Tag: MLB

MLB, players’ union in war of words as pitcher injuries spiral

Barely over a week into the regular season, MLB and the Players Association are battling over player injuries.

Amid a rash of significant arm injuries among pitchers, the MLBPA released a statement on Saturday night claiming the use of the pitch clock instituted in 2023 and altered this season was at fault.

“Despite unanimous player opposition and significant concerns regarding health and safety, the commissioner’s office reduced the length of the pitch clock last December, just one season removed from imposing the most significant rule change in decades,” union executive director Tony Clark said in a statement.

“Since then, our concerns about the health impacts of reduced recovery time have only intensified. The league’s unwillingness thus far to acknowledge or study the effects of these profound changes is an unprecedented threat to our game and its most valuable asset — the players.”


Guardians pitcher Shane Bieber is out for the season as he needs Tommy John surgery. AP

The league quickly stated its disagreement in a separate message.

“This statement ignores the empirical evidence and much more significant long-term trend, over multiple decades, of velocity and spin increases that are highly correlated with arm injuries,” MLB’s statement read, pointing to studies that have been done on the subject.

“Nobody wants to see pitchers get hurt in this game, which is why MLB is currently undergoing a significant comprehensive research study into the causes of this long-term increase, interviewing prominent medical experts across baseball which to date has been consistent with an independent analysis by Johns Hopkins University that found no evidence to support that the introduction of the pitch clock has increased injuries,’’ the statement continued.

“In fact, JHU found no evidence that pitchers who worked quickly in 2023 were more likely to sustain an injury than those who worked less quickly on average. JHU also found no evidence that pitchers who sped up their pace were more likely to sustain an injury than those who did not.”


Braves pitcher Spencer Strider was diagnosed with a UCL injury.
Braves pitcher Spencer Strider was diagnosed with a UCL injury. Getty Images

Instead, the league pointed to how hard pitchers are throwing as the cause for the spike, as opposed to the pace.

MLB instituted a pitch clock for the 2023 season set at 15 seconds with no runners on base and 20 seconds with a baserunner.

The change resulted in a 24-minute reduction in the average time of a game.

This past offseason, the 11-man competition committee voted to cut the clock to 18 seconds with baserunners, which was opposed by the four players on the body.

The back-and-forth between the league and MLBPA came on the same day it was learned that the Yankees’ Jonathan Loaisiga, Cleveland’s Shane Bieber and Atlanta’s Spencer Strider had each suffered injuries to their UCL, with Loaisiga and Bieber set for season-ending surgeries.

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Mets’ Luis Severino rebounds in second start thanks to fastball

CINCINNATI — Perhaps a game the Mets want to forget will be memorable for Luis Severino.

The high-octane, high-upside and high-risk righty bounced back from a poor Mets debut — after a disastrous 2023 with the Yankees — in a solid second start of the season.

Severino allowed two runs (one earned) on three hits and two walks in five innings in which he punched out seven, typically on four-seamers that he repeatedly turned to as he challenged Reds batters.

Luis Severino allowed two runs in five innings in the Mets’ 9-6 loss to the Reds. Getty Images

Severino retired nine straight Reds from the second through the fifth and did not allow mistakes made behind him to swell in what became a 9-6 loss at Great American Ball Park.

“He was more aggressive, fastball had life and he was a lot better,” manager Carlos Mendoza said of Severino, who had allowed six runs in five innings in a debut loss to the Brewers. “They ran his pitch count up. Gave us five innings, gave us an opportunity to win the game.”

Cincinnati only scored against Severino in the second inning, when first Severino’s defense then his control let him down.

Jeimer Candelario hit what would have been a deep fly out to left, but Tyrone Taylor slipped on the warning track, turning it into a double.

With one out and Candelario on third, Elly De La Cruz smacked a grounder to second, and Jeff McNeil tried to charge the ball and throw home — but the ball skipped past him, a run scoring on a slip and a slip-up.

Luis Severino Albert Cesare/The Enquirer/USA TODAY NETWORK

Severino then couldn’t find the strike zone, eventually issuing a bases-loaded walk to Jonathan India.

