Baseball Daily Dose: Daily Dose: New York Frets
It was a rough night for the Mets, and not just because they had to face Stephen Strasburg.
The Mets lost the game Friday and lost two of their best players in the process, watching Yoenis Cespedes exit in the fourth inning with a strained right quadriceps and seeing Noah Syndergaard leave an inning later with what the team called arm fatigue. Without their starter and their best hitter, the Mets lost to Strasburg and the Nationals by a 3-1 score.
The bigger losses could be the cornerstones. Cespedes left after the third inning and, with the All-Star break offering some reprieve from putting hard timelines on players, Mets manager Terry Collins said only that “there’s a good shot I don’t have him for the next couple days” in regards to Cespedes. He said Cespedes and Syndergaard, both All-Stars this year, may also be held out of the Midsummer Classic due to their ailments.
A similar uncertainty surrounds Syndergaard’s timetable, as the arm fatigue diagnosis offers little in the way of a concrete outlook.
“It’s that time of the year,” Syndergaard said after the game. “My first full season in the big leagues. I’ve thrown a lot of pitches and innings so far.”
The only thing that seems to be known is that both will likely be out until games resume next weekend. As those games near, perhaps a better understanding of what the Mets are facing will crystallize as well.
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Harvey Elects Season-Ending Surgery
What was hinted at in recent days became a reality for Matt Harvey.
The right-hander had been mulling season-ending surgery since he was diagnosed with thoracic outlet syndrome on Thursday, and the decision to have the surgery and miss the rest of the 2016 season was announced Friday. Harvey will have the procedure in the next week or so, agent Scott Boras said, and rehabilitation is roughly six months.
The syndrome caused Harvey to lose feeling in his fingertips, an issue Boras said Harvey had been dealing with since spring training. The revelation helps explain the 27-year-old’s uncharacteristic struggles this year — Harvey fell to 4-10 with a 4.86 ERA and 1.47 WHIP after another disappointing outing Monday.
“He just didn’t have the command of the baseball and the feeling in the fingertips in his final release point,” Boras said of Harvey.
Logan Verrett will take Harvey’s rotation spot, at least in the near term. Verrett will start Saturday against the Nationals.
Prospects In, Prospects Out
Two highly anticipated prospects were promoted Friday, and two highly touted young players were demoted to make room.
Josh Bell and Trea Turner got the calls from their respective teams Friday, the latest top prospects to be promoted to the majors. For Bell, his first major league at-bat was his pinch-hit single in Friday’s win over the Cubs; Turner first saw the majors in 2015 and went 3-for-3 in a game earlier this year before being sent back down.
With Bell and Turner being promoted, promising pitchers Tyler Glasnow and Lucas Giolito, respectively, were demoted to their Triple-A ballclubs. Glasnow made his major league debut Thursday, allowing four earned runs in a loss to the Cardinals. With no need for another starter prior to the All-Star break, the Bucs brought up Bell to serve as a bench bat for the three-game series against the Cubs instead.
Giolito had made two starts for the Nationals, both against the Mets; his first was an impressive four-inning, rain-shortened outing in which he limited them to one hit. His second, on Thursday, was less convincing, as Giolito gave up four runs on seven hits over 3 2/3 innings.
“The game was really, really fast,” Nationals general manager Mike Rizzo said. “When you have a one-pitch guy against the National League champs, it’s a learning experience. I know he will take something positive out of it.”
With injured starters expected to return to both the Pirates’ and Nationals’ rotations shortly after the break, it’s unclear if or when Glasnow or Giolito will be back in the bigs.
