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Bruce Rondon Shut Down for Season by Tigers Due to ‘Effort Level’

For the first time since 2010, the Detroit Tigers will not play postseason baseball, and it appears hard-throwing right-hander Bruce Rondon wanted to get an early start to his offseason. 

According to James Schmehl of MLive Media Group, Tigers manager Brad Ausmus was not happy with the effort Rondon was giving:

Per Catherine Slonksnis of BlessYouBoys.com, Tigers catcher Alex Avila said, “To be a big part of this team, you have to be here” but did not go into specifics regarding Rondon. Slonksnis also reported Alex Wilson and Neftali Feliz will share the closer’s role in Rondon’s absence. 

Rondon’s performance on the field has left a lot to be desired, as the 24-year-old sports a 5.81 ERA and 1.613 WHIP in 35 games, though his 3.12 ERA in September is his best for any month this season since his season debut in June. 

The Tigers have been a disappointment this season. They were expected to compete for a spot in the postseason but currently sit in last place in the American League Central with a 69-81 record. 

Whatever happened with Rondon only magnifies the problems that have plagued Detroit and makes this offseason crucial for the future of the franchise. Dave Dombrowski has already left, leaving Al Avila to put his stamp on the team this winter as general manager and executive vice president of baseball operations

Whether or not that plan includes Rondon, especially in light of whatever happened that got him sent home, will be one of the key decisions for Avila as he tries to ensure the Tigers avoid another last-place finish after four consecutive division titles.       

 

Stats courtesy of Baseball-Reference.com.

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Yadier Molina Injury: Updates on Cardinals Star’s Thumb and Return

Yadier Molina has been a driving force for the St. Louis Cardinals throughout his career, but the star catcher’s season is in jeopardy after suffering a thumb injury.

Continue for updates. 


Molina has Ligament Tear in Injured Thumb

Monday, Sept. 21

Bob Nightengale of USA Today shared news of Molina’s injury, adding the catcher would be re-evaluated in a week to gauge whether he can return this season. However, Cardinals general manager John Mozeliak is “cautiously optimistic” Molina will be back before the playoffs, via Nightengale.

Baseball writer Molly Knight weighed in on what Molina’s absence would mean for the Cardinals if he is unable to return for the postseason:

With Molina out of commission, the Cardinals added Travis Tartamella to the roster to give them depth behind the plate, via Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

According to MLB.com’s Jenifer Langosch, Molina suffered the injury during the Cardinals’ 4-3 win over the Chicago Cubs on Sunday. 

Injuries unfortunately seem to be following Molina now that he’s on the wrong side of 30. He did appear in 136 games during the 2013 season, an exceptional amount for an everyday a catcher, but he missed 52 games last year. 

This season is the healthiest Molina has been in two years, though his offensive numbers have taken a dip. His .660 OPS would be his worst since 2006, but the 33-year-old still ranks as one of the best defensive catchers by FanGraphs‘ metrics. 

Molina left a game against the Milwaukee Brewers on April 24 after taking a foul tip off of his right knee protector. Those kinds of nicks and dings come with the territory for catchers, but the dynamic of St. Louis’ roster is significantly altered in the absence of his backstop wizardry. 

The Cardinals haven’t missed a beat this season, despite a lot of injuries to key players. Adam Wainwright hasn’t started a game since April 25; Jordan Walden is on the 60-day disabled list; Matt Adams missed three months; Matt Holliday and Jon Jay are going to play in fewer than 100 games; Randal Grichuk’s stellar rookie season was interrupted by an elbow injury in August.

St. Louis’ front office has done a masterful job of building a deep, talented roster to not only withstand all of those blows, but continue to thrive. Being without a starting catcher is different because defense and the handling of a pitching staff are so crucial to success.

Losing Molina for any length of time down the stretch, especially with Pittsburgh and Chicago coming on strong in the National League Central, leaves the Cardinals with a lot of questions heading into the final postseason push.   

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Masahiro Tanaka Injury: Updates on Yankees Star’s Hamstring and Return

The New York Yankees pitching staff took a hit Sunday when the team announced Masahiro Tanaka will miss Wednesday’s start with a Grade 1 right hamstring strain.     

Continue for updates. 


Ivan Nova to Take Tanaka’s Start

Sunday, Sept. 20

While any injury to a pitcher of Tanaka’s quality is a concern, the silver lining for the Yankees is the severity of the setback. Buster Olney of ESPN noted New York hopes the pitcher only misses one start.

Tanaka missed more than one month from late April to early June because of a forearm strain. But his ERA sits at a solid 3.38, and he boasts an impressive 0.99 WHIP. 

