Kuzul

The Seattle Mariners announced they have suspended catcher Steve Clevenger without pay for the remainder of the regular season after he sent a series of offensive tweets Thursday.

“As soon as we became aware of the tweets posted by Steve Clevenger yesterday we began to examine all of our options in regard to his standing on the team,” general manager Jerry Dipoto said in a statement Friday. “Today we have informed him that he is suspended for the remainder of the season without pay.”

In tweets that have since been deleted, Clevenger appeared to make references to the unrest in Charlotte, North Carolina, after a police officer shot and killed Keith Lamont Scott.

“Black people beating whites when a thug got shot holding a gun by a black officer haha s–t cracks me up! Keep kneeling for the Anthem!” he wrote, according to the Seattle Times‘ Matt Pentz.

The second tweet reportedly referenced the Black Lives Matter movement and President Barack Obama.

“BLM is pathetic once again,” Clevenger said. “Obama you are pathetic once again! Everyone involved should be locked behind bars like animals.”

After Clevenger’s tweets made the rounds, he issued a statement of apology, as shared by Fox Sports’ Ken Rosenthal:

“The Seattle Mariners are very disappointed at the tweets posted on Steve Clevenger’s account,” Dipoto said in a statement Thursday. “While he is certainly free to express himself, his tweets do not in any way represent the opinions of the Seattle Mariners. We strongly disagree with the language and tone of his comments.”

The 30-year-old is on the 60-day disabled list and hasn’t appeared in a game since June 29 after he fractured the third metacarpal in his right hand.

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

Seattle Mariners catcher Steve Clevenger has been suspended for controversial tweets he posted regarding the civil unrest in Charlotte, North Carolina. The team announced the punishment on Friday. 

Jon Humbert of KOMO 4 shared a screen cap of two tweets from the catcher (warning: tweets contain NSFW language):

Mariners general manager and executive vice president Jerry DiPoto released a statement on the situation, per Ryan Divish of the Seattle Times:

Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports provided a statement from Clevenger, via Facebook:

Clevenger’s tweets and the protests in Charlotte followed the death of Keith Lamont Scott, a black man who was shot and killed by police officers who were looking for someone else with an outstanding warrant Tuesday, per FoxNews.com.

According to WSOCTV.com, nine civilians and five officers have been hurt in the subsequent demonstrations, and Gov. Pat McCrory has declared a state of emergency.

Another black man, Terence Crutcher, was shot and killed by police within the same week. Crutcher’s death occurred in Tulsa, Oklahoma, on Friday.

Nick Carboni of WCNC.com noted that the NFL and Carolina Panthers are monitoring the situation in Charlotte but still plan on playing the team’s scheduled home game against the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday.

Elsewhere, Charlotte Hornets owner and all-time NBA great Michael Jordan released a statement offering condolences to the Scott family and asking the Charlotte community to come together:

In light of the tragic events of the past three days, it is more important than ever that we restore calm and come together, as a community, in peaceful demonstration and conversation, and in constructive and non-violent ways. As part of the fabric of Charlotte, the Hornets organization is committed to working with civic leaders, our elected leaders and law enforcement to foster more trust, transparency and understanding so we can heal and grow together as a community.

San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick has generated plenty of headlines and discussion with his own form of peaceful demonstration by kneeling during the national anthem before his team takes the field as a way of protesting racial injustice in the United States.

As for Clevenger, he is slashing .221/.303/.309 with one home run and seven RBI this season but is on the 60-day disabled list because of a broken hand.

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

Second baseman Jose Altuve is the player who makes the Houston Astros offense go, but the team may be without its spark plug for a period of time after he had to leave Wednesday’s game against the Texas Rangers with an oblique injury. 

Continue for updates.

Altuve to Be Evaluated Before Friday’s Game

Thursday, Sept. 15

According to ROOT Sports’ Julia Morales, Astros manager A.J. Hinch “isn’t optimistic” about Altuve playing Friday against the Seattle Mariners. 

The four-time All Star is in the midst of another great campaign with a .340 average, 24 home runs and 94 RBI on the heels of a 2015 season that saw him hit .313 with a then-career-high 15 home runs and 66 RBI to go along with 38 stolen bases en route to a playoff berth.

He set career marks in 2014 as well with a .341 batting average, 225 hits and 56 stolen bases. While he hasn’t quite reached those levels since, the 26-year-old speedster has improved from a run-production perspective and been a huge part of Houston’s resurgence.

Most wouldn’t expect Altuve to be such a great player based on his size (5’6″, 165 lbs), but he is one of the best pure hitters in baseball.

