The free-agent ace, slammed in his last start, returned to New York to have his pitching arm scanned after complaining of elbow soreness. He's already been placed on the disabled list.

The last two starts have not been up to Masahiro Tanaka's usual standards, and now we have a hint as to why. The Yankees' ace, who was hit hard in Cleveland on Tuesday night, returned to New York for an MRI on his pitching arm, according to George King III of the New York Post.

The Yankees have already placed him on the 15-day disabled list and recalled right-hander Zoilo Almonte from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre in his place.

Tanaka's last two starts have been, by the standards of his initial 16 games in the majors, shaky. Through June 28, the prized free agent had an ERA of 2.10 in 115⅔ innings, walking just 18 while striking out 127. Opponents had hit .217/.252/.358 against him, and all 16 starts were "quality," meaning he threw at least six innings and allowed three or fewer earned runs. That streak came to an end on July 3, Tanaka allowing four runs on nine hits in seven innings to the Twins while striking out only three. Tuesday night the Indians pounded him for 10 hits and five runs in 6⅔ innings, including two home runs.

Overall, his line for his last two games: 13⅔ innings, 19 hits, nine runs, one walk and eight strikeouts, with opponents hitting .333/.345/.526.

It was easy to shrug this off as a blip -- even the best pitchers sometimes go through dry spells, just as even the best hitters sometimes slump. For all his incredible control, Tanaka has shown a tendency to leave the occasional flat fastball up in the strike zone, a tendency that led Boston's Mike Napoli to shout "What a(n) idiot!" after the pitcher put a 1-2 pitch up and away, a spot where Napoli could drive the ball down Yankee Stadium's short right-field line. The pitch turned a 1-1 tie into a 2-1 loss. Obviously, the appointment with Dr. Magnetic Resonance Imaging suggests Tanaka is not in the realm of slumps and but in jeopardy of something far less transient and potentially longer-lasting.

Given their struggles to coax health and productivity out of their aging offense and maintain a rotation behind Tanaka, the Yankees have hung in the AL East race largely because the division is so unusually soft this year. Four games out of the division lead and 3½ games out of the second AL wild-card spot, their starting rotation ranks 10^th in the league in ERA, and that's with Tanaka functioning as the best pitcher on the circuit. It would be presumptuous to say that were they to be without him for any length of time, or were he to operate at a reduced level, their chances this season would not be doomed, but the odds would certainly be against them.

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The Yankees acquired veteran starter Brandon McCarthy from the Diamondbacks earlier this week. McCarthy has been an excellent pitcher at times during his career, particularly during his two-year stint with the A's, and there is an argument to be made that he has pitched far better than his 3-10 record and 5.01 ERA would suggest. Barring an unlikely surge, though, he won't be up to the task of replacing Tanaka -- no pitcher would be. Even if he pitches at a high level, that would still leave the Yankees with a declining Hiroki Kuroda, David Phelps, underwhelming rookie Chase Whitley, recent rookie spot starter Shane Greene, and the hope that someday that spaceship that carried Michael Pineda off to planet Injury will bring him back home again. CC Sabathia isn't long for this season, it seems.

Any outcome other than a clean bill of health and a return to form would be not only a loss for the Yankees but for baseball. Tanaka had quickly established himself along with Yu Darvish and Jose Abreu as one of the few hyped overseas imports who lived up to his advance billing. He seemed a good bet to start the All-Star Game, where a national audience would get to thrill to his nigh-perfect control and vicious splitter. Now all of that seems in doubt, and the Yankees' season with it.

The Yankees have officially placed Masahiro Tanaka on the 15-day disabled list with inflammation in his right elbow. He had reportedly complained of irritation in his arm after last night's start against the Indians where he was hit hard and surrendered five runs. No one had any indication that something was wrong, but obviously the Yankee ace hid his discomfort well.

On the house keeping side of things, the move will set the active roster back to 25 after Zoilo Almonte was called up to replace an ailing Brett Gardner. With Tanaka on the DL to finish out the first half, the Yankees will still need to name a starter for Sunday's game. That will likely end up being either Chase Whitley or maybe even David Huff. Either way, the All-Star Break can't come soon enough.

Either way, as longtime commenter Long Time Listener discussed in the lineup thread, this might not be apocalypse for the Yankees:

if everything's fine they'd need a fifth start on the 23rd and Tanaka wouldn't be eligible to come off the DL until the 24th, so they'd have to work the rotation a little, but they can DL him today and lose only one start that they weren't going to lose anyway.

Now if it's more serious than that, Yankees fans might have to get used to the idea of the team not making a big run in 2014 as their entire rotation has been decimated by injuries. We still have some time before we have to deal with that idea as the Yankees team doctor has yet to see the MRI.

Recapping the Yankees' minor league affiliates' results - lightning style.

Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders:W 7-2, L 1-5 vs. Charlotte Knights

Game 1:

2B Jose Pirela 2-4, RBI, SB
RF Rob Refsnyder 1-4
3B Yangervis Solarte 3-4, double, 2 RBI
C Austin Romine 2-3
LF Taylor Dugas 0-2

Chris Leroux 7 IP, 8 H, 2 ER, 1 BB, 5 K

Game 2:

RF Jose Pirela 0-4, 2 K, 2 OF assists
3B Yangervis Solarte 1-3, RBI
2B Corban Joseph 1-3, double, E4 - missed catch error, third of the season
C John Ryan Murphy 0-3, K

Matt Tracy 4.1 IP, 8 H, 2 R/1 ER, 2 BB, 6 K, pickoff
Francisco Rondon 1.1 IP, 2 H, 3 R/1 ER, 3 BB, K, E1

Double-A Trenton Thunder:L 1-10 vs. Reading Fightin Phils

CF Mason Williams 1-4, SB
RF Tyler Austin 2-4, double, HR, RBI - fourth homer of the season
C Gary Sanchez 1-4
DH Peter O'Brien 0-4, K
3B Rob Segedin 1-4, double

Dillon McNamara 3 IP, 2 H, 4 ER, 1 BB, 4 K, 3 WP, 2 hit batsmen
Fred Lewis 2 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 3 BB, 2 WP, hit batsman
Cesar Cabral 0.2 IP, 3 H, 4 ER, 2 BB

High-A Tampa Yankees:L 5-6 vs. Clearwater Threshers

CF Jake Cave 1-5, K
SS Cito Culver 1-4, double, BB, K, E6 - fielding error, 13th of the season
DH Greg Bird 1-4, double, BB, 2 K
3B Dante Bichette Jr. 2-5, double, 2 RBI, K
RF Aaron Judge 2-4, 2 K

Miguel Sulbaran 7 IP, 3 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 8 K - 7 GO/4 AO
Ramon Benjamin 1.1 IP, 4 H, 4 R/3 ER, 0 BB, 2 K
Alex Smith 0.2 IP, 2 H, 2 ER, 1 BB

Low-A Charleston RiverDogs:W 13-6 vs. Greenville Drive

LF Michael O'Neill 1-4, BB, K, SB
SS Tyler Wade 1-3, 2 BB, K, CS, E6 - fielding error, 15th of the season
RF Dustin Fowler 2-5, double, HR, 4 RBI, K - eighth homer of the season
1B Mike Ford 1-5, HR, 3 RBI, K - ninth homer of the season
CF Mark Payton 2-2, double, 2 BB, CS
2B Gosuke Katoh 1-3, double, 3 RBI, K

