Quick Hits: Reyes, A-Rod, Ortiz, Dodgers, Cecil
Major League Baseball is likely to punish Rockies shortstop Jose Reyes during the upcoming week for a violation of its domestic violence policy, reports Nick Groke of the Denver Post. Reyes’ status with the league has been in limbo for several months as a result of his arrest on domestic violence charges in November. Criminal charges were dropped in March because Reyes’ wife – the alleged victim – was unwilling to cooperate in the case, but punishment from the league has been expected all along. The situation has dragged in part because the league doesn’t have a presence in Hawaii, where the alleged incident took place, according to Groke. Reyes has been on paid administrative leave since February and has collected upward of $3MM from the Rockies to not play. The club will recoup some of the money owed to Reyes when the league punishes him, but it’s unknown whether the 32-year-old will play for the Rockies (or anyone else) again. Reyes was primed to collect $48MM, including a $4MM buyout in 2018, over the final three seasons of his contract before his off-field issues arose. Thanks to Trevor Story‘s early season breakout, the Rockies haven’t missed Reyes at all on the field.
In other news from around the league…
- In an interesting piece, John Tomase of WEEI details the relationship between Red Sox designated hitter David Ortiz and Yankees DH Alex Rodriguez, who had a falling out in 2014 that put their two-decade-long friendship in jeopardy. Ortiz took offense when A-Rod’s attorneys suggested back then that there was a PED-related double standard between him and players “who are God-like in Boston right now.” After a couple years of silence, the two finally spoke again during Spring Training, per Tomase. “I’ve always been a real friend to him, and I’m happy we’re hearing more good things about him than what we normally used to hear,” said Ortiz. Regarding Ortiz, A-Rod stated, “Look, I’ve known him for over 20 years. We’ve had an incredible relationship and I’m happy where it is today.”
- A pair of notable rotation reinforcements, Hyun-jin Ryu and Brandon McCarthy, are on track to rejoin the Dodgers’ early in the summer, writes Doug Padilla of ESPN.com. Ryu, who’s working his way back from shoulder surgery, threw a 40- to 45-pitch bullpen session Saturday and could return sometime in June. McCarthy, on the mend from Tommy John surgery, threw 50 to 60 pitches Saturday and might come back closer to July. Dodgers starters have held their own this year with a 3.37 ERA/3.33 FIP/3.58 xFIP, but adding accomplished veteran depth for the stretch run is never a bad thing. Ryu hasn’t pitched since 2014, though his first two major league campaigns were highly successful. In one of his best seasons to date, 2014, McCarthy compiled a 4.05 ERA, 52.5 percent ground-ball rate, 7.88 K/9 and 1.49 BB/9 while totaling a career-high 200 innings.
- Blue Jays reliever Brett Cecil became the holder of an ignominious record Saturday, tweets Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet: The southpaw suffered his fifth defeat, giving him the most losses in relief at the end of April since data became available in 1913. Cecil, whose ERA is up to 5.79, failed to register an out while allowing three straight hits and the game-winning run against the Rays. The 2016 campaign has brought an unexpected fall from grace for Cecil, who had been one of the league’s most effective relievers the previous three seasons. Of course, given the sample size (9 1/3 innings), all isn’t lost for Cecil, but his strikeout, swinging strike and ground-ball rates all took noticeable dives during the first month of the season.
Rosenthal’s Latest: Braun, Angels, Yanks, Jays
Brewers star left fielder Ryan Braun can veto a trade to all teams except the Dodgers, Angels, Marlins, Rays and Nationals, but the idea of rebuilding Milwaukee dealing him “is becoming more realistic,” FOX Sports’ Ken Rosenthal reports (video link). Braun, 32, will have four years and $76MM left on his contract after this season, and Rosenthal believes he’d make plenty of sense as a complement to Mike Trout and Kole Calhoun in the Angels’ outfield. However, the Angels’ dearth of quality prospects and a potential reluctance on owner Arte Moreno’s part to acquire Braun, given his contract and past suspension for PEDs, are factors that could stand in the way of a trade, Rosenthal adds.
