For Gavin Stone, Jeff McNeil and Others on Contenders, It’s a Race Towards the Clock to Return

We’re working out of season. With the sector of contenders winnowed to the purpose that solely two groups have Playoff Odds between 8% and 80%, a lot of the intrigue past jockeying for seeding considerations a race towards the clock. Gamers have solely a lot time to recuperate from accidents, significantly new ones, and so some returns are doubtful. Their availability might very effectively have an effect on how the playoffs unfold.

On that entrance, it was a weekend that includes unhealthy information for some contenders as they reckoned with their newest unhealthy breaks, figuratively and actually. Gavin Stone, the sudden stalwart of the Dodgers rotation, landed on the injured listing as a result of shoulder irritation, whereas Jeff McNeil, one of many Mets’ hottest hitters, suffered a fractured wrist. Whit Merrifield, who’s executed good work filling in at second base for the Braves, broke a bone in his foot, and, if we shift focus to the fringes of the Wild Card race, the Mariners Luis Castillo strained a hamstring. Every of those conditions deserves a more in-depth look, so pitter patter, let’s get at ‘er.

Dodgers

Given final yr’s 9.00 ERA in a 31-inning cup of espresso — the product of pitch-tipping, because it seems — Stone was an unlikely candidate to steer the Dodgers in begins (25) and innings (140.1) thus far. But the 25-year-old righty has not solely executed that, posting a strong 3.53 ERA and 4.03 FIP, he’s been the one member of the staff’s season-opening rotation to keep away from the IL… till now. Even a few additional days to relaxation earlier than Friday’s scheduled begin weren’t sufficient to maintain Stone from being sidelined.

Supervisor Dave Roberts advised reporters on Friday that Stone can be shut down from throwing for no less than 10 days, whereas president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman admitted the staff isn’t positive whether or not he’ll return in time for the postseason, including, “I’m optimistic he’s going to do every part he presumably can. There’s simply a lot unknown round it that we’re going to do all we are able to to dominate every day, and hopefully, when he begins throwing, he can ramp up from there. It’s simply laborious to invest proper now.”

Stone’s damage wouldn’t be such an enormous deal if the Dodgers didn’t have so many key starters already on the IL, together with Tyler Glasnow, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, and Clayton Kershaw. If the playoffs have been to start out in the present day, the one certainty can be deadline acquisition Jack Flaherty, with rookie Landon Knack the one different wholesome starter who’s pitched acceptably sufficient (3.00 ERA, 4.55 IP in 54 innings) to benefit getting the ball, and each Walker Buehler (5.67 ERA, 5.98 FIP in 54 innings) and Bobby Miller (7.79 ERA, 6.80 FIP in 49.2 innings) looking for their approach out of the tall grass after post-injury struggles.

The newest starter to wind up on the IL is Kershaw. On August 30, in his seventh begin since coming back from shoulder surgical procedure, the 36-year-old southpaw departed after only one inning and three runs allowed to the Diamondbacks as a result of a bone spur in his left large toe. Given the opponent, it was an uncomfortable reminder of the abrupt ending of his 2023 season, however fortunately, the damage wasn’t arm-related — or back-related, for that matter. He’s handled the bone spur for “possibly a few years” in line with Roberts, and whereas it’s normally manageable, on this case, he had a lot swelling he couldn’t push off the rubber and preserve his velocity. The Dodgers are optimistic Kershaw can return with out surgical procedure; he’s carrying a strolling boot however has been in a position to play catch. Whereas he’s been erratic when out there (4.50 ERA and three.55 FIP in 30 innings), he had a fairly robust three-start stretch the place he allowed simply two runs in 16.1 innings towards the Phillies, Brewers, and Cardinals from August 6–18.

If there’s excellent news, it’s that on Tuesday Yamamoto is slated to return from a virtually three-month absence as a result of a rotator cuff pressure, dealing with the Cubs and Shota Imanaga. Earlier than being sidelined with what was initially described as triceps tightness, the 25-year-old righty had pitched exceptionally effectively, delivering a 2.92 ERA and a pair of.69 FIP in 74 innings over 14 begins, and a 2.33 ERA and over six innings per flip in the event you don’t rely his one-inning catastrophe in Seoul within the season’s second recreation. Yamamoto has made simply two rehab begins of two innings apiece, with pitch counts of 31 and 53 for Triple-A Oklahoma Metropolis, so the expectation is that he’ll prime out within the neighborhood of 70–75 pitches and proceed increase from there.

As for Glasnow, who has already set profession highs for begin (22) and innings (134), he’s working his approach again from a mid-August prognosis of elbow tendinitis. He threw a 25-pitch bullpen on Saturday, his first time throwing off the mound since being sidelined, and can throw no less than yet one more on Tuesday earlier than dealing with stay hitters. With Double-A Tulsa’s season ending on September 15 and Oklahoma Metropolis’s on September 22, the Dodgers are hoping to squeeze in no less than one rehab begin earlier than he returns.

