Baseball Daily Dose: Daily Dose: Homecoming King
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I guess you could say that Chase Utley’s first trip back to Philadelphia went pretty well.
Utley hit a pair of home runs – including a grand slam – and also received two curtain calls as a visiting player in the Dodgers’ 15-5 blowout victory over the Phillies on Tuesday. The 37-year-old first was given an extended standing ovation prior to his first plate appearance, which ended in a strikeout. He then flew out in his next at-bat before taking Vincent Velasquez deep in the fifth inning. Utley capped off his night with a grand slam in the Dodgers’ eight-run seventh inning.
It’s hard to recall a visiting player ever being given a curtain call before, let alone receiving two of them. This was obviously a unique situation, though, as Utley was returning to place for the first time where he played the first 12 and a half seasons of his career and where he’s still beloved. Plus, the Phillies aren’t playing for anything this season, so that made it easier to root for an opposing player that they have great affection for.
Utley now has 10 bombs on the season after Tuesday’s two-hit effort. The veteran second baseman said recently that he plans to continue playing in 2017, so this might not be his last trip to the City of Brotherly Love.
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Dansby Day
We often have to wait until September 1 for teams to promote their top prospects to the majors for a look-see. The Braves don’t want to wait any longer to see their top prospect.
Atlanta announced Tuesday that they will purchase the contract of shortstop prospect Dansby Swanson from Double-A Mississippi prior to Wednesday’s game. The No. 1 overall pick in the 2015 Draft, Swanson was traded from the Diamondbacks to the Braves over the offseason in the five-player deal that sent Shelby Miller to Arizona. He’ll take over at shortstop for Erick Aybar, who was traded to the Tigers.
Swanson placed No. 7 on Baseball America’s midseason prospect rankings. The 22-year-old has batted .275/.362/.426 with nine home runs, 55 RBI and 13 stolen bases between High- and Double-A this season. The numbers aren’t overwhelming, especially when noting that he hit .261/.342/.402 in his time at the Double-A level.
Shortstop has been an unusually deep position in fantasy this year, so those in redraft leagues probably don’t need to be too overanxious to add Swanson. Think of him more as a middle infield/bench option in deeper formats. That said, it will certainly be fun to see what the youngster can do over the next seven weeks.
Bad News for Eovaldi
The Yankees have received a jolt recently from some young position players. Unfortunately, one of their young pitchers might have thrown his last pitch in pinstripes.
Nathan Eovaldi has been diagnosed with a torn flexor tendon and a partial UCL tear in his right elbow and will undergo a pair of surgeries. It will be the second Tommy John surgery for the right-hander, as he underwent the operation back in high school as a 17-year-old. Because of the dual surgeries and the fact that it’s his second Tommy John procedure, the rehab process will be a very long one.
“It’s a huge blow,” Eovaldi said. “It’s my second one, so it’s a big deal. Hopefully everything goes well with the surgery and I work hard to get back.”
Eovaldi has been told that there’s a chance he could make it back late in 2017 as a reliever, but the odds of that happening seem long. He’s arbitration-eligible for a final time this winter, making him an obvious non-tender candidate for the Yankees. Perhaps they could work out a modest extension that would satisfy both parties, but it seems likelier that the two sides will move on from each other.
As one of the hardest throwing starters in baseball, Eovaldi has often teased with his upside but has largely disappointed, only once posting an ERA south of 4.20 in a year where he threw 100+ innings. He’s posted a 4.45 ERA, 1.39 WHIP and 218/89 K/BB ratio over 279 innings over the last two seasons with the Yankees. He’ll turn 27 in February, so Eovaldi will likely be 28 before he throws a pitch in a major league game again. That’s plenty young enough to come back and make an impact, but the righty certainly faces some big questions going forward.
National League Quick Hits: Ryan Braun suffered a left knee strain and sprained ankle when he slid into a side wall on Tuesday. It’s possible he’ll need a trip to the disabled list … DJ LeMahieu fell a double shy of the cycle in Tuesday’s victory over the Nationals … Matt Holliday will undergo surgery Wednesday to repair a right thumb fracture but could return before the end of the season … Diamondbacks general manager Dave Stewart said Tuesday that the club has had internal conversations about offering a contract extension to Welington Castillo … Tucker Barnhart swatted a grand slam in Tuesday’s victory over the Marlins … Jason Hammel tossed seven shutout innings in the nightcap of Tuesday’s doubleheader against the Brewers … Adam Duvall sat out Tuesday with a bruised left foot. He’s considered day-to-day. Billy Hamilton (knee) also was on the bench for the Reds … Javier Baez went 2-for-4 with a two-run home run in the second game of the Cubs’ doubleheader sweep over the Brewers … Tyler Chatwood was placed on the disabled list Tuesday with an upper back injury … Chase Anderson exited Tuesday’s outing against the Cubs with a bruised quad after being hit with a comebacker … Neil Walker was scratched from the Mets’ lineup Tuesday due to lower back stiffness … Seth Maness will undergo Tommy John surgery … Jon Jay (forearm) has not been cleared for hitting and isn’t expected to return for another month … Brett Anderson (wrist) has been cleared to start Saturday in Cincinnati … The Giants signed Joe Nathan to a minor league contract … Jedd Gyorko slugged a three-run homer in Tuesday’s win over the Astros … T.J. Rivera went 4-for-4 at the plate in a victory over the D’Backs Tuesday …
American League Quick Hits: Mookie Betts homered twice and plated five runs in Tuesday’s win over the Orioles … Russell Martin slugged a pair of home runs in Tuesday’s comeback victory over the Yankees … Brad Miller smacked two home runs in the Rays’ blowout victory over the Padres … Danny Duffy held the Tigers to one run over 7 2/3 innings in a victory Monday … Matt Duffy was lifted from Tuesday’s game against the Padres with soreness in his left Achilles. He just returned from the same injury last weekend after missing eight weeks of action … James Paxton (elbow) was placed on the disabled list Tuesday. However, he’ll throw a bullpen session Thursday and aims to rejoin the Mariners’ rotation next week … Ervin Santana struck out six across seven shutout innings in Tuesday’s win over the Braves … Gary Sanchez homered twice and drove in four runs as the Yankees fell to the Blue Jays … Alex Bregman singled and ripped his first major league homer in Tuesday’s loss to the Cardinals … Corey Kluber struck out seven while tossing six frames of one-run ball in Tuesday’s win over the White Sox … Eduardo Rodriguez (hamstring) exited Tuesday’s start against the Orioles after four hitless innings, but the Red Sox are optimistic that he will not miss his next turn in the rotation … Justin Morneau singled and ripped a solo homer in Tuesday’s loss to the Indians … Lucas Harrell was diagnosed with a right groin strain after leaving his start Tuesday night against the A’s … Aaron Hill was scratched from the Red Sox’ lineup Tuesday due to forearm tightness … Jett Bandy singled and smacked a solo homer in Tuesday’s win over the Mariners …