Perhaps the one downside with regard to Altuve is the fact his stature could leave him susceptible to injuries. He has never missed a significant amount of games during a single season, but minor ailments piled up in 2015, causing him to miss eight contests.

The Astros may not be so lucky this time with regard to the severity of the injury, which would be a major blow to a team that is finally relevant after spending years in the basement.

Provided the injury forces Altuve to miss some time, Marwin Gonzalez—who has played 75 innings at second base this year—projects as his primary replacement. Tony Kemp could also be in line for starts at second if Altuve misses time.        

Houston has a talented team, especially at the plate, but being without a tone-setter like Altuve is something that would be difficult to overcome for an extended period of time.

Follow @MikeChiari on Twitter.

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

Fact: Seattle Mariners pitcher Taijuan Walker pitched a complete-game shutout against the Los Angeles Angels on Tuesday, the first of his career.

Bleacher Report will be bringing sports fans the most interesting and engaging Cold Hard Fact of the day, presented by Coors Light.

Source: B/R Insights

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

Los Angeles Angels pitcher Matt Shoemaker was hit in the head by a line drive off the bat of the Seattle Mariners’ Kyle Seager on Sunday and was sent to the hospital.

He underwent surgery after being diagnosed with a “small skull fracture and hematoma,” per Pedro Moura of the Los Angeles Times. It is uncertain when he will return to action.

Continue for updates.

Shoemaker Released from Hospital 

Tuesday, Sept. 6

Angels general manager Billy Eppler confirmed Shoemaker is at a Seattle hotel and might return to Los Angeles on Wednesday, according to Moura. 

Shoemaker Undergoes Surgery

Monday, Sept. 5

Eppler told reporters Shoemaker had surgery Sunday night to stop the bleeding. Eppler added Shoemaker is “recovering well.”

Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register reported, “Shoemaker is expected to make a full recovery for next season.”

Shoemaker Walks off Under Own Power After Scary Incident

Sunday, Sept. 4

Moura noted the line drive came off the bat at 105 mph. The crowd in Seattle gave Shoemaker a standing ovation as team doctors helped him off the field.

Seager Comments on Shoemaker’s Injury

Sunday, Sept. 4

“That was terrifying,” said Seager, per Shannon Drayer of MyNorthwest.com. “The scariest thing I have seen on a baseball field. That was bigger than [baseball], that was real.”

Shoemaker Has Been Bright Spot for Disappointing Angels

Entering play Sunday, Shoemaker had 26 starts on the season for the Angels. He sported a 3.91 ERA, 1.23 WHIP and 141 strikeouts in 158.2 innings, and the strikeouts and innings pitched were both already career-high totals.

He was also formidable in 2014 with a 3.04 ERA and 1.07 WHIP in 27 appearances (20 starts) but struggled some last year with a 4.46 ERA in 25 games.

This is a lost season for the fourth-place Angels, who were 21.5 games behind the Texas Rangers entering Sunday. He wouldn’t be rushing back to a pennant race, and teams can expand their rosters to 40 players in September to help account for injuries.

Los Angeles still has pieces in its starting rotation, including Jered Weaver, Tyler Skaggs and Ricky Nolasco, who can shoulder more of the load and attempt to save the bullpen innings while Shoemaker is out.

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

Time waits for no man. It’s mean like that. It’s even meaner to baseball players, systematically robbing them of their skills as they drift further from their youth.

Except for Adrian Beltre, who’s playing like he’s 37 going on 27.

It feels like Beltre has been lost in the shuffle in the Texas Rangers‘ rise to the top of the American League in 2016, but he’s been creeping back into the spotlight since the All-Star break. The creeping continued in a 12-4 thumping of the Houston Astros on Saturday at Globe Life Park in Arlington, Texas. Beltre pitched in three hits, including his 439th career home run.

So it goes for Beltre in the second half. He was just OK in the first half, hitting .281 with a .778 OPS and 12 homers. But since the break, he’s hit .311 with a .985 OPS and 14 homers. The veteran third baseman has been among the American League’s top hitters.

Just like that, a season that once seemed ticketed for mediocrity is now looking a lot like the other five seasons Beltre’s given the Rangers since he arrived in 2011. He averaged an .872 OPS and 27 homers in the first five. He now has an .852 OPS and 26 homers in 2016.

It would’ve been understandable if Beltre had never gotten to this point. After all, his modest first half came on the heels of a modest age-36 season last year, in which he OPS’d just .788 with 18 homers.

