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MLB Notebook: Multiple pitchers land on the Injured List, Orioles recall top prospect, and more
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Brett Holden
Jun 3, 2024, 18:00 EDT
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A pair of Padres pitchers hit the Injured List

The San Diego Padres have run into some injury issues once again as the team has placed starting pitchers Yu Darvish and Joe Musgrove on the 15-day injured list. Darvish will hit the IL with a left groin strain and Musgrove will miss time with right elbow inflammation.
Darvish left his start on Wednesday with hamstring tightness but has been placed on the IL by the team with a groin strain. Musgrove’s injury came during a bullpen session where he felt the same pain he felt from his initial IL stint with his arm discomfort.
Both pitchers have spent time on the IL earlier this year, Darvish with neck tightness and Musgrove with the same ailing elbow inflammation.
While the consistent ailment to Musgrove’s arm is unsettling, Padres manager, Mike Schildt, is not yet concerned.
“He’ll continue to get imaging. We have baselines, but structurally we feel like everything is good.”
Schildt shares the same sentiment with Darvish.
“Don’t think it’s anything long-term serious, which is obviously good, but it’s something that’s gonna require some rest.”
The two righties will hit the IL alongside Xander Bogaerts who fractured his left shoulder on May 20th. The Padres have called up righties Logan Gillaspie and Randy Vásquez. Gillaspie has a 5.17 ERA in 17 appearances in Triple-A El Paso with none being starts, while Vásquez sports a 7.45 ERA and 22 strikeouts in his five starts this season.
Vásquez has six starts under his belt at the Major League level, including a win on Saturday against the Kansas City Royals where he struck out five through his 5.0 innings, allowing three runs, two of which came off a two-run homer from Vinnie Pasquantino.
The Padres have yet to announce a starter for Tuesday’s game against the Angels, but it is expected they will turn to the organization’s No. 5 prospect, Adam Mazur. Mazur has a 3.86 ERA with 50 strikeouts in 51.1 innings in Triple-A El Paso.
The Padres have been rumoured to be interested in a trade for a starting pitcher, like Miami’s Jesús Luzardo, but after last month’s trade with the Marlins for Luis Arráez, the prospect pool is a little shaded.

Injury blows continue to roll for the Mets

Speaking of injured pitchers, New York Mets closer, Edwin Diaz has hit the injured list with a shoulder impingement. Diaz missed the entirety of the 2023 season after tearing his right patellar tendon while celebrating advancing to the World Baseball Classic semifinals with Puerto Rico during Spring Training last year. Now, after a jarring return to the bullpen in 2024, Sugar Diaz finds himself on the injured list once again.
Diaz lost his role as the closer in Queens for a quick stretch but returned on May 25th, where he blew the save in a one-run game. In the following game, Mets manager, Carlos Mendoza, opted to go with Adam Ottavino to close out the game… Ottavino blew it. Diaz was slated to be available for the next day but was placed on the injured list that day.
Mendoza said Diaz reported some tightness in his shoulder for a few days prior but thought it would subside soon. After waking up with tightness in his shoulder after a few days, the team decided he needed more rest.
Currently, closing duties for the Mets are by committee with Jake Diekman, Adam Ottavino, and Reed Garrett each being handed opportunities to seize the role. Garrett has been the only one to seal a save for the Mets since Diaz’s IL placement in a 3-2 win over the Arizona Diamondbacks.
Manager Mendoza doesn’t expect Diaz to miss too much time and expects Sugar to return as soon as he is eligible to come off the IL.
But, the announcement of Diaz’s placement on the IL came 15 minutes before the first pitch between the Mets and the Dodgers. The timing couldn’t be worse, because as Mets fans were still reeling from the news of losing their struggling superstar closer, fear would strike upon Citi Field.
During Pete Alonso’s first at-bat of the ballgame in the bottom of the first inning, Alonso was struck by a Paxton fastball right in the hands after checking his swing on the pitch. Alonso would be forced to leave the game and things began to look bleak for the Mets and their fans.
Fortunately for everybody, Alonso did not fracture his hand and was back in the lineup the following day as a pinch-hitter for young third baseman, Brett Baty.
The Mets currently sit 16.5 games out of the top spot in the NL East and really the only reason why Mets fans should be concerned about a Pete Alonso injury would be because of a potential dip in trade value.

Quick Notes:

  • Orioles call up organization No. 6 prospect, Connor Norby. Norby will make his MLB debut on Monday against the Blue Jays as he will start at second base. The 23-year-old has hit nine home runs and 36 RBIs in 51 games in Triple-A Norfolk.
  • Padres shortstop facing lifetime ban for sports gambling. Tucapita Marcano is under investigation by Major League Baseball after they received information of Marcano betting on games involving his former team, the Pittsburgh Pirates. The accusations date back to 2023, when Marcano was a Pirate. Marcano has not been formally penalized by the league for gambling, but the Padres did confirm the ongoing investigation.
  • Urquidy may require Tommy John surgery. Urquidy was pulled from his rehab start for the Sugar Land Space Cowboys on May 24th, after feeling discomfort in his throwing elbow. Urquidy has yet to pitch since and could require his second Tommy John surgery in his career.  

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