The Dodgers scratched Freddie Freeman from today’s game due to a sore wrist rib, according to the broadcast. Betts and Freeman are not young anymore, and declines can come fast in a player’s 30s. The Dodgers are deep, but they start the season with two of their superstars on the bench.
Correction: I misheard the broadcast, it is a rib injury.
Max Scherzer of the Blue Jays, seasonal age 40, develops pain in his thumb as he goes deeper into a throwing session. Yu Darvish of the Padres, seasonal age 38, experienced fatigue even though he worked just 6 2/3 innings in two spring training starts. Beware drafting older pitchers; their careers can go south quickly.
Pitcher Gerrit Cole of the Yankees needs Tommy John surgery:
New York Yankees right-hander Gerrit Cole will undergo Tommy John surgery, the team announced Monday, ending his 2025 season before it began and leaving the club staggering from another blow as it prepares to defend its American League pennant.
The decision to have the surgery, which will sideline Cole for the 2025 season and at least part of the 2026 season, was made after seeking a second opinion from Dr. Neal ElAttrache on Monday. Cole will undergo the procedure Tuesday at the Cedars-Sinai Kerlan-Jobe Institute in Los Angeles. In a statement, the club said that “further updates will occur post surgery.”
ESPN.com
Cole missed quite a bit of last season and the Yankees won the pennant, so it’s possible to get by without him. Max Fried and Carlos Rodon certainly had their turn as aces.
I suspect a lot of teams are happy that Cole did not become a free agent and sign a long-term contract.
Gerrit Cole ran into elbow problems again:
Cole, 34, has pitched six innings in two starts this spring. In his last outing, on Thursday, he surrendered six runs on five hits, including two home runs, across 2? innings against the Minnesota Twins.
A year ago, the ace reported to spring training fresh off winning his first Cy Young Award. By mid-March, the six-time All-Star was shut down because of elbow discomfort. He was later diagnosed with nerve irritation and edema. He avoided surgery and made his season debut June 19.
ESPN.com
Maybe it’s a chronic condition, and Cole is going to need a lot more rest going forward. That might be the best case scenario. The Yankees might need to find some pitching depth if their Cy Young Award winner joins their rookie of the year on the illjured list.
Shohei Ohtani of the Dodgers threw in a bullpen session Saturday:
After throwing on flat ground earlier in the week, he was looking forward to being on the mound in a bullpen session.
Chron.com
There’s still no word on when Ohtani might be game ready.
Angels third baseman Anthony Rendon will miss most of the 2025 season as he needs to undergo hip surgery:
After signing a seven-year, $245 million contract and debuting with the Angels during the pandemic-abbreviated 2020 season, Rendon, 34, has not played more than 58 games in any season. He had a 1.010 OPS with 34 home runs and a major-league-leading 126 RBIs with the Washington Nationals in 2019, but his OPS over five years with the Angels is just .717.
All told, Rendon has played in only 257 games and missed 451 — with 12 stints on the injured list since 2021 — for the Angels.
ESPN.com
The trio of Rendon, Mike Trout, and Shohei Ohtani should have made the Angels great, but it just didn’t happen.
Houston Astros GM Dana Brown likes the way Lance McCullers Jr is throwing after he missed two seasons due to injury:
“I’m really fired up about Lance,” Brown said. “He’s throwing some sides. He’s feeling really good, his throwing’s up to 90 [mph]. There’s no discomfort or pain, so we’re fired up about what he’s going to look like in the spring. We’ve got to temper it out a little bit and let it play out, but we’re excited about how Lance looks.”
Chron.com
McCullers hit 93-94 MPH on his fastballs when he was healthy, so he still has a way to go. There’s also talk of him moving to the bullpen. The Astros depth chart looks pretty good where the starters are concerned. If the Astros can work McCullers gradually in the pen, he might be ready when the inevitable injury occurs.
Carlos Correa of the Twins reports no pain in his feet:
“I can say I’m in a great spot,” Correa said. “I’m in a spot where I don’t feel anything.”
Now, it’s a matter of keeping it that way after two consecutive years of dealing with the injury in each foot. Correa has spent the offseason focusing on what he can control, namely his health.
