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 03/12/2015 MLB Note - Texas Rangers Darvish, Yu
RHP Yu Darvish's second medical opinion agreed with the first, that
Darvish needs Tommy John surgery.
Dr. David Altchek was the latest to tell Darvish he needs the
season-ending surgery, according to the Ft. Worth Star-Telegram.
However, before Darvish goes ahead with that major operation, he
will seek a third opinion, from Dr. James Andrews.
At this point, it seems unlikely Darvish will be able to avoid Tommy
John surgery to repair the damaged ulnar collateral ligament in his
elbow.
He could try to rest his arm, but it might be months before he could
rehabilitate it enough to return to the mound. He could still
require Tommy John surgery after that rest anyway.
Darvish, 28, was limited to 22 starts last season, going 10-7 with a
3.06 ERA. He was outstanding in the first half of the season,
starting 7-2. But he was 3-5 after June 11 and made his final
appearance of the season on Aug. 9.
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MLB Note - Boston Red Sox Betts, Mookie
CF Mookie Betts, whose battle for the starting job became no-contest
due to the injury to Rusney Castillo, was leading off and said he is
comfortable in that spot. "I've been hitting there since I was 5,"
he said. "I'm kind of used to it. I don't feel any added pressure at
all." Said manager John Farrell: "He works deep counts, he gets on
base, the bat speed is there. He's obviously got the ability to
drive the baseball. He's an exciting player and seemingly has picked
up where he left off last year."
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MLB Note - Baltimore Orioles Pearce, Steve
1B Steve Pearce hit well most of last year and has kept on going so
far this spring. Pearce got an RBI single in Wednesday's 5-2 loss
against the Blue Jays. He's now batting .357 so far this spring and
also will be playing left field and right field -- and possibly
getting a look at third base as manager Buck Showalter is going to
be moving Pearce and others around on a regular basis.
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MLB Note - Toronto Blue Jays Saunders, Michael
LF Michael Saunders (torn meniscus in left knee) is progressing
quickly after surgery Feb. 27 and started hitting in a batting cage
March 10 against a batting practice pitcher. A return by Opening Day
is not out of the question. When he first was injured after stepping
on a sprinkler head while shagging fly balls on Feb. 27, it was
thought that he could be sidelined until mid-July, if an attempt was
made to repair the meniscus. When 60 percent of the meniscus was
removed instead, the recovery process was shortened and it was
anticipated that he would be able to return in mid-April. "I feel
great. I haven't felt anything bad throughout this entire process,"
Saunders said. "The training staff's doing a good job. We're pushing
each other. And we're doing it smart. I never thought this would be
the case, but I haven't felt any pain whatsoever."
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MLB Note - Toronto Blue Jays Izturis, Maicer
INF Maicer Izturis has played well enough to take the early lead in
the race to become the starting second baseman. After missing most
of last season because of a torn lateral collateral ligament in his
left knee that required surgery, he played well in the field early
in the spring training schedule. He wears a brace on the knee and
works with the training staff. "That's my routine now," Izturis
said. "Now I have to keep working in the morning, get treatment in
the morning, have to warm up a lot because of my knee. Every day
it's kind of stiff a little bit, I have to move around, stretch more
than before."
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MLB Note - Tampa Bay Rays Venters, Jonny
LHP Jonny Venters signed a two-year minor league contract with the
Rays on March 11. Venters, who turns 30 on March 20, is recovering
from his third Tommy John surgery. He reported to the Rays' minor
league camp in and will continue his rehab at the Charlotte Sports
Complex in Port Charlotte, Fla., this season. An All-Star in 2011,
Venters hasn't pitched in the majors since 2012. He is 15-10 with
six saves and a 2.23 ERA over three major league seasons.
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MLB Note - Texas Rangers Darvish, Yu
RHP Yu Darvish received a second medical opinion regarding his
injured elbow, and it agreed with the first, that Darvish needs
Tommy John surgery, the Rangers announced March 11. Dr. David
Altchek was the latest to tell Darvish he needs the season-ending
surgery. However, before Darvish goes ahead with that major
operation, he will seek a third opinion, from Dr. James Andrews. At
this point, it seems unlikely Darvish will be able to avoid Tommy
John surgery to repair the damaged ulnar collateral ligament in his
elbow. He could try to rest his arm, but it might be months before
he could rehabilitate it enough to return to the mound. He could
still require Tommy John surgery after that rest anyway.
