Red Devils midfielder TJ Friedl left the match today due to pain in his side and will have an MRI scan, report Mark Sheldon of MLB.com.
As of this moment, it’s unclear if Friedly is experiencing any serious problems, with the picture sure to provide more clarity. But if he does end up being absent for a while, it will be a disappointing development given that Friedl has been one of the bright spots for this year’s rebuilding Red Devils club.
The 27-year-old has made 138 goals in 2023 and is scoring 0.306/.351/.468 in that time with a wRC+ of 115, suggesting he’s 15% better than the average scorer of the tournament. He won’t be able to maintain his 0.376 batting average all season but he has long had strong batting skills. His 21% hit rate so far this year will be higher than any of his previous stops in his career, pro or minor, but still slightly below that. tournament average of 22.7% for major jumpers in 2023.
Friedl has been negative on defense for the first few seasons but seems to have made some progress here in 2023. He has a +4 from Saved Defensive Runs, +1 scores above average and a score of 1.9 from the final Regional Rating. He also has four stolen bases, and his sprint is considered by Statcast to be in the 85th percentile. When combined with his solid work at the disc, he won 1, 3 wins over substitutes this year in the eyes of FanGraphs, enough to put him at the top of the group.
If Friedl asks to be on the injury list, the club will have to come up with a plan for a central position. Friedl shared a location with Nick Senzelbut later played many later third base, kick Directed by Spencer pass first. Perhaps they could move Steer back to the hot corner and Senzel back to center, but they could also consider other options if they’re happy with how things have been lately. Jose Barrero mainly a stop, separating that position with Kevin Newmanbut also some starting in the center and perhaps more time there.
The Reds will likely hope that they don’t have to consider such contingency plans with the ideal result that Friedl’s magnetic resonance imaging machine does not find anything of concern. He enters this season with less than a year of service and could be a long-term part of the club’s squad if he continues to have solid results as a closed player. comprehensive contribution.
