Connect with us

Published

on

ATLANTA — Tyler Glasnow has a sprained right elbow and is “highly unlikely” to pitch again this season, Los Angeles Dodgers manager Dave Roberts announced Saturday, a devastating blow for a high-priced team with World Series expectations but serious concerns about its postseason rotation.

Glasnow, 31, had been out since Aug. 11 with what the team described as elbow tendinitis. He seemed to be close to a return before suffering another setback that essentially ended his season. The right-hander was warming up for a two- to three-inning simulated game from Truist Park early Friday afternoon, expected to be his last step before rejoining the Dodgers’ rotation, but had to shut it down because of elbow discomfort as he approached his 25th throw from the bullpen.

The Dodgers at this point can only be confident in newcomer Jack Flaherty starting their first postseason game. Yoshinobu Yamamoto, who missed nearly three months with a shoulder injury but had an encouraging return last week, seems like a solid bet to follow him. Beyond that, though, the Dodgers’ rotation outlook is exceedingly uncertain.

“It’s a big blow,” Roberts said of Glasnow’s injury. “Looking at what he meant for our ballclub, what he’s done for us, what we expected him to do — certainly there’s going to be a cost. But we gotta move on and we will. We have a lot of capable people. I feel bad for Tyler because he did everything to stay healthy and get back, and it just wasn’t going to happen.”

The Dodgers acquired Glasnow from the Tampa Bay Rays over the offseason, giving up two promising young players in starter Ryan Pepiot and outfielder Jonny DeLuca and subsequently signing Glasnow to a five-year, $136.6 million extension.

Glasnow then posted a 3.49 ERA in his first 134 innings, striking out 168 batters and issuing 35 walks — oftentimes looking like a bona fide ace. But his arm held up for little more than four months.

Roberts said Glasnow will be shut down from throwing for an undetermined amount of time. The concern is that he might have suffered further damage to his ulnar collateral ligament, which he repaired via Tommy John surgery in August of 2021. Roberts said Glasnow’s UCL is intact, though the diagnosis of a sprained elbow typically means the ligament has sustained at least some damage.

It’s only the latest injury development for a team that is working through too many of them.

Clayton Kershaw, fighting through a bone spur in his left big toe, has been throwing off a makeshift mound but there still isn’t a definitive timetable for his return. Gavin Stone, meanwhile, is dealing with shoulder inflammation and has yet to restart his throwing program. The other two main options for the rotation, Walker Buehler and Bobby Miller, have struggled.

Roberts nonetheless attempted to strike a positive tone.

“It’s manageable,” he said of the pitching injuries. “We’re doing it. I think the main thing is that we have to just continue to stay focused on the players that are available to us and winning a baseball game that night. To the guys’ credit, that’s what they’ve done, and we’ve put ourselves in a good spot given all that we’ve gone through this year. We’ve still got a pretty good ballclub.”

Continue Reading

Sports

Sources: Red Sox deal Devers to Giants in stunner

Published

on

By

Sources: Red Sox deal Devers to Giants in stunner

The San Francisco Giants are acquiring All-Star slugger Rafael Devers from the Boston Red Sox, sources confirmed to ESPN’s Jeff Passan on Sunday evening.

The Giants are sending starter Jordan Hicks and 23-year-old lefty Kyle Harrison, among others, to Boston in exchange, sources said.

Devers, 28, is in just the second season of a 10-year, $313.5 million contract he signed to stay in Boston in January 2023, however his relationship with the team suffered a significant blow after the star third baseman was reportedly blindsided by a move to designated hitter in the spring.

Tensions flared again last month after Devers refused an offer from the team to move him to first base after starting first baseman Triston Casas was ruled out for the season with a knee injury.

It reached a point where Red Sox owner John Henry met with the disgruntled star, making a rare trip to meet the team on the road and smooth things over after Devers’ pointed comments about the request to switch positions again.

Hicks and Harrison give a pitching-starved Red Sox team more depth on their staff while Devers provides a huge boost to a middling Giants offense.

Devers has more than 200 career home runs to his name and has a .894 OPS for Boston this season.

The deal was first reported by Fansided.

Continue Reading

Sports

Ohtani’s pitching return might be coming soon

Published

on

By

Ohtani's pitching return might be coming soon

Shohei Ohtani‘s pitching debut for the Los Angeles Dodgers might be quickly approaching.

