On the heels of an early-morning transaction, here are three things we’ll be keeping an eye on around the baseball world throughout the day today:
1. Olson to make MLB debut:
The Tigers are expected to promote right-hander Reese Olson to start this evening’s game against the White Sox, marking Olson’s MLB debut. A former 13th round pick by the Brewers, Olson was traded to the Tigers in 2021. Since then, Olson has pitched primarily at the Double-A level, posting a 4.24 ERA in 144 1/3 innings of work. He opened the 2023 campaign with a promotion to the Triple-A level, but has largely struggled there this season, with a 6.38 ERA in 36 2/3 innings of work. That ugly figure is inflated by a 15.83 ERA in his first four appearances this season, though the 23-year-old owns a worrisome 12.6% walk rate that has stayed consistent even as his results have improved.
Olson, for whom the club will need to open an active roster spot before today’s game, will step into the rotation in the stead of the club’s injured ace, left-hander Eduardo Rodriguez. It certainly seems unlikely that Olson will be able to match Rodriguez’s dominant start to the 2023 season (2.13 ERA and 3.17 FIP in 11 starts), but he’ll nonetheless be relied upon to help stabilize a Tigers rotation that has been a clear weak spot for the club this season. Each of Matthew Boyd, Joey Wentz, and Alex Faedo sport ERAs well above 5.00, with Michael Lorenzen standing as the only active member of the rotation having an above average season by measure of ERA+ with a 122 figure. Olson will take the ball in Chicago at 7:10pm CT tonight.
2. Sale to undergo MRI:
Red Sox left-hander Chris Sale exited yesterday’s start against the Reds with shoulder soreness. He’s scheduled to undergo an MRI today to determine the extent of the issue, as noted by MassLive.com’s Chris Cotillo. While Sale has posted a rather pedestrian 4.58 ERA, exactly league average by measure of ERA+, that figure doesn’t tell the whole story of his 2023 campaign to this point. The 34-year-old veteran had a disastrous April, with a 6.75 ERA in 29 1/3 innings over six starts. Since then, however, Sale has turned a corner, posting a 2.43 ERA, 2.89 FIP, and a 31.3% strikeout rate in 29 2/3 innings over five starts that have been far more reminiscent of his ace-level production in previous seasons.
Should Sale miss time, it would not only be a serious blow to the Red Sox rotation, but surely frustrating for Sale himself, as the veteran lefty managed just 48 1/3 innings across the 2020-2022 seasons while battling a myriad of injuries, including Tommy John surgery. Right-handers Corey Kluber and Nick Pivetta were both recently demoted to the bullpen, and could theoretically step back into the rotation should Sale require a trip to the injured list.
3. Buxton, Correa exit game:
A pair of concerning injury situations popped up for the Twins during last night’s game against the Guardians, as both Byron Buxton and Carlos Correa exited the game. Buxton exited yesterday’s game with rib soreness after being struck by a pitch, and is expected to undergo imaging today, per Do-Hyoung Park of MLB.com. Meanwhile, Correa exited after re-aggravating the plantar fasciitis that recently kept him out of the lineup for a few days, per Dan Hayes of The Athletic.
Losing either superstar would be a significant blow to the club, let alone both players. That said, the Twins have the remarkable position player depth necessary to weather such a blow, with Donovan Solano and Kyle Farmer both able to come off the bench and step into everyday roles while Matt Wallner and Edouard Julien would both be options to return to the big league club should either Buxton or Correa require a stint on the injured list.
It never ends! The IL is Twins Territory!
The IL is every team’s territory because every team has plenty of injuries.
Not the Blue Jays!!!!!
For a team with few injuries, the Jays have underperformed.
Fortunately all 13 position players are semi-regulars because they are used often either in starting or pinch hitting roles. And the positionsl flexibility is huge. Most of the semi-regulars can play multiple positions including the ability to play the infield or outfield.
Byron Buxton was injured. In other news, Paul Lynde was gay.
Byron Buxton is injured. In other breaking news, Blue Baron is miffed.
In other news, DCartrow has no idea what he is talking about. Par for the course.
In other news, how often do you read the phrase “in the stead”? I believe the last time I read that was in “Robin Hood”.
In other news, Blue Baron has a fitty of hiss.
In the stead wasn’t that the Lin Miranda movie with the dancing Mexicans and Uruguayans set in New England that no one saw.
Blue Baron says “Get off my lawn dammit!”
In other news, the people who tolerate Dumpster Divin Theo on a daily basis are the real heroes.
Says the guy who is the reason God invented the middle finger.
Theo is one of those self-medicating ones.
Blue Baron that can be construed as a compliment in some jurisdictions.
Blue Baron? More like Blue Baby, amirite?
Says the guy with the cackling Paul Lynde emoji and fancy yellow sticker
wasn’t that the Lin Miranda movie with the dancing Mexicans
============================
Was that the one that got him and Rita Moreno canceled because some of the Latinos weren’t dark enough (notwithstanding the fact that it was meant to reflect the people he grew with)?
@Dumpster Divin Theo: Meh. I’ve been called worse things by better people.
@Nottingham Hey I had to go look up Paul Lynde because I had never heard of him in my life. A little bit before my time, I was born in ’76 and he died in ’82. Seems like a character…thnx for the history lesson!!!
