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

[stevenash]

It's great that Bochy has a little coaching left to do....hopefully instead of waiting for the end of the season...at least for now

I live for these pitching duels.
I was awake until the last out (2:33 am here on the east coast)
And here I am at 1:04 am watching another pitchers duel that might go 16 innings yet again.

Holy shit, Smith dropped the ball, hell of a way to lose a game.
I don't care what you say, if you are a major league ball player you have to make that catch 100 times out of 100, not 99 times out of 100.
So far this week I've seen pop ups dropped in the infield, this gaffe in the outfield, and pull hitters that ground out into the shift all the time.
If you are an infielder you catch pop ups, if you are an outfielder you make catches, and if you are a dead pull hitter you learn how to go opposite field or drop a bunt where the shift ain't.

God forbid deGrom and Syndegaard get some run support.
Jacob's line 7 IP 0 runs earned 3 hits allowed and 10 K's.
He only gets 3.8 runs per start in run support, is it any wonder the guy is only 5 and 7 in 19 starts.
5 and 7 with a 1.11 WH/IP and a 3.02 ERA should get you 12-14 wins by now, not 5.
The Mets two aces threw back to back stellar gems with both getting no decision losses.

Yes, Bochy is my kind of manager too.

[EmpireMaker]

Diamondbacks righty Jon Duplantier is back from the injured list, but he’s not heading onto the MLB roster. He’ll be optioned back to Triple-A, as MLB.com’s Steve Gilbert tweets. It’s good to see that he’s ready to get back to action already. When Duplantier hit the shelf in mid-June with shoulder inflammation, there was at least some fear of a reasonably significant injury. In his first 25 frames of MLB action, the now-25-year-old worked to a 4.32 ERA with 24 strikeouts and nine walks.

• After a brief run in their rotation, righty Jesse Chavez has returned to the Rangers’ bullpen, Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News reports on Twitter. The club will recall lefty Joe Palumbo from Triple-A Nashville to start Monday in Seattle. Chavez is coming off three straight starts in which he yielded at least four earned runs, and his outing against Arizona on Wednesday was especially grisly. Chavez coughed up seven earned runs on five hits and a walk in two-thirds of an inning.
• The Dodgers announced Friday that reliever Dylan Floro has been placed on the 10-day injured list with neck inflammation. He’s replaced by fellow righty Casey Sadler. Injury aside, Floro has been one of several Dodgers relievers to take steps back since last season. Floro combined for a 2.25 ERA and a 55.1 percent groundball rate in 64 innings between LA and Cincinnati in 2018, but he’s at 4.11 and 51.9 in those categories across 35 frames this year. While Floro has walked fewer hitters, his strikeout and home run rates have gone in the wrong direction.
• Mariners reliever Hunter Strickland is on track for potential activation next weekend, per MLB.com’s Daniel Kramer (via Twitter). He’ll first need to make it through three rehab appearances at Triple-A, but it’s good news for the 30-year-old reliever, who has been sidelined for a long stretch with a lat injury. Strickland had been slated to serve as the Seattle closer until going on the IL on March 30 with a right lat strain.

[EmpireMaker]

The Padres are bringing young infielder Luis Urias back onto the active roster, according to Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union-Tribune (via Twitter). He had been at Triple-A since a brief, early-season stint. The corresponding roster move isn’t yet known.
Many fans would’ve preferred to see Urias spending more time in the majors at an earlier point. Indeed, it came as no small surprise that he did not open the year on the active roster. An offseason call to sign Ian Kinsler combined with the undeniable rise of Fernando Tatis Jr. conspired to force Urias back to the upper minors.
While he scuffled in a brief MLB showing and during his even shorter stint this year, Urias remains a highly touted prospect. Indeed, the 22-year-old has raised his stock with a strong output this year with El Paso. Over 339 plate appearances, he carries a .315/.398/.600 batting line with 19 home runs. Even in the offensively favorable context he’s playing in, that’s a notable power breakout.
Better still, Urias hasn’t been forced to sacrifice other aspects of his game to generate the pop. That .398 OBP? Remarkably, it’s precisely the same mark he posted in each of his two prior minor-league campaigns. The difference is that he has steadily increased his slugging output from .380 to .447 to this year’s eyebrow-raising .600 level.
Entering the season, Urias had accrued 34 days of MLB service. He spent another 13 days up in 2019 before the forthcoming promotion. If he stays up with the San Diego club after joining it tomorrow, Urias can tack on another 72 days down the stretch. In total, then, he cannot finish the present season with no more than 119 total days of service — a number that will almost certainly not be enough to allow him to qualify for an extra season of arbitration eligibility as a Super Two player.

