manage to outflank the Giants in the NL West. Now they find themselves one loss away from an early winter.

In the other corner, we have baseball hottest team. On July 31st, the Cardinals were 52-52, seven games behind the Padres for the second Wild Card spot. But they stormed through the end of the season, going 38-20, including a remarkable 17-game winning streak, and finished seven games ahead of their nearest competitors, the Reds.

On the mound will be two veterans who each already have World Series rings. 37-year-old Max Scherzer will toe the slab for the Dodgers, just over two years after starting 2019’s National League Wild Card game for the Nationals. In that start, Scherzer tossed five innings, allowing four hits, three walks and three earned runs. Although he left the game with his club down 3-1, the Nationals pulled off an incredible comeback and continued on their way to the 2019 World Series crown. Between Washington and Los Angeles this year, Scherzer threw 179 1/3 innings with 236 strikeouts and an ERA of 2.46.

Representing the opposing dugout will be Adam Wainwright, who continues to make mockery of aging curves. The 40-year-old logged 206 1/3 innings this year with 174 strikeouts and an ERA of 3.05. Incredibly, this will be the ninth season of his career where he has made at least one postseason appearance.

Who do you think will emerge victorious? (Poll link for app users.)

Who Will Win The 2021 NL Wild Card Game?
Los Angeles Dodgers 53.19% (2,166 votes)
St. Louis Cardinals 46.81% (1,906 votes)
Total Votes: 4,072
Show all

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