Spare Parts: This time, hospital trip interrupts Avisail Garcia’s comeback
Avisail Garcia’s comeback keeps hitting obstacles. After hitting the DL twice with hamstring strains, Garcia sat out the start of Monday’s game due to “a little pressure in his chest and his heart beating a lttle fast.”
“It was like two days like that and I was a little nervous,” Garcia said. “That’s why I went to the hospital to get checked out because I have a family. I was a little scared.
“Maybe it’s normal because [of the] the pills that I’ve been taking for my hammy. But I was scared, so that’s why we went to the hospital.”
He came back to replace Daniel Palka in the outfield and cleanup spot, which will hopefully be the case going forward. Palka is 11-for-57 with 27 strikeouts over 59 PA this month, or 5-for-46 against teams that aren’t the Royals. Besides, there’s room at DH with Matt Davidson posting similar numbers.
Spare Parts
The timing of last year’s promotions — after trades were made, and at the start of a homestand — might offer some clues for when Eloy Jimenez and Michael Kopech might arrive.
If the White Sox want to capitalize on “the next guy’s debut” – and Jiménez’s arrival looks like their best shot at creating a similar moment in 2018 — perhaps a West Coast swing full of 9 p.m. start times and hopeless print deadlines falls short of the most favorable time to roll out the player everybody has most wanted to see.
While the trade for James Shields was still a large mistake, the effects of it won’t be felt at the MLB level in 2018. He fractured his thumb sliding into second on a stolen-base attempt last week, and surgery will knock him out for the rest of the year, although he could resurface in either the Arizona Fall League or winter ball.
If I were a TV producer, I’d stop with the camera work and commentary that demands adults to give balls to little kids in the same camera shot. Often times the adults in the case are bad actors, but it risks singling out an ordinary paying customer for unjustified scorn.
Ken Rosenthal uses a potential Rays-Padres trade involving Chris Archer as a jumping off point with a larger question — when the teams involved neither immediately need nor immediately have to deal the player, when is it the right time?
- Mets trade Jeurys Familia to the A’s for little more than salary relief — Beyond the Box Score
- Noah Syndergaard DL-bound after contracting hand, foot and mouth disease — ESPN
- How next Mets regime can avoid another Yoenis Cespedes mess — New York Post
- Go hug the nearest Mets fan — The Ringer
This would be enough bad news for a month. For the Mets, they all this over the course of several days.
Thanks to Josh, Greg, Patrick and Ted for filling in while I was on vacation.
Author
At least the Mets no longer have Hansel Robles, whose handiwork helped the White Sox defeat the Angels late last night. That said, the fact that Tim Tebow’s injury is reported as significant news for the franchise indicates just how dysfunctional that team is. The Orioles may actually be a better-run team at this point.
I mean to be fair, I think the most widely discussed White Sox news in the last month was a fan with mustard on his face.
The Mets are probably the worst run franchise at this point, especially with the Marlins slowly getting a clue. I don’t think the O’s are all that well run, but I don’t think they’re anywhere nearly as poorly run as the Mets and Marlins.
MLB probably needs to consider stepping in with the Mets, just like they did with the Dodgers 7 years ago.
The O’s are really terrible — lots of terrible contracts, awful at developing young players (especially pitchers), constant medical shenanigans, a weird org hierarchy. I think they’re neck-and-neck with the Mets.
I think the White Sox are worse than both. The orioles were in the ALCS a couple years ago. The Mets were in the World Series.
Orioles need to clean house. Like the whole front office, scouting department, minor league coaches etc need to go.
Sox’ health in 2018:
“Even our apparently healthy young men seem to be having quasi-heart attacks.”
Or…
“Watch one of our prospects spend the minimum time possible back from last year’s season ending injury before going down with this year’s season ending injury.”
Or…
“Even guys who aren’t ours anymore are missing serious playing time.”
But hand, foot and mouth disease takes the cake.
Avi’s 2018 is the monkeys paw result of his 2015 wish that all competent White Sox outfielders get injured
“Against teams that aren’t the Royals” is a meme/theme/obscene.
I wonder what we would learn about the status of the rebuild if we just eliminated stats, team and individual, from all games against the Royals this year.
Not one thing we don’t already know.