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Second baseman Jose Altuve is the player who makes the Houston Astros offense go, but the team may be without its spark plug for a period of time after he had to leave Wednesday’s game against the Texas Rangers with an oblique injury. 

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Altuve to Be Evaluated Before Friday’s Game

Thursday, Sept. 15

According to ROOT Sports’ Julia Morales, Astros manager A.J. Hinch “isn’t optimistic” about Altuve playing Friday against the Seattle Mariners. 

The four-time All Star is in the midst of another great campaign with a .340 average, 24 home runs and 94 RBI on the heels of a 2015 season that saw him hit .313 with a then-career-high 15 home runs and 66 RBI to go along with 38 stolen bases en route to a playoff berth.

He set career marks in 2014 as well with a .341 batting average, 225 hits and 56 stolen bases. While he hasn’t quite reached those levels since, the 26-year-old speedster has improved from a run-production perspective and been a huge part of Houston’s resurgence.

Most wouldn’t expect Altuve to be such a great player based on his size (5’6″, 165 lbs), but he is one of the best pure hitters in baseball.

Perhaps the one downside with regard to Altuve is the fact his stature could leave him susceptible to injuries. He has never missed a significant amount of games during a single season, but minor ailments piled up in 2015, causing him to miss eight contests.

The Astros may not be so lucky this time with regard to the severity of the injury, which would be a major blow to a team that is finally relevant after spending years in the basement.

Provided the injury forces Altuve to miss some time, Marwin Gonzalez—who has played 75 innings at second base this year—projects as his primary replacement. Tony Kemp could also be in line for starts at second if Altuve misses time.        

Houston has a talented team, especially at the plate, but being without a tone-setter like Altuve is something that would be difficult to overcome for an extended period of time.

Follow @MikeChiari on Twitter.

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Forget shoulders—the Toronto Blue Jays‘ season rests squarely on Josh Donaldson’s right hip.

Donaldson underwent an MRI on Wednesday, per the Associated Press (h/t USA Today). The results were unknown as of this writing, but the injury has been enough to keep the reigning American League MVP out of the lineup for the last three games.

The hip tweak ostensibly occurred when Donaldson stepped awkwardly on first base in a game against the Boston Red Sox on Sunday, per MLB.com’s Alykhan Ravjiani. But it was apparently a cumulative problem.

“Pretty much all season long it’s been—not necessarily my hip—but pretty much lower body injuries all season,” Donaldson said, per Ravjiani. “That’s more of the gradual thing, and then all of a sudden I felt it in my hip where I didn’t feel like I was able to perform.”

Whatever the genesis, the injury undoubtedly has Jays fans on edge, as this tweet, courtesy of Sportsnet.ca’s Tim Micallef and Sid Seixeiro, perfectly illustrates: 

You don’t need to be reminded how important Donaldson is to this Toronto team, but we’ll remind you anyway. He ranks fourth in the AL with 6.6 WAR. He’s second on the Jays in home runs (34) and RBI (92) and paces the team in OPS (.952).

Yes, the three-time All-Star third baseman was mired in an 0-for-23 slump that may have been a result of the lower-body troubles he alluded to. But he’s the beating heart of this offense, no two ways about it. If he’s out much longer, or if he returns at significantly less than 100 percent, Toronto is probably hosed.

After losing 8-1 Wednesday to the cellar-dwelling Tampa Bay Rays, the Jays (79-66) are clinging to the AL’s second wild-card slot. But they’ve fallen into third place in the AL East, behind the first-place Boston Red Sox (81-64) and wild-card-leading Baltimore Orioles (80-65). 

The Detroit Tigers (78-67), Seattle Mariners (77-68) and upstart New York Yankees (77-68), meanwhile, are breathing down the Blue Jays’ neck. If they continue the trend that’s seen them go 3-9 in September, they’ll likely finish out of the postseason money.

Toronto’s issues go deeper than Donaldson. Other key hitters, including Jose Bautista and Russell Martin, have faltered. Right-hander Aaron Sanchez, once in the Cy Young Award conversation, owns a 5.00-plus ERA since the start of August. And the bullpen has suffered some hiccups.

“I don’t see how much lower it can go,” skipper John Gibbons said after Wednesday’s defeat, per the Toronto Star‘s Rosie Dimanno. “I’m optimistic that this will turn and turn in a hurry.”

If it doesn’t, Toronto will spiral earlier than expected into an uncertain offseason. 

Bautista and Edwin Encarnacion, cornerstones of an offense that lit the world on fire during the 2015 division-title run and is again among baseball’s most powerful, will hit the market this winter.