That’s disgusting! 😉
1. 6.38 ERA, 1.745 WHIP in 36.2 innings? His only saving grace is that he has a SO9 of 11.5. Guy’s gonna blow it by you but don’t expect any shutout. At least he gets to pitch against the White Sox. I would normally expect some big numbers but the White Sox offense is terrible so I wouldn’t be surprised if they make him look like a Cy Young winner.
2. Dump him. or convert him to a bullpen guy. Sale is done as a starter.
3. I’m sending both of them thoughts and prayers to recover soon so they can lead the Twins to the AL Central title, before being booted out of the playoffs.
Take a look at video of Reece Olson. Everything he throws at you moves. He’s got a legit 95 mph fastball, a sweeper with huge horizontal break, and a changeup that rides in on the hands of righties. Curveball is an occasional offering, and is little more than a setup pitch. He uses all parts of the plate.
It will be interesting to see if Major League hitters lay off his pitches. A lot of them look like strikes coming out of the hand, but end up out of the zone. If he’s a bit off, the walks go up.
The stuff of Reese makes me believe he’ll be a name in the bigs for 5-7 years. Maybe have a Michael Fulmer type of high end or a Drew Smyly type career, sans injury.
I’m really shocked both Buxton and Correa got hurt
They actually both have fairly well-documented injury histories.
Sarcasm detector = broken
I traded Scherzer for Sale and a Doval.
For 2-3 weeks, I looked like an idiot when Sale pitched badly and Doval had two saves in April.
Then I looked like a genius when Sale pitched liked an ace, Doval got 12 saves in 24 games, and Scherzer gets suspended.
Now back to looking like an idiot.
I traded Sale for Pfaadt and Mitch Keller. Some hit, some don’t. I raise a toast to my fellow GMs and our incessant toil!
Psssst trade for George Kirby
I messed up with Kirbs. I kept Verlander over him. My train of thought was “how do I cut the reigning Cy winner?” …but in hindsight, I messed up.
Too early to judge what’s going on with Sale, so, don’t pur yourself back into the idiot box yet on this one.
Reasons to think it could be something- Sale has always fought to stay in games and push through issues. To willingly exit, could mean he knows something is really off.
Reasons to think it’s nothing? He’s important to the team, has a wee bit of an injury history of late, so, they want to be conservative with it and make sure it’s really a-o-k and not risk some more serious damage leaving him in.
Either way I expect a couple starts get missed.
Hope Fetters can work his magic with Olsen. Definitely has a live arm. Twins are definitely helped by the new GM Harris gifting them a Swiss army knife in Willi Castro. He might be just a little better than Ibanez, Maton, or Nevin. Of course, it would have cost 500K more.
I guess big boy pants are out of style in MLB
Hey, look, a tweaked nasal hair follicle is nothing to sneeze at. Kris Bryant can attest to that, but don’t make mention of how much time he’s lost to microscopic injuries or his apologists will be triggered and have to spend some time of their own on the IL due to anxiety issues.
Solaris,
Who’s triggered here? It seems like it’s you and badco. Have either of you taken an MLB-speed pitch to the ribs or tried to play pro ball with plantar fasciitis?
There’s a Sale at Penney’s!
A penny for your puns
And Leon’s getting larger!
That ugly figure is inflated by eating too much
It would be cruel to suggest, but swapping out 2023 Carlos Correa (.207/.297/.372) for the backups might not be the most terrible thing that could happen to the Twins. 2023 Byron Buxton is doing better at .220/.325/.445 but those are not imposing numbers for a DH. Again, the Twins can cycle players through the designated hitter slot and probably get close to that production.
All in all, these don’t look like crippling injuries to the Twins right now, even if Correa and Buxton spend time on the IL. They’ve managed to keep first place in their weak division with less than overwhelming contributions from the two players, who have definitely not been “superstars” in 2023.
Sale got paid. End of story.
Bibee should be IMMEDIATELY be suspended and remain so until Buxton is able to resume play at his customary level. It is long past the time when the pitcher who hits an opposing batter with a pitched ball and his team suffer some kind of penalty as a result of their action.
The injustice of the game where one team suffers the loss of an individual’s services while the only consequences to the opposing team & player is that they have to say, “OOPS, Sorry, Well, that’s just part of the game” just is not acceptable any more.
Giants backing off Correa may be off season move of the year..
Sometimes it’s the trade or signing that you don’t make that ends up winning.
Free agent pitcher’s, they are not really worth it. The White Sox got full value, and then some from Sale for the 20 million they paid. The Tampa model is the way to go. Let someone else pony up the money. They swindled Detroit with that Meadows trade, but that G.M. has already paid for that one.
Sale though that’s a rough one. Detroit’s E rod is not that great of a bargain either as with this stint on the D.L, and missing so much of last year, will only be about a years worth if he opts out. Detroit is real close to being a Tampa style team, and they are in the race for a playoff spot. Go figure ? They leave the bases loaded with runners,the pitching starting wise is hit or miss. Once again even though it’s been revamped, the bullpen is doing miracles. The defense has been insanely good, and that’s with guys playing every which where.
As strange as it is I expect Olson to do well tonight too. The Tigers are playing effective baseball. A strange one for the fans, but the outcomes have been great. I hope they never buy an expensive free agent pitcher, ever again.