Here’s more from Rosenthal:
- The Yankees aren’t known for selling at the trade deadline, but if their woeful April performance drags into the coming months, lights-out relievers Aroldis Chapman and Andrew Miller could be two of the most appealing players available over the summer, Rosenthal says. Chapman, whose 30-game suspension stemming from domestic violence allegations is almost over, will be a free agent at year’s end. Miller has two years and $18MM left on his deal after this season, and Rosenthal doesn’t expect the Yankees to move him if they intend on competing in 2017. If not, though, they could use the deadline to erase his money from their books and stave off a possible decline in their uniform. Miller, 30, hasn’t shown any negative signs this year, having amassed 15 strikeouts over nine scoreless, walk-less innings.
- Speaking of relievers, the Mets, Giants and Blue Jays will look to fortify their bullpens as the season advances, per Rosenthal. Mets relievers have been outstanding this year, while the other two clubs’ bullpen production has been average or worse. Toronto will get in-house help there eventually in the form of starter Aaron Sanchez, whose innings limit will remove him from the team’s rotation, Rosenthal notes. Sanchez, who has been excellent in a starting role (2.59 ERA, 8.33 K/9, 2.87 BB/9 in 31 1/3 innings), put up a 2.39 ERA with 19 strikeouts and seven walks in 26 1/3 frames out of the Jays’ bullpen last season.
- Yankees first baseman Mark Teixeira could appeal to plenty of teams on a short-term deal if he hits free agency in the offseason, according to Rosenthal. Teixeira’s dedication to fitness might allay some teams’ fears about his age (he’ll turn 37 next April), but he’ll obviously need to stay healthy and compile significant production this season in order to cash in over the winter. Teixeira was terrific last year, slashing .255/.357/.548 with 31 homers in just 111 games to revive his career, but his 89 plate appearances this season haven’t been nearly as promising (.230/.360/.365).
West Notes: Hahn, Bassitt, Gutierrez, McCullers
After giving Sean Manaea his first start tonight, the Athletics will recall right-hander Jesse Hahn from Triple-A Nashville to start tomorrow’s game against the Astros, reports Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle. The 26-year-old spent much of the 2015 season in Oakland’s rotation after coming over from the Padres in the Derek Norris trade, but his season was cut short by an injured right flexor tendon and a woeful Spring Training landed him in Triple-A. Hahn has recorded a 2.04 ERA in four starts with Nashville this season, though he hasn’t been as dominant as that mark might initially suggest. Hahn has lasted a total of 17 2/3 innings in those four outings with a 13-to-9 K/BB ratio.
More from the American League…
- The Athletics‘ rotation has struggled of late, and now right-hander Chris Bassitt is heading to the DL after seeing his velocity dip from 92-94 mph to 89-90 mph in his most recent start. He’s been diagnosed with an elbow sprain, Slusser tweets, but there are some worrying indications. As MLB.com’s Jane Lee reports, Bassitt says he’s struggling with more than just his velocity, and indicated that he’s been quietly dealing with elbow discomfort for some time. “I didn’t want to say anything because I’ve worked harder than I ever have this offseason,” Bassitt said. “I felt so excited and prepared going into this season, and for this to happen, it really sucks. The way I’m feeling right now, I can’t throw right now.”
- The Astros and Dodgers had the most notable scouting entourages on hand to watch Cuban righty Vladimir Gutierrez in what will likely be his final showcase, Baseball America’s Ben Badler reports. There were plenty of other organizations with eyes on Gutierrez, of course, so one shouldn’t read too much into that. Generally, says Badler, the interesting youngster showed a mid-90s fastball and impressive breaking ball, though his fastball command and other offerings still need work.