In a weak free-agent class, it’s probable both men will command contracts beyond the Blue Jays’ modest means. They could end up signing with either the Yankees or Red Sox, both of whom have gaudy payrolls, solid MLB talent and fertile MiLB farms.

The Jays have some pieces of their own in the pipeline. But it’s a stretch to expect adequate Bautista and Encarnacion replacements from a system Bleacher Report’s Joel Reuter ranked No. 19 in baseball.

As Scott Stinson of the National Post aptly opined, “If there is a chunk of the fanbase that is exceedingly anxious now, it will take every one of the city’s recently opened marijuana dispensaries to calm nerves should the heart of the lineup move to the neighbouring rivals.”

The Jays aren’t necessarily sunk—this season or going forward. An upcoming four-game set against the lowly Los Angeles Angels offers an opportunity to get healthy in more ways than one.

But former Boston general manager Ben Cherington—whom Toronto hired as its new vice president of baseball operations Wednesday, per Sportsnet.ca’s Ben Nicholson-Smith—has his work cut out for him if he’s going to keep the club competitive with its big-spending, heavy-hitting division rivals.

It’s too early to talk about windows closing just yet. But unless the Jays find a way to right this ship posthaste, Donaldson’s hip won’t be the only thing that’s hurting.

All statistics and standings current as of Wednesday and courtesy of MLB.com and FanGraphs unless otherwise noted.

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The New York Yankees reportedly added another bat to their roster for the stretch run Wednesday.

Citing sources, Jon Heyman of Today’s Knuckleball reported the Bronx Bombers signed Billy Butler to a deal. Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports confirmed the news.

This comes after the Oakland Athletics released the designated hitter Sunday, per Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle.

Butler struggled with Oakland this season, slashing .276/.331/.403 with four home runs and 31 RBI in 85 games. The production was a far cry from the numbers he put up for the Kansas City Royals in his prime, when he hit .313 and drilled 29 home runs with 107 RBI in 2012.

He was part of the Royals team that reached the World Series in 2014 before losing to the San Francisco Giants.

In all, the 30-year-old is slashing .289/.354/.441 with 146 homers in his career.

It wasn’t just a drop-off in his power numbers that preceded Oakland’s decision to release Butler. Slusser chronicled a fight he had with then-teammate Danny Valencia in August.

Slusser cited multiple sources who said Butler told an equipment representative that Valencia lied about using off-brand cleats only during pregame warm-ups and “allegedly told the representative that the company should drop Valencia’s endorsement deal.”

The players then pushed each other before Valencia reportedly hit Butler in the head.

Rosenthal suggested the Yankees will use their newly acquired hitter against left-handers, whom they will face seven times in the next 11 contests. However, Butler has hit three of his four home runs this year and 26 of his 39 long balls from 2013 to 2015 against righties, per ESPN.com.

As of Wednesday, the Yankees were four games behind the Boston Red Sox in the American League East and two games behind the Toronto Blue Jays for the AL’s final wild-card spot.

Butler hasn’t been the force he once was during the 2016 campaign, but he is a proven bat who can help an offense that has struggled for much of the year. As of Wednesday, New York’s 610 runs scored ranked 22nd in the big leagues.    

Butler may not be a season-saving presence in the lineup, but the Yankees offense needs a boost as the club chases a playoff spot.    

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The Toronto Blue Jays announced the hiring of former Boston Red Sox general manager Ben Cherington as their new vice president of baseball operations Wednesday.

Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet received word from the team. Shi Davidi of Sportsnet noted Cherington’s role will focus on player development.

Cherington, 42, had been out of Major League Baseball since resigning as the Boston Red Sox general manager in August 2015. His departure was part of an organizational shuffle that saw Dave Dombrowski take over Boston’s baseball operations.

The Red Sox won the 2013 World Series under Cherington’s watch but were in the midst of back-to-back last-place finishes when he resigned.

The team made the playoffs just once during his tenure. However, he acquired a majority of the young stars who are leading Boston’s playoff push in 2016.

“I don’t mind talking about my own shortcomings, my mistakes,” Cherington told the Boston Globe‘s Alex Speier. “I think there is plenty we did right over time. I don’t mind talking about the things that we didn’t or that I didn’t—even things I would do differently. In that sense, I’m fine being in the dunk tank.”

Cherington began his career in 1998 with a short scouting stint with the Cleveland Indians. He then spent more than a decade in the Red Sox organization, working his way up.

Cherington joins a Blue Jays front office that has seen its fair share of shuffling over the last year. Ross Atkins joined as the general manager in December following a lengthy stint with the Indians. He replaced Alex Anthopoulos, whom the team let go after a half-decade of up-and-down performances.

