Baseball Daily Dose: Daily Dose: DL For Darvish
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Rangers fans and fantasy owners had to wait seemingly forever for Yu Darvish to return from Tommy John surgery. They’re now going to have to do some more waiting.
Texas placed Darvish on the disabled list Monday with tightness in his right shoulder and neck. The good news is that an MRI cleared the right-hander of any significant structural issues. However, it’s unclear at this point how long Darvish might be on the shelf.
Darvish made only three starts for the Rangers before going back on the DL. He pitched well in those outings, putting up a 2.87 ERA, 1.15 WHIP and 19/6 K/BB ratio over 15 2/3 innings. However, he left the third start with tightness in his shoulder and didn’t feel quite right during his regular between-starts bullpen session on Saturday. Even though the MRI came back clean, the Rangers understandably wanted to play it safe.
There was no pain-killing injection ordered for Darvish and no prescribed amount of rest. The Rangers will simply wait and see how he feels and proceed accordingly. It’s possible he could resume throwing later this week if all goes well.
“That was good news,” general manager Jon Daniels said. “But he continues to have discomfort in the area and we’re going to give him more time to recover. The way we are categorizing it, it’s not unusual for somebody coming back from surgery to have some soreness in another area. We are going to treat it cautiously and get him going again.”
Cesar Ramos took Darvish’s turn in the rotation Monday and was pounded for eight runs – six earned – over just 3 2/3 frames in a loss to the A’s. It wouldn’t be a surprise to see the Rangers mix and match in the spot until Darvish returns.
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Guerriel Granted Free Agency
Big news was dropped on Monday courtesy of MLB.com’s Jesse Sanchez, as Cuban star Yulieski Gurriel has reportedly been declared a free agent by Major League Baseball and is eligible to sign.
Gurriel, who turned 32 last week, is viewed as a major league-ready prospect. Capable of playing second and third base, Gurriel is expected to begin private workouts for teams soon and is hoping to make his major league debut no later than August 1 and possibly sooner, according to Sanchez. He will need some at-bats in the minors before being called up.
Gurriel has been one of the best hitters in Cuba for a while now, as he compared favorably to a guy like Yoenis Cespedes when both players were on the same team in Cuba. He batted an absurd .500/.589/.874 with 15 home runs and 51 RBI over 224 plate appearances in 2015 while playing for the Industriales in the Cuban National Series.
Sanchez writes that Gurriel “has been described as a more fluid and athletic Jeff Kent” and “projects to hit .285 with 15-18 home runs and 85 RBI” at the major league level. Those would be some pretty useful numbers for the final two months of the season (prorated, of course) for fantasy owners.
Gurriel is probably already owned in many dynasty formats, but those in deeper leagues with room to stash someone should take a shot. The Dodgers are one team known to have interest in Gurriel, but there will surely be many others. Gurriel’s younger brother, Lourdes, is also a nice prospect, but he hasn’t been declared a free agent yet and might not sign until he turns 23 in October, as he would not be subject to international bonus pool restrictions at that point.
Super Scherzer
It wasn’t another no-hitter, but Max Scherzer was awfully impressive again on Monday against the Cubs.
Scherzer struck out nine of the first 10 batters he faced and carried a perfect game into the sixth inning before Addison Russell broke it up with one out with a solo homer to left field. The fireballer struck out 11 batters on the night and didn’t walk anyone, finishing the night with just two hits allowed.
Scherzer’s 20-strikeout game last month against the Tigers began a stretch where he recorded double-digit strikeouts on four of seven occasions. He now has 118 punchouts on the season versus just 25 walks over 95 1/3 innings. The strikeout total ties him for second in baseball with Jose Fernandez, just four whiffs behind Clayton Kershaw.
The 31-year-old has been victimized by the longball often the last two seasons but hasn’t given up multiple homers in a start in nearly a month, which is nice progress. He served up four dingers and allowed seven runs in an outing against the Cubs last month, so Monday’s outing was a nice bounce-back effort against one of the best offenses in baseball.
Scherzer is currently lined up to face the Padres and Brewers in his next two outings. Some more double-digit strikeout showings could be coming soon.
National League Quick Hits: Jameson Taillon could be recalled by the Pirates to start on Tuesday … Corey Seager doubled and launched a solo home run in Monday’s loss to the Diamondbacks … Adam Duvall clubbed a two-run homer and drove in three runs in Monday’s victory over the Braves … Freddie Freeman went 3-for-5 and smashed his 10th home run of the season in Monday’s loss to the Reds … Odubel Herrera ripped a solo home run and drove in three runs in Monday’s win over the Blue Jays … Shelby Miller (finger) could be activated from the disabled list to start Sunday against the Phillies … Angel Pagan (hamstring) is expected to be activated from the disabled list on Wednesday … Maikel Franco didn’t start Monday due to a mild knee sprain … USA Today’s Bob Nightengale has reported that the Giants have had “preliminary talks” about a trade for Ryan Braun … The Pirates are optimistic that Gerrit Cole (triceps) will only have to miss one turn in the rotation …
American League Quick Hits: Sean Manaea was pulled from Monday’s start against the Rangers due to a pronator strain in the left forearm … Adrian Beltre (hamstring) is expected to be sidelined until Thursday … Whit Merrifield tripled and belted his first major league home run in Monday’s victory over the Indians … Andrelton Simmons (thumb) could be activated from the disabled list this week … Ian Kinsler homered in his third straight game in Monday’s loss to the White Sox … Edwin Encarnacion didn’t play Monday due to a jammed finger … Johnny Giavotella went 4-for-4 with a double and a solo home run in Monday’s loss to the Twins … Edinson Volquez pitched seven shutout innings in Monday’s victory over the Indians … Shin-Soo Choo (hamstring) was activated from the disabled list Monday … Josh Reddick (thumb) took swings off a tee Monday … Alex Gordon (wrist) began hitting off a tee on Monday … J.J. Hardy (foot) will begin a rehab assignment on Tuesday …