National League Quick Hits: Nationals placed 1B Ryan Zimmerman on the 15-day disabled list, retroactive to July 7, with a left rib cage strain. The Nats were vague about the injury Zimmerman was dealing with that caused him to sit out Thursday, but now we know. He’s hoping to return when his 15 days are up … Gregory Polanco was removed from Friday’s game against the Cubs with a tight hamstring. He sustained the injury while running to first base during his last at-bat. He’ll head for further evaluation … Jhonny Peralta (thumb) remained out of the Cardinals’ lineup Friday. Peralta tweaked his surgically-repaired left thumb on Tuesday. The Cards have insisted that the setback isn’t related to the procedure, but Peralta hasn’t played since … MLB.com’s Jesse Sanchez reports that the Padres have signed Cuban left-hander Adrian Morejon to an $11 million bonus. The Padres have already exceeded their international bonus pool, so they’ll pay a 100 percent overage tax, effectively costing them $22 million to sign Morejon. A 17-year-old southpaw, Morejon is viewed as the most talented pitcher from this international signing period. Baseball America’s Ben Badler says Morejon will pitch in simulated games at the Padres’ academy in the Dominican Republic for the next two months before joining a full-season league next year. … Jose Fernandez led the Marlins over the Reds 3-1 on Friday, giving up only one unearned run in seven innings. He surrendered six hits and no walks while fanning eight batters. Fernandez is one of the most elite pitchers in baseball, now with an 11-4 record, a 2.52 ERA, an amazing 154 strikeouts and 31 walks in 107 1/3 innings … Jon Heyman of Fanrag Sports and Today’s Knuckleball reports that the Cardinals “are weighing a long deal” for Carlos Martinez. Martinez will reach arbitration eligibility for the first time this winter and the Cards would surely want to buy out some free agent years in any long-term deal … Stephen Strasburg spun seven innings of one-run baseball to defeat the Mets 3-1 on Friday, striking out nine batters while allowing only two hits and three walks. Strasburg runs his record to a perfect 12-0 with the victory. Although fragile, Strasburg is an elite pitcher when healthy. He now sports a 2.62 ERA with 132 strikeouts and 31 walks in 106 2/3 innings … Jim Bowden of ESPN and SiriusXM reports that multiple general managers “have touched base with the Braves showing interest” in Erick Aybar. Aybar has had an awful season overall in Atlanta but is batting .303/.376/.421 since the beginning of June. The 32-year-old will be a free agent after the season and surely can be had quite cheaply … Stephen J. Nesbitt of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports that the Pirates are “actively shopping” Jon Niese. Nesbitt says that the Pirates “have called around to a number of clubs recently” and “expect at least a handful to send scouts” to Niese’s start against the Cubs on Sunday. The left-hander has put up a disappointing 4.87 ERA over 17 starts this season and is making $9 million, so it remains to be seen how much interest there will be. Trading Niese would help free the Pirates up to keep some of their young pitchers around.
American League Quick Hits: Byron Buxton was diagnosed with a right knee contusion after slamming into the outfield wall during Friday’s game against the Rangers. Buxton had to be carted off the field in a scary moment early in the game, but thankfully he was able to avoid any serious injury. He’s considered day-to-day and should return to action before the end of the weekend … Craig Kimbrel was unavailable on Friday due to soreness in his left knee. The issue cropped up on him pregame. He underwent an MRI on Friday, the results of which the Red Sox will get on Saturday. If he’s forced to miss any time, Koji Uehara seems the most likely candidate to work in his stead in the ninth inning … Wade Davis (forearm) resumed throwing on Thursday without any issues. The closer said the inflammation in his forearm is gone. It’s unclear what the next step is for Davis, but it would appear he has a good shot to return when first eligible on July 16, which will be the Royals’ second game after the All-Star break … Michael Brantley (shoulder) took batting practice again on Friday. It’s the second day in a row and third time in the last four days that he’s done so. Assuming he can avoid a setback, Brantley should be ready to begin a rehab assignment soon … J.D. Martinez (elbow) hit off a tee with a fungo bat on Thursday. It’s the first time he’s taken swings since he fractured his right elbow three weeks ago. Martinez was given a 4-6 week timetable to return when he went down, but the latter portion of that timetable seems more realistic … Brock Holt was diagnosed with a Grade 1 ankle sprain and will be re-evaluated on Saturday. He’s in a walking boot as a precautionary measure, and the club will know more on his status on Saturday. Generally, Grade 1 sprains do lead to a stint on the disabled list, through with the All-Star break coming up it’s head to speculate on what exactly the Red Sox will opt to do … Jason Kipnis crushed two home runs on Friday, finishing 3-for-4 with three runs scored. The Indians cranked five home runs tonight, including three in the first inning. Kipnis’ twin blasts give him 14 for the season … Corey Kluber dominated the Yankees on Friday, beating them 10-2 while allowing only one run in eight innings. Kluber struck out eight batters without walking any. He allowed only five hits, with his lone mistake being a home run ball to Brian McCann. His record improves to 9-8 with a 3.61 ERA after his last start of the first half. He has 122 strikeouts and 27 walks in 122 innings … J.A. Happ struck out nine over 5 2/3 scoreless innings against the Tigers on Friday, earning his 12th victory of the season. The southpaw allowed six hits and walked one in the ballgame. Happ was able to keep the potent Tigers offense off-balance all evening, generating countless swinging strikes on high fastballs. He finishes a brilliant first half with a 12-3 record, 3.36 ERA and 89/32 K/BB ratio over 112 1/3 innings.
