The regular season has a week left, and things are coming into focus. The New York Yankees, Houston Astros, Atlanta Braves, and Los Angeles Dodgers have locked down their division titles. The Cardinals hold a three-game lead in the NL Central (after a four-game sweep of the Cubs over the weekend), and the Minnesota Twins hold a four-game lead in the AL Central.
The Oakland A’s currently holds the top American League Wild Card spot, with the Tampa Bay Rays and Cleveland Indians tied for the second spot. In the National League, it is Washington and Milwaukee who hold the Wild Card spots with the Cubs four games back now.
It should be an interesting final week as we move towards the postseason. Let’s take a look at some other news around the league.
Marte Done For The Year
To say it has been a fantastic season for the Diamondbacks’ Ketel Marte would be an understatement, but it sadly has come to an end prematurely. Marte will be shut down for the remainder of the season as he deals with a stress reaction in his back. The Diamondbacks have fought all season for a playoff spot, but it appears that they will be coming up short. With that knowledge in hand, they found it no longer necessary to keep Marte playing.
This season Marte has not only been an All-Star but put up remarkable numbers. In 569 at-bats, Marte hit .329/.389/.592 with 32 home runs, 92 runs batted in and 97 runs scored. The Diamondbacks also have to be thrilled as they signed Marte to a very team-friendly deal back in 2018.
In fact, not only is he signed through 2024 (with options) but that 2024 season comes with just a $12 million price tag. The total extension would only cost the Diamondbacks $46 million. If he puts up these kind of numbers consistently, this will be one of the biggest steals in recent history.
Price Shut Down For The Season
Also being shut down early is Boston Red Sox starter David Price. The Red Sox have had an immensely disappointing season after winning the World Series last year, one that will see them not even make the playoffs this season. On Sunday, manager Alex Cora told reporters that Price has not only been shut down for the remainder of the season, but he will undergo minor surgery to have a cyst removed.
Frankly, the Red Sox offense has still been pretty good. They rank fourth in the majors in runs per game at 5.54. The pitching and defense have been a little more suspect, though. The Red Sox currently rank 18th in the majors with a 4.63 ERA.
Price’s uneven season has been an example of these pitching woes. In 22 games, he was 7-5 with a 4.28 ERA and a 1.31 WHIP. Hoping to recover over the offseason, Price and the Red Sox will try to put this season in the past in 2020.
German, Others Out For The Season
As the playoffs approach, the New York Yankees have lost two potentially important arms. The first one comes in the form of starting pitcher Domingo German. It has been reported by ESPN’s Buster Olney that he won’t be pitching again this season as he is being placed on administrative leave under the MLB-MLBPA Joint Domestic Violence Policy.
Sadly, it has been reported that German allegedly struck his girlfriend following CC Sabathia’s charity gala. While the investigation is ongoing, not only will he not pitch in the postseason for the Yankees, but he may miss part of next season as well.
For a different reason, the Yankees will also be without Dellin Betances. He has suffered a partial Achilles tear. While surgery wasn’t recommended, it appears that Bellinces will be in a walking boot for several weeks.
Aside from the pitching, it also appears that Aaron Hicks will be out for the postseason. For the Yankees, who have been battling injuries all season, they have others who are trying to return from injury to help but are starting to run out of time. Edwin Encarnacion, Gary Sanchez and Gleyber Torres have all been dealing with injuries as the season closes out.
Padres Fire Green
The hot seat finally got too warm for the San Diego Padres’ Andy Green. The Padres announced that they have relieved their manager of his duties and bench coach Rod Barajas will take over for the remainder of the season. It was obviously an unsuccessful tenure for Green, who had a 274-366 record in San Diego.
Still, it is hard to completely blame Green, as the Padres were very evidently rebuilding. Still, this should be a very appealing job, as the Padres are stocked with a great farm system and have some very exciting players, including Fernando Tatis Jr. and Chris Paddack, already at the big league level.
Mattingly To Remain With Marlins
While the Padres have fired their manager, another struggling team has decided to keep theirs around. The Miami Marlins have given manager Don Mattingly a two-year extension (with a mutual option) that could keep him through 2022.
The thought process is that Mattingly was dealt a bad hand and that he might be a good influence as the Marlins try to work their way back up from their current situation. It does appear that he is taking a bit of a salary cut, as this deal is expected to pay him just a couple million each season, but it is still noteworthy that Derek Jeter and the new management think fondly enough to keep Mattingly, a holdover from the Jeffery Loria tenure.