Plus, we know what the usual aging curves say about the progression of offensive skills over time. Per research offered by Jeff Zimmerman at Beyond the Box Score in 2011, hitters normally peak in their mid-to-late 20s and are well below their peaks by the time they hit their late 30s. By all rights, Beltre should be an Albert Pujols-like shell of his former self.

But he’s not. And it’s not as if we’re watching a guy who’s gotten hot because he’s getting little dinkers and duck snorts to fall in.

Compared to the first half, Beltre’s second half has seen him improve an already strong contact habit and make better contact through a higher launch angle and more exit velocity (per Baseball Savant):

This is number-y nerdspeak for stating the obvious: Beltre is locked in.

He usually is in the second half. He has a career .857 OPS after the break, compared to .783 before the break. More specifically, he’s at his best in August and September. 

“I think he is a player who smells the playoffs,” Rangers manager Jeff Banister told Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News. “The desire to win and advance is what he plays for. Playoff races and opportunities sharpen great players and heighten their drive. That’s why you see great players do great things at big moments.”

Another thing that’s not out of the ordinary is the excellent glovework Beltre is providing at the hot corner. Defensive runs saved and ultimate zone rating both rate him as one of baseball’s elite defensive third basemen. Since these metrics are now taken into account in the voting, it’s possible his Gold Glove collection will grow from four to five this winter.

It’s unlikely any of this will garner Beltre American League MVP attention. Nonetheless, it shouldn’t be lost on what he means to the Rangers. They wouldn’t be much worse than their 82-54 record without him, but wins above replacement confirms he’s been by far their best everyday player:

1. Adrian Beltre: 4.9
2. Ian Desmond: 3.1
3. Rougned Odor: 2.2

From where he is now, Beltre is a lock for another 5-WAR season. That would give him 10 of those since 2004, more than any other player.

To boot, seven of these 10 seasons will have come since Beltre’s age-31 season in 2010. Aging curves and rational logic insist that’s not supposed to happen, and it’s not like third basemen have a history of being exempt from the rule. Once Beltre crosses the 5-WAR threshold this season, he’ll become the only third baseman in history to collect as many as seven such seasons past the age of 31.

This will be just the latest feather in the cap of a career that will merit consideration for not just induction into the Hall of Fame, but also induction on Beltre’s first ballot when his time comes. Cooperstown is picky with third basemen, but WAR rates him has one of the five best to ever play the hot corner.

The one thing missing from Beltre’s career is a World Series ring. He came close to winning one in 2011, hitting .300 with an .889 OPS in a World Series the Rangers (famously) lost in seven games. He’s played in only four postseason games since then, including three in last year’s American League Division Series against the Toronto Blue Jays in which he was badly beaten up.

But now, Beltre’s red-hot bat is just another reason to like the Rangers’ chances of getting it done this season. He’s part of a deep lineup that can do it all. Cole Hamels and Yu Darvish are a deadly one-two punch in the Rangers’ starting rotation. In their bullpen is a parade of hard-throwers no team will want to face in October.

Beltre will need to defy age for a couple of more months to see the Rangers’ quest through to the end. But hey, since he’s already made it this far…

Stats courtesy of Baseball-Reference.com and FanGraphs unless otherwise noted/linked.

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

Los Angeles Angels outfielder Mike Trout was uninjured after being involved in a car accident following Wednesday’s 3-0 home win over the Cincinnati Reds.

“I have spoken with Mike this evening, and he feels fine. He is at home with his roommate and is planning on traveling with the club to Seattle tomorrow afternoon. We will update as more information becomes available,” Angels general manger Billy Eppler said in a statement.

A 27-year-old woman was sent to the hospital as a result of the crash, according to Scott Schwebke of the Orange County Register. Emergency personnel needed to use the Jaws of Life to remove one person from their vehicle. The extent of that person’s injuries are unknown at this time.

Trout said he felt fine on Friday, per Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register. 

“It was scary,” Trout said, per Fletcher. “It could have been a lot worse.” 

The California Highway Patrol is still investigating the cause of the crash, which happened at 8:50 p.m. PT. CBS Los Angeles captured a photo of Trout, seemingly uninjured, speaking with a police officer at the scene:

Trout, 25, it hitting .319/.436/.562 with 25 home runs and 84 runs batted in this season. The Angels have an off day Thursday before playing the Seattle Mariners on Friday. Sitting well out of playoff contention at 59-74, the team will likely proceed with caution if Trout has any problems after the accident.

Follow Tyler Conway (@jtylerconway) on Twitter.

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

Texas Rangers relief pitcher Jeremy Jeffress was arrested early Friday morning on a charge of driving while intoxicated in Dallas County.