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MLB Note - Chicago White Sox Sale, Chris
LHP Chris Sale will not be available for Opening Day after
sustaining an avulsion fracture in his right foot last month, the
team announced March 11. White Sox executive vice president Kenny
Williams said Sale would not return to baseball activities for at
least 10 days, according to CSNChicago.com. The team's opener is
April 6 against the Kansas City Royals.
Sale was hurt in a freak accident when he was unloading items from
his truck after arriving for spring training. He is coming off a
season in which he finished third in the American League Cy Young
Award voting after posting a 12-4 record with a 2.17 ERA in 174
innings.
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MLB Note - Texas Rangers Perez, Martin
LHP Martin Perez, who underwent Tommy John surgery last May, was
placed on the 60-day disabled list March 11. He might be able to
rejoin the rotation after the All-Star break.
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MLB Note - Baltimore Orioles Wieters, Matt
C Matt Wieters is going to start making appearances behind the plate
in the next few days. He's still recovering from last spring's elbow
surgery. He's been the DH in the team's games so far this spring,
but the veteran's timing at the plate just isn't there yet. Wieters
went 0-for-3 in Wednesday's loss to the Blue Jays, and that made him
0-for-20 so far this spring.
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MLB Note - Baltimore Orioles Webb, Ryan
RHP Ryan Webb injured his left knee and was listed as day-to-day
earlier this week. The previous swelling reportedly had gone down,
and the Orioles are going to wait and see how Webb feels in the
coming days.
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MLB Note - New York Yankees Rodriguez, Alex
3B/DH Alex Rodriguez hit his first home run of spring training March
11, connecting on an 88 mph pitch from Boston RHP Brandon Workman
and driving the ball to left-center field. Rodriguez was making his
second appearance of the spring at third base. On March 8, he played
five innings at third base, the first time he played in the field
since Sept. 10, 2013. He had one play on a sharp ground ball that
required a backhand catch and long throw to first base. "It felt
like 10 years at least," Rodriguez said. "I still can't believe I
had to throw the ball that far across the diamond. It is a long
ways."
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MLB Note - Boston Red Sox Barnes, Matt
RHP Matt Barnes was opening eyes in camp. "How can you not like that
stuff?" manager John Farrell said. "It's premium stuff that he's
shown in his two outings. He got his first taste of pitching out of
the bullpen last September, and that's not to say we're looking to
change his role and how we view him. We'll take it as it comes right
now."
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MLB Note - Boston Red Sox Owens, Henry
LHP Henry Owens was impressive in early spring outings. "Poise.
Confidence," Farrell said after Owens tossed two perfect innings
March 10. "His breaking ball to me this spring is a little tighter
and a little more sharp than we saw a year ago. He's starting to, I
think, through physical maturity and gaining some weight and overall
strength, develop a little better fastball velocity."
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MLB Note - Baltimore Orioles Davis, Chris
1B Chris Davis is in the final year of his contract with the
Baltimore Orioles. He will be trying to rebound from a poor 2014
season. He hit just .196 with 26 homers and 72 RBIs, one year after
a big 2013 campaign (53 homers, 138 RBIs and a .286 batting
average).
The first baseman told The Baltimore Sun that he doesn't want to be
with a team that's not in playoff contention. After this season, the
Orioles will have to deal with a tough situation as 11 players can
be eligible for free agency, and the loss of long-time right fielder
Nick Markakis clearly sent some kind of signal throughout the
clubhouse.
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MLB Note - New York Yankees Drew, Stephen
INF Stephen Drew was re-signed in January with the expectation he
might be in competition for second base, but it appears he will be
the regular second basemen. On March 10, manager Joe Girardi was
asked if there were any competition for the job, and he said: "Our
plan is it for to be Stephen. We signed him to be our second
baseman." Now it is up to Drew to keep that job by hitting well, as
opposed to the .162 average he posted in a combined 85 games for the
Red Sox and Yankees last year.
