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A key piece of the Cincinnati Reds’ roster is battling an injury, as second baseman Brandon Phillips is out of Tuesday’s lineup with an injured foot. 

Continue for updates. 

Phillips Not In Lineup

Tuesday, May 31

Per C. Trent Rosecrans of the Cincinnati Enquirer, the Reds scratched Phillips from Tuesday’s lineup due to a sore left foot. 

Rosecrans also noted that Jordan Pacheco is starting in Phillips’ place. 

At 34 years old, Phillips is no longer the All-Star second baseman from his prime years. He’s still a solid hitter, posting a .294 average in 2015. But he hasn’t had an on-base percentage higher than .328 since 2011, and his slugging percentage has been under .400 in each of the previous three years.

Phillips’ power has returned a little bit through 47 games played this season, as he’s slugging .420 with 16 extra-base hits.  

Despite the decline in his overall performance, Phillips has managed to mostly avoid major physical ailments. He did miss 41 games in 2014 because of a thumb injury but has not played less than 147 games in any other season since 2008. 

The Reds are already thin on talent as they go through a rebuilding phase. They currently have the second-worst record in the National League at 17-34.

Phillips, Joey Votto and Jay Bruce make up the heart of the order. Pacheco has appeared in 30 games for the Reds this season, hitting just .167/.167/.250 in 48 plate appearances. 

A diminished Phillips is still a valuable piece of this Cincinnati roster as presently constructed, both for his effort on the field and his leadership capabilities. 

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The lingering effects from Los Angeles Dodgers second baseman Chase Utley’s slide into former New York Mets shortstop Ruben Tejada are still being felt in 2016.

Mets starting pitcher Noah Syndergaard was ejected from Saturday’s game in the top of the third inning after throwing a pitch behind Utley. After home plate umpire Adam Hamari tossed Syndergaard, Mets manager Terry Collins got involved, with MLB.com’s Anthony DiComo setting the scene at Citi Field:

MLB.com relayed video of Syndergaard‘s pitch that led to his ejection:

Utley exacted his revenge in a big way, though. After the second baseman belted a solo home run to open the scoring, he launched a grand slam into right field to give the Dodgers a comfortable 6-0 lead in the top of the seventh inning. 

Utley became the scourge of New York in the National League Division Series for this play in Game 2 against the Mets:

After the game, Syndergaard said he didn’t intend to hit Utley, per Marc Carig of Newsday:

On Sunday, Syndergaard joked about his ejection, noting he could pitch in Sunday’s series finale:

The umpires stood behind their determination, per Adam Rubin of ESPN:

Collins said he was arguing that no warning was given and “nothing happened, [the ball] went to the backstop,” per John Chandler of NBC New York.

Utley gave his take on the sequence after the game, per Fox Sports:

Tejada suffered a broken leg on the 2015 NLDS play and missed the Mets’ run to the World Series as a result. He was released by the team in the offseason and later signed with the St. Louis Cardinals. 

This situation is similar to the one that led to a bench-clearing brawl between the Texas Rangers and Toronto Blue Jays two weeks ago. Tensions between those teams were high, stemming from Jose Bautista‘s bat flip in the American League Division Series (ALDS) last year.

Bautista was hit by a pitch and proceeded to slide hard into second base. Rangers infielder Rougned Odor took exception to it, which caused a massive fight between the two teams that led to Odor being suspended for seven games and Bautista sitting for one game.

The Mets-Dodgers situation didn’t get that far, possibly because Utley wasn’t hit by the pitch, but it seems there are still some bad feelings from how things played out last season.

While there may be an argument against tossing Syndergaard since he didn’t hit Utley, MLB Network’s Jon Heyman noted the right-hander didn’t dispute what he was doing after getting ejected:

Syndergaard isn’t a wild pitcher. He entered Saturday’s game with just nine walks in 60.1 innings, so he can’t use command and control as an excuse.

The Mets were able to send Utley their message without anyone getting hurt, though they had to play the rest of the game without their best pitcher. They can take some solace in the fact Logan Verrett struck out Utley later in the at-bat.