Omar Luis 2.2 IP, 3 H, 3 R/2 ER, 1 BB, 3 K
Giovanny Gallegos 4 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 2 BB, 4 K
Philip Walby 1 IP, 3 H, 3 ER, 2 BB, K

Short Season-A Staten Island Yankees:W 5-3 vs. Lowell Spinners

CF Devyn Bolasky 1-5, K, CS
C Luis Torrens 2-3, BB, K, SB
2B Ty McFarland 1-5, HR, 2 RBI, E4 - fielding error, eighth of the season
1B Chris Breen 2-3, triple, HR, 2 RBI, BB

Justin Kamplain 3 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, K, WP
Luis Niebla 4 IP, 4 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 5 K, WP
Conor Mullee 1 IP, 2 H, 2 R/1 ER, 1 BB

GCL Yankees 1: Suspended for rain

GCL Yankees 2:W 10-4 vs. GCL Braves

2B Junior Valera 3-5, RBI, BB, K, E4 - fielding error, second of the season
DH Jake Hernandez 2-5, double, HR, 3 RBI - second homer of the season
1B Bo Thompson 1-5, HR, RBI, K - first homer of the season
RF Wilmer Romero 2-4

Melvin Morla 4 IP, 8 H, 4 ER, 2 BB, 3 K, 2 WP, hit batsman
Jonathan Padilla 3 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 3 K, hit batsman
Jose Pena 2 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 3 K

The Rays lost in disappointing fashion last night courtesy of the bullpen and a rough ninth inning, but Kevin Kiermaier kept his darling rookie status alive with a grand slam:

It was Kiermaier's first in his career, and the first for the Rays in over a year.

Despite the excitement, the late-game loss dampered the glory,

"Feels good. But at the end of the day, that was a tough ninth inning and it just puts a damper on everything. It's not about me, it's about the team. I felt good in the batter's box tonight. But at the same time, they put more runs up than us tonight and that was a tough way to lose it there in the ninth."

***

Yunel Escobar completed his two-game rehab stint with the Stone Crabs yesterday, and is due back in the Rays lineup against the Blue Jays on Friday.

On the topic of injuries, David DeJesus, Wil Myers and Jerry Sands will all have follow-up exams on Friday as well, to determine when they'll make their return to the Rays.

That being said, the outfield looks to be a wee bit crowded when those guys come back...

Who goes, in the "OF logjam"? (Thanks for that one, Erik.)

Links:

- The Red Sox ditched A.J. Pierzynski, and proceeded to bash him after doing so. He doesn't have a reputation for being the nicest dude, but still - stay classy, Boston.

- The Hardball Times got a shoutout on the YES broadcast of the Rays-Yankees game last weekend, so 1. Congrats, guys, Shane Tourtellotte in particular, and 2. Due to this, THT revisited the "hangover effect" piece referenced on air. Give it a read.

- Beyond the Box Score took a look at the ERA-FIP differential for starting pitchers after the first half, seeing who has performed better or worse than their ERA indicated.

The Yankees' ace was placed on the disabled list with what the team called "elbow inflammation."

Yankees' ace starter Masahiro Tanaka has been placed on the 15-day disabled list with "right elbow inflammation" and has undergone an MRI on his right arm, as first reported by George A. King III of the New York Post. Tanaka will now fly to Seattle to be examined by team doctor Chris Ahmad, who will read the MRI and examine the right-hander in person. It is currently unclear how much time Tanaka will miss with the injury, which could change the course of the entire Yankees' season.

Tanaka, a contender for both the Rookie of the Year and Cy Young awards in the American League, has pitched to a 12-4 record and 2.51 ERA in his first 18 major league starts. He was named to the AL All-Star team over the weekend and has been the ace of an injury-ridden Yankees' staff for the entire season.

Tanaka has struggled a bit in his last two starts, allowing four earned runs in seven innings against the Twins and suffering the loss in Cleveland after surrendering five earned runs in 6.2 innings. According to CBSSports.com's Jon Heyman, Tanaka told the Yankees that he was experiencing "a little discomfort" in the arm, leading them to take the cautious route and send him to get an MRI.

When the severity (or lack thereof) of Tanaka's injury is known, it will have a major impact on the playoff picture in the American League as well as the trade market. The Yankees, who have seen starters CC Sabathia, Michael Pineda and Ivan Nova go down with serious injuries, recently acquired Brandon McCarthy from the Diamondbacks and would be sure to pursue more starting pitching on the open market if Tanaka is scheduled to miss a significant amount of time.

The Rockies won their first series in nearly a month yesterday and expect the return of Carlos Gonzalez tomorrow. Also, Justin Morneau's push for the All-Star final vote ends today,

5 homers - 2 from Tulo - help Rockies claim needed victory vs. Padres - The Denver Post
Patrick Saunders has the full recap of the Rockies' win in the rubber game against the Padres yesterday that included a pair of home runs from Troy Tulowitzki, bringing him to 20 on the season.

Carlos Gonzalez likely switching positions when he returns to Rockies on Friday - The Denver Post
Aftetr a red-hot performance in three rehab games at AAA, Carlos Gonzalez will return to the Rockies' lineup Friday, and he will likely be in right field when he does so.

Twitter joins in for last hours of Final Vote - MLB.com
Justin Morneau's quest to join Charlie Blackmon and Troy Tulowitzki at the All-Star Game in Minnesota ends today, and you can vote on Twitter until 2 p.m. Mountain time.

Dick Monfort: "I don't know how our record got to be where it is" - The Denver Post
In an extended version of his interview with Saunders, the Rockies owner discusses a variety of topics, including the lack of a team president, the trade deadline and, of course, the team's record.

Rockies longest of longshots to make run into contention - The Denver Post
Saunders also chimes in with what he thinks the Rockies need to attempt  to get back in the race, which boils down to better pitching.

Rockies trade rumors: Jorge De La Rosa subject of Orioles' pursuit - Purple Row
Reports from the Baltimore and national media link the Orioles, leading the AL East, to a move for the Rockies' veteran lefty, who has a contract that expires at the end of the series.

Top pick Freeland debuts with two scoreless innings - Rockies.com
Lefty Kyle Freeland, the eighth overall pick in the 2014 draft, debut with two shutout innings in Grand Junction.

Around MLB

Yankees place Masahiro Tanaka on the disabled list with an inflamed right elbow - Pinstripe Alley
Yes, another arm injury to a top pitcher, this time Yankees All-Star Masahiro Tanaka, though this one doesn't seem to be as serious as some others.

Brandon McCarthy made his Yankees debut yesterday and pitched decently. Two hours later, they finally won. Tonight, David Phelps gets the start for the series win against the Tribe.

Brandon McCarthy, or Brandon McNotNuno as the natives have started calling him (no one, repeat, NO ONE is calling him that) made his debut for the Yankees yesterday, and it went as well as could be expected. He gave the Yankees distance, he got ground balls, and he only gave up one earned run. Not too shabby. Then the rest of the game happened and made me forget about that due to extra innings agony.

7/9/14 Daily Prediction Answers

Even though it took forever, the Yankees finally won last night. However, there were no winners in the Daily Predictions. Both selftitled85 & Valentin Matos came close with 3,000 points each. Close but no cigar.