Correa has shifted to shoes with better support on the arch, so he is putting less pressure on his heels. He’s more careful with the types of surface he sprints on, running more and more on grass and dirt like he would while playing baseball and less on concrete. Inside the house, he’s been walking around barefoot, which he said has been a help, as well.
TwinCities.com
Foot injuries require rest, which means staying off your feet. Of course, it becomes difficult to maintain playing form when the injury limits movement. It looks like Correa finally figured out how to get around that.
He’s coming off a half-season in which he posted 3.7 rWAR. A six to seven WAR season at shortstop would go a long way to making the Twins contenders. Note that they were strong up the middle last season except at second base. Brooks Lee is still young, and showed the ability to get on base in the minors. A healthy Correa and a maturing Lee could make the team very solid offensively at the most skilled positions
Improving the corners is much easier than improving up the middle. The Twins have not done much in the winter, and we’ll see if they were right to stand pat.
ESPN reviews the MLB study on pitching injuries, which points the chasing of velocity and stuff (the spin and movement of pitches).
There is talk of limiting the number of pitchers on a roster, or forcing pitchers to stay in games longer to change habits of maximum effort on every pitch. I tend to think those will not work, pitchers and teams will find a way around those rules.
I personally think that MLB should set a maximum velocity, one well below the fastest pitches thrown today, say 93 MPH. Any pitch above that speed not put in play is a ball, even if the batter swings and misses or fouls off the pitch. One would hope this would lead to a return to pitching (changing speeds, pitching to different quadrants, more movement) rather than throwing, and workload would automatically adjust to the new paradigm. I’m not holding my breath.
Shohei Ohtani required surgery for his injured left shoulder:
Before the injury, the Dodgers were hoping Ohtani could restart his throwing program earlier than usual this offseason in anticipation of him returning to a two-way role in 2025. It is unclear how this surgery, performed by Dr. Neal ElAttrache in Los Angeles, might impact the timing of that, but it was done on Ohtani’s non-throwing shoulder.
Ohtani was throwing his regularly scheduled bullpen sessions, the last step in his rehabilitation from a second major elbow surgery, leading up to the time when he was injured.
ESPN.com
He probably should not have been playing after hurting the shoulder, but he did pick up a key catchers interference call. I always thought he should be a one-way player as a batter, but if this injury hinders his swing, he might finish his career as just a pitcher.
With the Dodgers still leading 4-1 in the bottom of the seventh inning, Shohei Ohtani walked and tried to steal second base. The Yankees threw him out, but he appears to have injured his left hand. He clearly experienced pain as he lay on the field, and the arm was hanging a bit was he walked off with the trainer. We’ll see how serious that slide hurt him.
I thought the steal with a three run lead was a bit unneeded. Mookie Betts is perfectly capable of driving in Ohtani from first, especially with two out.
Update: The broadcast reports the injury is to the shoulder.
Update: The Japanese news reports Ohtani popped his shoulder out, as they made out what he said coming off the field.
Luis Arraez underwent thumb surgery:
Arraez said he played through the injury for the entire second half of the season. He injured it June 25 against the Washington Nationals on a headfirst slide into third base on a triple.
ESPN.com
That makes his batting title even more impressive. I think it also explains why Arraez sat so much against left-handed pitchers. It was a way of giving the thumb some time to recover.
Kerry Carpenter of the Tigers may not be able to play Saturday due to a hamstring injury:
Manager A.J. Hinch said the team is waiting to see how Carpenter’s injury responds before making any lineup or roster decisions.
“We’re going to take as much time as we can to see what he can and can’t handle,” Hinch said before the Tigers worked out in Progressive Field. “It’s obvious what he’s dealing with and we’re going to hope for the best as we move forward because he’s important to our team and our lineup.
“I don’t know right now what that’s going to be and we’ll make a game-time decision.”
Hinch’s comments came before MLB changed the start time seven hours, moving first pitch from 8:08 p.m. to 1:08 p.m. The switch was made due to the potential for inclement weather, MLB said in a release.
ESPN.com
Losing a chance to play because rain changed the time of the game is one thing, but Carpenter might be really depressed if the Tigers win on Saturday and the injury keeps him out of action Monday against the Yankees.
Jacob deGrom of the Rangers makes it through an inning without suffering another injury. He gave up a hit, but struck out two batters as his velocity is high, and he looked smooth on the mound. He returns too late to help the Rangers this season, but he can give them hope for next season. Texas leads Seattle 2-0 at the end of one inning.
