Baseball Daily Dose: Daily Dose: J.D. Hits The Wall
J.D. Martinez was just getting hot. Then he hit a wall.
Martinez ran into the right field wall during Thursday night’s game against the Royals, suffering a non-displaced fracture of the radial neck at the right elbow. The right fielder will miss four-to-six weeks as he waits for the elbow to heal.
“Depressing,” Martinez said Friday of his feelings. “I’m bummed. I feel like I’ve kind of found my timing and my rhythm and my swing, and now it’s kind of meaningless.”
That Martinez was feeling good at the plate in recent weeks is an understatement. The 28-year-old was batting .404/.462/.614 in June prior to the injury. The good stretch raised his season line to .286/.358/.520 with 12 home runs and 39 RBI.
If a window opens when a door closes, that window may have opened for Steven Moya when Martinez’ door slammed shut. Moya was recalled Friday to take Martinez’ spot, both on the roster and, the Tigers hope, in the lineup. Moya started in right field on Friday night, going 1-for-4. He’s hitting .278 in 10 games this year.
As for Martinez, the injury won’t require surgery or a cast, just rest. He could be back as early as the middle of July if all goes well.
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Bautista Sidelined With Toe Sprain
J.D. Martinez wasn’t the only high-profile right fielder to hit the shelf — after hitting the wall — on Thursday.
Jose Bautista was also placed on the 15-day disabled list Friday, he with a hyperextended big toe on his left foot. Bautista said he knew the toe injury would force him to the disabled list as it happened Thursday.
How long he’ll be out remains in question. X-rays came back negative Thursday, but an MRI of the toe taken Friday was sent to foot specialists for analyzation. Once those opinions come back, the club will have a better idea of what they’re facing.
“The doctors are pretty confident there’s no fracture in there right now,” said Blue Jays head trainer George Poulis. “But once you start digging deeper and getting these specialized tests, there may be something.”
With Bautista out, the Jays will likely roll with Ezequiel Carrera in right field. Carrera got the start in right on Friday and batted leadoff in the game, finishing 1-for-4 with a run scored. He’s hitting .326/.398/.435 in 92 at-bats on the season.
“Yeah, he’ll get a lot of playing time,” Blue Jays manager John Gibbons said. “He’s on a nice little roll and he’s done well in the leadoff spot. So, we’ll ride it.”
Contreras Gets The Call
Willson Contreras on Friday became the most recent Cubs prospect to hit the major league scene.
The young backstop was promoted Friday to, likely, infuse some offense into a position that has been lacking much of the year. The 24-year-old was hitting .350 with nine home runs and 43 RBI at Triple-A Iowa before his promotion.
That’s much more impressive than the collective .221/.328/.366 line Cubs catchers have put forth at the plate this season. Cubs manager Joe Maddon didn’t say how or how long Contreras would be utilized by the club — he’s the third catcher on the roster, behind starter Miguel Montero and Jon Lester‘s personal catcher, David Ross — but said they have a plan.
“This is a well thought out program for (him) and everybody is reading from the same sheet of music,” Maddon said. “We’ll do our best to ease him into this.”
In two-catcher leagues where offense can be scarce, Contreras is a worthwhile add, even if he’s only starting a few times a week. If he manages to command even more playing time — likely a sign that he’s stinging the ball — he’ll become a must-own in all leagues, two-catcher or otherwise.
