As we enter the final stretch of the season, teams are jockeying for position as they try to make a playoff push. At the time of this writing, in the AL East, the Yankees hold a nine-game lead over the second-place Rays, while in the AL West, the Astros hold a 9.5-game lead over the Oakland A’s. The AL Central currently has the Minnesota Twins leading with the Cleveland Indians 3.5 games behind.
In the American League Wild Card, the Oakland Athletics currently sit just a half-game out of the second Wild Card spot, currently controlled by Tampa Bay (Cleveland owns the first spot). The defending champion Boston Red Sox sit six games out with the Texas Rangers 12 games out.
In the National League, the Dodgers can coast into the playoffs as they currently hold a whopping 20-game lead over the second-place San Francisco Giants. In the NL East, the Braves hold a six-game lead over the Washington Nationals. It is the NL Central and Wild Card races, though, that will be fun down the stretch.
In the NL Central, the St. Louis Cardinals currently lead by 2.5 games, but three teams sit within 4.5 games of one another (Cubs are 2.5 games back, and the Brewers are 4.5 games back). In the NL Wild Card, the Nationals hold the first Wild Card spot, and the Cubs currently hold the second, but it is chaos after that. Five teams (Phillies, Brewers, Mets, Giants, Diamondbacks) sit within 4.5 games of the second Wild Card spot.
Needless to say, it should be a fun September, and for those teams, every game counts.
Stars That Will Not Be Impacting Playoff Races
While some teams are trying to secure home-field advantage during the playoffs and some are just trying to make the playoffs, there are a few stars that won’t be able to help their respective clubs down the stretch due to injuries. Here are a few of those stars:
Jose Ramirez: The Cleveland Indians took a big blow as Jose Ramirez was put on the 10-day injured list with a fractured hamate bone in his right hand. Despite getting off to a ridiculously slow start, Ramirez has hit .254/.325/.463 on the season with 20 home runs, 75 runs batted in and 65 runs scored.
Ramirez has been especially stellar over the last month or so. In the last 30 days, he is hitting .306/.355/.704 with nine home runs, 25 runs batted in, and 23 runs scored. While an official timetable has not been given yet, it is not uncommon for this type of injury to take four to six weeks to recover. Yu Change has been recalled to take his spot on the roster.
Chris Sale: The Boston Red Sox have generally been a disappointment this season, and Chris Sale would fit into that category as well. On the season, Sale is 6-11 in 25 starts with a 4.40 ERA, 1.09 WHIP and opponents are hitting .221 against him. In 147 1/3 innings, he allowed 123 hits, 72 earned runs, 24 home runs and has struck out 218 versus 37 walks.
As the disappointment continues, it appears that Sale will be missing the rest of the season as he deals with an elbow issue. On the good side, it does appear he has avoided the dreaded Tommy John surgery, but after getting a platelet-rich plasma injection, he will be out for at least six weeks.
Ryan Pressly: For the Houston Astros, one of their best relievers, eighth-inning setup man Ryan Pressly, has hit the shelf for the next four to six weeks. Pressly, who has been dealing with knee issues for some time, has undergone surgery on his right knee. This has been a nagging injury for Pressly, and the hope is that the surgery will put the concerns behind him.
The big concern now is whether he can be ready for the postseason, but both Pressly and team officials are confident that he will be. On the season, Pressly is 2-3 in 51 appearances with a 2.50 ERA, 0.93 WHIP and opponents are hitting a paltry .196 against him. In 50 1/3 innings, he has allowed 36 hits, 14 earned runs, six home runs and has struck out 65 versus 11 walks.
Gray Out For The Season
Jon Gray, the big Colorado Rockies hurler, will miss the rest of the season after suffering a left foot fracture. Gray had surgery on Friday and hopes to recover for the beginning of the 2020 season. Gray was in the midst of probably his best season to date. On the year, he was 11-8 in 26 games (25 starts) with a 3.84 ERA, 1.35 WHIP and opponents were hitting .259 against him.
In 150 innings, Gray allowed 147 hits, 64 earned runs, 19 home runs, and had struck out 150 batters versus 56 walks. With the Rockies in last place in the NL West, 27.5 games behind the first-place Dodgers, it is not quite the blow that other teams who were still in playoff contention would have felt, but they still hope that this will take care of the issue and he will be good to go in 2020.
Braves Sign Cervelli
After losing Brian McCann, the Atlanta Braves will look to another veteran player for catching duties as they have signed the recently released Francisco Cervelli. After the Pirates released Cervelli, it seemed evident that Atlanta would be a good fit, especially since he went back on his decision to not catch anymore due to multiple concussion issues. Still, Cervelli is a far cry from his former days, and the injury risk is certainly a concern, but he still figures to pair well with Tyler Flowers as the catching tandem for Atlanta.
This season, in just 114 at-bats between Pittsburgh and Atlanta, Cervelli is hitting .211/.291/.281 with one home run, 12 runs and eight runs batted in. Regardless, it is still worth the risk for Atlanta, which finds itself winning the NL East and is hoping to make a run in the playoffs.
