After placing Chris Tillman on the DL earlier today, the Orioles have announced that they’ll promote David Hess to take the open spot in the rotation, as Jon Meoli of the Baltimore Sun was among those to report on Twitter. The 24-year-old righty entered the year as a notable, if not particularly heralded prospect. He has impressed thus far in 2018 after being added to the 40-man roster to protect him from the Rule 5 draft last fall. Through 29 2/3 innings over six starts, Hess owns a 2.12 ERA with 8.8 K/9 and 3.6 BB/9. It remains to be seen how long a run he’ll get in the majors, but it seems there’ll be opportunity available if he throws well.
Here are some more notes from the eastern divisions, focusing on some health situations of note:
- Blue Jays starter Marcus Stroman discussed his DL placement with the media today, with MLB.com’s Gregor Chisholm providing the story. Stroman acknowledged that the placement was made with consideration not just of his physical wellness, but his mental state. “Just a collective decision between me and the staff, to take a step back, do what I need to do for my shoulder, get my emotions and everything in sync, to get back to myself,” Stroman said. It seems he’ll mostly be looking to get a relatively brief respite before rejoining the staff.
- The Mets provided a variety of health updates today to reporters, including MLB.com’s Anthony DiComo. Infielder T.J. Rivera is not yet ready for rehab assignments but could make it back from Tommy John surgery by July. Backstop Kevin Plawecki is closer, as he’s preparing to begin rehabbing in earnest in hopes of returning from a fractured hand by the end of the month. As Tim Britton of The Athletic tweets, though, reliever Anthony Swarzak is still a little ways off. His injured oblique is still not healed enough to allow him to take the mound. Meanwhile, the club has placed reliever Hansel Robles on the 10-day DL with a sprained knee, with lefty Buddy Baumann taking his place on the active roster.
- Red Sox second baseman Dustin Pedroia is hoping to begin a rehab assignment early next week, Pete Abraham of the Boston Globe tweets. He has been building back to full strength following offseason knee surgery. While the Sox have managed just fine without the veteran star, a return from Pedroia will certainly be most welcome, as fill-in Eduardo Nunez has struggled thus far at the plate.
- Rays righty Jose Mujica has been cleared of any significant arm issues, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times tweets. The minor-league hurler will need about a month of rest after being diagnosed with a forearm strain. So long as he can get back to health, though, he could represent a much-needed option later in the year.
Finally Pedi returns from such problems that was made worse from a dirty slide last yr from Machado. Too bad A Rod isn’t still on the NYY so they both play dirty for the Evil Empire . We all know that’s where Machado will land in FA.
Machado will not go to American League East he will be a borrowed player then ask for 250 million next year. Keep an eye on Cardinals or Braves
Why would he not?
I think he means this year as a rental, the O’s won’t trade within the division.
What he asks for next year really has nothing to do with whether a team bites the bullet to trade for him this year. Yea I’ve heard the AL East conjecture, but let’s just wait and see. He’s a rental and not a “borrowed player”.
When has there been a borrowed player? The money is just too crazy for the average fan to relate to. The one rule I wish MLB would borrow is the NBA’s ability to pay your own player more than others. The fans deserve some type of stability. Of course that would require a true cap…
$250 million won’t touch Machado in a deal ! More like $350!
Time will tell. he may have to decide on years or avg value to max out. Could end up with say 8 at $34M avg = $272M.
I think it’s pretty awesome how a player is taking a mental health break. It’s just as important as physical health.
If Stroman was serious about his mental state he’d delete his twitter. Until then it’s a bunch of bull. He’s embarrassed over his poor start after the way he handled the arbitration process. Nothing about a sore shoulder and being thin-skinned/immature is awesome.
Pedroia’s return should be more important in the field than at bat. Nunez has been absolutely terrible at second base. He looks like a fellow with a gimpy leg — little range, awkward positioning, poor hands. He’s much better at third, where at least he has a strong arm, doesn’t have to range much, and doesn’t have to turn any plays at the bag.
Hopefully Pedroia will still have range. Between the rehabbing and his age, such is a question mark.
Peddy is on the downside so it is right to expect further loss of range. How he is able to get around is not just a factor of his rehab; rather its his age coupled with multiple injuries. He will try to make the best of it as he wants to get paid as long as possible.
On the upside, besides his leadership in the clubhouse, Peddy is the team’s Apple tech expert. You can count on him to figure out how to use technology pieces to cheat whenever possible.
What kind of leader throws teammates under the bus?
As usual the clown Mikeyank bringing nothing constructive running his mouth off with stupid comments.
The Red Sox will be a better team when Pedroia is back and they were already a really good one.
The Yankees look good as well just had a real good series with the Yankees and every game could of gone either way. I’m looking forward to great summer of baseball and I expect the Red Sox and Yankees to battle for the division all year how much fun is this going to be.
Bosox may want to find a spot for Brock Holt because he’s playing too good to head to the bench when Dustin returns.