Rebecca Lopez of WFAA first reported the details. Chris Siron of the Dallas Morning News said Jeffress was jailed at around 5:15 a.m. local time.

Further details about the incident weren’t immediately released.

The Rangers acquired Jeffress from the Milwaukee Brewers ahead of the trade deadline earlier this month as part of the blockbuster Jonathan Lucroy deal. He’s endured a mundane start to his career in Texas, posting a 4.00 ERA and 1.33 WHIP across nine appearances.

The 28-year-old former first-round selection was suspended twice for marijuana use during his time as a prospect in the Milwaukee organization. After the second ban, which spanned 100 games starting in 2009, he took a job working at a pizza place in Florida, per Adam McCalvy of MLB.com.

“I literally felt like nobody cared,” Jeffress said. “I didn’t even feel like my own family cared. Now, that was all in [my head], but I felt like, ‘I don’t belong here.’ So I left after two weeks. I should have stayed at home, but I left and got a job. I was 21, 22 years old, and I was still a fool.”

In 2013, while playing with the Triple-A Buffalo Bisons in the Toronto Blue Jays organization, Gregor Chisholm of MLB.com noted the pitcher was diagnosed with juvenile epilepsy. The condition helped explain why he dealt with high anxiety levels and unpredictable seizures since 2008. He received new medication to help treat the issue.

Jeffress returned to the Brewers in 2014 and enjoyed the best stretch of his career. He posted a sub-3.00 ERA in two straight seasons and had a 2.22 mark in 2016 before getting traded to Texas.

His status after Friday’s arrest remains unclear. The Rangers just started a 10-game homestand which continues Friday night with the second of four games against the Cleveland Indians.

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

Fact: Albert Pujols hit his 584th career home run on Wednesday night, passing Mark McGwire for sole possession of 10th place on the all-time list. 

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

Oakland Athletics designated hitter Billy Butler was placed on the seven-day disabled list with a concussion Monday in the aftermath of an altercation with teammate Danny Valencia, per John Shea of the San Francisco Chronicle. The team announced it would call up Arismendy Alcantara in the corresponding move.

Continue for updates.

Butler and Valencia Fined but Not Suspended

Monday, Aug. 22

In addition to reporting the two players were fined rather than suspended, Shea noted the Athletics training staff told general manager David Forst that Butler “would need five to seven days,” which prompted the decision to put him on the seven-day concussion DL.

“Forst said he’s not concerned, that this is not the first clubhouse fight ever,” Shea added. “He said it’s [the] first [the] A’s had this year.”

According to Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle, Butler and Valencia had a “physical confrontation” before batting practice Friday. Slusser reported players had to break up the ensuing fight, and Valencia hit Butler on the head after the two exchanged shoves.

Citing players who spoke anonymously, Slusser reported an equipment representative asked Valencia about off-brand spikes in his locker that he was told not to wear in games. While Valencia said he uses them only before games, Butler reportedly told the representative otherwise and suggested the company should drop Valencia’s endorsement deal.

Slusser noted Butler “has an equipment endorsement with a different company.”

John Hickey of the Bay Area News Group reported the two players haven’t spoken since the fight. 

“One [player] said that Valencia and Butler both played roles in the incident,” Slusser wrote. “Valencia should not have punched Butler. And Butler should not have provoked Valencia by potentially costing him an endorsement contract.”

Butler and Valencia both played for the Kansas City Royals during the 2014 season, and Valencia joined Oakland in August 2015.

Valencia has played for the Minnesota Twins, Boston Red Sox, Baltimore Orioles, Royals, Toronto Blue Jays and Athletics since entering the big leagues in 2010.

Former teammate Eric Hosmer came to his defense in the face of potential criticism regarding the incident:

As for the temporary loss of Butler, Oakland will miss an important presence in its lineup. He is slashing .286/.338/.419 with four home runs and 30 RBI in 79 games this season, which are solid numbers but a far cry from his prime, when he slashed .313/.373/.510 with 29 homers and 107 RBI for Kansas City in 2012.

Last year, Butler’s first with the Athletics following eight seasons with the Royals, he hit 15 homers.

This is a lost season for Oakland, so there is no pennant race for Butler to rush back to as the calendar approaches October. Rather than risking further injury, he will take this time on the seven-day DL. 

The fourth-place Athletics were 19.5 games behind the Texas Rangers in the American League West entering play Monday.

Look for Oakland to turn to Khris Davis as an option at DH. Davis is in the middle of a career campaign with 32 home runs and 79 RBI in 115 games. Veteran Coco Crisp can play in the outfield when Davis is the DH or DH when Davis is in the outfield.

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com