In the hospital
On opening day, Ke’Bryan Hayes looked every bit the part of star in the making. He homered and drove in two runs to help Pittsburgh to a win in Chicago. One day later he injured his wrist, and he hasn’t seen the field since.
Following a mid-April setback, Hayes has recently been described by Pirates general manager Ben Cherington as ‘progressing well,’ although Pirates leadership has made a point of not setting even a preliminary timetable for his return.
Sixto Sanchez was supposed to be a bulwark of the Marlins rotation. After all, he looked good in seven 2020 starts and beat the Cubs in a postseason game.
But spring arm soreness sent him to the injury list, and Sanchez has not yet thrown a pitch in anger during the 2021 MLB regular season. In fact it is by no means certain that he will see the field at all in 2021; team officials haven’t ruled him out but they also have not provided anything that could be interpreted as a sign of optimism.
The Blue Jays have projected Nate Pearson as a young key to the development of a contending pitching staff that would complement all that talent they’ve been amassing in the every-day lineup. It appeared that 2021 would be Pearson’s breakout year.
But after fighting through groin problems, Pearson finally made his season debut May 9 against the Houston Astros. It did not go well. Lasting 16 batters, he gave up three run on four hits and walked five. Â He was immediately optioned back to Buffalo, where his next start is postponed pending further evaluation.