Twins’ Donaldson placed on injured list
The Minnesota Twins have placed third baseman Josh Donaldson on the 10-day injured list with a mild right hamstring strain.
The move comes two days after Donaldson appeared to hurt himself running the bases on a double in the first inning of the Twins’ season-opening 6-5 loss to the Milwaukee Brewers. Donaldson stayed on the bases for the remainder of that half inning but didn’t join the Twins on the field for the bottom of the inning.
Donaldson, 35, played just 28 games last season due to a calf injury. The three-time All-Star and 2015 AL MVP signed a four-year, $92 million contract with the Twins before the 2020 season.
The Twins recalled outfielder Brent Rooker from the taxi squad to take Donaldson’s spot on the roster. Rooker hit .316 with one homer and five RBIs in seven games for the Twins last season. ALL-STAR FALLOUT >> Major League Baseball and the Atlanta Braves are facing fallout from the league’s decision to yank the July 13 All-Star Game from Atlanta’s Truist Park. The move was made because of Georgia’s new, controversial voting law.
Some fans across baseball applauded the move while others were upset. MLB has not decided on a new host city.
Meanwhile, Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp vowed to defend the measure.
“I want to be clear: I will not be backing down from this fight. We will not be intimidated, and we will also not be silenced,” Kemp said.
“Major League Baseball, Coca-Cola and Delta may be scared of Stacey Abrams, Joe Biden and the left, but I am not,” he said, referring to companies that have also criticized the new law.
ANGELS’ BUTTREY UNEXPECTEDLY RETIRES >> Los Angeles Angels reliever Ty Buttrey has retired from baseball, saying he’s lost his affection for the game.
“I just wanted to prove everyone wrong,” the 28-yearold posted on social media. “As time went on baseball became more of a business and less of a game. I couldn’t help but notice my love and passion for this game started to diminish. I always thought baseball was a cool job. I also knew that same job paid extremely well. What young kid doesn’t want a cool job that pays well?”
The right-hander was one of the key pieces of the Angels’ bullpen the past three seasons, but he struggled with control problems during spring training and was optioned to the team’s alternate training site.
His 115 appearances from 2018-20 were fourth on the team among pitchers, and he was 8-11 with 11 saves and a 4.30 ERA.
Buttrey said he informed the Angels of his decision to leave baseball, and the organization asked him to take some more time to think about it. He did not outline his next steps in his statement.
Angels manager Joe Maddon said before Friday’s game against the Chicago White Sox that he had been in contact with Buttrey since last weekend. He said the team would welcome him back if he decided to return to baseball.
“There’s a lot of times when you get that age you become confused by different things, and you choose different routes. Maybe something’s more important to him right now,” Maddon said. “It’s one of those things that’s up to the individual. I respect it. I respect him.”
HURTING HAYES >> Pittsburgh’s emerging star third baseman Ke’Bryan Hayes left Saturday’s game against the Chicago Cubs with discomfort in his left wrist.
Hayes walked and scored on Kevin Newman’s two-out single in the first inning, but he jammed his left hand diving back to first on a pickoff attempt. Erik González batted for Hayes in the third and remained at third base.
The 24-year-old Hayes is an NL Rookie of the Year favorite after a brief, stellar debut in 2020. He batted .376 in 24 games, hitting five homers with 11 RBIs. He hit a two-run homer off Chicago’s Kyle Hendricks in Thursday’s opener.