With 40% of the 2023 regular season in the books, here are three things we’ll be keeping an eye on around the baseball world throughout the day today:
1. How serious is Alvarez’s injury?
Astros slugger Yordan Alvarez exited yesterday’s loss to the Blue Jays after the first inning with what was termed right oblique discomfort. Speaking to reporters after the game, manager Dusty Baker (as relayed by MLB.com’s Brian McTaggart) told reporters that the club plans to re-evaluate their prized DH today, but called the injury a “tough blow.” As McTaggart notes, even a mild oblique issue seems likely to shelve Alvarez for at least a few games, as it did for Jose Altuve earlier this month when he missed four games with a mild oblique strain. A more significant strain, of course, could require a stint on the injured list.
Alvarez, who turns 26 at the end of the month, is having another sensational season at the plate for the Astros. The slugger has mashed to a .272/.384/.579 slash line in 242 plate appearances this season, good for a wRC+ of 165. While that sort of production will be next to impossible to replace fully, the Astros seem likely to offer more consistent at-bats to Corey Julks in the event that Alvarez misses time.
2. Eloy exits:
White Sox slugger Eloy Jimenez left yesterday’s game after feeling discomfort in his lower left leg while running the bases in a loss to the Yankees last night. Manager Pedro Grifol told reporters, including Scott Merkin of MLB.com, that Jimenez would be re-evaluated today and is considered day-to-day for the time being. A former top prospect, the talented Jimenez has found success when on the field throughout his big league career, with a wRC+ of 122 in the majors, but has struggled to stay on the field consistently in recent years, with just 174 games played since the start of the 2021 season.
In 2023, Jimenez has slashed .257/.315/.434 (105 wRC+) while splitting time between the DH slot and the outfield for the White Sox, though he’s been limited to just 35 games by two stints on the IL this season: one for a hamstring strain back in April and another after undergoing and appendectomy last month. Jimenez’s injury comes as the White Sox struggle to stay competitive in a weak AL Central, as the club is just 3.5 games back of the division-leading Twins despite a weak 28-36 record. Should Jimenez miss time, that would likely open up additional starts for the likes of Jake Burger and Clint Frazier.
3. Urias to return on Sunday:
The rotation picture in LA has begun to crystalize with Noah Syndergaard heading to the injured list yesterday. That leaves young right-handers Michael Grove and Bobby Miller secure in their rotation spots for the time being as they prepare to take the ball against the Phillies this weekend. Taking the ball to close out the series this weekend will be left-hander Julio Urias, who has been on the injured list since the middle of May with a hamstring strain. Last week, Urias threw a 30-pitch bullpen session, leading to speculation that he could return in the near future. That’s now coming to fruition as Urias figures to start Sunday’s game in Philadelphia.
Urias’s return could provide a boost to the Dodgers’ pitching staff as the club as the club looks to stop their current skid. Losers of 6 of their last 10 games, the Dodgers have seceded ground in the NL West race to the Diamondbacks in recent days, with Arizona currently holding a 1.5 game lead over Los Angeles in the division. That being said, Urias has struggled in 2023 to meet the lofty expectations set by his work in previous seasons. After posting a 2.63 ERA (158 ERA+) in 495 1/3 innings of work between 2019 and 2022, Urias has seemingly taken a step back through ten starts in 2023, with a 4.39 ERA that’s barely league average by measure of ERA+ (101) and a worrisome 5.31 FIP.
Getting Eloy out of the OF for any length of time will only help this team. He should be a DH only for the safety of others.
Third trip to the IL, and we aren’t even to the ASB. Death, taxes, and Eloy Jimenez pulling up lame.
While I agree Eloy has been somewhat brittle during his MLB career, he hasn’t done that bad in rf. When it comes to picking up the ball when it goes to the wall, Robert has as much trouble as Jimenez. And is injured almost as often.
“Somewhat brittle”?? Lol he’s constantly hurt. It’s pathetic.
When it comes to Eloy it’s almost impossible to figure out if it’s something new or just a cut and paste story from the MLBTR staff.
To clarify, Jimenez had to come out of the second game of last night’s DH when his leg started barking on the basepaths.
You just proved my point, Chucky. You actually had to clarify whether the story was new as opposed to a cut and paste job.
The Dodger staff are still trying to figure out how Urias surrendered back-to-back-to-back HRs during his 30-pitch bullpen session last week, but as we’ve seen this year he’s capable of that hat trick in just about any situation.
Not running away with the NLW as they usually do makes me think that Dodgers management should’ve gone out and signed some big time players instead of saving their pennies for a big push for Ohtani.
Getting Ohtani next year will make them way more money then adding salary and going for it this more seriously this year. That’s what it’s all about, isn’t it? They’ve dealt with a lot of pitching injuries and they’re competitive enough to make the playoffs and not to lose fan interest. Plus, they won’t get past Braves anyway. >_O
Besides signing and developing young players well the main thing LAD do well is selecting the right players to go after with the big bucks. If it means passing up on the riskier deals then wait til next year. Don’t think Rodon or Degrom or Verlander have worked out very well, for instance. If I were a dodgers fan I wouldn’t be too upset about not overpaying for guys like SD and so many others did this off-season. Although I get it from SDs perspective.
I agree. We’ve seen that movie before. Highest payroll, best record, etc, etc. Just get everything inline and ready for the playoffs. Regular season does not matter as much as it used to because of the expansion of wild cards. Just get healthy and get in….anything can happen.
Not only that, but they are very adept at cutting bait on their own players at the right time. After just a year of sparkling results, Tyler Anderson has turned back into a pumpkin, but it’s the Angels not the Dodgers who are stuck with him. Syndergaard was a calculated risk who just hasn’t worked out. Now they just have to figure out how to get him off the roster.
I agree about Anderson but at the same time it’s always possible he was just very comfortable on the Dodgers and with their staff. That said the market didn’t entirely seem to buy it but switching teams can be a big deal, especially for a pitcher who just seemed to figure things out. It’s cliche but we have to remember the game is played by human beings and they are subject to comfort or lack thereof. A lot of times it’s as simple as the pitching coach or catcher or even having friends on the team (this comment is not gonna get likes.lol)
Well the offense has been fine and I’m glad they passed on the top FA pitchers.
How did this guy get through so many minor league seasons without being flagged as an issue?
Who are you referring to?
Because this article is about 3 guys.
Jeeze.
@leftyleftylefty
Sorry, I was referring to Eloy.
He was constantly hurt in the minors too, with the Cubs.
Some have said he was expendable to them at the time, due to no place to play, and cuz he’s a wuss
crystalized ? He’s Thor not Iceman !
I’m bummed about Alveraz and the issue with the Astros is they are so horrible at communicating the status of their players injuries and when/if they plan on placing a player on the IL. I have Alveraz on my fantasy team and won’t know to play him or bench him next week because Dusty guards this information like it’s a nuclear secret vs treating it like the games it’s supposed to be. If I bench him, Alveraz will end up playing and have a monster week and if I play him they’ll place him on IL and I’m screwed for the week. I guess my lesson learned is not to have any Astro players on my team, so my bad!
The lesson is to be in a daily league instead of a weekly. Weekly sounds so boring to me
If the “Designated Runner” actually becomes a thing Eloy will never do anything but swing the bat ever again