Quick Hits: Maddon, Molina, Hernandez, Gilbert
After being fired as the Angels manager in June, Joe Maddon would like to return to baseball, but “right now I need to get tired of what I’m doing in order to want to do something else,” Maddon told Marc Topkin of The Tampa Bay Times. The veteran skipper is enjoying a rare “summer vacation” of sorts, and would only be interested in a managerial or advisory job with a team that had a “strong balance between the old and the new” approaches to the game, and not too tilted in favor of analytics.
It seems clear that Maddon didn’t feel this balance existed in Anaheim. In general, Maddon felt the Angels’ “infrastructure needs to be improved….It’s the non-sexy stuff that has to get better. It’s not just bright, shiny objects — they have that. They need to do the infrastructure better in order to get to where we had been in the past.” Maddon also implied that the front office tried to have too much of an influence on baseball decisions, thus trying to turn the manager into a “middle man” rather than an actual leader in the clubhouse.
“It’s at the point where some GM should really just put a uniform on and go down to the dugout, or their main analytical membrane, he should go down to the dugout….And what happens is when the performance isn’t what they think it should be, it’s never about the acquisitional process,” Maddon said. “It’s always about the inability of coaches and managers to get the best out of a player. And that’s where this tremendous disconnect is formed.”
More from around the baseball world…
- The Cardinals placed Yadier Molina on the restricted list today, and called up catcher Ivan Herrera from Triple-A to take Molina’s place on the active roster. Molina is away for “business reasons” in Puerto Rico, Cards president of baseball operations John Mozeliak told Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch and other reporters, and the longtime catcher is expected to return to the Cardinals on Monday. Goold notes that the pro basketball team Molina owns is playing in the finals of the Baloncesto Superior Nacional championship, Puerto Rico’s top league. While seemingly an unusual reason to take time off during the season, Molina’s absence probably amounts to one game at most, as the catcher played on Friday and wouldn’t have played in both weekend games against the Diamondbacks.
- X-rays were negative on Teoscar Hernandez‘s left foot after the Blue Jays outfielder fouled a ball off his foot in the eighth inning of today’s 5-2 win over the Yankees. Hernandez was replaced in right field for the bottom half of the eighth inning. While it appears as though Hernandez has avoided any serious injury, it seems likely that he’ll miss Sunday’s game, thus leaving the Jays even more shorthanded in the outfield. George Springer has been limited to DH duty since returning from the injured list, and Springer has also missed the last two games due to a sore right knee after a wayward foul ball of his own on Thursday. While Toronto has outfield depth on the bench, the lineup would be hurt if both Hernandez and Springer each have to miss more time.
- Drew Gilbert‘s first pro season is already over due to a dislocation in his right elbow, the Astros announced. (Hat tip to Chandler Rome of the Houston Chronicle.) Gilbert hasn’t played since August 13, when he suffered a forearm contusion after a collision with the outfield wall in a game for the Astros’ A-ball affiliate. However, according to the team, a further medical exam revealed that Gilbert “had sustained a dislocated right elbow that spontaneously went back into place before he was examined.” The 21-year-old Gilbert was the 28th overall pick of the 2022 draft, and MLB Pipeline already ranks the University of Tennessee product as the second-best prospect in the Astros’ farm system.
Injury Notes: Walker, Thompson, Garcia
Mets‘ starter Taijuan Walker will not make his scheduled start tomorrow, manager Buck Showalter tells Tim Healey of Newsday. The righty has been dealing with a bulging disc in his back, which could push him back to Tuesday. Although it’s good that the injury isn’t significant enough to send him to the injured list, it still creates a short-term problem for the Mets.
Since they also sent Carlos Carrasco to the IL recently and are playing a doubleheader today, they will have to come up with some sort of solution to trudge through to their next off-day, which is on Wednesday. Max Scherzer can go on Monday. Jacob deGrom could start Tuesday but could also get some extra rest if Walker is ready to go. Chris Bassitt pitched last night and isn’t an option for a few days. David Peterson and Trevor Williams are scheduled to start today’s games, but Williams isn’t fully stretch out and was only able to throw four innings in the first game.
