MARLINS ACE TO MISS NEXT SEASON
Cy Young winner Alcantara undergoes Tommy John surgery
Miami Marlins ace Sandy Alcantara will miss the 2024 season after undergoing Tommy John surgery on Friday to repair the ulnar collateral ligament in his right elbow.
“I give this game my all,” the reigning National League Cy Young Award winner said in a social media post. “I give this city my all, and so I promise I will not take a day off as I push to be back better than ever.”
Alcantara started experiencing discomfort in his arm during a Sept. 3 outing against Washington in which he pitched eight innings. His injury was initially reported as a forearm strain, but was later diagnosed as a UCL sprain — an injury that typically requires Tommy John ligament-replacement surgery. His timeline for return was unknown as he’d hoped to rejoin Miami for a late-season playoff push.
Alcantara experienced forearm tightness following rehab outing with Triple-A Jacksonville on Sept. 21, and the setback ended his season.
“Very frustrating for me, a guy who likes to compete,” Alcantara told reporters before a game against the Milwaukee Brewers last month. “I feel sorry for the fans, my family, my son, my friends because I’m not going to be out there this year. Just try to be ready for next year, I don’t know. Stay positive.”
In 28 starts this season,
the 28-year-old Alcantara posted a 4.14 ERA and pitched three complete games.
Mets mess
Major League Baseball,
which is investigating whether the New York Mets’ front office cheated by putting healthy players on the injured list, will examine whether the team’s owner, Steven Cohen, knew or should have known if his team was breaking the rules, according to two people familiar with the matter.
The investigation will put the conduct of Cohen’s team under scrutiny three years after he bought the Mets for about $2.3 billion. Four years earlier, he walked away largely unscathed from a Securities and Exchange Commission investigation in which he was accused of failing to properly monitor an employee of his hedge fund who went to prison for insider trading.
Representatives from the Mets and MLB declined to comment because the investigation is continuing.
The investigation into the Mets began when an anonymous whistleblower sent the commissioner’s office a letter that said the team’s general manager,
Billy Eppler, had put at least one player on the injured list this year even though the player was not injured.
Successful reviews down
Team-initiated video reviews were slightly less successful in the major leagues this season, which saw overturned calls drop to 48.5 percent from 50.2 percent in 2022.
Major League Baseball said that 625 of 1,288 club challenges were overturned. There were 304 calls confirmed (23.6 percent) and 359 allowed to stand (27.9 percent).
Miami led the major leagues with a 75 percent success rate, followed by Washington (74.2 percent), Houston (67.7 percent), Arizona and Kansas City (65.1 percent each).