In possible bad news out of Venezuela, Jose Osuna left Monday’s game with a right arm injury he suffered while playing left field in the third inning. He grounded out in his only at-bat and picked up an outfield assist. No word on the severity of the injury at this time, so it may have just been a precaution in the last game of the regular season. I’ll provide any updates here if something is reported. Osuna finished the season with a .330/.395/.519 line in 59 games, which ranks him fifth in the league in OPS. He could lose or gain a spot on the last day, as four other teams finish up their schedule tonight.
Elias Diaz went 1-for-5 with a walk and an RBI. He finished the season hitting .262/.333/.383 in 30 games. He threw out the only runner who attempted to steal, putting him well over 50% in throwing out runners this winter.
Jorge Rondon allowed his first run after four straight scoreless outings to open his winter. He recorded one out, while allowing a run on two hits.
Yoervis Medina threw 1.2 scoreless innings, allowing one hit, while striking out two batters. He has thrown 11.2 scoreless innings over his last seven appearances, giving up three hits and three walks, with 12 strikeouts.
The Navegantes del Magallanes announced that the Pittsburgh Pirates shutdown A.J. Morris on Monday, but I was told by a source that he just signed with the Cincinnati Reds and was returning home. Either reason would have ended his winter coverage, but the second reason(when official) means he won’t be back next year with the Pirates.
In the Dominican playoffs, Gustavo Nunez and Pedro Florimon made up the double play combo for Estrellas de Oriente in a 5-1 loss. Florimon went 0-for-2 with a walk, while Nunez was 1-for-3 with a single and a stolen base. Both of them committed an error, with one unearned run scoring due to Florimon’s miscue.
On the other side of that 5-1 game, Wilkin Castillo went 0-for-4 with an RBI. He has started both playoff games after not playing two games in a row during the regular season in the Dominican.
In Mexico, Luis Heredia tried to bounce back from an outing in which he couldn’t close out a 6-1 lead in the ninth on Wednesday, giving up three runs before being pulled with two outs. Heredia allowed a lead-off single Monday night, which was followed by two steals and a line out to left field. The runner scored one batter later on a sacrifice fly. He gave up another single, then got a ground out to end the inning and his night. He had some strong control, throwing 15 of his 19 pitches for strikes, but there were also four balls that were hit well. Also, the runner who stole two bases off him was Miguel Olivo, the 37-year-old former Major League catcher, who stole 53 bases in 14 seasons in the big leagues. Heredia has a 5.85 ERA in 20 innings over 16 appearances.
Carlos Munoz went 0-for-4, dropping his average down to .235 through 59 games. He is 3-for-33 in his last ten games and has just two extra-base hits since November 19th, both of them coming in the same game. Munoz had a 1.013 OPS through 24 games, but since then, he has hit .188 and watched his OPS drop 301 points.
In Australia, Sam Kennelly came in to pinch-hit with two outs in the eighth inning, but wasn’t credited with a plate appearance because the runner on base was caught stealing for the final out. Kennelly remained in the game at shortstop and handled his only chance cleanly.