- Astros righty Lance McCullers Jr. is ready for a sixty to seventy-five pitch outing in his next extended spring work, Jake Kaplan of the Houston Chronicle reports on Twitter. That certainly seems to indicate that he could be nearing a rehab stint, which would be good news for a Houston club that badly misses his high-octane arm in the rotation.
West Notes: Rockies, Garcia, Hill, Gray
The Rockies have already burned through much of their rotation depth, Nick Groke and Patrick Saunders of the Denver Post write. Injuries, poor performance, and roster pressures have conspired to leave the club scrambling for arms despite seemingly entering the year with plenty of volume (to go with plenty of questions, of course). It remains to be seen whether former top prospect Eddie Butler will get a crack at a starting gig, as he’s slated for pen duty initially, but he’ll be one of several arms that the Rockies will need to contribute if the club is to stay in contention.
Here’s more from out west:
- Dodgers right-hander Yimi Garcia still hasn’t picked up a baseball since landing on the disabled list with right biceps tendinitis this past weekend, tweets J.P. Hoornstra of the Los Angeles News Group. While Garcia has yet to undergo an MRI, that’ll be the next step for him if he doesn’t improve in the relatively near future. The 25-year-old Garcia has a surrendered three runs through 8 1/3 innings this season, though he’s struck out just four batters after whiffing 68 men in 56 2/3 innings last season.
- The Athletics have been rewarded handsomely thus far for their roll of the dice on veteran journeyman Rich Hill, and ESPN.com’s David Schoenfield believes that Oakland will continue to receive good work from the lefty. As Schoenfield explains, Hill has continued to show elite swing-and-miss numbers with his fastball, which he pairs with a frequently used curve. Indeed, Hill has picked up right where he left off last year: though his walks have crept up a bit, he is striking out 12.8 batters per nine and inducing grounders on more than half of the balls put in play against him, with metrics supporting his 2.42 ERA in 26 frames.
- Meanwhile, ESPN.com’s Buster Olney wonders whether there could be a “perfect storm” that allows the Athletics to cash in on ace Sonny Gray. It’s looking like a seller’s market, both at the deadline and next winter, and Gray could stand out. It’s far from clear whether the A’s will have strong interest in striking a trade, of course, but it’s easy to imagine widespread demand. And as Olney notes, this summer could well prove a high-water mark for the righty’s value.
Injury Notes: Sandoval, Hedges, Boxberger, Morton, Dodgers
Here are various notes on injuries from throughout the game.
- Red Sox third baseman Pablo Sandoval will have Dr. James Andrews examine his injured shoulder on Monday, Pete Abraham of the Boston Globe tweets. Last week, a scheduled exam was canceled because Sandoval’s shoulder was too sore, with the idea that Sandoval would attempt to meet with Andrews at a later date. The Red Sox placed him on the disabled list two weeks ago.
- Padres catcher Austin Hedges will have surgery to address a hamate fracture and will likely be out six to eight weeks, tweets MLB.com’s AJ Cassavell. Hedges spent much of 2015 as the Padres’ backup catcher, but this year, he began the season with Triple-A El Paso (where he was hitting quite well in a small sample) after the Friars acquired Christian Bethancourt. Regardless, it sounds like Hedges, who’s still just 23, will miss a significant chunk of development time.
- Rays closer Brad Boxberger, who’s missed the entire season so far after having core muscle surgery in March, has been cleared to resume baseball activities, Roger Mooney of the Tampa Tribune tweets. Boxberger remains on track to return to the Rays in mid-May. Alex Colome has collected four saves in his absence.
- Phillies righty Charlie Morton didn’t receive positive news from an MRI on his injured hamstring on Monday, MLB.com’s Todd Zolecki writes. Morton strained the hamstring on Saturday and was placed on the DL the next day. “Apparently, his MRI wasn’t as good as we were hoping,” says manager Pete Mackanin. “We’re going to see what happens in the next two or three days and see what the next step is. I really don’t know what the next step is, I just know it’s not as good as we were hoping.” Adam Morgan is expected to take Morton’s place in the starting rotation for the time being.
