The Rangers actually can’t catch a break. Simply after I wrote about Nathan Eovaldi’s sneaky nice season, the 35-year-old righty briefly took over the official AL ERA lead. Earlier than he might make one other begin, nevertheless, the Rangers introduced that Eovaldi would seemingly miss the rest of the season as a result of a rotator cuff pressure. As if shedding their handiest beginning pitcher wasn’t sufficient, the Rangers additionally introduced on Thursday that Corey Seager, their high hitter, had undergone an appendectomy, placing the remainder of his season unsure.
Together with his seven-inning, nine-strikeout, one-run effort towards the Guardians final Friday, Eovaldi lowered his ERA to 1.73 in 130 innings, precisely sufficient to qualify based mostly on the Rangers’ 130 video games to that time. With that, he snuck forward of Tarik Skubal (2.32), Hunter Brown (2.36) and Garrett Crochet (2.46) on the AL leaderboard, finishing a recreation of catch-up triggered primarily by his lacking practically all of June as a result of posterior elbow irritation. Sadly, post-start soreness led Eovaldi to close down his repeatedly scheduled bullpen session and get an MRI, which revealed a rotator cuff pressure.
The 31-year-old Seager has hit .271/.373/.487 for a team-high 136 wRC+; his 21 homers and three.9 WAR are additionally tops on the Rangers. He already made two journeys to the injured record in April and Might for a recurrent proper hamstring pressure and so has performed simply 102 video games, that after being restricted to 123 final 12 months by a sports activities hernia and 119 in 2023 as a result of a left hamstring pressure and a proper thumb sprain. He’s been changed on the roster by infielder Dylan Moore, who was not too long ago launched by the Mariners, however the seemingly substitute for him within the lineup is superutilityman Josh Smith, who has hit .256/.333/.378 (101 wRC+) whereas enjoying each place moreover pitcher and catcher.
At 68-67, the Rangers are nonetheless on the outskirts of the AL Wild Card race, and so they’re hardly alone amongst contenders in struggling important blows recently. A number of the extra impactful accidents have slipped via the cracks in our protection at FanGraphs, whereas others advantage point out as long as we’re on the subject. After protecting such accidents — and a few well timed rehabs — among the many NL contenders on Thursday, I’ll undergo these of the AL contenders as we speak, this time working West to East by division.
AL West
The Rangers’ litany isn’t confined simply to Eovaldi and Seager. On August 21, the day earlier than Eovaldi’s final begin, they misplaced each Marcus Semien and Evan Carter to what could also be season-ending accidents. Colleague Dan Szymborski coated that of Semien, who fractured a metatarsal and suffered a Lisfranc sprain when he fouled a ball off the highest of his left foot. The timeline of his return from his first IL stint since 2017 (!) is 4 to 6 weeks, and the Rangers could not have something to play for as soon as he’s prepared. The 34-year-old second baseman was hitting .230/.305/.364 (88 wRC+) after digging himself out of a deep early-season gap. Since his harm, supervisor Bruce Bochy has used Smith, Ezequiel Duran, and Cody Freeman at second. Duran has moreover been serving because the brief half of a primary base platoon (with Rowdy Tellez), as Jake Burger (who has hit a disappointing .242/.275/.416, 90 wRC+) has been out as a result of a left wrist sprain.
Carter was hit on the proper wrist by a pitch within the second inning of that very same recreation; he stayed in till the eighth, however post-game X-rays revealed the fracture. That is the 23-year-old outfielder’s third IL stint this season, following a proper quad pressure in Might after which again spasms in early August. Between these outages and his beginning the season at Triple-A Spherical Rock after lacking the final 4 months of 2024 as a result of a lumbar sprain, he’s performed in simply 63 video games for the Rangers, hitting .247/.336/.392 (106 wRC+). Since his harm, Wyatt Langford and Michael Helman have shared heart discipline duties. As for who’s changing Eovaldi, the Rangers turned to 29-year-old lefty Jacob Latz, their lengthy man, to start out on Wednesday; he turned in 4 1/3 innings of two-run work in a 20-3 rout of the Angels. Latz, who’s made 4 begins and 23 aid appearances, has a 3.13 ERA and three.80 FIP in 63.1 innings with the Rangers.
