April 24-April 30 Update

Another week down and we are through the first full month of baseball. There was plenty that happened this past week including pesky injuries, a new contract, monthly awards, and an international series that absolutely delivered. I figured let’s get the bad news out of the way first so we can focus on all the good things that happened throughout the week. Everyone cool with that? Awesome, let’s get right into it!

The Injury Tent

1. JD Martinez – We have lost dear old JD to lower back tightness. JD was not lighting the world on fire in his new home with the Dodgers, but he was certainly looking much better than he had in previous seasons. Let’s hope that he can make a speedy recovery, but we all know how pesky those back injuries can be. Just ask his teammate Clayton Kershaw.

2. Aaron Judge – The reigning home run king hit the injured list with an upper hip strain. I am glad they finally decided to put him on the shelf to let him fully recover instead of possibly having him play through it and making it worse. This was handled very strangely as after he went for testing, Aaron Boone told reporters there was definitely “something”. Well thanks Coach Boone. We gathered that much. The Yankees are scuffling with Judge on the IL. Don’t forget they are also missing their other big bopper in Giancarlo Stanton! Their offense has taken a significant hit, or you could say lack of hits (see what I did there?). I am sure the Yankees want Judge back as much as the fans. Aaron Judge is good for baseball, so let’s hope for a speedy recovery and get this man back to mashing baseballs.

3. Jacob DeGrom – As a fantasy DeGrom owner and as a baseball fan, this sucks. You never want to see a pitcher as dominant as DeGrom go down with an injury, especially an elbow injury! Am I shocked? No. DeGrom has struggled to stay healthy due to upper body injuries over the last handful of seasons. It appears that the Rangers are handling him with kid gloves this year to protect their offseason investment and they may have just avoided the worst-case scenario. It appears he will start throwing again in about a week and go from there. No Tommy John needed here! (YET)

4. Liam Hendriks – Now, Liam Hendriks started the season on the IL, but I wanted to include him here to congratulate him on officially being cancer free this past week! Hendriks is one of the fiercest relievers and personalities in the sport right now and the White Sox are struggling early this season. Hendriks went on a rehab assignment Wednesday May 3rd with Triple A Charlotte, so he could be back within the next couple of weeks. I think he would be a great boost for a clubhouse that seems to have nothing going its way right now. He has been one of the best stories in baseball this season!

DISCLAIMER: These are not every single injury during this time span, just the ones I thought were worth mentioning.

Bryan Reynolds and Pirates Come to Terms

Bryan Reynolds and the Pirates agreed to an 8-year, $106.75 million contract extension on Tuesday April 25th. It includes a ninth-year club option worth $20 million with a $2 million buyout. This is a huge grab for the Pirates who are surprising the entire baseball community this season with their early success. Apparently, Reynolds was seeking an opt-out clause, but he did not receive that. He did, however, receive a no trade clause that allows him to block being traded to 6 different organizations. This is a very interesting contract and almost seems like he should have gotten more given his success since arriving in the big leagues.

Coors Light? More like Coors Heavy

The San Diego Padres and the San Francisco Giants took part in a series this past weekend in Mexico City that was an absolute slugfest. Friday night’s contest ended with the Padres winning with a final score of 16 – 11. There were 11 home runs hit in total between the two teams. We knew the air would be thin, but no one predicted it would be this thin. I did not realize that the stadium in Mexico City was 7,200 feet of elevation. That is a full 2,000 feet higher than Coors Field! The Sunday game had less fireworks but was still a fun watch. Some how Alex Cobb was able to hold the Padres to 3 runs over 5 innings in the game going against Yu Darvish, who held the Giants to 4 runs over 6 innings. Unfortunately, the Giants bullpen could not hold it together. Camilo Doval and Tyler Rogers each gave up a run to allow the Padres to complete the two-game international sweep!

Trophy Case – Here are your April Monthly Award Winners

Player of the Month – Ronald Acuña, Jr. (ATL), Matt Chapman (TOR)

Pitcher of the Month – Clayton Kershaw (LAD), Gerrit Cole (NYY)

Rookie of the Month – James Outman (LAD), Josh Jung (TEX)

Reliever of the Month – Josh Hader (SDP), Felix Bautista (BAL)

--Keller Douglas