Jose Butto is the only starter on the 40-man roster that could be recalled, which seems to be in the cards since Healey relays that Butto is on the taxi squad. It would be a big jump for Butto if he is thrown into tomorrow’s game, since he’s been in Double-A all season and only got promoted to Triple-A on August 8. He has a 4.12 ERA on the year between the two levels.
Other injury tidbits from around the league…
- The Cubs placed starter Keegan Thompson on the 15-day injured list today, tweets Jordan Bastian of MLB.com. Thompson is dealing with low-back tightness and will have to miss a few turns through the rotation. This will put at least a temporary hold on what has been a nice breakout season for the 27-year-old. Through 25 games this year, 17 starts, he has a 3.97 ERA, 20.5% strikeout rate, 8.3% walk rate and 40% ground ball rate. The Cubs have little reason to push Thompson if he’s not feeling 100%, given that they are well out of contention at this point in the season. They also have little certainty in their rotation going forward, with Marcus Stroman and Kyle Hendricks taking two spots next year, leaving plenty of room for less experienced pitchers like Thompson next year.
- The Tigers have had nothing but miserable luck on the injury front this year, with just about every starting pitching option spending at least some time on the IL. Rony Garcia has made 16 appearances for the club this year, with eight of those being starts. However, he might not be able to add to that total, with manager A.J. Hinch telling Cody Stavenhagen of The Athletic that Garcia is likely done for the year. He’s been on the IL since late July due to shoulder soreness, the second time this year a shoulder issue landed him on the shelf. It seems it’s lingering long enough that he might not make it back to the hill this year. If that’s indeed the case, he’ll finish the season with a 4.41 ERA over 51 innings.
AL Notes: Yankees, Stanton, Blue Jays, Mayza, Twins, Maeda
Giancarlo Stanton is beginning a rehab assignment today, per Lindsey Adler of The Athletic (via Twitter). Before this latest injury, Stanton had been enjoying a run of sound health. For the season, Stanton has appeared in 80 games, slashing .228/.309/.498 with 24 home runs in 328 plate appearances. Stanton even started 38 games in the outfield grass, his most defensive action since 2018. Elsewhere around the Junior Circuit…
- Blue Jays southpaw Tim Mayza will begin a rehab assignment in Triple-A today, per Keegan Matheson of MLB.com (via Twitter). Mayza has been a key piece of Toronto’s bullpen for a number of years, no less so this season when he has pitched to a 2.88 ERA/3.94 FIP across 41 appearances totaling 34 1/3 innings. Mayza has been out of action since August 7th. The 30-year-old has held lefties to a .157/.218/.275 line this season.
- The Twins are cautiously optimistic that Kenta Maeda might be able to return late in the season to pitch out of the bullpen as he used to for the Dodgers. Maeda is throwing bullpens now, but President of Baseball Ops Derek Falvey was non-commital about Maeda’s ability to make a late-season appearance, per Darren Wolfson of 5 Eyewitness News (via Twitter). Maeda is recovering from Tommy John surgery.
NL Notes: Dodgers, Kershaw, Marlins, Sanchez, Reds, Santillan
Clayton Kershaw could return to the Dodgers in the second week of September if all goes according to plan, per J.P. Hoornstra of the Southern California News Group (via Twitter). His back now asymptomatic, Kershaw has started throwing bullpens. With the division all but locked up, the Dodgers will prioritize getting Kershaw healthy for the postseason. The legendary southpaw has continued to defy the odds when healthy, pitching to a 2.64 ERA/2.72 FIP in 15 starts covering 85 1/3 innings. Elsewhere in the National League…
- Sixto Sanchez pushed back his bullpen session from Saturday to Monday after experiencing some shoulder discomfort, per Christina de Nicola of MLB.com (via Twitter). An emergent star during the shortened 2020 season, Sanchez made seven starts and continued to pitch well into the postseason. But the now-24-year-old hasn’t pitched since because of injuries. Miami would love to see Sanchez get back to the Majors for a taste of action this season – even just to build some momentum heading into 2023.
