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Kansas City Royals catcher Salvador Perez suffered a quad contusion Saturday after colliding with third baseman Cheslor Cuthbert while trying to field a foul pop-up.

According to the Kansas City Star‘s Rustin Dodd, “Perez called for the ball and was in the process of making the catch when Cuthbert ran into his left thigh, spinning him to the ground” in the ninth inning.

It is uncertain when Perez will be ready to return to the lineup.

Continue for updates.

Perez Tweets About MRI

Sunday, May 29

Perez Avoids DL 

Sunday, May 29

Dodd reported the Royals have decided not to place Perez on the disabled list “in the event he’s ready [to return] in the seven- to 10-day range.” Dodd also reported an “MRI showed no structural damage.”

Yost Comments on Perez’s Injury

Saturday, May 28

Although the collision looked nasty, Royals manager Ned Yost told reporters Perez did not suffer any structural damage to his knee, per ESPN.com. 

MLB.com’s Jeffrey Flanagan reported “Yost did not think it was a season-ending injury, though certainly a trip to the disabled list was possible.” 

Royals Struggling with Injuries in 2016

Perez’s injury caps off a tumultuous week on the injury front. Third baseman Mike Moustakas and left fielder Alex Gordon collided in a game against the Chicago White Sox last Sunday, and both players received bad news. 

Moustakas is on the shelf indefinitely with an ACL tear in his right knee, while Gordon hit the disabled list with a broken bone in his right wrist. 

With Perez out, veteran catcher Drew Butera will serve as the Royals’ primary replacement. Entering Saturday’s showdown with the White Sox, Butera was batting .211 with a .250 on-base percentage and two RBI over the course of 20 plate appearances. Dodd stated that “Tony Cruz will back up Drew Butera in interim.”

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Chances are the Kansas City Royals weren’t going to repeat as MLB champions no matter what.

Don’t get mad, Royals fans. That’s just clear-eyed history.

Since 1979, baseball has seen two teams win more than one World Series in a row. The Toronto Blue Jays did it in 1992 and 1993, and the New York Yankees won a trio of titles in 1998, 1999 and 2000.

Other than that, for the past 37 years, it’s been nothing but one-and-done. So the odds were stacked against Kansas City from the start.

Now, however, with third baseman and key offensive cog Mike Moustakas lost for the season with a knee injury, the task becomes even more herculean.

Moustakas was hurt on May 22 when he collided with Royals left fielder Alex Gordon while attempting to catch a foul pop-up. Here’s the play in question, in case you missed it:

Gordon, a three-time All-Star and four-time Gold Glove winner, suffered a fractured wrist and could miss three to four weeks, per MLB.com’s Jeffrey Flanagan. That’s a significant blow, but not necessarily a debilitating one.

The news on Moustakas, meanwhile, is far bleaker. 

His torn ACL will likely require surgery and figures to cost him the rest of the 2016 campaign, per Flanagan. 

Moustakas, or “Moose,” as the fans at Kauffman Stadium affectionately chant, was hitting .240 with seven home runs and 13 RBI in 27 games and had already missed time with a thumb injury.

He was an integral part of Kansas City’s 2015 run, clubbing 22 homers while playing strong defense at the hot corner.

In the intangibles department, the 27-year-old 2007 first-round pick filled a vital leadership role.

“It’s going to be challenging to replace not only the production of Alex Gordon and Mike Moustakas but also their presence in the lineup and in the clubhouse,” general manager Dayton Moore said, per Flanagan. “They are a crucial part of this team.”

Kansas City can lean on the remainder of its offensive core, including center fielder Lorenzo Cain, first baseman Eric Hosmer and catcher Salvador Perez.

With Gordon due back at some point this summer, the team will retain much of the backbone that led to an AL pennant in 2014 and a confetti-strewn parade in 2015.

