It was a banner day for Trea Turner, as the Nationals shortstop celebrated his 28th birthday and tied a major league record with his third career cycle. Turner joins Adrian Beltre, Babe Herman, Bob Meusel and Long John Reilly as the only players since 1890 with three cycles on their resume, putting Turner in good position to claim sole possession of the record before his career is over.
Unfortunately, the achievement wasn’t without some pain for Turner, as he jammed his left middle finger while sliding into third base for the triple that completed the cycle. Turner told reporters (including Mark Zuckerman of MASNsports.com) that his finger was “pretty sore,” and manager Davey Martinez said Turner is day-to-day for the time being.
Turner’s big day (which also included two stolen bases) continues what has been a big season for the shortstop, who is now hitting .318/.367/.513 with 14 homers, 18 stolen bases and an even 50 runs and 100 hits over 341 plate appearances.
Some more injury news from around the NL and AL East divisions…
- Jeurys Familia is expected to be activated off the 10-day injured list this weekend, Mets manager Luis Rojas told reporters (including Mike Puma of the New York Post). A right hip impingement sidelined Familia on June 21, so he’ll miss slightly more than the 10-day minimum. Despite an ungainly 14.3% walk rate, Familia has a solid 3.63 ERA/4.31 SIERA over 22 1/3 IP, with a 58.5% grounder rate and a lot of soft contact helping offset his lack of control.
- Brandon Nimmo could also potentially be back on the Mets roster this weekend. Nimmo hasn’t played since May 2 due to what was initially called a left index finger contusion, then rediagnosed as a potential nerve problem and then as a small ligament tear. This confusion led to a couple of stops and starts in Nimmo’s rehab, and an initial thought that he would be activated off the IL Thursday was held off since the team wanted him to get a bit more prep work in the minors. Given all the setbacks, it probably shouldn’t be considered a sure deal for Nimmo until he is actually back at Citi Field, but things look promising for the outfielder.
- Chris Sale threw live batting practice today at Fenway Park, tossing two simulated innings and reaching the 94-95mph threshold with his fastball, Red Sox manager Alex Cora told the Boston Globe’s Julian McWilliams and other reporters. Sale is slated for another live BP session at the team’s spring training facility this weekend, and a rehab assignment could be the next step for the left-hander. Sale underwent Tommy John surgery in March 2020 and has been projected to return by late July or early August, so he certainly seems to be on track with that timetable. The Red Sox are leading the AL East despite some struggles within the rotation, and those issues could be greatly mitigated by a Sale who is healthy and anywhere close to his past superstar form.
- The Blue Jays’ injury woes have extended to the minors, as GM Ross Atkins said that star catching prospect Gabriel Moreno suffered a “minor fracture” of his thumb after being hit by a pitch. Atkins told Sportsnet’s Ben Nicholson-Smith and other reporters that Moreno will “most likely” miss several weeks, and surgery hasn’t been ruled out. Moreno has a whopping .373/.441/.651 slash line and eight homers in 145 PA at Double-A New Hampshire this season, and Baseball America ranks the catcher 32nd on their top-100 prospect list. While this injury certainly hampers Moreno’s trade value, his development had seemingly made him more of a cornerstone piece for the Jays than a potential trade chip as Toronto approaches the deadline. Any of Danny Jansen, Alejandro Kirk, Reese McGuire or Riley Adams could be more likely than Moreno to be dealt as the Jays look for upgrades on the trade market.
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