THURSDAY, 1:54pm ET: In the hospital, Buxton was given a CT scan, which luckily came back negative. He suffered no broken bones. However, he does have a concussion, and the likelihood of a September call-up for Buxton seems out of the question. "It could have been a lot worse," Twins general manager Terry Ryan said on the MiLBTV internet broadcast. "We are grateful for the concussion. That was very scary." As for Kvasnicka, he has a bruised hip and will be out for just a few days. WEDNESDAY: Minnesota Twins outfield prospect Byron Buxton suffered what looked to be a few serious injuries Wednesday evening. Buxton, making his Double-A New Britain debut and playing center field, collided with right fielder Mike Kvasnicka, reportedly losing consciousness. He was carted off the field on a stretcher and was taken to a hospital by ambulance. Buxton is the number one prospect in all of baseball as ranked by MLB.com, but has failed to progress this season due to injuries throughout the season. Buxton was expected to be in Double-A earlier in the season, but his debut was pushed back so he could gain experience in the lower levels of the minor leagues. However, in his debut tonight, Buxton got bit by the injury bug again, which may end his season, and perhaps his career if the injury is serious. The Twins selected Buxton second overall in the 2012 MLB Draft, and he has progressed nicely in the minor leagues, slashing a .301/.390/.487 line with 21 home runs and 113 RBI in 897 plate appearances during his minor league stay. The 20-year-old appeared to be hit by Kvasnicka's knee in his left shoulder and was down for approximately 10 minutes. He did not appear to be moving. Kvasnicka was up and walking following the collision, but Rock Cats broadcasters said that he went with Buxton to the hospital, likely for precautionary reasons. Play was halted for 35 minutes, as Twins general manager Terry Ryan, who was in attendance, went down to the Rock Cats dugout. Stay tuned here at Cover Those Bases and follow Devan on Twitter @CoverThoseBases as the story on Buxton and other news develops. Photo credits to Scott Blanchette of the New Britain Rock Cats on Twitter.
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The Kansas City Royals have acquired outfielder Josh Willingham from the Minnesota Twins in exchange for minor league right-hander Jason Adam, the team officially announced last night. Kansas City did claim Willingham off of revocable waivers, St. Paul Pioneer Press' Mike Berardino reported on Twitter. Berardino reported later that Willingham is owed $1.836 million throughout the rest of the season. He will be a free agent at the end of the year; Willingham is in the final year of his three-year, $21 million contract he signed prior to the 2012 season to join the Twins. The Royals could not have chosen a better time to make a move for a veteran player. They are winners of eight straight and 16 of their last 19. Their torrid run has brought them into first place in the American League Central, as they lead the Detroit Tigers by a half game. Kansas City has not been in first this late into the season since 2003 and has not been in first place this year since June 19th. Willingham will add veteran leadership to the Royals clubhouse, while also adding some power in the outfield. In 11 seasons with the Marlins, Nationals, Athletics, and Twins, Willingham has hit .253/.359/.467 with 193 home runs and 626 runs batted in. In 278 plate appearances on the season, Willingham has a .210/.345/.402 slash-line with 12 bombs and 34 driven in. He clearly has lost a step from his career average, but his on-base percentage remains high while he continues to add power. Adam, a 5th round pick back in 2010, will be a nice return for Minnesota. He just turned 23 eight days ago, and he is already at Triple-A. In eight games (zero starts) with Triple-A Omaha, he is 1-1 with a 2.35 ERA and a 1.370 WHIP in 15 1/3 innings pitched. Earlier this year, with Double-A Northwest Arkansas, Adam turned in a 4-8 record with a 5.03 ERA and a 1.393 WHIP in 19 games (18 starts). Adam appears nearly ready for the big leagues, as his control with his three pitches is highly touted. For the latest news and rumors, be sure to follow Devan on Twitter @CoverThoseBases. The Oakland Athletics continue to make moves today. They have dealt left-hander Tommy Milone, who is out of a job in the rotation following the trades of Jeff Samardzija, Jason Hammel, and now Jon Lester, to the Minnesota Twins for outfielder Sam Fuld, according to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports.
