AJ Pollock released by Giants

AJ Pollock, once an All-Star and Gold Glove winner, has been released by the San Fransisco Giants after spending most of his time with the team in Triple-A Sacramento, as reported by Jon Morosi.

The move isn't all that surprising with Mike Yastrzemski back in the lineup after nursing a hamstring injury. Pollock and Mark Mathias were acquired in a trade to help backfill the depth there in late July.

In six plate appearances with San Francisco, Pollock failed to register a hit or base at the big league level, striking out twice.

Since returning from injury, Yastrzemski has gone 2-for-15 with four walks, giving an on-base percentage of just below .400. His OPS is .835.

The Giants have a 35.8 percent chance of making the postseason according to Fangraphs' model afgter a shutout loss to the Cubs on Monday.

Cody Bellinger is playing through bumps and bruises

At the worst possible time, the Chicago Cubs star outfielder Cody Bellinger is dealing with what manager David Ross called "bumps and bruises" which is the reason he's been playing as the designated hitter the last two games rather than out in the field.

That's unideal, as the Cubs' playoff positioning is anything but guaranteed. They sit 2.5 games back of the lead in the NL Central as of Tuesday morning and, while they currently own a Wild Card spot, are engaged in a competitive race with several other teams on that front.

Wins mean everything right now, and while the Cubs have gotten contributions from everywhere recently, Bellinger has by far been their All-Star. He has the team's best batting average and slugging percentage.

The outfielder signed with Chicago this offseason on a one-year reputation reclamation contract. That has worked out swimmingly, with him proving his last few slump years with the Los Angeles Dodgers are firmly behind him.

Assuming the issues are just bumps and bruises like Ross said, that's fine for now. The Cubs need to hope that those bumps and bruises don't turn into anything worse. Bellinger is necessary down the stretch, and even moreso in the postseason if the Cubs hope to make any noise whatsoever.

Chicago's next off day is Thursday, Sep. 14.

Shohei Ohtani's agent speaks on the uncertainty of his upcoming surgery

On Sunday, it was reported that Shohei Ohtani was likely to be shut down for the season soon and look toward next year. Likely, that was going to involve surgery to repair his torn UCL. Commonly, Tommy John -- with its long recovery timeline -- was thought to be the route Ohtani would take.

That would preclude Ohtani from pitching next year, and it leaves some doubt about how long Ohtani can last as a true two-way player in the league as well, since Ohtani has now torn his UCL twice. The timing is particularly unfortunate, considering he's up for his next big contract this winter.

Following the early Sunday report, Ohtani experienced forearm tightness and was scratched from the Angels lineup. He was seen on video in pain taking a swing in batting practice.

It would not be a surprise if that's the end of the road on Ohtani's 2023 season.

Ohtani's agent explained that the UCL tear is at the base of the tendon, wheras the tear years ago was in a different spot, which is encouraging. His agent seems to think that will allow him to continue to be a two-way player, one of the key selling points for the star player this offseason.

The agent also acknowledged that Ohtani will do something to medically treat the UCL, but it's unclear if he'll go under the knife and get Tommy John or if he'll go another route.

On the NFL side, San Francisco 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy's UCL injury was repaired with InternalBrace, a surgery that repairs the UCL with a brace and tape that eventually dissolves away in the body. It drastically reduces recovery timelines, but no MLB pitcher has taken this route to repair a UCL.

ESPN suggested an infusion of stem cells could be considered for Ohtani as well, which is intended to promote the body's accelerated repairment of the tendon on its own.

This is an important step in Ohtani's free agency, as if there were indication the injury would motivate Ohtani to leave pitching behind, there would be reason to pay him less in free agency.