Mike Napoli back in starting lineup after resting due to plantar fascitis in left foot

7 Comments
By D.J. ShortAug 24, 2013, 3:07 PM EDT

According to Scott Lauber of the Boston Herald, Mike Napoli is back in the starting lineup this afternoon against the Dodgers after resting for the past six games due to plantar fasciitis in his left foot.

Napoli aggravated the injury while legging out a double last Friday against the Yankees and has only appeared as a defensive replacement with the Red Sox playing under National League rules this week. Plantar fasciitis is known to be a nagging injury, so Red Sox manager John Farrell said they’ll continue to monitor his condition moving forward.

“One thing Mike has been good about is just expressing when days have been a little more symptomatic than others,” Farrell said. “All the tests and all the therapy that he’s gotten, we don’t feel it’s to the point where it’s going to take him out of the lineup long-term. Just got to continue to monitor it, manage it day-to-day, and he’s doing a good job of it.”

Napoli is hitting just .189 with four homers and 36 strikeouts in 105 plate appearances since the All-Star break. The Red Sox will have to hope that the extended rest will get him back on track offensively.

Marlins trade David Phelps to the Mariners for four prospects

Getty Images
1 Comment
By Craig CalcaterraJul 20, 2017, 10:34 AM EDT

The Miami Marlins have sent reliever David Phelps to the Seattle Mariners in exchange for four prospects. MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand and Ken Rosenthal had rumors of the deal first, Jon Morosi, Jeff Passan and Jon Heyman (among others) all reported the trade at virtually the same time.

Phelps, 30, had a fantastic 2016 season, posting a 2.28 ERA in 64 games while striking out 11.8 batters per nine innings. He’s not been as strong this year, but he’s still been a solid setup man, posting a 3.45 ERA in 44 games while striking out 51 batters and walking 21 in 47 innings. He throws in the mid-90s and induces grounders. The Mariners could probably use rotation help more than bullpen help, but solid innings are solid innings at one point and improving your pen takes some of the pressure off of your rotation. Phelps will help Seattle with that. He’s under team control for next year too, so this is more than a rental.

The top prospect in the deal is Brayan Hernandez, a 19 year-old outfielder from Venezuela, currently playing in low-A ball. Also in the deal: righty Brandon Miller, righty Pablo Lopez and righty Lucas Schiraldi who, yes, is the son of ex-big leaguer Calvin Schiraldi. None of these guys are blue chippers, but you never know what’ll happen. It’s a volume return for the Fish.

We’ve already seen some big bullpen names move, including David Robertson, Sean Doolittle and Ryan Madson. Among others who could be moved:  A.J. Ramos (Marlins); Justin Wilson (Tigers); Addison Reed (Mets); Jerry Blevins (Mets); Brad Hand (Padres); Tony Watson (Pirates); Juan Nicasio (Pirates); Brad Brach (Orioles); Drew Storen (Reds); and Raisel Iglesias (Reds).

 

Corey Seager has more homers than any other shortstop in Los Angeles Dodgers history

Getty Images
6 Comments
By Craig CalcaterraJul 20, 2017, 9:12 AM EDT

Corey Sager homered in the Dodgers’ win over the White Sox last night. It was his 45th career homer, 44 of which have come while playing shortstop. While that’s great given that the guy has only played in 270 games, it’s not a lot of homers in an absolute sense. Thousands of players have more homers than that, obviously. Baseball has been around for a long time!

But it’s enough to set a record. A Los Angeles Dodgers record, specifically, for the most homers from a shortstop. It puts Seager past Rafael Furcal, who hit 43 while wearing Dodger blue. The record for the franchise, including Brooklyn, is Pee Wee Reese, who hit 122.

It seems astounding that no other Dodgers shortstop has hit more than 44 homers in the nearly 60 years since the club has been in Los Angeles, but it’s true. If you had asked me before I saw the factoid mentioned on Twitter I would’ve bet my life that Bill Russell would’ve had more. Not because he had any power — he was, in fact, one of the more punchless players of his era — but because he simply played in L.A. so long, logging 1,746 games at short for Walt Alston and Tommy Lasorda. Nope. He only hit 46 in his 18-year career, with a handful of those coming as an outfielder. His season high is seven. Seager has hit seven homers in May of his rookie season.

Oh well, you learn something new every day.