MASH Report (8/1/16)

August 1, 2016

• Wade Davis is back on the DL and this time, it is a strained flexor muscle.

The Royals appeared to receive some good news regarding closer Wade Davis: An MRI perfohttp://m.royals.mlb.com/news/article/192680486/royals-closer-wade-davis-put-on-rmed in Kansas City on Sunday revealed Davis has a low-grade (Grade 1) strain of his right flexor muscle.

“The MRI showed his elbow was clean,” manager Ned Yost said before Sunday’s 5-3 loss to the Rangers in the series finale at Globe Life Park.

While I don’t like to see pitchers get hurt, I do love how this story broke.

This is how you break a story. Good job Casey pic.twitter.com/YPkzZCcH5C

— Jim McClintock (@pimpino) July 31, 2016

• The Mets placed Jose Reyes on the DL with a strained oblique since he couldn’t swing right handed.

It did not work. While swinging right-handed, the switch-hitting Reyes continued to feel pain, so the Mets placed him on the DL to make room for outfielder Justin Ruggiano. Though Reyes suggested batting left-handed on a full-time basis until his injury heals, the Mets rejected that idea out of fear that he would injure a different body part in the process.

“The only test we needed to do was to find out if he could swing, and he is unable to swing right-handed, which is part of his game,” manager Terry Collins said. “We hope we caught it early enough so that he didn’t overdo it. From the one side, he looks great. Everything’s fine. The other side, he’s really, really hesitant to swing. So we’ll just keep an eye on him, let him rest that side. Hopefully, in 10 or 11 days, he’ll be ready to join us again.”

• Rich Hill will go on the DL for a half dozen days with a finger blister (A’s can backdate the DL stint quite a bit). There still exists a chance Hill will get traded today (Note: And he did to the Dodgers).

The A’s can backdate Hill’s DL stint 10 days, meaning he’s eligible to return as soon as Thursday; manager Bob Melvin said he’s targeted for a start either Thursday or Friday.

That is, of course, if Hill is not dealt by Monday’s 1 p.m. PT non-waiver Trade Deadline. The veteran remains a starting option for teams in contention, despite a blister ailment that’s kept him out for the past two weeks.

• Juan Lagares will be out at least six weeks with a torn ligament in his hand.

The Mets announced Friday that Juan Lagares has been placed on the 15-day disabled list and will undergo surgery to repair the partially torn ligament in his left thumb. He is expected to miss at least six weeks.

• The Marlins just acquired Colin Rea to help solidify their bullpen, but he’s DL bound 44 pitches into his first Marlins start with a strained elbow.

• Peter Bourjos was placed on the DL with a strained shoulder with little additional information.

• Nate Karns is on the DL with a strained lower back from swinging a bat.

“It was something that came up a few weeks ago that he had mentioned, but really hadn’t said anything about it at all recently,” Servais said. “Then he said he tweaked it a little yesterday on the swing and wasn’t quite right after that.

• The Rays placed both Logan Morrison (strained forearm) and Oswaldo Arcia (strained elbow) on the DL.

• Luis Valbuena will likely miss the minimum time with a strained hamstring.

• Jose Lobaton is DL bound with elbow tendinitis.

• Asdrubal Cabrera may go on the DL later today with a strained knee.

New York Mets shortstop Asdrubal Cabrera became the team’s latest injury casualty when he came up lame after rounding third base and departed Sunday’s game against the Colorado Rockies after the first inning.

The team announced that Cabrera suffered a strained patellar tendon in his left knee.
…
With Jose Reyes landing on the disabled list Saturday with a strained intercostal muscle on his left side, Flores is the only capable shortstop on the active roster. However, that is not his optimal position because of a lack of range. And he already was being tasked with filling in for Reyes at third base.

Assuming Cabrera will be placed on the disabled list, the Mets are summoningMatt Reynolds from Triple-A Las Vegas to take Cabrera’s spot on the active roster.

• Craig Kimbrel is expected to come off the DL today.

• Brandon Moss and Jhonny Peralta are expected off the DL tomorrow.

• Michael Sonne thinks a pitch clock will cause an increase in pitcher injuries. While on the surface the idea makes sense, some of the facts in the article are a little vague to draw any great conclusions.

A pitcher’s fatigue is often understood bluntly in the number of total pitches he throws in a game. But the number of pitches per inning, the stressfulness of each pitch and also the time between pitches all factor into fatigue. More fatigue will accumulate if recovery time is reduced, Sonne said, and that could in turn increase the load on the pitcher’s ulnar collateral ligament, which bears most of the stress in pitching and is the ligament that undergoes reconstruction in so-called Tommy John surgeries.

Major League Baseball’s rule book actually states pitchers should only take 12 seconds between pitches, but the rule has never been enforced. A 20-second pitch clock, with which the league is currently experimenting, is two seconds faster than the average time between pitches for major-league pitchers.

For pitchers who work at a quick pace — like the Blue Jays’ Marcus Stro-man, who this year is averaging 19.4 seconds between pitches — a 20-second pitch clock isn’t likely to have much impact. But for a slower-working pitcher, like David Price of the Red Sox who takes more than 25 seconds between pitches, the reduced recovery time could have a major impact. For Price in particular, Sonne’s study found his muscle fatigue inside a given inning would rise from a peak of 7.2 per cent at his own pace to 8.7 percent if he had to throw every 20 seconds.

“It seems like a small amount, but when a pitcher is throwing at maximum effort, every bit of muscle force matters.”

Fastball velocity reading for pitchers returning from the DL

• Homer Bailey’s average fastball velocity is up from his TJS season, but down from his healthy seasons. Looking at his previous ERAs associated with various velocities, an ERA of 4.00 seems reasonable for him this season.