Bases Covered is a daily roundup of the most interesting stories in baseball.
More Moore
Rays left-handed pitcher Matt Moore is expected to make his first start for the big club next week—possibly on Wednesday versus Cleveland. Moore has been out of big-league action since April 2014, when he underwent Tommy John surgery. The 26-year-old was an All-Star in 2013 and has a career ERA of 3.53.
Back in business
On Tuesday Stephen Strasburg made his first start since a three-week run on the disabled list. The 26-year-old had been plagued by neck spasms, but you wouldn’t know it from watching him: Strasburg pitched five scoreless innings against Atlanta on Tuesday. “I wasn’t going to think about mechanics at all,” Strasburg said after the game. “I was just going to give it everything I had.”
Farmer’s hand
Detroit’s Justin Verlander will skip his scheduled start against Cleveland today. The 32-year-old is suffering from back stiffness and is expected to miss just one start. In his place, the Tigers have called up right-hander Buck Farmer (his real first name is George) from triple-A Toledo.
Burn it all to the ground
Should the White Sox be sellers come July? That’s the question being asked about the team with the worst record in the American League. Here’s an argument for why the team needs to go further than that: why they need to blow up their roster completely.
A Pedroia-led revolution
Red Sox second baseman Dustin Pedroia is special. While everyone else in MLB uses a standard bat, Pedroia employs one with an axe-shaped handle. And though it’s just him right now, those bats may someday be commonplace in the league.