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With the San Diego Padres continuing to struggle in 2016, James Shields‘ solid start to the year could make him an attractive trade chip for teams seeking help in the starting rotation. 

Continue for updates. 

Report: White Sox, Padres Discussing Shields

Saturday, May 28

Per Dennis Lin of the San Diego Union-Tribune, the Chicago White Sox are engaged in discussions with the Padres about a deal for Shields. Lin noted the talks have “energy” at this point, though it’s not certain if anything is close to happening.   

The Padres have been looking to trade Shields basically from the moment they signed him in February 2015. He was supposed to be the anchor of their rotation after general manager A.J. Preller traded for Justin Upton, Matt Kemp and Wil Myers to bolster the lineup. 

Instead, the Padres never found their footing, and Shields endured one of his worst seasons in 2015. The right-hander did have 216 strikeouts in 202.1 innings, but he tied Kyle Kendrick for the most home runs allowed (33) and walked a career-high 81 hitters. 

ESPN.com’s Buster Olney reported last December the Padres were trying to push Shields on the market while noting he was owed $63 million from 2016-18. The Baltimore Orioles and Boston Red Sox also engaged the Padres in trade talks during spring training, per MLB Network’s Jon Heyman. 

Shields’ value has likely increased so far this season. He’s got a 3.06 ERA with 56 strikeouts and 61 hits allowed in 64.2 innings. His salary is paying him like a frontline starter, though he’s more like a good No. 3 or 4 at this point in his career. 

The White Sox would be a logical fit because they got off to a strong start and have two workhorses in Chris Sale and Jose Quintana at the top of the rotation, allowing Shields to slot in right behind them without needing to be the face of the group. 

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Needing help at first base, the New York Mets have added James Loney from the San Diego Padres to bolster their roster.

ESPN.com’s Adam Rubin first reported the acquisition, adding that it was a trade between the Mets and Padres. MLB.com’s Anthony DiComo confirmed Loney was going to New York. MLB Network’s Jon Heyman reported the Padres will receive cash from the Mets in the deal.

Loney reacted on Twitter:

The Mets needed to find someone capable of handling first base for at least the next month. Lucas Duda went on the disabled list earlier this week with a stress fracture in his lower back and is expected to miss four to six weeks, per Kristie Ackert of the New York Daily News.

Loney is a solid stopgap first baseman. He doesn’t possess Duda’s power, but he’s always hit for average and has a .338 career on-base percentage.

One of Loney’s biggest strengths throughout his career has been his defense, though he has regressed with the glove over the last two years.

The Tampa Bay Rays this season released Loney just before teams had to finalize their 25-man rosters. The Padres signed him to a minor league deal on April 8, and he hit .342/.373/.424 in 43 games at Triple-A.

At this point in the season, when it’s still too early for most teams to start trading valuable assets from their big league teams, the Mets likely didn’t have many high-quality options to choose from. Loney at least is a capable veteran on whom they can count every day.

Duda’s health will be a major storyline for the Mets as the season moves on, but Loney is the right guy for the team at this time.

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The budding rivalry between the New York Mets and Los Angeles Dodgers reached a new level of weird on Friday due to laser pointers and prearranged markers in the outfield. 

Per Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports, the Mets contacted Major League Baseball upon “learning that the Dodgers intended to mark prearranged defensive positions in the outfield at Citi Field.” 

Rosenthal added that MLB knows the Dodgers were using a laser rangefinder to mark specific positions in the outfield before the game started and is still collecting information. Los Angeles reportedly hoped to “use markers on the playing surface to define the desired positions for their outfielders,” per Rosenthal.  

The Dodgers reportedly told the Mets grounds crew they would “dig holes in the outfield with their cleats” if the markers were removed, prompting the grounds crew to alert team officials, who told them to “erase or obliterate anything they saw on the playing surface,” according to Rosenthal. He did note the Dodgers “apparently” were not using markers during the series opener, though cameras spotted left fielder Howie Kendrick consulting notes to determine his positioning.