Cheslor Cuthbert—Kansas City’s No. 12-ranked prospect, according to MLB.com—will get a look along with utility man Whit Merrifield, but it’s possible bordering on probable that the Royals will go shopping at the trade deadline.

No matter what, they just lost a portion of their championship identity.

Entering play on Friday, the Royals sit at 24-22, just two games out in the wide-open American League Central but far from a juggernaut.

More troublingly, they rank in the bottom third in runs scored and OPS, and their starting pitching sports an unsightly 4.66 ERA.

Suddenly, the 77-85 record that FanGraphs projected for K.C. before the start of the season—and that yours truly dismissed as a pessimistic head-scratcher—is looking reasonable.

The loss of Moustakas doesn’t seal a losing season for Kansas City. Every defending champion has to overcome obstacles. Just ask the Golden State Warriors.

But for a club that was already wobbling, this is a bad omen—and a tough pill to swallow.

Rustin Dodd of the Kansas City Star summed up the prevailing mood after news of Moustakas and Gordon’s injury status broke:

The reality cut deep into a close-knit room. In March, the Royals spoke confidently about their motivations this season: Another American League pennant, another championship, an improbable mini-dynasty in one of baseball’s smallest markets.

Seven weeks into the franchise’s first World Series championship defense in three decades, the Royals must trudge on with the left side of the diamond gutted by injuries.

Again, nothing is decided. The Central is stuffed with flawed hopefuls, including the division-leading Chicago White Sox, a team few expected to contend.

The Royals have sprinkled their mojo—fueled by speed, defense and a shutdown bullpen—all over the playoffs before. It could still happen again.

Chances are they weren’t going to repeat as champs. Those chances have inched down with Moustakas on the shelf.

Then again, in the immortal words of Han Solo, “Never tell me the odds.”

All statistics current as of May 26 and courtesy of MLB.com unless otherwise noted.

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Minnesota Twins pitching coach Neil Allen has been suspended indefinitely by the team after he was arrested early Thursday morning for driving while intoxicated.    

“The Minnesota Twins are aware of the pending DWI charge against pitching coach Neil Allen,” the team said in a statement, per Fox 9’s Hobie Artigue. “Mr. Allen has been suspended, with pay, indefinitely, and the matter will be handled in accordance with the policies and procedures of the Minnesota Twins Baseball Club.”

According to the statement, Allen will temporarily be replaced by Eric Rasmussen, who has spent the last eight seasons as the organization’s minor league pitching coordinator.

An 11-year MLB veteran, the 58-year-old Allen was hired by the Twins in November 2014 after Paul Molitor took over as manager. Prior to joining Minnesota’s bench, Allen spent four years as the pitching coach for the Tampa Bay Rays‘ Triple-A affiliate. 

Following Wednesday’s 7-5 win over the Kansas City Royals, the Twins are 12-34 with a collective earned run average of 5.07. That mark ranks 29th in all of Major League Baseball and last among American League clubs. 

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The Minnesota Twins have been a disaster this season and sport the worst record in baseball at 11-32. It is only May 23, and they are already 14.5 games back in the American League Central race. But Dick Bremer—Minnesota’s TV play-by-play announcer for Fox Sports North—said one player still thought he should be more positive in his analysis.

Bremer appeared on Mike McFeely‘s radio show on 970 WDAY in North Dakota last Thursday and said a player confronted him because of his criticism of the team:

I make it a practice to go in the clubhouse every day and go down on the field, so if a player has a complaint about something I’ve said on television they have that opportunity. I was confronted in the clubhouse in the last homestand. I didn’t say what I wanted to say, which was, ‘Well, play better and the commentary will be more positive.’ You can’t mask the fact this team is a quarter of the way through the season with 10 wins.

McFeely wrote on the show’s official website that Bremer’s broadcast partner, Bert Blyleven, was recently critical of the performances of two players on the air—”a rarity” for him—but Bremer pointed out, “We know the difference between good baseball and bad baseball. You can’t really sugarcoat it, although I’ve been accused of that from time to time.”   

