I don’t like doing obituaries and here’s the second one in a month. Scott Miller’s sudden passing at 62 on Saturday is a profound loss for everyone who knew and admired him. With a career spanning over three decades — covering the Twins for the St. Paul Pioneer Press, then making his mark at CBS Sports, Bleacher Report (where we overlapped for a year, and he was a regular guest on my B/R Radio show), The New York Times, and MLB Network Radio — Scott was as respected for his storytelling and insight as he was for his unwavering warmth.
Beyond his professional accomplishments, Scott’s colleagues remembered him first as a genuine, kind-hearted human. “Baseball lost a giant,” Bob Nightengale posted, capturing a sentiment echoed by peers like Jeff Passan, Jon Heyman, Joel Sherman, and Brian McTaggart. They celebrated not only his talent but his generosity, the way he made newcomers feel welcome in the press box, and how he maintained his humor and optimism even through health challenges.
Just over a month ago, Scott achieved a milestone by releasing Skipper: Why Baseball Managers Matter and Always Will. That final book testifies to his enduring passion for the game and its narratives. Though the baseball world mourns a brilliant journalist, his legacy endures in his writing, in the countless careers he touched, and in the game he loved so deeply.
On to the injuries:
CHRIS SALE, SP ATL (fractured rib)
I’ve jokingly said this earlier, but the more non-pitching injuries we get to pitchers, the more I wonder if we should simply stop asking them to do it. They don’t have to hit or run the bases anymore, but fielding and covering the bag has caused some injuries as well. Someone needs to run the numbers and figure out if guys like Chris Sale need to be diving for balls when the risk is they miss a month and maybe tip their team from contender to seller as trade season heats up. He’d had one heck of a start prior to the highlight play that injured him.
Sale was diagnosed with at least one fractured rib - sources and reports vary on the exact number and location - and he’ll be out through the ASB as it heals. The question is how long he’ll be down from throwing, which comes down to pain tolerance and stability of the fracture. This would be one area where something like blood flow restriction (BFR) might be able to keep up some of the workload at lower effort, but there’s been little real world work on that in baseball.
Chris Sale has had questions about his durability since he was dominating at Florida Gulf Coast. Yes, he’s skinny, but there’s never been a question about bone density. It’s not like Bartolo Colon was protected from an injury like this. It’s a quirk, but a costly quirk for the Braves at precisely the time they could least handle it. There’s little question that Sale should be able to return and well - bones heal - but how much is going to depend on how quickly he can get back to throwing at some level.
Didier Fuentes will stay in the rotation with Sale out and they have some depth in Triple-A and on the 40-man if needed. One player mentioned by a source was Jesse Chavez, who’s not on the 40 and hasn’t started in a while, but he’s done pretty much everything for seemingly forever with the Braves, so why not?
TYLER GLASNOW, SP LAD (inflamed shoulder)
There were some plusses and minuses to Tyler Glasnow’s first rehab start. The biggest plus is that he made the start, threw 48 pitches, and exited nearly on-plan without any major consequences. He showed good velocity, normal mechanics, and all his pitches. The downsides? He only threw 22 of those pitches for strikes, which led to three walks. He gave up no hits, so call it effectively wild?
The key now is that he came out of the game without issue for his shoulder and the hope is that the post-game work will help him make his side work without significant issue. He’s had a minor back issue during his rehab, but that has been an issue Glasnow has downplayed. Glasnow’s shoulder issue has never been fully explained either, but Dodgers sources have continually called it relatively minor despite the extended absence.
As he’s on the 60-day, he can’t come back until the end of the month, but the likelihood is that he’ll need a couple more rehab starts anyway. It’s one thing to let Shohei Ohtani go out and work as an opener, but Glasnow doesn’t hit quite as well and there’s some roster issues that the front office will need to juggle once Glasnow gets back to throwing strikes. Watch to see when they schedule his next outing for any clue on how normal a schedule Glasnow is on, but don’t be surprised if there’s five days between.
More pitcher injuries, a spate of catcher injuries, and two future HOFers lead Quick Cuts, plus notes on much more below, only for subscribers.