Teams have been employing defensive shifts in the infield for years, though some in MLB have expressed their dissatisfaction with moving players around. New York Yankees manager Joe Girardi told ESPN.com’s Andrew Marchand in April shifts were “an illegal defense, like basketball” and said “if I were commissioner, they would be illegal.” 

Fielders position themselves based on where players are more likely to hit the ball and how they are going to be pitched. If a pitcher is going to attack a hitter with fastballs away, it makes sense to rotate the outfield as if the hitter will not try to pull the ball. 

The Dodgers were trying to save time for their players by using various predetermined positions for them to stand. The Mets, for obvious reasons, did not want them to do this. It’s a game of chicken between two teams, though it is unclear what MLB can do without changing rules about defensive positioning. 

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Major League Baseball has upheld Toronto Blue Jays outfielder Jose Bautista‘s one-game suspension for his role in a brawl with the Texas Rangers on May 15.   

Per Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet.ca, MLB denied Bautista’s appeal. He will sit out of Toronto’s game against the Boston Red Sox on Friday night. 

The feud between Bautista and the Rangers began last year during the playoffs with his now-legendary bat flip after he hit the decisive three-run homer in the seventh inning of Game 5 of the American League Division Series. 

In the last regular-season game between the two teams on May 15, Rangers pitcher Matt Bush put Bautista on first base in the top of the eighth inning by hitting him with a pitch.

Bautista followed up with a hard slide into second base after Justin Smoak hit a grounder to third, which Rangers second baseman Rougned Odor took exception to, and chaos ensued. 

After the game, Bautista told reporters that he actually held up on his slide, via ESPN.com: “I had a hard slide at second base. I could have injured [Odor, but] I chose not to. I tried to send a message that I didn’t appreciate getting hit [by the pitch].”

MLB announced discipline for 14 players and coaches after the brawl. Odor received the biggest punishment after punching Bautista square in the face, as he was suspended for eight games before an appeal knocked it down to seven. 

Even though Bautista did not successfully appeal his suspension, at least he can finally sit down for one game to get this ordeal over with and return to Toronto’s lineup Saturday.

The Blue Jays are off to a slow start at 24-25 this season after making the playoffs last year, so losing one of their best hitters for only one game is a huge win for their 2016 hopes, given the violence in this brawl. 

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Detroit Tigers left fielder Justin Upton is dealing with a quad injury, and it is uncertain when he will be able to return to the lineup.

Continue for updates. 

Upton Out vs. Phillies

Wednesday, May 25

Upton did not play Wednesday against the Philadelphia Phillies.

Tigers Will Miss Upton’s Bat in Lineup

Upton was one of Detroit’s big offseason acquisitions—starting pitcher Jordan Zimmermann was also signed away from Washington—and signed to help add depth in the middle of a lineup that already included Ian Kinsler, Miguel Cabrera, Victor Martinez and J.D. Martinez. 

The Tigers also needed to get younger, as Cabrera, Kinsler and Victor Martinez are all 33 or older. Upton, despite being in the big leagues since 2007, is just 28 years old. He’s also been durable, playing at least 149 games every season since 2011. 

There were early struggles for Upton as he played in the AL for the first time. He had just one home run in his first 18 games, as well as 31 strikeouts in his first 73 at-bats. He only has two home runs on the campaign and is hitting .223.

Upton’s only significant injury was a strained oblique in 2010 that caused him to miss most of September. His past ability to remain healthy certainly made him an attractive option to the Tigers, but his absence will test their lack of outfield depth. 

Steven Moya and Mike Aviles both have the ability to handle left field on a short-term basis, though neither one can come close to matching Upton’s offensive upside. 

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Texas Rangers second baseman Rougned Odor will not be reaping additional rewards from his punch to the jaw of Toronto Blue Jays outfielder Jose Bautista.   

Per ESPN.com’s Darren Rovell, Odor was scheduled appear at a Field of Dreams store in Frisco, Texas, on June 4 to sign pictures of the already-legendary punch that would be sold for $99. 

However, Field of Dreams store manager Brett Kravitz told Rovell the event was no longer taking place and representatives for Odor felt the timing was bad while he is appealing the eight-game suspension Major League Baseball handed down after the brawl. 

