In an interview on WEEI on Thursday, Boston Red Sox president Sam Kennedy called the team's play this season "embarrassing and unacceptable," but said there's been no consideration of removing Craig Breslow from his role as chief baseball officer.
The Red Sox have been mired in a season-long slump. They fired Alex Cora on April 25 but that's done little to jolt the team, which entered Thursday 27-39, in last place in the AL East and 5.5 games out of the final wild card spot.
Two-time American League Cy Young Award winner Tarik Skubal will return from the injured list Saturday against the Cleveland Guardians, Detroit Tigers manager A.J. Hinch announced Thursday. Skubal has not pitched in the majors since April 29.
The left-hander underwent surgery on May 6 to remove a loose body from his left elbow. Initial projections called for a two-to-three month absence, but Dr. Neal ElAttrache employed the NanoNeedle Scope 2.0, a smaller arthroscope never previously used on a major league pitcher. The less invasive procedure allowed Skubal to resume throwing within days and advance rapidly to full bullpen sessions.
"I don't know if it will be a normal start or if it will be abbreviated," said Hinch. "But just getting him back into the routine and into the fold is a tremendous boost for this team and this rotation and our organization."
Skubal tuned up Sunday on a rehab assignment at High-A West Michigan, throwing five scoreless innings on 54 pitches. His fastball reached 99 mph, and he threw an estimated 15 additional pitches in the bullpen afterward.
"If anything, we're being conservative," said Skubal. "Four weeks after surgery was four or five days ago. Technically, if we wanted to, I could have been back then. I think we've taken this with the right approach. Not aggressive. If anything, we're being conservative."
Skubal's return carries significant implications beyond the mound. The Tigers sit 12 games below .500 following a 6-22 May, though Detroit has won six of its past eight. If the club cannot climb back into contention, Skubal could emerge as the top available asset ahead of the August 3 trade deadline. He is also in a contract year and widely expected to command a record-setting payday this offseason.
"I'm obviously happy with modern technology, modern medicine and the ability for him to do his work step by step," said Hinch. "I'm thrilled this was on the best-case scenario side of things, getting him back so quickly."
Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo went to bat for Ketel Marte on Tuesday, saying any idea that the star second baseman is fracturing the Arizona clubhouse "couldn't be further from the truth."
Lovullo's comments came in the wake of a USA Today report over the weekend that Marte is again frustrating some members of the organization by taking days off.
But Lovullo said that was untrue.
The White Sox called up outfielder Braden Montgomery, their top hitting prospect, prior to Tuesday's game against the Atlanta Braves.
Montgomery is in the starting lineup, playing right field, and will hit sixth against the Braves as he becomes the 12th player to make his MLB debut for Chicago this season.
Detroit Tigers ace Tarik Skubal pitched five scoreless innings Sunday in the two-time Cy Young Award winner's first minor league rehabilitation appearance since undergoing elbow surgery last month.
Skubal struck out six and allowed two hits for High-A West Michigan against Dayton. Forty-four of his 54 pitches were strikes, with his fastball reaching 98 mph.
"Velocity was good," Skubal told reporters. "Execution was good. I feel like I threw a ton of strikes. I was in the zone a lot today. Good day."
Cubs third baseman Alex Bregman put the blame for his team's offensive woes squarely on himself after going 0-for-5 and making the last out in his team's 2-1 loss in 10 innings to the San Francisco Giants on Sunday night.
"I've been terrible," Bregman said. "I need to play better. Offensively, it's been awful. I've failed many times in this game. I've struggled. I've started slow before. I've started fast before. When you're struggling, there is only one way forward and that's straight, head-on through it. It comes down to executing in the game."
Milwaukee Brewers ace Jacob Misiorowski threw a 103.7 mph pitch Saturday night against the Colorado Rockies, the fastest by a starter since tracking began in 2008.
The 24-year-old right-hander's record-setting pitch was low and outside to Kyle Karros in the third inning.
"It's one of those things: It is what it is," Misiorowski said. "I'm going to keep going, trying to get strikeouts, and if that's what it takes to get strikeouts, then so be it."
The Yankees' days of carrying only left-handed-hitting catchers are over, at least for now.
The team optioned catcher J.C. Escarra to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre late Friday night after a 5-3 loss to the Boston Red Sox. A corresponding move was not announced, but the Yankees plan to call up right-handed-hitting catcher Ali Sánchez on Saturday, sources told ESPN.
The Minnesota Twins recalled infielder Royce Lewis from Triple-A St. Paul on Saturday, less than three weeks after the former No. 1 draft pick was sent down to work on his swing mechanics and position flexibility.
Lewis, who turned 27 on Friday, was hitting .163 with three home runs and 37 strikeouts in 104 at-bats this season when the Twins demoted him on May 19. In 15 games with St. Paul, he hit .333 with 10 home runs.
A race to first based turned into a violent collision that sent two players sprawling onto the field and, eventually, into the dugout.
Arizona's Ildemaro Vargas and the Los Angeles Dodgers' Max Muncy are sore but otherwise OK, but, boy, what a jolt.
"It was terrible," Diamondbacks second baseman Ketel Marte said through an interpreter after hitting a walk-off homer in Arizona's 3-2 win over Los Angeles on Thursday night. "In my 10 years, I've never seen a collision like that."
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