- The Reds are unlikely to see reliever Tony Santillan return to the mound this season, per Bobby Nightengale of the Cincinnati Enquirer (via Twitter). Santillan looked like someone who could potentially take on a bigger role this season after posting a 2.91 ERA/4.62 FIP over 43 1/3 innings in 2021. The Reds gave Santillan some high leverage opportunities, but he only stayed healthy long enough to collect four saves and a 5.49 ERA/4.09 FIP in 19 2/3 innings across 21 outings.
Rangers Notes: Young, Jung, Venable
It’s been a tumultuous week in the world of the Texas Rangers, with manager Chris Woodward getting fired on Monday and president of baseball operations Jon Daniels following him out the door on Wednesday. With the departure of Daniels, general manager Chris Young took over as the chief baseball decision maker in Texas. However, Young apparently didn’t see this changed role coming, with the club’s managing partner Ray Davis telling Kennedi Landry of MLB.com that Young was “shocked” by the dismissal of Daniels.
It’s certainly been an unusual journey for Young in recent years. The 43-year-old former big league hurler pitched through the 2017 season and even signed a minor league deal with the Padres for 2018. He was eventually released and was hired by MLB in May of that year to be a vice president of on-field operations. Just over two years later, December of 2020, he was hired to be the Rangers’ general manager. In the tweet above, Landry relays that he and Daniels had been working pretty much side-by-side since then. Given his less than two years of experience working for the front office of a major league baseball team, it seems fair to assume that he learned a lot from Daniels, who was hired to be the Rangers’ general manager 17 years ago. Given that difference in their respective résumés, it’s hardly surprising that Young was taken off-guard by the news, suddenly finding himself atop the decision making pyramid after such a short time on the job.
Young spoke to Evan Grant of The Dallas Morning News about his hectic week. “I was trying to make sure that collectively, everybody, especially the longest-tenured employees, had a show of support in terms of just knowing the emotions they are going through,” Young said. “But I want to keep everybody focused on the task at hand. We have great things happening.”
Young was also asked about the future plans for the front office, perhaps hiring a new president of baseball operations or maybe a new general manager with Young getting promoted to the POBO role. “We’ll assess our needs as we go,” Young said on that topic. “It’s a natural part of the seasonal cycle. We will see what our needs are, what it looks like moving forward. We’ll probably lose some good employees to other organizations. That is just part of the hiring process. The first steps are making sure we get all our ducks lined up. But it will be part of the discussion.” With the offseason now just over two months away, Young will have to act quickly to align those ducks.
Other notes out of Texas…
- A promotion of prospect Josh Jung doesn’t appear to be close, with interim manager Tony Beasley saying as much to Jeff Wilson of Rangerstoday.com. This past winter, the young third baseman seemed like a candidate to crack the club’s Opening Day roster or at least make his major league debut shortly after. However, he required shoulder surgery in February, which was expected to keep him out of action for six months and thereby kick his debut down the road. He began a rehab assignment at the end of July and has been tearing the cover off the ball ever since. In eight games in the Complex League, he hit .240/.345/.600, followed by seven Triple-A games with a line of .414/.485/1.034. That’s an incredible showing in that small sample, but the club considers this to be Jung’s Spring Training, which means they’re focused on getting his body re-acclimated to regular playing time. That news might be disappointing to fans of the club who are looking forward to seeing Jung tackle big league pitching before the offseason begins. However, it’s worth pointing out that these things can change quickly. Just a few days ago, the Mets insisted they weren’t promoting their own young third baseman, Brett Baty, before announcing the very next day that he was indeed getting called up. Jung isn’t yet on the 40-man roster but will be eligible for the Rule 5 draft in a few months, meaning the Rangers will need to add him soon either way.
