Langley Blaze and Junior National Team alum Tyler O’Neill (Maple Ridge, B.C.) has returned to the Boston Red Sox lineup after a “scary” leg infection.

August 18, 2024

By Kevin Glew

Canadian Baseball Network

Some Canadian baseball news and notes:

-The leg infection that sidelined Tyler O’Neill (Maple Ridge, B.C.) was significantly more serious than initially reported. The Canadian slugger spent four days in Massachusetts General Hospital getting treatment for it. “I’m doing a lot better. Pretty scary for a couple of days,” O’Neill told the Boston Globe on Wednesday.” O’Neill shared with the Globe that he woke up on August 5 with swelling in his left leg. “I just woke up, my leg was blown up and totally unexpected, no idea how it happened,” O’Neill said. “Had to get on antibiotics right away, get on a drip for a little bit, and just thankful for everyone that was involved to help me get back on the right foot.” O’Neill, who had not played since August 2, resumed baseball activities on Wednesday, and returned to the Red Sox lineup on Saturday. Batting third, he went 2-for-4 with an RBI in the Sox 5-1 win over the Baltimore Orioles. In total in 81 games this season, the Langley Blaze and Junior National Team grad is hitting .272 with 22 home runs and a .901 OPS.

–Cade Smith (Abbotsford, B.C.) continues to excel out of the Cleveland Guardians’ bullpen. The American League Rookie of the Year candidate had three more scoreless relief outings this past week to lower his ERA to 1.98. In 58 big league appearances in 2024, the Junior National Team and Abbotsford Cardinals grad is 6-1 and has struck out 81 batters in 59 innings. He also recently donated the spikes he wore in his MLB debut on March 30 to the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame in St. Marys, Ont., for their collection (See photo below).

-Boston Red Sox right-hander Nick Pivetta (Victoria, B.C.) made his first start in 10 days on Thursday. The Canadian righty had been hit hard in his previous three starts (7.71 ERA) and the Red Sox were concerned about a drop in velocity in his fastball (from 94.1 mph to 91.9 mph in his last start). But he looked strong against the Baltimore Orioles on Thursday. With his fastball averaging 93.6 mph, he allowed three runs on three hits, while striking out six, in five innings. He took the loss, but both he and manager, Alex Cora, told reporters after the game they were encouraged by his performance. For the season, the Junior National Team alum is 5-8 with a 4.49 ERA in 19 starts and has 123 strikeouts in 100 1/3 innings.

-Similar to what the Red Sox did with Pivetta, the Colorado Rockies skipped a turn in the rotation for Cal Quantrill (Port Hope, Ont.) while he was suffering from forearm soreness. Ten days after his previous start, the Canuck righty took the hill for the Rockies on Friday against the San Diego Padres and permitted three runs on six hits in five innings, while striking out five, to earn his eighth win of the season. The Ontario Terriers and Junior National Team alum leads all Canadian pitchers in starts (24) and innings pitched (127 1/3) this season.

-Chicago White Sox right-hander Michael Soroka (Calgary, Alta.), who has been on the 15-day injured list with a shoulder strain since July 19, threw a “15-pitch all-fastball BP” on Tuesday, according to James Fegan of Baseball America. There is still no timetable for his return. To say Soroka has had a challenging season is an understatement. His record is 0-10, but for the most part, he had been excellent out of the bullpen for the Sox after beginning the season in the rotation. As a reliever, Soroka owns a 3.49 ERA in 12 relief appearances and has 47 strikeouts in 28 1/3 innings. A graduate of the Calgary Redbirds and Junior National Team, Soroka was a first-round pick (28th overall) of the Atlanta Braves in 2015. He has pitched in parts of five major league seasons.

Junior National team alum Edouard Julien (Quebec, Que.) was recalled by the Minnesota Twins on Friday.

-The Minnesota Twins recalled Edouard Julien (Quebec, Que.) on Friday. He has since started at second base in the Twins’ last two games and has gone 1-for-6. This represents the second time the left-handed hitting infielder has been called up since his initial demotion to the triple-A St. Paul Saints on June 2. In 65 games with the Twins this season, the Junior National Team grad is hitting .203 with seven home runs and 17 RBIs. With St. Paul, he has registered a .395 on-base percentage (OBP) with seven home runs in 49 contests. The Twins are hoping Julien can rediscover the form that made him one of the American League’s top rookies in 2023. In 109 regular season contests with the Twins last year, Julien set a record for most home runs by a Canadian second baseman in a major league season with 16. He also topped Twins’ regulars in walks (64) and OBP (.381).

-The Los Angeles Angels sent infielder Charles Leblanc (Laval, Que.) back down to the triple-A Salt Lake Bees on August 9 after he went 1-for-6 with a walk in two big league games. With the Bees this season, Leblanc is batting .262 with a .388 OBP with 12 home runs and 50 RBIs in 87 games. Prior to his stint with the Angels, Leblanc last played in the big leagues with the Marlins in 2022 when he batted .263 with four home runs and 11 RBIs in 48 contests. The 28-year-old ABC alum spent the 2023 campaign with the Marlins’ triple-A Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp.

-It was 47 years ago today that the Pittsburgh Pirates signed outfielder Doug Frobel (Ottawa, Ont.) as an amateur free agent. Once considered the heir apparent to Dave Parker in right field for the Pirates, the left-handed hitting Canadian batted .201 with 109 hits, including 21 doubles and 20 home runs, in 268 games over parts of five major league seasons with the Pirates and Montreal Expos.

-On this day 29 years ago, Tom Henke recorded his 300th major league save when he tossed the final inning and a third for the St. Louis Cardinals in their 4-3 win over the Atlanta Braves (Watch it above). At the time, he was just the sixth MLB reliever to reach that milestone. It was his 25th save of the season for the Cardinals. Of course, 217 of those saves came with the Toronto Blue Jays, which remains a franchise record.

-And finally, it was 37 years ago today that the Blue Jays signed Montreal native Denis Boucher as an amateur free agent. The Canadian left-hander would pitch in parts of four seasons in the Blue Jays’ minor league system prior to making his big-league debut on April 12, 1991. He registered a 4.58 ERA in seven starts for the Blue Jays before he was dealt to Cleveland on June 27, 1991 with Mark Whiten and Glenallen Hill for Tom Candiotti and Turner Ward. Boucher pitched eight games for Cleveland in 1992 before landing with the Montreal Expos in 1993, where he posted a 3-1 record and a 1.91 ERA in five starts. He made 10 more appearances for the Expos in 1994.

BWDIK: Henke, Julien, O'Neill, Pivetta, Quantrill, Smith