7/9/14 Daily Predictions & Fun Questions

Cheetos: Puffy or Crunchy?

What was your dream job when you were a child?

As a teenager, did you ever watch a TV show because someone you had a crush on starred in it? If so, what show?

Best looking Batmobile?

David Phelps takes the mound against the Indians tonight in the final game of this four game set. The Yankees will be hoping to leave Cleveland with the series win. At this point, I'm just hoping they leave Cleveland and get to the All Star Break without any more awful news.

Let's Go Yankees

I could swear that this team had a surplus of starting pitching at one point. Tread carefully, Hiroki.

I remember the halcyon days of April 2014. The skies were a brilliant azure and the birds were singing songs of optimism and joy. Sure, there were some questions about the Yankees starting lineup and there were concerns about the team being as old as ever, but that didn't matter. That's because the Yankees were going to have an excellent starting pitching rotation. Other things might go awry, but the team's quality arms would be enough to make up for it and there was more than enough depth to handle an injury or two.

Oh, how naive we were back in those days. I guess we should have just been ready for the team's starters to drop one by one as if The Plague were being kept in the Gatorade in the Yankees clubhouse. Ivan Nova was ready to have a breakout year after a brilliant second half in 2013. Boom, out for the year. Michael Pineda showed glimpses of being the great player the Yankees traded their top "catching" prospect for. Lost into the abyss of constant rehabbing. CC Sabathia...stunk pretty badly when he was available, but still, he was bound to have been more useful than Vidal Nuno. Never mind that, though. Now his entire career is in jeopardy. How much bad luck could befall one rotation? Well, one other than the Oakland A's rotation.

Oh, but that wasn't enough for you, cruel fate. You had to try to take Masahiro Tanaka from us. Right at the point the team can't afford to fall any further behind in the American League East, dark forces cause his glorious right elbow to be inflamed, if not something even more significant and insidious. I don't know what the Yankees or their fans did to make you so vengeful, but I promise to sacrifice as many of them as possible to appease you as long as you don't take Tanaka and his beautiful splitter away for us for more than the necessary fifteen days.

In the meantime, Hiroki Kuroda remains as the last of the Yankees' initial starting five, apparently immune to the roving illness/black magic/pack of wild boars that keeps causing the Yankees' starting pitchers to fall by the wayside. In the interest of keeping him from being harmed, I suggest the following:

• Avoid all contact with the Yankees' pitching machines. You know "he" is out there.
• Kevlar armor. We've joked about bubble wrapping all Yankees in the past, but that's clearly not been enough. Full suits of plate armor are next.
• Throw underhanded. Much less stress on the arm that way.
• Only wear your Yankees uniform when absolutely necessary. It's clearly bad luck.
• Copy whatever Brian Roberts is doing. He's magically become immune to injury after years of being like paper mache.

Maybe this way you'll make it through the rest of the season unscathed. The most likely scenario is that a meteor falls on the stadium and destroys us all. It's just been one of those kinds of seasons.

Troy Tulowitzki has been one of the best players in baseball this season, though it might signal that this is the end of his run in Colorado. If the Rockies did decide to move the superstar shortstop, could the Orioles make a play for him?

The trade season always brings about some preposterous trade suggestions that would truly shock the baseball world should they occur. This is definitely one such suggestion. Here are the nuts and bolts of the trade that I think should happen:

The Trade

The Orioles receive

SS - Troy Tulowitzki

RP - Adam Ottovino

The Rockies receive

SP - Kevin Gausman

SP - Dylan bundy

2B/3B - Jonathon Schoop

1B - Christian Walker

So basically the Orioles are trading two top 25 prospects, another fringe top 100 prospect, and another B prospect for the second best position player in baseball and a reliever.

To put this trade together I went through dozens of incarnations with the O's sending various prospects to Colorado, even dabbling with including a third team in the San Diego Padres. Ultimately it came down to the fact that in order to get one of the best players in MLB a package of anything less than two top 25 prospects just wouldn't do.

Why the Orioles Should Do It

The Orioles are in first place in a surprisingly weak American League East and they can surely taste the playoffs at this point. This is, after all, the best spot they've been in in terms of playoff contention at this point in the season in a very long time. SB Nation MLB's Grant Brisbee outlined a handful of reasons why the O's should be optimisticdespite having a somewhat lackluster start to the season. Grant summarized it:

The Orioles came into the season with a lot of obvious talent, but only one of the expected stars is doing star things (Adam Jones). Yet they're here. They're the first-place Orioles, which is not only something we can say without giggling, but something we might get really used to.

Grant Brisbee - The awful fortune of the first-place Orioles

Similarly Jerry Crasnick wrote about the O's being poised to take over the AL East recently, and he outlined a few potential trades that could make an impact. The one above wasn't one of them, but it would no doubt do the job of making the birds division favorites.

As of the morning of 7/9 the Orioles had a 53% chance of making the postseason according to MLB.com and Baseball Prospectus, by far the best figure of any team in the AL East. Their chance of winning the division is nearly 43%, another astonishingly high figure considering they came into the season with just a 16% chance of making the playoffs.

Now may be the time for the Orioles, but why Tulowitzki? Why not a pitcher?

Well, a pitcher makes a lot of sense. However with both Jason Hammmel and Jeff Samardzija gone, the next best trade chip out there is David Price. It's unlikely the Rays would trade Price within the division, leaving the O's with even fewer options on the market. If the Orioles turn their attention to position players instead, they could do far worse than to go after one of the best infielders in all of baseball.

The Orioles do have JJ Hardy under contract, but that's a problem that could be easily solved. Not necessarily by trading Hardy, but by moving him over to second base while Tulo holds down his normal spot at shortstop. They would easily make one of the best defensive infields in baseball (Chris Davis, Hardy, Tulo, Machado from first to third) while likely getting solid production at the plate from each player.

Second base has been a black hole for the O's this season, producing a .239/.280/.329 triple slash line so far this season. Their combined 69 wRC+ is good for 25th best in baseball, making it a clear spot for potential upgrades for the club. There might be a slight learning curve, but it's conceivable that Hardy could make the transition to second base relatively easily given the fact that he's one of the best defensive shortstops in baseball.

Why is Tulo a fit for the Orioles? That's a pretty easy question to answer given his .348/.440/.597 triple slash line. His wRC+ of 174 is good for second best in all of baseball behind Mike Trout. Basically offensively he's hitting 74% better than the average MLB hitter right now. All of that to go along with a very good glove as shortstop, as he's easily a top 5 defensive shortstop right now.

Tulowitzki is under contract through at least 2020 with a club option for the 2021 season. He'll make $20MM per year from 2015 - 2019, with a guarantee of $14MM in 2020 and a club option at $15MM in 2021 (with a $4MM buyout). There are other clauses in his contract worth noting including the fact that he can't be traded more than once and the fact that his 2020 and 2021 salaries could increase by $6MM per year based on performances. Overall though Tulowitzki is basically on a 5/$94MM contract with a $15MM club option for year 6 and a $4MM buyout. So the O's would be on the hook for at least $100MM over 6 seasons ($94MM in salary + $4MM buyout + $2MM trade bonus).

