The Dodgers seem to be vulnerable right now. The Cubs are surging and I think they'll eventually be the NL Central Division champs. As of right now I think they're biggest threat to the Dodgers winning the NL pennant that everyone just assumes the Dodgers are going to cruise to.
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Free-agent right-hander Jhoulys Chacin conducted a workout with the Red Sox on Friday, Michael Silverman of the Boston Herald reports. President of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski and manager Alex Cora were on hand to watch Chacin throw a bullpen session in Anaheim, but it’s unknown whether Boston will sign the hurler.
Chacin has been available since the Brewers released him Monday, which was an especially damning transaction when considering the adversity their rotation has gone through this season. After back-to-back quality seasons with the Padres and Brewers, Chacin dealt with multiple injuries and struggled to a 5.79 ERA/5.68 FIP with 8.12 K/9 and 3.86 BB/9 in 19 starts and 88 2/3 innings this year. The Brewers elected to cut ties with Chacin as a result, even though they’re short on viable starters and had to eat the rest of his $6MM salary in releasing him.
The Red Sox are also in dire straits in their rotation, leading to their interest in Chacin. They’re likely to go without injured ace Chris Sale for the rest of the year, while David Price (nearing activation from the IL), Nathan Eovaldi and Rick Porcello haven’t given the team the type of production it expected entering the campaign. Thanks in part to their starting staff’s issues, the defending champion Red Sox are a strong bet to miss the playoffs. Nevertheless, they could take a late-season flier on Chacin, who has a fan in Sox scout Steve Peck, according to Silverman. The club worked out Chacin at Peck’s recommendation.Comment -
Brewers are done, stick a fork in them.Comment -
Where did the season go..can't believe it's the last full month...Comment -
The words “bulging cervical disc” are likely to produce a wince from even the most stoic of readers, but it seems that Mets outfielder Brandon Nimmo has managed that exact injury well enough to make a return to playing baseball in the coming days. Per Deesha Thosar of the New York Daily News, it seems that Nimmo, who hasn’t appeared with the Metropolitans since mid-May, could rejoin the team as soon as tomorrow according to manager Mickey Callaway (link). After a brilliant 2018 in which the 26-year-old slashed .263/.404/.483 with a 149 wRC+, Nimmo was expected to be a large part of New York’s playoff push; instead, his injury largely opened the door for an emergent J.D. Davis, who has more than helped account for Nimmo’s absence with a 131 wRC+ in 374 trips to the plate this year.
Still, fellow Mets outfielder Michael Conforto is excited about Nimmo’s return: “He can be a gamechanger,” Conforto told Thosar. “He gets on base and there are days where he just doesn’t get out. If he’s feeling 100% healthy, he’ll be a serious weapon for us.”
More notes from around the National League on the last day of August…
- The Phillies were just 3.0 games back in the NL Wild Card race entering play Saturday, but the team can count out three of their pitchers for the rest of the year. According to a tweet from Todd Zolecki of MLB.com (link), Philadelphia hurlers Seranthony Dominguez (elbow soreness), Adam Morgan (elbow), and Pat Neshek (hamstring) will all be held out through season’s end. None of these pitchers have appeared in August action; all were expected to be key contributors to the Philadelphia staff this year, which helps explain how the Phillies pen has struggled to a collective 4.70 ERA on the year (20th in MLB).
- San Diego Union-Tribune writer Kevin Acee says it “sounds like” the Padres are set to promote relief prospect Javy Guerra when rosters expand tomorrow (link). That a 23-year-old Double-A reliever would receive a September cup of coffee on a losing team is hardly an earth-shattering development–except for the circuitous route that Guerra has taken to this point. When the club acquired Guerra in 2015 as part of the Craig Kimbrel deal, he was seen as the second key piece in a four-player package headlined by outfielder Manuel Margot. Of course, Guerra was a shortstop at the time–and one highly touted enough to slot in immediately as San Diego’s third-ranked overall prospect following the deal. Several years of putrid offensive production followed before Guerra finally started pitching full-time this season. Early results are promising: his first taste High-A yielded a 3.71 ERA and 12.18 K/9, and Double-A results through 4.1 innings included a 2.08 ERA and 14.54 K/9 mark.
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Giants' reliever Moronta exits with shoulder injury
SAN FRANCISCO -- San Francisco Giants right-hander Reyes Moronta will undergo an MRI on his throwing shoulder after leaving Saturday night's 4-1 loss to the San Diego Padres.
Manager Bruce Bochy said after the game that Moronta suffered an acute shoulder strain.
Moronta fell off the mound and writhed on the grass after throwing a 98-mph fastball to Luis Urias on his third pitch. The reliever delivered a swinging strike, but recoiled with a yell before dropping to the ground. He held his right arm gingerly as he walked off with the help of a trainer.
The 26-year-old came into the game in relief of rookie Logan Webb with two outs in the sixth inning.
"There's no question there's concern. We have to wait for the [MRI] results though,'' Bochy said. "It's a tough break for Reyes. He's one of our guys and I'm sure he's going to be down for a while.''