But he met with catcher Omar Narvaez on the mound before facing Will Benson with the bases loaded.

“Let’s use that pitch,” Severino told Narvaez of his four-seamer.

Benson swung at four fastballs and missed three times for an inning-ending strikeout.

That served as a turning point for Severino, kept turning to heat that maxed out at 98.4 mph.

The Reds couldn’t catch up, which was an early sign of progress from a pitcher who contains a higher ceiling than any other Mets starter.

Perhaps he found a way to become the Severino who was so dominant years ago in pinstripes.

“I think last [start] it was not that true fastball, it was not hopping at the end,” Severino said.

A somewhat-forgotten Mets pitcher is getting closer to becoming an option.

Max Kranick was on the outskirts of the competition for fifth starter once Kodai Senga went down, only to be sidelined himself by a Grade 2 left hamstring strain in late February that knocked him out for the rest of camp.

Max Kranick throws a pitch during a Mets’ spring training game. Jim Rassol-USA TODAY Sports

Kranick, a 26-year-old who was claimed from the Pirates this offseason, has been facing hitters in live batting practices in Port St. Lucie and is close to beginning a rehab assignment, likely this week.

“He’s progressing well,” Mendoza said.

Kranick made 11 starts with Pittsburgh in 2021-22 before he needed Tommy John surgery in June 2022, forcing him to miss much of last season, too.

The Mets saw something in the righty, who made one Grapefruit League start (throwing two scoreless innings) before his hamstring became a problem.

The Mets, who just signed Julio Teheran to be their fifth starter because not just Senga but Tylor Megill have gone down, will welcome any depth options they can find.

Brandon Nimmo, who sat Friday with a tight hamstring, returned to the lineup but as designated hitter and went 2-for-4 with a walk. Mendoza said Nimmo could play the outfield if needed, though it was not needed.

Sean Reid-Foley, who was placed on the 15-day injured list just before the season started with a right shoulder impingement, received a shot “a few days ago,” Mendoza said, and had been shut down for three days.

“He should be ramping up here pretty soon,” Mendoza said of the righty reliever.

Francisco Alvarez, who started in one end of Thursday’s doubleheader, caught the final few innings of the other and played Friday, was out of the starting lineup Saturday.

The Mets are in a stretch of 15 games in 14 days and do not want to overwork Alvarez.

Omar Narvaez got the start and had a strong offensive game.

Mendoza said Alvarez will play Sunday afternoon in a better matchup for the righty slugger against lefty Andrew Abbott.

J.D. Martinez was expected to serve as DH for a second straight day with Low-A St. Lucie.

Mendoza said Martinez “came out fine” following his 0-for-4-with-a-walk day Friday.

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Xander Bogaerts shifts to second base in $280 million Padres decision

Xander Bogaerts’ time as the Padres’ shortstop was shortlived even with the massive price tag that came with it.

One year after signing an 11-year, $280 million pact with San Diego, the team is asking him to play second base for the first time in his career, first-year manager Mike Shildt told reporters on Friday.


Xander Bogaerts will give second base a try for the Padres this season. Charles Wenzelberg / New York Post

The move will shift second baseman Ha-Seong Kim – in the final guaranteed year of a four-year, $28 million contract – over to shortstop.

Bogaerts, 31, has never played an inning at second base during his 11 seasons in the majors or his time in the minors, but Shildt made the ask during the offseason in the former Red Sox star’s native Aruba.

The manager said his admiration for Bogaerts “went through the roof” when it came to his willingness to make the change.

Shildt added that Bogaerts is “all in right now” and that he recognizes they have an “elite defender” in Kim who won a gold glove as a utility man last season.  

He did leave the door open for the plan to be scrapped if things didn’t go well.

“I can’t say it’s etched in stone 100 percent,” Shildt said. “We’re gonna let him do it. See what it looks like. We’re gonna evaluate it.”

The metrics say Bogaerts, who slashed .285/.350/.440 with 19 home runs and 57 RBIs last season, is an above-average defender at three outs above average, -4 defensive runs saved.    

