Youth Baseball Coaches: Try Baseball Force Out Teacher
I’m Tim Dierkes, the owner of MLB Trade Rumors. If you’ll indulge me for a minute, I want to talk about an app I’ve created for youth baseball and softball coaches that has nothing to do with MLB or rumors.
How many times have you observed this scene in a youth baseball or softball game?
An infielder makes an amazing stop on a ground ball. It’s the highlight of the kid’s budding career to date. And then…NOOOOOO!!! Why did you throw it to THAT base? Or…why did you think you could just step on THAT base??! We’ve been over this in practice!
Fundamentals are crucial to understanding and playing baseball or softball. Chief among them: where are the force outs? Our free Baseball Force Out Teacher app for iPhones and iPads is the perfect at-home supplement to any player or watcher’s education.
The eight different baserunner scenarios are randomly presented, and this fun game-like app drills home the correct answers to one crucial question: Where are the force outs? Simply play it over and over until force outs are second nature!
Plus, if you’re a coach looking to freestyle or elaborate on infield scenarios, the app has a handy whiteboard feature.
Dexter Fowler To Undergo Season-Ending Knee Surgery
11:41AM: Fowler isn’t considering retirement, telling Jack Harris of the L.A. Times and other reporters that “I’m telling everybody, ‘Comeback season has commenced.’ “
10:44AM: Angels outfielder Dexter Fowler suffered a torn left ACL, the team announced. Fowler will undergo surgery that will keep him out of action for the next 6-9 months, thus prematurely ending his 2021 season.
Fowler suffered the injury in Friday’s game with the Blue Jays, as he made an awkward step onto second base to beat out a throw from Bo Bichette on a forceout attempt. Fowler was in obvious pain and had to be carted off the field, and though the Angels’ initial diagnosis when placing him on the 10-day injured list yesterday was only a sprained knee, further tests revealed the true severity of the injury.
The devastating news could end Fowler’s tenure with the Angels after only seven games. Since Fowler just turned 35 years old, it isn’t out of the question that the injury could spell the end of his impressive 14-year career, though it is too soon to speculate given that the surgery has yet to even take place.
The Angels acquired Fowler in a trade with the Cardinals last February that was essentially a salary dump on the Cards’ part. For the price of a player to be named later, Los Angeles is paying only $1.75MM of the $16.5MM owed to Fowler (counting salary and signing bonus installments) in the final year of his original five-year, $82.5MM free agent contract with St. Louis. The Halos’ plan was to start Fowler as the everyday right fielder, at least until star prospects Jo Adell or Brandon Marsh received big league promotions later in the season.
With Fowler sidelined, however, manager Joe Maddon told reporters (including The Athletic’s Fabian Ardaya) that the team will use a platoon of Jose Rojas and Juan Lagares in right field, with Jared Walsh also seeing some time in right. Besides Adell and Marsh, the Angels also have veterans Jon Jay and Scott Schebler in the organization on minor league contracts, and 2015 first-rounder Taylor Ward could also be a candidate for playing time. Looking at the ripple effect over the rest of the roster, Walsh playing right field could open up more time for Albert Pujols at first base.
The Angels are the fifth team Fowler has suited up for at the big league level, as part of a career that includes an All-Star appearance in 2016 and a World Series ring that same season with the Cubs. He signed his big free agent deal with St. Louis in the aftermath of that big 2016 campaign, though Fowler never quite got on track during his four years with the Cardinals. Injuries limited to Fowler to 389 games and an even 1500 PA, as he hit .233/.334/.408 and generated roughly league-average production (98 OPS+, 100 wRC+) and only 3.0 total fWAR.
West Notes: Rendon, Gonsolin, Moronta, Wade
Anthony Rendon is dealing with a sore left groin, Angels manager Joe Maddon told reporters (including Fabian Ardaya of the Athletic and Jack Harris of the Los Angeles Times). Maddon doesn’t expect Rendon to play in tomorrow evening’s game against the Royals, and it isn’t out of the question the star third baseman could require a stint on the injured list. The always-productive Rendon is off to a strong start to the 2021 season, with nine hits (including a home run) and five walks over his first 37 plate appearances.
