This Major League Baseball season continues to produce some of the best and worst story lines for players with Long Beach ties.
Marco Estrada, 36, is reportedly set to retire after nagging injures caused the Oakland A’s to release the 12-year veteran pitcher. The former Long Beach State Dirtbag signed a one-year $4 million dollar deal with Oakland this offseason but only made five starts while giving up 18 earned runs. Estrada has a career record of 62-68 with a 4.29 ERA.
Travis d’Arnaud returned to the Tampa Bay Rays lineup behind the plate with an RBI double and a walk in a win over the Blue Jays on Sunday. The Lakewood High alum had been out of the starting lineup for two games due to neck and shoulder tightness. d’Arnaud, 30, has seven RBIs on only four hits this month.
Aaron Hicks has been on the New York Yankees injured list since Aug. 4 and the Wilson High alum might not come off of it this season because of an elbow injury. Hicks, 29, missed the first 40 games of this season with a back injury and is hitting .235 with 12 homers and a .769 OPS in 59 games in the Yankees outfield.
Matt Duffy has been stuck in a slump for the last week in the middle of the Tampa Bay Rays lineup. The Lakewood High and Long Beach State Dirtbags product only has two hits in his last eight games after pushing his average to .298 in the middle of August. Duffy, 28, sat out the first four months of the season due to injury.
Evan Longoria is quietly having a very nice season for the San Fransisco Giants after many called his trade from the Tampa Bay Rays a bust. The former Dirtbag is hitting .259 with a .777 OPS in his 12th season in the majors. Longoria, 33, has 18 home runs and 61 RBIs in 113 games.
Bryan Shaw continues to struggle in the Colorado Rockies bullpen. The LBSU product blew his fifth save opportunity of the season last week in a 5-3 loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers. Shaw, 31, has a career-high 5.43 ERA this season.
Nick Vincent hasn’t had a great start with the Philadelphia Phillies after they called him up last month. The former Dirtbags pitcher blew the lead in back to back appearances last week as the Phillies race for one of the last playoff spots. Vincent, 33, has a 5.35 ERA this season in 23 appearances.
Jeff McNeil’s dream season with the New York Mets hit a road bump last month when the Long Beach State Dirtbags product went on the injured list with a hamstring. The utility player was leading the league in batting average for most of the summer, and is still hitting .325 despite struggling in his return to the lineup. McNeil had five hits his first seven games back off the IR. His on base percentage is still a solid .393 this season.
J.P. Crawford could make his return later this week after right hamstring injury had him on the IR. The Lakewood High alum and Seattle Mariners infielder is hitting .241 with 40 RBIs and six home runs in 79 games.
*Statistics thru Sept. 8