[EmpireMaker]

The Padres will promote Double-A left-hander Adrian Morejon to the majors Saturday, Dennis Lin of The Athletic reports. The club’s 40-man roster is full, so it will need to make a corresponding move to clear a spot for Morejon.
Now 20, Morejon is three years removed from joining the Padres for a whopping $11MM bonus as an international free agent out of Cuba. Morejon has been somewhat injury plagued since signing that deal, ESPN’s Keith Law recently noted (subscription required), yet he’s still considered one of the game’s most exciting farmhands. Both Baseball America (No. 46) and MLB.com (No. 49) rank Morejon among the majors’ 50 best prospects. In their free scouting report, Jim Callis and Jonathan Mayo of MLB.com laud Morejon’s arsenal – which includes a mid- to high-90s fastball, two above-average kinds of changeups and a curveball – and add he could become a mid-rotation starter or better in the majors.
Morejon will work out of the bullpen in his first major league action, according to Lin, as he’s not stretched out to start in the bigs at this juncture. He has combined for just 36 innings in 16 appearances this year at the Double-A level, where he has posted a 4.25 ERA/3.69 FIP with 11.0 K/9, 3.75 BB/9 and a 50.6 percent groundball rate.
Morejon’s presence will give the slumping Padres a second lefty reliever to join Matt Strahm in a righty-heavy relief setup. In the event he stays up through the season, Morejon will accrue 71 days of service time.

[JaimeMiro]

Let down huge by the Red Sox today...

[Chi_archie]

The Padres will promote Double-A left-hander Adrian Morejon to the majors Saturday, Dennis Lin of The Athletic reports. The club’s 40-man roster is full, so it will need to make a corresponding move to clear a spot for Morejon.
Now 20, Morejon is three years removed from joining the Padres for a whopping $11MM bonus as an international free agent out of Cuba. Morejon has been somewhat injury plagued since signing that deal, ESPN’s Keith Law recently noted (subscription required), yet he’s still considered one of the game’s most exciting farmhands. Both Baseball America (No. 46) and MLB.com (No. 49) rank Morejon among the majors’ 50 best prospects. In their free scouting report, Jim Callis and Jonathan Mayo of MLB.com laud Morejon’s arsenal – which includes a mid- to high-90s fastball, two above-average kinds of changeups and a curveball – and add he could become a mid-rotation starter or better in the majors.
Morejon will work out of the bullpen in his first major league action, according to Lin, as he’s not stretched out to start in the bigs at this juncture. He has combined for just 36 innings in 16 appearances this year at the Double-A level, where he has posted a 4.25 ERA/3.69 FIP with 11.0 K/9, 3.75 BB/9 and a 50.6 percent groundball rate.
Morejon’s presence will give the slumping Padres a second lefty reliever to join Matt Strahm in a righty-heavy relief setup. In the event he stays up through the season, Morejon will accrue 71 days of service time.

let's see what Morejon has

[dudekid]

Almost streamed Leake yesterday too, dammit

[JAKEPEAVY21]

The Padres are bringing young infielder Luis Urias back onto the active roster, according to Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union-Tribune (via Twitter). He had been at Triple-A since a brief, early-season stint. The corresponding roster move isn’t yet known.
Many fans would’ve preferred to see Urias spending more time in the majors at an earlier point. Indeed, it came as no small surprise that he did not open the year on the active roster. An offseason call to sign Ian Kinsler combined with the undeniable rise of Fernando Tatis Jr. conspired to force Urias back to the upper minors.
While he scuffled in a brief MLB showing and during his even shorter stint this year, Urias remains a highly touted prospect. Indeed, the 22-year-old has raised his stock with a strong output this year with El Paso. Over 339 plate appearances, he carries a .315/.398/.600 batting line with 19 home runs. Even in the offensively favorable context he’s playing in, that’s a notable power breakout.
Better still, Urias hasn’t been forced to sacrifice other aspects of his game to generate the pop. That .398 OBP? Remarkably, it’s precisely the same mark he posted in each of his two prior minor-league campaigns. The difference is that he has steadily increased his slugging output from .380 to .447 to this year’s eyebrow-raising .600 level.
Entering the season, Urias had accrued 34 days of MLB service. He spent another 13 days up in 2019 before the forthcoming promotion. If he stays up with the San Diego club after joining it tomorrow, Urias can tack on another 72 days down the stretch. In total, then, he cannot finish the present season with no more than 119 total days of service — a number that will almost certainly not be enough to allow him to qualify for an extra season of arbitration eligibility as a Super Two player.

