Mountcastle out with right-hand fracture
Prospect to miss 4-6 weeks; Showalter brushes off ‘recruiting’
JUPITER, FLA. — Orioles prospect Ryan Mountcastle, who impressed with his power bat in his first major league spring training this year, will miss the start of the regular season with a hairline fracture in his right hand.
Manager Buck Showalter said Mountcastle, 21, will be out four-to-six weeks with a non-displaced fracture at the base of the fifth metacarpal in his right hand, which was suffered on a hit-by-pitch in a Triple-A game against the Minnesota Twins on Wednesday at the Buck O’Neil Complex at Twin Lakes Park in Sarasota. It will not require surgery, Showalter said.
Mountcastle was trying to pull his hands out on a pitch up-and-inside, but exposed his top hand and will be sidelined because of it. The minor league season starts April 5, and Mountcastle was ticketed to return to Double-A Bowie this season.
Showalter said the injury was “very similar” to what happened to shortstop J.J. Hardy last June, an injury that sidelined him for two months. Showalter said he had no indication the injury involved his hamate, a small bone in the hand that takes a long time to heal and can sap a hitter’s power.
“He’s got good young bones, and he’ll be OK,” Showalter said. “He won’t miss that much.”
Mountcastle was sent out from major league campMondaywitha.292 batting average and two home runs in 24 at-bats in the Grapefruit League. The youngest player in Orioles camp as a nonroster invitee, he was coming off a season in which he hit .287 with 18 home runs and 48 doubles between High-A Frederick and Bowie. Showalter on Judge recruiting Machado: Showalter took the high road when asked before Thursday’s Grapefruit League game against the St. Louis Cardinals about New York Yankees star Aaron Judge’s public recruitment of shortstop Manny Machado, and Major League Baseball’s subsequent reprimand.
“I’m just glad they didn’t catch Manny recruiting Judge,” Showalter joked.
The Yankees’ visit to Ed Smith Stadium on Thursday was occasion for the NewYork media to continue one of the longest-standing narratives in the game — that Machado’s pending free agency will see him follow in the footsteps of his idol and mentor, Álex Rodríguez, and join up with the powerhouse in the Bronx.
Judge said Wednesday that he chatted with Machado on the field during batting practice.
“Before the game, I asked him how his offseason was, how everything was going,” Judge told reporters, including NJ.com. “I asked him how he liked [moving from third base to] short. I told him, ‘You’d look pretty good in pin- Infielder Ryan Mountcastle, who hit .292 with two homers in 24 at-bats in the Grapefruit League, was injured Wednesday in a Triple-A spring game. stripes, too.’ ”
According to reports, Judge said Machado “just kind of laughed it off.”
Later in the day, after Judge’s comments gained steam, MLB released a statement to the New York Daily News: “We have been in contact with the Yankees. They communicated to us that Mr. Judge’s off-the-cuff comments were not appropriate and not authorized by the club. They will speak to him to make sure that this does not happen again.”
Judge told reporters Thursday morning that Yankees general manager Brian Cashman relayed that MLB is “sensitive to that kind of stuff.” Trumbo out 3-4 weeks: Slugger Mark Trumbo will be out a minimum of three to four weeks after an MRI on Thursday morning revealed a Grade 2 strain in his right quad, Showalter said.
Trumbo didn’t make the team’s two-day trip to the east coast of Florida, instead staying in Sarasota for an MRI on his quadriceps injury that he returned from Wednesday.
The32-year-old took three at-bats as the designated hitter in Wednesday’s 7-4 win over the New York Yankees, which included a groundout and a walk in which he moved out of the batter’s box.
“I’m not sure if it was one [play],” Showalter said. “I’m just reporting what the MRIsaid. This guy was doing everything on the fields — running full speed. That just tells you how different actual game speed is. He was fine during the game doing everything, for the most part. He said he was driving home last night and started to get stiff and sore. They decided to get a picture this morning, and that’s the results.”
Before the game, Showalter called the development “a little discouraging.” Showalter on Rickard: Outfielder Joey Rickard made the Orioles out of spring training in 2016 as a Rule 5 draft pick and in 2017 as a spare outfielder, but was optioned to Triple-A Norfolk with two weeks left before Opening Day to get him the amount of playing time the club believes he needs.
“Joey needs at-bats,” Showalter said. “Obviously, he’s not swinging the bat very well. Joey just needs to get his head clear and get back again.” Around the horn: Other than Trumbo, the only position players who didn’t make the trip east were Davis and center fielder Adam Jones. Showalter said he had no update on Davis’ elbow. ... The team announced that Scott Lewis was named vice president of strategy and analytics, overseeing the club’s centralized department of research, business intelligence, analysis and data management. ... The Orioles will wear “Go Green” hats on Saturday against the Toronto Blue Jays, with the hats auctioned at orioles.com/spring. Proceeds will go to the Marie Selby Botanical Gardens in Sarasota.