What’s Happening
Sandy Alcantara will make his first Major League start of his career on Friday. Alcantara was the cornerstone of the Marcell Ozuna trade this offseason but has not pitched exceptionally well in the Marlins AAA rotation so far. While his 3.71 ERA is respectable, he is only sporting an 18% strikeout rate and he still lacks a legit third pitch. He gets the Mets in his first start, which should at least be close equivalent to the AAA talent he’s been facing.
Ender Inciarte left the game today with an apparent oblique injury. The injury is not believed to be serious and manager Brian Snitker believes Inciarte may be able to play on Friday. Inciarte has been extremely cold since a fast start to the season. Since May 16th, he is hitting .230/.310/.302 with one home run and two stolen bases and has been often dropped out of the leadoff spot. While manager Snitker has continued to publicly support Inciarte as their leadoff hitter, once Ronald Acuna returns, that may change if Inciatre can’t put it together.
Robbie Ray has been activated off of the DL for his start this night in Miami. While the matchup is tantalizing against the Marlins, Ray has not has not gone more than 66 pitches in a minor league rehab start yet and was not expected to return until early next week. This may be a shorter outing than one would hope for, making him an easy fade.
Angels general manager Billy Eppler stated today, that the team believes that Shohei Ohtani will be able to return as a DH this season if he cannot pitch again. It sounds like even if Ohtani does need Tommy John, that they will delay the surgery until after the season to allow him to work as a hitter. This is awful news for fantasy owners as the majority of his value comes from his pitching and this would undoubtedly knock him out until the 2020 season if he does need Tommy John Surgery.
According to Jon Morosi of MLB Network, the Milwaukee Brewers are interested in acquiring Marlins Swiss Army knife, Derek Dietrich . Dietrich is hitting .303/.354/.491 with 11 home runs. He is hitting the ball harder than he ever has before and is only two home runs away from tying his career high of 13. Dietrich is under team control for a couple more seasons, so while he won’t break the bank, he also won’t be free. He already has third base and outfield eligibility and close to gaining second base eligibility in all formats but could have a lot more value in a park like Milwaukee has.
Quick Hits
Brandon Phillips has signed a minor league deal with the Red Sox. He has been assigned to AAA Pawtucket. Phillips has been waiting for a shot to play for a franchise this year after a performing well for the Angels last year.
Brandon Nimmo is back after missing multiple games with a finger sprain. He will leadoff versus the Pirates tonight.
Jorge Bonifacio will return from his 80-game suspension on Thursday for the Royals.
Nelson Cruz will miss another game with back tightness but told reporters that he is feeling better and hopes to play on Thursday.
Salvador Pérez left Wednesday’s game with a finger injury. It is not expected to be serious and Perez stated he did not think he would miss the Royals next game.
The Tigers have fired Chris Bosio. Bosio was the team’s pitching coach and had helped some of the Tigers pitchers improve tremendously this season.
Jayson Werth officially retired today from baseball. Goodbye bearded wonder. Goodbye.