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MLB Notebook: J.T. Realmuto to undergo knee surgery, Clayton Kershaw progressing faster than expected, and more
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Brett Holden
Jun 14, 2024, 16:00 EDTUpdated: Jun 14, 2024, 16:21 EDT
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J.T. Realmuto to undergo knee surgery

Phillies star catcher J.T. Realmuto has been placed on the 10-day injured list as he requires surgery on his right knee to repair damage in his meniscus.
Realmuto joins an injured list already occupied by some of Philadelphia’s best players this season; Both Trea Turner and Brandon Marsh have been on the IL with strained hamstrings, but Philly does expect both players to return in the next week. As for Realmuto, the operation is expected to keep him out for at least a month.
Losing Realmuto is a real blow for Philly as Garrett Stubbs will take over catching duties for now. Stubbs has a career .213 batting average with six home runs and 37 RBIs in just over 350 games. This season, Stubbs is off to a slow start, smacking a .183 batting average with 11 hits in his 60 at-bats with no homers and three RBIs.
But it isn’t just the offence Philly will lose from the Realmuto injury. J.T. is one of the best defensive catchers in all of baseball, boasting a pop time that sits in the 96th percentile in the league this year with a 1.86, and in the 94th percentile in caught stealing above average rate.
Now, Stubbs does have a solid CS above-average rate, as well, sitting in the 85th percentile, but he does sit below the 25th percentile in every other catching category, including framing and pop-time.
The Phillies did recall catcher Rafael Marchán from Triple-A Lehigh Valley in a corresponding move on Tuesday. Marchán is currently hitting .233 this season in the Minor Leagues with two home runs and eight RBIs, splitting time between Lehigh Valley and Single-A Clearwater Threshers. The 25-year-old has played 24 Major League games in his career, including one this season. In 64 at-bats, Marchán has 16 hits, two homers, seven RBIs and a .250 batting average.
Realmuto did miss some time earlier this season with knee soreness and has reportedly been playing through the pain since May. While the recovery time for a meniscus is normally between one-to-two months, with Realmuto already playing through the injury, and the importance of healthy knees as a catcher, his return might be longer than some may expect.

Clayton Kershaw progressing faster than expected

Legendary Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw is getting closer to a potential return from injury sooner than initially thought.
Kershaw has not pitched in the Majors since his abysmal 0.1 inning, six-run appearance in the NLDS last season, where he walked off the Dodger Stadium diamond with a 162.00 ERA. In the offseason, Kershaw revealed he underwent an operation to repair the glenohumeral ligaments and capsule in his throwing shoulder.
Kershaw re-signed with the Dodgers this winter after uncertainty surrounding his potential return swirled around the illustrious lefty. But, Kershaw opted to return to his Major League home and continue his rehab to return in the 2024 season.
Kershaw was slated for a return around July or August; however, after a three-inning simulation game, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts provided a promising update on Kershaw’s status.
“He is well beyond where I personally expected.”
Roberts says the next step for Kershaw is a rehab stint with the Single-A Rancho Cucamonga Quakes to get a better tell of where he’s at in his recovery outside of a low-impact simulated game.
“It’s hard to get as much out of it because there is not a lot of adrenaline… Hopefully, the next progression is he’s pitching in a rehab game and his progression there starts then.”
Kershaw wants one more kick at the can with the team that he has spent his entire career with, especially with the super team they have constructed this year. A dominant Dodgers team would not feel the same without Clayton Kershaw on the bump. Hopefully, Kershaw can continue his progression and we will see him back at Dodger Stadium in no time.

Patrick Corbin is statistically the worst pitcher in baseball

A post on social media went viral this past week outlining the best and worst players in each major pitching and hitting statistical category for the last 365 days. Some names were not that surprising like Shohei Ohtani the best OPS, Luis Arraez with the best batting average, Tyler Glasnow with the most strikeouts, and Zach Wheeler with the best ERA. But one name was notable throughout the post… Patrick Corbin.
Patrick Corbin appeared in every statistical category on the pitching side: ERA, FIP, WHIP, BAA, strikeouts, and WAR. Now, was Corbin the best in any of these categories? No! Not one! Patrick Corbin boasts the worst ERA, FIP, WHIP, BAA, strikeouts, and WAR in all of baseball over the past 365 days. The worst part? Corbin hasn’t missed a start in that entire time, Corbin has 33 starts since June 13th, 2023.
In those 33 starts, Corbin is 6-17 with a 5.60 ERA, 126 strikeouts, and a 1.53 WAR, last in all of those categories.
It’s also not like Corbin has unbelievable underlying stats to keep him in the rotation. Corbin sits in the 15th percentile or lower in 11 categories according to Baseball Savant, including Fastball velo, average exit velo, strikeout percentage, and hard-hit percentage. This means he’s throwing soft and can’t miss a barrel.
Plus, he sits in the first percentile in pitching run value, Fastball run value, expected ERA, and expected batting average. That is outrageous.
The only categories he has respectable numbers in are ground ball percentage in the 72nd percentile, and extension, in the 79th percentile, which further confirms the theory of him getting hit. Literally, the best thing about Corbin right now is that he stretches far on the mound when he throws a pitch.
Corbin, at one point in his career, has been a two-time all-star and has received votes for the Cy Young twice, including a fifth-place finish in 2018. However, those days are long past him. Corbin has not earned a vote for any achievement since 2019, when he finished 11th in the Cy Young vote. Since then, Corbin has allowed the most earned runs in a season in 2021, 2022, and 2024, and hits in 2020, 2022, and 2024 in all of baseball.
With these numbers, it is honestly astonishing he has not even been sent down for a quick stint to re-find his stride. But no, 33 starts over the past year with dismal results. It must only be a matter of time until something happens, right?

Quick Notes:

  • Houston Astros release José Abreu. The former AL MVP has had an awful start to the 2024 season hitting just .124 with two homers and seven RBIs. Abreu is still owed over $ 30 million from the Astros after the release.
  • Dodgers acquire Cavan Biggio. Biggio heads to L.A. in exchange for minor league pitcher Braydon Fisher. Biggio has one hit in his four at-bats at Dodger Stadium plus a walk and hit-by-pitch in his first series as a Dodger. 

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