The 2019 Major League Baseball Player Chatter, News and Fantasy Thread.

[Chi_archie]

Bailey has been and always will be a straight bum

he's been good in June and July so maybe he's figured something out

new scenary always seems to have a good effect on pitchers

[Stallion]

He still sucks, new scenery or not.

[JaimeMiro]

Rockies games nearly always over 1.5 first inning. Giants with 5

[JMobile]

You can't go wrong with Kershaw on the mound.

[batt33]

Giants/ rockies on a double dip tomorrow..... overs?

how about that! a sweeper...for the Giants

[mr. leisure]

C`mon Angels , pull this game out tonight .

[jrgum3]

how about that! a sweeper...for the Giants

Don’t look now but our Giants are only 3 games back in the Wild card race who would’ve thunk it?

[EmpireMaker]

The Cubs have acquired catcher Martin Maldonado from the Royals, Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic tweets. Left-hander Mike Montgomery’s going to Kansas City in the swap, Mark Feinsand of MLB.com reports. The teams have confirmed the trade.

With Willson Contreras and Victor Caratini having combined to offer excellent behind-the-plate production in 2019, the Cubs don’t look like a fit for Maldonado on paper. However, Conteras is heading to the injured list with a strain of the arch muscle on his right foot, Sahadev Sharma of The Athletic was among those to report. The Cubs don’t expect Contreras to need longer than the minimum 10-day IL stint, Sharma adds.
Playoff-contending Chicago’s getting a capable stopgap in Maldonado, whom it showed interest in during the offseason. Maldonado chose against signing with the Cubs over the winter because he wanted to join a team that would offer him more playing time than he’d have gotten in Chicago. It proved to be a wise decision on Maldonado’s part. With Salvador Perez out for 2019, the 32-year-old Maldonado ultimately became Kansas City’s primary catcher after signing for $2.5MM guarantee a few weeks before the season.
Long known as a tremendous defender with a questionable bat, Maldonado lived up to his reputation with the Royals. In 261 plate appearances in KC, Maldonado hit .224/.288/.359 (71 wRC+) with six home runs. On the other end, he threw out an above-average 33 percent of would-be base stealers and earned quality reviews from Baseball Prospectus’ Fielding Runs Above Average metric.
In exchange for Maldonado, a soon-to-be free agent, the out-of-contention Royals are getting two-plus years of control over Montgomery. A swingman for most of his career and a full-time reliever this year, Montgomery, 30, will slot into the Royals’ rotation immediately, Jeffrey Flanagan of MLB.com tweets. He’ll also rejoin the organization that spent a first-round pick on him in 2008. Four years later, the Royals traded Montgomery to the Rays in a blockbuster that also included James Shields, Wade Davis, Wil Myers and Jake Odorizzi.

Montgomery never pitched for the Rays, instead joining the Mariners in a swap in 2015 – the year he made his major league debut. He lasted with the Mariners for approximately a season and a half, going to the Cubs in July 2016 in yet another deal. A few months later, Montgomery earned the save in the Cubs’ historic Game 7 World Series win over the Indians.
Montgomery was effective even before his career-defining moment in ’16 and has largely fared well since, but his numbers have taken a significant turn for the worse this year. He logged a woeful 5.67 ERA/6.21 FIP with 6.0 K/9, 4.33 BB/9 and a 43.3 percent groundball rate over 27 innings in his final season with the Cubs.
Overall, Montgomery has pitched to a far better 3.72 ERA/4.21 FIP with 6.87 K/9, 3.47 BB/9 and a 53.9 percent grounder rate across 167 appearances and 56 starts in the majors. The Royals will hope he puts up numbers more in line with his lifetime marks as a member of their rotation, which lost veteran Homer Bailey in a trade with the Athletics on Sunday.
Meanwhile, the Cubs had already been in search of a left-handed reliever before trading Montgomery. Therefore, this deal could further put the onus on president of baseball operations Theo Epstein to acquire a southpaw by the July 31 deadline. With Montgomery on a $2.44MM salary this year, the Cubs added a small amount of payroll in this swap.

[Otters27]

Rockies pitcher sucked ass today. In the first game

[ApricotSinner32]

Man them yankees dunked me yesterday pricks!!!

[JAKEPEAVY21]

Rockies pitcher sucked ass today. In the first game

giants are playing some solid ball and putting up a lot of runs

[JaimeMiro]

Rockies pitcher sucked ass today. In the first game

2-19; normally you'd expect the Rockies to be on the opposite end of that or lose 13 - 11

[stevenash]

Man them yankees dunked me yesterday pricks!!!

Seems like they’ve forgotten how to score.
i got screwed on the total last night. Total was nine, 4-2 In the eighth, they give up three and lose 5-4,
sure fire winner turns into a push.