Yet one more damage to notice. If Friday’s information about Stone wasn’t unhealthy sufficient, the sight of Teoscar Hernández departing after being hit on the appropriate foot by Matthew Boyd was significantly nerve-wracking, because the 31-year-old slugger has come up large repeatedly for the staff, hitting .266/.331/.488 (128 wRC+) with 28 homers. Luckily, he’s been identified with a contusion and may very well be again early this week.

As with an offense that has largely bludgeoned opponents into submission for the reason that returns of Mookie Betts and Max Muncy — they’ve averaged 5.56 runs per recreation since August 19 whereas going 13-5, shopping for them respiratory room within the NL West race — the Dodgers have the beginning pitching to win all of it. But their possibilities of doing so come all the way down to what number of of those guys shall be out there and efficient in October. In that gentle, their first-round bye looms massive, significantly in comparison with the opposite groups on this roundup.

Mets

Due to a nine-game successful streak that briefly carried them into sole possession of the third NL Wild Card slot, the Mets have been the majors’ hottest staff, but when they’re to safe a playoff spot, they’ll should do it with out McNeil, who is predicted to overlook 4 to 6 weeks — the remainder of the common season after which some. The 32-year-old second baseman fractured his proper wrist through the fifth inning of Friday’s recreation, when he was hit by a curveball from the Reds’ Brandon Williamson whereas attempting to bunt:

Neither McNeil nor the Mets initially believed the damage was significantly severe, as he stayed within the recreation, ran the bases and performed the sector within the sixth inning. Solely when he was readying himself to bat once more did he understand he couldn’t proceed. Through MLB.com:

“I believed nothing of it actually, it was a breaking ball: 95 p.c positive it hit the [wrist] guard I used to be carrying,” McNeil stated. “It didn’t harm that unhealthy working the bases, after which I began to really feel it slightly bit warming up the following inning, simply throwing the ball to first base… Went into the cage, and it simply didn’t really feel good to swing. So it was extra that turning-over movement that made it flare up.”

Harrison Bader pinch-hit for McNeil, and Jose Iglesias, who had pinch-hit for Jesse Winker earlier within the inning, took over at second base in a recreation the Mets gained 6-4 in 10 innings on a Mark Vientos walk-off homer. An MRI taken on Saturday revealed McNeils’ fracture. At finest, his timeline would make him out there a while in early to mid-October, ought to the Mets nonetheless be taking part in.

Primarily based on his general numbers, McNeil is within the midst of his second subpar season in a row, hitting .238/.308/.384 with 12 homers, and 5 steals. Each his 98 wRC+ and 1.3 WAR are his lowest marks since 2021, however his general numbers undersell his in-season rebound. When the Mets began the season 24-35, McNeil hit simply .227/.296/.320 (80 wRC+) whereas taking part in almost on daily basis; till Could 30, all of his days off got here towards righties, with lefty-swinging Joey Wendle taking seven begins in his place.

Wendle didn’t hit, nonetheless, and the Mets DFA’d after which launched him in mid-Could. On Could 31, they recalled Iglesias from Triple-A Syracuse, and from June 3–8, supervisor Carlos Mendoza began him at second, with McNeil benched to be able to get a reset. Since then, Mendoza has used a modified platoon, with McNeil beginning simply twice towards lefties, towards whom he’s hit simply .234/.284/.336 (78 wRC+) this yr, and Iglesias taking some begins towards righties whereas hitting an out-of-character .316/.364/.440 (129 wRC+) in 209 PA general.

McNeil didn’t actually begin hitting till after the All-Star break, however he’s been on hearth since:

Although his common exit velocity and hard-hit charge haven’t modified a lot, McNeil’s barrel charge greater than quadrupled, and his dwelling run charge greater than tripled, from 1.5% of all plate appearances to 4.7%. Amongst all Mets, his 157 wRC+ within the second half trails solely that of MVP candidate Francisco Lindor (159). Between McNeil’s tear and the arrival of Iglesias, second base has gone from a place of weak spot to one among energy, the small pattern of September however:

As for the place the Mets go from right here, the chances are high that Iglesias — who has hit for a 115 wRC+ in 138 PA towards righties and a 153 wRC+ in 72 PA towards lefties — will get the majority of the taking part in time at second. Journeyman infielder Pablo Reyes, who has been restricted to a single pinch-running look since being known as up on September 1, is the backup for the second. The 31-year-old righty-swinging utilityman hit simply .183/.234/.217 (23 wRC+) in 64 PA for the Purple Sox earlier this yr however was fairly productive as not too long ago as final yr (.287/.339/.377, 94 wRC+). The Mets might dip into their minor league system to name up Luisangel Acuña, a 22-year-old 45-FV prospect who ranks sixth on their up to date staff listing and who, as you might need guessed by his title, is the youthful brother of Braves famous person Ronald Acuña Jr. He hasn’t hit a lot since being acquired from the Rangers within the Max Scherzer commerce, with a .261/.301/.362 (71 wRC+) line at Syracuse, however he did steal 38 bases and might play each center infield positions in addition to heart subject.

