News that Rays ace Shane McClanahan would require Tommy John surgery already strongly implied that he’ll miss not just the remainder of the 2023 season but perhaps the entire 2024 campaign as well — and McClanahan has effectively confirmed as much to Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times. Topkin writes that the 26-year-old McClanahan expects to be sidelined until 2025 after renowned surgeons Dr. Neal ElAttrache and Keith Meister both made the same recommendation. Meister, who performed the procedure, also “cleaned up” some bone chips in McClanahan’s elbow, the pitcher added.
“I was really frustrated when I found out, but I can’t control that,” McClanahan tells Topkin. “…I want to control how hard I work, the quality of teammate I am and the consistency on the field. And ultimately, the next year, year and a half, whatever it may be, I’m going to work my butt off to make sure that when I’m healthy, it’s going to be the same me.” Topkin’s piece contains plenty of quotes from McClanahan on his injury, the surgery and his mindset as he embarks on a lengthy rehab process, so Rays fans in particular will want to check it out in full.
A few more injury notes from around the league…
- Angels infielder/outfielder Luis Rengifo exited last night’s game with a strained left biceps that he apparently sustained taking swings in the on-deck circle prior to his first at-bat, per Sarah Valenzuela of the Los Angeles Times. The Angels are further evaluating him today, but manager Phil Nevin conceded that the injury “doesn’t look good.” Further details will surely follow once the 26-year-old Rengifo has undergone imaging. A Rengifo injury of note would be the latest in a series of unwelcome developments for the Angels. He’s been the team’s hottest hitter for the past six weeks, evidenced by a scalding .342/.393/.602 batting line with nine homers, nine doubles, three triples and just a 14.6% strikeout rate in that time. On the whole Rengifo is hitting .264/.339/.444 in what has easily been the most productive all-around season of his still-young career. He’s under club control for an additional two seasons beyond the current campaign.
- Dodgers ace Clayton Kershaw still isn’t pitching at 100% following the shoulder strain that sent him to the injured list this summer, writes Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic. Kershaw didn’t reach 90 mph in his most recent start, and his average fastball velocity of just 88.4 mph in that outing was the second-lowest of any appearance in his career. Kershaw, however, is adamant that he can continue to pitch through the issue — and the Dodgers appear willing to let him do so. “If he is able to take the baseball, he’s going to take the baseball,” manager Dave Roberts said of the left-hander.
- Marcus Stroman hasn’t pitched since July 31 due to inflammation in his hip and, more problematically, a rib cartilage fracture that was discovered as he was on the cusp of returning from that hip issue. However, he tossed 29 pitches during a live batting practice session yesterday, per Maddie Lee of the Chicago Sun-Times, and Cubs manager David Ross acknowledged that the right-hander appears to be ahead of schedule in his recovery. Stroman will likely require at least one minor league rehab start (if not two), but it seems there’s a good chance the 32-year-old could return before season’s end — and perhaps factor into the postseason rotation. How Stroman fares down the stretch will be worth watching with a particularly close eye, as he has a $21MM player option for the 2024 season but has long appeared likely to decline that and return to the market in search of a lengthier pact.
Do the Angels ever take a 30,000 foot view of their organization? It’s broken and they can’t see it. And it starts at the top with Moreno. So maybe I just answered my own question.
A lot of Angels fans are in denial, thinking it’s only the injuries keeping them out of the playoffs each year. All teams will suffer numerous injuries each year, but the better run teams build in a layer of depth to better prepare for the attrition.
Reds suffer from this same problem.
To their credit, the Reds don’t lock themselves into the same 8-10 year plan(Long term albatross contracts)every 2 yrs so at least they have the financial flexibility to pivot and make any necessary changes from year to year.
Move them to Montreal.
No ballpark. No shot at getting public funding for a ballpark. No chance at getting a team.
You do know the Angels set all the records for # of people and and # of games of opening day lineup on the DL. Arte Moreno is el diablo but the angels core when healthy has been electric (see the beginning of the last two seasons).
Im not exactly sure what a training staff would do different. Trout has mostly been injured by either HBP or soft tissue stuff which you dont really “work out.” Ward got hit in the face, Ohtani re-injured his elbow.
The angels can both be unlucky and suck, in fact its better because its even more painful for us.
Angels lead the AL in # of different players on the IL with 28 and player days on the IL with 1878 so far this season.
