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MLB Announces All-Star Starters

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Major League Baseball announced the starting lineups for the 2021 All-Star Game this evening. The starting lineups are determined by fan vote. This year’s All-Star Game will take place in Coors Field on Tuesday, July 13. The starting pitchers and reserves will be announced at a later date.

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American League

*On the 60-day injured list

Angels Transfer Mike Trout To 60-Day Injured List

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The Angels are planning to transfer superstar outfielder Mike Trout from the 10-day to the 60-day injured list, manager Joe Maddon told reporters (including Jack Harris of the Los Angeles Times and Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register). The move will create 40-man roster space for the previously-reported selection of outfielder Scott Schebler.

There’s no cause for alarm, as Trout’s transfer is largely a procedural move. He’s ruled out for sixty days from the date of his original IL placement- May 18- not from here on out. He’ll be eligible to return on July 17.

Trout is progressing well from a right calf strain, Maddon said today. He’s begun taking swings in the batting cage, and the team expects he’ll embark on a minor league rehab assignment some time around the July 12-15 All-Star Break. When Trout first went down, the prognosis was he’d miss six-to-eight weeks, so it seems he’s on pace to return just after that projected timetable. Before the injury, the game’s top player was off to perhaps the best start of his career. Trout has a .333/.466/.624 line through 146 plate appearances this season.

Angels Select Scott Schebler

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The Angels are expected to select the contract of outfielder Scott Schebler before this evening’s game against the Yankees. Rhett Bollinger of MLB.com was among those to note that Schebler has joined the team in the Bronx. Infielder Kean Wong was optioned to Triple-A Salt Lake, but the Angels will need to make another transaction to clear space for Schebler on the 40-man roster.

Schebler, who signed a minor league deal with the Angels over the winter, briefly appeared on the big league club earlier in the season. He tallied just 27 plate appearances before being outrighted, but he’s done well at Salt Lake. The left-handed hitter has a .281/.355/.523 line with eight home runs across 172 plate appearances with the Bees. Triple-A West, like its predecessor the Pacific Coast League, has played extremely hitter-friendly. Nevertheless, Schebler’s offensive production has been nine percentage points better than the league’s average, by measure of weighted runs created.

Best known for his time with the Reds, Schebler has appeared in the majors in each of the past seven seasons. He was a regular for Cincinnati between 2017-18, popping 47 homers across those two seasons. Schebler’s never been one to draw many walks, though, and he’s better suited for the corner outfield than center. He wound up squeezed out of Cincinnati early in 2019 and has only tallied a cumulative 123 major league plate appearances over the past three years.

The Angels have been without Mike Trout and Dexter Fowler for extended stretches, and Justin Upton recently went on the 10-day injured list with back soreness over the weekend. That’s left Los Angeles rather thin in the outfield. General manager Perry Minasian told reporters (including Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register) over the weekend that Trout hasn’t begun running or any sort of baseball activity. Trout, who’s been out since May 18, could be a candidate for a transfer to the 60-day IL, if the Angels don’t expect him to return to big league action before the July 12-15 All-Star Break.

Latest On Mike Trout’s Calf Injury

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One month to the day after Mike Trout suffered a right calf strain, his injury rehab is “going good, I feel great,” the star outfielder said as part of an in-game interview during tonight’s Tigers/Angels game (hat tip to Brent Maguire).  Trout is looking to “hopefully start some baseball activity in the next few days and go from there,” though he stressed that he is waiting to get the green light from doctors before going ahead with any sort of running drills.

Trout’s injury carried a rough timeline of 6-8 weeks, so if Trout is indeed almost on the verge of starting baseball activities after a month, that is a good sign that he might be back on the low end of that estimated absence.

Obviously the sooner Trout is able to return the better for the Angels, who took a 33-35 record into tonight’s contest with Detroit.  A recent six-game winning streak gave the Halos a winning record for the first time since May 1, though three consecutive losses has brought them back under the .500 mark.  Nine games back of the division lead and seven games back of the second AL wild card spot, Anaheim needs to make up at least some of that ground by the time Trout returns to have any chance at the postseason.  If not, the Angels could be deadline sellers and staring at their seven consecutive season without any playoff baseball.

