In what has been a week of injuries, returns, and one massive suspension, there has been plenty of news circulating in the MLB world. Let’s take a look at some of the biggest stories of the week.
Acuna Jr. Returns To Action
After tearing his ACL last July, Atlanta Braves superstar Ronald Acuna Jr. finally returned to game action this week. Through his first three games (13 at bats), Acuna is hitting .154/.214/.154.
Prior to his injury last season, he was hitting .283/.394/.596 with 24 home runs, 52 runs batted in, 72 runs scored, and 17 stolen bases in just 297 at bats.
While it is understandable that he would be a bit rusty coming back, the Braves are certainly happy to inject some life into the club. As the reigning World Series champions, they have gotten off to a dreadful start at just 10-13.
While still early, they already sit six games back of the division-leading New York Mets, who the Braves start a four-game series with on Monday.
Currently, the Braves have the second-best odds of winning the division at +260.
Mondesi Likely Done For The Year
While Acuna is returning from a torn ACL, Kansas City Royals’ shortstop Adalberto Mondesi is likely done for the year after tearing his.
The 26-year-old Mondesi continues to struggle with injuries as he has only played more than 75 games in a season once, and even that was just 102 games in 2019.
Prior to the injury this season, Mondesi was hitting .140/.204/.140 with five stolen bases.
His best season to date was 2019, when he hit .263/.291/.424 with nine home runs, 62 runs batted in, 58 runs scored, and 43 stolen bases.
Ohtani Injured
The Los Angeles Angels and their fans are holding their collective breaths as Shohei Ohtani was removed from Sunday’s 6-5 win over the Chicago White Sox. He was removed after experiencing right groin tightness while trying to beat out a double play.
According to Rhett Bollinger of MLB.com, Ohtani thinks it is minimal and hopes to be in the lineup Monday, but the Angels will wait until they have a better understanding of the severity.
This season, the reigning MVP is hitting just .228/.283/.402, but he does have four home runs, 12 runs batted in, 17 runs scored, and four stolen bases.
At 15-18, the Angels currently lead the AL West by 2.5 games over the Seattle Mariners.
They have the second-best odds of winning the division at +240, while Ohtani has the best odds of winning the AL MVP this season at +350.
Padres Get Rotation Reinforcements
Back in 2020, the Cleveland Guardians (then the Indians) traded Mike Clevinger to the San Diego Padres in a nine-player deal. After four starts, Clevinger suffered an injury which led to Tommy John surgery in November of that year.
On Tuesday, he will return to the mound for the Padres and will be squaring off with his former club, the Cleveland Guardians.
In that 2020 season, Clevinger made a total of eight starts, going 3-2 with a 3.02 ERA. For the Padres, they are hoping that he can return to the dominant pitcher that he was from 2017 to 2019 when he went a combined 38-18 for the Guardians.
San Diego ranks 15th in team earned run average currently at 3.58. If they can get anywhere close to the old Clevinger, that could only boost their production.
In a loaded NL West, the Padres sit in second in the division by mere percentage points behind the Dodgers at 15-8 (.652 winning percentage).
Bauer Suspended For Two Years
Earlier this week, commissioner Rob Manfred made a stunning announcement that Trevor Bauer, the Dodgers’ pitcher who has been on administrative leave surrounding domestic violence issues, has been banned for 324 games.
The 324 games amounts to two full years, meaning that the earliest Bauer would be able to pitch is 2024. Unlike the administrative leave, the suspension is without pay.
Even though the criminal charges against Bauer had been dropped, the commissioner still has the authority to issue such a suspension. With that said, Bauer is appealing the ruling.
