MLB News & Rumors: Dustin May Out, Ivan Nova Looking For A New Team, Pioneer League

Yes, it is still very early in the 2021 MLB season, but even with that in mind, it is still fun to see that there are not really any teams running away with their division at this current time. That, of course, may well change as the season progresses, but it’s still nice to enjoy tight divisional battles for as long as it lasts. One thing that could potentially change things is injuries to key players. Unfortunately, our first piece of news this week concerns injury concerns for a World Series contender. We will get to that, as well as other news and rumors out there right now so you can continue making your bets against their MLB odds.

Latest 2021 MLB Betting News & Rumors May 4th Edition

We have to start with some news that broke late Monday afternoon, with word coming out of the LA Dodgers camp saying that pitcher Dustin May will be out the rest of the season and will require Tommy John surgery. There were immediate concerns about the health of May after he was forced to leave the game on Saturday in the second inning after experiencing pain in his throwing arm. The news is about as bad as it gets, as it looks as though he may also miss a good portion of next season, as well as the remainder of this one.

From one pitcher out through injury, we turn to another now looking for work after being released. That player would be former Yankees pitcher, Ivan Nova, who was cut by the Colorado Rockies a mere two weeks after signing with them. Nova started this year with the Phillies, but he was cut after posting a 7.30 ERA through 5 games in spring training. We can only guess that he was unable to impress in Colorado in training sessions, as he never even made it to the mound in the short time that he was there.

Speaking of the Rockies, last week we spoke about the parting of ways with GM Jeff Bridich. This week, it seems as though they have come up with a replacement, albeit a temporary one. From the beginning, the feeling was that the Rockies were going to look within their organization to find an interim GM for the remainder of the year, which is exactly what they have done. Colorado announced that their vice-president of scouting, Bill Schmidt, would assume the role for the remainder of the season. Schmidt has been with the ball club since 1999.

You look at all major sports organizations and you see that they are all constantly trying to find ways to improve the game to make it better for players and fans alike. May it be that we see a change to the current format of extra innings when a game ends in a tie? It is too soon to say, but the Pioneer League is going to be testing a home run derby in place of extra innings. Apparently, the did not seek approval from the MLB, so this is not necessarily something that might ever make its way to the big league. It will be fun to see how it looks in a game, though.

I have read enough, I need to place my bet now. What to do?