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. He was immediately optioned back to Buffalo, where his next start is postponed pending further evaluation.