2021 was on pace to be perhaps Trout’s best season yet, considering that his 194 wRC+/OPS+ at the time of his injury represented a new career best.  (In baseball history, the list of players with full seasons better than 194 wRC+ is not a long one.)  Trout was hitting .333/.466/.624 with eight home runs over his first 146 plate appearances, and it’s fair to guess that the Angels would be a bigger factor in the AL West race if he had been healthy over the last month, though the Halos have been a respectable 15-13 since Trout hit the injured list.

West Notes: Angels, Adell, Mariners, France, Diamondbacks, Widener

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Angels manager Joe Maddon spoke with his GM Perry Minasian about potentially turning to top prospect Jo Adell in the wake of Mike Trout’s injury, per Mike DiGiovanna of the LA Times (via Twitter). Ultimately, the Angels feel Adell needs more development time and that takes precedence to the team’s need in the short-term. Adell has hit .246/.319/.631 in Triple-A, but his strikeout rate remains disconcertingly high at 36.1 percent. Elsewhere out west…

  • Ty France could be back as early as tomorrow for the Mariners, per Corey Brock of the Athletic (via Twitter). Left wrist inflammation sent France to the injured list in the middle of May. France has walked at a career-best 10.5 percent rate in 153 plate appearances this season, but his numbers have otherwise been a touch down from last year. Still, despite a .278 BABIP and .137 ISO, both of which should rebound at least a touch, France has still been five percent better than average with the bat. If he’s not back on Tuesday, the Mariners regardless expect him to return at some point in their series against Oakland.
  • Taylor Widener was removed from his start today with right groin discomfort, per Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic (via Twitter). Widener had just been activated from the injured list after a groin injury, so this is certainly an unwelcome development for the right-hander. He lasted just 1 2/3 innings before handing the ball to the bullpen. The bullpen did a nice job keeping the Diamondbacks in the game, but they ultimately lost 4-3 to the Rockies, their eighth straight loss.

Mike Trout To Miss 6-8 Weeks With Calf Strain

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In devastating news for the Angels, superstar center fielder Mike Trout will miss six to eight weeks as a result of the right calf strain he suffered Monday, Bill Shaikin of the Los Angeles Times reports. The Angels have placed Trout on the 10-day injured list and recalled lefty Jose Quijada to take his spot on the roster for the time being.

It couldn’t get much worse than this for the Angels, who again haven’t been able to capitalize on Trout’s excellence this year. Already mired in a six-year playoff drought, the Angels are off to a subpar 18-22 start despite Trout’s best efforts. The 29-year-old future Hall of Famer has slashed .333./.466/.624 with eight home runs over 146 plate appearances, and he leads all qualified position players in wRC+ (199) and fWAR (2.5).

Unfortunately, this will go down as another injury-shortened year for Trout, who after averaging 158 games per season from 2013-16 averaged just 129 games from 2017-19. Trout also missed seven games in the shortened 2020 season, which amounts to roughly 12 percent of the season.

As a result of this news, baseball fans won’t have the privilege of watching Trout again until July or later, and his absence will obviously weaken the Angels’ lineup to a significant extent. There’s simply no realistic way to suitably replace Trout, the game’s preeminent player for several years. The Halos have used Scott Schebler and Juan Lagares in center when Trout hasn’t played this year, but they pale in comparison to the eight-time All-Star and three-time MVP.

The Angels do a pair of touted outfield prospects in Jo Adell and Brandon Marsh, either of whom could come up with Trout unavailable, though that’s unlikely to happen in the immediate future, Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register tweets. Adell has fanned 21 times in 57 Triple-A plate appearances (36.8 percent), while Marsh has still only logged six total games in Triple-A to this point in his career. While he’s 6-for-22 with a trio of extra-base hits in that time, Marsh has punched out nine times in 29 plate appearances (31 percent), and it seems the Angels feel he could yet benefit from additional development time.

Mike Trout Suffers Right Calf Strain

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Angels center fielder Mike Trout left their game against the Indians on Monday with a right calf strain, the team announced.  He exited after just one inning and was replaced by Juan Lagares.

This hopefully won’t lead to a stint on the injured list for Trout, who has been in typically great form to begin the season. The 29-year-old has batted .333./.466/.624 with eight home runs in 146 plate appearances.

There would be no way for the Angels to effectively replace Trout, a future Hall of Famer, for an extended span. Trout aside, the Angels have used Scott Schebler – whom they outrighted earlier this month – and Lagares at center this season. It goes without saying that those two pale in comparison to Trout.

Angels Activate Anthony Rendon; Mike Trout To Return Monday

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The Angels have activated third baseman Anthony Rendon from the 10-day injured and optioned infielder Luis Rengifo, the team announced. Rendon had been on the IL since April 12 with a left groin strain.

