MLB Weekly Digest March 26th Edition

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The last week in MLB was about a team in the National League losing a pair of starting pitchers before the season begins, a prospect inks a multi-year deal, and a reliever in the American League is done for the 2018 season.

San Francisco Giants Will Be Without Madison Bumgarner & Jeff Samardzija to Start 2018 Season

The loss of one starting pitcher before a season begins is a severe ordeal for clubs to endure but losing two is a nasty predicament. This is the situation the San Francisco Giants are currently facing.

The Giants will not only be without staff ace Madison Bumgarner when the 2018 season begins but right-hander Jeff Samardzija as well.

Bumgarner was struck by a line drive on his throwing hand in a spring training game against the Kansas City Royals a couple days ago.

He had an X-ray taken, and it revealed a pinky fracture. Bumgarner underwent surgery over the weekend to have pins inserted in the fractured pinky knuckle, which will sideline him four to six weeks, per Andrew Baggarly of The Athletic.

Bumgarner having surgery tomorrow to insert pins in fractured pinky knuckle. It will be 4-6 weeks then he has to have pins removed. This is not going to be a short DL stint. But he expects to pitch before the All-Stsr break.

— Andrew Baggarly (@extrabaggs) March 23, 2018

Samardzija will miss three-to-four weeks due to a pectoral strain, per Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle.

Also said Samardzija out perhaps three weeks or a month.

— Henry Schulman (@hankschulman) March 23, 2018

The Giants already experienced life without Bumgarner last year as he was out several weeks with a shoulder injury due to a bike accident.

The loss of their best pitcher in the rotation played a role in the club finishing last in the National League West in 2017.

The injury to Samardzija is also devastating, as he posted a 4.42 ERA in 207.2 innings with 205 strikeouts and a 3.61 FIP last season.

The high ERA isn’t what stands out for the right-hander but what does is the 200-plus innings tossed. He was the only Giants starter to throw at least 200 innings last season, and he’s reached that mark in each of the previous five seasons.

The Giants won’t have their staff ace for at least the first six weeks of the season, and they’ll be without another reliable starter for about a month.

This isn’t how the team was looking to start the new season as they had high expectations of competing in 2018.

Philadelphia Phillies Sign Second Base Prospect Scott Kingery to Six-Year Deal

The Philadelphia Phillies have decided to lock up a young player who is expected to be a significant part of their future.

The Phillies have signed second baseman Scott Kingery to a six-year contract that will run through the 2023 season. The deal includes club options for the 2024, 2025 and 2026 seasons.

OFFICIAL: #Phillies have signed Scott Kingery to a six-year contract through the 2023 season.

The deal also includes three club options for the 2024, 2025 and 2026 seasons. pic.twitter.com/fSKGoxsuUK

— Philadelphia Phillies (@Phillies) March 25, 2018

Kingery will earn about $24 million guaranteed, per Jon Heyman of FanRag Sports.

Kingery believed to get about 24M guarantee on phils deal

— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) March 25, 2018

He is just the second player in history to sign a long-term deal before making his MLB debut, per Matt Gelb of The Athletic.

Scott Kingery is just the second player to sign a long-term contract before his major-league debut. The other? Jon Singleton with Houston.

— Matt Gelb (@MattGelb) March 25, 2018

The club options in the deal for Kingery are worth $13 million in 2024, $14 million in 2025 and $15 million in 2026, per Gelb.

Scott Kingery’s deal could be worth as much as $65 million over nine years, according to a source. The club options are $13 million, $14 million and $15 million.

— Matt Gelb (@MattGelb) March 25, 2018

Kingery had a solid season in the minors last year, by compiling a .304 batting average with 26 home runs and 65 RBIs in 132 games for Double-A Reading and Triple-A Lehigh Valley.

The infielder was excellent during spring training as he posted a .392 average and a 1.141 OPS in 51 at-bats.

The Phillies were smart to sign Kingery to a long-term deal as he has the tools to make an impact and the contract is very team-friendly.

Seattle Mariners Reliever David Phelps to Miss 2018 Season Due to Tommy John Surgery

The Seattle Mariners suffered a significant loss to their bullpen earlier this week as reliever David Phelps will miss the 2018 campaign with a torn ulnar collateral ligament, per Greg Johns of MLB.com.

Phelps will need to undergo Tommy John surgery, and it’s a crushing blow for the Mariners.

The right-hander accumulated a 3.40 ERA in 55.2 innings with 62 K’s and five home runs yielded. He split time between the Mariners and Miami Marlins in 2017.

He was expected to play a huge role in the bullpen for the Mariners in the upcoming season.

Since Phelps is gone for the year, the Mariners did sign left-hander Wade LeBlanc on Sunday, per Johns.

LeBlanc had a 4.50 ERA in 50 games with the Pittsburgh Pirates last year. He provides the Mariners with some versatility as he can not only pitch out of the bullpen but also be utilized as a starter when needed.

The team lost a very valuable reliever in Phelps but added someone in LeBlanc who could help the team in a variety of ways.

About Post Author

Chris Lacey

Chris is a New Jersey native whose favorite sports team is the Arizona Diamondbacks. He previously attended Western New England College to study Sports Management. Chris has been following the Diamondbacks since he was 12. You can find him on Twitter at @aecanada12.

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