Fans would have been able to get additional Odor photos that weren’t brawl-related signed for $59. 

Kravitz also told Rovell one of the potential inscriptions that fans could have asked for is “Bat Flip Will Get You Fat Lip.” Bautista became a folk hero in October for throwing his bat after hitting a three-run homer against the Rangers in the American League Division Series.

The good news for Odor is that he still will be able to cash in on his newfound celebrity in a different way. Travis Heim, who owns Heim Barbecue—which has a location opening in Fort Worth next month—has already offered Odor free barbecue for life. 

“We just thought it would be a funny thing if we [gave] Rougie free food because he wasn’t the only one who wanted to punch Bautista after last year, so you know, it’s kind of a justice, a little bit,” Heim told Scott Gordon of NBC 5 in Dallas-Fort Worth. 

Odor is still awaiting to hear the results of his appeal, though it’s certain he will have to miss some time for his role in the Rangers-Blue Jays brawl. 

While it would have been entertaining for fans to have photos of the Odor punch signed by the man himself, there was no logic to him profiting off that moment so soon afterward. 

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Major League Baseball could be on the verge of changing the strike zone and making it so pitchers don’t have to throw four balls to issue an intentional walk. 

Per ESPN.com’s Jayson Stark, MLB‘s competition committee approved a new strike zone and a motion to abolish the old-fashioned intentional-walk system, with both changes possibly going into effect for the 2017 season. 

The change would raise the lower part of the strike zone from the bottom of a hitter’s kneecap to the top of the knee. Stark noted the reasoning behind the change is a recent trend by umpires “to call strikes on an increasing number of pitches below the knees.”

Stark also noted the goal of the change is “to produce more balls in play,” as 30 percent of hitters either walk or strike out, which is “the highest rate of ‘non-action’ in history.”

To issue an intentional walk, pitchers currently have to lob four pitches outside of the strike zone. The new rule would allow teams to signal they want to intentionally walk the hitter, who would immediately be sent to first base with no pitches required.

Stark added that MLB’s playing rules committee must approve the changes before they can go into effect. He also cited sources who said the rules would be presented to the MLB Players Association “as part of negotiations for a new labor agreement,” but the union doesn’t have to approve the changes.

MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred has stressed that he wants to improve the pace of play for the sport. On Tuesday, Stark reported the average nine-inning game in 2016 has lasted three hours, 26 seconds, up nearly seven minutes from the same point last year. 

There will always be a period of adjustment with any rule change, just as there was with replay in 2014. It may not be a happy transition early on for players or umpires while they get used to a new strike zone, though it would be a small price to pay if it helps keep more fans engaged in the action on the field. 

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The Texas Rangers and the city of Arlington have unveiled plans for a new stadium that will be ready to host Major League Baseball games no later than 2021.

Per T.R. Sullivan of MLB.com, the agreement between the Rangers and the city for a $1 billion stadium with a retractable roof will be sent to the Arlington City Council for approval Tuesday.

Sullivan reported that the cost of the ballpark will be evenly split between Rangers ownership and the city of Arlington. He noted that if the city council approves the stadium, citizens would vote November 8 for public funding of the project.

Mac Engel of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram provided artist renderings of the proposed new stadium for the Rangers:

City of Arlington marketing communications manager Jay Warren issued a statement Thursday about the marriage between the Rangers and the city moving forward, via Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News:

For more than four decades, Arlington and the Texas Rangers have had a strong relationship. That relationship was further strengthened last year with the announcement of the public-private partnership between the City and the Rangers for the proposed Texas Live! development in our Entertainment District. We look forward to continuing that relationship for many years to come. The City has no other comment at this time.

As part of the public-private partnership between the Rangers and Arlington, Sullivan noted the city would own the new park, while the Rangers would be responsible for its design and construction.

Globe Life Park in Arlington, the Rangers’ current stadium, originally opened in 1994. The team is often scheduled to play games in the evening during the summer months because of the sweltering heat in Texas.

If the new stadium gets approved and built, the retractable roof would allow the Rangers to combat the temperatures and protect players from injuries and fatigue over the course of a 162-game season.

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