MLB News And Notes
As the MLB season concluded its first full week of action over the weekend, fans around the nation are still buzzing about the feeling of spring in the air as their teams settle in for the long grind.
Teams are seemingly getting more used to the new pitch clock and shifting rules, and the games are certainly much faster paced with more action. Still, as the focus surrounds the play on the field, there is plenty of news around Major League Baseball, especially on the injury front.
Let’s take a look at some of the biggest stories of the week.
Oneil Cruz Suffers Fractured Ankle
In Sunday’s game against the Chicago White Sox, shortstop Oneil Cruz broke for the plate on a ground ball hit by Ke’Bryan Hayes. Unfortunately, a play at the plate resulted in a collision, which now appears to have produced a serious injury for Cruz.
According to Derek Shelton, the Pirates’ manager, Cruz has sustained a fractured left ankle as a result of the collision.
This is extremely unfortunate for one of the game’s young, bright stars. The 24-year-old is in his third season and is currently hitting .267/.378/.400 with a home run, four runs batted in, seven runs scored, and two stolen bases.
Last year, he hit 17 home runs, 54 runs batted in, 45 runs scored, and 10 stolen bases in just 331 at bats.
Now, it appears that Cruz will be out for the foreseeable future as he recovers. Surprisingly, the Pirates are off to a fast start at 6-3, sitting just a game behind the Brewers for first in the division. Still, they have just the fourth-best odds of winning the NL Central at +3100.
Odorizzi Done For The Year
Veteran starting pitcher Jake Odorizzi was hoping to get a fresh start this season for the Texas Rangers. Instead, he will be shut down for the entire season as he had an arthroscopic procedure done on his shoulder.
In 22 starts last season between Houston and Atlanta, Odorizzi went 6-6 with a 4.40 ERA, 1.32 WHIP, and he had 86 strikeouts in 106.1 innings of work.
Acquired by the Rangers in the offseason for pitcher Kolby Allard, Texas was hoping he would provide a veteran presence at the back end of a redone starting pitching staff.
Now, the Rangers are going to need to rely on some luck with health as their rotation consists of Jacob deGrom, Martin Perez, Nathan Eovaldi, Andrew Heaney, and Jon Gray, many of whom have had health problems in the past.
For Odorizzi, he will become a free agent at the end of the season, but he will have to prove he is healthy first before signing his next deal.
Donaldson Injured
At 6-3, the New York Yankees have gotten off to a solid start this season. Unfortunately, they will be without third baseman Josh Donaldson for a little while as he was put on the injured list with a hamstring strain.
In just five games, Donaldson was hitting a measly .125/.176/.313 with a single home run. Still, he hit 15 home runs last year and 26 the year prior, so the Yankees are still hopeful to get some thump out of his bat this season.
The Yankees also put reliever Jonathan Loaisiga on the injured list with elbow inflammation.
New York currently has the second-best odds of winning the AL East at +155. They only trail the Tampa Bay Rays, who are still undefeated through the first nine games of their season.
Others Hitting The IL This Week
While Cruz, Odorizzi, and Donaldson were some of the bigger names, they certainly weren’t the only ones hitting the injured list this week. Elsewhere, here is a rundown of some of the other notable injuries from the week:
- The Padres put outfielder David Dahl on IL with quad strain.
- Seattle put reliever Andres Munoz on IL with a right deltoid strain.
- The Braves put catcher Travis D’Arnaud on the 7-day concussion IL.
- The Tigers put outfielder Austin Meadows on IL due to anxiety.
- The Rays put outfielder Jose Siri on IL with a right hamstring strain.
- Minnesota put Max Kepler on IL with right patellar tendinitis.