Tulowitzki would immediately become the highest paid player on the O's roster, but he would also be the best player on the roster. His 4.8 fWAR this season outpaces current O's leader Adam Jones by 1.2. His on base percentage would be a welcome improvement on a team that struggles mightily in that aspect of the game. Tulowitzki won't be cheap, but he'll be a huge boon to the Orioles' chances at making the playoffs and potentially winning the world series.

Adam Ottovino is a big part of this trade, though obviously not the key piece here. He's a capable reliever whose FIP has decreased in each professional season so far. The main reason for this is that he's worked to get his walks under control. His bad luck in the first few years of his career, especially on home runs, has bounced back making him a very solid reliever. The Orioles have a noted interest in relief arms, and Ottovino would give them some value from a guy that wouldn't just be a rental. For the O's, Ottovino fills a need without them having to make another trade to bring back relief help.

Why the Rockies Should Do It

The Rockies have a 0% chance of making the playoffs in 2014 according to MLB.com and Baseball Prospectus, not exactly a surprise with them being 11.5 games out of first place through July 8th. This has lead to many media outlets to make the claim that the Rockies should move its greatest trade asset: Troy Tulowitzki.

Patrick Saunders of the Denver Post noted that Tulo's trade value may never be higher than it is right now as he's in the middle of a career year for the Rockies. Saunders would describe the situation that the Rockies are in with the following:

But another losing season has changed the landscape. Tulo, at age 29, has shown that he's healthy although he sat out Friday and Saturday with groin tightness and leg injuries will always be a concern with his injury history. He is at the peak of his trade value. Now or never is drawing nearer if the Rockies are going to move him. His value might never be higher.

Patrick Saunders - Troy Tulowitzki's trade value may never be higher for Rockies

This is a perfect synopsis of the situation because Tulo is moving toward a portion of his deal where he won't net the Rockies multiple top prospects in a trade. Saunders' thoughts aren't easy for Rockies fans to hear, but they do seem valid. This prompted writers in other cities to wonder if Tulo was a fit for them. The idea of sending Tulo to the Yankees wasn't met with much excitement, but I think the Orioles are a much better fit asset-wise.

Earlier in the week Mark Kiszla of the Denver Post wrote that the trade winds swirling weren't bothering Rockies' stars Tulowitzki or Carlos Gonzalez, which is good because there would be many more to follow. Fangraphs was next to suggest that now was the time to move Tulowitzki with Mike Petriello laying out a case for doing so. Petriello lays out a few candidates for trade partners including both New York teams, Detroit, Seattle, and Boston as potential suitors.

The final piece to nail home the fact that now is the time to trade Tulo is Jon Heyman's piece that notes that he gave the Rockies the go-ahead to move him if it was in the best interest of the team and he could go to a contending team. Heyman notes:

Tulowitzki's message was said to be something along these lines: "I love it in Colorado. I'd like to be here. But if things (don't improve), and you can (trade) me to a winning situation I'm OK with it."

Jon Heyman - Tulowitzki gives subtle blessing to trade; Rockies intend to keep him

The Rockies and Tulowitzki had a good run. In total the club will have paid him roughly $40 million including his $2.3 million signing bonus from being drafted. For those $40 million the club has gotten 33.9 fWAR in the majors. Regardless of the $/WAR figure you prefer, there's pretty much no way to say that the Rockies haven't made out like bandits so far in terms of contract value. Next season though Tulo will be 30 and starts a run of being paid $20 million per season for the next four year. His value isn't as certain in those seasons, so moving on now might be the best way to maximize the club's value in return for the slugging shortstop.

So if we've established that the Rockies should trade Tulo, how does this return work for the Rockies?

SP - Kevin Gausman

Gausman is the first key piece of the trade, a solid MLB starter already who has shown the potential to be a front-end arm for any club. He has the potential for two plus pitches, and uses his fastball, slider, change combination to baffle hitters. Just about everyone has been high on Gausman as he soared through the O's farm system and is periodically helping the big league club this season. Both Baseball Prospectus and Baseball America had very positive things to say upon Gausman's first call up to the majors. Personally I'm very high on Gausman, and have previously detailed how excellent he can be when he's on his game. If nothing else click through that link to see GIFs of Gausman's ridiculous split-change.

Going into the 2014 season Gausman was the O's consensus #1 prospect as Chris St. John identified here on Beyond the Box Score. Chris also compiled a consensus top prospects list, where Gausman ranked #16 in all of baseball.

SP - Dylan Bundy

Dylan Bundy is one of the most polarizing prospects in baseball because his talent level is immense, but he's still working back from Tommy John surgery just about a year ago. A recent scouting report from Tucker Blair at Baseball Prospectus noted that Bundy has the chance to have 2 grade 60 pitches, another grade 65 pitch, and a grade 70 pitch. If those grades do end up being where Bundy lands after working his way back to 100% from elbow surgery, that would be four plus pitches. If he reaches his ceiling, he'll be one of the best pitchers in baseball.

Bundy was the O's #2 prospect going into the season, but he finished just a few points overall behind Gausman. That is a testament to his immense talent because he had yet to throw in a baseball game after his surgery at the time of the rankings. On the consensus MLB top prospects list, Bundy ranked just behind Kevin Gausman at 17th overall.

2B/3B - Jonathon Schoop

Pressed into early service with the Orioles, Schoop's underwhelming performance belies his true value as a prospect. Rather than talk about Schoop's potential I'll post a quote from Roch Kubatko's Orioles' blog with a scout's take on Schoop:

"Defensively, Schoop is going to be really solid no matter where they put him," said a scout from outside the organization. "He doesn't have great foot speed, which is probably why they have him at third base, but he handles everything there. He has plenty of arm. He can handle that or second base. And I've heard he can handle shortstop."

Schoop, the Orioles' minor league Player of the Year in 2011, batted .245/.324/.386 with 24 doubles, a triple, 14 homers and 56 RBIs in 485 at-bats at Bowie this summer.

"I talked to scouts about him all the time. I loved him at Bowie this year," the rival scout said earlier this week. "He's the guy everybody is intrigued by. To me, he looks like he's a little tired at this point. His hand speed at the plate looks a little down. I think that's why his batting numbers aren't quite as good as they might be.

"I think he has a ton of upside. From a batting standpoint, he's very young and raw, but when he's on, he has really good bat speed and really strong hands. The ball explodes off his bat. I saw that, and talked to other scouts who saw it. They're all very interested in what he's doing."

Roch Kubatko - A rival scout talks about Jonathon Schoop

Going into the season Schoop was the O's #5 prospect, but the overall #88 prospect in all of baseball. Schoop has long been the best position prospect that the Orioles have, so his inclusion in this deal makes the return more than just pitching for the Rockies.

1B - Christian Walker

Walker is an interesting prospect to include in the deal for several reasons. Orioles Nation provides the following scouting report on Walker:

Solid approach at the plate and knows how to handle the bat – sweet swing; good bat path through the zone; hands and feet are quiet; sees a lot of pitches. There are questions about the power, and some concern that power will not translate to professional pitching. He has shown good gap power at times, but there are still questions about overall impact. Has always shown the ability to get on base and moves around the bases well for his size. If he finds the power stroke against professional pitching, he could push for time at the MLB level. Looks to be more of a platoon or bench bat at the time being, but a full season at AA Bowie should reveal more information regarding his overall ability.