- Dodgers righty Brandon McCarthy threw a bullpen for team officials yesterday, tweets MLB.com’s Ken Gurnick. The throwing session was the latest step in McCarthy’s recovery after having Tommy John surgery early last season.
- Another injured Dodgers starter, Hyun-jin Ryu, threw a 30-pitch bullpen today and could soon begin facing live hitters, ESPN’s Doug Padilla writes. Ryu, who is recovering after having labrum surgery last year, had his throwing program delayed after he suffered a groin strain earlier this month. It’s still unclear when he’ll return, Padilla notes.
- The Dodgers have also announced that they’ve reinstated outfielder Carl Crawford, who had been on the DL for the past two weeks with a back injury. To clear space on their active roster, they optioned righty Zach Lee to Triple-A Oklahoma City.
- Brewers infielder Scooter Gennett was scratched from tonight’s lineup due to oblique tightness, Todd Rosiak of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel tweets. There’s no immediate word on the severity of the injury. Gennett is off to a hot start this season, batting .258/.361/.516 this year after mostly struggling in 2015.
NL West Notes: Maeda, Padres, McGwire
A quick check on the latest from the NL West…
- Dodgers rookie right-hander Kenta Maeda turned in his fourth straight excellent performance Saturday night, throwing 6 1/3 shutout innings at Colorado’s hitter-friendly Coors Field in a 4-1 victory. Maeda, who surrendered three hits and a walk while striking out eight, became the first pitcher since at least 1913 to begin his major league career by allowing only one total run in his first four starts, according to Ken Gurnick of MLB.com. He’s also one of just 76 pitchers during that time frame to record four consecutive quality starts at the onset of his career. So far, the Japan native and offseason free agent signing has posted a videogamelike, NL-best .36 ERA in 25 1/3 innings and piled up 23 strikeouts against five walks.
- Padres bench coach Mark McGwire, one of the most prolific sluggers in baseball history, could be working his way up to a managerial job, writes Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. McGwire started down this road seven years ago when then-Cardinals manager Tony La Russa lured him out of retirement to serve as the team’s hitting coach, a role he eventually had with the Dodgers before joining the Padres this season. La Russa, who’s now the Diamondbacks’ chief baseball officer, talked to McGwire in the offseason about bringing him aboard Arizona’s staff as its hitting coach. McGwire wanted to remain closer to his California home, though, so he chose the Padres and is now first-year manager Andy Green’s “eyes and ears.” On whether he’d be open to managing, McGwire told Goold, “I have never ruled it out. I’ve got so much to learn. Who knows where this is going, really?”
- Green offered some insight to Kirk Kenney of the San Diego Union-Tribune on how the Padres deploy the shift and discourage opposing hitters from trying to bunt for an easy single. “We give (the shift) to them with a strike most of the time,” Green said. “The type of guys that you’re handing it to with a strike, it’s probably going to put them in two-strike situations a lot more frequently than it is they’re going to get bunts down.” Green added, “We’re aware of where these guys got their bunt hits, when they got their bunt hits, if there was a strike on them and how long we need to play them in.”
Quick Hits: Gallardo, Arrieta, Ethier, Carter
We already covered some injury updates tonight, but there’s another one of note. Yovani Gallardo‘s struggles worsened tonight for the Orioles, and after the game skipper Buck Showalter said that he’s dealing with shoulder soreness, as Ghiroli reports (links to Twitter). The righty was already showing a two mile per hour decline in his average fastball, but said the issue arose only before and during tonight’s start. He lasted only two innings and 45 pitches today, surrendering four earned runs on five hits and a walk. The veteran says he’s never before experienced this kind of discomfort and that it got worse as the game progressed. Gallardo is expected to return to Baltimore for further evaluation. You’ll recall that Gallardo’s original agreement with the O’s was modified after shoulder questions cropped up in his physical.