His inconsistencies in the health department were compounded by the fact that CC Sabathia missed a large portion of 2015 with a knee injury. Michael Pineda also missed time, and Ivan Nova is still working his way back from Tommy John surgery last year. 

The Yankees have been able to stay in the American League East and wild-card races despite all of the problems with their starting rotation, but given how well the Toronto Blue Jays have been playing since acquiring David Price, they likely have their eyes on a wild-card spot.

Ideally, Tanaka will return after only one missed start and be fresh for a postseason run in October.

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Justin Turner Injury: Updates on Dodgers 3B’s Knee and Return

Los Angeles Dodgers third baseman Justin Turner left Saturday night’s game against the Pittsburgh Pirates because of soreness in his left knee and was unable to return for Sunday’s contest.

Continue for updates. 


Turner Replaced by Alex Guerrero

Sunday, Sept. 20

Alex Guerrero entered Saturday’s game for Turner and is also batting eighth in the lineup on Sunday, per Bill Shaikin of the Los Angeles Times. Shaikin also provided a synopsis from manager Don Mattingly, who said Turner is “expected to stay out of the field for a few days, but might be able to pinch hit.”

Turner, 30, has been one of the Dodgers’ most valuable hitters in 2015. He entered Saturday hitting .290/.366/.488 with 15 home runs and a team-leading .853 OPS. 

The left side of Los Angeles’ infield is banged up right now, with Turner joining shortstop Jimmy Rollins in battling health problems. Rookie Corey Seager has been fantastic since getting called up and has the ability to play shortstop or third base, depending on what Mattingly needs. 

However, the Dodgers don’t have a potent offense, entering play Saturday tied for 19th with 606 runs scored. Losing a player such as Turner, whether for one game or multiple days, makes the lineup even weaker with the postseason rapidly approaching. 

 

Stats via Baseball-Reference.com.

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Omar Infante Injury: Updates on Royals 2B’s Back and Return

Omar Infante’s disastrous regular season for the Kansas City Royals may be over, as it’s unlikely he’ll play again before the postseason due to a back injury.

Continue for updates. 


Infante to Have MRI; No Return Timetable 

Saturday, Sept. 19

Per Andy McCullough of the Kansas City Star, Royals manager Ned Yost said Infante will be “out for a while” and did not offer a potential return date for the veteran second baseman. 

Infante told Jeffrey Flanagan of MLB.com he will undergo an MRI on his back Monday after the Royals finish a series in Detroit this weekend. 

The 33-year-old left Friday’s game against the Tigers in the fifth inning with an injury. If this is the end of his season, he did go out on a high note after driving in seven runs against Cleveland in an 8-4 win on Thursday. 

Unfortunately, that was about the only thing that’s gone right for Infante this season. He’s hitting .220/.234/.318 in 440 at-bats. 

The Royals had already reduced Infante’s playing time in the second half after acquiring Ben Zobrist from Oakland, so his absence on the field won’t impact the team’s quest to make a second consecutive World Series appearance.

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Yoenis Cespedes Contract: Latest News, Rumors and Speculation on Mets OF

Yoenis Cespedes has been a driving force behind the New York Mets‘ march toward the playoffs, but the looming postseason isn’t stopping the 29-year-old from thinking about his upcoming free agency. 

Continue for updates.    


Cespedes Seeking Long-Term Deal

Friday, Sept. 18

During an interview with ESPN’s Marly Rivera, Cespedes said that his intention is to sign a deal for at least six years when the market opens in November.

That falls in line with Cespedes’ comments to Mike Vorkunov of NJ Advance Media, in which the All-Star outfielder said he wants his next contract to be his last.

After escaping Cuba in 2011, Cespedes signed a four-year, $36 million deal with the Oakland Athletics. He has been traded three times in the last 14 months, playing for Boston and Detroit before landing in New York in a trade deadline deal.

Cespedes couldn’t have picked a more opportune time to become a free agent, as he’s hit .295/.345/.661 in 43 games with the Mets and posted a career-best 6.8 WAR mark, per FanGraphs, with two weeks still to play.

The length of Cespedes’ deal won’t necessarily be as important as the total value. He’s never performed at this level before, so teams have to be skeptical about paying top-tier money for a career year. 

Some current long-term deals given to established veterans, such as the ones signed by Alex Rodriguez, Robinson Cano and Albert Pujols, haven’t paid off as well as hoped, so there is risk involved in a long-term contract. 

However, it’s also possible that Cespedes is entering his peak at a later age than some because his MLB career didn’t start until he was 26, and a deal in the six-year range could maintain his peak value well into his 30s.