- With Woodward’s firing, the club will have to think about who they want to be in the manager’s chair next year. Jon Heyman of the New York Post tweets that Red Sox bench coach Will Venable is one potential candidate. The 39-year-old played nine seasons in the majors, mostly with the Padres, before transitioning into other roles. In 2017, he joined the Cubs, first as a special assistant to president Theo Epstein, then spending some time as first base coach and third base coach. He became the Red Sox bench coach prior to the 2021 season and has been in that job since. This wouldn’t be the first time his name has been floated in managerial rumors, as he was connected to the Cubs, Giants and Astros prior to 2020, the Tigers and Red Sox prior to 2021 and the A’s prior to 2022. Given that repeated interest, it seems he has a strong reputation around the league and could get consideration for vacancies again this winter. In addition to the Rangers, the Blue Jays, Phillies and Angels have fired their managers and hired interim replacements this year.
Injury Notes: Mahle, Meadows, Walker, Johnson
The Twins are surely breathing a sigh of relief, announcing to reporters Thursday that an MRI revealed right-hander Tyler Mahle‘s shoulder to be structurally sound. Mahle, acquired from the Reds in exchange for three prospects earlier this month, exited yesterday’s start after just 2 1/3 innings due to shoulder fatigue. That was of particular concern, given that he also missed time in July with what was termed by the Reds as a “minor'” shoulder strain. For the time being, there are no plans to place Mahle on the 15-day injured list, though it’s not yet clear whether his next start will be pushed back at all.
Mahle’s Wednesday start saw his fastball clocking in around four miles per hour shy of his typical 93.4 mph average, so there’s still some obvious concern, but the absence of a tear or any structural issues is about the best news for which the Twins could have hoped. In 14 1/3 innings as a Twin, Mahle has pitched to a 2.51 ERA with a 23.1% strikeout rate and a 7.7% walk rate. Mahle, Sonny Gray, Joe Ryan, Chris Archer and Dylan Bundy are in line to make the majority of the Twins’ starts down the stretch, though they’re expecting right-hander Bailey Ober back in September and just this week promoted prospect Simeon Woods Richardson from Double-A to Triple-A.
Some more injury scenarios of note from around the league…
- As if things couldn’t get any worse for the Tigers, manager A.J. Hinch announced this week that outfielder Austin Meadows has once again been pulled from a rehab assignment (link via Chris McCosky of the Detroit News). Meadows first hit the injured list back in mid-May due to vertigo-like symptoms and returned a bit less than a month later. That return lasted only eight games, however, before he was placed on the Covid-related injured list. Just as Meadows was getting ready to head out on a rehab assignment, he was transferred to the 10-day injured list owing to the bizarre diagnosis of an Achilles strain in both legs. This now marks the second time that Meadows has had a rehab assignment for this injury halted. Hinch’s only update was that Meadows was headed to Detroit for reevaluation and that the Tigers still have hope he can return in 2022. It’s been a nightmare of a season for Meadows, who has been limited to just 147 plate appearances and seen his power disappear: .250/.347/.328.
- Mets righty Taijuan Walker left his most recent start due to back spasms, with an MRI revealing a slight disc bulge in his lower back, reports Anthony DiComo of MLB.com. However, it’s possible he could make his next scheduled start on Sunday. Walker tells DiComo that he is “shocked” to be feeling so good so soon after experiencing “the worst pain I ever felt.” Although he’s feeling better, he still won’t take the mound on Sunday unless he’s feeling 100 percent, per DiComo. If he is indeed recovered, it would be a tremendous gift for the Mets, given the current pressures on their rotation. With Carlos Carrasco recently landing on the IL and the Mets having a doubleheader on Saturday, having to make it through Sunday without Walker would certainly be a challenge. How his back responds over the next few days will determine if the club can avoid that tricky scenario.