Here are a few more notes to round out the evening:
- On the heels of Jake Arrieta‘s second no-hitter for the Cubs, Patrick Mooney of CSNChicago.com takes a look back at the deal that brought the star righty to Chicago along with reliever Pedro Strop in the summer of 2013. With Baltimore looking to bolster its rotation for a playoff push, the Cubs parted with half a season of Scott Feldman to acquire two controllable pitchers who have paid out handsomely since the swap. “We had scouted Jake extensively,” said Cubs GM Jed Hoyer. “We had done a lot of makeup work on him. We did the same thing on Strop. At that time, we just needed to get power arms onto our team.” Of course, as Hoyer acknowledges, the club didn’t expect anything like what Arrieta has delivered; as he puts it, “what [Arrieta’s] done is obviously exceptional.”
- While he’s shelved on the DL with a broken leg, Dodgers‘ outfielder Andre Ethier has officially achieved ten-and-five status, Dylan Hernandez of the Los Angeles Times notes on Twitter. The veteran therefore obtains full no-trade rights, which was all but inevitable when the club elected not to deal him entering the season. Ethier is owed $20MM for one more campaign after this one, including a $2.5MM buyout on a club option for 2018.
- First baseman Chris Carter is off to a nice start with the Brewers, as Todd Rosiak of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel writes. After another productive evening, Carter owns a .259/.328/.593 slash with four long balls over his first 64 plate appearances. That’s a far cry from his awful start to the 2015 season, and Carter attributes it in large part to his offseason effort to change his approach. “I’m just hitting more balls the other way,” Carter explained. “My homers this year have been to center, right-center. That’s something that I didn’t do that much last year until the end of the year. It’s something I worked on in the offseason, hitting balls where they’re pitched instead of trying to pull them.” Thus far, at least, Milwaukee’s $2.5MM investment has been well worth it.
NL West Notes: Lincecum, Van Slyke, Story, Heston
Free-agent right-hander Tim Lincecum has built up his endurance to the point where he’s throwing 70 pitches on the time frame of a five-man rotation, reports MLB Network’s Jon Heyman (links to Twitter). Lincecum recently threw at the Giants‘ Spring Training complex in Arizona, Heyman notes, adding that Lincecum has also pitched “a few other places.” That bit of into shouldn’t necessarily be construed as a workout for the Giants, as Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle writes that Lincecum has been granted use of the Giants’ facility more as a courtesy than anything else. Heyman notes that a Lincecum showcase is “expected soon,” though it should be noted that that’s been the steady refrain out of the Lincecum camp for the better part of three months. Lincecum is one of the more intriguing unsigned names in baseball, but there’s no way of truly classifying a front-runner to sign him and no way of knowing when he’s likely to get back onto a big league mound until he auditions for teams. For now, Schulman notes, Lincecum’s representatives are going out of their way to keep scouts away from his throwing sessions until he’s ready for that showcase.
More from the NL West…
- Dodgers outfielder Scott Van Slyke won’t be cleared for baseball activities until next week, tweets Andy McCullough of the L.A. Times, and he could miss as much as another month with the back problem that has kept him from game action since April 10. Van Slyke hit the DL a bit more than a week ago after making just 10 plate appearances this season. He’s the latest in a slew of Dodgers outfielders to be shelved, as both Andre Ethier and Carl Crawford are on the DL as well. (Crawford, though, was sent on a minor league rehab assignment today.)
- In light of Trevor Story‘s outstanding start to the season, Dave Cameron of Fangraphs explores the legitimacy of his power using exit velocity and launch angle. Cameron and Baseball Prospectus’ Russell Carleton have pointed out that while bottom-line results in this type of a sample size are often mirages, batted ball trends such as these take less time to stabilize. Story leads the league in balls hit at 105+ mph with a launch angle of greater than 20 degrees, and while he’s not likely to continue to hit them at such a prolific rate, Cameron writes that it’s unlikely that Story has lucked his way into this type of company on the leaderboards. Acknowledging Story’s enormous strikeout rate and likely dip in overall production, Cameron concludes that while this overall type of production won’t continue, there’s a case to be made that Story’s power is realer than some skeptics believe.
