The White Sox will put righty James Shields on ice for a bit after he experienced soreness while throwing, as Dan Hayes of CSN Chicago writes. Shields is on the 10-day DL with a lat strain that hasn?t improved as rapidly as had been hoped. While it would obviously be preferable to have the veteran in the rotation, it seems a slow and steady course will now be required.
Here?s more on some pitching health issues from around the game:
It has been a long wait for the White Sox as young lefty Carlos Rodon, who hasn?t yet pitched in 2017 due to a biceps injury. Skipper Rick Renteria was somewhat coy when asked about the southpaw, as Daryl Van Schouwen of the Chicago Sun-Times reports on Twitter. While Renteria emphasized that the club was ?very happy? with Rodon?s progress, he declined to say whether the 24-year-old has been cleared to work off of a mound.
Southpaw Cole Hamels was scratched from his outing for the Rangers today, as Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News tweeted. Oblique tightness was given as the reason, though the severity isn?t yet clear. Texas can scarcely afford anything less than a healthy and effective Hamels as the team seeks to dig itself out of the AL West basement. The veteran has managed just 4.1 K/9 on the year, less than half his career average, with a 7.5% swinging-strike rate that?s well off his typical pace (12.3% lifetime). That said, he still carries a 3.03 ERA through 32 2/3 innings.
Also leaving with an injury today was Marlins righty Edinson Volquez. As MLB.com?s Joe Frisaro writes, Volquez had an incredibly unusual stat line, compiling an unprecedented combination of eight walks and nine strikeouts through 4 1/3 innings before departing with a thumb blister. After the game, manager Don Mattingly said that Volquez could miss his next scheduled outing, as Clark Spencer of the Miami Herald tweets.
Marlins placed RHP Edinson Volquez on the 10-day disabled list with a right thumb blister.
Corey Kluber of the Indians failed to make it through his start, too, as MLB.com?s Jordan Bastian reports on Twitter. The righty was dealing with lower back issues that have been a nagging problem of late. He had struggled through three innings before being pulled. Kluber is off to an uncharacteristically slow start to the year, with a 5.06 ERA through 37 1/3 innings.
The Nationals have thrived despite subpar work from their bullpen, but the team would no doubt prefer to see some improvement. It would surely help to get Koda Glover and Sammy Solis back from the DL, though as Chelsea Janes of the Washington Post reports (Twitter links), the outlook seems better for the former than the latter. Glover, who?s out with a hip issue, says he expects to return after the minimum ten days on the DL. But Solis has yet to begin playing catch. While there?s still no reason to fear a significant injury, elbow nerve inflammation has yet to subside.
The initial news on the torn lat of Mets ace Noah Syndergaard is not terribly promising. As Joel Sherman of the New York Post reports on Twitter, ?initial conservative estimates? place his expected absence at about three months.
Syndergaard, the hulking righty who has emerged as one of the game?s top starters, left his most recent outing with the injury. It wasn?t clear at the time just how long he?d be down, but it seems that the initial look from the doctors suggests a lengthy absence. Syndergaard is headed to visit Dr. Neal ElAttrache to obtain a secon opinion, per Sherman.
That?s devastating news for a Mets organization that is already scuffling through a poor start while dealing with other injuries. In particular, Steven Matz and Seth Lugo are already missing from the starting staff, making it even harder to cover for the loss of Syndergaard.
Of course, there?s really no replacing a pitcher like Syndergaard, who seemed on track to replicate his outstanding 2016 season. Before his disastrous final outing, when he left after 1 1/3 ineffective innings, Syndergaard had allowed just five earned runs over 26 frames while racking up thirty strikeouts without issuing a single walk.
That Syndergaard took the ball at all on Sunday has already turned into a sub-drama. He had been dealing with a biceps issue but declined to undergo an MRI. Whether that would?ve prevented the injury isn?t really clear, but the focus has remained on the handling of the situation by the righty and the organization.
Jose Alvarado is expected to join the Rays' bullpen on Wednesday night.
He'll be taking over for Chih-Wei Hu, who was optioned to Triple-A Durham following Tuesday's game. Alvarado, a nice-looking 21-year-old relief prospect, has registered a 2.38 ERA, 0.79 WHIP, and 14/5 K/BB ratio over 11 1/3 innings this season at Double-A Montgomery. The young lefty could see high-leverage action in his first taste of the major leagues -- amazing for someone who started the 2016 season in Low-A.