The Dodgers lead MLB with 27 players but 1971 player days on the IL.
Los Angeles teams are cursed.
Yes,cursed right into first place.
Call it what you like, but the postseasons should be called something, and it isn’t a good thing. They sure make me curse.
Interesting stats. So in theory, that’s almost 3 fielded teams. Difficult to plan for that type of attrition.
The Angels are far from 1st place.
From that altitude, you probably can’t even see it. Which might be just as well.
I think all Angels fans wold agree with you about Moreno being an issue with putting a winning team on the field.
From Moreno’s point of view, the team makes him money each and every season so he is quite satisfied with how its going. He is going to break payroll down to a minimum next season to maximize his return when he sells.
Angels fans can hope that Patrick Soon-Shiong is still interested and buys the team from Moreno. He has the money and the interest in putting a winning team on the field. Would be great to see 3 southern California teams all spending to win.
I’m not sure I see how creating a basket case team is the best strategy for maximizing the selling price of the franchise. It’s like trying to sell a car that doesn’t run.
It is what nearly every team we have seen sold has done. Reduce payroll. Reduce costs. Then sell.
Makes no sense to me either other than that last year is more profit on the P&L.
An accounting trick that would fool absolutely nobody and not especially the billionaires who buy baseball teams.
The billionaires who sell baseball teams do it consistently, so it must work. Like I said, it makes no sense to me either, but they keep doing it.
Mark Lerner is doing it with the Nationals. The Tribune Companies did it with the Cubs. Loria did it with the Marlins. Moores did it with the Padres. Hicks did it with the Rangers. Even McCourt did it with the Dodgers, albeit just a 10% drop in player salaries and a few dozen people fired in baseball operations.
Pretty much the only one I can recall that didn’t was Nintendo with the Mariners.
The Dodgers were bankrupt, after years of neglect and disinvestment by two successive owners. I wouldn’t call that a good plan.
Moreno is a lot of things but skimping on payroll is not one of them. It’s an easy argument that he doesn’t spend in the right areas though. From signing the wrong major league talent to having a farm system that is a zero when it comes to player development he is clueless when it comes to spending his money. There are a lot of things one can call
Moreno but cheap isn’t at the top of the list
The last thing I want to see is Soon-Shiong buy the team. He has driven the LA Times into the ground, decimated the sports section and has allowed his daughter free reign when it comes to what is published and what is not. Is rather stick with Moreno
The LA Times has gone from bankrupt in 2018 when he purchased it from the Tribune Company out of Chicago to profitable today. It has gone from a few hundred thousand online subscribers to the 3rd most of any daily print publication in the country. NY Times and WSJ are #1 and #2. The Washington Post is a close #4.
Nika is not even in the US. She left in 2022 to go to complete her PhD at Oxford and has had nothing to do with the Times since late 2021. She was directly involved in the digital revolution there and she saved the paper from being sold a third time. The staffers on the paper liked her involvement and there have been several articles in other publications publications about that. The one in the Washington Post is behind a paywall, but this one is available. thedailybeast.com/los-angeles-times-owner-patrick-…
While it is “not as drastic” as the N.Y Times’ decision to disband its print sports department and go digital entirely, the L.A. Times also is “making major changes to their sports coverage.” “The publication’s printed sports section is “doing away with several elements that had long been standbys: game stories, box scores, and standings” which will still be available digitally. The move comes “after changes to their print deadlines from the sale of their printing press and also with a change to having the paper’s new sports section in a magazine-style format with in-depth profiles, investigations, analysis and opinion columns.”
Patrick Soon-Shiong is a baseball fan, one that often shows up at little league games near his offices in Culver City, and has said that winning is the #1 thing he wants. That is what fans want to hear and to see happen.
So you are close to Arte in that he conveys to you his inner thoughts on what he want to doRight? Are you his financial advisor?
What about all these freaking injuries the Angels are just unlucky team Arte Moreno sell the team
Man so bummed about Rengifo. Love watching him play.
Yeah he has gotten better. He poured it on late last season too. He needs to figure out how to start strong.
I am a Rengifo fan as well. Can’t help but root for a guy who is willing to play anywhere they tell him to play.
He wa pretty bad early in the season and made some serious game costing errors too. Admittedly, he has played much better of late. Perhaps he was just trying too hard. Regardless, it appears that he turned it around and the injury is unfortunate… and unfortunately in line with this team’s luck.