- The Giants optioned right-hander Chris Heston to Triple-A yesterday, and Andrew Baggarly of the San Jose Mercury News spoke to manager Bruce Bochy about the difficulty of the move for Heston, who of course tossed a no-hitter for the Giants last season. Heston went from the 2015 rotation to a long relief role with San Francisco this season, and the Giants will hope that stint in the Triple-A rotation can help get his mechanics back on track. “It’s never easy, making a move like this,” said Bochy. “The best thing is for Chris to get his groove back.” Baggarly notes that part of the reason for stretching Heston out is also to shield the Giants in case of a sudden need in the rotation. It’s worth noting that Matt Cain and Jake Peavy have each struggled tremendously in their first three starts of the season.
NL Notes: Greinke, Dodgers, Cardinals
In a data-driven piece, Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic examines some of the reasons behind Diamondbacks ace Zack Greinke‘s early season difficulties. Greinke’s ERA through three starts (6.75) is more than five runs worse than the league-best 1.66 he put up as a Dodger last season, and ERA estimators like FIP (4.52) and xFIP (4.30) also aren’t particularly bullish on his performance. Part of the reason, as Piecoro details, is that Greinke is finding too much of the plate. Only 111 of Greinke’s 3,239 pitches were center-cut (roughly belt-high over the middle) last season, while he has already thrown 14 such pitches this year, Piecoro found from Pitch-f/x data at BrooksBaseball.Net. Further, 11 of Greinke’s pitches have gone over the center of the plate and up in the zone, and 10 more have traveled over the plate and just above the strike zone. Greinke has therefore put himself in position to get hit harder than usual, which is exactly what has happened. In fact, 6.5 percent of balls hit off Greinke this year have carried exit velocities of at least 95 mph compared to 5.3 percent in 2015, per Statcast. Greinke is fresh off his best start as a Diamondback (seven innings, two earned runs, five strikeouts, one walk in San Diego), but Padres hitters swung at just 39 percent of his change-ups, the lowest rate in his last 18 starts, according to Piecoro. As a result, both the D-backs and Greinke wondered if he or someone else was tipping his pitches, manager Chip Hale said after the game.
More from the National League…
- Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman doesn’t believe the major leagues have properly welcomed Cuban-born players in the past. “We as an industry, in my opinion, have failed our Cuban players,” Friedman told Bleacher Report’s Scott Miller. “We sign them for big money and rush them to the big leagues.” Friedman certainly has a point about the league having failed Cubans, as it only began assigning Latin players translators this year, which Miller notes. On the other hand, pricey free agents who arrive from Japan have been given translators immediately. Considering Friedman’s thoughts, it’s no surprise that he and the Dodgers are putting forth an effort to help star Cuban outfielder Yasiel Puig fit in better in his fourth year. Friedman said earlier this spring that first-year manager Dave Roberts and his staff were doing “a great job creating a relationship” with Puig, who stated over the winter that he wanted to be a better teammate. “It showed a level of vulnerability to me,” commented Friedman. Puig had a down year in 2015, but his performance has been sensational early this season, as indicated by a scorching .357/.449/.548 line in 42 plate appearances.
- Former Korean and Japanese league reliever Seung-hwan Oh has made a seamless transition to the Cardinals’ bullpen in his first year in the majors and is primed to earn more responsibility, Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch writes. The South Korea native has allowed a mere one hit in 6 2/3 scoreless innings, adding a whopping 11 strikeouts against five walks. The righty threw two shutout frames Saturday and successfully retired one of the game’s premier left-handed hitters, the Reds’ Joey Votto. With first base open, Oh could’ve pitched around Votto, but he challenged the first baseman and ultimately retired him on a fly out. “We like his stuff against lefties,” manager Mike Matheny said. “We’re going to get more opportunities to see (it).” More Oh could mean less Seth Maness, who has an unimpressive K/BB (1.5) and bloated 8.31 ERA in 4 1/3 innings this year.