With the team sitting at 79-66 entering play Wednesday, it wouldn’t seem Atkins’ job is in jeopardy. But having two cooks in the kitchen could create an interesting dynamic. Even if Cherington’s job is mostly on the player-development side—where he has a strong resume—there’s always a risk in adding someone else with a World Series ring and GM experience.

Follow Tyler Conway (@jtylerconway) on Twitter.

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New York Yankees outfielder Aaron Judge suffered an oblique strain in his team’s 3-0 win Tuesday night over the Los Angeles Dodgers. He’s been placed on the 15-day disabled list, per Jesse Spector of Sporting News.

Continue for updates.

Judge Likely Out for Season

Wednesday, Sept. 14

Speaking to reporters, Yankees general manager Brian Cashman said he doesn’t think Judge will return this year, per Brendan Kuty of NJ Advance Media.

The injury came in the bottom of the fourth inning. During an at-bat against Dodgers starter Julio Urias, Judge called for the trainer after swinging and missing on a changeup and fouling off a fastball:

Judge stayed in the game to finish the at-bat but made way for Jacoby Ellsbury to start the fifth.

The 24-year-old figures to be a big piece of the Yankees going forward. At the start of the season, Baseball Prospectus ranked him as the top player in the organization’s minor league system. He sits fourth on MLB.com following New York’s midseason acquisitions of Clint Frazier and Gleyber Torres.

Gary Sanchez’s breakout has largely resulted in Judge getting overshadowed, though. Judge is also batting .179 with four home runs and 10 RBI in 95 plate appearances.

While it would be nice for Judge to continue getting at-bats in the majors, there’s little sense in putting him at further risk for injury with so little time left in the season. The Yankees are still in the playoff hunt, but given his struggles at the plate, it’s doubtful Judge would help New York’s postseason chances all that much.

The Yankees announced Rob Refsnyder will start in right field for Wednesday’s 4:05 p.m. ET game against the Dodgers. An outfield of Ellsbury, Refsnyder and Brett Gardner is likely manager Joe Girardi’s preference going forward with Judge unavailable.

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The 2016 Major League Baseball regular season doesn’t end for another two weeks, but that doesn’t mean it’s too early to start looking ahead to next season. 

Per MLB.com’s Mark Newman, MLB released its full regular-season schedule for 2017 on Wednesday with a tripleheader featuring the New York Yankees vs. the Tampa Bay Rays and the San Francisco Giants vs. the Arizona Diamondbacks kicking things off on Sunday, April 2.

The third game will be broadcast in prime time on ESPN as part of Sunday Night Baseball, but it has not yet been determined what the game will be. 

If the schedule follows the same pattern as 2016, expect the prime-time game to feature the defending World Series champions. This season, the New York Mets and the Kansas City Royals got the feature matchup on ESPN to start the season in a rematch of the 2015 World Series. 

Based on the likely playoff teams this year and scheduled matchups to start next season, that game won’t feature a World Series rematch. 

The remaining 24 teams will open play on April 3, with the Chicago Cubs vs. the St. Louis Cardinals being the top opening-series matchup. 

Other key stories that will dominate the April schedule in MLB include the Boston Red Sox adjusting to life without David Ortiz on April 3 against the Pittsburgh Pirates and the Atlanta Braves opening their new stadium on April 14. 

The All-Star Game is scheduled for July 11 at Marlins Park, while the regular season will conclude on Sunday, Oct. 1. 

So if your team is still fighting for a playoff spot this season, there’s still reason to focus on 2017. If you’ve endured the trials and tribulations of a long 2016, there are fewer than seven months before your hope for a World Series begins. 

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Roughly three weeks are left in the 2016 MLB regular season, and while the playoff picture is taking shape, there is still a lot to be decided before October.

In the American League, 10 legitimate contenders remain. The Cleveland Indians and Texas Rangers have a strong hold on their respective division leads, but the AL East is now a four-team race, and the two wild-card spots are wide open.

The National League picture is not as congested, but six clubs are still in position to reach the postseason. The Chicago Cubs and Washington Nationals are locks to claim their respective division crowns, while the Los Angeles Dodgers are a safe bet to be playing in October in some capacity.

Meanwhile, the wild card now looks like a three-team race between the San Francisco Giants, St. Louis Cardinals and New York Mets, as the Pittsburgh Pirates and Miami Marlins have both fallen off.

At any rate, what follows is a look at each club’s chances of reaching the postseason, with the following factors taken into account:

• Current standings
• Recent performance
• Future schedule
• Injury concerns

So, with the regular season set to wrap up on Oct. 2, here is an updated division-by-division look at the playoff chances of all the remaining contenders from where they stood one week ago.