More out of the game’s West divisions:
- According to Dodgers manager Dave Roberts, Tony Gonsolin‘s return is “a ways away for me with where he’s at.” Roberts told Bill Plunkett of the Orange County Register and other reporters that Gonsolin had yet to begin a throwing program since being placed on the 10-day injured list last Sunday. Gonsolin is sidelined with shoulder inflammation that began to bother the right-hander around Opening Day, which was why he didn’t get any game action prior to his IL placement.
- Before today’s game against the Rockies, the Giants placed reliever Reyes Moronta on the 10-day injured list with a right flexor strain, Kerry Crowley of the Bay Area News Group was among those to note. While that sounds ominous, especially since Moronta missed the entire 2020 season recovering from shoulder surgery, manager Gabe Kapler said it’s a minor strain (via Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle). To replace the right-hander on the active roster, the Giants recalled LaMonte Wade Jr. Acquired from the Twins over the offseason, Wade went 2-4 with a walk in his Giants’ debut this afternoon.
COVID Notes: 4/11/21
The latest on coronavirus situations around baseball…
Latest Updates
- The Nationals are hopeful the four players who remain in COVID-19 protocols- Josh Harrison, Josh Bell, Kyle Schwarber and Jon Lester– will be cleared to rejoin the team during their upcoming series against the Cardinals, manager Dave Martinez told reporters (including Jesse Dougherty of the Washington Post). If all goes well, the three position players could see action in St. Louis. Lester, however, will need some additional time to build up arm strength at the team’s alternate training site once he clears health and safety protocols, writes Mark Zuckerman of MASNsports.com.
Earlier Notes
- The Red Sox have activated J.D. Martinez from the COVID-related injury list. Martinez was placed on the list yesterday as a precautionary measure since he was feeling some potential COVID-19 symptoms, though manager Alex Cora said the team was pretty confident Martinez had only a minor illness. Michael Chavis was optioned to Boston’s alternate training site to make room for Martinez on the active roster.
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Injury Notes: Kim, Alfaro, Andujar, Schmidt, Reds
Kwang Hyun Kim is slated to toss a 90-pitch simulated game today, Cardinals manager Mike Shildt told reporters (including Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch). Kim tossed another simulated game earlier this week, so the left-hander may be just about on the verge of rejoining the Cards’ rotation during the team’s upcoming series against the Phillies from April 16-18.
Back problems sidelined Kim for a good chunk of Spring Training, requiring an injured list placement to begin the season. The 32-year-old is looking to build off an impressive debut season in Major League Baseball, as Kim posted a 1.62 ERA over 39 innings (thanks to a 50% grounder rate and a lot of soft contact) in 2020.
More injury updates from around the sport…
- Marlins catcher Jorge Alfaro was scratched from yesterday’s lineup due to what the team described as “lingering tightness in his left hamstring.” Manager Don Mattingly told SportsGrid’s Craig Mish and other reporters the Marlins may decide tomorrow whether or not an IL stint is required. Counting today, Alfaro will have been sidelined for four straight games, and Miami doesn’t have another off-day until April 19. Should Alfaro hit the injured list, Sandy Leon is the only catcher in the Marlins’ farm system with any big league experience, so the team could select his minor league deal and install Leon as Chad Wallach‘s backup.
- Yankees manager Aaron Boone provided updates on Miguel Andujar and Clarke Schmidt to reporters (including ESPN.com’s Marly Rivera and Newsday’s Erik Boland). For Andujar, he is already hitting off a tee and will start hitting out of the batting cage next week as the 26-year-old is trying to recover from right carpal tunnel syndrome. Schmidt, meanwhile, is getting a second opinion on his bothersome right elbow, which is still giving him discomfort after almost seven weeks. Schmidt was shut down back in February for what was supposed to be three or four weeks due to a common extensor strain in his right elbow — for what it’s worth, Boland noted that Boone today described the injury as simply a “right elbow strain.”
- Shogo Akiyama and Sonny Gray are each progressing well in their injury recoveries, writes Mark Sheldon of MLB.com. Akiyama has been expected to return from a hamstring injury in early-mid May, and Reds manager David Bell says the outfielder has had “zero setbacks” in his rehab. Gray, meanwhile, is in line to make his return from a back injury by the end of next week. It’s a little less clear when Cincinnati can expect Michael Lorenzen back; the right-hander’s recovery from a shoulder strain is “not as going fast as he would like,” Bell said (via Sheldon).