Manager Dave Roberts told reporters Sunday that Ohtani would throw another simulated game in the coming days that could “potentially” be his last one, and a source told ESPN’s Buster Olney that Ohtani should join the Dodgers’ rotation “sooner rather than later,” potentially within the week.

Ohtani took a big step forward during his most recent simulated game at Petco Park on Tuesday, throwing 44 pitches over the course of three innings against a couple of lower-level minor league players. Ohtani’s fastball reached the mid- to upper-90s, and he exhibited good command of his off-speed pitches in what amounted to his third time facing hitters. Afterward, Roberts said there was a “north of zero” chance Ohtani could join the rotation before the All-Star break.

Because of his two-way designation, the Dodgers can carry Ohtani as an extra pitcher, which means he can throw two to three innings and have someone pitch after him as a piggyback starter. At this point, it seems that is the Dodgers’ plan.

The Dodgers’ pitching staff has again been plagued by injury, with 14 pitchers on the injured list, including four starting pitchers the team was heavily counting on for 2025 — Blake Snell, Tony Gonsolin, Roki Sasaki and Tyler Glasnow.

If Ohtani returns in July — the likely outcome at this point — he will be 22 months removed from a second repair of his ulnar collateral ligament.

The update isn’t as optimistic for Sasaki. He paused his throwing program and is set for a lengthy layoff. Sasaki has not pitched in a game since May 9 and is not part of the team’s long-term pitching plans this season.

“I think that’s what the mindset should be,” Roberts said. “Being thrust into this environment certainly was a big undertaking for him, and now you layer in the health part and the fact he’s a starting pitcher, knowing what the build-up [required to return] entails … I think that’s the prudent way to go about it.”

Sasaki, 23, went 1-1 with a 4.72 ERA in eight starts after joining the Dodgers from the Pacific League’s Chuba Lotte Marines, averaging less than 4⅓ innings per start. He walked 22 and struck out 24 in 34⅓ innings, and his fastball averaged 95.7 mph, down 3-4 mph from his average in Japan.

Roberts said Sasaki was pain free when he resumed throwing in early June, but the pitcher was shut down after feeling discomfort this past week. Sasaki recently received a cortisone injection in the shoulder; Roberts said no further scans are planned.

“I don’t think it’s pain,” Roberts said. “I don’t know if it’s discomfort, if it’s tightness, if he’s just not feeling strong, whatever the adjective you want to use. That’s more of a question for Roki, as far as the sensation he’s feeling.

“He’s just not feeling like he can ramp it up, and we’re not going to push him to do something he doesn’t feel good about right now.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Continue Reading

Sports

Judge 1-for-12 as NY swept: Got to swing at strikes

Published

on

By

Judge 1-for-12 as NY swept: Got to swing at strikes

BOSTON — Aaron Judge blamed himself for swinging at pitches outside the strike zone as the New York Yankees were swept in a three-game series against the Boston Red Sox.

“You got to swing at strikes,” Judge said after going 1-for-12 in the series, which Boston completed with a 2-0 victory on Sunday.

Judge struck out three or more times in three straight games for only the third time in his major league career.

“That usually helps any hitter when you swing at strikes,” Judge added. “Definitely some pitches off the edge or off the edge in, you know, taking some hacks just trying to make something happen.”

Judge had a tying solo homer in the opener Friday night but struck out nine times as the Yankees were swept in a series for the first time this season.

New York scored only four runs in the three games, matching its fewest in a three-game series at Fenway Park, on June 20-22, 1916 and on Sept. 28-30, 1922.

“It’s very hard,” Red Sox manager Alex Cora said of facing Judge. “He’s so good at what he does. We used our fastballs in the right spots, we got some swing and misses.”

“Throughout the years we’ve been aggressive with him,” Cora added. “Sometimes he gets us, sometimes we do a good job with that. It’s always fun to compete against the best, and, to me, he’s the best in the business right now.”

Judge’s major league-leading average dipped to .378.

“I don’t think much of it,” teammate Ben Rice said. “If I could have that guy hitting every single at-bat even if he’s not at his best, I would do it. I’m sure he’ll bounce back. He’ll be all right.”

Judge faced Garrett Whitlock with two on in the eighth Sunday and bounced into an inning-ending double play.

“He’s one of the greatest hitters in the world,” Whitlock said. “It’s special to watch him play and everything. We tried to execute and had some execution this weekend.”

Continue Reading

Trending