Today is the last chance you have to subscribe and not miss a single newsletter. Tomorrow’s UTK will go out to paid subscribers only. I hope you’ll join up. It’s been a longer ride than expected to this point and I hope that I’ve convinced you that five bucks a month is worth it to you with the free work I’ve done since back in March. If not, stick around for “Free Friday”, where you’ll get a recap of the week’s info, plus occasional other free articles and info.
There’s lots of injuries today, so let’s get right to it:
Mike Soroka SP ATL (Achilles rupture)
Sometimes, it’s pretty clear. Mike Soroka took one wrong step, overstressing the Achilles tendon and it gave out. Soroka was carried from the field and while imaging is on tap, that’s an injury that was not only clear visually, but can be diagnosed on the spot with manual testing. You can see it in the below video - it’s tough to watch on that first step, but not gruesome.
Plenty of pitchers have had this injury and come back, usually within six to nine months, which is the standard for this kind of surgery and a modern rehab. Adam Wainwright came back in five, but that was pretty aggressive. For Soroka, camp would open in seven months or so, so there’s simply no reason to rush this.
That doesn’t help the Braves, who now have to replace one of their best young players from a shallow pool. This is where the Braves had hoped Cole Hamels would come in, but he’s not close with shoulder issues of his own. It’s not clear yet which way the Braves will go, but we may get to see just how creative they are willing to be.
For Soroka, this is a fluke injury and shouldn’t be piled up next to his minor shoulder issue from last year. Soroka is still just 22 and injuries like this aren’t good, but they do keep him from getting too many miles on his shoulder at such a young age.
Shohei Ohtani DH LAA (strained forearm)
Shohei Ohtani’s MRI came back with a flexor strain and a pretty significant one. On one hand, it could explain why he’s been so bad, but the story out of Anaheim is that this happened during his second start and was the cause of his velocity drop-off, not his bad outings. On the other, the Angels were already thin at pitching and will have to figure out how to deal without Ohtani for a while if not the rest of the season.
This is an unusual pattern, with a flexor strain usually coming ahead of a UCL rupture, not post the rehab. It’s crazy that in 2020, we still don’t know exactly how the flexors are involved in pitching, but that’s where we’re at and why the unusually high number of flexor strains around baseball right now is a mystery. One theory a top mind has is that players worked out too much while on pause, causing a strength vs function kind of imbalance that was exposed when they started throwing. It’s a good theory, but difficult to test from out here.
To make it even more unusual, Ohtani’s only half out. His hitting half is day to day as the Angels try to make some decisions. It helps in that Albert Pujols is still useful and on any other team would be the DH. The Angels have the luxury of calling up Jo Adell to help the lineup without Ohtani as well.
Mookie Betts OF LAD (sore finger)
When Mookie Betts came out of the game Sunday, the early thought is that he’d done something to his wrist. He could be seen shaking it out and rotating it, so the news that he had finger soreness came as a bit of a surprise. There’s no specifics in what Betts’ injury is, even after images. I’m told he’s just had x-rays, which wouldn’t show anything soft tissue and there’s yet to be an MRI as the medical staff worked to see if they could clear this up quickly.
Betts is available only as a runner, so beyond hitting there may be some issue with grip. This could be from soreness or from a muscular or tendon issue inside one of the fingers that would hinder function. Even if the finger were merely sore, the Dodgers would be likely to protect Betts in the short term, given their options and his importance.
There’s no clear path here, but also no mention of the IL. Betts is likely to stay on the bench for at least a day or two while the team gets some more clarity on what’s going on and how he’ll respond to treatment or rest. The way the team dealt with Clayton Kershaw gives us a clue that they’ll be very conservative here early in the season.
Carlos Rodon SP CWS (strained shoulder)
Carlos Rodon came out of his second start after his velocity dropped precipitously, down to 89. The initial diagnosis is sore shoulder, but there’s more tests on tap and Rodon is likely headed to the IL. This isn’t a good sign, coming on the heels of his 2019 Tommy John surgery.
