Baseball Daily Dose: Daily Dose: Go Goins
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The Blue Jays’ bats were rather quiet as they lost the first two games of the ALCS in Kansas City, with the club managing just three runs. Apparently a trip back to Rogers Centre was just what the doctor ordered.
The Jays pounded out 11 hits – including three home runs – while beating the Royals in an 11-8 slugfest on Monday in Game 3 of the ALCS. The longballs came from a couple expected places in Josh Donaldson and Troy Tulowitzki and one quite unexpected spot in Ryan Goins. Goins also had a two-run single and a couple nice plays in the field in what was a big night for him. Or “perfect” as manager John Gibbons would call it.
The biggest storyline of the night was probably the dreadful performance of Johnny Cueto. Cueto pitched around a two-out walk in the first inning, but he was touched up for three runs on three hits, a walk and a hit by pitch in the second and was charged with five runs in the third and lifted without recording an out. Marcus Stroman didn’t pitch well himself, permitting 11 hits and four runs over 6 1/3 frames, but he looked like an ace compared to Cueto
The Royals acquired Cueto at the trade deadline because they thought he could be the rotation ace that they lacked. He’s flashed excellence, notably going eight strong innings while retiring the final 19 batters he faced in the ALDS clincher over the Astros. However, his overall body of work as a Royal has been spotty, at best. The veteran right-hander has made 16 regular and postseason starts for Kansas City and holds a 5.27 ERA over those outings.
The Game 4 matchup on Tuesday is an interesting one as the Blue Jays look to knot the series up at 2-2. Soft-tossing giant Chris Young will try to keep the powerful Jays’ bats’ at bay, while R.A. Dickey will hope his knuckler is fluttering enough to miss the Royals’ barrels.
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Phils Remove Brown from 40-man Roster
The Phillies outrighted four players off their 40-man roster on Monday, but one name certainly stood out among the group.
Former All-Star Domonic Brown was among those outrighted, and it almost surely signaled the end of his tenure in the organization. The 28-year-old has the right to refuse the assignment and elect free agency, which he is fully expected to do.
Brown looked like a budding superstar in 2013, finally cashing in on his former tag as a top-five prospect in the game with a monster first half that saw him bat .274/.337/.522 with 23 homers and 67 RBI. However, he then hit just four longballs after the All-Star break and has hit .233/.285/.349 across the last two seasons while playing poor defense in the outfield. His .650 OPS since the second half of 2013 ranks 289th out of 339 qualified hitters, and he spent ample time in 2015 in the minors.
Brown went unclaimed on waivers, but that’s no surprise since he was projected to earn nearly $3 million in arbitration. Now that he can be had cheaply as a free agent, there figure to be a few teams willing to take a shot on him. Brown turned just 28 last month, so he has time to right the ship.
Norris Battling Thyroid Cancer
Some unfortunate news about Daniel Norris broke on Monday, with Norris delivering the news himself via social media. The young left-hander is dealing with thyroid cancer.
A growth was found on Norris’ thyroid back in May after he was optioned to Triple-A Buffalo when he was still in the Blue Jays organization. Subsequent tests revealed that the growth was malignant, although Norris chose to continue to pitch rather than shut it down and have a procedure right away. He’ll have surgery to remove the growth soon.
“This is a personal matter with Daniel,” Tigers manager Al Avila said. “Yes, we did know about it before the trade. We expect him to have a full recovery and be with us in spring training.”
Obviously it’s always frightening when the “c” word is used, but it sounds like all parties involved are optimistic about Norris’ recovery. The 22-year-old left-hander held a 3.75 ERA across 13 starts for the Blue Jays and Tigers this season. Health willing, he should be part of Detroit’s Opening Day rotation in 2016.
Quick Hits: Matt Harvey (triceps) says he’s “good to go” for NLCS Game 5 after playing catch Monday … Jason Hammel will start NLCS Game 4 versus the Mets … The Cubs have officially signed Cuban outfielder Eddy Martinez reportedly to a $3 million contract … Addison Russell (hamstring) has yet to resume baseball activities … Tim Lincecum (hip) is expected to begin a throwing program in 4-6 weeks … The Blue Jays claimed switch-pitcher Pat Venditte off waivers from the A’s … The Mariners claimed Cody Martin off waivers from the A’s … The Mariners interviewed Charlie Montoyo for their vacant managerial position on Monday … Barry Zito officially announced his retirement on Monday …
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