Week That Was: Week That Was: Disc Inferno
Clayton Kershaw has been enjoying a season for the ages. Now, he’ll have to put it on hold.
The uber-ace has been dealing with lower back pain for a while, and this week was diagnosed with a herniated disc. No surgery is needed, but he’ll be out until at least the All Star break, and probably longer.
Presently there is no timetable for Kershaw’s return, but this is not an insignificant injury by any means. While the team has been careful to describe the herniation as “mild,” it isn’t something to mess around with. If not dealt with properly, this could nag him the rest of the way. The Dodgers will take every precaution with their most important asset, and wisely so. They do trail the Giants by six games in the NL West, however, so they don’t have the luxury of being overly conservative.
Obviously, this is a bummer. The Dodgers rotation was already ravaged by injuries and now must overcome its biggest yet. Kershaw will lose out on the chance to strike out 300 batters in consecutive seasons, which he was on pace to do. And fantasy owners will have an impossible time trying to replace his production.
On the bright side, Kershaw is a sturdy 28-year-old man who has rarely missed a start in his nine major-league seasons. He’s also the best pitcher in the game. If anyone is going to bounce back quickly from this setback, it’s him.
There is no better place to keep plugged on every development for the southpaw than Rotoworld’s news feed. Stay tuned.
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* Almost at the same time as Kershaw’s diagnosis was announced on Thursday, we learned that the Dodgers had acquired Bud Norris from the Braves in exchange for a pair of minor-leaguers. Norris has been flat-out fantastic in five starts since rejoining the Atlanta rotation, posting a 2.15 ERA while averaging a strikeout per inning, and he didn’t cost much so it’s a logical play for Los Angeles.
Of course, this is the same Norris who was booted from the rotation of a bottom-feeding team after putting up an 8.74 ERA in April, so there’s no need to go nuts. With that said, his stuff has looked legitimately better over the past few weeks, and he may be reinvigorated by the intensity of meaningful games. While the Dodgers haven’t been a quality offensive team by any means, they’ll give him more run support than he was getting in Atlanta. Given his 25 percent ownership rate in Yahoo, Norris is worth a look, particularly in deeper leagues.
* The Norris deal wasn’t the only noteworthy transaction of the week. Signaling that trade season is now in full swing, the Marlins acquired Padres closer Fernando Rodney, who is having a ridiculous season. The 39-year-old righty had converted each of his 17 save chances for San Diego, allowing one earned run over 28 2/3 innings in the process.
It’s a terrible break for Rodney owners. He slots in as a setup man in Miami, because Marlins closer A.J. Ramos has been superb. Only with an injury or unexpected dropoff in performance would Rodney be in line for any save opportunities with his new club.
Ryan Buchter, who has registered a 2.83 ERA and 13.4 K/9 rate in 38 appearances for San Diego, is expected to take over closer duties. Given his lack of a track record and occasional control issues, we’re a bit skeptical of the lefty’s ability to hold down the job. Fellow setup man Brandon Maurer is a stash candidate, especially if he stays on a roll.
* Widely viewed as the game’s best pitching prospect, Lucas Giolito was called up to make his major-league debut for the Nationals on Tuesday night. Naturally, much fanfare surrounded the 21-year-old’s arrival, but unfortunately his first start was cut short by a rain delay. In four innings before he came out, Giolito held the Mets scoreless over four innings, allowing only one hit and two walks.
The plan for the big righty going forward is unclear, but he’ll get the ball on Sunday against the Reds. As long as he pitches effectively, we suspect he will stick around. The first-place Nats would certainly like to keep his talent in the rotation, but may face a number crunch when Stephen Strasburg comes off the DL.
If Gio Gonzalez continues to struggle, however, all bets are off.
* The vaunted Mets rotation is dealing with some unnerving arm issues. This week it came to light that both Noah Syndergaard and Steven Matz are pitching through bone spurs in their elbows. For now, both hurlers are determined to keep pushing, and doctors don’t seem too concerned about aggravating the damage, but this is obviously something to keep a close eye on.
After going 7-1 with a 2.28 ERA through the first two months, Matz went 0-2 with a 5.74 ERA in June while opponents batted .330 against him. Meanwhile, Syndergaard was tagged for five runs over three innings in his last turn against the Nats, though he carried a string of four consecutive quality starts into that outing.
* While the Mets are facing some uncertainty with their young starting corps, they did bring in some help at the hot corner, officially adding a familiar face in Jose Reyes. The veteran infielder, released by the Rockies earlier in the month, inked a minor-league deal with New York. He’s currently undergoing a quick crash course at third base, where he’ll fill the vacancy left behind by injured David Wright.
Reyes has never played a big-league inning at third, but should hold his own there. In fact, it might be a better fit than shortstop, given his diminishing range. Although he doesn’t bring much thunder with the bat anymore, he still has some pop and is a strong base-stealing threat. The Mets have attempted the fewest steals in the National League but up until now they haven’t had much speed on the roster.
* The Twins activated Miguel Sano (hamstring) from the disabled list. To make room, they optioned designated hitter Byung-ho Park to Triple-A. The rookie South Korean import generated much buzz with an impressive power display over the first several weeks of the season, but has gone in the tank as MLB pitchers have made adjustments. In his past 30 games he was batting .123 with a .444 OPS. Yuck.
Sano made his return to the lineup at third base on Friday, and with DH now open he will probably see quite a bit of time there. The right field experiment was fairly disastrous, so the Twins would be wise to limit his exposure out there. If they can find a trade partner for Trevor Plouffe, Sano could move to third full-time.
* In some rare positive news for the cellar-dwelling Twins, Brian Dozier has returned to form in a hurry. The 29-year-old ran his extra-base hit streak to an incredible 11 games this week before ending it on Friday. He raised his slugging percentage by more than 100 points in the process, finishing the month of June with a .369 average to go along with eight homers, nine doubles, two triples and three steals on three attempts.
Dozier has been one of baseball’s best power-hitting second basemen over the past couple years, so it’s nice to see him get back to crushing the ball after a slow start. Suddenly, he’s looking like a good bet to represent the Twins in the All Star Game for a second straight season.
* Vince Velasquez missed only a couple of weeks with the bicep injury that sidelined him in early June, and returned in style on Monday, tossing five scoreless innings with seven strikeouts and no walks in Arizona. His insertion back into the rotation came at the expense of Adam Morgan, who takes his 6.48 ERA to the bullpen where he’ll work in long relief.
* Andrew Heaney hasn’t pitched for the Angels since early April. It will be a long while before he does so again. The promising young lefty was tabbed for Tommy John surgery this week after measures to heal his damaged UCL failed to pan out. His best-case scenario is a return sometime after the All-Star break next year, but we probably shouldn’t expect him to an effective starter again until 2018.
* Phillies prospect Mark Appel, is also done for the year after having surgery to remove a bone spur in his elbow. The former No. 1 overall pick has a 5.04 career ERA in the minors and will turn 25 in two weeks. His outlook isn’t great.
* Mat Latos signed a minor-league deal with the Nationals. It’s tough to see him actually pitching for the big-league club unless Washington’s rotation is struck by multiple injuries.
