Albert Pujols out 4-6 weeks with fractured left forearm

By Sean Napfel, on June 20th, 2011%

 

St. Louis Cardinals first baseman Albert Pujols grabs his left wrist after colliding with Kansas City’s Wilson Betemit on Sunday. (Jeff Roberson/Associated Press)

St. Louis Cardinals first baseman Albert Pujols will be out for 4-6 weeks with a fractured left forearm.

The team announced the results of an MRI and CT scan Monday, a day after Pujols was injured during a home game against Kansas City. The team said Pujols has a non-displaced fracture of his left radius and his arm is in a splint.

 

The three-time NL MVP and crown jewel of the 2012 free agent market was hurt after Wilson Betemit hit a chopper up the middle off Cardinals starter Jamie Garcia.

 

After the game, Puljols did his best to describe the situation:

“He hit me on my wrist and my shoulder. He kind of jammed me back. It’s the toughest play to make as a first baseman. It’s a bang-bang play. I saw the replay a couple of times, but I didn’t really want to look at it.” - Albert Pujols

As for the other player involved in the play, Kansas City third baseman Wilson Betemit said there was no way to avoid Pujols.

“I was running hard and the ball arrived at the same time I got to the base, I couldn’t do anything about it. He hit me on my left arm, that’s why he dropped the ball. I hit him and then I saw him on the ground. That’s part of the game. I couldn’t do anything about it.” - Wilson Betemit

Pujols is hitting .279 this year, starting to heat up after a slow start. The team said his left shoulder was sore, but no structural damage was found.

As Albert Pujols explained, the play he was involved in is indeed the toughest play for a first baseman. Cliff Floyd was never the same after he suffered a similar injury and the same could be said for Derrek Lee who currently plays first base for the Baltimore Orioles. Lee suffered an injury almost identical to Puljols’ injury and has struggled mightily to regain his form prior to the injury.

ESPN’s Buster Olney echoed similar sentiments in regards to Pujols’ injury but he also floated the idea that Pujols’ wrist could cause the Cardinals to lower their initial contract offer to the free agent-to-be, which, in Olney’s doomsday scenario, would snowball into Pujols leaving town.

 

 

 

 

**photos and quotes courtesy of the Associated Press
Leave a comment   Baseball   , , , , , , ,  

Reports: Brewers trade for KC ace Zack Greinke

By Sean Napfel, on December 19th, 2010%

Multiple reports are surfacing that Zack Greinke – formally of the Kansas City Royals is headed to the Milwaukee Brewers for at least the next two seasons. The trade was first reported by OnMilwaukee.com and later confirmed by Ken Rosenthal of FOXSports.com.

The Royals, in exchange for Greinke, shortstop Yuniesky Betancourt and $2 million, will receive shortstop Alcides Escobar, center fielder Lorenzo Cain, right-hander Jake Odorizzi and a player to be named later, FOXSports.com has also confirmed. That was a heavy price for the Brewers to pay but this move almost certainly puts them on the map as legitimate contenders in the NL Central. In my opinion, the Brewers have always boasted an impressive offense but lacked in pitching. This move for Greinke certainly solidifies the Brewers rotation with the likes of right-hander Yovani Gallardo followed by left-hander Randy Wolf and recently acquired righty Shawn Marcum and either left-hander Manny Parra or Chris Narveson. After finishing last season with a 4.58 staff ERA — good for 14th in the National League, the need for starting pitching was evident.

As I mentioned, Brewers GM Doug Melvin had to give up an awful lot from the farm system in order to land Greinke.

Cain was considered the front-runner to earn the starting job in centerfield after impressing down the stretch in 2010 while Carlos Gomez, acquired last winter for shortstop J.J. Hardy, struggled to get on base.

Escobar was the “shortstop of the future,” and paved the way for Hardy’s move to Minnesota for Gomez.

Jeffress finally made it to the big leagues in 2010, his minor league career stalled at times by suspensions for violating baseball’s drug policy. He went 1-0 with a 2.70 ERA in 10 outings for the Brewers.

Odorizzi was one of the Brewers few pitching prospects and went 7-3 with a 3.43 ERA in 23 appearances (20 starts) for Class A Wisconsin this season. He combined with reliever Adrian Rosario to throw a no-hitter against Cedar Rapids in August, striking out 10 in eight innings.

Greinke was the 2009 American League Cy Young Award winner after going 16-8 with a 2.16 ERA with the Royals. But playing for a perennial also-ran took its toll on Greinke, who was made available by the Royals heading into the off-season and earlier this week, officially requested a trade out of Kansas City.

In seven major league seasons, Greinke is 60-67 with a 3.82 ERA. He signed a four-year extension prior to the ’09 season and will earn $27 over the next two years.

*Baseball-Reference.com, Baseball Prospectus, and MLB.Scout.com contributed with stastistics for this post.

One comment   Baseball   , , , , , , , , , , ,  
Visit Us On TwitterVisit Us On FacebookVisit Us On Linkedin