- Padres reliever Pierce Johnson is heading out on a rehab assignment, tweets Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union-Tribune. Johnson had an excellent season for San Diego a year ago, throwing 58 2/3 innings with a 3.22 ERA and 31.6% strikeout rate. The Friars held a $3MM club option over Johnson’s services for this year, which they exercised based on that strong showing last season. Unfortunately, Johnson landed on the IL in April due to elbow tendinitis. He’s yet to return, meaning he’s only been able to get into six games this year. After a layoff of about four months, it seems he’s healthy enough to get back into game shape. Once he’s ready to return to the big league club, he should give the bullpen a boost for the final few weeks of the season.
Injury Notes: Díaz, Garcia, Rios
The Astros announced that utility player Aledmys Díaz has been placed on the 10-day injured list due to left groin discomfort. His roster spot will go to first baseman/outfielder J.J. Matijevic, who has been recalled.
Díaz, 32, is having a nice season, serving as a super utility option for Houston. He’s played all four infield positions and also the outfield corners, hitting .252/.303/.417 for a wRC+ of 108. Given that versatility, his absence will cut into the club’s depth pretty much everywhere around the diamond, except for center field and behind the plate. Injuries have become something of a recurring theme for Díaz, as this is now the fifth straight season where he’s landed on the IL.
Mauricio Dubón, who has played everywhere except first base and catcher this season, will now be the club’s primary utility option. The club hasn’t indicated how long they expect Diaz to be out of action. He is slated to reach free agency at the end of this season.
Some other IL moves from around the league…
- The White Sox announced that their own utility player, Leury Garcia, has been placed on the 10-day IL due to a lower back strain. Infielder Romy Gonzalez was recalled to take his place on the active roster. Garcia, 31, has certainly provided the Sox with versatility, having played every non-pitching position except for catcher and first base. However, unlike Díaz, he’s not having a strong campaign. In 288 plate appearances this year, he’s batting .212/.238/.275 for a wRC+ of just 44. He is in the first season of a three-year, $16.5MM contract that he signed with Chicago prior to this year. It’s unclear how long the club expects him to be out of action.
- The Dodgers announced that infielder Edwin Ríos has been reinstated from the 60-day injured list and optioned to Triple-A Oklahoma City. The club had a vacancy on its 40-man roster, so no corresponding move was required. Ríos, 28, suffered a hamstring tear in early June and had been out of action until beginning a rehab assignment in late July. Prior to landing on the IL, he had a nice showing in 27 big league games, hitting .244/.293/.500 for a wRC+ of 119.
Pirates Injury Notes: Hayes, Keller
The Pirates placed third baseman Ke’Bryan Hayes on the 10-day injured list yesterday, retroactive to August 13. Hayes has missed the Bucs’ last four games due to a middle-back muscle strain, and he’ll now get a few more days to recuperate while the Pirates can play with a full roster. Kevin Padlo (recently claimed off waivers from the Mariners) was called up from Triple-A to take Hayes’ spot on the open roster.
Now in his third MLB season, Hayes has yet to fully live up to his top-prospect billing, at least at the plate. The 25-year-old is making plenty of hard contact, but it has translated to only a .251/.323/.358 slash line and six home runs over 434 plate appearances this season. After exploding onto the scene with a 1.124 OPS in 95 PA in his 2020 rookie campaign, Hayes has only a .685 OPS in 830 subsequent PA in the majors.
On the plus side, Hayes has already established himself as an elite defensive player. Hayes leads all players in the majors in Defensive Runs Saved (+16) and only four players have more Outs Above Average than Hayes’ +12 total. While Nolan Arenado is also up near the top of both lists, Hayes certainly looks like at least a finalist for this year’s NL Gold Glove at third base.