The Padres will promote Double-A left-hander Adrian Morejon to the majors Saturday, Dennis Lin of The Athletic reports. The club’s 40-man roster is full, so it will need to make a corresponding move to clear a spot for Morejon.
Now 20, Morejon is three years removed from joining the Padres for a whopping $11MM bonus as an international free agent out of Cuba. Morejon has been somewhat injury plagued since signing that deal, ESPN’s Keith Law recently noted (subscription required), yet he’s still considered one of the game’s most exciting farmhands. Both Baseball America (No. 46) and MLB.com (No. 49) rank Morejon among the majors’ 50 best prospects. In their free scouting report, Jim Callis and Jonathan Mayo of MLB.com laud Morejon’s arsenal – which includes a mid- to high-90s fastball, two above-average kinds of changeups and a curveball – and add he could become a mid-rotation starter or better in the majors.
Morejon will work out of the bullpen in his first major league action, according to Lin, as he’s not stretched out to start in the bigs at this juncture. He has combined for just 36 innings in 16 appearances this year at the Double-A level, where he has posted a 4.25 ERA/3.69 FIP with 11.0 K/9, 3.75 BB/9 and a 50.6 percent groundball rate.
Morejon’s presence will give the slumping Padres a second lefty reliever to join Matt Strahm in a righty-heavy relief setup. In the event he stays up through the season, Morejon will accrue 71 days of service time.

about time they call up Urias, he has been crushing in AAA all year...

not sure Morejon is ready based on the numbers that i see, he has also missed a lot of time to injury the past couple of seasons...hope he proves me wrong here..

[koz-man]

Angels give up on Harvey, DFA former All-Star

The Los Angeles Angels have given up on their $11 million investment in Matt Harvey, designating the 30-year-old right-hander for assignment Friday.
Harvey was 3-5 with a 7.09 ERA in 12 starts. He gave up 6 runs, 7 hits and 5 walks over 6 innings in a 6-2 loss to the Houston Astros on Thursday night.
"The decision was made because we felt like it would increase our chance of winning games," Angels manager Brad Ausmus said after discussing the move with general manager Billy Eppler. "Matt was a very well-liked teammate, a guy that everyone pulled for, including myself. But we're in the business of winning baseball games. In talking to Billy, we just felt like this was the best move to make in order to help us win games."

[BigSpoon]

Angels give up on Harvey, DFA former All-Star


The Los Angeles Angels have given up on their $11 million investment in Matt Harvey, designating the 30-year-old right-hander for assignment Friday.
Harvey was 3-5 with a 7.09 ERA in 12 starts. He gave up 6 runs, 7 hits and 5 walks over 6 innings in a 6-2 loss to the Houston Astros on Thursday night.
"The decision was made because we felt like it would increase our chance of winning games," Angels manager Brad Ausmus said after discussing the move with general manager Billy Eppler. "Matt was a very well-liked teammate, a guy that everyone pulled for, including myself. But we're in the business of winning baseball games. In talking to Billy, we just felt like this was the best move to make in order to help us win games."

He hasn't been the same since the 2015 World Series, been all downhill since.

[JAKEPEAVY21]

He hasn't been the same since the 2015 World Series, been all downhill since.

he could not handle NYC or success.

[Stallion]

Is the site loading slow and getting error messages for anyone?? Also Matt Harvey sucks and deserves a demotion.

[JMobile]

Dodgers easy but expensive play

[stevenash]

he could not handle NYC or success.

Matt Harvey was a must see here when he was pitching in High School in Groton Ct.
When he was a senior in HS his was pitching at a AAA minor league level.
He was an All American first team as a senior.
Harvey would have gone to UConn here but due to stupid scholarship rules we could only offer him partial scholarship where North Carolina
offered him a full ride with all the bells and whistles.
He had an insane K ratio in the prestigious Cape Cod League.

He could handle NYC and success just fine, when he took a step back sought out all the answers, he'd ask for help when he needed help.
The major things that derailed him was the litany of injuries.