Shildt did defend his $280 million man’s defense, stressing the move was more about taking advantage of the 28-year-old Kim’s talents. 

“I don’t want to misrepresent,” the manager said. “Xander Bogaerts played a really good shortstop for the San Diego Padres last year and was a positive part of us and the success that we had.”


Ha-Seong Kim fields grounders at Padres spring training on Feb. 13, 2024. AP

The Padres are coming off a disappointing 82-80 campaign after winning 89 games and reaching the NLCS the year prior. 

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Nestor Cortes, shoulder feeling good as he builds up Yankees workload

TAMPA — Nestor Cortes started picking up frequent flier miles in an attempt to finally get past his shoulder issues. 

The Yankees left-hander may not be fully out of the woods just yet from the rotator cuff strains that derailed his season last year, but he is feeling good in the first week of spring training thanks to a change in his offseason rehab regimen. 

After taking November off from throwing — he had built back up to throw two bullpen sessions by the end of October after the second rotator cuff strain ended his season in August — Cortes began throwing again Dec. 3 back home in Miami.

About 10-15 days into his throwing program, though, he felt like he wasn’t making any progress with his shoulder. 

“[So] I decided to come here to Tampa with the [Yankees’] training staff and work on some stuff to potentially get over the hump with my shoulder,” Cortes said Friday. “It worked out great.” 

New York Yankees starting pitcher Nestor Cortes #65, throwing in the outfield during practice at Steinbrenner Field, the Yankees Spring training complex in Tampa Florida. Charles Wenzelberg / New York Post

Cortes got into a routine of flying from Miami to Tampa every Sunday or Monday, spending the week rehabbing and working out at the Yankees’ player development complex, and then flying back home on the weekends. 

The Yankees’ training staff knew Cortes’ arm and how it moves best, which made it better for them to prescribe exactly what he needed in order to strengthen it.

He would do shoulder stretches in the morning, then lift weights, “almost to fatigue just to get that shoulder stronger.” 

“I think it spooked him a little bit, but in a good way,” pitching coach Matt Blake said of Cortes needing to get past the hump with his shoulder. “Sometimes they get scared straight on stuff like that — and it’s better to have all the resources around you so that if you do have questions, they can get answered. You do get all the treatment. I think he just knows how important it is for him to be able to stay on the field. So it was great that he made that decision [to come to Tampa].” 

So far, the results have been encouraging to Cortes and the Yankees. 

Cortes’ troubles last season — when he posted a 4.97 ERA across 63 ¹/₃ innings — stemmed from having a hard time recovering in between starts.

He is still early in the process of building up his workload this spring (he threw two innings of live batting practice Wednesday), but his recovery has not yet been an issue. 

“I feel good about where he’s at,” Blake said. “Obviously, he’s got to keep building volume and that’s always the scariest part of the year for anyone. I think it’s just making sure that he is doing everything he needs to do in between while the build is still going up and managing the volume increases.” 

Cortes said there was not a point during the offseason when he considered having shoulder surgery.

New York Yankees starting pitcher Nestor Cortes #65, with pitching coach Matt Blake, during practice at Steinbrenner Field. Charles Wenzelberg / New York Post

Those thoughts came toward the end of the season, when he wasn’t getting any better “and I was a little scared.”

But he asked for second and third opinions, none of which recommended surgery immediately.

The consensus, he said, was that rehab could fix his issues, even if it took him a little while to “get over that hump.” 

“I think sometimes it’s a little bit you keep the governor on because you’re unsure,” Blake said. “So I think coming in here, getting reassured, getting the full treatment and starting to feel better, then it manifested in the right direction.” 

The Yankees plan to give Cortes an extra day between starts on occasion this spring, but still expect him to build up fully to around 90 pitches by the time the team breaks camp.

His recovery in between outings will bear watching as camp progresses, but Cortes is hopeful that the work he put in during the offseason will allow him to stay healthy. 

“Seeing all these guys here motivated me to come [to the Yankees’ complex] even more because I saw they were getting ready and I wanted to make sure I checked all the boxes so if I did get hurt, I know it wasn’t because I didn’t try,” Cortes said. 