The home plate umpire Nick Mahrley in the Rockies-Yankees game just took a blow in the side of the neck from a broken bat. Giancarlo Stanton took a swing and his bat cracked at the handle. The barrel came around and got the home plate umpire in the side of the neck. It looks like Mahrley just took the barrel, and not the sharp end. The ball fell for a hit, and Mahrley, on the ground, did turn around if there was a play at the plate. He was down on all fours after that. They have stabilized his neck and he is being wheeled off the field.
My thoughts go out to Mahrley for a quick recovery.
The Braves lost third baseman Austin Riley for at least the rest of the regular season. He was hit in the right hand by Angels pitcher Jack Kochanowicz, breaking the appendage.
This latest injury leaves the Braves with a big hole in their lineup. The trade deadline has passed, and they don’t have many viable options in their organization to fill the void.
Riley hit 37 homers last season. He has 153 homers for Atlanta since his big league debut in 2019.
Luke Williams, who is just 2 of 17 on the season, took over Sunday at third base after Riley was injured but hardly seems like a full-time option. The Braves could move Whit Merrifield, currently filling in at second base for Albies, over to third and give another shot to top prospect Nacho Alvarez.
Alvarez, however, was just 3 for 30 as the first choice to replace Albies, leading the Braves to return him to Triple-A Gwinnett.
ESPN.com
The Braves had a remarkable run, but their season and that of the Dodgers shows the fragility of even great teams. All those years at the top means less high level talent in the minor leagues, as big winners get low draft choices.
If you look at the Braves roster at FanGraphs, you’ll see that they have no young third basemen in the high minors. You would think one of them would be playing decently, but it doesn’t seem to be the case. The Braves may want to figure who will give them the best defense at the hot corner and just live with it.
Christian Yelich of the Brewers decided on back surgery, ending his season:
The Brewers released a statement Thursday with Yelich saying he had made the decision “after careful consideration and consultation with medical personnel.” Dr. Brandon Rebholz will perform the surgery Friday in Milwaukee.
Yelich, 32, hasn’t played since being removed from a game on July 23.
ESPN.com
That’s two bad for all involved. It looks a long time, but Yelich built back to the batting power house we saw in the late teens. With the Brewers at the top of a bad division, they should be in a good position to go deep in the playoffs. Yelich’s production is tough to replace. Milwaukee would be in a much better position to bring home a World Series trophy for the first time with Yelich and Jackson Chourio hitting back to back.
It looks like the Yankees Jazz Chisholm period was a short one:
Manager Aaron Boone told reporters on Tuesday prior to the Yankees’ game against the Chicago White Sox that Chisholm is likely to hit the IL with a left UCL injury.
…
Chisholm was stealing third base with two outs, and once he saw Volpe’s slow-roller go between the third baseman and shortstop, he started to book it to home plate to score a run.
A throw from the White Sox shortstop was on target, but Chisholm’s head-first slide beat the tag for the score. However, upon further review of the play, Chisholm’s left arm got caught up in the cleat of the catcher, which could’ve caused the injury.
MSN.com
He may have played it too darn fast. The Yankees were 9-5 when Chisholm played, which was great after their poor July.
River Ryan makes clear his distain for the pitch clock as he faces Tommy John surgery:
Ryan said he started to feel tightness in his forearm in the third inning Saturday and continued to pitch until he was removed in the fifth inning after showing discomfort following a pitch to the Pirates’ Michael A. Taylor.
“It’s part of the game, man,” Ryan said after Saturday’s game. “The pitch clock definitely makes you speed up a lot. Back in the day, you didn’t have to speed up as much when you threw. So throwing back-to-back pitches in 15 seconds, it starts to take a toll. But we’ll see how it pans out.”
Chron.com
I have two thoughts on this:
I’m sorry Ryan’s elbow got hurt, and I hope he doesn’t need surgery. But don’t blame MLB when the players go out of their way to slow the game down. (As they did at the end of the 2023 season, leading to an even shorter time between pitches with men on base.)
The Dodgers will play Mookie Betts in rightfield when he returns from the illjured list on Monday. Dodgers rightfielders have hit .246/.316/.446 this season. Not terrible, but not Mookie Betts.
