Andre Ethier had an epidural shot in his lower back to ease the pain of his mild herniated disc and will miss the next 7-10 days, at least. The Dodgers have no shortage of replacements with Yasiel Puig, Scott Van Slyke, Andrew Toles, Trayce Thompson, Franklin Gutierrez and Enrique Hernandez on the 25 man roster. Expect Toles to see regular playing time against righty pitching, and my boyfriend Gutierrez, taking care of lefties.
Last June Clayton Kershaw was diagnosed with a ‘mildly herniated disc’ in his back. Kershaw spent 75 days on the DL with that injury. Manager Dave Roberts said his understanding is that Ethier’s disc herniation is not as severe as Kershaw’s injury, which leads one to believe that Ethier almost will be out for a while.
Mac Williamson is unlikely to be ready for Opening Day. Jarrett Parker to the rescue
Bochy confirms Morse’s hamstring will require several weeks. Mac Williamson’s quad injury is a multi-week thing, too.
— Andrew Baggarly (@extrabaggs) March 21, 2017
The Padres, Rays and Yankees are at least somewhat interested in acquiring Nick Ahmed in a trade.
Yandy Diaz may be the best young hitter that I’ve seen in a Tribe spring training since Victor Martinez. He has the same confidence and knowledge of the strike zone of a young Martinez. Victor first came to Cleveland in 2002. Terry Pluto
Pluto also noted that Yandy will almost certainly start the season in the minors regardless of his hit tool. He needs to play everyday and he also needs to work on his defense.
Tyler Chatwood returned from his second Tommy John surgery last season, and threw a combination of fastballs about 91 percent of the time. He finished 12-9 with a 3.87 ERA. Chatwood struggled at home, which is no surprise since he calls Coors Field his home, going 4-8 with a 6.12 ERA. However, he went 8-1 on the road with a 1.69 ERA over 13 starts. The only pitcher to have a lower ERA while pitching at least 80 innings on the road in the past ten years was Jake Arrieta, whose ERA was 1.60 on the road in 2015.
The Yankees rotation:
- Luis Severino and Bryan Mitchell were considered the pre-camp favorites for two spots
- Neither have been anything close to impressive
- The door remains open for Luis Cessa and Chad Green.
Zack Wheeler showed us last week that he can still throw a 97 mph fastball, the question now is what his innings limit will be in 2017. It looks like the Mets will send him to an extended spring to start the season and the Mets just might go with that six man rotation they are always talking about.
2017 – Mets’ success hinges on a six-man rotation – NY Daily News
2016 – The Mets plan to implement a six-man rotation again in 2016 | FOX ..
2015 – The Uneasy, Perfect Fit: The Six-Man Rotation & the Mets | FanGraphs
2014 – Exploring the 6-Man Rotation – The Daily Stache
2013 – Six-Man Rotation Makes Sense For Mets And Their Stable Of Young
Michael Conforto will probably begin the season at Triple-A Las Vegas unless some serious injuries occur between now and opening day.
Odubel Herrera showed improvement on nearly every level last season:
- OBP improved by 17 percent
- Walk rate doubled
- Strikeout rate down
- More home runs
- Stole more bases.
Hunter Renfroe has the power to go deep at least 25 times as a rookie. However, he needs to work on his plate discipline or pitchers will consistently find a way to get him out.
It’s an area of work for him, I think spring hasn’t showed too much improvement in that area specifically. I think Hunter’s hit some balls incredibly hard. I think Hunter’s going to hit a lot of balls out of the ballpark before the year’s out. He still has work to do in that area, and we are constantly talking to him about that, and they’re working with him mechanically, working on his timing, trying to put him in a good position so he can make better swings. He’s got the ability to change the game. … It’s all going to be predicated on his plate discipline. He’s aware of that.Manager Andy Green on Hunter Renfroe
Manuel Margot will get some at bats today, for the first time since he exited a game March 5 with knee soreness. The Padres will likely send him to Triple-A for at least the three weeks it will take in order for them to add another season of control so rushing him back too soon serves zero purpose.
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