Nestor Cortes is hoping to “get over that hump” as he works his way back. Charles Wenzelberg / New York Post

The Yankees certainly need the healthiest version of Cortes, too, especially as part of a rotation that has some question marks behind Gerrit Cole.

Cortes believes he is still capable of pitching like he did in 2022 when he was an All-Star with a 2.44 ERA across a career-high 158 ¹/₃ innings. 

“Once I’m healthy, once I feel everything is right, I can be as good as anybody,” Cortes said. “That’s my mentality.”

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Whit Merrifield rips Blue Jays for pulling Jose Berrios at 47 pitches

The Blue Jays’ decision to pull Jose Berrios not only backfired, but at least one member of the team was not thrilled with the decision.

The Twins eliminated the Blue Jays with a 2-0 win in Game 2 of their American League Wild Card Series on Wednesday, as Toronto gave Berrios a quick hook after just 47 pitches.

Infielder Whit Merrifield gave a candid response about the move, which did not help matters in the elimination game.

“I hated it, frankly,” Merrifield said after the game, according to Sports Illustrated. “It’s not what cost us the game, but it’s the kind of baseball decisions that are taking away from managers and baseball, at this stage of the game.”

Berrios had kept the Twins — his former team — scoreless through the first three innings before he gave up a leadoff walk to Game 1 hero Royce Lewis to start the fourth.

At that point, Blue Jays manager John Schneider decided it was time to move on from the righty and bring in Yusei Kikuchi, a lefty.

“Everybody was surprised with the decision, but there are things that you cannot control,” Vladimir Guerrero Jr. said through an interpreter, according to Sportsnet. “You can ask yourself many times, but it’s not our decision. We were surprised.”

Blue Jays manager John Schneider, left, takes the ball from pitcher Jose Berrios during their season-ending loss.
AP

Things quickly went in the wrong direction when Kikuchi allowed the next three runners to reach, including Carlos Correa, who drove in the game’s first run with an RBI single.

Minnesota added one more run on a double play, which was more than enough to beat Toronto on Wednesday.

Berrios, who was officially charged with the first run, also seemed to be taken aback by the move.

White Merrifield spoke out against the Jose Berrios getting the early hook.
AP

“Honestly, I don’t know,” Berrios said, according to Sportsnet. “I can’t control that. I did my best [through] the first 12 batters, so it is what it is.”

For his part, Schneider said he wanted to “utilize” everyone in his staff but admitted things did not work out.

The Twins will next play the Astros.

“We had a few different plans in place. Jose was aware of it. He had electric stuff, tough to take him, and I think with the that they’re constructed, you want to utilize your whole roster and it didn’t work out,” Schneider told Sportsnet.

“You can sit here and second guess me, second guess the organization, second guess anybody.”

While the Twins won their first playoff series in 21 years, the Blue Jays have now gone seven years without a playoff victory.

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Astros GM Dana Brown on Slow Start, Injuries, Dusty Baker


Getty Images

Brett Baty is up from the minors to the Mets. Aaron Hicks is getting booed off the field for the Yankees. Shohei Ohtani is in The Bronx taking on the Yankees this week.

A lot is going on in New York baseball.

One team the Yankees are used to playing in big series is the Houston Astros.

Their GM Dana Brown was this week’s guest on “The Show” with Joel Sherman and Jon Heyman.

‘The Show’ Podcast with Joel Sherman & Jon Heyman:

  • BATY CALLED UP: The Mets called up Brett Baty Monday. Was this the right move? Mets have more bats in the minors. The Mets minor league system is above average.
  • YANKEES HITTERS: Josh Donaldson getting booed by Yankees fans. Aaron Hicks also getting booed. Should Hicks get benched? Shohei Ohtani in NYC this week playing the Yankees.
  • BAD STARTS: Going through some teams off to a bad start and whether people should be concerned. Phillies off to a rough start and pitching has been bad. Is the Cardinals’ 7-10 start concerning at all?