Orioles Nation

Walker has really impressed in his second run at AA posting a .306/.368/.535 triple slash line for Bowie. In discussing a possible trade with other writers I reached out to a Rockies' writer to see what he thought the club would look for in a trade return. He said that the Rockies like guys that they think other teams are underrating, and Walker could potentially be that guy. In the right environment (Colorado) Walker could prove to be a very solid pickup for the Rockies.

Going into the season Walker was ranked as the #15 overall prospect in the Orioles' farm system.

Will it Happen?

The short answer is no. This move would basically send the message to Colorado fans that the team is in full-on rebuilding mode. The Orioles would also likely balk at the idea of moving two of their top prospects in a deal. While it would leave the O's with two solid prospects in Hunter Harvey and Eduardo Rodriguez, it would be a huge blow to their rotation in 2015 and beyond. The move would help Colorado build around a young core, but it would essentially punt playoff contention for the next two or three seasons. That said, a rotation of Eddie Butler, Jonathan Gray, Kevin Gausman, and Dylan Bundy would be pretty awesome to see.

I'm sure many Rockies fans would balk at any trade of Tulo, and maybe even this return isn't enough in their eyes. Similarly O's fans would likely veto any deal of Gausman or Bundy that didn't net a #1 starter in return. There are dozens of reasons why this trade wouldn't work, but there are also several for why it makes sense.

If I was in either GM's shoes, I'm not sure I could make the trade as I've outlined it above. I would have to think about it for a long time though, as it does have the potential for significant benefit to both teams.

Special thanks to Rob Shields (O's) and Zach Fogg (Rockies) for giving me a sounding board for some of my trade proposals, and for helping me figure out what the final deal should look like.

All statistics courtesy of Fangraphs,Brooks Baseball, and Baseball-Reference.

Jeff Long is a writer at Beyond The Box Score and Baltimore Sports and Life. You can follow him on Twitter at @BSLJeffLong.

Return of Solo.

The Yankees look to take the four-game series against the Cleveland Indians with a win tonight after besting them in 14 innings via a Jacoby Ellsbury home run last night. Here is the lineup for tonight's series finale with David Phelps on the mound.

#Yankees lineup at Indians: Gardner LF, Jeter SS, Ellsbury CF, Teixeira 1B, McCann DH, Cervelli C, Wheeler RF, Solarte 3B, Ryan 2B, Phelps P

— New York Yankees (@Yankees) July 10, 2014

Brett Gardner returns to the lineup to lead off after sitting out last night with an abdominal strain. The good news is that it only kept one of the best hitters out for one game. Last night's hero Jacoby Ellsbury bats third, as usual. McCann is the DH tonight after catching the long game yesterday. Zelous Wheeler gets a start in the outfield while Yangervis Solarte returns to play third base.

Carlos Beltran was placed on the 7-Day concussion DL after breaking two facial bones with a baseball yesterday. That allowed the Yankees to recall Solarte for the time being. Solarte went to the minors after stumbling in a big way over the last month, but he hit exceptionally well in his short stint with the RailRiders. That was enough to earn him another shot with Beltran needing to sit out for at least a week.

As if things couldn't get any worse in Yankeeland, the Yankees have lost the one player they likely can't do without. After traveling back to New york to have an MRI then flying to Seattle to see Yankees team doctor Chris Ahmad, Masahiro Tanaka has been diagnosed with a partially torn Ulnar Collateral Ligament, the ligament associated with Tommy John surgery.

At first you might think the sky is falling and everything is terrible, but then it's possible things might be ok in the end. Tanaka saw a total of three doctors and all three recommended rehab in stead of surgery. The tear in the UCL is considered to be minor, but things like this can be tricky and we don't know how his arm will react. At the moment, Tanaka is on a six-week timetable, will receive a PRP injection and then begin a rehab assignment.

On Tanaka's six-week timetable, Cashman said: "That's our hope. Obviously timeframes are subject to change."

— Mark Feinsand (@FeinsandNYDN) July 11, 2014

PRP injections, the rest. Then exercise. Then arm strengthening. Then throwing program. All according to Cashman. #yankees

— Brendan Kuty (@BrendanKutyNJ) July 11, 2014

As we know, Adam Wainwright pitched for years with a partially torn elbow ligament, but many, especially this year, have gone down and immediately needed the surgery. Just this year the Yankees also lost Ivan Nova and prospect Jose Campos to TJS. Losing Tanaka for a year would be a very big blow to not just this team's playoff chances, but also the 2015 team's as well.

Tanaka might be able to avoid surgery, but we've heard that story before.

Yankees rookie starter Masahiro Tanaka has a partially torn ulnar collateral ligament in his throwing elbow and is expected to miss at least six weeks, general manager Brian Cashman told reporters on Thursday.

Tanaka saw three different doctors, per Cashman (via Mark Feinsand of the New York Daily News), and all three diagnosed the same injury. The Yankees believe the injury can be healed with platelet-rich plasma injections and a throwing program, according to Ben Shpigel of the New York Times, thus avoiding Tommy John surgery in the short-term.

The injury is a new one that didn't appear in the MRI that Tanaka underwent in January before signing with the Yankees, Cashman told Feinsand. The Yankees inked Tanaka to a seven-year, $155 million deal after paying a $20 million posting fee in order to negotiate with the 25-year-old right-hander.

Tanaka appeared to be worth every bit of the $22 million owed to him this season, posting a 2.51 ERA with 135 strikeouts and only 19 walks in 129⅓ innings prior to the injury. However, Tanaka did not look right in his last start, surrendering five runs on 10 hits in 6⅔ innings against the Indians on Tuesday before being sent back to New York for an MRI.

Now, the Yankees have to hope that the rehab plan works for their star hurler. While there have been some success stories, such as Takashi Saito in 2008, and not every UCL injury is created equal, recent history says PRP treatment might not work for Tanaka. One recent case involves Orioles pitching prospect Dylan Bundy, who received PRP injections early last season that didn't take and resulted in him needing Tommy John surgery a few months later.

:(

When the news broke that Masahiro Tanaka had a partially torn UCL and would miss at least six weeks for rehab the Yankees were winning 3-0. Like our collective emotions, everything went downhill from there. The Indians went on to score nine unanswered runs after the Tanaka news. I'm not saying the team realized that they were doomed but I'm not saying they didn't realize that. It was brutal.

David Phelps pitched really well before everything became terrible. He left with a 3-0 lead that the dark parts of the bullpen could not hold. Phelps gave up seven hits in six innings with two of his runners scoring after he left the mound. Matt Thornton came on in relief of Phelps, giving up two runs in 0.2 innings. A bases-clearing hit tied the score and the Yankees were never able to muster a comeback. Jim Miller came in with a brand new can of gasoline to throw on the fire after Thornton left. He gave up six runs (five earned) in 1.2 innings. Impressive. Really.

Some notable offensive things happened in the midst of all the awful: Derek Jeter's two singles gave him the 1,000th multi-hit game of his Hall of Fame career. Ichiro Suzuki singled for the 2,800th hit of his MLB career. Congratulations to those guys. Brian McCann and Brendan Ryan were the only Yankees to fail to record a hit, though McCann reached via a walk. Zelous Wheeler crushed the second home run of his young MLB career with a two-run shot that scored Francisco Cervelli to put the Yankees on the board in the fourth inning. A Yangervis Solarte RBI single was responsible for their only other run of the game in the fifth.