Christian Yelich, Travis Shaw Day-To-Day After Leaving Brewers’ Game
4:40 pm: It doesn’t seem there’s much cause for concern. Manager Craig Counsell says Yelich is day-to-day with lower back tightness (via Andrew Wagner of the Wisconsin State Journal). Third baseman Travis Shaw is also day-to-day after leaving the game with a right shin contusion. It’s possible both players are back in the lineup for tomorrow’s contest against the Cubs.
2:34 pm: Brewers star outfielder Christian Yelich left this afternoon’s game against the Cardinals in the second inning, Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel was among those to note (Twitter link). He’s dealing with back soreness, per Adam McCalvy of MLB.com (via Twitter).
Jackie Bradley Jr. replaced Yelich in left field. Bradley, Lorenzo Cain and Avisaíl García would make up the Brewers outfield on most days if Yelich is forced to miss any time, with Billy McKinney on hand as depth. Of course, there’s no indication at this point Yelich’s removal was anything more than due caution.
The 2019 National League MVP, Yelich had a down year (by his lofty standards) during the shortened 2020 season. He’s off to a rather bizarre start in 2021. Yelich already has ten hits and six walks over his first 37 plate appearances, but he’s also struck out twelve times and has yet to hit a home run.
Phillies Place Archie Bradley On 10-Day Injured List
3:50 pm: Bradley’s IL placement is now official, with the team announcing it’s a left oblique strain. The Phillies recalled southpaw JoJo Romero in a corresponding move.
1:51 pm: The Phillies will be placing right-hander Archie Bradley on the 10-day injured list due to an oblique injury, The Athletic’s Matt Gelb reports (Twitter links). Bradley just pitched yesterday, allowing two hits and recording one out against the three batters he faced, and he was charged with the loss as Philadelphia dropped a 5-4 result to Atlanta.
IL visits are rare for Bradley, who hasn’t officially missed any time since the 2015 season. The severity of the oblique problem isn’t yet known, as more severe strains can lead to months-long absences. Even a 10-day stint for Bradley would represent a blow to the Phillies’ bullpen, which has posted some solid results this year following a thoroughly disastrous performance in 2020.
Bradley was one of several new faces added to the rebuilt bullpen over the offseason, as he signed a one-year, $6MM deal with Philadelphia after being non-tendered by the Reds earlier in the winter. The Reds’ decision was seemingly more based around saving money on Bradley’ arbitration salary (projected to fall between $4.3MM and $5.7MM) than on Bradley’s performance, as he posted a 2.95 ERA/3.44 SIERA over 18 1/3 combined innings with the Diamondbacks and Reds in 2020. Bradley has worked as a closer in the past, but seemed slated for set-up duty or general high-leverage usage thus far with the Phillies.
Giants Acquire Thairo Estrada
The Giants have acquired infielder Thairo Estrada in a trade with the Yankees in exchange for cash considerations, the two teams announced. Estrada will head to the Giants’ alternate training site and be added to the 40-man roster. Outfielder Jaylin Davis (left knee tendinitis) was placed on the 60-day injured list in a corresponding move to open up a 40-man roster space.
New York designated Estrada for assignment earlier this week to free up roster space for the newly-acquired Rougned Odor. Estrada has spent his entire professional career in the Yankees organization, hitting .280/.337/.389 with 26 home runs over 1949 minor league plate appearances from 2013-19 and .214/.267/.348 over 121 PA at the Major League level in 2019-20. Rather than his bat, Estrada’s value came from his defensive versatility, as he logged a lot of playing time at shortstop, second base, and third base in the minors, and also made a few appearances as a corner outfielder in 2019.
Estrada may have a tough time breaking into a Giants depth chart that is already full of multi-positional infielders, but he might be a better depth option behind Brandon Crawford at shortstop than Donovan Solano or Mauricio Dubon, particularly since Dubon has been increasingly deployed as an outfielder.
Davis was already expected to be sidelined for four-to-six weeks due to his knee issue, so the 60-day placement will allow Davis some time to fully ramp up in the minors before the Giants consider finding a spot for him on the active roster. The 26-year-old has seen action with San Francisco in each of the last two seasons, appearing in 21 total games with a .515 OPS over 59 PA.
Cardinals Place Tyler O’Neill On 10-Day Injured List
The Cardinals have placed outfielder Tyler O’Neill on the 10-day IL due to a right groin strain, the team announced. Since righty Jake Woodford was optioned to the alternate training site after yesterday’s game, the two open roster spots were filled by outfielder Lane Thomas and right-hander Johan Oviedo.