Dana Brown Interview:
Astros GM

  • SLOW START: Not concerned at all. Have a good rotation and are dealing with injuries. Not worried about Jose Abreu’s slow start.
  • INJURIES: Michael Brantley will play in games in the minors next week. Jose Altuve is getting better. They are optimistic about his return.
  • ALTUVE/BREGMAN: No talks of an extension yet. Probably would happen in the offseason. Both players love it there. Thinks they will get both guys done. Hope is that they both retire there.
  • INTERVIEWS: Mets were his first interview. Embraces the analytics side.
  • DUSTY BAKER: How long will he be manager? “He will make some decisions on the field that we don’t understand.” Dusty is the type of man that will go with his instincts. He has a phenomenal relationship with the players.

SUBSCRIBE BELOW:


New episodes of “The Show” with Joel Sherman and Jon Heyman will be released every Tuesday afternoon through the entire MLB season. Subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, Google, Amazon or wherever you get podcasts above.

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Ex-Yankees prospect Raimfer Salinas gets 80-game PED suspension

Former New York Yankees prospect Raimfer Salinas was suspended for 80 games Monday under baseball’s minor league drug program following a positive test for the performing-enhancing substance Nandrolone.

Nandrolone is a type of anabolic steroid.

The 22-year-old outfielder was released by the Yankees’ Class A Tampa Tarpons on Thursday.

He was 0-for-4 with an RBI groundout against Lakeland on April 8 in his only game this season after hitting .225 with five homers and 25 RBIs in 64 games for Tampa last year.

Salinas signed with the Yankees in December 2017 for a $1.85 million bonus as one of the top international free agents available at the time.  

He split 2018 with the Dominican Summer League Yankees and the Gulf Coast Yankees but a broken ring finger ended his season early. Salinas spent 2019 with the GCL team and 2021 with the Florida Complex League Yankees.

The Venezuela native hit just .236 overall during his minor-league career with 14 homer runs and 71 RBIs with a.706 OPS. His best season came in 2019 in the Gulf Coast League where Salinas hit.270 with a .745 OPS in 159 at-bats as the team’s regular center fielder, but there were questions about his plate discipline.    

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Salinas is one of six players who have been disciplined under the minor league program this year.

They include pitchers Richard Cardoza (Mets), Jeremy Castro (Royals), Ricardo Estrada (Giants), Jose Serrano (Astros), Miguel Gonzalez (Diamondbacks), and infielder Christian Suarez (Braves). All six were suspended for 60 games.

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DJ LeMahieu, Gleyber Torres out for Yankees with tightness issues

CLEVELAND — The Yankees were down two key regulars Wednesday for their series finale against the Guardians.

DJ LeMahieu and Gleyber Torres were held out of the lineup because of injuries — quad tightness for LeMahieu and hip flexor tightness for Torres.

Torres said Wednesday morning he was feeling much better than Tuesday night, when he first started experiencing soreness while running the bases on a hit in the ninth inning and then was pulled in the bottom of the frame.

LeMahieu, meanwhile, began feeling tightness in his quad during Tuesday’s game, according to manager Aaron Boone, and was still feeling some lingering tightness Wednesday morning.

“Don’t want to force anything there,” Boone said. “I do think it’s a day-to-day kind of situation, but something obviously we gotta pay attention to.”

Boone said no tests were planned for LeMahieu as of Wednesday morning.


DJ LeMahiieu is out for the Yankees in the series finale against the Guardians.
Getty Images

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“We’ll see where we’re at [Thursday] with it,” Boone said. “We’ll just kind of take it day by day right now.”

With LeMahieu and Torres — the two batters Boone has used to hit leadoff this season — out, Anthony Volpe was set to bat first in the series’ rubber match.

A toe injury derailed the second half of LeMahieu’s season last year, but Boone did not believe the quad tightness had anything to do with compensating for his toe.


Gleyber Torres on the field for the Yankees on April 10, 2023.
Getty Images

“I think toe-wise he’s 100 percent,” Boone said. “I don’t think it’s related.”

Boone expected to have Torres available off the bench against the Guardians and was waiting to make a determination on LeMahieu.