Ichiro very nearly came on to pitch when Jim Miller struggled to make it through the eighth inning. If Miller had failed to retire the next batter, it looked like Joe Girardi was ready to let his outfielder give it a go. Unfortunately the batter lined out and we were deprived of any small amount of joy we may have gotten out of Ichiro pitching in a real game.

The Yankees have an important series against the division-leading Baltimore Orioles this weekend, but it's really hard to feel any kind of good about the team after the Tanaka news. The hopes that Brian Cashman could go out and supplement Tanaka in the rotation with something other than Hiroki Kuroda and a patchwork quilt seem a little hollow now. We can no longer have Tanaka and pray for rain, we can only pray for rain. This has been the most depressing recap I've ever written, but you'll have to forgive me. Things are just pretty bleak right now. I'm sure you understand.

It was really ugly for 6 innings. Then, suddenly, it was beautiful.

Game 91: Indians 9, Yankees 3

Box Score

Tribe falls to 45-46

This was a tale of two games.

The first game lasted 6 innings. The Indians got the leadoff man on 3 out of 6 innings, but it did little to help them. Their best chance came in the 3rd inning when Michael Brantley moved Jason Kipnis to the 3rd with one out. But strikeouts from both Carlos Santana and Lonnie Chisenhall ended whatever small threat it had been. For the remainder of the first 6, the Indians wouldn't move a man past 2nd.

In the meantime, T.J. House would have a better game than it might appear. The official line would be 4.2IP 8H 3ER 2BB 5K, but his defense kept getting him into jams. He got through a rough first inning unscathed and breezed through the 2nd and 3rd before hitting a bump in the 4th. A difficult dive by Kipnis came up short on a single to Francisco Cervelli which was promptly followed by a 1 out HR from Zelous Wheeler. Kipnis probably could have made the play but I can't totally fault him for failing. Yangervis Solarte would piggy-back by reaching on a error by Lonnie Chisenhall. It wouldn't be his last miscue. House loaded the bases before getting out of the inning without further damage.

In the 5th he would get two quick outs before hitting Cervelli then Chisenhall fubbed a line drive hit right at him. It was ruled a hit but should have been an error. House would allow one runner to score before giving way to Vinnie Pestano to close out the inning. Vinnie would team up with Kyle Crockett to get through the 6th as well.

That is when everything changed. Recently acquired Chris Dickerson, who would go 3 for 4 on the night, led off the inning with a single, followed by singles from Roberto Perez (his first MLB hit) and Kipnis. That brought Asdrubal Cabrera to the plate. I know what you're thinking - first pitch swinging ground ball double play. Wrong. First pitch swinging, bases-clearing triple in the RF corner. All of a sudden we were tied at 3. What was a horrific baseball experience had suddenly turned glad. And it never looked back.

Michael Brantley would be robbed of a single by Jacoby Ellsbury, driving in Cabrera in the process to give the Indians the lead. Then in the 8th, the Indians would really pile on. Dickerson would get it started with a double followed by Perez's first career big league home run. This coming the pitch right after he busted down the line for what would have been a double, since he was too busy hustling to notice the ball was foul. It took a review to make it a home run, but a home run it was. I think I like this Perez fella.

Brantley and Kipnis would single before Carlos Santana, who had started the game looking lost at the plate, put an exclamation point on the game by depositing a Jim Miller fastball into the right field seats. That capped a 5 run inning, giving the Indians a 9-3 lead and the sure victory.

But just to make things sweeter, Carlos Carrasco struck out Derek Jeter in what is likely his last plate appearance in Cleveland. And then, Jeter followed that up by playing a sharply hit Brantley single off his wrist. The Jeets™ might need to ice the wrist and his ego after this one.

The Indians officially split this series with New York, but if they can pull off a series victory in any fashion in August at New York, they can take the season series. I'll drink to that.

Win Expectancy Chart:

Source: FanGraphs

Roll Call:

Game Thread

Total comments: 255

Total commenters: 25

Press pause on those plans to sell.

Finding out that the Yankees would be without their ace Masahiro Tanaka for at least six weeks while he attempts to rehab a partially torn UCL came as a painful blow in a season that seemed to be teetering on the edge of mediocrity already. The team's record is only around .500 just ahead of the All-Star break and their run differential suggests that they should be even worse. Thankfully, a weak AL East has kept them mildly relevant in the playoff picture. That was with Tanaka, though. Tanaka may not pitch again until 2016 if rehab and a platelet-rich plasma injection don't heal his arm. Does that mean it is time for the Yankees to consider selling and looking forward to next year?

Cashman says yankees are still planning to be aggressive in trade market; this isnt turning them into sellers.

— Daniel Barbarisi (@DanBarbarisi) July 11, 2014

While it seems like the vast majority of hope was depending on the health of Tanaka's right arm and some regression to the mean for hitters like Brian McCann and Carlos Beltran, Brian Cashman and co. don't seem ready to throw in the towel just yet. The reasoning behind that may be two-fold: the Yankees don't really have much to sell that would yield an impactful return and they are still very much alive within the division. Do you want to be the one who tells Derek Jeter that the team is packing it in for his final season in July? Probably not. Being four games out of first place likely also gives them reason to think that a strong second half could possibly get them to the postseason where anything can happen.

Tanaka's injury just makes it more necessary that the team find a way to bring in starting pitching if they are going to be buyers at the deadline. There is some hope that their offense can snap out of the slump it has been in for the first half of the season with a few exceptions, but their rotation is nothing short of held together with paper clips right now. It's unlikely that they have the pieces to bring in a pitcher like David Price or Cliff Lee in a blockbuster deal, but it's possible that some kind of impactful deal can be made. Upgrades like Brandon McCarthy over Vidal Nuno are good deals, even if they aren't necessarily the difference between playoffs and not. Hopefully Cashman still has a few tricks up his sleeve.

Whether the Yankees should be buyers or sellers is, of course, another matter entirely. It seems unlikely that they will be able to do enough to reach the playoffs without Tanaka, even if the six-week estimate is enough for him to get back on the field. When you go out and spend half a billion dollars in the offseason, you can't quit halfway through if there is a glimmer of hope. There is a glimmer, provided by other teams in the division having numerous problems of their own, but that flicker is just quite a bit dimmer without Tanaka.

This is an expanding piece looking at players the Phillies might target from trade partners. It's not exhaustive, just a look at a few top players and parts who might match up.

Wednesday I covered the Angels, Dodgers, Orioles and Mariners. Today I'll look at the Blue Jays, Yankees, Royals and Tigers. The theme of today's post might be slim pickings. Of course, other rumors have started swirling in the ether, so I will do, at least, a third installment adding the Giants, Cards and anyone else that pops up between now and then with needs.