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Fact: Seattle Mariners pitcher Taijuan Walker pitched a complete-game shutout against the Los Angeles Angels on Tuesday, the first of his career.

Bleacher Report will be bringing sports fans the most interesting and engaging Cold Hard Fact of the day, presented by Coors Light.

Source: B/R Insights

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Remember when touted young Minnesota Twins outfielder Byron Buxton was the butt of smarmy “Buston” jokes?

Yeah. About that.

It’s too early to declare Buxton anything—boom, bust or in between. He’s just 22 years old, with a scant 404 MLB plate appearances to his name.

But after some significant early struggles, the 2012 first-round pick is showing flashes of the star so many believed he’d become.

Buxton made his feverishly anticipated debut with the Twins last year and finished with a .209/.250/.326 slash line in 46 games. He began this season on the big league roster but hit just .156 in 17 April contests with 24 strikeouts and was shipped back to Triple-A.

Things didn’t go much better after a late-May call-up, and by early August, Buxton and his .193 average were demoted again. As Wayne Cavadi of Today’s Knuckleball noted:

People grew frustrated with Buxton. The Twins, unfortunately, have had some big prospects flail out and not reach expectations of late — take Aaron Hicks for example — and the word bust was being thrown around pretty quickly. People were quick — too quick perhaps — to wonder if Buxton was simply a Quad-A type of hitter who wouldn’t be able to hack big league pitching. 

He returned Sept. 1 when rosters expanded. And if there isn’t cartoonish smoke rising from the barrel of his bat, there should be.

In 12 September games, Buxton has 15 hits, including four doubles and five home runs. He’s driven in 13 runs and scored 12. And he’s raised his OPS for the season by 114 points, from .561 to .675.

“I think one thing we’ve seen in the last few days is he’s shown a little bit more aggressiveness,” Twins skipper Paul Molitor said, per MLB.com’s Scott Merkin and Do-Hyoung Park. “I think his swing looks a little bit better in terms of quickness and reacting to pitches and recognizing pitches.”

Buxton flashed game-changing speed and made some spectacular defensive plays in his previous MLB forays. The defensive metrics like him in center field, a premium position. Now, he’s layering on the pop and getting hits in bunches. He resembles the guy veteran outfielder Torii Hunter branded “Mike Trout Two” in March 2015, per Bleacher Report’s Scott Miller.

Are we getting ahead of ourselves after only a handful of games? Sure. Watch this clip, though, and don’t get giddy. Go on, we dare you:

It’s been a dismal season for the Twins. Minnesota was a surprise postseason contender in 2015 but has backslid to the worst record in baseball and a possible 100-loss campaign.

Buxton‘s emergence could be the shiniest of silver linings, particularly if he keeps raking over these final few weeks.

His MLB results are new, but his approach hasn’t changed much. As Fake Teams’ Rob Parker pointed out, while Buxton has increased his contact rates in September, his swinging strike rate has also gone up slightly, and he’s chasing more balls out of the zone. 

It’s a tiny sample, but it suggests Buxton isn’t a radically different player from the one who yo-yoed between the minors and the big leagues.

FanGraphs‘ August Fagerstrom noted that Buxton has re-employed a leg kick in his swing that he utilized in high school but the Twins mostly eliminated during his development. Maybe there’s something to that.

Here’s the bottom line, swing mechanics and sample-size caveats aside: Results are results. These September stats leap off the sheet. Given Buxton‘s age and enviable set of tools, there’s ample cause for optimism.  

We might well be witnessing the emergence of a superstar.

At the very least, we can put the “Buston” jokes on the shelf and leave them there.

All statistics current as of Tuesday, Sept. 13, and courtesy of MLB.com, FanGraphs and Baseball-Reference.com unless otherwise noted.

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MLB‘s most valuable commodity isn’t sluggers with prodigious power, innings-eating workhorses or flame-throwing relievers. It’s prospects, players in their teens and early 20s who have yet to establish themselves at the game’s highest level.

Teams are loathe to trade them, for prospects represent not only hope for the future but an inexpensive way to build a roster—at least in the short term. We need only look at recent success stories in Chicago, Kansas City and Pittsburgh for proof of that.

What follows is a look at the best that the minor leagues have to offer, level by level. We’ll hand out three awards for the upper levels—Breakout Star of the Year, Cy Young and Most Valuable Player—and a Cy Young Award and MVP Award at the lower levels, as most of those players are just starting their careers.

Statistics were the driving force behind these selections, but prior experience and age also factored into the process. Some of the following names are familiar, while others you may be seeing for the first time.

Who made the biggest impact down on the farm in 2016? Let’s take a look.

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