The Skillz Report

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Last Week In Baseball: July 16-22, 2017

 

A lot went down as the 2017 MLB Trade Deadline approached, including: three significant trades, a huge game from a guy who had all but been traded already, a humbling return for a fallen star, two busted-up faces, more wild antics from a weird outfielder, and a fantastic gem spun by a grieving ace. Read on:

 

 

 

• The week opened with Oakland packaging relievers Sean Doolittle and Ryan Madson to a Washington team that desperately needs late-inning help. Both men opened strong for the Nats, with Doolittle converting both save ops—though not without a lil' drama—and Madson tallying three scoreless innings with one walk. Meanwhile, two of Oakland's four losses during the week? Blown leads by their redone 'pen.

 

• Those two losses weren't the only pain Oakland experienced this week; 1B Ryon Healy was victim to a bad-hop grounder courtesy of New York Met Lucas Duda 7/21-—Healy took a vicious shot off the left side of the face and left the game, clearly feeling it. The next day, rookie Colin Moran of division rival Houston one-upped Healy by fouling a ball off his own face. Unable to stand without support, Moran—who had just been recalled to the majors and hit his first HR the day before—immediately hit the DL with a facial fracture.

 

• More bad Astros news: star SS Carlos Correa went down with a thumb injury 7/17; it occured during a swing, of all things. Correa is on the DL with a torn ligament, and won't return until near season's end. However, on the plus side, P Dallas Keuchel has begun a rehab assignment.

 

• Paul DeJong continues to swing a hot bat for the Cardinals, who went 3-4 last week. DeJong is slugging .719 since Independence Day, homering five times (including twice last week; he added another blast 7/23 as this column was going to press.)

 

• However, St. Louis lost to the Mets 7/20 when RP Trevor Rosenthal simply failed to cover 1B on a routine Jose Reyes grounder to first (quite a happening week for routine Mets grounders to first base, wouldn't you say?)—prompting GM John Mozeliak to publicly issue a challenge of sorts to his sub-.500 team the next day.

 

• The Dodgers run of invincibility finally ended 7/20 with consecutive losses to visiting Atlanta; both the team and SP Alex Wood had won 11 in a row. LA  recovered with a 7/22 win behind Rich Hill, who's now 7-4 this season.

 

• The Braves surprising flirtation with .500 (they were briefly there as the week opened) did nothing to dissuade them from trading veteran P Jaime Garcia and possibly others. Though a deal with the Twins was all but finalized during the week, Garcia started for Atlanta against the Dodgers 7/21 and responded with the best two-way game of his career—7 innings of three-run ball, coupled with a grand slam off the dominant Wood!

 

• That blast, along with one hit by Freddie Freeman a few batters prior, were the first two homers Wood had surrendered to a lefty all year. He's now 11-1, 2.17...still not too shabby.

 

• The Yankees and White Sox also completed a blockbuster trade 7/18—3B Todd Frazier, RP David Robertson and RP Tommy Kahnle headed east, with the Sox receiving what's left of Tyler Clippard and three prospects. The trade solved New York's most pressing needs: first base (where incumbent 3B Chase Headley has shifted) and the bullpen, whose ERA had increased a full run during the Yankees' recent backslide.

 

• Of course, subtracting Clippard—who blew a lead in his first Chicago outing but is still expected to inherit Robertson's closing duties—will help as much as any addition.

 

• In more Yankee news, CC Sabathia returned from the DL and won twice this week; his first effort help extend Boston's scoreless streak to 22 innings. It grew to 23 before Mookie Betts' homered in Game 2 of their 7/16 doubleheader.

 

• Also traded on 7/18: outfielder J.D. Martinez, from Detroit to Arizona. The very next day, Martinez was knocked out of action by an errant Tim Adleman (Reds) pitch, but fortunately the newest Diamondback broke no bones. Ironically, Frazier suffered the same fate on the same day at the hands of Minnesota's Jose Berrios—but also avoided injury.  Is drilling traded players MLB's new introductory ritual? And we thought fraternities were harsh on newcomers.