Blue Jays - I'll start by assuming that current Starter Marcus Stroman is off the table. After all trading to shore up your playoff run doesn't work as well when you jettison the guy who might be the 2nd or 3rd best starter in your rotation (especially when the other top Starters are 35+). If you're sending them Byrd or a BP arm you could look at Aaron Sanchez. A Righty with huge stuff and very little control of it. Ceiling is a good #2 Starter, but the floor is a Perci Garner or Brody Colvin mess. Word is Sanchez is off limits though. Daniel Norris is another guy to look at. He's a Lefty who improved his BB rates in High-A. That said, he's 4 starts into Double-A and his BB rate doubled, it's a small sample, but he has a history of shaky control he was starting to iron out, so it's hard to tell if this is something he'll adjust to in Double-A or if he was just getting less experienced hitters out with junk that the more advanced guys stay off. That said, a Lefty with a 96mph Fastball is not overly common.. Next comes Mitch Nay. He's a 3rd baseman drafted two years ago, he's sporting a .283/.348/.371 line with 12.9%K and 8.4% BB rates. He'd be high risk and the power is still missing. Franklin Baretto is an 18 year old Shortstop with a truck bed of tools. Currently in Low-A hitting .304/.407/.413 with 19.4% K and 11.1% BB rates. The BB rate is nearly twice his previous average, so that may or may not be for real. He's shown some pop in the past, but he'll likley end up with passable power. He's built like Rollins and looks to be a good defender with speed and good contact skills. Everything you get from the Blue Jays would be high risk. They have some nice players to package, but no one that makes you say "wow".

Royals - If you like to gamble, you could roll the dice on Kyle Zimmer. Ace ceiling to perhaps mid-rotation type, provided his shoulder doesn't give out, which has shut him down since last fall. His MRI was clean and he avoided the knife, but shoulder injuries are the grim reaper of Pitchers, so you rick that instead of a future Ace you may be trading for a guy who never throws a baseball again. Someone is bound to suggest Hunter Dozier, but especially given the struggles of Moose Tacos to hit, Dozier is probably their Third Baseman of the future now. He's already gotten to Double-A and it's. honestly, hard to find many red flags. His power isn't ideal for the hot corner at present, but he's only 22, so that could still be on the way.  The only way to get him would probably involve eating lots of salary and possibly including Franco. I don't see it.  There are a few more names you could gamble on. One would be Elier Hernandez a 19 year old playing in High-A. Lot sof tools, very inconsistent production, he's currently middling along in a typically Offense friendly environment. Another name is already with the team: Christian Colon. Colon is a solid contact hitter who will take a walk and has some speed. On the downside, his arm stinks, his range isn't very good, his power is middling and he's pretty much a 2B only guy. As John Sickels noted in his prospect book Colon gets marked down as a bust because he was a fourth overall pick, while if he was a 9th Rounder he'd probably get a lot of praise. Colon has a good glove and can stick at Second, his bat should be good enough to Start, but his floor is AAAA guy since his arm won't work on the left side. The Royals don't have pieces for a blockbuster, sans Dozier, but they have enough to grab BP help or an OF rental.

Tigers - The cupboard isn't quite bare, but there is plenty of elbow room. That said, we'd be trading them a reliver if anything, so there's enough to make that work. One name that could be bandied about is Johnathon Crawford a RHP picked in the First round last year. He's a Ground Ball pitcher with a bit of a control/command problem. His ceiling is a #3 or 4 Starter, could also be bound for the bullpen down the road. If he were to actually iron out his mechanics he could be as good as a solid #2 Starter, as his Fastball and Slider are both Plus when they're near the plate. An even better name would be 20 year old Righty Jake Thompson, who sports a Plus Fastball and enough of a repetoire that would could see him as also a #2 Starter. I like his chances better than Crawford, as he has better control. Julio Felix is a somewhat intriguing relief arm with pretty good control though not great K numbers for a BP Pitcher. Corey Knebel is a guy who both K's and Walks a ton of people, he's made his way to the bigs, but the Tigers may be willing to part with him for a more ready now piece. Of course you could also gamble on flame throwing Bruce Rondon who's shut down all year after Tommy John. He'd be a good buy low and the Tigers have an old core and are in win now mode, so he could be pried loose, I think.

Yankees - As John Stolnis noted the Yankees have needs. What they don't have is much in the way of tradeable assets. Their assets begin, and damn near end, with Gary Sanchez. He's a solid hitting Catcher with above average defense. If you're sending them a Starter (except for KK), Sanchez really needs to be the return. He would immediately be in the Top 5 prospects for the Phillies, maybe as high as 1, depending upon the analyst. You could also try to pry out  Luis Severino. I could write a whole article on Luis, he's a max effort Pitcher whose mechanics scare me a little. He reminds me a little of our own Yoel Mecias, as he works mid-90's with a really small frame. He's got good control and very good command of his Fastball which is presently Plus, but could end up Plus-Plus. Given his size, max-effort delivery and mechanics I worry about injury, but I also think he could be a very good bullpen pitcher. You could ask for last year's picks, but I'm not a big Ian Clarkin fan and Judge, while currently doing well is a big (literally and figuratively) risk. Beyond that if you want anyone who may end up with any future value you need to target their young Latin signings. Go for guys like Andy Diaz and Luis Torrens, load up on a bunch of them and hope something pans out. You could make a trade work here, probably in a few different scenarios, but a blockbuster would be tough to pull off and would really gut what is left of their system. That leads me to think they wouldn't do it and just cut their losses this season.

After splitting the series against the Indians, the Yankees travel to Baltimore to face the Orioles. Hiroki Kuroda, the only surviving member of the original A-Team, takes the mound tonight. Sigh...Tanaka...

It's July 11th, 2014. Everything still royally [expletive deleted] sucks. Well, David Phelps pitched pretty well again against a pretty decent Indians offense. So there's that. Feel better? Yeah, me neither.

7/10/14 Daily Prediction Answers

Sigh. Well obviously the Yankees lost yesterday, in more ways that one. However, long time listener was victorious with his Daily Predictions. He scored 3,000 points for his victory.

7/11/14 Daily Predictions &Fun Questions

What do you do to help you get through sad times like this?

Current favorite GIF on the internet?

What is your "go-to" take out food when you do feel like cooking?

Favorite type of stuff bag? (bookbag, messenger bag, purse, etc.)

HIroki Kuroda, the last surviving member of the A-Team, takes the mound for the first game against the Orioles. These are dark times for the Yankees. Dark, dark times. Do you best to keep a positive attitude, but yeah, what a blow yesterday.

Let's Go Yankees

Trust the science.

Yesterday, Yankees fans received the official confirmation that everything sucks right now when it was ruled that Masahiro Tanaka had a partially torn UCL in his pitching arm. Tanaka will be out for at least six weeks, and could be looking at potential Tommy John surgery sometime down the road. Even that mere six-week absence could be enough to torpedo the Yankees' playoff chances in 2014, even with weak AL East competition at the moment.

The one bright side to the news was that the three doctors who looked at Tanaka's MRI said that it was only a partial tear, about 10% or so. While this figure still doesn't sound very encouraging to the average person without a medical degree, it is slightly encouraging because other UCL tears are typically much worse than that. When doctors looked Ivan Nova's MRI earlier this year, they did not really hesitate to say that he needed Tommy John surgery. The Mets' Matt Harvey had a tear that was worse than Tanaka, too. Thus, the three doctors all ruled in consensus that he should receive a platelet-rich plasma (PRP) injection, and that afterward he should start a throwing program that could potentially bring him back to the mound in six weeks if all goes well. If Tanaka does not react well to the injection, then Brian Cashman said that they might have to go ahead with the Tommy John surgery.