Braves

With the Mets’ 3-1 loss to the Reds on Sunday and the Braves’ 4-3 walk-off win over the Blue Jays, the 2 NL East rivals are each 78-65, tied for the third Wild Card spot. Atlanta’s center infield has a brand new damage as effectively, as Merrifield fouled a ball off his left foot throughout Friday’s recreation towards the Blue Jays and suffered a fracture. Primarily based on preliminary CT and MRI scans, the Braves believed he would miss six to eight weeks, however after consulting with a foot specialist Saturday, the staff is optimistic he can return a lot sooner. “It’s a secure fracture,” Merrifield advised reporters on Saturday. “So, we’ll attempt to get the comfortable tissue and swelling down. It’s only a ache tolerance factor after that from my understanding.”

The 35-year-old Merrifield spent the season’s first half with the Phillies, hitting simply .199/.277/.295 (64 wRC+) in 174 PA earlier than drawing his launch, however since becoming a member of the Braves in late July and filling in for the injured Ozzie Albies, he’s hit a decent .243/.359/.342 (103 wRC+) in 134 PA, although his protection at second base has been at finest a combined bag in line with the metrics (-6 DRS, 1 FRV).

As for Albies, the 27-year-old switch-hitter has been out since July 22 after fracturing his left wrist in a collision throughout a stolen base try. It was his second journey to the IL this season; he additionally missed 10 days after breaking the massive toe of his proper foot in mid-April. When out there, he’s hit a modest .258/.310/.407 (98 wRC+) in 394 PA. Whereas he’s been working in direction of a return, he continues to expertise discomfort whereas swinging left-handed, usually his weaker aspect (96 wRC+ profession, in comparison with 146 wRC+ batting righty towards lefties). The Braves haven’t dominated out the opportunity of Albies returning and batting solely as a righty however are leaving that call with the participant, in accordance to supervisor Brian Snitker.

With Albies nonetheless out together with Austin Riley — who fractured his proper hand on August 19 when hit by a pitch and is predicted to overlook six to eight weeks — the Braves acquired Cavan Biggio from the Giants on Saturday through a minor league deal. That is the 29-year-old Biggio’s fourth group of 2024. He started the season with the Blue Jays, was DFA’d and traded to the Dodgers on June 12, then DFA’d once more and launched on August 8. The Giants signed him on August 23, however he solely performed for his or her Triple-A Sacramento affiliate, the place he went 7-for-43. He hit a mixed .197/.316/.306 (86 wRC+) in 219 PA with the Blue Jays and Dodgers, which explains why he’s fallen out of favor, however as not too long ago as final yr, he produced a 102 wRC+ for Toronto. Since he was not within the Braves group as of September 1, he’s ineligible for the postseason roster, however contemplating that the participant the Braves began at second base 3 times prior to now week instead of Merrifield, Luke Williams, is a profession .223/.284/.294 (61 wRC+) hitter in 307 PA, absolutely anything appears to be like like an improve. Eli White, who got here off the bench to play proper subject after which second base within the late innings on Sunday and went 2-for-2 whereas scoring the tying and successful runs, can be within the combine, however he’s a profession .189/.265/.304 (59 wRC+) hitter in 434 PA.

Mariners

What was as soon as a 10-game AL West lead over the Astros is now a 4.5-game deficit, because the Mariners have gone 29-40 since that high-water mark on June 18. Now 73-71, the staff nonetheless has slim hopes (7.6%) of reaching the postseason by both the division or Wild Card routes, however the rotation with the majors’ lowest ERA (3.36) and fourth-highest WAR (14.3) might not get way more assist from Castillo. The 31-year-old righty left Sunday’s begin towards the Cardinals after simply three innings as a result of a left hamstring pressure. He’ll endure an MRI on Monday that may decide the severity and his outlook.

Although his 3.64 ERA ranks fourth amongst Mariners starters and his 3.93 FIP fifth, Castillo leads the staff — and the AL — with 30 begins. He’s second on the workers and sixth within the majors in innings (175.1), however has been barely much less efficient within the second half than the primary. The drop-off to a fill-in starter (seemingly Emerson Hancock, who’s pitched to a 4.76 ERA and 5.43 FIP in 45.1 innings) is substantial, significantly for a staff that faces such a steep uphill battle to get to October.