MLB reviews Marisnick play
CLEVELAND — MLB chief baseball officer Joe Torre told the Houston Chronicle on Monday he has reviewed Sunday’s home-plate collision involving Astros outfielder Jake Marisnick but said MLB is “still having conversations” in regard to any potential discipline.
Asked when he expected to render a decision, Torre said he’d “just be guessing” by establishing a timeline.
Marisnick took out Angels catcher Jonathan Lucroy during the eighth inning of Sunday's 11-10 Astros win. Marisnick was called out on the play, which occurred with two outs in the eighth inning after he tried to score from third base on George Springer’s fly ball to right field. The call was upheld upon a replay review.
Lucroy sustained a concussion and a fractured nose, the Angels revealed Monday.
After Sunday's game, Angels manager Brad Ausmus said disciplinary action should be considered.
“It looked like Marisnick took a step to the left and bowled into him with his arm up,” Ausmus said. “The call was right. MLB should probably take a look at it and consider some type of suspension, quite frankly.”
Marisnick’s bowling over of Lucroy generated plenty of chatter around the majors. St. Louis Cardinals catcher Yadier Molina chimed in on social media, not mincing any words.
“MLB need to take action on this (expletive) play! (Expletive)! Praying for Lucroy! slide slide slide (expletive) !!!,” Molina posted on Instagram, throwing in a few red-face emojis to underscore his anger.
A few Astros players responded to Molina’s post and defended Marisnick. Shortstop Carlos Correa and second baseman Jose Altuve responded in Spanish, with Correa's comments translating to “Jake did not do it intentionally. You know that those decisions take ... seconds and Jake decided to throw himself inside and at the same time Lucroy moved in the same direction and seeing that they were going to crash, but it was too late!”
Altuve said, “I understand that the result of the play was not what we wanted, but there was no bad intention at any time.”
Pitcher Justin Verlander dubbed Molina's take “#fakenews.”
Third baseman Alex Bregman said. “Jake was not trying to blow him up or hurt him. It was an unfortunate play that we all hate to see, but Jake is not a dirty player. I understand everyone has an opinion, but he was legit trying to dive and avoid the tag.”
Gurriel honored for big week
First baseman Yuli Gurriel was named the American League Player of the Week after homering in all five of the Astros’ games from Tuesday through Sunday.
Gurriel batted .429 (9for-21) for the week with six home runs, a double, 13 RBIs and an OPS of 1.812 (.478 on-base percentage and 1.333 slugging percentage). He became the fifth Astro to homer in five consecutive games and capped his week with a game-tying grand slam in Sunday’s 11-10 victory over the Angels.
It’s the second Player of the Week honor for Gurriel, who won it last year for the period from Sept. 17-23. He enters the All-Star break with an 11-game hitting streak and on Sunday became the first player in franchise history with a run and RBI in seven consecutive games.
White Sox claim Reed off waivers
AJ Reed’s Astros tenure is over. The Chicago White Sox claimed the former second-round pick off outright waivers Monday, placing him on their 40man roster and sending him to Class AAA Charlotte.
The Astros designated Reed for assignment on July 2 to make room on their 40-man roster for pitcher Jose Urquidy. They had seven days to either trade Reed or pass him through outright waivers.
Reed, 26, got only nine major league plate appearances in the previous two seasons. The Astros did not call him up in either September, showing his standing within the organization.
A second-round pick in the 2014 draft, Reed was passed by Tyler White and Yordan Alvarez on the organizational pecking order. First base prospects Taylor Jones and Seth Beer are impressing at Class AAA and AA, respectively, leading to a logjam that left no spot for Reed.
Before the 2016 season, Baseball America named Reed the No. 11 prospect in all of baseball and the Astros’ top prospect. He made his debut that June, striking out 48 times and accruing a .532 OPS in 141 major league plate appearances.
Reed struck out in 23.7 percent of his plate appearances during the 2018 season and 29.8 percent this season. He slashed .224/.329/.469 at Class AAA Round Rock this season before being designated.