It is Bremer’s job to describe the action on the field, and there is little positive to say about the Twins’ start. They are realistically out of the division title chase, having lost six of their last seven games, and the calendar hasn’t even turned to June.

What’s more, Minnesota foreshadowed what was to come when it started an abysmal 0-9 right out of the gate.

Matt Snyder of CBS Sports praised Bremer for refusing to reveal the name of the player who was critical of his analysis and said “worrying about what a broadcaster is saying seems a sign of mental weakness.”

McFeely noted Bremer makes a weekly appearance on his radio show and has bemoaned a number of topics surrounding the Twins in 2016. Bremer did say he doesn’t think firing manager Paul Molitor would do much good and believes general manager Terry Ryan will at least keep his job throughout the 2016 campaign.

Bremer also said factors such as a lack of leadership inside the clubhouse and a group of young players who were not properly prepared in the minor league levels have also contributed to Minnesota’s lackluster start. 

The statistics underscore just how futile the team has been on the field this season:

The Twins have not shone in a single aspect of the game this year, although the silver lining is the fact the season is a long 162 games. There is still enough time to turn things around, although the American League Central features three teams over .500 (as of Monday), including the 26-18 Chicago White Sox and the defending World Series champion Kansas City Royals.

The Detroit Tigers were also a mere one game under .500 coming into play Monday.

Minnesota is facing an uphill battle that likely won’t end in success, especially if the players appear to be concerned with what the announcers have to say.

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The Kansas City Royals placed left fielder Alex Gordon on the disabled list with a wrist injury, per Joel Goldberg of Fox Sports Kansas City.

Continue for updates.

Cheslor Cuthbert to Replace Gordon on 25-Man Roster

Monday, May 23

The Kansas City Star‘s Rustin Dodd reported Sunday that Gordon sprained his wrist in Kansas City’s 3-2 loss to the Chicago White Sox. Gordon collided with teammate Mike Moustakas while attempting to catch a foul ball off the bat of Melky Cabrera:

It’s not exactly what the Royals wanted out of the face of their franchise, who managed to stay with the team by signing a four-year, $72 million deal in the offseason as a free agent, via Spotrac.com. 

He struggled to start the season, much like the rest of his team. He was batting well under .250 as his Royals struggled to play .500 ball.

What’s more frustrating is that the trend of injuries continues for Gordon, who missed over 50 games after straining his groin during the 2015 season while tracking a fly ball in left field. 

He was able to come back and finish the regular season batting .271 with 13 home runs and 48 RBI, but it was his postseason contributions that made him so invaluable, as the Royals won their first World Series in 30 years.

Gordon has been an All-Star in each of the past three years and has led the team in on-base percentage in the last two. His ability to get on base fit so well in a Royals lineup that didn’t necessarily boast a ton of superstar talent or power.

Instead, it was a perfectly balanced group of players who found ways to win games. 

And according to manager Ned Yost, who spoke with Tyler Kepner of the New York Times, Gordon is just as valuable to the team off the field. 

“Everybody in that locker room looks up to him,” Yost said. “Everything he does is to be ready to play a baseball game, from the food he eats to the exercises that he does early in the weight room to the preparation before the game. His routine is impeccable, and guys see this.”

Now the Royals will have to rely on the likes of Jarrod Dyson and Paulo Orlando to complement Lorenzo Cain in the outfield. While they don’t hold the same kind of offensive prowess as Gordon, Dyson can motor on the basepaths, which could make him a solid choice at the top of Kansas City’s lineup. 

Stats courtesy of Baseball-Reference.com.

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Detroit Tigers first baseman Miguel Cabrera suffered a left knee contusion against the Tampa Bay Rays on Sunday but is ready to return to action.

Continue below for updates:

Cabrera in Lineup vs. Phillies

Monday, May 23

The Tigers confirmed Cabrera is playing first base and batting third for Monday’s game.