The first reaction from most fans to UCL tears these days seems to always be "Just get the surgery done and over with" since there isn't a great track record of success with PRP. People would rather see the athletes go immediately under the knife in an effort to see the athletes back on the field as soon as possible. However, this point of view is too rudimentary and ill-informed. Not all UCL tears are created equal, so just because most previous UCL tears have led to Tommy John surgery after the arms did not take to PRP does not mean that no UCL tears will ever respond to it.

The biggest point in PRP's favor was a medical study published in the American Journal of Sports Medicine last July that offers a favorable opinion on PRP (emphasis mine):

METHODS: Thirty-four athletes with a partial-thickness UCL tear confirmed on magnetic resonance imaging were prospectively followed. All patients had failed at least 2 months of nonoperative treatment and an attempt to return to play. Baseline questionnaires, including the Kerlan-Jobe Orthopaedic Clinic Shoulder and Elbow (KJOC) and Disabilities of the Arm, Shoulder and Hand (DASH) measures, were completed by each patient before injection. Baseline ultrasound measurement of the humeral-ulnar joint space was assessed with 10 lb of valgus stress on the elbow. Each patient received a single type 1A PRP injection at the UCL under ultrasound guidance. The same treating physician at a single institution performed all injections with the same PRP preparation used. Patients completed a course of guided physical therapy and were allowed to return to play based on their symptoms and physical examination findings. Outcome scores, including KJOC and DASH scores, were collected after return to play and were compared with baseline scores. Ultrasound measurements were collected at final follow-up and compared with preinjection values.

RESULTS: At an average follow-up of 70 weeks (range, 11-117 weeks), 30 of 34 athletes (88%) had returned to the same level of play without any complaints. The average time to return to play was 12 weeks (range, 10-15 weeks). The average KJOC score improved from 46 to 93 (P
CONCLUSION: The results of this study indicate that PRP is an effective option to successfully treat partial UCL tears of the elbow in athletes.

The study proved that it's not a fruitless endeavor to undergo PRP therapy. If three doctors who are looking at player with millions of dollars at stake all think that Tanaka should at least try PRP, then he should go ahead and do it.

As fans who are mostly without medical degrees and definitely without access to Tanaka's MRI, we are completely unqualified to say that a player should just have Tommy John surgery and not bother with PRP. Tanaka's 2015 would be lost anyway even if he had to get Tommy John surgery six weeks from now regardless, so it really can't hurt to try to rehab it if doctors think it's possible. Cardinals ace Adam Wainwright pitched with a partially torn UCL for about five years, and Ervin Santana has had a partially torn ACL since at least early 2009. Doctors felt they could pitch for awhile despite the injuries. If there is some path of previous success with partially torn UCLs, it's at least worth exploring.

Furthermore, many fans seem to take Tommy John surgery for granted these days, too. It does not have a 100% success rate. Yes, the rate is high, but ask Daniel Hudson how easy it is to recover from Tommy John surgery. He last pitched in June of 2012 and has had two Tommy John surgeries since then in an effort to get back. He's still recovering from the second. Reliever Ryan Madson had Tommy John surgery in April 2012, and has yet to fully recover or pitch more than one inning in professional baseball. Sometimes, there are cases like the Braves' Kris Medlen and Brandon Beachy. Both players had Tommy John surgery and returned to pitch effectively for about two years, only to have their UCLs act up again. Both underwent their second Tommy John surgery this spring. Josh Johnson also had his second Tommy John surgery in three years this spring. The Yankees' own prospect Manny Banuelos had Tommy John surgery in October 2012 and he just started pitching again this year. His ERA and WHIP in Double-A Trenton so far is an ugly 5.33 and 1.382, respectively. It's just a long, difficult road back that is obfuscated by the occasional resounding successes from the likes of John Smoltz and Stephen Strasburg. Pitchers do often make it back, but their careers afterward are a mixed bag of positive and negative results.

It does seem likely that Tanaka will have to undergo Tommy John surgery, but there are so many obstacles associated with the surgery and grueling rehab that it is absolutely worth it to try and avoid it if at all possible. If three doctors all think that PRP is a route worth exploring, then Tanaka absolutely should do it. Additionally, even if it fails, it doesn't mean that it was a poor decision to try therapy in retrospect. These doctors have millions of reasons to take their decisions into careful consideration, and they are far more informed than you or me. Trust them.

oh boy!

The Yankees made a move today to acquireJeff Francis from the Oakland Athletics after he was designated for assignment last week. There's no word on what the team is giving up in return, but it likely won't be much, likely a player to be named later or cash considerations.

The 33-year-old lefty has a 5.89 ERA and 3.67 FIP in 18.1 innings spent between the Reds and the A's this year. He has a lifetime 4.95 ERA and 4.38 FIP with a 6.01 K/9 and 2.66 BB/9. He is also homer prone with a 1.11 HR/9, making him not much different from Vidal Nuno, in all honesty.

Who knows how they'll use him going forward at this point. He could move into the rotation to replace Chase Whitley, who is, in turn, replacing Masahiro Tanaka. He could be used a longman out of the bullpen or they might just stick him in Triple-A since their pitching has been decimated recently. We'll find out everything soon enough and I'm sure we're all very excited to find out more.

UPDATED:

#Athletics trade LHP Jeff Francis to the New York Yankees for cash considerations.

— Oakland Athletics (@Athletics) July 11, 2014

Though Yankees PR says the deal is for a PTBNL, so we'll eventually see who is actually telling the truth and who is lying!

The Yankees have designated Jim Miller for assignment, likely clearing a space on the roster for Francis.

DOUBLE UPDATE:

Roster Moves: Acquired LHP Jeff Francis and cash from Oakland for a PTBNL, recalled RHP Matt Daley from @swbrailriders, DFA RHP Jim Miller

— Yankees PR Dept. (@YankeesPR) July 11, 2014

"No, I said you send me a dollar, not I send you a dollar."

The Oakland Athletics traded Jeff Francis and cash to the New York Yankees for a player to be named later. Jeff Francis was designated for assignment on July 3 to make room for Eric O'Flaherty's activation from the 60-day disabled list.

It was initially believed the A's will receive "Cash Considerations." It was not clear what position Considerations plays, or whether he will have a role on the Athletics in the future.

#Athletics trade LHP Jeff Francis to the New York Yankees for cash considerations.

— Oakland Athletics (@Athletics) July 11, 2014

However, the New York Yankees twitter announced that the cash considerations are going to the Yankees with Jeff Francis in exchange for a player to be named later.

#Yankees acquire LHP Jeff Francis and cash considerations from Athletics in exchange for PTBNL.

— New York Yankees (@Yankees) July 11, 2014

Jane Lee of mlb.com reports that the A's have corrected their previous statement:

A's release a correction to previous statement. They've traded Francis and cash to the Yankees for a player to be named later.

— Jane Lee (@JaneMLB) July 11, 2014

Francis, 33, was claimed off waivers from the Cincinnati Reds on May 18 and served in a long relief role for the Athletics. In 13⅓ innings over nine relief appearances for the Green and Gold, Francis was 0-1 with a 6.08 ERA.

Francis' acquisition leaves one other player on the designated for assignment list, starting pitcher Brad Mills.