Baseball Daily Dose: Daily Dose: Gordon Goes Down
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Royals outfielder Alex Gordon suffered what appeared to be a serious injury during the fourth inning of Wednesday night’s game against the Rays. Logan Forsythe hit a fly ball to deep left-center, and Gordon – baseball’s best defensive left fielder – gave chase. He came up lame just before crashing into the fence, while Forsythe circled the bases for an inside-the-park home run. Gordon stayed down for a while and was eventually carted off the field. The official diagnosis was a left groin strain, but we’ll know more as he undergoes further testing.
Gordon was recently named one of the starting outfielders for the 2015 All-Star Game, hosted at Great American Ball Park in Cincinnati next Tuesday. He entered the game batting .280/.394/.459 with 11 home runs and 39 RBI along with his aforementioned stellar defense.
Manager Ned Yost said Gordon could be out for “months”, per Andy McCullough of the Kansas City Star. Gordon said he heard the muscle in his groin pop. Losing Gordon for any amount of time is bad news for the Royals, not to mention those that were looking forward to seeing him start the 2015 All-Star Game.
If Gordon has to miss a significant amount of time, the Royals will likely need to jump into the trade market for an outfielder. Ben Revere of the Phillies has been made available, and there is belief that the Braves could part with Cameron Maybin. Padres outfielder Justin Upton would represent a much bigger splash, but the fourth-place, 39-47 Padres haven’t committed to selling yet. On the less expensive end of things, the Royals could try to get David Murphy from the Indians and platoon him with Paulo Orlando. At any rate, replacing Gordon won’t be easy and it may prove impossible.
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Kazmir Exits Start with “Super Minor” Triceps Injury
Athletics starter Scott Kazmir exited Wednesday’s start against the Yankees earlier than expected due to tightness in his left triceps. He went three innings, allowing an unearned run on two hits and a walk while striking out four.
Per MLB.com’s Jane Lee, Kazmir called the injury “super minor” and said that he wanted to continue pitching. He added that he would be able to start in five days if not for the All-Star break.
It sounds like the A’s were just being cautious, as they should. Kazmir, 31, can become a free agent after the season and is having a career year despite a 5-5 record. He has a 2.49 ERA with a 1.12 WHIP and a 96/34 K/BB ratio in 101 1/3 innings. In a trade market that includes Cole Hamels and Johnny Cueto, Kazmir represents a nice fallback option for teams that may not want to pay such a high price for quality starting pitching.
Additionally, Kazmir doesn’t exactly have the cleanest bill of health, as he missed nearly the entire 2011 season and went into the independent league in 2012 after a rash of elbow, shoulder, and back injuries held him back.
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Sabathia Had His Knee Drained
Yankees starter CC Sabathia said on Wednesday that he had his right knee drained and received a platelet-rich plasma injection following his June 29 start against the Angels, per MLB.com’s Bryan Hoch. Sabathia was supposed to start on Sunday, but that was pushed back to Wednesday against the Athletics. He went 5 1/3 innings, allowing two runs on seven hits and two walks with one strikeout.
Sabathia, 34, had arthroscopic surgery on his knee last year and it appears that the lefty will only be able to manage the injury rather than completely healing from it. Powering through the discomfort, he owns a 4-8 record with a 5.47 ERA with a 1.42 WHIP and an 84/20 K/BB ratio in 101 1/3 innings. An overpowering workhorse in his prime, Sabathia has made it past the first inning in only one of his last seven starts. He hasn’t crossed the 100-pitch threshold since May 11. Watching Sabathia’s star fall has been disappointing, but pitchers usually end up on this path one way or another.
Tulo Goes Streaking
With an infield single in the first inning of Wednesday’s game against the Angels, Rockies shortstop Troy Tulowitzki extended his hitting streak to 20 games and his reaching-base streak to 35 games. The club record hitting streak is 28 games, set last year by Nolan Arenado.