[JAKEPEAVY21]

https://www.mlb.com/video/mlb-tonight-byrnes-on-tatis-jr

Eric Byrnes waxes poetic about Tatis Jr in this clip...calls him the best talent in MLB since Mike Trout, the best base runner currently in MLB and Javy Baez with more talent and better skills across the board.

I've been trying to convey to you guys how special this kid is but it is hard to realize until you watch him play for an extended period of time. It's just a matter of time until the world realizes how good he is.

[dudekid]

I had chapman in fantasy as well as paxton, total meltdown cost me all kinds of shit

[koz-man]

Trout day-to-day after MRI shows calf strain

An MRI on Monday revealed that outfielder Mike Trout has a small strain in his right calf, and the Los Angeles Angels said their All-Star remains day-to-day.

Trout experienced soreness in his calf early in Sunday's 6-3 win over the Seattle Mariners, and he was removed to begin the third inning. He lobbied to remain in the game, but the team opted to exercise caution.

"I don't think it's a big deal," Trout said Sunday. He remained out of the lineup for Monday's game against the Houston Astros.

Trout is batting .305/.455/.666, putting him on a pace to capture his third MVP trophy. He's 12-for-32 with eight home runs in nine games this month.

ESPN's Alden Gonzalez contributed to this report.

[Chi_archie]

Trout day-to-day after MRI shows calf strain

An MRI on Monday revealed that outfielder Mike Trout has a small strain in his right calf, and the Los Angeles Angels said their All-Star remains day-to-day.

Trout experienced soreness in his calf early in Sunday's 6-3 win over the Seattle Mariners, and he was removed to begin the third inning. He lobbied to remain in the game, but the team opted to exercise caution.

"I don't think it's a big deal," Trout said Sunday. He remained out of the lineup for Monday's game against the Houston Astros.

Trout is batting .305/.455/.666, putting him on a pace to capture his third MVP trophy. He's 12-for-32 with eight home runs in nine games this month.

ESPN's Alden Gonzalez contributed to this report.

just in a white hot streak

[Stallion]

Fade LAA with Trout out??

[JMobile]

Fade the Brew Crew.

[BigSpoon]

https://www.mlb.com/video/mlb-tonigh...es-on-tatis-jr

Eric Byrnes waxes poetic about Tatis Jr in this clip...calls him the best talent in MLB since Mike Trout, the best base runner currently in MLB and Javy Baez with more talent and better skills across the board.

I've been trying to convey to you guys how special this kid is but it is hard to realize until you watch him play for an extended period of time. It's just a matter of time until the world realizes how good he is.

Like Trout its hard to follow him on the East coast Jake.

[stevenash]

Travis d'Arnaud hit three taters last nigh.
How come the Mets can't get catchers like that?

[Cross]

I wish I could watch more Tatis.

[hotcross]

Travis d'Arnaud hit three taters last nigh.
How come the Mets can't get catchers like that?

0-4 the following night

[batt33]

Don’t look now but our Giants are only 3 games back in the Wild card race who would’ve thunk it?

I was just hoping the could string a couple of wins together after they played so poorly for the majority of the first half.......with the way the are playing and how loose everyone is in the dugout... a little"what if" starts to creep in. Tonight....they give up 3 in the bottom of the 9th(Will Smith telling other teams you dont want me)and show the resilience to come back. Earlier this year I would have turned off the tv and went to bed. Even though they are still way back..atleast it's a little fun now......

[jrgum3]

Giants have proven they can win on the road in two hitters parks on this road trip but they need to keep it going against the Metropolitans when they come back home. Maybe they stand pat at the deadline if they don’t like the offers for some of their trade chips. Then again they may decide 6 teams is a lot to overcome and still sell at the deadline. I’m not sure what I would do if I were their GM with the way they’re playing right now.

[EmpireMaker]

Trade Candidates: Top 5 Starters By K/BB Ratio

By Connor Byrne | July 16, 2019 at 6:50pm CDT
If you’re a pitcher, there aren’t many more important skills than racking up strikeouts and limiting walks. The on-the-block starters who have been adept in both categories in 2019 figure to be among the players who garner the most interest from other teams leading up to the July 31 trade deadline. With help from the trade candidates list MLBTR’s Jeff Todd and Steve Adams assembled last week, here’s a look at the five qualified, potentially movable starters who have stood out more than the rest in the K/BB department this year…
Zack Greinke, RHP, Diamondbacks: K/BB ratio: 7.13

• Even though he’s 35 years old and has a fastball that clocks in just below 90 mph, Greinke remains one of the majors’ preeminent starters. Greinke has fanned 8.02 batters per nine this year and walked a paltry 1.13, helping him to a 2.95 ERA/3.20 FIP across 128 frames. Plus, in a game where home runs are becoming more prevalent, Greinke has yielded under one per nine. If the Diamondbacks go into sell mode, Greinke is theoretically someone who’d draw plenty of interest. However, his contract could serve as a major roadblock. Not only is Greinke owed roughly $79MM through 2021, but his partial no-trade clause gives him the right to say no to 15 teams.

