Gallo Goes Down
The Rangers lost the biggest bat from the middle of their lineup on Saturday when Joey Gallo was forced to leave Saturday’s game against the Royals with a left oblique injury.
The 25-year-old slugger -- who had already homered in his first at-bat on Saturday after crushing a grand slam in Friday night’s game -- took a 2-2 pitch for a ball in the fifth inning, but immediately winced and grabbed at his side, which prompted the visit from the training staff and his removal from the game.
The Rangers announced shortly afterwards that he was dealing with a left oblique injury and that he’ll undergo treatment and further evaluation. He went for an MRI after the game on Saturday, the results of which are not yet known.
Given the fact that it’s an oblique injury, it seems a near certainty that Gallo will require a trip to the injured list and miss at least a couple of weeks of action. Remember, Aaron Judge was sidelined with an oblique strain on April 20, and he has still yet to return to the Yankees’ lineup.
It’s a tough break for the Rangers, and for fantasy owners who have come to depend upon Gallo’s elite power production.
He’s having a terrific season offensively, slashing .276/.421/.653 with 17 long balls and 41 RBI. Danny Santana replaced him on Saturday and could be in line for additional playing time while Gallo is on the shelf. [[ad:athena]]
The Bruce is Loose
On Saturday afternoon, Jeff Passan of ESPN reported that the Mariners were finalizing a deal to send Jay Bruce to the Phillies for an undisclosed return.
Shortly after, Passan clarified that while the two sides were in discussions, that a deal wasn’t imminent, though Bruce was willing to waive his no-trade clause to go to Philadelphia.
Then just before midnight on Saturday, Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reported that the deal was nearing completion. While there has been no official word yet -- and likely won’t be until Sunday -- it certainly sounds like Bruce has played his last game as a member of the Seattle Mariners.
Rosenthal also noted that the Mariners were expected to receive a minor league player and plenty of cash in return for Bruce. Just how much cash winds up changing hands in the deal will also determine the quality of the minor league player that is heading to the M’s in this deal.
Bruce is still owed the balance of the $13 million remaining on his salary for this season as well as $13 million for the 2020 campaign. He’s also still due an additional $1.5 million next season as part of his signing bonus.
The 32-year-old slugger has had a bit of a resurgence for the Mariners this season, slashing .212/.283/.533 with 14 homers and 28 RBI in 184 plate appearances.
The Phillies are hoping that he’ll help to fill the void in their lineup created by Odubel Herrera being placed on administrative leave after his arrest for domestic violence. While Bruce will definitely add left-handed power to the mix, he’s considered by most metrics to be a subpar defender in the outfield, which is where he’s expected to spend most of his time.
As long as he finds his way into the lineup on a regular basis, the move should be a positive one for fantasy owners, as the shift away from T-Mobile Park in Seattle to Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia is a major boost for left-handed power.
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No Surgery for Yadi
Cardinals’ manager Mike Shildt gave a bit of good news on Saturday when he announced that catcher Yadier Molina will not require surgery to repair his injured thumb.
Molina originally suffered the injury last Sunday, but it was misdiagnosed -- initially believed to be just a bruised hand -- instead of a slight tear in the ligament between his thumb and index finger. The injury officially landed the veteran backstop on the injured list on Friday.
Just how long he’ll be on the shelf, remains in question. Shildt wasn’t able to give a timeline for Molina’s potential return, indicating only that it will “just depend on how it heals”. For sure, the veteran backstop will be sidelined longer than the minimum 10 days, but after that it’s anyone’s guess at this point.
Matt Wieters will handle the bulk of the catching duties in his absence. For fantasy owners in deep two-catcher mixed leagues, Wieters could be worthy of a short-term addition. Entering play on Saturday, the 33-year-old was slashing a robust .343/.368/.629 with three homers, nine RBI and a stolen base in his first 38 plate appearances on the season.
Cubs Eyeing Kimbrel
Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reported Saturday that the Cubs have expressed interest in free agent closer Craig Kimbrel.
It’s an interesting development, because throughout the off-season all we heard from Theo Epstein and the Cubs’ brass was that they didn’t have any money to spend and weren’t able to take on any excess payroll. So what has changed?
Well, it seems as though the fact that Ben Zobrist has been away on administrative leave while dealing with a messy divorce, has actually been helpful to the team. As Rosenthal noted, players are generally not paid while on the restricted list, and the club gets savings off of the luxury tax as well. And it may just be enough for the Cubs to land one of the top closers in the game.
The Cubs had planned on entering the season with Brandon Morrow as their closer, but he has yet to throw a pitch this season after undergoing surgery on his right elbow. They’ve also been without interim closer Pedro Strop who has been battling a hamstring injury. Adding Kimbrel to the late-inning mix would obviously improve the Cubs’ chances in their battle to secure the National League Central.
There’s no word that there have been any negotiations between the two sides, or what the Cubs’ true level of interest is, but it’s certainly a situation that’s worth monitoring.
Taking Down Cy Young
Justin Verlander passed another legendary figure on Major League Baseball’s all-time strikeouts list on Saturday, jumping ahead of Cy Young into 20th place in MLB history.
The 36-year-old right-hander wound up striking out eight batters over eight innings of one-run baseball in the victory over the Athletics, bringing his career strikeout total to 2809. That means that his next time out, he should climb inside the top 20 as he sits just four strikeouts behind Mike Mussina.