The Angels shut down the rehabilitation of Mike Trout.
Trout had surgery May 3 to repair a torn meniscus in his left knee.
“We’re going to shut down his rehab in general,” Angels general manager Perry Minasian said of Trout. “He’s going to get reevaluated. He still doesn’t feel good, so we’ll see where that goes.”
Minasian did not reveal any details about Trout’s setback and did not specify how much more time the 11-time All-Star will miss.
ESPN.com
On top of that, Anthony Rendon returned to the illjured list.
In general, this is why I don’t think a team should extend player contracts past the age of 30. Let the contract run out, and see where the player is. The Angels spent a log of money of nothing.
In a very bad first inning for Yariel Rodriguez of the Blue Jays, he hits James McCann of the Orioles in the face, and blood is flowing from his nose. Rodriguez allowed one hit, four walks, and four runs in the inning.
Update: McCann went to first base, but did not stay in the game.
Update: I thought he was taken out. I saw him go to the bench, I guess they just packed his nose.
Kodai Senga went down with a calf injury in the Mets 8-4 win over the Braves. It was Senga’s first start of the season:
Citi Field, so loud, boisterous and full of life one moment, suddenly sounded like a library — 34,673 fans joining each other in disbelief.
In his 2024 debut, Kodai Senga went down while trying to move out of the way of a pop-up and he wasn’t getting up.
The ace right-hander, sidelined the entire season up until this point with shoulder and triceps injuries, was holding his left calf in pain.
The party was over.
NYPost.com
Before he was famous, Sig Mejdal sent me a paper he wrote on the frequency of injuries, including that the probability of being re-injured showed exponential decay from the moment of return. That is, a player is most likely to be re-injured when he returns from the illjured list. We saw this happen twice this week.
Julio Rodriguez of the Mariners just crashed into the wall in centerfield in Seattle trying to make a catch off the bat of Yordan Alvarez, who winds up with a triple in the top of the sixth inning. Both feet got caught in the padding cover, but his right foot seems to have taken the brunt of the damage. He was down for a while in pain, but is walking around now. He’s coming off the field with his arm on the shoulder of the trainer.
The Mariners lead the Astros 3-2 as Seattle tries to regain a games back tie for the AL West..
The Cubs lost right-handed pitcher Colton Brewer to a broken left hand. He punched a wall:
“My intention wasn’t to break my hand,” Brewer told reporters Sunday. “I’ll get frustrated and make mistakes. That’s no excuse. There’s a lot I can prove out there, that I’m willing not to do stuff like that. Emotions get the best of us sometimes.”
ESPN.com
While he punched with his left hand, it’s probably better not to punch at all.
The Phillies placed both Bryce Harper and Kyle Schwarber on the illjured list after each sustained injuries on Thursday. They are the top two home run hitters on the team, combining for 37 dingers in 2024. If injuries can come at a good time, an eight game lead near the end of June would be one of those.
Update: Cristopher Sanchez throws a complete game shutout in a 2-0 win over the Marlins. One way to compensate for the reduced power is simply to stop allowing runs. It’s the third complete game for the Phillies in 2024, all shutouts
Aaron Judge left Tuesday’s game between the Orioles and the Yankees an inning after getting hit by a pitch on the hand. Stay tuned. The Yankees lead 4-0 after five innings.
Dan Altavilla of the Royals hit Mookie Betts with a pitch on Sunday and broke Betts’ left hand:
After the game, manager Dave Roberts spoke to reporters and provided an update on Betts’ status, indicating that L.A.’s star shortstop had suffered a fracture in his left hand. While Betts is headed for a stint on the IL, Roberts clarified that surgery would not be required for the 31-year-old and that the team anticipates having him back before the end of the season, according to Dylan Hernandez of the Los Angeles Times.
MSN.com
There is no time table right now. That’s two major injuries in two days for the Dodgers, losing pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto yesterday.
Remember, the Dodgers moved Betts to shortstop because they felt the rightfielder would give them more from the position than any of their other options. He goes on the illjured with with a .304/.405/.488 slash line, which is not easy to replace at any position.
The Dodgers concentrated a lot of their offense in a few hitters. Now, one goes down at a position where offense is difficult to replace. We’ll see if the other contenders in the NL West can take advantage of Betts’ absence.