Brad Peacock leaves the team after contracting hand, foot and mouth disease.
DETROIT — Astros reliever
Brad Peacock has contracted hand, foot and mouth disease, requiring the righthander to leave the Astros and head home to Houston.
Though he was ill, Peacock was with the team during its three-game series in Boston last weekend. He reported worsening symptoms to the team’s medical staff once the Astros landed in Detroit early Monday morning, manager A.J. Hinch said.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, hand, foot and mouth disease is contagious and common in children under 5. Often, affected people develop rashes on their feet or face or inside their mouth.
Peacock’s is the third known case of hand, foot and mouth disease in Major League Baseball this season. Mets pitcher Noah
Syndergaard and Yankees starter J.A. Happ each went to the disabled list with the illness last month. Expanded rosters in September will, for now, allow the Astros to avoid putting Peacock on the disabled list.
Hinch was unsure how long Peacock will be away from the team. According to the CDC, most people recover in “seven to 10 days.” To keep the clubhouse somewhat clear of a contagious teammate, Peacock was kept away from the ballpark on Monday. He flew back Tuesday.
“We deal with similar things like this all the time, maybe not to this extent,” Hinch said. “I’m not sure why this has become a thing in Major League Baseball this year. There’s a running joke inside about having to sanitize everything, but I’m not aware of any sort of precautions we’ve taken.”
Facing live hitters next for McCullers
After exiting his 40-pitch bullpen session at Comerica Park feeling “great,” Lance McCullers Jr. is primed to face live hitters for the first time since he went on the disabled list Aug. 5.
Four hours before Tuesday’s game against the Tigers, McCullers simulated a two-inning outing in the bullpen beyond left field. He threw “15 or 20” pitches, sat for five minutes, then threw another 15 or 20. McCullers faced a simulated hitter at the conclusion of the session. It “completed the game plan” set forth by the Astros’ medical staff.
Astros manager A.J. Hinch said it is “likely” McCullers will fly to the team’s spring training facility in West Palm Beach, Fla., this weekend to face live competition. The Astros’ instructional league participants are set to report soon.
Though McCullers was unsure how many outings he will require, he acknowledged it would “realistically be more than one.”
“My stuff is there, my stuff is ready, but it’s a process,” said McCullers, who strained his right forearm while swinging a bat last month. “We have no room for error. We have no room for setbacks, because if I do (suffer one), I’m not going to be able to pitch later this season, and I’m not going to be able to pitch in the postseason.”
Simulating a two-inning benchmark was no accident. Hinch said Tuesday he wanted McCullers built up to absorb “bounce-back” type outings from the bullpen.
“If you start thinking about scenarios in which I would use him in a game, if he would come in and get a hitter out, I’d like him to go out and start the next inning,” Hinch said. “It’s literally just building him up to the point of being able to sit down between having high intensity.”
Per Hinch’s plan, Springer sits out
Tuesday was a predetermined off day for Astros center fielder George Springer.
Uncomfortable swings during the ninth inning of Monday’s 3-2 win against the Tigers “cemented it,” manager A.J. Hinch said.
“George is doing OK He’s going to play through any sort of discomfort,” Hinch said. “If it starts to hurt a little bit more, then I’ll have to address it.”
Springer sprained his thumb in August against the Dodgers. He will continue to feel its lingering effects throughout the rest of the season, like he did Monday, but the All-Star was adamant before Tuesday’s game that his thumb is “fine.”
“It’s just like anything in September,” Springer said. “We’ve been playing for a while, but I’m fine.”