MLB Notebook: Jarred Kelenic breaks his foot, Orioles acquire reliever for their bullpen, Rob Manfred to be reelected?
The Seattle Mariners will be without outfielder Jarred Kelenic of the foreseeable future after he broke his foot.
Kelenic kicked a water cooler and subsequently broke his left foot, in the Mariners’ 6-3 loss to the Twins on Wednesday night.
His impromptu soccer kick came following a strikeout with two men on base. The young outfielder fouled off a number of pitches from Twins closer Jhoan Duran before he went down looking.
Seattle placed Kelenic on the 10-day injured list. The team has not announced a timetable for the outfielder. He will be required to wear a walking boot for the time being.
An emotional Kelenic spoke with reporters on Thursday, fighting back tears for letting his emotions get the best of him.
"I made a mistake. I let the emotions get the best of me there. I just feel terrible, especially for the guys," Kelenic said. "I just let the emotions get the best of me and I just let them down and take full responsibility for it. It's on me. It just can't happen."
Mariners skipper Scott Servais told the media that he doesn’t believe Kelenic will need surgery, but he expressed that players need to control their emotions.
"I think it's a learning lesson for him. For all players," Servais said. "Players get frustrated when they're not getting the results they're looking for. But you've got to be able to control your emotions and that's part of being a professional. Last night he let it get the best of him and it affects all of us."
Prior to his injury, Kelenic was hitting .252 with 11 homers and 45 RBI in 90 games.
"He's had a nice season to this point. He's made a ton of adjustments on the field and you can see it. There's days when it looks great. There's other days it has been a struggle like all young players," Servais said. "But at the end of the day, when you react like that, and I think the thing that hits him as hard as anybody, it not just affects him, it affects the rest of us."
Orioles acquire Shintaro Fujinami from the Athletics
The Orioles added A’s reliever Shintaro Fujinami on Wednesday night for minor league reliever Easton Lucas.
The right-hander has had a tough season with the A’s pitching to a 5.40 ERA over 31 2/3 relief innings. The 29-year-old has been better of late, he has a 3.26 ERA and 20 strikeouts in 19 1/3 innings over 17 appearances. He’s pitched especially well in July, recording a 2.25 ERA over seven appearances.
Fujinami will be added to an already strong Orioles bullpen that features the All-Star duo of setup man Yennier Cano and closer Félix Bautista. The Orioles will likely slot their new right-hander alongside middle relievers Mike Baumann and Danny Coulombe.
The Japanese-born reliever features a four-seam fastball that averages 98 mph but has touched 102.1 mph in the past, according to Statcast. He also offers a cutter and heavily relies on his splitter. It’s been reported that Fujinami has been working on adding some breaking pitches to his arsenal.
Lucas, 26, has pitched this season between Triple-A Norfolk and Double-A Bowie this season, posting a a 2.73 ERA in 20 relief appearances.
Rob Manfred expected to be reelect commissioner Rob Manfred
Major League Baseball owners are expected to reelect commissioner Rob Manfred to another term next week, per The Athletic’s Evan Drellich and Ken Rosenthal.
Manfred needs just 16 of the 30 team owners to vote in his favor to return to his role.
“No doubt, there never was,” an anonymous source told The Athletic in their article on the commissioner. “It’s a foregone conclusion [that he will be reelected].”
Manfred took over in 2015 replacing then commissioner Bud Selig, who held the position for 22 years. He was reelected in 2018, which extended his second term as commissioner through January 2025. Providing Manfred is elected again and his term remains at five years, he will be MLB's commissioner through 2030.
“I have what I regard to be the best job in the world,” Manfred told The Athletic during the All-Star break. “My current thinking is I’d like to continue to do it.”
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