MLB Rumors: Luis Garcia injury, Aaron Boone hot seat, Cardinals move

MLB Rumors: How hot is Yankees manager Aaron Boone’s seat?

Yes, it’s early in the season, but if ever there were a team to overreact to a tough start to the season, it would be the 27-time World Series champion New York Yankees.

The Yanks entered the season among the favorites to win the American League, behind only the Houston Astros. So far, New York hasn’t played up to par, in large part due to injuries. Monday night’s loss goes squarely on Aaron Boone, however.

Boone pulled starting pitcher Domingo German through eight-and-a-third scoreless innings with a runner on first base. German has pitched brilliantly, and instead of riding the starting pitcher to the finish, he opted to go with Wandy Peralta and then Clay Holmes, who promptly blew the game in rather embarrassing fashion thanks to the Cleveland Guardians.

German had thrown just 88 pitches, but Boone was worried about the risk of a back-breaking home run, which at the time would have tied the game. Cleveland is 29th in baseball in that power department, and Amed Rosario isn’t exactly Babe Ruth. Nonetheless, Boone made the switch anyway.

“There’s going to be tough losses (and) great wins,” Boone said after the game. “Especially as great as Domingo pitched after getting smoked in the middle of the game, too, off the leg there. I was worried how deep he’d be able to go and he was terrific.”

German didn’t question Boone’s decision to close him, as he shouldn’t do publicly. While it was a questionable call to begin with, it also showcases that the Yankees don’t have a true closer at this juncture, something that could come back to haunt them should they make it to October.

Yanks Go Yard’s Thomas Carranante summed up fans feelings in just a few short sentences:

"“Poor decision making. Explanations that don’t add up. An offensively anemic team further mired in perilous situations that are inexcusably manufactured. The Yankees better get these out of their system now.”"

Better now than later, I guess.

MLB Rumors: What are the Cardinals waiting for?

St. Louis, much like the Yankees, is another team off to a tough start in 2023. Namely, their starting rotation hasn’t performed up to par, which anyone outside of the Cards front office could have predicted this winter.

Rather than make a move for one of the top starters on the free-agent market, the Cardinals stood pat, and now that choice has come back to bite them. Adam Wainwright is on his way back, however, and St. Louis has more reinforcements in the minor leagues than you might think.

Matthew Liberatore, for one, is leading the minor leagues in innings pitched and has some impressive advanced metrics which warrant a call-up.

Liberatore has pitched to some of his career-best numbers, including FIP, K/9 and BB/9, as Redbird Rants Henry Fritzgerald points out:

“We can guess that Oli Marmol, John Mozeliak, and other decision-makers in St. Louis are aware of Liberatore’s improvement in these key categories. The big question: when he is called back up to St. Louis will these metrics translate against Big League hitters in Big League parks?”

That’s a tough question to answer without witnessing Liberatore pitch in person, but the Cardinals will never know unless they make the call. Liberatore is 23 years old, and his velocity is up across the board. He’s atop the organization’s minor-league depth chart, and is likely next man up should someone in the MLB level pitching staff suffer an injury.

But at 10-19, is that something that is really worth waiting on?

MLB Rumors: Latest with Astros and Luis Garcia

The Houston Astros cannot catch a break in their starting rotation. On back-to-back days, Jose Urquidy and Luis Garcia suffered what could turn out to be severe injuries. Urquidy will be out for quite some time, as manager Dusty Baker noted. Garcia was removed after just eight pitches on Monday night.

Baker called removing Garcia, who has given up just four earned runs on the season, precautionary, though he did hear a pop in his elbow and was taken for an MRI. We should know more on Tuesday or Wednesday as to how long he’ll be out.

“It’s tough watching Luis go down like that in the first inning, and [when] Bielak got off the plane and pitched the way he pitched, that’s a big help right there,” teammate Mauricio Dubón said. “To be able to come up with the win was big. It was a good day at the ballpark.”

While Garcia’s absence was noted, Houston was still able to pull out the victory thanks in large part to Dubon, who got some revenge on his former team, the San Francisco Giants.

Dubon was asked about playing against San Francisco prior to Monday’s game, with the writer prompting the question suggesting the Giants could use his services right now thanks to the sheer number of injuries on the roster.

“Thank God they don’t. Thank God they don’t. I’m good here. I’m good here. It’s been a family and I’m enjoying every moment,” Dubon said.

He also showed plenty of emotion postgame:

If that’s not a taste of revenge, I’m not sure what is.