Just how far can he ascend up the list before all is said and done? That’s an interesting question. He’s currently signed through the 2021 season. If that’s it for him, that gives him another 2 ½ years to amass strikeouts. Given his current extreme level of success and assuming healthy, I think it’s fair to say that he has at least another 600 strikeouts in him during that stretch. Doing that, would have him leapfrog Mussina, Mickey Lolich, Jim Bunning, CC Sabathia, John Smoltz, Curt Schilling, Bob Gibson, Pedro Martinez, Fergie Jenkins, Phil Niekro and Greg Maddux -- landing in 10th place all-time. That’s some mighty impressive company.
American League Quick Hits: Tommy Pham (leg) and Avisail Garcia (hamstring) each were held out of the Rays’ lineup for a second straight game on Saturday. Both are still considered day-to-day. … Nelson Cruz (wrist) began a minor league rehab assignment with Class-A Fort Myers on Saturday. … Hunter Dozier missed his second straight game with a pulled chest muscle. He remains day-to-day. … Yankees’ skipper Aaron Boone indicated that Didi Gregorius (elbow) is likely to return from the injured list next weekend against the Indians. … Red Sox manager Alex Cora announced that Mookie Betts will remain in the leadoff spot for the remainder of the season, ending the Andrew Benintendi experiment atop the Red Sox’ lineup. … Mariners’ manager Scott Servais confirmed that Yusei Kikuchi will have his next start skipped. … Martin Maldonado was pulled from Saturday’s game as a precaution due to right forearm tightness. He’s considered day-to-day. … Tigers’ manager Ron Gardenhire said the team will get a second opinion on Miguel Cabrera’s (knee) MRI results. … Clint Frazier was lifted from Saturday’s game after being drilled in the elbow by a pitch, but X-rays came back negative and he expects to return to action on Sunday… Carlos Santana clubbed his 11th home run as the Indians topped the White Sox. … Renato Nunez clubbed his 15th home run -- and eighth in his last 12 games -- in a loss to the Giants. … Lance Lynn fanned seven over 6 ⅓ innings of one-run baseball in a victory over the Royals. … Adalberto Mondesi swiped his league-leading 21st base in a losing effort there. … Andrew Heaney racked up 10 strikeouts over six innings of three-run ball in a no-decision against the Mariners. … Edwin Encarnacion inflicted all of the damage against him, with a solo and a two-run homer. … Mike Trout blasted his 14th homer and swiped his seventh base in that victory for the Halos. … Gary Sanchez socked a go-ahead two-run homer off of Rick Porcello in the fifth inning that propelled the Yankees past the Red Sox.
National League Quick Hits: Jacob deGrom was removed from his start against the Diamondbacks in the seventh inning due to an apparent hip injury. Prior to departing he had struck out seven over 6 2/3 innings of one-run ball. ... The Nationals signed 42-year-old right-hander Fernando Rodney to a minor league contract. He’ll report to Triple-A Fresno. … Mac Williamson passed through waivers unclaimed and elected to become a free agent after the Giants designated him for assignment. … Brewers’ left-hander Gio Gonzalez landed on the injured list with a case of dead arm… Fernando Tatis Jr. (hamstring) will begin his minor league rehab assignment early next week. … Javier Baez was scratched from the Cubs’ lineup due to a bruised right heel. He’s listed as day-to-day. … Justin Turner missed his third straight game with a hamstring injury. … Blake Swihart landed on the 10-day injured list with a strained oblique, allowing the Diamondbacks to bring Kevin Cron back from Triple-A. … Robinson Cano (quad) is hopeful to be activated from the injured list on Tuesday. … Mike Moustakas was pulled from Saturday’s game against the Pirates with a bruised right hand after he was drilled by a 101 mph fastball from Felipe Vazquez. Luckily, he avoided any fractures and should be considered day-to-day. ... The Padres activated Francisco Mejia from the 10-day injured list and optioned him to Triple-A El Paso. … Wade Davis (oblique) threw a successful bullpen session on Friday. … Charlie Blackmon (calf) is progressing in his return. He’s eligible to rejoin the Rockies on Tuesday, though it’s unclear when he’ll be ready. … Buster Posey homered and scored three runs as the Giants topped the Orioles, though he also left the game with a mild hamstring strain. He isn’t expected to play on Sunday, but should return to the Giants’ lineup on Tuesday after Monday’s off-day. … Brandon Belt had a couple of hits and four RBI in that victory for the Giants. … Austin Riley crushed a two-run homer -- his eighth in just 63 big league at-bats -- as the Braves topped the Tigers. … Luke Jackson recorded the final five outs -- all via strikeout -- to record the save there. … Gerardo Parra went 3-for-4 with a three-run homer and a stolen base, leading the Nationals to victory over the Reds. … Orlando Arcia smacked a pair of two-run homers -- including a go-ahead blast in the 13th inning -- as the Brewers topped the Pirates. … Christian Yelich launched his league-leading 22nd homer in that game and also swiped a pair of bases, giving him 12 steals on the year. … Keston Hiura had a game-tying two-run blast to force extra innings there. … That was after Starling Marte clubbed a go-ahead three-run homer in the eighth to put the Pirates on top. Wild game in Pittsburgh. … Jon Gray struck out seven over 6 ⅔ shutout innings in a victory over the Blue Jays…Will Smith blasted a walk-off homer off of Hector Neris to lead the Dodgers past the Phillies. ... That came after Bryce Harper had homered to tie the game in the eighth inning... Clayton Kershaw fanned six over seven innings of one-run ball in a no-decision in that one.