Hoping Stroman continues to improve, Cubs are going to need him if they make it to the playoffs and make a deep run.
2023 playoffs Cubs rotation
Steele
Wicks
Assad
Stroman
Hendricks
Taillon
A six man rotation in the playoffs? If you’ve seen Taillon pitch you’d know he doesn’t deserve to be on the playoff roster.
You only use number six if injuries or mop-up duty come into play
Same is true for number five in the first round
Old guy: Cubs have to swim or sink with the young guys, I think
Definitely with the young guys. Teams rarely use five starters in the playoffs due to days off because of TV
That’s not bad, pitching and defense are what help make championship teams win it all.
Seriously? Number one, nobody uses a six-man rotation in the playoffs. Number two, Taillon isn’t going to sniff the playoffs.
Emerson
As I noted above, I agree, the five and six starters only get used in the event of an injury or mop-up duty in a disastrous blow-out
Only going to be 3 starters to start the playoffs. If Stroman is available he would be in that group.
Stroman is slotted four until he proves he is back in form, Steele Wicks and Assad have looked exceptional lately
You may want to tell Ross that. He said if healthy Stroman would be part of the playoff rotation.
That is the right thing for Ross to say until we see him pitch- respect the veterans but be ready to pivot fast if needed
3 man rotation for first 2 rounds, Only a 4 man if in the NLCS. Stroman would obviously make that 3 man rotation behind Steele.
Wicks has 3 starts in the majors. Small sample size theater.
Stroman probably doesn’t get a much better AAV with a new contract, but could probably land a 2-3 year deal. I could see the Cubs offering him $50m for 2 years with another player option on the back end.
If Stroman is your ace, your team probably isn’t in great shape, but if he’s your #3, that’s pretty solid. I’d like to see the Cubs sign Nola this offseason. I think Nola with a really good defense behind him could find another level of success.
Nola
Steele
Stroman
Hendricks
Taillon/Assad/Wicks
That would be a solid group
I think with one solid 2023 start he gets the same offer at the end of the year as last time:
Three years, with opt outs
Maybe the 21 million stays in place followed by two years at 25 million
Without that one more solid start, he has to opt in and take the 21 million
I would prefer Yoshinobu Yamamoto over Nola.
Wicks/Assad/Taillon not other way around.
I’m interested to see what the Cubs do to fill out their rotation next season. Steele has established himself as an Ace, probably is the front runner for the Cy Young as long as the wheels don’t fall off. Wicks and Assad have looked good. Brown isn’t too far off from getting a little kshot, Hendricks has a team option that most likely will picked up, Smyly and Tailon have been horrific train wrecks in the rotation.
One has to assume, given his contract, JT will be in the rotation, Smyly most likely will be penciled in as a relief/depth option leaving two spots in the rotation. I don’t think Stroman is back unless it’s in the 17.5-20 million range for AAV. His agent may try to argue his strong start but the track record is that Stroman is a solid 3 in a rotation.
I’d like to see the Cubs land one guy in free agency that has two upside but the bigger concern is what is going to happen with Bellinger… I feel confident the rotation will be fine, JT will bounce back to his career mean, Steele, Hendricks, Smyly, Brown, Wicks, Assad and some others can shoulder the load and if they cannot, we can grab someone at the deadline. The Cubs however do not have a guy that can replace Bellie. PCA certainly can play center but he isn’t going to come close to replicating his offense. Mervis looked over matched, my assumption on Canario is he is up so the Cubs can work with him, not play him (not ready) and Candy is a free agent as well (not that he would/could replace what Bellinger is doing).
Cubs offense is only good, honestly, because of what Bellinger is providing in the middle. Outside of him it’s a bunch of good, not great offensive players.
Nola 4.10 ERA 101 ERA+ 2021-2023
Stroman 3.41 ERA 124 ERA+ 2021-2023
Prior to the injury Rosenthal had execs quoted in an article saying he would get 4/108 or a bit more. If he comes back with a couple of solid starts I don’t see it being much less than that.
There is no way he doesn’t take the opt out. Regardless of whether he is out the rest of the season or comes back to make starts he still gets far more than $21 guaranteed on FA market.
I like Stroman but there is no way given his age and history that anyone would give him a 27 million aav, regardless of how weak the market may be.
