The last thing the Royals needed was an injury to a starting pitcher, but Jason Vargas is now out for the year because of a torn elbow ligament. They already were looking for starting pitching — Johnny Cueto? — before the trade deadline and are expected to push harder now. They were forced to recall Yordano Ventura from Triple-A Omaha before he pitched a game there — and he was sent there to regain his confidence.
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Slowly but surely, Miguel Cabrera is recovering from his calf strain. He's about halfway through his recovery and is accompanying the Tigers on their current 10-game road trip. His presence in the clubhouse has been well-received. He took a protein-rich plasma injection last week, and the team hopes he needs just three more weeks to return to the lineup.
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Maybe Cleveland has noticed how Miguel Sano has helped the Twins. The Indians called up first baseman Jesus Aguilar from Triple-A Columbus to give them some more pop in the batting order. Aguilar was batting .255 with 13 home runs and 66 RBI in 93 games at Columbus. He will bounce between first base and designated hitter. Ryan Raburn and David Murphy have split DH duties but will now split corner outfield duties.
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The White Sox will take any offense they can get, even if that means benching catcher Tyler Flowers every now and then. Flowers will remain the No. 1 catcher, but Geovany Soto had blasted four home runs in his past 11 starts. Manager Robin Ventura said he has no problems with sliding Soto's bat in the lineup more often if he is going to hit like that.