As for the division-leading Astros (74-60), who misplaced Josh Hader for the rest of the common season as a result of a shoulder capsule pressure earlier this month, their bullpen took one other hit when Bennett Sousa sustained a low-grade elbow flexor/pronator pressure final week. The 30-year-old southpaw, who’s pitched to a 2.84 ERA and a pair of.71 FIP in 50.2 innings to date, gained’t throw once more for a minimum of a few weeks and can be reevaluated in early September. The workforce did simply signal 37-year-old Craig Kimbrel to offer some depth within the bullpen, however he was tagged for 2 runs in his first inning of labor on Sunday. What’s extra, he hit catcher Yainer Diaz with a pitch on his left wrist; he hasn’t performed since, and on Tuesday Victor Caratini sustained a concussion when he took a foul ball off his masks. Caratini, who’s hit .262/.317/.416 (103 wRC+) whereas sharing the catching duties and moreover DHing and enjoying first base, has been positioned on the seven-day concussion record. César Salazar, a 29-year-old former prospect, has been known as up from Triple-A Sugar Land to fill Caratini’s spot.
If there’s excellent news for the Astros, it’s that Yordan Alvarez returned to the lineup on Tuesday after lacking 101 video games as a result of a fractured metacarpal in his proper hand. Alvarez hit simply .212/.326/.365 (90 wRC+) in 32 video games earlier than being sidelined, but when he’s wholesome, he’s the most effective hitters on the planet, and he’ll shore up the designated hitter slot. With and with out him, Astros DHs — primarily Caratini, Diaz, and Jose Altuve together with Alvarez — have mixed for a 90 wRC+, the majors’ fifth lowest. The lineup might get an extra increase quickly as heart fielder Jake Meyers, who hit .308/.369/.405 (119 wRC+) till being sidelined by a proper calf pressure simply earlier than the All-Star break, started a rehab project at Sugar Land on Wednesday.
The Mariners, who at 72-62 path the Astros by two video games, are comparatively wholesome. They did lose starter Logan Evans to a bout of elbow irritation on August 15, a loss that was countered by the return of Bryce Miller after his personal 2 1/2-month absence as a result of elbow irritation. Evans, a 24-year-old rookie righty, had put up a 4.37 ERA and 5.10 FIP in 78.1 innings, which isn’t fairly however is best than the 5.98 ERA and 5.22 FIP Miller has offered in 58.2 innings. In two begins since returning, Miller’s been tagged for 5 homers and eight runs in 10 innings.
Final Saturday, the Mariners activated Victor Robles, who fractured the humeral head of his left shoulder making a spectacular catch on April 6. He’s added some wanted depth to the outfield, however he might miss as many as 10 video games relying upon the end result of his pending attraction of a suspension for throwing his bat at an opposing pitcher whereas on a rehab project on August 20.
AL Central
The Tigers (78-57) have the majors’ largest division lead at 8 1/2 video games, and so they’ve finished it regardless of a slew of accidents of their outfield. Heart fielder Parker Meadows has been restricted to 38 video games and a .200/.270/.296 (59 wRC+) line, first as a result of a nerve situation in his proper (throwing) arm that prevented him from making his season debut till June 2, after which a proper quad pressure he suffered on July 27. He simply started a rehab project on Wednesday, and will be part of the Tigers when rosters broaden on September 1. The workforce is hoping that Matt Vierling, who landed on the IL as a result of a light left indirect pressure — his third stint this season — on August 1, gained’t be too far behind. Vierling has been restricted to 31 video games and a .239/.310/.307 (76 wRC+) line by proper shoulder woes. He suffered a pressure in spring coaching after which performed simply 4 main league video games upon returning in late Might earlier than being sidelined by additional irritation. Javier Báez and Wenceel Pérez have been sharing time in heart discipline within the absence of Meadows and Vierling.
Turning to the Royals (69-65), as deadline acquisitions go, Bailey Falter — who was acquired from the Pirates on July 31 — has been one thing of a dud. He’s carrying an 11.25 ERA in 12 post-trade innings, and a 4.45 mark in 125.1 innings general. He lasted solely 4 innings in each of his begins with the Royals, and gave up runs in a pair of subsequent aid appearances. Within the final of these, final Friday towards the Tigers, he was hit on the left biceps by a comebacker; although he stayed within the recreation, the contusion pressured him to the injured record. With fellow deadline acquisition Ryan Bergert doing an excellent job filling the rotation spot Falter briefly occupied, the 28-year-old lefty is sure for a aid function as soon as he returns.