Now in the second season of a seven-year, $245MM contract, Rendon has continued to thrive since leaving the Nationals for the Angels in free agency. He was one of the majors’ premier performers last season and got off to a good start this year before going on the IL. So far, Rendon owns a .290/.378/.387 with one home run in eight games and 37 plate appearances. The Angels turned to Rengifo, Jose Rojas and Jack Mayfield at the hot corner over the past couple weeks, but no one from that trio has come close to replicating Rendon’s production.

In another piece of welcome news for the Halos, center fielder Mike Trout will return to their starting lineup Monday in Texas. Trout last played on April 22, when he suffered a bruised left elbow on a hit by pitch from the Astros’ Cristian Javier. Fortunately, the game’s preeminent player avoided a serious injury.

Latest On Mike Trout

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APRIL 23, 3:47pm: Trout was in the Angels’ initial lineup for Friday, but the team announced that it has scratched him. He’s day-to-day.

7:15am: Trout was diagnosed with a left elbow contusion, the team announced. After the game, Trout told reporters (including Fabian Ardaya of the Athletic) he hopes to be back in the lineup for Friday’s matchup with Houston.

APRIL 22: Angels center fielder Mike Trout exited their game against the Astros on Thursday in the fifth inning. Trout left shortly after the Astros’ Cristian Javier struck him in the left elbow with a 93 mph fastball in the fourth inning. The Angels replaced Trout with Scott Schebler.

There is no word on whether Trout departed because of an injury or if the Angels simply took him out as a precautionary measure. The Angels were trailing 7-0 when they lifted Trout, so the team may have just been playing it safe when it removed him. Considering Trout’s importance to the Angels and the baseball world as a whole, the hope is that he didn’t suffer a serious injury on the hit by pitch.

Even though Trout is only 29 years old, he has already cemented himself as one of the greatest players in the history of the sport. If healthy, the three-time American League Most Valuable Player looks as if he’ll find himself in the MVP race yet again this season. Seventy plate appearances into his year, Trout has batted an incredible .393/.514/.804 (258 wRC+) with six home runs and a major league-best 1.6 fWAR.

Quick Hits: Cubs, Hoerner, Opening Day, Home Run Leaders By State

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Nico Hoerner earned a Gold Glove nomination after notching five Defensive Runs Saved in just over 200 innings at the keystone in 2020, but his versatility will make him more than a bit player for the Cubs moving forward. Thanks to his plus glovework, the 23-year-old was worth 0.7 bWAR in 2020 despite slashing .222/.312/.259. His defensive prowess will keep his name on the lineup card while his bat works to catch up, writes Russell Dorsey of the Chicago Sun-Times. Hoerner played five positions including centerfield – the Cubs’ most glaring long-and-short-term hole. Ian Happ was the bulk starter in center in 2020, but he could move to left now that Kyle Schwarber was non-tendered. The Cubs are likely to add at least another name to their outfield mix, but don’t be surprised to see Hoerner continue to get looks there in the spring while competing with David Bote for regular second base reps.

As we look forward to the new year, let’s see what else is happening around the sport…

  • With two COVID-19 vaccines now on the market, owners are considering a push to delay the season opener until May. In their minds, a significant enough number in vaccinations could justify the delay, writes Paul Hoynes of Cleveland.com. Players have thus far resisted any attempts to push back the start of the season, however. The MLBPA wants a 162-game season rather than face another year of prorated pay. With coronavirus cases still on the rise, however, it’s prudent for MLB to take whatever precautions necessary to limit the risk of breakouts in 2021.
  • MLB.com’s Director of Research and Development Daren Willman put together a fun chart to peruse this holiday season (via Twitter). Williams posted the current home run leaders by birth state, and there are definitely some places for a young go-getter to take their local crown. Maine, Alaska, and New Hampshire each have career leaders with less than 100 home runs, while Duke Sims landed exactly at the century mark to leader all Utahans. Paul Goldschmidt (Delaware), Bryce Harper (Nevada), Kurt Suzuki (Hawaii), Mike Trout (New Jersey), and Ryan Zimmerman (North Carolina) could add to their leads in 2021, while the recently-retired Alex Gordon ended his career as Nebraska’s all-time home run king. Executive Director of the MLBPA Tony Clark also makes the list as Kansas’ all-time leader.
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