It doesn’t appear as though Hayes’ injury is too serious, so the Pirates can only hope he can return to action in short order and continue to garner more experience. A cornerstone piece of Pittsburgh’s rebuild, Hayes signed an eight-year, $70MM extension in April that stands as the largest contract in Pirates history.
Mitch Keller is another younger player the Bucs had tabbed as a key part of the future, and like Hayes, Keller’s early returns in his MLB career have been mixed. It also seems like Keller is facing some injury problems, as right shoulder fatigue forced him out of last night’s start against the Red Sox after two innings of work.
Keller’s average velocity was down on all of his pitches, yet the right-hander chalked the performance up as “just one of those days.” Speaking to MLB.com’s Justice delos Santos and other reporters, Keller said his shoulder was feeling better after the game, though it remains to be seen if the Pirates might at least skip or push back Keller’s next start, even if an IL trip isn’t necessary.
After a rough 2021 season that saw him post a 6.17 ERA/4.98 SIERA in 100 2/3 innings, Keller’s 2022 campaign has at least been an improvement in bottom-line numbers. The right-hander has a 4.49 ERA/4.29 SIERA in 114 1/3 frames this year, due in part to only a .329 BABIP (down from his sky-high .388 figure last year). However, any above-average BABIP isn’t a good sign for a pitcher who relies on grounders more than strikeouts, as Keller has only a 20.7% strikeout rate over his career and his walk rates have also been below average.
Keller will be arbitration-eligible for the first time this winter, and his relative lack of success at the MLB level should result in a pretty modest 2023 salary. Considering the number of question marks in Pittsburgh’s rotation, Keller probably isn’t likely to be non-tendered, though a trade might be a possibility if the Pirates no longer see Keller as a building block.
Brewers Notes: Stearns, Deadline, Rosenthal
The contractual status of Brewers’ president of baseball operations David Stearns continues to be shrouded in mystery. It was once believed that 2022 was the final year of his contract, until it was reported in October of last year that Milwaukee had some sort of option over Stearns for 2023. In February, it emerged that Stearns was actually under contract for 2023 but could opt out of the deal if the Brewers reached the World Series in 2022. That was followed by a report in May from Jon Heyman of the New York Post that it was “believed” Stearns could actually opt out if Milwaukee reached the NLCS.
In another piece from Heyman in recent days, he hedges that a bit, saying that it’s “unconfirmed” whether the Brew Crew need to reach the NLCS or the World Series. Of course, the reason that all this is so newsworthy is that the Mets have been trying to pluck the New York native from Milwaukee for essentially the past year. The Brewers denied their request to interview him this winter, given the two years that were then remaining on his contract. The Mets eventually hired Billy Eppler to serve as general manager, but could theoretically still hire Stearns in the future as well, perhaps with the president of baseball operations title he currently holds in Milwaukee. Stearns would no doubt be intrigued by moving to New York, not just because he’s from there. The Mets also have significantly higher spending power, running out a $264MM Opening Day payroll this year, doubling the $132MM number of the Brewers.
Of course, those budgetary concerns were the primary motivator of the recent Josh Hader trade. As noted in the above report from Heyman, the club then tried to compensate for Hader’s loss by boosting the lineup. They apparently tried to acquire Brandon Drury and Josh Bell, losing the bidding to the Padres in both cases. They also targeted Joc Pederson, though the Giants decided against a major selloff and didn’t end up trading him. Joey Gallo was also considered, though he ended up going to the Dodgers instead. Perhaps due to the their lackluster deadline or perhaps coincidentally, the club has gone 4-7 this month, letting the NL Central lead slip to the Cardinals, with the Brewers now 1 1/2 games back.