There’s no doubt someone will make Cespedes a significant offer after seeing what he’s done for the Mets. Now, all 30 teams have a better understanding of what it will take to reel him in.

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Mike Nolan, Athletics Minor League P, Injured in Drive-By Shooting

Oakland Athletics minor league pitcher Mike Nolan was the victim of a drive-by shooting attack in New York early Friday.   

According to Lori Bordonaro of NBC 4 in New York, police officials confirmed Nolan was shot in the head and is listed in serious condition. 

“His father, Jimmy Nolan, identified the victim as Mike Nolan, a pitcher from Yonkers who was drafted last year by the Oakland A’s,” Bordonaro wrote. “He said his son, a Saunders Trades and Technical High School graduate, was also shot in the torso, and is now fighting for his life.”

Nolan was said to be standing by his car in a Burger King parking lot when the shots were fired, with the suspect firing “five or six shots at the victim before driving off.”

While no official motive was given, the report notes authorities believe there may have been a dispute earlier, but Nolan is believed to be an innocent victim. 

Per Jane Lerner of the Journal News, Nolan’s grandfather, Michael Maher, said the family has been told “there is nothing we can do but wait.”

Oakland selected the 23-year-old Nolan with an 18th-round pick in 2014 after he pitched for Oklahoma City University the previous three years. He was assigned to the A’s rookie team in Arizona. He was placed on the restricted list in July 2014 and has not pitched in an official minor league game. 

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Barry Zito Called Up by Oakland A’s: Latest Details, Comments and Reaction

After spending the entire 2015 season in Triple-A, former American League Cy Young Award winner Barry Zito will join the Oakland Athletics for the final two weeks of the Major League Baseball season.   

According to the A’s official Twitter account, the team recalled Zito and Cody Martin from Nashville and placed Jesse Chavez on the 60-day disabled list. Assistant general manager David Forst said the move was strictly to help the bullpen, according to Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle. Forst said Zito wouldn’t start, including the matchup with Tim Hudson and the Giants on Sept. 26, per Slusser

Zito said he was set to retire before A’s GM Billy Beane called him, and he missed the first call because he was in a songwriting session, per Jane Lee of MLB.com.

Zito last appeared this season on Sept. 7 with a perfect inning against Omaha. Nashville Sounds radio announcer Jeff Hem noted that it elicited an ovation from his teammates for what “could” have been his final appearance as a professional pitcher. 

Former A’s teammate Tim Hudson said he hopes Zito will get to start in Oakland, per Alex Pavlovic of CSN Bay Area. “I think it would be special,” Hudson commented.

Speaking to Slusser, Zito had previously made it sound like he wasn’t expecting to be called up by the A’s and that the end was near: “I thought I did everything I could to get a call-up when I was going all right, but it just didn’t work out. At least I know I gave myself the best chance I could.”

In 24 appearances with Nashville this season, Zito had a 3.46 ERA, 91 strikeouts and 60 walks in 138 innings. The 37-year-old last pitched in the big leagues with the San Francisco Giants during the 2013 season, posting a 5.74 ERA and 173 hits allowed in 133.1 innings. 

Zito won the World Series with the Giants in 2010 and 2012, though his best success came in Oakland from 2000 to 2006. He won a Cy Young Award in 2002 and had an ERA of 3.55 in 222 starts during that time frame. Even though the Athletics won’t be getting the once-dominant Zito, at least this way he can presumably end his career where it started and get a nice send-off from the fans in Oakland.

The A’s are 62-83 with nothing to lose at this point, so letting the southpaw ride off into the sunset will be a good farewell to what has been an otherwise forgettable season in Oakland. 

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Mike Moustakas Knocks in 9 RBI vs. Orioles: Stats, Highlights, Twitter Reaction

Kansas City Royals third baseman Mike Moustakas’ breakout 2015 season hit a new high on Saturday against the Baltimore Orioles as he went 3-for-5 with two home runs and a career-high nine RBI in a 14-6 victory.

In addition to Moustakas setting a new single-game benchmark for runs driven in, Joel Goldberg of Fox Sports Kansas City noted the other marks the 27-year-old broke or tied:

Here was the blast that allowed Moustakas to hit the nine-RBI mark, via MLB.com:

Even though Moustakas and the Royals will have more opportunities to create lasting moments in October during the postseason, this game against the Orioles is a stellar way to cap what has been a dramatic turnaround that dates back to last year’s playoff run. 

For instance, per Carrington Harrison, Moustakas’ nine RBI on Saturday were more than he had in three different months last season:        

Things were so bad for Moustakas early in 2014 that the Royals sent him down to Triple-A in May. He did return at the start of June but never rebounded to save his slash line.

