Injury News and Notes Around MLB
Monday was a newsworthy day around baseball for several teams. Here is a look at some of the notable injury news from around the game.
Rangers Receive Bad News Regarding Corey Kluber
First, the Texas Rangers received a devastating blow to their starting rotation. The team announced that starting pitcher Corey Kluber was headed to the Injured List. John Blake, Executive Vice President of Communications for the team, reported the news on Twitter.
Corey Kluber had an MRI on Sunday evening which determined he has a grade 2 tear of the teres major muscle in the back of his right shoulder. He will be shut down from throwing for a minimum of 4 weeks and will be placed on the IL.
— John Blake (@RangerBlake) July 27, 2020
Obviously, the news is really bad for a Rangers team that had its eyes set on contending this year. After bolstering their starting rotation with Kluber, the thought was that Texas could very well have one of the best 1-2-3 punches in the American League. In addition, an argument could be made for them having one of the best rotations in baseball with a healthy Kluber.
After all, both Mike Minor and Lance Lynn finished last season in the conversation for the AL Cy Young Award. Additionally, the Rangers added some nice assurance pieces this past offseason in right-handers Jordan Lyles and Kyle Gibson.
Now, without Kluber in the mix, the team will give the spot to left-hander Kolby Allard. Last season was Allard’s first year with the Rangers. He made nine starts posting a 4.96 ERA with a 4.01 Fielding Independent Percentage (FIP) and a 6.6 K/9 rate.
Ken Giles Heads to the IL
In other injury news, the Toronto Blue Jays placed closer Ken Giles on the injured list. Shi Davidi, who is a baseball columnist for Sportsnet, had the news first.
Charlie Montoyo says Ken Giles has been put on IL, #BlueJays still awaiting his MRI results
— Shi Davidi (@ShiDavidi) July 27, 2020
The loss of Giles is a significant one for Toronto. Giles was very effective in the closer role for the team last season. He made 53 appearances in relief, posting a 1.87 ERA over that span along with 23 saves and 83 strikeouts. Considering that the Blue Jays were a sexy pick to make the postseason, Giles needs to be healthy for that to happen.
In response to the loss of Giles, Toronto recalled left-hander Ryan Borucki. Also, Toronto activated right-hander Wilmer Font off the injured list, according to Davidi. Both Borucki and Font add depth to Toronto’s bullpen. However, neither reliever is as important as Giles is.
Beyond the injury to Giles, the Blue Jays also announced important news regarding number one prospect Nate Pearson. Jamie Campbell of Sportsnet reported Pearson’s callup first.
#BlueJays plan to start Nate Pearson on Wednesday in Washington, per source.
— Jamie Campbell (@SNETCampbell) July 27, 2020
When Opening Day happened Friday, Pearson was a member of the Blue Jays 60-player pool. The biggest reason why was due to service time manipulation by the team. Since the season turns six days old Wednesday, he will add a seventh year of service time to the back end. For Toronto that was important because they want that long-term control of what should be a highly valuable asset.
Bad News on Starting Pitcher Reynaldo Lopez
Finally, the Chicago White Sox announced bad news regarding starting pitcher Reynaldo Lopez. Adam Hoge, who covers the team for NBC Sports Chicago and WGN Radio, had the news first.
An MRI showed Reynaldo Lopez is dealing with inflammation in his right shoulder. Gio Gonzalez will take his spot in the rotation.
— Adam Hoge (@AdamHoge) July 27, 2020
The news is somewhat of a concern for the White Sox. After leaving Sunday’s outing in the first inning, Lopez looked as though he was hurting. Now, that an MRI is done, there is more clarity regarding the injury but it could turn into something long-term. For a White Sox team looking to make noise this season, that is not what they want to hear.
Last season, Lopez was in his third year with Chicago. He made a total of 33 starts posting a 5.38 ERA while recording a career-high 110 earned runs. In addition, Lopez had the highest hits-per-9 rate (9.9) of his big league tenure. That came one year after he finished 2018 with a 3.91 ERA over 32 starts.
Luckily, the White Sox bolstered their starting rotation this past offseason with the additions of left-handers Dallas Keuchel and Gio Gonzalez. With Lopez out of the picture, Gonzalez will fill the third spot in the rotation, as Hoge alluded to. As a member of the Milwaukee Brewers last season, Gonzalez was quite effective posting a 3.50 ERA over 87 1/3 innings with a 127 ERA+ and an 8.0 K/9 rate.
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