Welcome back again, folks. While I can’t say that I’m happy with myself for coming up with the title for this week’s MI article, I must say that I’m pretty proud of it.
While Cody Rhodes finished his story at Wrestlemania XL, MLB had a Story of its own finished… albeit temporarily. Trevor Story suffered an unfortunate injury diving for a ball deep in the hole at shortstop against the Angels on Friday night, dislocating his shoulder.
Story, who had spent his entire career with the Rockies in the hitter-friendly confines of Coors Field, joined the Red Sox in free agency in 2022, but has experienced a string of terrible luck on the injury front. In 2022, he was sidelined for a significant amount of time with a wrist fracture and a heel injury, and in 2023 he didn’t see game action until early August after having his UCL surgically reconstructed on his throwing arm. With the shoulder dislocation in just his eighth game for the Sox this year, he is almost assuredly missing a sizable chunk of the 2024 season while he recovers.
He’s been put on the 10-day IL, but it’s still unclear whether he will need surgery, but there should be more info today at some point (will update in the comments if more info is released). This guy gets hurt so much we should start calling him CM Punk, AMIRITE FOLKS?!?!?!?! (I am not really a wrestling fan but I know enough to make this jab. Yes, I am pandering!)
While Story had underwhelmed with the stick in a small sample (.224 AVG, .617 OPS, 1 R, 4 RBI), he was assuredly going to be a steady source of plate appearances for a Red Sox offense that appears improved by the acquisition of Tyler O’Neill (5 HR, 1.407 OPS). His bounce back will have to wait a bit longer.
In the meantime, the Red Sox find themselves at a Cross Rhodes. They recalled David Hamilton from Triple-A Worcester for additional depth. Hamilton and Pablo Reyes have each gotten one start at shortstop since Story’s injury, but center fielder Cedanne Rafaela is also capable of covering in Story’s absence.
That said, Hamilton is a left-handed bat with near-elite speed, and has stolen 129 bases spanning three levels since 2022, along with 29 homers. Elite stolen base upside plus non-zero pop on the strong side of a platoon should serve him well, even if he ends up hitting near the bottom of that Red Sox lineup. I’m eyeing David Hamilton in my deeper leagues where I’m struggling with steals.
First big league homer for David Hamilton! pic.twitter.com/abFPAGv68r
— Red Sox (@RedSox) April 7, 2024
Now, for some other middle infield news…
Oliver Dunn Continues Dunn Doing It
Dan Pants wrote an excellent little ditty about Oliver Dunn in the lead of his daily notes article on Friday, and what has Dunn done (dun) since? Continued to spell doom for the Seattle Mariners pitching staff. Dunn tacked on two runs, an RBI, and one steal in a 12-4 blowout in the final game of the series, raising his OPS to .945 in just 25 plate appearances.
Having gone to Sunday’s game myself, Dunn looked poised at the plate and has been stringing together some really impressive at bats in the early going. After hitting fifth or seventh in his first few games, he was given an opportunity to hit in the leadoff spot. Though he looks to have the Pedigree for the job, I wouldn’t expect him to live up there since Christian Yelich had a day off, but it goes to show just how much new manager Pat Murphy seems to trust Dunn. I think he’s a solid guy to target in your deeper leagues when you consider the plentiful opportunities as of late, along with the hyper-aggressive philosophy the Brewers have exhibited on the basepaths. And hey, third base eligibility would be pretty sick too.
By God, That’s Francisco Lindor’s Music!
Francisco Lindor finally nabbed his first homer of the season on Sunday against the Cincinnati Reds. Despite adding a double to his tally, Lindor is still only 3-for-36 so far this season (.083) with a .403 OPS. His snail’s pace offensively—much like the rest of the Mets offense—has been concerning. Hopefully, Rock Bottom has already been hit, and we can look forward to the sort of production we have come to expect from Lindor.
Any other notable middle infielders I missed that you have questions about? Hit me up in the comments and let’s hash it out.
