MLB Injuries

The New York Mets announced outfielder Starling Marte underwent surgery on Tuesday to repair a core muscle injury.

The recovery for this procedure usually takes eight weeks, providing time for him to compete at Spring Training without restrictions.

D.J. Short of NBC Sports noted Marte suffered the original injury on July 9, although he missed just four games before returning. He also missed the final few weeks of the regular season with a fractured finger before playing in the postseason.

Marte finished the season hitting .292 with 16 home runs and 18 stolen bases in 118 games, earning his second career All-Star selection.

The 34-year-old signed a four-year deal with the Mets as a free agent last offseason and finished third on the team with an .814 OPS. He was a key part of the team finishing with 101 wins, tied for third-most in the majors while earning a playoff appearance for the first time since 2016.

With three years remaining under contract, Marte should remain an important part of the lineup in 2023, especially with center fielder Brandon Nimmo hitting free agency.

Marte only played two games in center last season for the Mets, but he played it almost exclusively over the past four years with the Oakland Athletics, Miami Marlins, Arizona Diamondbacks and Pittsburgh Pirates. It gives the team added versatility and options heading into the offseason.

The next challenge will be to stay healthy after missing over 40 games in each of the past two seasons.

Cleveland Guardians superstar Jose Ramirez will have surgery on his right hand in the coming weeks after playing through an injury for much of the season, per Zack Meisel of The Athletic.

Per that report, Ramirez could have opted for a midseason surgery but chose against doing so to avoid missing significant time.

Cleveland was one of the surprise teams of the regular season, winning the American League Central with a 92-70 record.

Ramirez was the driving force behind the Guardians' offensive success. The four-time All-Star hit .280/.355/.514 with almost as many extra-base hits (78) as (82) in 157 games.

Everything has been going right for Ramirez in 2022. He signed a seven-year contract extension with the club in April that keeps him in Cleveland through 2028. The $125 million deal is the richest in franchise history.

Ramirez sat out his first game of the season on June 18 against the Los Angeles Dodgers. Guardians manager Terry Francona told reporters the 30-year-old was dealing with thumb soreness that wasn't expected to be a serious issue.

One reason the Guardians emerged as a playoff team is that the players around Ramirez performed better than anticipated. Josh Naylor (.771 OPS), first-time All-Star Andres Gimenez (.837 OPS) and Steven Kwan (.373 OBP) added depth to the lineup.

The season ended against the New York Yankees this week. But a strong foundation is in place, led by Ramirez.

The New York Yankees' short-handed bullpen took another hit Tuesday after the team placed right-handed relief pitcher Ron Marinaccio on the injured list with a stress reaction in his right shin.

Manager Aaron Boone told the news to reporters:

Marinaccio, who sports a 2.05 ERA in 40 appearances, isn't eligible to return until the American League Championship Series round should the Yankees make it that far.

The Yanks are the AL's No. 2 seed and will skip the wild-card round to head to the AL Division Series against a to-be-determined opponent.

Marinaccio was removed from the eighth inning of his team's 3-1 loss to the Baltimore Orioles on Sunday because of the injury. He had retired all three batters faced.

The Yankees bullpen has taken big hits all year.

Chad Green, Zack Britton and Michael King are all out for the season. All-Star closer Clay Holmes is day-to-day because of a right shoulder strain. Wandy Peralta is working his way back from left thoracic spine tightness. Miguel Castro just returned from a shoulder injury and a stint on the 60-day IL.

Now Marinaccio will miss some time. It's a big loss for the Yankees, as the 27-year-old has been one of the Yankees' best and most consistent relievers this season. The rookie notably allowed just one earned run over 23 appearances from May 22 to Aug. 22.

For now, the Yankees will finish out their regular season with three games against the Texas Rangers. Their first playoff game will be on Oct. 11.

Washington Nationals catcher Keibert Ruiz has been placed on the 10-day injured list with a testicular contusion, according to Mark Zuckerman of MASN.

Ruiz suffered the injury in Thursday's 11-6 win over the St. Louis Cardinals when he took a foul ball to the groin.

