Alex Guerrero could miss five weeks after having part of his ear bitten off by Miguel Olivo

85 Comments

Danny Knobler of ESPN Los Angeles reports that Dodgers prospect Alex Guerrero could miss five weeks following yesterday’s dugout altercation in which Triple-A teammate Miguel Olivo bit off part of his ear.

According to Knobler for now at least Guerrero has chosen not to file formal charges against Olivo, but he’s currently hospitalized and needs plastic surgery. And how exactly did an argument that led to someone’s ear being bitten off by a teammate begin?

Well, agent Scott Boras told the Los Angeles Times that “Olivo became steamed after his team allowed a stolen base in the seventh inning” and “blamed Guerrero for failing to tag the baserunner in time.”

So, you know, a perfectly reasonable justification for biting off someone’s ear.

Olivo apparently punched Guerrero in the dugout and then, according to the newspaper, “when players pulled off Olivo, he had a piece of Guerrero’s ear in his mouth.” Yeesh.

Guerrero signed a $28 million deal with the Dodgers this offseason after defecting from Cuba and is hitting .376 with 10 homers and a 1.152 OPS in 33 games at Triple-A, so if not for having an ear-biting maniac as a teammate he likely would have been in line for a call-up soon.

Cardinals sign pitcher Miles Mikolas to 3-year, $55.75M deal

cardinals mikolas
Rhona Wise/USA TODAY Sports
0 Comments

ST. LOUIS — Miles Mikolas is sticking with the St. Louis Cardinals.

The right-hander signed a three-year, $55.75 million contract on Friday that will carry through the 2025 season.

The new deal replaces a $68 million, four-year contract signed in February 2019 that covered the 2020-23 seasons and was set to pay $15.75 million this year.

Mikolas will receive a $5 million signing bonus payable July 1 and will make $18.75 million in 2023 and $16 million in each of the following two seasons. Mikolas can earn a $250,000 bonus for winning a Cy Young Award, $50,000 for All-Star election or selection or winning a Gold Glove, $100,000 for League Championship Series MVP and $150,000 for World Series MVP.

Mikolas is scheduled to make the second opening-day start of his big league career next Thursday when the Cardinals host Toronto. Mikolas went 12-13 with a 3.29 ERA last season while helping St. Louis to the NL Central title.

“Miles stands among the top pitchers in the game today, and has continued to provide a steady presence for us both in the rotation and inside the clubhouse,” St. Louis general manager John Mozeliak said in a statement.

Mikolas is 45-40 with a 3.79 in 143 games with San Diego, Texas and St. Louis. He recently pitched six shutout innings in two appearances for the U.S. in the World Baseball Classic.