O’Neill suffered the injury during an at-bat in yesterday’s 9-5 loss to the Brewers, coming out of the batter’s box moving slowly after hitting a grounder. He was replaced in the field the next inning. Manager Mike Shildt told reporters (including Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch) that O’Neill might only be out for the minimum 10 days, saying that the young outfielder received “Favorable news from an imaging standpoint….Probably a three to four day (situation) before he can get in there. We didn’t want to play short for three or four days.”
The IL stint could possibly act as something of a reset for O’Neill, who has hit only .143/.172/.286 with a league-high 14 strikeouts over his first 29 plate appearances of the 2021 season. Strikeouts have been a persistent issue during O’Neill’s four MLB seasons, and his overall production at the plate has trailed off considerably since a promising 2018 rookie season. On the plus side, O’Neill won a Gold Glove for his defensive work as the Cardinals’ regular left fielder in 2020.
O’Neill joins Harrison Bader on the 10-day IL, leaving the Cards even more short-handed in the outfield. A veteran of 52 Major League games, Thomas will join the mix along with Dylan Carlson, Justin Williams, Austin Dean, and utilityman Tommy Edman (when Edman isn’t at second base). Minor league signing Matt Szczur is also on hand at the team’s alternate training site.
Tigers Place Miguel Cabrera On 10-Day IL, Select Renato Nunez’s Contract
The Tigers have put veteran slugger Miguel Cabrera on the 10-day injured list due to a left biceps strain, the team announced. Renato Nunez‘s contract has been selected to take Cabrera’s spot on the active roster, and right-hander Julio Teheran was moved to the 60-day IL to open up room for Nunez on the 40-man roster.
As noted by MLB.com’s Jason Beck and a Twitter follower, the injury looks to have occurred during Cabrera’s plate appearance in the seventh inning of yesterday’s 11-3 Tigers loss to the Indians. Cabrera remained in the game as a first baseman and was replaced for a pinch-hitter during his next at-bat, a substitution that seemed more like a nod to the blowout score than an indication Cabrera was hurt.
This isn’t the first time Cabrera has dealt with a left biceps injury, as a ruptured tendon back in June 2018 prematurely ended his 2018 campaign after just 38 games. There isn’t yet any indication that this current problem is anywhere near as serious, however, and there isn’t yet any timeline on when Cabrera could be back in action.
Cabrera (who turns 38 in a week) has gotten off to a tough start, with only a .514 OPS through his first 27 plate appearances of 2021. After working exclusively as a DH in 2020, Cabrera has more or less split his starts between first base and designated hitter this season. Any time missed will delay Cabrera’s quest for two statistical milestones — he currently stands 131 hits shy of the 3000-hit club, and 12 home runs shy of the 500-homer club. Cabrera’s ticket to Cooperstown is already all but punched, of course, though he would be only the seventh player in baseball history to reach both the 3000-hit and 500-homer plateaus, joining Henry Aaron, Willie Mays, Albert Pujols, Eddie Murray, Alex Rodriguez, and Rafael Palmeiro.
Nunez signed a minor league deal with Detroit back in February, and though he didn’t make the team out of Spring Training, Nunez chose to forego his opt-out clause and remain with the Tigers despite some minor league offers from other clubs. He now might step into regular (and perhaps even everyday) work as the Tigers’ new first baseman with Cabrera on the shelf, though Nunez will also see some action at DH and perhaps at third base if Jeimer Candelario is shifted across the diamond to get some time at first base.
The Orioles released Nunez prior to the non-tender deadline rather than pay the 27-year-old a salary projected to fall somewhere between $2.1MM and $3.9MM. Nunez has been a generally above-average hitter (105 wRC+, 106 OPS+) over the last three seasons, hitting .250/.316/.457 with 51 home runs over 1076 PA with the Rangers and Orioles. Without much to offer in the way of OBP or fielding acumen at third base, however, Nunez was deemed expendable by the cost-cutting O’s.
Teheran was only placed on the 10-day IL yesterday with a right shoulder strain, and manager A.J. Hinch said that the veteran hurler would miss a significant amount of time while recovering, so the 60-day IL assignment isn’t any surprise. Teheran signed a minor league deal with Detroit over the winter and locked in a guaranteed $3MM salary when he made the team. Teheran suffered his shoulder problem just minutes before he was scheduled for his second start in a Tigers uniform.