D-backs outfielder Socrates Brito suffered a dislocated finger while sliding headfirst into home plate today, tweets MLB.com’s Steve Gilbert. He’s being further evaluated, though Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic tweets that manager Torey Lovullo wouldn’t rule out surgery as a possibility. Brito is behind Yasmany Tomas, A.J. Pollock and David Peralta on the Diamondbacks’ outfield depth chart, but he certainly has a chance to make the team’s roster (or to re-emerge in the Majors midseason) if healthy. While Brito hasn’t hit much in his brief taste of the Majors, the 24-year-old has been fairly productive in Double-A and Triple-A in each of the past two seasons.
A few more injury updates from around the league…
- Lefty Tyler Skaggs has been scratched from his upcoming Cactus League start due to weakness in his left shoulder, writes Mike DiGiovanna of the Los Angeles Times. While the Angels are calling the setback minor in nature, DiGiovanna notes that there’s some cause for trepidation given Skaggs’ lengthy injury history. Shoulder troubles limited Skaggs as recently as 2016 — his first campaign back from Tommy John surgery that was performed late in the 2014 season. Furthermore, DiGiovanna cites scouts who attended Skaggs’ first outing of the spring in reporting that the southpaw’s fastball dipped from 89-92 mph early in that outing to the 86-88 mph range near the end of his day. Skaggs walked four hitters and didn’t complete one inning in that outing, though obvious Spring Training caveats come along with that unsightly outing. The current plan is for Skaggs to throw a ’pen session this weekend.
- Right-hander Brad Boxberger had “a little bit of a setback” with his right lat muscle, Rays manager Kevin Cash tells Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times (Twitter links). The pitcher himself tells Topkin that he’s not concerned by the issue and isn’t feeling any discomfort in his arm. Both player and team are still hopeful that Boxberger can be ready for Opening Day. The now-former Rays closer — Alex Colome seized that role in 2016 — missed the majority of the most recent season due to groin and oblique issues.
- Topkin also reports that shortstop Matt Duffy’s target to appear in Grapefruit League games has been pushed back from its original mid-March placement (Twitter links). Duffy, whose 2016 season ended when he underwent surgery to repair the injured Achilles tendon in his left heel, tells Topkin that his progress has been a bit slowgoing. Topkin notes that the delay in his return to the playing field could impact Duffy’s Opening Day availability, though Cash wouldn’t rule out the possibility that Duffy could be ready by that point. Nevertheless, one can imagine that the Rays aren’t keen on rushing the 26-year-old back to the field, so a backdated DL stint to begin the year seems plausible. Tampa Bay acquired Duffy alongside prospects Lucius Fox and Michael Santos in last summer’s Matt Moore swap with the Giants.
stryk3istrukuout
So, who is up for a fantasy league? I have a custom points h2h league on ESPN and we only need two more people. The quicker we can get it full the sooner we can draft tonight. leave your email and I’ll have you in within minutes
AZ14
seriously…you really think that you can get two people and draft tonight. interesting
stryk3istrukuout
Why not? We now have 9 people. it’s 9:30 central. draft takes maybe an hour
fettichico shiznilty
I would have been down but I already have a team
lesterdnightfly
I would join you, but I prefer real baseball. My fantasies run in other directions……
ducksnort69
I really hope Matt Duffy can get healthy and be the centerpiece of the Moore trade as expected, but this going to be his 3rd injury riddled/shortened season by the looks of things.
angels fan 3
Why are they making a big deal of Skaggs fastball being at 89-92 mph dipping to 86-88 mph. If they actually knew the correct mph then it would matter but it could been 89 mph dipping to 88 mph and that obviously doesn’t mean much
Cam
Not every fastball is the same speed. Going from a floor of 89, to a floor of 86, is pretty significant. While it’s still ST, a velocity loss of 3mph is worth noting – considering research has indicated that ST to regular season velocities vary by approximately 0.7mph.
HaloShane
Night night Skaggs, and let the fun begin.
angels fan 3
Nice to hear from you Shane
HaloShane
Thank you.
halos101
brutal news on skaggs if it lingers
ronnsnow
Link is to the wrong Matt Duffy