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Yankees’ Gerrit Cole delivers another strong outing

CLEVELAND — Three batters into the bottom of the first inning Tuesday night, Gerrit Cole had already given up three hits and was pitching with a deficit for the first time this season.

Twenty-one outs later, Cole walked off the mound after seven quality innings on the way to his third win in as many starts in the Yankees’ 11-2 blowout of the Guardians at Progressive Field.

Cole shook off the two-run first inning and then mostly cruised the rest of the night to turn in yet another fine outing.

“I think his fastball profile wasn’t where he wanted it, but he was just so much in command and in control of the game,” manager Aaron Boone said. “Even in that first inning, I just felt like nothing sped up. It was like, ‘Alright, let me see where I need to make my adjustments.’ Him and [catcher Jose Trevino] did a great job of making those adjustments and then he got in control.

“The lead started to swell for him and he went out there and pitched like you like to see a guy pitching with the lead. Another in-command, in-control outing, especially when it didn’t go his way initially.”

Through three starts this season, Cole (3-0, 1.40 ERA) has thrown 19 ¹/₃ innings and given up just three runs, pitching like the ace the Yankees need him to be, especially with three members of the rotation injured.


Gerrit Cole
USA TODAY Sports via Reuters

“Anytime you can put your team in a position to win the game, it feels good,” Cole said. “This was important for us today to try to put us in position to win the series tomorrow. So it feels good to do your job.”

The Guardians jumped on Cole with Steven Kwan’s leadoff single to center field, Andres Gimenez’s single that just got past the backhand of Gleyber Torres and Jose Ramirez’s RBI double to right.

But beginning with the next batter, Josh Naylor — who hit a sacrifice fly to make it 2-0 — Cole retired 19 of the final 23 batters he faced, exactly what Guardians ace Shane Bieber had done to the Yankees the night before.

“The stuff was a bit down for whatever reason, especially the fastball,” Cole said. “But the breaking balls were good. Then we spotted the fastball when we needed to as the game went on, and I actually thought it got better.”

Cole only struck out three — a combination of his stuff being down and the Guardians being tough to punch out, he said — but instead found a different way to be effective as his encouraging start to the season continued.

“He seems like he’s in a really good place physically and mentally,” Anthony Rizzo said. “It’s been fun to play behind it. … It’s good for him [and] it’s definitely good for us.”

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Rocket City Trash Pandas throw no-hitter — and still lose against Chattanooga Lookouts

The Rocket City Trash Pandas pitched the first no-hitter of the minor league baseball season and somehow lost.

Through an unconventional way, the Los Angeles Angels Double-A affiliate let up seven runs to ultimately lose, 7-5, against the Chattanooga Lookouts, a minor league affiliate for the Cincinnati Reds, in the first game of a doubleheader on Saturday.

The chaos occurred in the seventh inning after Rocket City starting pitcher Coleman Crow threw six scoreless innings and struck out six batters.

But Ben Joyce, who was put in to close for Rocket City, imploded.

The reliever and 2022 third-round pick walked four batters and allowed five runs, and after loading up the bases, Rocket City center fielder Jeremiah Jackson failed to catch a pop fly from the Lookouts’ Jose Torres, which counted as an error.

To stop the bleeding, Trash Pandas then replaced Joyce with Eric Torres, who was charged with two more runs and hit four batters before closing out the horrific inning with Rocket City down, 7-3.


Joyce imploded in the seventh inning by letting up five runs.
Twitter/@MLBWalk_Offs

Chattanooga scored through a myriad of different ways, including a dropped ball which counted as an error.
Twitter/@MLBWalk_Offs

Rocket City tried to battle back, putting up two runs in the bottom of the seventh inning but was unable to make a comeback after blowing the potential no-hitter win.

Chattanooga’s Twitter account joked around about the unconventional victory, posting “the formula” it took to win on Sunday.

Rocket City also commented on the awkward loss on Twitter by trying to have a silver-lining outlook.

“Well, we did not give up a hit in the first game of today’s doubleheader. Unfortunately, we also did not win,” Rocket City posted. “So, there’s that.”

The Trash Pandas moved to 0-2 for the season with the loss, while Chattanooga improved to a 2-0 record.



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