News
Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer reports Jihaad Campbell (shoulder) had surgery after the combine and teams are projecting him as a PUP candidate.
That doesn’t mean Campbell won’t be ready for the start of the season, but it does mean he might have a slow training camp and have a hard time making an instant impact. Campbell has been widely considered a candidate to go in the back half of the first round. It’s possible this shoulder injury slides him into Day 2, but Breer notably doesn’t go as far as to say that.
Kutter Crawford (knee) threw a bullpen on Wednesday and is set for another on Friday.
The 29-year-old is working back from a knee injury he suffered in the middle of last season. He’s throwing bullpens multiple days during the week as he approaches a rehab assignment. He could go out on a rehab assignment in the next week or so and perhaps make his return to Boston early in June.
Harrison Bader is starting in left field for the Twins and batting eighth on Thursday against the Orioles.
Bader was on the bench for the last two games due to an illness, but was able to pinch hit on Wednesday and socked a home run. With him feeling healthy again, he’s back in the starting lineup.
Abraham Toro is starting at first base and batting seventh for the Red Sox on Thursday against the Rangers.
With Romy Gonzalez nursing a back injury following a collision at first base on Wednesday, Toro will make his first start for Boston this season. It doesn’t seem like Gonzalez will be out for too long though.
Bubba Chandler allowed three runs on five hits in 2 1/3 innings for Triple-A Indianapolis on Wednesday.
Chandler struck out five and walked four on the day, so the command was certainly not pristine. However, all three runs came on a home run on the tenth pitch of a long battle. He had 12 whiffs on the day and still seems likely to debut for Pittsburgh during the next homestand on May 19th. He’s the top prospect stash in fantasy baseball right now.
Anthony Santander left Wednesday’s game after a collision at first base.
Blue Jays manager John Schnieider said the move was precautionary, but also admitted that Santander has been dealing with right quad tightness for the past few days. Even if the injury isn’t major, it would seem plausible that the Blue Jays would give Santander a day or two off to manage the injury without exacerbating it.
DetroitLions.com’s Tim Twentyman believes rookie WR Isaac TeSlaa “could make his earliest impact on special teams.”
It’s not much of a surprise, as most rookies cut their teeth with special teams duties. Twentyman mentioned return duties as a possibility, though the former Razorback never returned kicks or punts in college. At 6'4/212 with 4.43 wheels, TeSlaa is an explosive athlete who never translated his physical traits to on-field production at Arkansas. The Lions clearly saw potential for him to do so in the pros and traded two future third-round picks to move up to No. 70 overall for him. It’s going to be a slow burn for TeSlaa in the pros, making him a dynasty-only fantasy option.