Cabrera Is Centerpiece of Tigers Offense

It looks like age is finally catching up with the 33-year-old. Last season was the first time since 2003 that Cabrera played in fewer than 148 games when he was forced out with calf issues. 

While on the field, though, he continued to keep up his All-Star-caliber play, hitting .315 with nine home runs and 26 RBI on the season.

This is Cabrera’s ninth season with the Tigers, and he has become one of the greatest hitters of this generation. In 2012, he became the first player since Carl Yastrzemski in 1967 to win the batting Triple Crown. 

Cabrera has shown time and time again throughout his career that he can hit to all parts of the field with power and consistency. He’s led the league in batting average in four of the past five years and has batted under .320 just once in the past seven.

He helped lead the Tigers to four straight playoff appearances from 2011 to 2014, including an American League championship in 2012. But the emergence of the defending World Series champion Kansas City Royals has made the Tigers’ stronghold on the American League Central much weaker. 

Stats courtesy of Baseball-Reference.com

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Detroit Tigers pitcher Jordan Zimmermann suffered a Grade 1 right groin strain Sunday against the Tampa Bay Rays, and it’s uncertain when he’ll return to action.

Continue for updates.

Zimmermann Diagnosis Revealed

Monday, May 23

Jason Beck of MLB.com reported an MRI revealed a Grade 1 groin strain, adding that the team expects to skip his start this coming weekend against the Oakland Athletics, but noted he’s “day-to-day” after that.

Injury Sidelines Tigers’ Top Starter

After spending the first seven seasons of his MLB career with the Washington Nationals, Zimmermann signed a free-agent deal with Detroit prior to the 2016 season. He is dominating this year—to the tune of a 6-2 record and 2.52 ERA.

The Tigers brought in the 29-year-old to join the top of the rotation after they dealt David Price at last year’s trade deadline. The team’s pitch in free agency appealed to him, per Shawn Windsor of the Detroit Free Press.

“The Tigers made me their No. 1 priority,” he said. “That felt good.”

While Zimmermann enjoyed a solid 2015, going 13-10 with a 3.66 ERA and 1.20 WHIP, it was a down year by his standards. In 2014, he went 14-5 with a 2.66 ERA, 1.07 WHIP and 182 strikeouts in 199.2 innings. In his first five seasons, he had compiled a 3.40 ERA and 1.17 WHIP over 692.2 innings.

One thing Detroit likely didn’t expect when it signed Zimmermann was injury concerns, as he has been one of the majors’ most consistent and reliable starters over the past handful of seasons. From 2012 through 2015, he made at least 32 starts each year.

One of Zimmermann’s greatest strengths is his durability. Since undergoing Tommy John surgery in 2009, he has largely been healthy. The Tigers are undoubtedly hoping that will continue despite this injury. Unlike the Nats, Detroit may not have the pitching depth needed to make up for the long-term loss of one of its best starters, as the pressure will now shift to the likes of Justin Verlander, Anibal Sanchez, Mike Pelfrey and Michael Fulmer.

Pitching was the Tigers’ Achilles’ heel in 2015, as they ranked 28th in ERA (4.64) and 27th in WHIP (1.37). If Zimmermann is on the shelf for an extended period of time, those issues could crop up again.

Follow @MikeChiari on Twitter.

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Detroit Tigers right-hander Justin Verlander reached the 2,000-strikeout milestone on Wednesday against the Minnesota Twins. 

Verlander’s historic punchout came on a high fastball against Twins outfielder Eddie Rosario in the fourth inning: 

Verlander’s 2,000th strikeout put him sixth among active starting pitchers and tied him with Andy Benes for 75th on Major League Baseball’s career list. 

Per Anthony Fenech, Verlander also became the second pitcher in Tigers history to record 2,000 strikeouts:

Fenech also took a trip down memory lane to remember Verlander’s first strikeout 11 years ago when he debuted on July 4, 2005:

Fittingly, Verlander’s 2,000th strikeout was also of the swinging variety. 