Ruiz remained in the game until the sixth inning before he was removed and taken to the hospital with swollen testicles. He was replaced by backup catcher Riley Adams.

Ruiz is in his first full season with the Nationals. He was one of the prospects traded to Washington last season in the deal that sent Max Scherzer and Trea Turner to the Los Angeles Dodgers.

The 24-year-old is in the midst of a solid season, slashing .251/.313/.360 with seven home runs, 36 RBI and six stolen bases in 112 games. It's the most games he has ever played in a major league season.

He appeared in just eight games for the Dodgers in 2020 and 2021 before being traded.

To replace Ruiz, the Nationals purchased the contract of Israel Pineda from Triple-A Rochester. However, they didn't necessarily need to do that with both Adams and Tres Barrera on the roster.

The Nationals are currently fifth in the NL East with a 49-89 record and are set to miss the playoffs for the third straight season since winning the World Series in 2019.

Houston Astros outfielder Michael Brantley's 2022 season has come to an early end after he had surgery to repair his ailing shoulder.

General manager James Click announced on Friday that Brantley had arthroscopic labral repair surgery.

Brantley hasn't appeared in a game since June 26 and he was placed on the injured list the following day.

Prior to the injury, Brantley was having a solid season for the Astros. The five-time All-Star had a .288/.370/.416 slash line with five homers, 26 RBI and more walks (31) than strikeouts (30).

The Astros didn't announce a recovery timeline for the 35-year-old. Brantley is in the final season of a two-year, $32 million contract he signed in January 2021.

There was a report prior to him re-signing with the Astros that Brantley agreed to a deal with the Toronto Blue Jays. ESPN's Jeff Passan reported no agreement had been reached, and Brantley remained a free agent.

Brantley told reporters after re-signing with Houston that he was "close" on a deal with the Blue Jays, but eventually "everything worked for where I wanted to be."

Injuries have been a problem for Brantley over the past two seasons. He missed 41 games in 2021 but was still named to the American League All-Star team. The Washington native finished second in the AL with a .311 batting average in 469 at-bats last year.

The Astros have been able to succeed without Brantley. They enter Friday with a 72-41 record, best in the American League. Their 11-game lead over the Seattle Mariners in the AL West is the second-largest in MLB (Los Angeles Dodgers, 16 games).

Aledmys Diaz and Chas McCormick have split starting duties in left field with Brantley unavailable. They will likely continue to do so for the remainder of the season.

The Atlanta Braves have placed starting pitcher Max Fried on the seven-day concussion injured list after he hit his head during Saturday's 6-2 loss to the New York Mets, per ESPN.

Fried slipped and fell face-first while attempting to get Francisco Lindor out on a throw to home plate during the third inning of Saturday's game.

Fried remained in the game despite the injury, allowing four runs in six innings.

The 28-year-old's injury is unfortunate for the Braves, who are second in the NL East with a 66-46 record. He is having an impressive 2022 season. Through 22 starts, he is 10-4 with a 2.60 ERA, 1.08 WHIP and 127 strikeouts in 138.1 innings.

Fried made his debut for the Braves during the 2017 season, but he has been particularly good over the last three years. He finished fifth in Cy Young voting in 2020 and also earned his first Gold Glove.

In 2021, Fried earned his second Gold Glove and a Silver Slugger award after hitting .273/.322/.327 with five RBI in 31 games. This season, he earned his first All-Star Game selection.

Fried has emerged as Atlanta's ace, and he'll be a key in Atlanta making it back to the World Series this year. Luckily for the Braves, it doesn't seem like he'll be sidelined for too long.

Charlie Morton, Kyle Wright, Spencer Strider and Jake Odorizzi should be able to carry the rotation in the meantime. Strider, in particular, is having a solid rookie season, posting a 6-4 record in 24 games (13 starts) with a 3.11 ERA, 1.05 WHIP and 138 strikeouts in 89.2 innings.

Philadelphia Phillies slugger Kyle Schwarber has been diagnosed with a mild calf strain and is considered day-to-day, interim manager Rob Thomson told reporters Thursday.