Matthew Boyd, LHP, Tigers: K/BB ratio: 6.33

• A glance at Boyd’s MLBTR page shows no shortage of teams in pursuit of the breakout 28-year-old, who has evolved into a K/BB master this season. Boyd has struck out 12 per nine and issued just 1.89 BB/9 at the same time, though a low groundball percentage (37.1) has played in a part in recent difficulties preventing home runs. Boyd has allowed 10 in seven starts dating back to the beginning of June, when he owned a 3.01 ERA. He has now posted a 3.95 mark in 114 innings this year, albeit with a 3.47 FIP/3.35 xFIP and the majors’ 11th-highest swinging-strike rate (14 percent). Considering Boyd’s 2019 production, his $2.6MM salary and his three remaining seasons of arbitration control, it’s no wonder teams are lining up for him.

Jacob deGrom, RHP, Mets: K/BB ratio: 5.14

• Despite their awful 42-51 record, the Mets probably aren’t going to trade deGrom, the reigning NL Cy Young winner whom they signed to a four-year, $120.5MM extension entering the season. The 31-year-old hasn’t been the otherworldly force he was in 2018, but that’s far more of a compliment to his work a season ago than a knock on what he has done in 2019. To this point, deGrom has pitched to a sparkling 3.21 ERA/3.12 FIP with 11.27 K/9 and 2.19 BB/9 over 115 innings. Should the Mets at least consider trading him? Many of you think so, but general manager Brodie Van Wagenen’s unlikely to pull the trigger.

Madison Bumgarner, LHP, Giants: K/BB ratio: 4.84

• It’s true Bumgarner isn’t the ace he was in his halcyon days, but the 29-year-old’s K/9 (9.33) and BB/9 (1.93 BB/9) are befitting of a front-line arm. His 3.86 ERA and 3.80 FIP tell another story, though they’re certainly not subpar. The multi-time playoff hero has drawn tons of interest in advance of the deadline, and is likely the top rental starter in the rumor mill. For a while, Bumgarner has looked like a surefire trade candidate for the Giants, but a recent hot streak has put them just three games back in the National League’s wide-open wild-card race. Still, odds are that they’ll move Bumgarner for a solid return in the next two weeks.

Mike Leake, RHP, Mariners: K/BB ratio: 4.72

• Leake’s inclusion on this list comes as a surprise in light of the other hurlers on it, and he’s definitely not part of it because of an impressive strikeout total. To the contrary, Leake has fanned a meager 6.63 batters per nine over 115 1/3 frames. On the other hand, his 1.4 BB/9 is outstanding. The same can’t be said for Leake’s 4.60 ERA/4.99 FIP or his 88.2 mph average fastball velocity, though. As a back-end starter who’s owed the balance of $36MM through 2020 (including $9MM from his prior team, the Cardinals, and a $5MM buyout in 2021), there isn’t much trade value here despite Leake’s placement in this top five.

[Chi_archie]

Travis d'Arnaud hit three taters last nigh.
How come the Mets can't get catchers like that?

Impressive

[dudekid]

I am a huge Matt Boyd fan, whatever team lands him is making out big. Guy is a horse, eats up innings, keeps the walks down, and is a punchout machine

[JAKEPEAVY21]

Padres pitching has been pretty bad lately

[Stallion]

The Blue Jay's pitching is always terrible.

[Otters27]

Lots of immediate blowouts since all star break

[koz-man]

Phillies' Bruce to have MRI on strained oblique


PHILADELPHIA -- Phillies left fielder Jay Bruce left Tuesday night's game against the Dodgers in the third inning with a right oblique strain.

Bruce appeared to get hurt on a checked swing. He grabbed his side and departed after a trainer came out to see him.

He will have an MRI on Wednesday.

The Phillies have already lost two of their original starting outfielders. Andrew McCutchen tore his ACL on June 3, and Odubel Herrera was suspended for the rest of the season under Major League Baseball's domestic violence policy. Herrera had been struggling at the plate and was benched before his arrest on domestic assault charges. The charges against Herrera in Atlantic City, New Jersey, were dismissed earlier this month.

Bruce is batting .230 with 24 homers and 57 RBIs with the Phillies and Mariners. He was acquired from Seattle on June 2.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

[BigSpoon]

The Blue Jay's pitching is always terrible.

Going to get much worse once Stroman gets traded.

[stevenash]

Here's a BvP stat to keep an eye on this afternoon
Nelson Cruz vs. Jason Vargas: 42 PA, .364/.476/.879, 5 HR

You think Cruz owns Vargas or what?
5 dingers in 42 plate appearances (33 AB 12 HITS and as mentioned 5 of those hits being long balls)
If chicks dig the long ball than Cruz's rooster must be mighty sore and raw, don't you know?

[JMobile]

Slow game in Philli