Moronta was 3-7 with a 2.86 ERA in 55 relief appearances entering Saturday. The second-year player has 70 strikeouts in 56⅔ innings.
Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.Comment -
I knew the Twins would fade despite their fancy HR record.Comment -
Twins aren’t done yet, they can hit bombs.Comment -
What's up with these posts saying the Twins are done?
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Indians 5 games behind TwinsComment -
The Dodgers are calling up star prospect Gavin Lux, manager Dave Roberts told reporters (including Jorge Castillo of the Los Angeles Times). Lux will make his MLB debut tomorrow, starting at second base for the NL West leaders.
Max Muncy’s wrist fracture could have been the catalyst for the beginning of Lux’s time with the Dodgers, as Roberts said at the time that the club would “be more aggressive” with its September promotions if Muncy’s injury proved to be serious. While Muncy is only expected to miss around two weeks with his relatively minor fracture, that was still enough for L.A. to decide that more depth was required at second base.
Of course, it’s not as if Lux himself didn’t do everything he could to force the Dodgers’ hand. Lux has been nothing short of spectacular at Triple-A Oklahoma City this season, hitting .392/.478/.719 with 13 homers over 232 plate appearances. Even accounting for the extremely hitter-friendly conditions of the Pacific Coast League, the numbers were still astounding, and far from out of nowhere given Lux’s already-strong prospect status.
Selected as the 20th overall pick of the 2016 draft, Lux appeared on top-100 prospect lists (ranked 40th by Baseball America, 70th by MLB.com) prior to this season and zoomed up the various rankings as he continued to shred Triple-A pitching — the updated midseason ratings from Fangraphs, MLB.com, and BA all list Lux as the ninth-best prospect in baseball. As cited by the Fangraphs and MLB.com scouting reports, Lux’s hitting potential has been unlocked in the minors (even prior to 2019) by a number of swing changes, including more lift in his swing, as well as incorporating his hands and legs into his action at the plate.
Lux has played the majority of his games as a shortstop, but he also saw a lot of action at second base in preparation for fit into the lineup alongside stalwart Corey Seager in Los Angeles. It’s safe to assume that Lux will get the bulk of time down the stretch, as the Dodgers have the NL West long since wrapped up, and are now merely making adjustments for the playoffs. It certainly isn’t out of the question that Lux could force his way onto the postseason roster if he plays well in September, giving the Dodgers an embarrassment of depth once Muncy returns to their already-stacked roster.
Seager, Cody Bellinger, Justin Turner, and rookie catcher Will Smith look to be the only true everyday players on a Dodgers team that prizes versatility. A.J. Pollock is more or less the regular center fielder and Muncy will presumbly return to regular duty at second or first base when he returns. Beyond those names, Los Angeles boasts the likes of Chris Taylor, Joc Pederson, Enrique Hernandez, Matt Beaty, David Freese, the currently-injured Alex Verdugo, Jedd Gyorko, Kristopher Negron, and now Lux to rotate into the starting lineup and as late-game subs to maximize their chances in various matchups.
Beyond just what Lux can do this season, of course, he also represents a major building block for the future. The Dodgers resisted all trade offers for Lux both this season and in past years, and it’s fair to guess that L.A. has him penciled in at second base for years to come.Comment -
Unbelieveable comeback by the Yankees today. I thought I'd hit at least one ML dog with the A's after they went up 4-0 in the 7th but nope that Yankee offense found a way to come back.
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Yeah the A's have a good team but their bullpen is shit. That will get them bounced yet again in the playoffs.Comment -
Thought the A's would handle business. Still lost as was on Yankees -1.5Comment -
Cubs/Nats wild card game would be interesting.Comment -
Yes it would! I’m hoping it is Cards/Nats.Comment -
Yankees are hitting their stride right nowComment -
Taking a shot with the Reds today .
GLComment -
As long as the Twins keep hitting home runs they will be ok.Comment -
Minor leaguer dies from skateboarding accident
Chace Numata, a minor-league catcher in the Detroit Tigers' organization, died Monday from injuries suffered last week in a skateboarding accident. He was 27.
Police found Numata early Friday morning in downtown Erie, Pennsylvania. He was bleeding from his head, according to multiple reports, and was taken to a hospital.
The Tigers said in a statement that Numata, a Hawaii native who has also played in the Phillies and Yankees organizations, "was beloved by many from our Major League club through all levels of our player development system."
Numata signed a minor-league deal with the Tigers last November and played 71 games this season for the Double-A Erie SeaWolves.
"The Erie SeaWolves are heartbroken and deeply saddened by the passing of Chace Numata," SeaWolves owner Fernando Aguirre said in a statement. "Chace was a leader, an outstanding teammate, a friend to many, and his personality was positive and infectious. He made everyone he met feel welcome, and he had a very positive impact throughout the SeaWolves organization and the Erie community."Comment -
Took the Dodgers tonight. WoohooComment -
Syndergaard pick him I lose....Bet against him I lose.....one of those pitchers for me.... Comment -
So close to October baseball, can’t wait!!Comment
the rockies are in freefall .