MLBits: Lindor’s Injury, the Brewers Overused Relievers, Keuchel’s Market, Twitter, Top Lineups, More

Mar 27, 2019

We are almost exactly 24-hours out from the first pitch of the Cubs 2019 regular season. After this slug of an offseason – minus the very fun Kyle Hendricks extension! – I am very ready to turn the page into real baseball.

But first, here’s some news from around the league.

A couple days ago, we discussed some high-profile bad news for the Indians, who were looking at an Opening Day infield potentially without Jose Ramirez, Jason Kipnis and Francisco Lindor. But from the sound of it, things have actually managed to get even worse:

Hanley Ramirez has been informed that he will make the team's 25-man #OpeningDay roster.

Additionally, Francisco Lindor sustained an acute ankle sprain while base-running during a minor league game yesterday.

Francisco received an MRI and his timeframe is TBD. pic.twitter.com/j5sbQIB3g6

— Cleveland Indians (@Indians) March 27, 2019

Lindor was already expected to start the season on the IL thanks to a calf injury, but had actually almost made a full recovery when he sprained his ankle yesterday. That is … oof. Who knows if he was compensating for his calf when he injured his ankle, but this is why – all things equal – you need to be 100% before you come back (at least, when you’re a young super star and it’s the very beginning of the season and you play in a division with hardly any serious competition).

Speaking of the AL Central competition, how badly do you think the White Sox regret not landing Manny Machado now? The Indians are badly beat up, but the Sox might not be in the best position to capitalize. At least, they’ll get Eloy Jimenez right out of the gate (whom I drafted … there was no way I wasn’t going to find a way to root for him). I don’t know if it’ll be enough.

I also took Craig Kimbrel and Dallas Keuchel way late in the draft … It was a risk, but they’ll have to sign eventually … right? RIGHT?! I also took Shohei Ohtani. Oh brother. I have too much risk, don’t I? I couldn’t get the upside out of my head.

In other bad injury news, Diamondbacks outfielder Steven Souza Jr. will undergo season-ending surgery to repair an ACL tear, LCL tear, partial PCL tear (and more) in his knee. It’s hard not to feel for these guys.

A large part of the reason the Brewers were able to overtake the Cubs and last deep into the postseason last year was their bullpen. But now, they’re wondering if overuse contributed to injuries for Jeremy Jefress and Corey Knebel, both of whom will start the year on the Injured List. And the answer in my opinion? Yeah, probably. They remain a threat to sign Kimbrel, but the rumor mill has been quiet on that front over the past couple of days.

The same is largely true for Keuchel – that his market has been quiet – though he reportedly remains against a one-year “pillow contract.” It’s hard to even guess which team will take a shot at the former Cy Young award winner and four-time Gold Glover. But he’s barely 31 years old and made 34 above-average starts (by ERA) last season.

Twitter and MLB have gotten together on some pretty awesome changes this season, including highlights for EVERY SINGLE home run hit. I can get behind that. But even cooler than that, Twitter will take a pool every morning to determine the hitter of the day, and that player’s at-bats will be live-streamed every time he is up. That is a fantastic move on MLB’s part and something I hope continues and expands.

The Chicago Cubs did not make it into MLB.com’s top-10 lineups heading into the 2019 season, and I fully suspect that to look downright silly by the end of the year. Yeah, they hedged their bets by making them an honorable mention, but I still think they’ll regret it.

Along the same lines, Dayne Perry (CBS Sports) made 50 bold predictions for the 2019 season. Among the Cubs related bits, he believes the Cardinals and Cubs will be fighting for the division down to the last day of the season (my heart can’t handle that again), he believes Yu Darvish will not have enough innings to qualify, and he believes this will be Joe Maddon’s final season as manager. Yuck. On a more positive note, he does think the Cubs will be awarded the 2021 All-Star game … but he also thinks Kimbrel winds up in Milwaukee.

FanGraphs took a deeper look into some notable Spring Training performances, and the one that sticks out is Pirates returnee Jung Ho Kang, who had a .548 ISO over 45 plate appearances. Obviously, all the caveats need to be applied, but that is a very notable performance nonetheless.

Deadspin discusses fans who’ve visited all or most of the 159 Minor League ballparks in the country and how it’s the best way to really see the entire United States (or, well, most of it).

And finally, in case you missed it, Elvis Andrus of the Texas Rangers might just be walking up to “Baby Shark” when he steps up to the plate against Jon Lester tomorrow:

Elvis Andrus’ Walk-up Song Is … BABY SHARK! https://t.co/7BORv1bv7k pic.twitter.com/aOcNOLXURW

— Baseball is Fun (@flippingbats) March 27, 2019

written by

Michael Cerami

Michael Cerami began covering the Chicago Cubs for Bleacher Nation as a part-time contributor in 2015. One year later, he joined Bleacher Nation full-time, covering the Chicago Cubs and Major League Baseball. Today, Michael runs Bleacher Nation, contributing as a writer (Cubs, MLB) and an editor for all sections of the site, including the Chicago Bears, Bulls, and Blackhawks, as well as MLB, NBA, NHL, and NFL. In 2019, Michael was the co-host of NBC Sports Chicago's Cubs Post-Game Show Outside the Ivy. You can find him on Twitter/X @Michael_Cerami

MLBits: Lindor’s Injury, the Brewers Overused Relievers, Keuchel’s Market, Twitter, Top Lineups, More

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