MLB may crack down on bogus trips to the disabled list

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Brian MacPherson of the Providence Journal spoke with Red Sox manager John Farrell and got some interesting dish: MLB may very well crack down on phantom disabled list visits.

You know how this has worked in the past: a player who is not exactly in the team’s plans at the moment, but who cannot be sent down — say, a veteran or a Rule 5 draftee — may suddenly find himself “injured” and placed on the DL. This happens even if he’s not injured, as it allows the club to call up a reliever or something. Major League Baseball has, generally, turned a blind eye to that.

Now, however, the minimum stay on the disabled list has been reduced from 15 days to 10 days. This creates an even greater incentive to stash an uninjured player on the DL in the name of roster flexibility. Say a fifth starter who may have his next start skipped due to a day off. As he “convalesces,” the club gets an extra reliever or something.

Not so fast, reports MacPherson:

No official word has come down, but Red Sox manager John Farrell said his understanding is that Major League Baseball plans to crack down on the so-called “phantom DL” and require increased documentation for injuries requiring DL stints. That would make it more difficult for teams to manipulate roster rules by abusing the disabled list.

MacPherson talks about how a team like Boston, with a lot of veterans who do not have options, could theoretically abuse the new shorter DL.  Farrell talks about MLB signaling to him that they will investigate DL stints more thoroughly to make sure they’re not bogus.

I’m sure everyone will adjust. And probably a lot faster than it takes all of us to stop calling it the 15-day DL.

Astros star Altuve has surgery on broken thumb, a WBC injury

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Houston Astros star Jose Altuve had surgery Wednesday on his broken right thumb, an injury that occurred in the World Baseball Classic and will significantly delay the second baseman’s 2023 debut.

The Astros announced that the 32-year-old Altuve had the procedure done in Houston and will stay there to begin his rehabilitation, with only one week left in spring training. The Astros will fly there on Sunday following their final Grapefruit League game in Florida, before playing a pair of exhibitions against their Triple-A team, the Sugar Land Space Cowboys, in Texas.

Altuve was hit by a pitch on Saturday while playing for Venezuela in the WBC. He might not be ready to return to the lineup until at least late May. The eight-time All-Star and 2017 American League MVP batted .300 with 103 runs, 28 homers and 18 steals for the World Series champion Astros last season. Mauricio Dubón and David Hensley are the leading candidates to fill in for Altuve at second base.

Altuve isn’t the only Major League Baseball star who was hurt in WBC play, of course. Mets closer Edwin Díaz will miss the 2023 season because of a torn patellar tendon in his right knee as the freak result of an on-field celebration following a WBC win by the Puerto Rico national team.

BROWN DOWN

The Astros also scratched right-hander Hunter Brown from his scheduled start Wednesday against the Mets in Port St. Lucie, Florida.

Manager Dusty Baker told reporters that Brown, who is ranked by MLB as the organization’s top prospect and competing for the last spot in the rotation, has discomfort in his lower back.

NOT QUITE READY

The New York Mets sent catcher Francisco Álvarez to Triple-A Syracuse, quashing for now the possibility of putting the prized 21-year-old on the opening day roster.

Álvarez, who made his major league debut with the Mets near the end of last season, had just three hits in 28 at-bats in Grapefruit League exhibition games. Ranked by MLB as the third-best prospect in baseball, Álvarez batted .260 with 27 homers and 78 RBIs in a combined 112 minor league games in 2022 at Double-A and Triple-A.

The Mets have newcomer Omar Narváez, a 2021 All-Star with the Milwaukee Brewers, as their primary catcher with Tomás Nido likely to play mostly against left-handed pitchers.

Speaking of the Mets, Díaz turned 29 on Wednesday – a rather subdued milestone for the right-hander considering his situation. Diaz nonetheless posted in Spanish an upbeat message on his Twitter account, thanking God for another year of life and describing his health as good and his outlook as positive in this initial stage of the roughly eight-month rehabilitation process.