The White Sox are one of the more advanced teams in terms of workload management and pitching biomechanics, but it’s hard to discount that Rodon is injured this early having some causation from what he did on the pause. It’s hard to say that a strained muscle would be a plus here, but given the options, a muscle giving way would be preferable to options like a cuff or labrum issue.
The Sox are down two pitchers now, plus Michael Kopech who opted out, so we’re starting to see the depth get tested. The likely replacement for Rodon will be Ross Detwiler, who’s been very good in relief but isn’t at a starter’s workload. He’d likely need to be piggy backed for at least a couple starts, which should be easy enough. Another name to keep in mind is 2020 pick Garret Crochet. He’s a hard thrower, touching 100, but while he projects as a starter, few thought he’d be used this season. He could easily step in as a piggy back guy or even at the back of the pen now given his stuff.
Want a bonus? Here’s my scouting report on Rodon back before he was picked by the Sox out of college. “He has a very stiff back. The scout who had seen him noted he had some previous back problems. His upright delivery helps the plane, but if he’s had any instances of back spasms at such a young age, it’s a very big red flag. I would also worry about his land knee.” (I had only seen video of him at this stage, though I did see his workout live later.) He has been injury prone, but it hasn’t been his back.
Rich Hill SP MIN (fatigued shoulder)
The Twins are dealing with Rich Hill’s inevitable shoulder issue in a pretty intriguing way. He’ll head to the IL, but he’ll continue throwing and stay “on turn.” Rocco Baldelli told the media that Hill wouldn’t have made his next start, but that this is how they’re dealing with resting him and the upcoming roster shift from 30 to 28. It’s smart, if this was planned and that this “shoulder fatigue” is nothing more than some normal Rich Hill being Rich Hill.
Hill is precisely the kind of player the Twins have excelled with over the past couple years. They’ve been able to keep maintenance issues at bay or at least minimize them, allowing them to take the talented but injury-prone type that Hill personifies. Homer Bailey and to some extent Michael Pineda are similar in this way.
It sounds like the plan is for Hill to skip a couple starts. Jake Odorizzi will be back over the weekend and Lewis Thorpe can fill in for a few more outings before Hill comes back. They’ll likely have to do a little bit of roster shuffling to make this happen with the weird waiver/pool rules in place, but the team seems to have a plan for all this.
Quick Cuts:
Aroldis Chapman was scheduled to throw a pen on Monday, but he just played catch a bit instead. The pen session should come on Wednesday as he continues to work his way back. No word on a reason for the delay … Robinson Cano is hitting well and poorly all at once, depending on whether you’re looking at BA (over 400) or exit velocity (low 80s). He left Monday’s game with groin tightness and is day to day, per the team … Mike Moustakas came back Monday after getting hit on the forearm by a pitch. That hurts, but seldom is long term unless it catches a bone … Jose Quintana threw another bullpen with no issue. He’s been on a low throw count both pens, so it’s unclear if the Cubs will notch him up next time or if he’ll be on a low count for his debut … Lewis Brinson has been dealing with an illness, likely COVID, but in light of the rest of the team, Brinson’s likely to get a callup to replace the players still out, which are still unclear. At 26, Brinson needs to hit now … Eric Thames has missed a couple games with a stiff back, but the Nats aren’t too concerned. Thames’ power comes with the dings you pick up from a big, long swing … Nick Senzel was scratched with a sore ring finger. That’s a lot of finger injuries and while there doesn’t seem to be any connection, I’ll admit it’s weird.
For those of you that signed up for the yearly subscription, thank you. It’s on by default and as I’ve said here, this is a month-to-month endeavor right now. I love doing this, love this format, and want to keep doing this forever, but I have to make it viable to continue. Please help me grow this and make it sustainable by sharing with friends who would be interested in this kind of information. For any of you that have already signed up, my heartfelt thank you. I will continue to do the best I can for you.