National League Quick Hits: Nationals manager Dusty Baker said after Thursday’s game that Shawn Kelley will be the team’s closer while Jonathan Papelbon (intercostal) is out. Kelley retired the only two batters he faced to record a save Thursday and has notched both saves for the Nats since Papelbon went down … Tyson Ross (shoulder) could throw off a mound by the end of the week. Ross long-tossed again on Thursday and also threw off the front slope of a mound. “He’s on schedule and moving along as he should right now,” Padres manager Andy Green said … Starling Marte (face) remained out of the Pirates’ lineup Friday. Marte took a one-hopper off the face on Wednesday and has now sat out two games in a row. He’s considered day-to-day … Peter O’Brien slugged two homers and knocked in four runs in a 10-2 victory over the Phillies on Friday. The 25-year-old has just three hits in 19 at-bats with six strikeouts since being called up last Friday, but he has made them count, as all of them have been home runs … Jake Arrieta was dominant again Friday, recording 11 strikeouts across six shutout frames in a 6-0 victory over the Pirates. He’s now 11-1 with a 1.74 ERA, 0.95 WHIP and 101/31 K/BB ratio in 93 innings this year … Reds activated OF Billy Hamilton from the 7-day concussion disabled list. Hamilton missed just one day over the minimum with post-concussion issues. He picked up where he left off before the concussion, going 2-for-4 with a run scored in a win … Jeff Samardzija was outstanding in Friday’s victory over the Rays, allowing just one run on four hits while recording his first complete game as a member of the Giants. He has been everything they were hoping for when inking him to a massive free agent contract over the winter, compiling an 8-4 record, 3.14 ERA, 1.11 WHIP and 75/20 K/BB ratio over 94 2/3 innings … Alex Wood (elbow) is slated to resume a throwing program next week. The left-hander said he’ll need three weeks of throwing “at the most,” before being cleared for game action, so he could rejoin the Dodgers’ rotation in mid-July if all goes well … Brandon Belt (ankle) was back in the Giants’ lineup Friday. He proved his ankle was feeling better, too, finishing 2-for-3 with his ninth home run of the season … Cardinals recalled 2B/OF Kolten Wong from Triple-A Memphis. Wong didn’t even last two weeks at Memphis, as he earned a recall after hitting .429/.529/.929 with four homers in seven games. He was playing center field of late with Memphis and that’s the spot where he seems likelier to garner playing time this time around with Randal Grichuk‘s struggles … Kris Bryant missed Friday’s game with a stomach bug. The Cubs won anyway … Giants placed Santiago Casilla on the paternity leave list. Casilla will be away from the club for the entire weekend series in Tampa while his wife gives birth, hopefully not for the entire weekend.
American League Quick Hits: Michael Saunders had a monster night at the plate Friday, slugging three homers and knocking in eight runs as part of a 13-3 victory over the Orioles. Saunders is the first player in MLB to amass at least three homers and eight RBI a game since teammate Edwin Encarnacion did it (three home runs, nine RBI) last August 29 against the Tigers … Twins manager Paul Molitor said Friday that Miguel Sano (hamstring) is progressing ahead of schedule and could begin a rehab assignment in a week. Sano has been swinging a bat for nearly a week, although it’s unclear how much, if any, running he’s done. He could conceivably be back before the end of the month if all goes well … Royals manager Ned Yost said Friday that Alex Gordon (wrist) will likely begin a rehab assignment on Sunday at Double-A Northwest Arkansas. Gordon will eventually move up to Triple-A Omaha and is expected to need 20-25 rehab at-bats before being activated. That would seem to point to him being activated as soon as next weekend or possibly the beginning of the following week … Franklin Gutierrez had a monster day at the dish in Friday’s 8-4 victory over the Red Sox, going 3-for-5 with a pair of homers and six RBI. He continues to mash left-handed pitching and is now slashing .252/.328/.486 with seven homers and 21 RBI on the season … Cole Hamels slipped seamlessly back into his dominance of the National League, tossing 7 2/3 shutout innings in a win over the Cardinals. Hamels gave up just three hits and walked three while striking out six … Evan Longoria (forearm) was back in the Rays’ lineup Friday. He finished 0-for-4 as the Rays struggled to get anything going against Giants starter Jeff Samardzija … Masahiro Tanaka fired eight innings of one-run ball in an 8-2 win over the Twins on Friday. The Yankees didn’t really need to push him, but he threw a season-high 110 pitches in the victory … Carlos Santana hit a walk-off dong in the bottom of the ninth to down the White Sox. The homer was his 14th of the season and his fourth homer in his last five games.