Harvey had a breakout season in 2013, being selected to play in the Major League Baseball All-Star Game. Harvey then missed the entire 2014 season due to Tommy John surgery but returned to top form in 2015, leading the Mets to the pennant. His career, once promising during his first two seasons, has since been derailed by several injuries and ineffectiveness, including Tommy John surgery, thoracic outlet syndrome and a stress fracture in the scapula. After a disappointing start to the 2018 season, Harvey was traded to the Cincinnati Reds

[EmpireMaker]

Astros manager A.J. Hinch provided optimistic updates today concerning the respective returns of infielders Carlos Correa and Aledmys Diaz. The Athletic’s Jake Kaplan reports that, according to Hinch, Correa has “looked great” in his rehab assignment thus far and is on track to be activated for this coming Friday’s game against the Cardinals (link); meanwhile, MLB.com’s Brian McTaggart relays that Diaz is likely to return from his own rehab stint in the “next couple of days”(link).
Entering Saturday, Correa and Diaz have missed 45 games each since both were sidelined in a May 26th contest against the Red Sox. Correa, who had been enjoying a .295/.360/.547 season when he landed on the shelf, suffered a rib injury serious enough to warrant placement on the 60-day IL; if Correa does indeed make it back for Hinch’s Friday target date, he will have spent the minimum 60 days out of action.
Diaz, acquired in an offseason deal in exchange for starter Trent Thornton, was also off to a fine start to 2019 before tweaking his left hamstring. In reflection of his multi-positional role with the big club, the Swiss army man has been working at first base, left field, and second base with AAA Round Rock and AA Corpus Christi.
Of course, the Astros have managed to maintain an upper hand on the AL West in the absence of these key players, with a 27-18 record since Correa and Diaz went down on May 26th. At 62-37, they hold a 5.5-game lead over the Athletics in this year’s divisional race.

[stevenash]

If the Dodgers fail to go deep in the playoffs it's due to the crappy bullpen of theirs.

[jrgum3]

If the Dodgers fail to go deep in the playoffs it's due to the crappy bullpen of theirs.

It's the same story every year with them. Dave Roberts taxes the bullpen by overworking them in the regular season and not allowing his starters to go deep into games and as a result they pay for it in the postseason.

[Otters27]

Don't even know who won today. Didn't even chet scores

[JAKEPEAVY21]

Matt Harvey was a must see here when he was pitching in High School in Groton Ct.
When he was a senior in HS his was pitching at a AAA minor league level.
He was an All American first team as a senior.
Harvey would have gone to UConn here but due to stupid scholarship rules we could only offer him partial scholarship where North Carolina
offered him a full ride with all the bells and whistles.
He had an insane K ratio in the prestigious Cape Cod League.

He could handle NYC and success just fine, when he took a step back sought out all the answers, he'd ask for help when he needed help.
The major things that derailed him was the litany of injuries.


Harvey had a breakout season in 2013, being selected to play in the Major League Baseball All-Star Game. Harvey then missed the entire 2014 season due to Tommy John surgery but returned to top form in 2015, leading the Mets to the pennant. His career, once promising during his first two seasons, has since been derailed by several injuries and ineffectiveness, including Tommy John surgery, thoracic outlet syndrome and a stress fracture in the scapula. After a disappointing start to the 2018 season, Harvey was traded to the Cincinnati Reds

so you don't think success got to his head? going out every night in NYC? He thought he owned the city and eventually they chewed him up and spit him out.

[koz-man]

Alonso's pinch-hit HR sets Mets rookie RBI mark

SAN FRANCISCO -- Pete Alonso set another record after making a small tweak to his swing. Dominic Smith quickly earned redemption. And the New York Mets bounced back from a pair of frustrating extra-inning losses.


Alonso came off the bench and hit his 33rd home run, setting the Mets rookie record for RBIs as New York beat San Francisco 11-4 Saturday to end the Giants' seven-game winning streak.

[JAKEPEAVY21]

about time they call up Urias, he has been crushing in AAA all year...

not sure Morejon is ready based on the numbers that i see, he has also missed a lot of time to injury the past couple of seasons...hope he proves me wrong here..

looks like Morejon will be the opener today...he has done it a few times in the minors recently so he will probably go 2-3 innings today.

[batt33]

Alonso's pinch-hit HR sets Mets rookie RBI mark


SAN FRANCISCO -- Pete Alonso set another record after making a small tweak to his swing. Dominic Smith quickly earned redemption. And the New York Mets bounced back from a pair of frustrating extra-inning losses.


Alonso came off the bench and hit his 33rd home run, setting the Mets rookie record for RBIs as New York beat San Francisco 11-4 Saturday to end the Giants' seven-game winning streak.

He crushed it... to the deep part of the yard...what he should do after watson threw a batting practice pitch...