I tend to agree that no team will come close to $27M aav for Stroman. He isn’t getting younger, as well as still carrying some baggage from previous stops. And there really hasn’t been any explanation I’ve heard about how his current injuries came about.
Unless Stroman puts together some real nice performances before the season ends, I think there’s a real possibility that he could decide to return for another season in Chicago.
And one more season in the Cubs rotation would fit perfectly with other SPs coming along.
I also think Smyly will be dealt. A salary dump basically.
From the Padsfan comments here, it seems to me that he’s been living in San Diego too long. He seems to be used to overpaying for talent.
And sometimes overpaying for no talent.
Even if Stroman doesn’t pitch again this season, I think he opts out.
He had a nice season and I strongly doubt any GM would be overly concerned about his injuries this year (not like it’s a lingering ligament or something). I think worst case he would get 17 million aav for 4 seasons. I don’t think he is at an age where it would be wise to roll the dice on a one year deal.
Neither of our opinions matter. MLB execs interviewed by Rosenthal said they expected him to get around 4/108.
That was days before he went down with the hip injury.
No offense, but I’m going to go with their opinions instead of yours.
BIL, Hadn’t seen your post before I commented. You hit the nail on the head with receipts.
No doubt about the opt out He will get at a bare minimum the same AAV over 3-4 years as a free agent.
Stroman has been a better starter than Nola the last 3 seasons. He will still get a $100 million deal even if he doesn’t step on the mound again this season.
Kershaw might feel compelled to keep pitching thanks to Urias’s absence
Kershaw’s a team first guy, so yes he will feel compelled to soldier thru his own injuries, to help the Dodgers continue to lock down the #2 seed in the NL.
Kershaw might be feeling compelled to keep pitching because he’s Clayton Kershaw.
This is a time where you might both be right. Kudos to Kershaw either way. He is a competitor. If another team can knock off Atlanta, Dodgers might go all the way.
It’s hard to see a path that doesn’t involve a whole lot of luck. I mean, right now we’re looking at a rotation of Kershaw, Miller, Pepiot and Lynn. Good luck with that in the playoffs because you’re going to need it.
Did you see Lynn pitch? Kershaw, Miller, Pepiot, Sheehan, Yarbrough, Lynn.
Yeah, I did, several times. Lynn was really good through his first starts with the Dodgers, right up until the last two disasters. I say the Dodgers will look to fix whatever is going wrong with him before they throw a guy who started the season in double-A into the playoffs pressure-cooker. I like Sheehan for the future, just not for now. If they went with him it would be raising the white flag.
the power of Christ compells him
Kershaw is manning up but realistically, he maybe thinking that this is his last year so what the heck.
He can’t stand to lose much more on FB and have a chance against a playoff lineup.
He is what he is and that is a first ballot HOFer but even those have to end sometime.
Struggling to hit 90mph on the radar gun probably means Kershaw’s postseason numbers get uglier this October. Lance Lynn has been pummeled his last 2 starts (15 earned runs) and has allowed more Home Runs than walks since joining the Dodgers and no Urias. Seems very unlikely the Dodgers get past the Braves or whoever else they may face in the playoffs
The Dodgers only hope, in my opinion, is if someone else(Philly is the only threat really)can knock off the Braves in the playoffs and then maybe the Dodgers can make the WS. The Braves are CLEARLY the favorites to make and win the World Series, although favorites don’t always win.
I don’t know about favorites, but the Braves are definitely the team to beat. For a chance of knocking them off in an NLDS, I’d actually give the edge to the Cubs.
Bobby Miller and Ryan Pepiot could be as important and Freeman and Betts. It is a team game while I would bet my money on Atlanta if I am selecting a single team, I would still take the “field” over Atlanta in terms of which NL team makes the Series. Dodgers, Brewers, Cubs, Phillies, no quitters in that bunch. But just last year, I thought Atlanta was the best team, and Phillies took care of business
Lynn had two good starts with the Dodgers and then the wheels fell off. His last 3 starts he has given up 18 ER in 15 IP. Its doubtful he even makes the postseason roster if this continues.
It was actually five. He gave up a total of seven earned runs over those starts, and got them a decent amount of innings too. This is why I believe they’ll prioritize trying to get him right again over throwing Sheehan into the fire and hoping for the best.