As for the club’s Hader-less bullpen, Stearns acquired other pitchers to try and make up that loss, with one of those being Trevor Rosenthal. The righty has previously been one of the best relievers in the sport, but injuries have limited him to less than 40 total innings since the end of the 2018 campaign. He was signed by the Giants a couple of weeks before the deadline this year and immediately placed on the injured list due to a hamstring issue. The Brewers picked him up at the deadline in a high-risk move that would potentially have a high reward if Rosenthal could return to his previous form. We are on the verge of finding out whether it pays off or not, as Rosenthal told reporters, including Todd Rosiak of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, that he’s going on a rehab assignment this week. He also added that he recently touched 98 mph in a workout. His most recent action was in the shortened 2020 season, when he threw 23 2/3 innings with a 1.90 ERA along with an incredible 41.8% strikeout rate. If he can get anywhere close to that level here this year, he’ll give the Brewers a much-needed boost down the stretch.
NL East Notes: Abrams, Harper, Knebel, Guillorme
Nationals’ infielder Luis Garcia has been dealing with a sore groin and may be headed to the injured list. Manager Dave Martinez relayed this info to Mark Zuckerman of MASNsports.com, who added C.J. Abrams was pulled from the Rochester Red Wings lineup today. Dan J. Glickman of Pickin’ Splinters then relayed word from Red Wings manager Matt LeCroy that the removal of Abrams was on order of the big league club, with ESPN’s Jeff Passan later confirming that Abrams will indeed be called up.
Abrams, of course, was one of the pieces coming to Washington in the Juan Soto trade, with many considering him the centerpiece of Washington’s return in the deal. Abrams got some MLB time with the Padres this year, though the Nats initially optioned him to the minors after the trade. With Garcia’s injury, it seems like he is set to make his debut as a National, about two weeks after the trade.
Even before this injury popped up, recent reporting had suggested Abrams would take over at shortstop, with Garcia moving over to second base due to his poor defensive showing at short. Abrams should take over regular shortstop duty for now, with Garcia eventually slotting in next to him at the keystone whenever his groin heals. Currently considered the #11 prospect across the league by Baseball America, Abrams hasn’t hit much at the major league level yet, but he’s hit .310/.360/.480 in Triple-A this season. He’ll celebrate his 22nd birthday in October.
In other NL East news…
- Phillies’ slugger Bryce Harper will take batting practice tomorrow for the first time since fracturing his thumb in June, with Matt Gelb of The Athletic relaying word from skipper Rob Thomson. Harper was dealing with torn UCL before that thumb issue, which had limited him to DH duties only. Though it was hoped the downtime from the thumb issue might lead to improvement in the elbow, that doesn’t seem to be the case, with the club just focusing on getting Harper’s bat back into the lineup for now. On that front, getting Harper back into BP is a notable step. Despite the torn UCL, Harper has hit .318/.385/.599 on the year for a wRC+ of 166. Getting him back to the Phils would obviously provide a huge boost down the stretch, as the club looks to battle its way through a tough postseason race with less than two months now remaining on the schedule.
- While the progress of Harper is good news, the Phillies also got some bad news today. Reliever Corey Knebel left today’s game with a lat strain, the team announced to reporters, including Gelb. The severity isn’t yet known, with Knebel now slated for an MRI that will likely provide more information. The hurler has a 3.45 ERA on the season, though his 20.9% strikeout rate and 13.6% walk rates both represent career worsts. Things looked much rosier earlier this month, as Knebel had a 2.59 ERA until a five-run outing on August 2. Taking that one outing away would certainly make his numbers look better, though the lack of punchouts and increased free passes are still concerning.
- The Mets announced to reporters, including Tim Britton of The Athletic, that infielder Luis Guillorme left today’s game with left groin tightness. He will undergo imaging tomorrow. Though it’s unclear how serious the issue is, the timing is unfortunate as the Mets’ infield has been taking a beating of late. Both Eduardo Escobar and Jeff McNeil had to leave Friday’s game due to injuries, which forced the club to turn to outfield Mark Canha as an emergency third baseman. Escobar relieved Guillorme today and McNeil started the game, so it doesn’t appear terribly dire. However, the club may have to consider adding another infielder to the roster in order to build in some rest for such a banged-up group.