Schwarber exited Thursday's 3-0 loss to the Miami Marlins in the fifth inning after drawing a walk.

Schwarber told reporters after the loss that he has been managing the calf ailment for a few weeks. He added that he probably won't play Friday's game against the New York Mets but hopes to be back as soon as possible.

Losing Schwarber for any period of time isn't ideal for the Phillies as he has been one of the team's best batters. He entered Thursday's game with 34 home runs, 69 RBI and six stolen bases in 108 games with a .212/.314/.504 slash line.

The Phillies are in the midst of a tight playoff race and currently sit third in the NL East with a 62-49 record, 10.5 games behind the first-place Mets and just 3.5 games behind the second-place Atlanta Braves.

Even though Philadelphia is third in the division, they have a 77.6 percent chance to clinch one of the three wild-card spots, per FanGraphs. The 60-50 Milwaukee Brewers, which are the team behind Philly in the wild-card standings, have just a 19.8 percent chance to clinch a wild card berth, per FanGraphs.

The Phillies, Braves and San Diego Padres are currently occupying the NL wild card spots.

With Schwarber sidelined, Matt Vierling or Brandon Marsh could see time in left field. Vierling has played 13 games in left this season, while Marsh, who was acquired at the trade deadline from the Los Angeles Angels, has played 77.

Chicago White Sox shortstop Tim Anderson will be sidelined between four and six weeks with a torn ligament in his hand, according to Russell Dorsey of Bally Sports and Stadium.

It's possible Anderson could need surgery to fix the issue, Dorsey added.

Anderson last played for the White Sox in an 8-0 loss to the Texas Rangers on Saturday, going 0-for-4 at the plate.

According to Daryl Van Schouwen of the Chicago Sun-Times, Anderson suffered the injury on a check swing in his final at-bat during that game and returned home on Sunday to have his hand examined.

The 29-year-old missed Sunday's 8-2 win over the Rangers while serving the first of a two-game suspension for making contact with home plate umpire Nick Mahrley in a 7-3 loss to the Oakland Athletics on July 29.

He was due to miss the first game of a doubleheader against the Kansas City Royals on Tuesday to serve the second game of his suspension.

It's been a decent season for Anderson. Before suffering the injury, he was slashing .301/.339/.395 with six home runs, 25 RBI and 13 stolen bases in 79 games. He earned the second All-Star Game selection of his career.

For comparison, Anderson hit .309/.338/.469 with 17 home runs, 61 RBI and 18 stolen bases in 123 games during the 2021 campaign.

With Anderson sidelined, Leury Garcia is a candidate to replace him at shortstop, though it's unclear who might see time in the lead-off spot. Garcia has played 12 games at shortstop this season

The White Sox are 55-53 entering Tuesday's doubleheader against the Royals. Anderson's injury comes at an unfortunate time for the franchise as it is just two games behind the first-place Minnesota Twins for the AL Central lead.

The earliest Anderson will return is the first week of September for a series against the Seattle Mariners. If he's sidelined for the full six weeks, he won't return until late September, when time is winding down in the regular season.

Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw has been placed on the injured list with lower back pain, the team announced Friday.

Kershaw exited a 5-3 win against the San Francisco Giants on Thursday after just four innings because of the ailment. He also missed time this season with pelvic joint inflammation.

The 34-year-old might be past his prime, but he has still played a significant role in L.A.'s rotation this season. He has posted a 7-3 record with a 2.64 ERA, 0.98 WHIP and 88 strikeouts in 85.1 innings across 15 starts.

Kershaw, who has spent his entire 15-year career in L.A, signed a one-year deal to return to the Dodgers in 2022 following the departure of Max Scherzer to the New York Mets.

When the three-time Cy Young winner is sidelined, the Dodgers can still rely on Julio Urias, Tony Gonsolin, Tyler Anderson and Andrew Heaney.

The Dodgers are first in the NL West with a 72-33 record. They'll need Kershaw to remain healthy for a deep playoff run in a difficult NL.