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MLB Note - New York Yankees Eovaldi, Nathan
RHP Nathan Eovaldi started spring training with two good starts. On
March 9, in his second outing, he struck out five hitters in three
innings against the Tampa Bay Rays. Eovaldi has a career strikeout
rate of 6.3 per nine innings, and with the type of stuff he has,
that rate should be higher. Eovaldi is trying to get better in that
area and is focusing on improving his off-speed pitches and
effectively throwing more fastballs in the strike zone. On March 9,
one strikeout came on a split-fingered fastball and two more were on
sliders.
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MLB Note - New York Yankees Pineda, Michael
RHP Michael Pineda is in his fourth spring training with the Yankees
but the first in which he is tuning up for the regular season. After
spending the past three spring trainings dealing with shoulder
issues, rehab and trying to get back to the big leagues, the
26-year-old Pineda has a rotation spot waiting for him. He made only
13 starts last year, but they very good, and the Yankees are hoping
for more, especially after he allowed a hit in two innings March 9
against the Rays and ended his outing by throwing a 95 mph fastball.
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MLB Note - New York Yankees Sabathia, CC
LHP CC Sabathia threw live batting practice March 9 without any
problems. He was slated to throw 30 pitches, but the session ended
at 29 after he shattered minor league 1B Greg Bird's bat. Sabathia,
who underwent right knee surgery last July, is wearing a small
sleeve on his knee while pitching but said he was able to exert
maximum effort. He was scheduled to throw a simulated game March 12.
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MLB Note - New York Yankees Whitley, Chase
RHP Chase Whitley showed he was capable of pitching well during his
first few starts after entering the Yankees' rotation in May.
Whitley, however, wound up finishing his rookie season with a 5.23
ERA. Now he is trying to show the Yankees he can be effective as a
spot starter or as a reliever. Whitley began spring training by
tossing five scoreless innings, doing so by adding a curveball to
the mix, especially early in counts.
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MLB Note - New York Yankees Ryan, Brendan
INF Brendan Ryan took part in light baseball activities March 11,
nearly two weeks after he sustained a mid-back strain. On March 1,
Ryan hit off a tee and played some light catch, and on March 2, he
took batting practice and fielded ground balls.
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MLB Note - Tampa Bay Rays Jennings, Desmond
OF Desmond Jennings will be the primary left fielder this season
after being the starting center field the last two seasons as the
Rays have decided to go with the defensively superior OF Kevin
Kiermaier in center field. Jennings has not played left field since
2012 when he appeared in 111 games at the positon, starting 105.
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MLB Note - Tampa Bay Rays Balfour, Grant
RHP Grant Balfour is expected to return to the team March 15
following the death of his father in Australia. Balfour has been
away from the team since late February but should have enough time
to get ready for the start of the season in his role as a
late-inning reliever.
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MLB Note - Texas Rangers Richardson, Antoan
OF Antoan Richardson had his contract purchased March 11 by the
Rangers, who added him to the 40-man roster. Richardson, 31,
appeared in 13 major league games with the Yankees last year, going
5-for-16 (.313) with one RBI and five stolen bases. In 93 games with
Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, he batted .271/.380/.364 with three
homers, 22 RBIs and 26 steals. His only previous major league
experience was nine games for Atlanta in 2011, when he went 2-for-4
and stole a base.
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MLB Note - Tampa Bay Rays Guyer, Brandon
OF Brandon Guyer, who has been sidelined by a strained oblique
muscle, is tentatively scheduled to return to action March 15. He
played in only one exhibition game so far because of the injury.
Guyer is likely to make the opening day roster as a reserve because
he is out of minor league options.
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MLB Note - Tampa Bay Rays Smyly, Drew
LHP Drew Smyly has yet to pitch this spring because of shoulder
tendinitis and there is no timetable for his Grapefruit League
debut. Smyly is doing range of motion exercises but has not yet been
cleared to play catch.
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MLB Note - Tampa Bay Rays Colome, Alex
RHP Alex Colome still has a chance to make the Tampa Bay Rays'
starting rotation despite being late to spring training. The rookie
right-hander arrived in camp march 10 after having problems
obtaining a work visa in his native Dominican Republic. He is
expected to make his spring debut sometime during the weekend. The
26-year-old Colome knows he has some ground to make up in order
overtake fellow rookie righty Nathan Karns in the competition to be
the fifth starter. Colome has pitched in eight games, six of which
were starts, over the last two seasons with the Rays, and he went
3-1 with a 2.50 ERA. At Triple-A Durham last season, he went 7-6
with a 3.77 ERA in 15 starts.