In April, Moustakas told Matthew DeFranks of Fox Sports Kansas City that the struggles early in his career helped him to make swing adjustments leading to the much-improved results this year:

I took my lumps. I took my bumps, my bruises. It’s just kind of what happens in baseball. You’re not always going to have success in this game. You go 3 for 10, you’re considered a Hall of Famer in your career. Just trying to put all that in perspective. I was young. I wanted to do so good when I first got up here. Now, it’s just all about the team.

Making Moose’s effort even more impressive is all nine of his RBI came in the last four innings. He hit a two-run single in the top of the sixth, a grand slam in the top of the seventh and a three-run home run in the top of the ninth. 

According to Pete Grathoff of the Kansas City Star, Moustakas is the sixth player over the last decade with at least nine RBI. He also noted the player with the most RBI in a game during that span is Garret Anderson, who had 10 with the Los Angeles Angels in 2007. 

Kansas City has virtually been on cruise control this season, jumping out to a huge lead in the American League Central and only riding out the string until it officially earns a playoff berth. 

After reaching the World Series last October, Moustakas’ offensive emergence adds another dynamic to a Royals team that’s outstanding defensively and loaded in the back end of the bullpen.

Moustakas may not have another day like Saturday in his career, but his breakout game and season certainly make Kansas City look like it will be making another deep run in October.  

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David Ortiz Records 500th Home Run: Highlights and Reaction

Boston Red Sox designated hitter David Ortiz became the 27th member of the 500-home run club against the Tampa Bay Rays on Saturday.

Ortiz’s second home run of the game pushed the 39-year-old into the distinguished club, as MLB noted:

MLB provided the video of Ortiz’s historic blast, hit off Rays starter Matt Moore in the fifth inning:

MLB also shared video of Ortiz’s 499th home run earlier in the game:

As Big Papi was marching toward the milestone, Red Sox interim manager Torey Lovullo told Alec Shirkey of MLB.com this was something everyone in the dugout was excited about seeing play out:

It’s exciting for every one of us. He’s downplaying it in his typical David humble way to not make a distraction. He doesn’t want to make it about himself. He wants to make it about the team and how we’re playing right now, but it’s exciting for all of us to walk in every day.

It’s bigger than a lot of things that are happening right now, and it’ll be fun if he gets that 500th.

Ortiz is the first player to break the 500-home run barrier since Albert Pujols did so in April 2014. He is also the fourth player to hit the milestone wearing a Red Sox uniform.    

Unlike previous Red Sox sluggers Jimmie Foxx, Ted Williams and Manny Ramirez, who had built legendary resumes as soon as they arrived in Major League Baseball, Ortiz’s march toward 500 home runs was something no one saw coming. 

The Minnesota Twins released him following the 2002 season, and he signed a free-agent deal with Boston in January 2003. He didn’t become an everyday starter in Boston’s lineup until June. Jon Heyman of CBS Sports weighed in on the value the Red Sox got from such a shrewd signing:

Former Red Sox general manager Theo Epstein told the Boston Herald (h/t ESPN.com’s David Schoenfield) in early 2003 after Ortiz signed with the team that there seemed to be a good future for him with the franchise. 

“I think, our scouts think and our analysis dictates that he has a really high ceiling,” Epstein said. “You’re looking at a player that has a chance to be an impact player in the middle of the lineup in the big leagues. That’s his ceiling and I hope he reaches it with us.”

Ortiz found his calling in Boston, exceeding even the most optimistic projection that Epstein or anyone else might have had for him. He’s hit at least 30 home runs in nine of 13 seasons with the Red Sox, made nine All-Star teams and has six top-10 AL MVP finishes.

In addition to all of his personal accolades, including the 500th homer celebration, he has helped lead the Red Sox to three World Series titles since arriving and was named MVP of the 2013 World Series after hitting .688 against the St. Louis Cardinals

Ortiz’s journey to 500 is even more remarkable because there were times when it looked like age was catching up to him. He had a .222/.317/.416 slash line in the first half of 2009 and a .231/.326/.435 mark at the break this season. 

Adjustments have been a hallmark of Ortiz’s long-term success, as noted by Rick Rowand of Sons of Sam Horn, who pointed out around early June that he started to put more weight on his back (left) leg to maintain his balance and power throughout his swing. 

Looking into Ortiz’s post-playing days, 16 members of the 500-homer club have been elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame. Frank Thomas helped break down a barrier in 2014, becoming the first player whose primary position was designated hitter to be enshrined in Cooperstown, New York. 

Given the way Ortiz is going, even as he approaches age 40, it will be a long time before the Baseball Writers’ Association of America gets to put his name on a Hall of Fame ballot. 

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