
Image Credit: nj.com
The prior week in MLB was about players being suspended for their roles in a pair of bench-clearing incidents, a third baseman lands on the disabled list, and a catcher in the National League is out for the 2018 campaign.
Joe Kelly Suspended Six Games & Tyler Austin Five Games for Brawl Involving Red Sox & Yankees
Major League Baseball suspended Boston Red Sox reliever Joe Kelly six games and New York Yankees first baseman Tyler Austin five games for their roles in a bench-clearing brawl during Wednesday’s game between the two clubs.
Joe Kelly (6 games), Tyler Austin (5 games) suspended and fined for benches-clearing incident in last night’s Red Sox-Yankees game; both will appeal.
— MLB (@MLB) April 12, 2018
MLB also gave fines to multiple coaches and players, per Bob Nightengale of USA Today.
Joe Kelly and Tyler Austin are each appealing their suspensions. Also fined in the brawl were Red Sox manager Alex Cora and Yankees third base coach Phil Nevin, Yankees pitcher CC Sabathia and SS Xander Bogaerts, IF Marco Hernandez and 2B Dustin Pedroia of the Red Sox.
— Bob Nightengale (@BNightengale) April 12, 2018
The madness began in the third inning when Red Sox shortstop Brock Holt was upset when Austin slid hard into second base, which resulted in benches clearing for both clubs.
Kelly decided to stick up for Holt and threw a 97-mph fastball into Austin’s rib cage in the seventh inning. Austin was upset about being hit, charged the mound and chaos ensued.
Benches clear, punches thrown in Yankees-Red Sox after Tyler Austin is hit by a pitch from Joe Kelly. pic.twitter.com/wvqoak8QMV
— MLB (@MLB) April 12, 2018
The slide by Austin was hard, but it wasn’t dirty. The problem with the slide is that his spikes were pointed upward, and if Holt wasn’t in the act of moving could’ve been seriously injured.
Rockies Nolan Arenado & Padres Luis Perdomo Each Suspended Four Games for Bench-Clearing Brawl
MLB handed out more suspensions as there was a brawl involving players from the Colorado Rockies and San Diego Padres in Wednesday’s game.
Rockies third baseman Nolan Arenado and Padres pitcher Luis Perdomo were each suspended for five games. Rockies outfielder Gerardo Parra has been suspended for four games, and Padres pitcher Buddy Baumann got a one-game suspension, per Bill Shaikin of the Los Angeles Times.
Luis Perdomo suspended 5 games, Nolan Arenado suspended 5 games, Gerardo Parra 4 games, Buddy Baumann 1. #Padres #Rockies
— Bill Shaikin (@BillShaikin) April 13, 2018
The brawl started in the third inning when Perdomo threw a pitch behind the back of Arenado, who charged the mound and the benches for both teams cleared.
Benches clear, punches thrown in Padres-Rockies game with Nolan Arenado and Luis Perdomo in the center of it. pic.twitter.com/6cItcDc8Td
— MLB (@MLB) April 11, 2018
Arenado had the right to charge the mound as he could’ve been hit in the head by the pitch.
Before the incident involving Arenado and Perdomo, Padres outfielder Manny Margot was hit in the rib cage in the previous game and was forced to exit early.
Perdomo was sticking up Margot, but he went about it the wrong way. He could have thrown a pitch inside and hit Arenado in the ribs or elbow, but he threw behind him instead.
Arenado was initially appealing the suspension but opted to begin serving his five-game suspension against the Washington Nationals on Saturday.
Nolan Arenado has dropped his appeal and will begin serving his 5-game suspension today in Washington.
Alas, here is today’s lineup. pic.twitter.com/BcYVa0l17F
— Colorado Rockies (@Rockies) April 14, 2018
He will be eligible to return on April 20, when the Rockies host the Chicago Cubs.
Toronto Blue Jays Place Third Baseman Josh Donaldson on DL with Right Shoulder Inflammation
The Toronto Blue Jays will be without a significant bat in their lineup going forward, as they placed third baseman Josh Donaldson on the 10-day disabled list with right shoulder inflammation, per an announcement by the club on Friday.
We’ve placed 3B Josh Donaldson on the 10-day DL (right shoulder inflammation).
OF Teoscar Hernández has been recalled from the @BuffaloBisons. pic.twitter.com/AbwxoO4EOW
— Toronto Blue Jays (@BlueJays) April 13, 2018
Donaldson missed time last year as a calf injury limited him to playing in 113 games. The third baseman posted a .239 batting average and .808 OPS with three home runs and nine games for the Blue Jays before heading to the DL.
The club has infield depth with Yangervis Solarte and Aledmys Diaz to handle duties at third base while Donaldson gets healthy.
The Blue Jays will need Donaldson healthy to have any chance of challenging for the American League East title.
New York Mets Lose Catcher Travis d’Arnaud for 2018 Campaign Due to Tommy John Surgery
The New York Mets have started the 2018 season better than anyone expected but will be without catcher Travis d’Arnaud for the rest of the year.
He will undergo Tommy John surgery, per Anthony DiComo of MLB.com.
Travis d’Arnaud has indeed decided to undergo Tommy John surgery, the Mets announced. He’ll miss the rest of the 2018 season.
— Anthony DiComo (@AnthonyDiComo) April 13, 2018
He was put on the disabled list a couple of days ago due to a partially torn ulnar collateral ligament in his right elbow.
The catcher has battled injuries for much of his career. He has played in more than 100 games just four times since 2007.
The Mets are extremely thin at the catcher position as Kevin Plawecki is also on the disabled list with a hairline fracture in his left hand.
Tomas Nido is the only catcher that the Mets have on their 25-man roster.
The loss of d’Arnaud and Plawecki is enormous, as Nido has played in just seven games for his MLB career.
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- 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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