Injuries continue to plague Reds right-hander Anthony DeSclafani, who’s now dealing with an oblique issue, C. Trent Rosecrans was among those to report (Twitter links). There’s no timetable for DeSclafani’s return, per Rosecrans, who adds that he “felt discomfort” during his start Friday and then underwent an MRI. DeSclafani previously missed two months during the 2016 campaign with an oblique injury, and then sat out all of last season with a sprained ulnar collateral ligament, depriving the Reds of one of their top players. When he was available from 2014-15, DeSclafani logged a 3.74 ERA/3.79 FIP with 7.48 K/9 and 2.48 BB/9 across 308 innings.
More from the National League…
- Nationals left fielder Adam Eaton is “very close” to participating in major league spring training games, manager Dave Martinez told Chelsea Janes of the Washington Post and other reporters Sunday (Twitter link). Eaton, who’s coming back from the torn left ACL he suffered last April, has been playing in minor league games recently. The Nationals expect him to be ready for Opening Day, Jamal Collier of MLB.com relays.
- The Brewers don’t plan to name a starting second baseman by the beginning of the season, manager Craig Counsell said Sunday (Twitter link via Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel). Rather, the hope is that someone from the Jonathan Villar–Eric Sogard–Hernan Perez trio will stand out during the season, Haudricourt suggests. Notably, second baseman Neil Walker remains on the open market after performing well as a Brewer during the second half of 2017, and he’s arguably a better option than anyone they have now. However, the Brewers don’t seem to be interested in a reunion with the 32-year-old.
- Braves left-hander Luiz Gohara’s sprained ankle is likely to keep him out until May, if not later, David O’Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution writes. Manager Brian Snitker acknowledged that ““it’s going to be a while” for Gohara because he’ll essentially have to restart spring training from scratch when he’s well enough to return. A healthy Gohara may have opened the year in the Braves’ rotation, but his injury woes could lead to veteran lefty Scott Kazmir claiming a spot, O’Brien notes. A hip injury prevented Kazmir from pitching in the majors in 2017, his final year with the Dodgers.
- The Cubs renewed second baseman/outfielder Ian Happ’s 2018 salary for $570K on Sunday, Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago-Tribune tweets. It’s a noteworthy development because it’s the first time the Cubs weren’t able to reach an agreement on a salary with a pre-arb player since president Theo Epstein took the reins in 2011. Nevertheless, there are “zero hard feelings” between the Cubs and Happ, general manager Jed Hoyer said. Happ, 23, debuted in the bigs in 2017 and slashed .253/.328/.514 with 24 home runs across 413 plate appearances.
Might as well add Finnegan, yet again, up there. Left after 12 pitches. Pointed at left biceps.
Gohara had a big increase in innings pitched during 2017. While it is never a great thing for someone to be injured, this delayed start to his season might end up being beneficial to him. Perhaps it will also be a wake up call that he needs better conditioning. Some reports say he is his own worst enemy.
Gohara needs a fitness regimen…
What a convenient way for the Braves to showcase and shop Kazmir.
Haha yep, my thoughts exactly…
Kazmir, markakis, and a B level prospect for Archer at the deadline. Get er done, Coppy!
Huh?! What?!
I liked Walker, but if Sogar performs near what he did last year or Villar from 2016, both would be better than a Walker. And Perez is having a good spring and if the Brewers would let him out of super-utility he might be the best of all of them.
I don’t generally dive too deep into stats, but most who do seem to agree that Perez’ best attribute is his defensive versatility, as his offensive numbers are not great. I’m really hoping for a bounce back from Villar. If his offensive numbers rebound closer to his ’16 season, and he cuts down on the mental errors, we’re in business.
What is this ” Renewed Contract” ??
I thought pre-Arb they made Teri rookie salary? I didn’t think they had to agree on anything until arbitration years? Can someone inform on how this works
There were probably negotiating a small raise and couldn’t agree so they agreed to disagree.
A renewable contract means the team can sign the player for any amount above the league minimum as long as it is at least 80% of what he made the previous year. Think of it almost as a if the player signed a 1 year deal with multiple team options with salaries for the options being negotiated later. Normally players will negotiate with the team and agree to the salary but in some cases they don’t agree. If the player doesn’t agree to a salary by the renewal date the team has the option of letting the player go into free agency (this is uncommon) or assigning they a salary they believe is fair.
Amazing how it is always the “team official” saying that there are no hard feelings after the team renews at the rate they chose.
I don’t know but $570K sounds like a nice raise and a real good salary for a guy with less than 500 PAs in his career.
OK, so it’s looking like status quo for the Reds again this year – what might have been IF the starting staff weren’t injured. I don’t even know if signing Cobb helps with his extensive injury history. Not trying to jinx them any more than they are already, but I’m just waiting to hear about Homer Bailey’s next injury that will shelve him until after the All Star Break.
That would probably be a bonus for the Reds.
You may be right. Watching his starts last year was brutal. This guy threw a no-hitter at one point, right? Top 10 current albatross MLB contract
thats him…
Brewers are stupid, no way any of those guys are better than Walker; or they would t have replaced them with him last year. Their hope is someone has a nice spring. Duh! Let’s hold off signing Walker, screwing him out of some money.
Let’s hope someone else signs Walker to full
Year full time contract & the Brewers miss the playoffs again & Walker’s team makes it
Pretty sure the brewers discussed, if not made an official offer to Walker toward the end of last season, to the tune of 2 years, $16-17 mil, which he chose not to accept, and chase the big contract on the free agent market instead.
In which case, he has no one to blame but himself and/or his agent.
The Brewers traded for Walker down the stretch like most teams in the playoff hunt would. Villar was horrible last year and Perez was needed all over the diamond. I like Sogard, but he’s a bench player. We needed someone like Walker last year. This year is different.
A surplus in the OF means no chance of Perez seeing much playing time there. This frees him up to work exclusively in the IF (more 2B AB’s). If the switch-whiffing Villar doesn’t rebound we still have Sogard and Perez to platoon there. The Brewers don’t need Walker.
If kazmir looks decent I’d take him in Baltimore for 40% of his contract.
Would love to see Happ in a Braves uni.
Not likely.
Was surprised the Brewers, Who had no problem scoring runs last year, chose to add 2 OF’s to an OF that was already stacked. Then signed Gallardo and Chacin instead of a P. Weird