Here?s more on some pitching health issues from around the game:
It has been a long wait for the White Sox as young lefty Carlos Rodon, who hasn?t yet pitched in 2017 due to a biceps injury. Skipper Rick Renteria was somewhat coy when asked about the southpaw, as Daryl Van Schouwen of the Chicago Sun-Times reports on Twitter. While Renteria emphasized that the club was ?very happy? with Rodon?s progress, he declined to say whether the 24-year-old has been cleared to work off of a mound.
Southpaw Cole Hamels was scratched from his outing for the Rangers today, as Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News tweeted. Oblique tightness was given as the reason, though the severity isn?t yet clear. Texas can scarcely afford anything less than a healthy and effective Hamels as the team seeks to dig itself out of the AL West basement. The veteran has managed just 4.1 K/9 on the year, less than half his career average, with a 7.5% swinging-strike rate that?s well off his typical pace (12.3% lifetime). That said, he still carries a 3.03 ERA through 32 2/3 innings.
Also leaving with an injury today was Marlins righty Edinson Volquez. As MLB.com?s Joe Frisaro writes, Volquez had an incredibly unusual stat line, compiling an unprecedented combination of eight walks and nine strikeouts through 4 1/3 innings before departing with a thumb blister. After the game, manager Don Mattingly said that Volquez could miss his next scheduled outing, as Clark Spencer of the Miami Herald tweets.
Marlins placed RHP Edinson Volquez on the 10-day disabled list with a right thumb blister.
Corey Kluber of the Indians failed to make it through his start, too, as MLB.com?s Jordan Bastian reports on Twitter. The righty was dealing with lower back issues that have been a nagging problem of late. He had struggled through three innings before being pulled. Kluber is off to an uncharacteristically slow start to the year, with a 5.06 ERA through 37 1/3 innings.
The Nationals have thrived despite subpar work from their bullpen, but the team would no doubt prefer to see some improvement. It would surely help to get Koda Glover and Sammy Solis back from the DL, though as Chelsea Janes of the Washington Post reports (Twitter links), the outlook seems better for the former than the latter. Glover, who?s out with a hip issue, says he expects to return after the minimum ten days on the DL. But Solis has yet to begin playing catch. While there?s still no reason to fear a significant injury, elbow nerve inflammation has yet to subside.
The initial news on the torn lat of Mets ace Noah Syndergaard is not terribly promising. As Joel Sherman of the New York Post reports on Twitter, ?initial conservative estimates? place his expected absence at about three months.
Syndergaard, the hulking righty who has emerged as one of the game?s top starters, left his most recent outing with the injury. It wasn?t clear at the time just how long he?d be down, but it seems that the initial look from the doctors suggests a lengthy absence. Syndergaard is headed to visit Dr. Neal ElAttrache to obtain a secon opinion, per Sherman.
That?s devastating news for a Mets organization that is already scuffling through a poor start while dealing with other injuries. In particular, Steven Matz and Seth Lugo are already missing from the starting staff, making it even harder to cover for the loss of Syndergaard.
Of course, there?s really no replacing a pitcher like Syndergaard, who seemed on track to replicate his outstanding 2016 season. Before his disastrous final outing, when he left after 1 1/3 ineffective innings, Syndergaard had allowed just five earned runs over 26 frames while racking up thirty strikeouts without issuing a single walk.
That Syndergaard took the ball at all on Sunday has already turned into a sub-drama. He had been dealing with a biceps issue but declined to undergo an MRI. Whether that would?ve prevented the injury isn?t really clear, but the focus has remained on the handling of the situation by the righty and the organization.
Jose Alvarado is expected to join the Rays' bullpen on Wednesday night.
He'll be taking over for Chih-Wei Hu, who was optioned to Triple-A Durham following Tuesday's game. Alvarado, a nice-looking 21-year-old relief prospect, has registered a 2.38 ERA, 0.79 WHIP, and 14/5 K/BB ratio over 11 1/3 innings this season at Double-A Montgomery. The young lefty could see high-leverage action in his first taste of the major leagues -- amazing for someone who started the 2016 season in Low-A.