The 33-year-old Verlander is no longer at the height of his powers, when he was winning the Cy Young and MVP awards in the same season. He entered play Wednesday with a 4.71 ERA and eight home runs allowed in 49.2 innings pitched. 

However, one skill that has not yet abandoned Verlander is the ability to miss bats. He had more strikeouts (50) than innings pitched coming into Tuesday’s game. 

It’s been a rough start to 2016 for the Tigers, who are in fourth place in the American League Central. Verlander’s milestone doesn’t turn all of their fortunes around, but it does give the team and their fans a reason to celebrate his reign of dominance.

Stats per Baseball-Reference.com.

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Cleveland Indians left fielder Michael Brantley is dealing with a shoulder issue that saw him land on the disabled list Saturday. It’s unclear when he’ll return to the field.

Continue for updates.

Brantley Placed on DL

Saturday, May 14

The Indians announced Brantley’s move to the DL was retroactive to May 10, and they promoted Michael Martinez to take his place on the active roster.

Brantley put together a stellar 2015 season, as he batted .310 with 84 RBI, 15 home runs and a league-leading 45 doubles. Operating in the heart of Cleveland’s order, Brantley posted the second-best offensive wins above replacement mark (3.7) of his career to date, per Baseball-Reference.com.

However, the 28-year-old’s stellar campaign came to a screeching halt when he suffered a shoulder injury in late September. According to the Associated Press (via ESPN.com), Brantley wound up suffering a small tear in his right labrum that required surgery.

As a result, his 2016 debut was delayed until April 25 as he progressed through a lengthy rehabilitation process.

But even though Brantley returned within the first few weeks of the season, he didn’t immediately resemble the player who stuffed stat sheets last season.

“I’m kind of kicking myself a little bit,” Indians manager Terry Francona said of Brantley’s return to the diamond, per Cleveland.com’s Zack Meisel. “I think we might have gone a little too far, too much, too fast. I didn’t want to do that, and I think we probably did.”

Through 11 games this season, Brantley is batting .231 with no home runs and seven RBI as he seeks to work back into a groove following extended time on the shelf.

So long as Brantley is dinged up, Rajai Davis should shift over to left field as Francona reshuffles his batting order and outfield alignment.

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The Kansas City Royals‘ struggling rotation has been hit with a new problem, as right-hander Kris Medlen has been placed on the disabled list with a shoulder problem.

Continue for updates. 

Medlen to 15-Day DL

Thursday, May 12

Per Jon Morosi of Fox Sports, Medlen’s official diagnosis is rotator cuff inflammation in his right shoulder. 

Medlen told reporters he’ll undergo an MRI on Friday and said the soreness surfaced near the end of his start on May 10. 

Morosi also reported the Royals placed Chris Young on the disabled list. That leaves manager Ned Yost with two holes to fill heading into a weekend series against the Atlanta Braves. 

Injury-Plagued Medlen Struggling to Find Rhythm for Royals 

Medlen has been struggling his way through six starts so far in 2016. The 30-year-old has a 7.77 ERA with 30 hits allowed, 20 walks and 18 strikeouts in 24.1 innings. Kansas City starters enter play Thursday with the eighth-worst ERA in Major League Baseball at 4.73, per ESPN.com. 

Injuries have plagued Medlen throughout his career. He has had Tommy John surgery twice (2010, 2014) and has only made 30 starts in a season once in his career. 

Given Medlen’s struggles so far in 2016, his time in the rotation seemed limited. The Royals have struggled to a 16-17 start after last year’s World Series win. Dillon Gee can slide into the rotation after pitching seven games in relief. 

There is plenty of time left in the season for the Royals to turn things around, but there is only so far a team can go with a rotation that cannot hand those dominant relievers a lead. Medlen’s poor performance and propensity to get hurt could force Yost to put him in the bullpen whenever he returns. 

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