Tulowitzki entered play Wednesday batting .320/.357/.486 with nine home runs and 45 RBI. It’s certainly less power than we’re used to seeing from him, considering he slugged .603 with 21 home runs prior to going down with a hip injury last July, which ended his 2014 campaign.
Heading towards the July 31 trade deadline, Tulowitzki is expected to draw some trade interest despite some warning flags next to his name. He’s signed through 2020, at $20 million per season through 2019 and $14 million in 2020 for a total of $94 million plus the prorated remainder of this season’s salary. He accrued 100-plus games in only one season between 2011-14 and he hits for average 48 points lower on the road than at home in the hitter-friendly Coors Field.
The Mets appear to be the best match for the Rockies in a Tulowitzki trade, as they have the opening at shortstop and the trade pieces required to bring him in. Wilmer Flores and Ruben Tejada have handled shortstop duties this year, but both have been subpar in one way or another at the plate and both have played poor defense. The Mets only trail the first-place Nationals by three games in the National League East, so adding some star power would be an easy way to start closing some distance.
National League Quick Hits: Nationals outfielder Denard Span (back) won’t play for the rest of the week … Mets starter Jacob deGrom tossed eight shutout innings to beat the Giants on Wednesday, lowering his ERA to 2.14 … The Braves expect first baseman Freddie Freeman (wrist) to return before the end of July … Marlins 1B/OF Michael Morse hit his first home run since April 18 in Wednesday’s loss to the Red Sox … Phillies starter Jonathan Pettibone will have season-ending surgery on his right shoulder on July 22 … Cardinals second baseman Kolten Wong will be tested by Major League Baseball for concussion symptoms on Thursday … Pirates third baseman Josh Harrison is expected to miss seven weeks after undergoing surgery to repair a torn UCL in his left thumb … Cubs starter Jason Hammel will undergo an MRI on his tight left hamstring … The Yankees, Orioles, and Blue Jays reportedly had scouts on hand for Reds starter Johnny Cueto’s outing versus the Nationals on Tuesday … Brewers outfielder Carlos Gomez homered twice in a victory over the Braves on Wednesday … The Dodgers designated pitcher Eric Surkamp for assignment on Wednesday … Giants catcher Buster Posey is dealing with hamstring tightness but is expected to be back in the lineup on Friday … Diamondbacks starter Jeremy Hellickson left Wednesday’s start against the Rangers as a result of a blister on his right thumb … Matt Kemp homered, but the Padres dropped Wednesday’s game to the Pirates … Rockies pitching prospect Jon Gray could make his major league debut “sooner than later” according to a report.
American League Quick Hits: Mark Teixeira clubbed a pair of homers to lead the Yankees past the Athletics on Wednesday … Orioles third baseman Manny Machado hit his 19th home run in a loss to the Twins on Wednesday … Blue Jays third baseman Josh Donaldson doubled twice and knocked in two runs on Wednesday against the White Sox … The Rays will activate Jake Odorizzi (oblique) from the disabled list on Saturday to start against the Astros … Red Sox starter Rick Porcello won for the first time since May 16 on Wednesday against the Marlins … The Royals optioned Brandon Finnegan to Triple-A Omaha on Wednesday … Twins second baseman Brian Dozier stole two bases and hit a game-deciding home run to beat the Orioles on Wednesday … Tigers first baseman Jefry Marte hit his first career home run to help the Tigers edge the Mariners on Wednesday … Indians starter Trevor Bauer looked sharp in Wednesday’s win against the Astros, pitching eight innings of two-run ball … White Sox pitcher Javy Guerra was suspended 50 games on Wednesday after testing positive for a drug of abuse … The Astros will recall Brett Oberholtzer to start on Thursday versus the Indians … Angels pitcher Jered Weaver (hip) will face hitters in a simulated game on Saturday … Rangers starter Matt Harrison struggled in his season debut against the Diamondbacks on Wednesday, allowing six runs in four innings … Struggling Mariners outfielder Mark Trumbo had three hits and scored twice in a loss to the Tigers on Wednesday … Athletics starter Jesse Hahn (elbow) had a successful bullpen session on Wednesday.
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