MLB Rumors: Mike Trout regrets IL rush
The Los Angeles Angels kept Shohei Ohtani at the MLB trade deadline and went all in on grabbing a postseason berth. Unfortunately for them, things went very wrong on numerous fronts, from a long losing streak to begin August to injuries to both Mike Trout and Ohtani.
Trout went on the IL in early July with a fractured mamate bone in his hand. He gave the Angels a touch of hope on Aug. 22 when he returned to the lineup on Tuesday. That hope was quickly snuffed out as he’s headed back to the IL.
On Friday, he admitted that he tried to come back too soon.
“I wasn’t right. I was in some pain, more than tolerable. I thought I could push it, get back out there. I just came in the next day really, really sore. … You saw the swings. They weren’t my A swings. I was just trying to get through it. Probably shouldn’t have. Gave it a shot. It is what it is,” Trout said, via the OC Register (subscription required).
Trout did say he expects to return before the end of the season, but it’s not clear exactly when that will be. With Ohtani unable to pitch for the rest of the campaign and the Angels sitting 10.5 games out of the AL Wild Card, it’s not even clear if it’s a good idea to have Trout come back at all.
MLB Rumors: Mets in on Japanese phenom
Shohei Ohtani isn’t the only Japanese pitcher who will create a free agency stir this offseason. It already looks like competition to sign Yoshinobu Yamamoto will be fierce and the New York Mets could be in the thick of it.
Yamamoto is a 25-year-old pitcher in the NPB who is expected to be posted for MLB teams to sign later this year. As a two-time MVP in the Japanese league, he’s a big fish on the market.
New York was one of no less than 10 MLB teams that sent scouts to watch the pitcher make his start for the Orix Buffaloes on Wednesday, according to Jon Heyman of the New York Post.
The Mets are an intriguing option for Yamamoto, who apparently turned heads with seven scoreless innings on the mound in that outing. They have already had success with the signing of Kodai Senga from Japan ahead of this season. Senga got an All-Star in his debut campaign this year.
Having a fellow countryman like Senga in Queens could give Yamamoto a sense of familiarity, making it more likely for him to agree to join the Mets.
MLB Rumors: Red Sox bummer on Justin Turner
Even the Red Sox couldn’t have imagined the season 38-year-old Justin Turner would turn in when they signed him as a free agent this offseason.
The designated hitter has 20 home runs and 82 RBI, which is just seven home runs and eight RBI shy of a career-highs with a month remaining in the season. He’s slashing .285/.355/.479 with an OPS+ of 123, which is second-best among Red Sox batters.
So naturally, the Red Sox will want to keep him around, right? Not so fast, says Sean McAdam of MassLive.com.
The issue is that Turner has a player option he looks likely to decline in hopes of picking up a nice payout on the open market. The Red Sox could up the money to try to keep him but there’s another argument to let him go to open up the DH spot to more flexibility.
“If they again lock Turner into the DH slot full-time, that means the Sox can’t utilize either Rafael Devers or Masataka Yoshida there and consigns them to playing two below-average defenders on a pretty much everyday basis,” McAdam wrote.
Turner isn’t a viable position player at this stage in his career and the Red Sox desperately need help on the defensive end. Devers and Yoshida are there to stay, so the desire to add flexibility could ultimately push Turner out the door.
