Week That Was: Week That Was: Royal Pain
In the seventh inning of a game against the first-place White Sox in Chicago last Sunday, Mike Moustakas and Alex Gordon raced after a fly ball in foul territory behind third base. The two collided, and in a split second, Kansas City’s hopes for a third straight American League title took a substantial hit.
Gordon came away from the incident with a broken wrist that will sideline him for about a month. As it turns out, he was the lucky one. Moustakas suffered a torn ACL in his right knee, and is expected to miss the rest of the season.
It’s a terrible break for the slugging third baseman, who played a key role in his team’s World Series run in 2015 and was on pace this year for a career-high 26 home runs despite missing two weeks with a fractured thumb.
Gordon’s injury further entrenches Paulo Orlando as a full-time player in the KC outfield and will lead to a bump for Jarrod Dyson, whose elite speed makes him very appealing whenever he is playing even semi-regularly. Whit Merrifield should mix in and he’s also a good running threat, having stolen 16 bags in 36 games at Triple-A before his call-up.
Replacing Moustakas will be trickier for the Royals. Cheslor Cuthbert took over at the hot corner during Moose’s last trip to the DL and is doing so again now, but he has a 615 OPS with one homer and one walk in 64 plate appearances. I would expect GM Dayton Moore to be scouring the trade market as deadline season approaches.
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* In the same week that the Royals absorbed two huge losses in the lineup, the club that they defeated in last year’s World Series also received some bad news when Mets first baseman Lucas Duda was diagnosed with a stress fracture in his back. No specific timetable has been set for his recovery but he is likely to miss multiple months. As you may recall, David Wright missed nine weeks with the same injury back in 2011.
Duda’s extended absence creates a sizable void for that the Mets will look to fill with James Loney, who they acquired from San Diego on Saturday. Loney was batting .342 at Triple-A for the Padres and should be a good source of batting average but he offers little in the way of power or speed.
* It’s not often that a teenager takes the mound to start a major-league game. In fact, only three have done it in the past quarter-century. Julio Urias, 19, became the fourth on Friday when the made a spot start for the Dodgers. The highly touted fireballer showed some good stuff against the Mets but had a hard time finding the zone, throwing 42 of 81 pitches for strikes and recording only eight outs while allowing three runs on five hits and four walks. He was optioned back to Triple-A following the game.
He may get another look later this summer with the Dodgers but we wouldn’t be surprised if it was in the bullpen. Urias hasn’t thrown more than 88 innings in a season.
* Last year Devon Travis enjoyed an excellent 62-game debut in Toronto, hitting .304/.361/498 with eight homers and 35 RBI, but his rookie season was cut short by a shoulder injury that eventually required surgery. He spent most of April and May rehabbing from that procedure, but finally joined the Blue Jays this week in New York and jumped right back into the starting lineup at second base.
Travis has been batting at the bottom of the order thus far but manager John Gibbons has hinted that a move to the top could be in store if the 25-year-old gets rolling with the bat. Travis has been a good on-base guy at every level so he would obviously possess a ton of upside atop Toronto’s loaded lineup. He is currently available in more than half of all Yahoo leagues but that may not last long.
* Matt Harvey‘s mysterious struggles continued this week with a drubbing in Washington. The Nationals pounded him for five runs on eight hits over five innings, inflating his ERA to a ghastly 6.08 and leaving everyone to wonder just what the heck is wrong.
According to Harvey, the answer is… nothing. The righty insists that he’s healthy despite the ugly results and diminished heat. For the time being, the Mets are declining to place him on the disabled list or even have him skip a start. He’s slated to start twice in The Week Ahead and his opponents – the White Sox and Marlins – are much easier assignments than the last few, so this could present a good opportunity for Harvey to get back on track.
If he doesn’t, inaction will no longer really be an option for the Mets, who are also dealing with reduced velocity and effectiveness from fellow rotation staple Jacob deGrom, albeit not to the same degree.
* Making matters a little more palatable for Mets fans is the flat-out excellence of Noah Syndergaard and Steven Matz. Both hurlers delivered absolute gems this week and have been ace-like presences for New York.
* Thursday’s ugly outing was the last straw for Boston’s Clay Buchholz, who was sent to the bullpen following a six-run shellacking at the hands of the Rockies. The demotion is well deserved for Buchholz, who has managed just three quality starts in his 10 trips to the mound. Eduardo Rodriguez, set to come off the DL after missing the first two months with a knee injury, will replace Buchholz and carries intrigue as a streaming option in his season debut against the Orioles on Tuesday. Rodriguez hurled seven innings of one-run ball in his final Triple-A tune-up on Tuesday.
* Evidently the Rockies were at the end of their rope with Jorge De La Rosa before he went on the DL with a groin strain in late April, because one clunker at Fenway in his return on Tuesday was all they needed to see. De La Rosa was bumped to the bullpen after the outing and will be replaced by Chris Rusin. It’s a fast and steep fall for the Opening Day starter, but De La Rosa will get another shot to start if he strings together a few good relief outings.
* He wasn’t the only De La Rosa to endure a tough week. Rubby De La Rosa landed on the disabled list for the Diamondbacks with a sprained UCL and is out indefinitely. He’ll consult with Dr. James Andrews to figure out a plan, but hopes to avoid a second Tommy John surgery..
Arizona also placed Shelby Miller on the DL due to a finger issue that’s been bothering him for a while. If the problem has been contributing to his disappointing performance, perhaps the time off will be just what he needs.
Archie Bradley has been recalled and now becomes a name to watch. The heralded prospect has struggled in two starts for the D-Backs this year but has thoroughly dominated Triple-A and boasts a swing-and-miss arsenal.
* Rougned Odor‘s appeal of an eight-game suspension resulted in one game being shaved off. He began serving the ban on Friday and will be eligible to return on June 4th. In the meantime, Jurickson Profar has been promoted and should get starts at second. He’s a good short-term fantasy plug, especially for Odor owners.
* The Rangers placed Shin-Soo Choo, bothered by a hamstring strain, back on the disabled list. He had just returned from a month-long stint on the shelf due to a calf injury, and made only two plate appearances before coming up lame last Friday. His hammy wasn’t improving quickly enough to avoid another DL trip. He should be back in 10 days or so.
* Troy Tulowitzki went on the DL with a quad injury. Darwin Bailey will fill in at short for Toronto; I’d pass despite the .301 average.