Following the deal this morning that sent Yoenis Cespedes to Boston and got Jonny Gomes, it looks as if the A's will be running a platoon in left field between Fuld and Gomes. On the year, Fuld is hitting .274/.370/.354 in a limited 195 plate appearances with the Twins on the year. Fuld has 12 stolen bases in 15 attempts. He should be a fantastic platoon option for the A's. Milone is the odd man out in the Athletics' rotation. The Twins will be getting a young pitcher with some big league experience. On the season, Milone is 6-3 with a 3.55 ERA, a 4.42 FIP, and a 61 to 26 strikeout-to-walk ratio in 96 1/3 innings pitched. The Seattle Mariners have acquired first baseman / designated hitter Kendrys Morales from the Minnesota Twins in exchange for right-hander Stephen Pryor, they announced. The Mariners, currently sitting at 53-48, are in a tie for the second American League Wild Card, with both the New York Yankees and Toronto Blue Jays. They have wanted to buy at the trade deadline since becoming a surprise contender, something not many expected when the season started. Nonetheless, Seattle is right in the thick of it, and adding a familiar face in town may not be the worst for them. Morales, 31, signed a contract with the Minnesota Twins on June 8th, becoming the last 2013 qualifying offer player to sign a new deal (via the Mariners, his 2013 team). The deal was for $7.41 million. In a short 39 game stint with Minnesota, the Fomento, Cuba native hit .234/.259/.325 with only one home run and 18 runs batted in. This came in 162 plate appearances, which worked out to be a 62 OPS+. Morales did have the chance to go back to the Mariners in free agency, including on a reported three-year, $30 million contract they did offer him at one point during free agency. Now, Morales has no choice but to head back to Seattle, but the one plus for him is that he will have the option to head elsewhere in free agency at the end of the season. So if Morales does not want to return to the Mariners following this season, he does not have to. But who would not want to play for a contender? In return, the Minnesota Twins will be getting right-hander Stephen Pryor, who, at the age of 25, seems to be ready for the big leagues full-time. Back in 2012, Pryor did pitch in 26 games, going 3-1 with a 3.91 ERA and a 5.27 FIP, resulting in a 99 ERA+. He struck out 27 and walked 13 in 23 innings pitched. The acquisition for the Twins may pan out, but it seems like they got a high-potential type of guy. The Mariners will likely not be done buying now. They could still make a run at perhaps the biggest piece on the trade market, David Price. But for now, an old friend heads back to the old stomping grounds, as Kendrys Morales will be heading back to the Seattle Mariners. Heading into Tuesday, everyone was focused on Derek Jeter's final All-Star Game. But it was the up-and-coming star, Mike Trout, that stole the show. Trout went 2-for-3. He started the scoring by lacing a triple off the right field wall, scoring Jeter, who got on via a double. Pat Neshek left a slider on the middle part of the plate, and Trout added a go-ahead RBI double in the fifth, hitting a line drive just fair into left field. When Derek Norris came around to score, the American League had retaken the lead 4-3. The American League would not lose that lead. Neshek was replaced by Nationals reliever Tyler Clippard. Jose Altuve took the third pitch off of Clippard and drove a liner into left field. His sacrifice fly scored Alexei Ramirez, padding the American League's lead, 5-3. Altuve had done his job and was a big part of the win. However, the scoring had to start somewhere. In the first, Jeter, leading off, took a 90 mph cutter off Adam Wainwright and drove it into the right field corner for a double. Wainwright would later say that he "grooved" the pitch to Jeter, but later took it back and said that he was trying to be humorous. Regardless of Wainwright actually grooving a pitch to Jeter, it must have not been his night. Two batters after the Trout double, Miguel Cabrera unloaded. He drove the second pitch, a sinker, to the right field stands. The American League jumped out to a 3-0 lead. It was the National League's turn to do some damage. The NL got two back in the top of the second. With one out and nobody on, Aramis Ramirez hit a liner right back up the middle for a single off of Jon Lester. After that, Chase Utley worked a seven pitch at bat off of the lefty, but Utley was the one who prevailed. The seventh pitch, a fastball that was middle-away, became an Utley double off the right field wall, scoring Ramirez. Jonathan Lucroy, the next batter, wanted in on the fun, as he doubled off of Lester as well, scoring Utley. The National League would tie the game in the fourth on another Lucroy double. After the American League took that lead in the fifth, it was all pitching. Including Max Scherzer's shutout fifth inning (he took the win), the American League pitching staff allowed just three hits in five innings, striking out nine National League hitters and walking just one. The crowd of 41,048 in Minneapolis saw a Minnesota Twins battery close out the game in the ninth. Twins closer Glen Perkins, along with Twins catcher Kurt Suzuki, got Miguel Montero to fly out to center field, got Josh Harrison swinging, and got Charlie Blackmon to ground out to second base, securing the American League victory. Mike Trout's fantastic performance got him All-Star Game MVP honors. The American League will now have home-field advantage in the 2014 World Series after taking this one by a score of 5-3. |
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