I was looking at just the last 5 and thought that was all he had in LA. My bad. Lets split the difference. He had 4 good starts then the wheels fell off.
In start 5 he had a 4.50 ERA, 3 runs in 6 IP, which is not good. Not terrible, but not good.
In start 6 he gave up 7 runs in 4.1 IP
In start 7 he gave up 8 runs in 4.2 IP
If he pitches anywhere in that range in his next 4 starts through the end of the season, its not likely he makes the playoff roster.
Sorry no sale. You don’t figure ERA based on one game. He was good through five starts. And if you believe Sheehan is the guy instead you didn’t watch him give up five in four innings tonight against the awful Nationals.
Its not a good start. Period.
I said nothing about Sheehan. I said if Lynn continues to pitch like he has the last 3 starts he likely won’t get a spot in the playoff roster.
Last two. The Dodgers have no option but to carry Lynn on the playoff roster because they have nobody to replace him. Period.
They always have an option. If he continues putting up a 9+ ERA or even the midpoint between his 15 ERA the last 2 games and what he had for the Dodgers prior, Lynn is not a valuable pitcher and is probably not making the post season roster even if it means sending Sheehan or someone else out there. While Sheehan has not pitched great, his last 3 starts are still much better than Lynn’s last 3 games.
These are two pretty poor options. Sheehan has been a lot less than not great, he’s been close to awful. But it would be unrealistic to expect much more from a guy who was supposed to be in double-A this year. Lynn has a few more starts to prove that his last two were outliers. Given that he was very good for a long time, the chances of him being able to make the case again are higher than the kid taking a sudden developmental leap and showing that he’s ready for the postseason.
It is never velocity, but location.
I hope Hunter Greene understands that at some point too, but has never had a veteran pitcher to guide him.
Because I’m old, I can remember guys like Frank Tanana, Charlie Leibrandt and Jamie Moyer. The former and latter both started out as fireballers and then settled in as soft tossing lefties, while Charlie made a whole career out of eating innings. Clayton could do the same thing and hang around the league for another 8 years, being moderately effective and making Bartolo Colon proud.
A number of other names could be added to this list, but I don’t believe any of them will ever be Kershaw. He’s been taking it year by year for some time now and I don’t see him having any interest in hanging around the periphery of baseball just to say he did. Not after his illustrious career.
If Clayton is healthy, he will come back to Dodgers for a single final last season in 2024, he will exceed 3000 K’s and spend more time with family. He could quit today and he is first ballot hall of fame.
Those last 3 or 4 seasons from Tanana were brutal. 1990 he had an ERA over 5. Mid 4s for the last 4 years. I really hope Kershaw does not do that. Walk out on top with a 2 something ERA.
Looks like the Rays are stuck with Glasnow next year.
Sadly we are likely seeing the end of the Kershaw era. He has been one of the best of all time and we have been privileged to watch him on the mound.
Kershaw is winding down what is a 1st ballot HOF career. I hope he goes out on a strong season and not with a wimper over a couple of underperforming seasons.
Call it quits after this season and then let us celebrate you in Cooperstown in 5 years.
Now I’ve heard everything. How on earth do you hurt yourself by swing a bat in the batter’s box? Players have to stop showing off. They overdo everything just to show how strong they are. We get it, guys. We can see your muscles popping out of your shirts. Not pitchers, of course. They look like they’re getting ready to hibernate for the winter.
Rengifo injures himself in the 1st during warm up swings, Neto aggravates or injured himself while making warm up throws, also in the 1st inning. Either they’re not made for baseball or the Angels are ignorant of the concept of warming up and stretching properly before a game.
McClanahan, Baz, Springs, Rasmussen and on and on. The Rays SP has been ransacked in 23. RP staff riddled with injury bug too. AND yet, still winning. Scary.
“Stroman hasn’t pitched since July 31 due to inflammation in his hip and, more problematically, a rib cartilage fracture that was discovered as he was on the cusp of returning from that hip issue.”
What an eyesore of a sentence. Passive voice, overly wordy, and misused commas. For Pete’s sake, learn how to use commas properly.
“Stroman hasn’t pitched since July 31 due to hip inflammation and more problematically, a rib cartilage fracture discovered as he was about to return from the hip issue.”
At least that’s easier to read, plus actually uses correct punctuation. Hire an editor, please.