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MLB Note - Toronto Blue Jays Hutchison, Drew
RHP Drew Hutchison appears set for a strong season, his second after
returning from Tommy John surgery that was performed in 2012. He
needed only 39 pitches over four scoreless innings against the
Baltimore Orioles on March 11 in his second outing of spring
training. It gave him a total of six scoreless innings. "I'm fully
over everything now," Hutchison said. "But, I think last year, just
the mound time, getting back on the mound, after missing a year,
you're just not in the swing of certain things right away. The more
you're out there, the more you get back to being completely
comfortable." Hutchison has been working on delivering the ball more
quickly when runners are on base, but was pitching so well he has
not had much chance to work on that during the early games with
based runners being scarce.
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MLB Note - Toronto Blue Jays Castro, Miguel
RHP Miguel Castro continued to impress with a two-inning outing
against the Baltimore Orioles on March 11, allowing one hit while
striking out two. The lanky rookie, who stands 6-foot-5 and weighs
190 pounds, allowed two hits in his first four innings in three
outings after the game at Sarasota, Fla. The 20-year-old, who can
reach 100 mph with his fastball, pitched for three minor-leagues
teams in 2014, short-season Vancouver, low Class A Lansing and high
Class A Dunedin, going 8-3 with a 2.69 ERA in 16 games, including 15
starts. "He's mature beyond his years," manager John Gibbons said.
"He looks like he belongs. And he's a strike thrower."
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MLB Note - Toronto Blue Jays Stroman, Marcus
RHP Marcus Stroman (torn left ACL) had his season come to an abrupt
end March 10 when he stopped suddenly during a bunt-fielding drill
and suffered a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee.
Pending a second opinion from Dr. James Andrews, he will likely
undergo surgery as early as March 17. His absence leaves a big hole
in the rotation in 2015 after he was 11-6, 3.65 ERA, in 26 outings
as a rookie in 2014, pitching superbly in the starting rotation
after having a difficult start to his major league career in the
bullpen.
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MLB Note - Toronto Blue Jays Encarnacion, Edwin
1B Edwin Encarnacion (back inflammation) was expected to miss about
one game after an MRI performed March 9 showed inflammation in his
back. "Irritation, a lot of swings early in camp," manager John
Gibbons said. "There's no damage in there." Encarnacion has had back
issues in previous seasons but were not severe enough to put him on
the disabled list. The plan this season is to use him liberally as
designated hitter to rest his back. "It's something I want to make
sure it's right," Encarnacion said. "I want to do that before I
continue my work. ... I have time to get ready, lots of time before
the season."
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MLB Note - Boston Red Sox Masterson, Justin
RHP Justin Masterson continued his comeback spring with three
perfect innings (four strikeouts) against the Tampa Bay Rays on
March 10. "I was able to throw strikes and be in the zone," he said.
"Just continued progress of where we've been. I was able to repeat
my delivery for the most part and throw the ball over the plate."
Previously, in camp, Masterson said, "As we continue to progress,
I'm really happy where it's at. The arm's doing a really great job.
We're still a month away. There's still a lot of throwing to be
done. Every single time is a checkpoint."
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MLB Note - Boston Red Sox Victorino, Shane
RF Shane Victorino, coming off back surgery, was battling thigh and
quad soreness and was held out of the lineup for three days of rest,
returning March 10. "We're just trying to be on a little bit of the
cautious side," said manager John Farrell. Victorino told WEEI.com:
"Second game in seven months and I'm going first to third on a
bang-bang play? What's my problem? It's the only way I know how to
play."
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MLB Note - New York Yankees Capuano, Chris
LHP Chris Capuano faced two hitters Wednesday and was forced to
leave his start against the Boston Red Sox in the first inning due
to a right quadriceps strain. Capuano, who is vying for the fifth
spot in the rotation, was injured covering first base.
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MLB Note - Tampa Bay Rays Kiermaier, Kevin
OF Kevin Kiermaier will be the primary center fielder this season,
replacing Desmond Jennings, who will move to left field. Kiermaier
played 42 games in center field as a rookie, starting 32. Overall,
he appeared in 108 games in the outfield and started 89.
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