[ApricotSinner32]

good luck today gentlemensssssssssssss

[stevenash]

so you don't think success got to his head? going out every night in NYC? He thought he owned the city and eventually they chewed him up and spit him out.

To a certain degree.

He was always cocky, his dad followed his path in the early 80's, he too was a stand out athlete in HS he was a baseball player too, his skills were at a national level unlike his son he played football too unlike Matt who played basketball.

Point being Matt was born into two generations of successful athletes where cockiness was a way of life.

[JAKEPEAVY21]

To a certain degree.

He was always cocky, his dad followed his path in the early 80's, he too was a stand out athlete in HS he was a baseball player too, his skills were at a national level unlike his son he played football too unlike Matt who played basketball.

Point being Matt was born into two generations of successful athletes where cockiness was a way of life.

being confident in yourself is one thing, going out late into the night in NYC when you have a game the following day and calling in sick when you are too drunk to make it to the ball park is an entirely different story.

[stevenash]

^
Yeah, that was a problem.
He needed counseling about that, not just pitching mechanics.

[Stallion]

being confident in yourself is one thing, going out late into the night in NYC when you have a game the following day and calling in sick when you are too drunk to make it to the ball park is an entirely different story.

Maybe going to AAA will help him out a bit??

[stevenash]

^
He's only 30, why not?
He needs to stay off the DL too.

[EmpireMaker]

The Brewers are placing Brandon Woodruff on the 10-day injured list after the right-hander suffered a left oblique injury during today’s game. (Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel was among those to report the news.) Woodruff was two pitches into the fourth inning of today’s start against Arizona when he suffered the injury, and left the game after a visit from the team trainer.
An MRI is scheduled for Monday to determine the extent of the injury, though the best-case scenario is at least a couple of weeks on the IL. Depending on the severity, many oblique injuries usually require a month or more of recovery time, so the Brewers could potentially be without arguably their best starting pitcher for much (or all) of the pennant race.
Woodruff emerged as both a starter and a multi-inning bullpen weapon for the Brewers down the stretch and into the postseason last year, and earned enough trust from Milwaukee brass to begin the season in the rotation. That decision proved to be a great one, as Woodruff ended up earning a spot on the NL All-Star team. Including today’s abbreviated outing against the D’Backs, Woodruff has posted a 3.75 ERA, 10.4 K/9 and only a 2.22 K/BB rate over 117 2/3 innings in 2019. As per Statcast numbers, he has been one of the league’s best pitchers at limiting exit velocity and hard-hit contract, holding opposing batters to a .286 xwOBA.
Woodruff has been a stabilizing force within a Brewers rotation that has generally delivered middle-of-the-pack numbers this year. Among the most frustrating parts of Woodruff’s injury was that Milwaukee’s starters were beginning to show signs of rounding into form as a whole, as Gio Gonzalez was back from an IL stint and Chase Anderson has quietly re-established himself as a solid starter after beginning the season in the bullpen. Zach Davies has also continued to pitch well in terms of bottom-line results, posting a 2.79 ERA despite some questionable advanced metrics. In terms of a short-term replacement for Woodruff, Adrian Houser is likely the top choice to pick up starts in Woodruff’s place, though a pair of upcoming off-days on the schedule means that a fifth starter likely won’t be needed until sometime next week.
Today’s news will only intensify the Brewers’ search for pitching at the trade deadline, as the team had already been linked to such names as Madison Bumgarner, Zack Wheeler, and Noah Syndergaard on the starter front, and the Giants’ Will Smith as a potential bullpen upgrade. Despite some unimpressive play in recent weeks, the Brewers are still in possession of an NL wild card berth, and are two games behind the Cubs for first place in the NL Central. GM David Stearns said earlier this week that his club was planning to be deadline buyers, though left the door to perhaps standing pat (or at least not making any major splashes) unless the Brewers started to string together some wins. Today’s win over the D’Backs gave Milwaukee five victories in its last six games.

[batt33]

Giants/ Cubs...another test..... do they stay or do they go...

[Cross]

I wouldn’t be mad at ya if you started tanking now, Giants!

[jrgum3]

Should be a good series the Giants keep finding ways to win but the Cubs are hot right now and are probably the toughest opponent the Giants have faced on this run they've been on.

[Otters27]

Dodgers very reliable vs bad teams right now

[dudekid]

Brandon Woodruff has been such a stud, thats a real bummer

[JMobile]

Dodgers very reliable vs bad teams right now

But the price is high.