As the first full month of the MLB season comes to a close, there have been several shocking starts to the season. For instance, the St. Louis Cardinals, who were widely expected to win the NL Central, have gotten off to just a 10-18 start. Even the Houston Astros, the defending World Series champions, are flirting with .500.
On the flip side, the Pittsburgh Pirates were the National League’s first 20-win team, while the Tampa Bay Rays got off to an extraordinary start at 23-5.
With so much excitement on the field, let’s take a look at some of the other big stories from around the league this week.
deGrom Hits The Shelf
Unfortunately, a move to the Lone Star state has not allowed pitcher Jacob deGrom to shed his label as injury prone. On Saturday, the Rangers announced that they had put their ace on the 15-day injured list due to inflammation in his right elbow.
This, coupled with the forearm tightness he experienced in the game Friday, obviously leads to concerns of a long-term injury, but said that his removal and injured list stint are more precautionary.
Still, at 34-years-old, deGrom has not made more than 15 starts in a season since 2019. Given that Texas signed the righty to a five-year, $185 million deal, this is certainly an ominous start.
Prior to the injury, in six starts, deGrom was 2-0 with a 2.67 ERA, 0.758 WHIP, and he had 45 strikeouts in 30.1 innings of work.
The Rangers currently lead the AL West at 16-11, two games ahead of the Houston Astros. If deGrom is hurt long-term, though, that could put a damper on the Rangers’ ability to hold that divisional lead.
As it stands, Texas has the second-best odds of winning the division at +500.
Judge Injured
Jacob deGrom wasn’t the only superstar injured this week. Aaron Judge suffered a hip strain after sliding awkwardly into third base during a play on Thursday.
While an MRI revealed just a mild hip strain, it is still possible that Judge will end up on a brief injured list stint, depending on how he feels in the next day or two.
In 92 at bats this season, Judge is hitting .261/.352/.511 with six home runs and 14 runs batted in.
The New York Yankees have the fifth-best odds of winning this year’s World Series at +1000.
Rays and Brewers Make Minor Deal
While most trade activity will happen in the summer closer to the trade deadline, the Tampa Bay Rays and Milwaukee Brewers made a minor move this week.
The Rays acquired reliever Javy Guerra in exchange for either a player to be named later or cash considerations. Guerra has been designated for assignment after posting a 8.64 ERA through just over eight innings of work.
While this trade is minor in scope, it is worth noting that the Rays are excellent at getting the most out of players. This is very evident by their 23-5 start, and the fact that they have the third-best odds of winning the World Series at +750.
Oakland Las Vegas Bound
After having already lost the Raiders to Las Vegas, it appears that Oakland could be losing another sports franchise to Sin City.
The A’s have a binding agreement to purchase land near the Vegas Strip which will be used to build a new stadium.
While there is no timetable for the move, and the relocation will have to be approved by ¾ of the owners, it does appear that Oakland is Vegas bound.