The rehabbing pitcher who might have an even bigger impression on the Royals’ destiny — or a minimum of has the upper upside — is Cole Ragans, who’s been out since mid-June as a result of a strained rotator cuff. In 48.2 innings, he posted a 5.18 ERA however a 2.44 FIP, that after ending second within the AL final 12 months in FIP (2.99), strikeouts (223), strikeout charge (29.3%), and WAR (4.8), to not point out eighth in ERA (3.14). He’s been throwing bullpen periods recently and will face dwell hitters quickly. He’ll want a minimum of a pair weeks to construct up his pitch depend, but when the Royals have something to play for within the second half of September, he could also be of assist.
AL East
With a 3 1/2-game lead over the Purple Sox (75-60) and a four-game lead over the Yankees (74-60), the Blue Jays (78-56) are in a commanding place heading into the season’s ultimate month. They’ve gotten this far largely with out Anthony Santander, their greatest free agent addition of the previous winter. The 30-year-old slugger hit simply .179/.273/.304 (62 wRC+) with six homers in 50 video games earlier than a left shoulder subluxation and subsequent bout of irritation knocked him out of motion in late Might. He lastly started swinging from each side of the plate in mid-August, and as of earlier this week had progressed to hitting off high-velocity pitching machines and taking fly balls within the outfield. He’s combating the clock so far as a rehab project, although Triple-A Buffalo’s season ends on September 21. The Blue Jays have gotten excellent manufacturing out of each outfield corners (111 wRC+ in every) and DH (117 wRC+) largely with out him, however having him as an additional choice couldn’t harm.
The Purple Sox lead the AL Wild Card race, however Roman Anthony apart, it’s been a tough 12 months for his or her top-tier prospects. Kristian Campbell, their no. 2 prospect, struggled on each side of the ball after profitable the second base job throughout spring coaching and has been engaged on shoring up his recreation at Triple-A Worcester since being optioned on June 20. Marcelo Mayer, their no. 3 prospect, was known as up in late Might and scuffled to a .228/.272/.402 (79 wRC+) line whereas primarily protecting third throughout Alex Bregman’s absence. He landed on the IL on July 25 as a result of a proper wrist sprain, and after making little progress in his rehab, underwent arthroscopic surgical procedure on August 21 — his third straight season with a season-ending harm. Richard Fitts, their no. 5 prospect, made 10 massive league begins between March 30 and July 28, lacking six weeks as a result of a proper pectoral pressure and getting optioned to Worcester a number of occasions inside that span. Referred to as up once more on August 21, he made only one look — 4 innings of bulk work behind an opener — earlier than being recognized with neuritis in his proper arm and touchdown on the IL on Tuesday. There’s no timetable but for his return, and the Purple Sox are actually scrambling for a starter in a rotation that’s misplaced Tanner Houck to Tommy John surgical procedure and Hunter Dobbins to a torn ACL, in addition to sending Walker Buehler to the bullpen.
The Yankees, who path the Purple Sox by simply half a recreation regardless of shedding eight of 10 to their high rivals, have definitely taken main hits within the harm division by shedding starters Gerrit Cole and Clarke Schmidt and reliever Jake Cousins to Tommy John surgical procedure, however when it comes to more moderen accidents, probably the most main one is shedding reliever Jonathan Loáisiga for the season. The oft-injured 30-year-old righty, who was restricted to 17 appearances in 2023 as a result of elbow irritation and three in ’24 as a result of a flexor pressure that required surgical procedure, didn’t make his season debut till Might 16. He made 30 appearances totaling 29.2 innings, with a 4.25 ERA and 5.82 FIP, earlier than touchdown on the IL on August 3 as a result of mid-back tightness, then was pulled off his rehab project as a result of what was recognized as one other flexor pressure. On Friday, supervisor Aaron Boone stated that Loáisiga will miss the rest of the season, a blow to a bullpen that has the fourth-highest ERA (4.28) and sixth-highest FIP (4.13) within the league, and that’s been even worse in August (4.67 ERA and 4.19 FIP) regardless of the deadline additions of David Bednar, Jake Hen, and Camilo Doval. The workforce is slated to get 33-year-old lefty Ryan Yarbrough again quickly; out since late June as a result of an indirect pressure, he’s pitched to a 3.90 ERA, 4.73 FIP, and a career-high 21.7% strikeout charge in 55.1 innings as a swingman.