- After beginning the season in a 1-for-15 funk with eight strikeouts and no walks, Cardinals center fielder Randal Grichuk has since gone 6 of 17 with four extra-base hits (two home runs, two doubles), eight walks and four K’s. Thanks in part to his work with a pitching machine called a Hack Attack, Grichuk is now seeing pitches better. Prior to his turnaround, Grichuk stood in the cage at Turner Field last week and watched nearly 50 sliders from the machine. “The first few, maybe five to 10, I just took. The last 30 to 40 I would call out if it was a ball or strike as soon as I could pick it up,” he told Goold. Said assistant hitting coach Derrick May, “Just seeing pitches and building the strength of their eyes with work. What better to do it than with a slider machine?”
Injury Notes: Dodgers, Hundley, d’Arnaud, Nava
In the latest discouraging news for the Dodgers‘ Hyun-jin Ryu, the lefty is battling “a little groin strain” and has halted his throwing program as a result, manager Dave Roberts told reporters, including Bill Plunkett of the Orange County Register (Twitter link). “Technically it’s a setback, and I don’t know how severe the injury is,” Roberts said (link via Dan Arritt of ESPN.com). Ryu, who underwent surgery on a torn left labrum last May, hasn’t appeared in a big league game since October 2014. He seemed to be making progress in his recovery prior to his groin acting up, having tossed two 20-pitch sim games April 8.
More injury notes from around Major League Baseball:
- One of Ryu’s Dodgers teammates, outfielder Carl Crawford, is recovering well from a lower back injury and will begin a rehab assignment with Triple-A Oklahoma City in the upcoming week, according to Jack Baer of MLB.com. Crawford, whom the Dodgers placed on the 15-day disabled list April 9, should be activated April 24. Crawford started the Dodgers’ first three games of the season and hit .273/.273/.364 in 11 plate appearances. Upon returning, he’ll join a crowded outfield picture that includes Yasiel Puig, Joc Pederson, Kike Hernandez and Trayce Thompson, all of whom have been terrific this year.
- The Rockies placed catcher Nick Hundley on the seven-day DL on Saturday with a concussion and called up pitcher David Hale from Triple-A, The Associated Press reports. The DL move was made retroactive to Thursday. Hundley has been dealing with concussion symptoms since he took a foul tip to the mask Wednesday. Prior to the injury, Hundley hit a solid .227/.393/.409 in 28 PAs.
- Mets catcher Travis d’Arnaud left Saturday’s loss to the Indians after getting hit on his left elbow by a 93 mph Zach McAllister fastball, but X-rays came back negative. The Mets diagnosed d’Arnaud with a bruise, and he’s now day to day, per Anthony DiComo of MLB.com. “It’s going to probably be pretty sore the next couple days,” said manager Terry Collins. “He had a little trouble straightening his elbow, bending it. So we’ll keep an eye on it.”
- The Angels on Saturday placed left fielder Daniel Nava on the 15-day DL with left patellar tendinitis, Pedro Moura of the Los Angeles Times writes. Nava’s left knee has been an issue for him since 2013, which is “why we’re being cautious with it right now,” manager Mike Scioscia said. Nava has slashed .286/.333/.286 in 15 PAs so far this year, and he expects to return in early May. In the meantime, the Angels will replace him with fellow outfielder Rafael Ortega, whom they called up from Triple-A Salt Lake. The lefty-swinging Ortega went 0 for 3 with a stolen base and a walk in the Angels’ 6-4 loss to the Twins on Saturday.